Book of Common Prayer
A Song of Praise to the Sovereign Lord
2 (B)Clouds and darkness surround Him;
(C)Righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne.
3 (D)A fire goes before Him,
And burns up His enemies round about.
4 (E)His lightnings light the world;
The earth sees and trembles.
5 (F)The mountains melt like wax at the presence of the Lord,
At the presence of the Lord of the whole earth.
6 (G)The heavens declare His righteousness,
And all the peoples see His glory.
7 (H)Let all be put to shame who serve carved images,
Who boast of idols.
(I)Worship Him, all you gods.
8 Zion hears and is glad,
And the daughters of Judah rejoice
Because of Your judgments, O Lord.
9 For You, Lord, are (J)most high above all the earth;
(K)You are exalted far above all gods.
10 You who love the Lord, (L)hate evil!
(M)He preserves the souls of His saints;
(N)He delivers them out of the hand of the wicked.
11 (O)Light is sown for the righteous,
And gladness for the upright in heart.
12 (P)Rejoice in the Lord, you righteous,
(Q)And give thanks [b]at the remembrance of [c]His holy name.
Praise to the Lord for His Holiness
99 The Lord reigns;
Let the peoples tremble!
(A)He dwells between the cherubim;
Let the earth be [a]moved!
2 The Lord is great in Zion,
And He is high above all the peoples.
3 Let them praise Your great and awesome name—
[b]He is holy.
4 The King’s strength also loves justice;
You have established equity;
You have executed justice and righteousness in Jacob.
5 Exalt the Lord our God,
And worship at His footstool—
He is holy.
6 Moses and Aaron were among His priests,
And Samuel was among those who (B)called upon His name;
They called upon the Lord, and He answered them.
7 He spoke to them in the cloudy pillar;
They kept His testimonies and the [c]ordinance He gave them.
8 You answered them, O Lord our God;
You were to them God-Who-Forgives,
Though You took vengeance on their deeds.
9 Exalt the Lord our God,
And worship at His holy hill;
For the Lord our God is holy.
The Futility of Idols and the Trustworthiness of God
115 Not (A)unto us, O Lord, not unto us,
But to Your name give glory,
Because of Your mercy,
Because of Your truth.
2 Why should the [a]Gentiles say,
(B)“So where is their God?”
3 (C)But our God is in heaven;
He does whatever He pleases.
4 (D)Their idols are silver and gold,
The work of men’s hands.
5 They have mouths, but they do not speak;
Eyes they have, but they do not see;
6 They have ears, but they do not hear;
Noses they have, but they do not smell;
7 They have hands, but they do not handle;
Feet they have, but they do not walk;
Nor do they mutter through their throat.
8 (E)Those who make them are like them;
So is everyone who trusts in them.
9 (F)O Israel, trust in the Lord;
(G)He is their help and their shield.
10 O house of Aaron, trust in the Lord;
He is their help and their shield.
11 You who fear the Lord, trust in the Lord;
He is their help and their shield.
12 The Lord [b]has been mindful of us;
He will bless us;
He will bless the house of Israel;
He will bless the house of Aaron.
13 (H)He will bless those who fear the Lord,
Both small and great.
14 May the Lord give you increase more and more,
You and your children.
15 May you be (I)blessed by the Lord,
(J)Who made heaven and earth.
16 The heaven, even the heavens, are the Lord’s;
But the earth He has given to the children of men.
17 (K)The dead do not praise the Lord,
Nor any who go down into silence.
18 (L)But we will bless the Lord
From this time forth and forevermore.
Praise the Lord!
7 Therefore I will look to the Lord;
I will (A)wait for the God of my salvation;
My God will hear me.
Israel’s Confession and Comfort
8 (B)Do not rejoice over me, my enemy;
(C)When I fall, I will arise;
When I sit in darkness,
The Lord will be a light to me.
9 (D)I will bear the indignation of the Lord,
Because I have sinned against Him,
Until He pleads my (E)case
And executes justice for me.
He will bring me forth to the light;
I will see His righteousness.
10 Then she who is my enemy will see,
And (F)shame will cover her who said to me,
(G)“Where is the Lord your God?”
My eyes will see her;
Now she will be trampled down
Like mud in the streets.
11 In the day when your (H)walls are to be built,
In that day [a]the decree shall go far and wide.
12 In that day (I)they[b] shall come to you
From Assyria and the [c]fortified cities,
From the [d]fortress to [e]the River,
From sea to sea,
And mountain to mountain.
13 Yet the land shall be desolate
Because of those who dwell in it,
And (J)for the fruit of their deeds.
God Will Forgive Israel
A Lame Man Healed
3 Now Peter and John went up together (A)to the temple at the hour of prayer, (B)the ninth hour. 2 And (C)a certain man lame from his mother’s womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, (D)to [a]ask alms from those who entered the temple; 3 who, seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, asked for alms. 4 And fixing his eyes on him, with John, Peter said, “Look at us.” 5 So he gave them his attention, expecting to receive something from them. 6 Then Peter said, “Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: (E)In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.” 7 And he took him by the right hand and lifted him up, and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength. 8 So he, (F)leaping up, stood and walked and entered the temple with them—walking, leaping, and praising God. 9 (G)And all the people saw him walking and praising God. 10 Then they knew that it was he who (H)sat begging alms at the Beautiful Gate of the temple; and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.
The True Vine
15 “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. 2 (A)Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He [a]takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear (B)more fruit. 3 (C)You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. 4 (D)Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.
5 “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much (E)fruit; for without Me you can do (F)nothing. 6 If anyone does not abide in Me, (G)he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. 7 If you abide in Me, and My words (H)abide in you, (I)you[b] will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. 8 (J)By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; (K)so you will be My disciples.
Love and Joy Perfected
9 “As the Father (L)loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. 10 (M)If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.
11 “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and (N)that your joy may be full.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.