Book of Common Prayer
The Lord’s Power and Dominion.
97 The Lord reigns, let the earth rejoice;
Let the many islands and coastlands be glad.
2
Clouds and thick darkness surround Him [as at Sinai];
Righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne.(A)
3
Fire goes before Him
And burns up His adversaries on all sides.
4
His lightnings have illuminated the world;
The earth has seen and trembled.
5
The mountains melted like wax at the presence of the Lord,
At the presence of the Lord of the whole earth.
6
The heavens declare His righteousness,
And all the peoples see His glory and brilliance.
7
Let all those be [deeply] ashamed who serve carved images,
Who boast in idols.
Worship Him, all you gods!(B)
8
Zion heard this and was glad,
And the daughters (cities) of Judah rejoiced [in relief]
Because of Your judgments, O Lord.
9
For You are the Lord Most High over all the earth;
You are exalted far above all gods.
10
You who love the Lord, hate evil;
He protects the souls of His godly ones (believers),
He rescues them from the hand of the wicked.(C)
11
Light is sown [like seed] for the righteous and illuminates their path,
And [irrepressible] joy [is spread] for the upright in heart [who delight in His favor and protection].
12
Rejoice in the Lord, you righteous ones [those whose moral and spiritual integrity places them in right standing with God],
And praise and give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name.
Praise to the Lord for His Fidelity to Israel.
99 The Lord reigns, let the peoples tremble [with submissive wonder]!
He sits enthroned above the cherubim, let the earth shake!
2
The Lord is great in Zion,
And He is exalted and magnified above all the peoples.
3
Let them [reverently] praise Your great and awesome name;
Holy is He.(A)
4
The strength of the King loves justice and righteous judgment;
You have established fairness;
You have executed justice and righteousness in Jacob (Israel).
5
Exalt the Lord our God
And worship at His footstool;
Holy is He.
6
Moses and Aaron were among His priests,
And Samuel was among those who called on His name;
They called upon the Lord and He answered them.
7
He spoke to them in the pillar of cloud;
They kept His testimonies
And the statutes that He gave them.(B)
8
You answered them, O Lord our God;
You were a forgiving God to them,
And yet an avenger of their evil practices.
9
Exalt the Lord our God
And worship at His holy hill [Zion, the temple mount],
For the Lord our God is holy.
All Men Exhorted to Praise God.
A Psalm of Thanksgiving.
100 Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth.
2
Serve the Lord with gladness and delight;
Come before His presence with joyful singing.
3
Know and fully recognize with gratitude that the Lord Himself is God;
It is He who has made us, [a]not we ourselves [and we are His].
We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.(C)
4
Enter His gates with a song of thanksgiving
And His courts with praise.
Be thankful to Him, bless and praise His name.
5
For the Lord is good;
His mercy and lovingkindness are everlasting,
His faithfulness [endures] to all generations.
The Lord Implored to Avenge His People.
94 O Lord God, You to whom vengeance belongs,
O God, You to whom vengeance belongs, shine forth [in judgment]!
2
Rise up, O Judge of the earth;
Give to the proud a fitting compensation.
3
O Lord, how long will the wicked,
How long will the wicked rejoice in triumph?
4
They pour out words, speaking arrogant things;
All who do evil boast proudly.(A)
5
They crush Your people, O Lord,
And afflict and abuse Your heritage.
6
[a]They kill the widow and the alien
And murder the fatherless.
7
Yet they say, “The Lord does not see,
Nor does the God of Jacob (Israel) notice it.”
8
Consider thoughtfully, you senseless (stupid ones) among the people;
And you [dull-minded] fools, when will you become wise and understand?
9
He who made the ear, does He not hear?
He who formed the eye, does He not see?
10
He who instructs the nations,
Does He not rebuke and punish,
He who teaches man knowledge?
11
The Lord knows the thoughts of man,
That they are a mere breath (vain, empty, futile).(B)
12
Blessed [with wisdom and prosperity] is the man whom You discipline and instruct, O Lord,
And whom You teach from Your law,
13
That You may grant him [power to calm himself and find] peace in the days of adversity,
Until the pit is dug for the wicked and ungodly.
14
For the Lord will not abandon His people,
Nor will He abandon His inheritance.
15
For judgment will again be righteous,
And all the upright in heart will follow it.
16
Who will stand up for me against the evildoers?
Who will take a stand for me against those who do wickedness?
17
If the Lord had not been my help,
I would soon have dwelt in [the land of] silence.
18
If I say, “My foot has slipped,”
Your compassion and lovingkindness, O Lord, will hold me up.
19
When my anxious thoughts multiply within me,
Your comforts delight me.
20
Can a throne of destruction be allied with You,
One which frames and devises mischief by decree [under the sacred name of law]?
21
They band themselves together against the life of the righteous
And condemn the innocent to death.
22
But the Lord has become my high tower and defense,
And my God the rock of my refuge.
23
He has turned back their own wickedness upon them
And will destroy them by means of their own evil;
The Lord our God will wipe them out.
Praise to the Lord, and Warning against Unbelief.
95 O come, let us sing joyfully to the Lord;
Let us shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation.
2
Let us come before His presence with a song of thanksgiving;
Let us shout joyfully to Him with songs.
3
For the Lord is a great God
And a great King above all gods,
4
In whose hand are the depths of the earth;
The peaks of the mountains are His also.
5
The sea is His, for He made it [by His command];
And His hands formed the dry land.(C)
6
O come, let us worship and bow down,
Let us kneel before the Lord our Maker [in reverent praise and prayer].
7
For He is our God
And we are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand.
Today, if you will hear His voice,(D)
8
Do not harden your hearts and become spiritually dull as at Meribah [the place of strife],
And as at Massah [the place of testing] in the wilderness,(E)
9
“When your fathers tested Me,
They tried Me, even though they had seen My work [of miracles].
10
“For forty years I was grieved and disgusted with that generation,
And I said, ‘They are a people who err in their heart,
And they do not acknowledge or regard My ways.’
11
“Therefore I swore [an oath] in My wrath,
‘They absolutely shall not enter My rest [the land of promise].’”(F)
The New Heaven and Earth
21 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away (vanished), and there is no longer any [a]sea.(A) 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, arrayed like a bride adorned for her husband;(B) 3 and then I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “See! The tabernacle of God is among men, and He will live among them, and they will be His people, and God Himself will be with them [b][as their God,](C) 4 and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be death; there will no longer be sorrow and anguish, or crying, or pain; for the [c]former order of things has passed away.”(D)
5 And He who sits on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also He said, “Write, for these words are faithful and true [they are accurate, incorruptible, and trustworthy].”(E) 6 And He said to me, “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the one who thirsts I will give [water] from the fountain of the water of life without cost.(F) 7 [d]He who overcomes [the world by adhering faithfully to Christ Jesus as Lord and Savior] will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son.(G) 8 But as for the cowards and unbelieving and abominable [who are devoid of character and personal integrity and practice or tolerate immorality], and murderers, and sorcerers [with intoxicating drugs], and idolaters and occultists [who practice and teach false religions], and all the liars [who knowingly deceive and twist truth], their part will be in the lake that blazes with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”
The Demoniac
14 When they approached the crowd, a man came up to Jesus, kneeling before Him and saying,(A) 15 “Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is a lunatic (moonstruck) and suffers terribly; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water. 16 And I brought him to Your disciples, and they were not able to heal him.” 17 And Jesus answered, “You unbelieving and perverted generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring him here to Me.” 18 Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him, and the boy was healed at once.
19 Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and asked, “Why could we not drive it out?” 20 He answered, “Because of your little faith [your lack of trust and confidence in the power of God]; for I assure you and most solemnly say to you, [a]if you have [living] faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and [if it is God’s will] it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.(B) 21 [b][But this kind of demon does not go out except by prayer and fasting.]”
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