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.”
The Ark Returned to Israel
6 The ark of the Lord was in the country of the Philistines seven months. 2 And the Philistines called for the priests and (A)the diviners and said, “What shall we do with the ark of the Lord? Tell us with what we shall send it to its place.” 3 They said, “If you send away the ark of the God of Israel, do not send it empty, but by all means return him (B)a guilt offering. Then you will be healed, and it will be known to you why (C)his hand does not turn away from you.” 4 And they said, “What is the guilt offering that we shall return to him?” They answered, “Five golden (D)tumors and five golden mice, (E)according to the number of the lords of the Philistines, for the same plague was on all of you and on your lords. 5 So you must make images of your (F)tumors and images of your mice that ravage the land, (G)and give glory to the God of Israel. Perhaps (H)he will lighten his hand from off you (I)and your gods and your land. 6 Why should you harden your hearts as (J)the Egyptians and (K)Pharaoh hardened their hearts? After he had dealt severely with them, (L)did they not send the people away, and they departed? 7 Now then, take and prepare (M)a new cart and two milk cows (N)on which there has never come a yoke, and yoke the cows to the cart, but take their calves home, away from them. 8 And take the ark of the Lord and place it on the cart and put in a box at its side (O)the figures of gold, which you are returning to him as (P)a guilt offering. Then send it off and let it go its way 9 and watch. If it goes up on the way to its own land, to (Q)Beth-shemesh, then it is he who has done us this great harm, but if not, then we shall know that it is not (R)his hand that struck us; it happened to us by coincidence.”
10 The men did so, and took two milk cows and yoked them to the cart and shut up their calves at home. 11 And they put the ark of the Lord on the cart and the box with the golden mice and the images of their tumors. 12 And the cows went straight in the direction of (S)Beth-shemesh along (T)one highway, lowing as they went. They turned neither to the right nor to the left, and the lords of the Philistines went after them as far as the border of (U)Beth-shemesh. 13 Now the people of (V)Beth-shemesh were reaping their wheat harvest in the valley. And when they lifted up their eyes and saw the ark, they rejoiced to see it. 14 The cart came into the field of Joshua of Beth-shemesh and stopped there. (W)A great stone was there. And they split up the wood of the cart and offered the cows as a burnt offering to the Lord. 15 And the Levites took down the ark of the Lord and the box that was beside it, in which were the golden figures, and set them upon (X)the great stone. And the men of (Y)Beth-shemesh offered burnt offerings and sacrificed sacrifices on that day to the Lord. 16 And when (Z)the five lords of the Philistines saw it, they returned that day to Ekron.
27 And when they had brought them, they set them before the council. And the high priest questioned them, 28 saying, (A)“We strictly charged you not to teach in this name, yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and you (B)intend to bring this man's blood upon us.” 29 But Peter and the apostles answered, (C)“We must obey God rather than men. 30 (D)The God of our fathers (E)raised Jesus, (F)whom you killed by hanging him on (G)a tree. 31 God exalted (H)him at his right hand as (I)Leader and (J)Savior, (K)to give (L)repentance to Israel and (M)forgiveness of sins. 32 And (N)we are witnesses to these things, and (O)so is the Holy Spirit, (P)whom God has given to those who obey him.”
33 When they heard this, they (Q)were enraged and wanted to kill them. 34 But a Pharisee in the council named (R)Gamaliel, (S)a teacher of the law held in honor by all the people, stood up and gave orders to put the men outside for a little while. 35 And he said to them, “Men of Israel, take care what you are about to do with these men. 36 For (T)before these days Theudas rose up, (U)claiming to be somebody, and a number of men, about four hundred, joined him. He was killed, and all who followed him were dispersed and came to nothing. 37 After him Judas the Galilean rose up in the days of (V)the census and drew away some of the people after him. He too perished, and all who followed him were scattered. 38 So in the present case I tell you, keep away from these men and let them alone, for (W)if this plan or this undertaking is of man, it will fail; 39 but (X)if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You (Y)might even be found opposing God!” So they took his advice, 40 and (Z)when they had called in the apostles, (AA)they beat them and charged them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. 41 Then they left the presence of the council, (AB)rejoicing that they were counted worthy (AC)to suffer dishonor for (AD)the name. 42 And every day, (AE)in the temple and from house to house, they did not cease teaching and (AF)preaching (AG)that the Christ is Jesus.
37 And (A)every day he was teaching in the temple, but (B)at night he went out and lodged on (C)the mount called Olivet. 38 And early in the morning (D)all the people came to him in the temple to hear him.
The Plot to Kill Jesus
22 (E)Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread drew near, which is called (F)the Passover. 2 And the chief priests and the scribes (G)were seeking how to put him to death, for they feared the people.
Judas to Betray Jesus
3 (H)Then (I)Satan entered into (J)Judas called Iscariot, who was of the number of the twelve. 4 He went away and conferred with the chief priests and (K)officers how he might betray him to them. 5 And they were glad, and agreed to give him money. 6 So he consented and sought an opportunity to (L)betray him to them in the absence of a crowd.
The Passover with the Disciples
7 (M)Then came (N)the day of Unleavened Bread, on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed. 8 So Jesus[a] sent Peter and John, saying, “Go and prepare the Passover for us, that we may eat it.” 9 They said to him, “Where will you have us prepare it?” 10 He said to them, “Behold, when you have entered the city, a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him into the house that he enters 11 and tell the master of the house, (O)‘The Teacher says to you, Where is (P)the guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’ 12 And he will show you (Q)a large upper room furnished; prepare it there.” 13 And they went and found it (R)just as he had told them, and they prepared the Passover.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.