Book of Common Prayer
The Lord Reigns
97 (A)The Lord reigns, (B)let the earth rejoice;
let the many (C)coastlands be glad!
2 (D)Clouds and thick darkness are all around him;
(E)righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.
3 (F)Fire goes before him
and burns up his adversaries all around.
4 His (G)lightnings light up the world;
the earth sees and (H)trembles.
5 The mountains (I)melt like (J)wax before the Lord,
before (K)the Lord of all the earth.
6 (L)The heavens proclaim his righteousness,
and all (M)the peoples see his glory.
7 All worshipers of images are (N)put to shame,
who make their boast in (O)worthless idols;
(P)worship him, all you gods!
The Lord Our God Is Holy
99 (A)The Lord reigns; (B)let the peoples tremble!
He (C)sits enthroned upon the cherubim; (D)let the earth quake!
2 The Lord is (E)great in Zion;
he is (F)exalted over all the peoples.
3 Let them praise your (G)great and awesome name!
(H)Holy is he!
4 (I)The King in his might (J)loves justice.[a]
You have established equity;
you have executed justice
and righteousness in Jacob.
5 (K)Exalt the Lord our God;
(L)worship at his (M)footstool!
(N)Holy is he!
6 (O)Moses and Aaron were among his (P)priests,
Samuel also was among those who (Q)called upon his name.
They (R)called to the Lord, and he answered them.
7 In (S)the pillar of the cloud he spoke to them;
they (T)kept his testimonies
and the statute that he gave them.
8 O Lord our God, you answered them;
you were (U)a forgiving God to them,
but (V)an avenger of their wrongdoings.
9 Exalt the Lord our God,
and worship at his (W)holy mountain;
for the Lord our God is holy!
His Steadfast Love Endures Forever
A Psalm for (X)giving thanks.
100 (Y)Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth!
2 (Z)Serve the Lord with gladness!
(AA)Come into his presence with singing!
3 Know that (AB)the Lord, he is God!
It is he who (AC)made us, and (AD)we are his;[b]
we are his (AE)people, and (AF)the sheep of his pasture.
The Lord Will Not Forsake His People
94 O Lord, God of (A)vengeance,
O God of vengeance, (B)shine forth!
2 (C)Rise up, O (D)judge of the earth;
repay to the (E)proud what they deserve!
3 O Lord, (F)how long shall the wicked,
how long shall (G)the wicked exult?
4 They pour out their (H)arrogant words;
all (I)the evildoers boast.
5 They (J)crush your people, O Lord,
and afflict your heritage.
6 They kill (K)the widow and the sojourner,
and murder (L)the fatherless;
7 (M)and they say, “The Lord does not see;
the God of Jacob does not perceive.”
8 (N)Understand, O dullest of the people!
Fools, when will you be wise?
9 (O)He who planted the ear, does he not hear?
He who formed the eye, does he not see?
10 He who (P)disciplines the nations, does he not rebuke?
He who (Q)teaches man knowledge—
11 (R)the Lord—knows the thoughts of man,
that they are (S)but a breath.[a]
12 (T)Blessed is the man whom you (U)discipline, O Lord,
and whom you teach out of your law,
13 to give him (V)rest from (W)days of trouble,
until (X)a pit is dug for the wicked.
14 (Y)For the Lord will not forsake his (Z)people;
he will not abandon his (AA)heritage;
15 for (AB)justice will return to the righteous,
and all the upright in heart will (AC)follow it.
16 (AD)Who rises up for me against the wicked?
Who stands up for me against evildoers?
17 (AE)If the Lord had not been my help,
my soul would soon have lived in the land of (AF)silence.
18 When I thought, (AG)“My foot slips,”
your steadfast love, O Lord, (AH)held me up.
19 When the cares of my heart are many,
your consolations cheer my soul.
20 Can (AI)wicked rulers be allied with you,
those who frame[b] injustice by (AJ)statute?
21 They (AK)band together against the life of the righteous
and condemn (AL)the innocent to death.[c]
22 But the Lord has become my (AM)stronghold,
and my God (AN)the rock of my (AO)refuge.
23 He will bring back on them (AP)their iniquity
and (AQ)wipe them out for their wickedness;
the Lord our God will wipe them out.
Let Us Sing Songs of Praise
95 Oh come, let us sing to the Lord;
let us (AR)make a joyful noise to (AS)the rock of our salvation!
2 Let us (AT)come into his presence with thanksgiving;
let us (AU)make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!
3 For the Lord is (AV)a great God,
and a great King (AW)above all gods.
4 In his hand are the depths of the earth;
the heights of the mountains are his also.
5 The sea is his, for (AX)he made it,
and his hands formed (AY)the dry land.
6 Oh come, let us worship and bow down;
let us (AZ)kneel before the Lord, our (BA)Maker!
7 For he is our (BB)God,
and we are the people of his (BC)pasture,
and the sheep of his hand.
(BD)Today, if you (BE)hear his voice,
8 (BF)do not harden your hearts, as at (BG)Meribah,
as on the day at (BH)Massah in the wilderness,
9 when your fathers put me to the (BI)test
and put me to the proof, though they had seen my (BJ)work.
10 (BK)For forty years I loathed that generation
and said, “They are a people who go astray in their heart,
and they have not known (BL)my ways.”
11 Therefore I (BM)swore in my wrath,
“They shall not enter (BN)my rest.”
Habakkuk's Prayer
3 A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet, according to Shigionoth.
2 O Lord, (A)I have heard the report of you,
and (B)your work, O Lord, do I fear.
In the midst of the years (C)revive it;
in the midst of the years make it known;
(D)in wrath remember mercy.
3 God came from (E)Teman,
(F)and the Holy One from Mount Paran. Selah
His splendor covered the heavens,
and the earth was full of his praise.
4 (G)His brightness was like the light;
rays flashed from his hand;
and there he veiled his power.
5 (H)Before him went pestilence,
and plague followed (I)at his heels.[a]
6 He stood (J)and measured the earth;
he looked and shook the nations;
then the (K)eternal mountains (L)were scattered;
the everlasting hills sank low.
His were (M)the everlasting ways.
7 I saw the tents of (N)Cushan in affliction;
(O)the curtains of the land of Midian did tremble.
8 (P)Was your wrath against the rivers, O Lord?
Was your anger against the rivers,
(Q)or your indignation against the sea,
(R)when you rode on your horses,
(S)on your chariot of salvation?
9 You stripped the sheath from your bow,
calling for many arrows.[b] Selah
(T)You split the earth with rivers.
10 (U)The mountains saw you and writhed;
the raging waters swept on;
(V)the deep gave forth its voice;
(W)it lifted its hands on high.
11 (X)The sun and moon stood still in their place
(Y)at the light of your arrows as they sped,
at the flash of your glittering spear.
12 (Z)You marched through the earth in fury;
(AA)you threshed the nations in anger.
13 (AB)You went out for the salvation of your people,
for the salvation of (AC)your anointed.
(AD)You crushed the head of the house of the wicked,
laying him bare from thigh to neck.[c] Selah
14 You pierced with his own arrows the heads of his warriors,
who came like a whirlwind to scatter me,
rejoicing as if to devour the poor in secret.
15 (AE)You trampled the sea with your horses,
the surging of mighty waters.
16 (AF)I hear, and (AG)my body trembles;
my lips quiver at the sound;
(AH)rottenness enters into my bones;
my legs tremble beneath me.
Yet (AI)I will quietly wait for the day of trouble
to come upon people who invade us.
Habakkuk Rejoices in the Lord
Taming the Tongue
3 (A)Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. 2 For (B)we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, (C)he is a perfect man, (D)able also to bridle his whole body. 3 If we put (E)bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we guide their whole bodies as well. 4 Look at the ships also: though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. 5 So also the tongue is a small member, yet (F)it boasts of great things.
How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! 6 And (G)the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, (H)staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life,[a] and set on fire by hell.[b] 7 For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, 8 but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, (I)full of deadly poison. 9 With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people (J)who are made in the likeness of God. 10 From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers,[c] these things ought not to be so. 11 Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water? 12 Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water.
Temptations to Sin
17 And he said to his disciples, (A)“Temptations to sin[a] are (B)sure to come, but (C)woe to the one through whom they come! 2 (D)It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were cast into the sea than that he should cause one of these little ones to sin.[b] 3 Pay attention to yourselves! (E)If your brother sins, (F)rebuke him, and if he repents, (G)forgive him, 4 and if he sins against you (H)seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him.”
Increase Our Faith
5 (I)The apostles said to the Lord, (J)“Increase our faith!” 6 And the Lord said, (K)“If you had faith like (L)a grain of mustard seed, you could say to this (M)mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.
Unworthy Servants
7 “Will any one of you who has a servant[c] plowing or keeping sheep say to him when he has come in from the field, ‘Come at once and recline at table’? 8 Will he not rather say to him, ‘Prepare supper for me, and (N)dress properly,[d] and serve me while I eat and drink, and afterward you will eat and drink’? 9 Does he thank the servant because he did what was commanded? 10 So you also, when you have done all that you were commanded, say, ‘We are (O)unworthy servants;[e] we have only done what was our duty.’”
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.