Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 93[a]
93 The Lord reigns.
He is robed in majesty.
The Lord is robed;
he wears strength around his waist.[b]
Indeed, the world is established; it cannot be moved.
2 Your throne has been secure from ancient times;
you have always been king.[c]
3 The waves[d] roar, O Lord,
the waves roar,
the waves roar and crash.[e]
4 Above the sound of the surging water,[f]
and the mighty waves of the sea,
the Lord sits enthroned in majesty.[g]
5 The rules you set down[h] are completely reliable.[i]
Holiness[j] aptly adorns your house, O Lord, forever.[k]
Psalm 96[a]
96 Sing to the Lord a new song.[b]
Sing to the Lord, all the earth.
2 Sing to the Lord. Praise his name.
Announce every day how he delivers.[c]
3 Tell the nations about his splendor.
Tell[d] all the nations about his amazing deeds.
4 For the Lord is great and certainly worthy of praise;
he is more awesome than all gods.[e]
5 For all the gods of the nations are worthless,[f]
but the Lord made the sky.
6 Majestic splendor emanates from him;[g]
his sanctuary is firmly established and beautiful.[h]
7 Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the nations,
ascribe to the Lord splendor and strength.
8 Ascribe to the Lord the splendor he deserves.[i]
Bring an offering and enter his courts.
9 Worship the Lord in holy attire.[j]
Tremble before him, all the earth.
10 Say among the nations, “The Lord reigns!
The world is established; it cannot be moved.
He judges the nations fairly.”
11 Let the sky rejoice, and the earth be happy.
Let the sea and everything in it shout.
12 Let the fields and everything in them celebrate.
Then let the trees of the forest shout with joy
13 before the Lord, for he comes.
For he comes to judge the earth.
He judges the world fairly,[k]
and the nations in accordance with his justice.[l]
Psalm 34[a]
By David, when he pretended to be insane before Abimelech, causing the king to send him away.[b]
34 I will praise[c] the Lord at all times;
my mouth will continually praise him.[d]
2 I will boast[e] in the Lord;
let the oppressed hear and rejoice.[f]
3 Magnify the Lord with me.
Let us praise[g] his name together.
4 I sought the Lord’s help[h] and he answered me;
he delivered me from all my fears.
5 Look to him and be radiant;
do not let your faces be ashamed.[i]
6 This oppressed man cried out and the Lord heard;
he saved him[j] from all his troubles.
7 The angel of the Lord camps around
the Lord’s[k] loyal followers[l] and delivers them.[m]
8 Taste[n] and see that the Lord is good.
How blessed[o] is the one[p] who takes shelter in him.[q]
9 Fear the Lord, you chosen people of his,[r]
for those who fear him lack nothing.
10 Even young lions sometimes lack food and are hungry,
but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.
11 Come children. Listen to me.
I will teach you what it means to fear the Lord.[s]
12 Do you want to really live?[t]
Would you love to live a long, happy life?[u]
13 Then make sure you don’t speak evil words[v]
or use deceptive speech.[w]
14 Turn away from evil and do what is right.[x]
Strive for peace and promote it.[y]
15 The Lord pays attention to the godly
and hears their cry for help.[z]
16 But the Lord opposes evildoers
and wipes out all memory of them from the earth.[aa]
17 The godly[ab] cry out and the Lord hears;
he saves them from all their troubles.[ac]
18 The Lord is near the brokenhearted;
he delivers[ad] those who are discouraged.[ae]
19 The godly[af] face many dangers,[ag]
but the Lord saves[ah] them[ai] from each one of them.
20 He protects[aj] all his bones;[ak]
not one of them is broken.[al]
21 Evil people self-destruct;[am]
those who hate the godly are punished.[an]
22 The Lord rescues his servants;[ao]
all who take shelter in him escape punishment.[ap]
50 Then Laban and Bethuel replied, “This is the Lord’s doing.[a] Our wishes are of no concern.[b] 51 Rebekah stands here before you. Take her and go so that she may become[c] the wife of your master’s son, just as the Lord has decided.”[d]
52 When Abraham’s servant heard their words, he bowed down to the ground before the Lord. 53 Then he[e] brought out gold, silver jewelry, and clothing and gave them to Rebekah. He also gave valuable gifts to her brother and to her mother. 54 After this, he and the men who were with him ate a meal and stayed there overnight.[f]
When they got up in the morning, he said, “Let me leave now so I can return to my master.”[g] 55 But Rebekah’s[h] brother and her mother replied, “Let the girl stay with us a few more days, perhaps ten. Then she can go.” 56 But he said to them, “Don’t detain me—the Lord[i] has granted me success on my journey. Let me leave now so I may return[j] to my master.” 57 Then they said, “We’ll call the girl and find out what she wants to do.”[k] 58 So they called Rebekah and asked her, “Do you want[l] to go with this man?” She replied, “I want to go.”
59 So they sent their sister Rebekah on her way, accompanied by her female attendant, with Abraham’s servant and his men. 60 They blessed Rebekah with these words:[m]
“Our sister, may you become the mother[n] of thousands of ten thousands!
May your descendants possess the strongholds[o] of their enemies.”
61 Then Rebekah and her female servants mounted the camels and rode away with[p] the man. So Abraham’s servant[q] took Rebekah and left.
62 Now[r] Isaac came from[s] Beer Lahai Roi,[t] for[u] he was living in the Negev.[v] 63 He[w] went out to relax[x] in the field in the early evening.[y] Then he looked up[z] and saw that[aa] there were camels approaching. 64 Rebekah looked up[ab] and saw Isaac. She got down from her camel 65 and asked[ac] Abraham’s servant,[ad] “Who is that man walking in the field toward us?” “That is my master,” the servant replied.[ae] So she took her veil and covered herself.
66 The servant told Isaac everything that had happened. 67 Then Isaac brought Rebekah[af] into his mother Sarah’s tent. He took her[ag] as his wife and loved her.[ah] So Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death.[ai]
Dealing with False Teachers
14 Remind people[a] of these things and solemnly charge them[b] before the Lord[c] not to wrangle over words. This is of no benefit; it just brings ruin on those who listen.[d] 15 Make every effort to present yourself before God as a proven worker who does not need to be ashamed, teaching the message of truth accurately.[e] 16 But avoid profane chatter,[f] because those occupied with it will stray further and further into ungodliness,[g] 17 and their message will spread its infection[h] like gangrene. Hymenaeus and Philetus are in this group.[i] 18 They have strayed from the truth[j] by saying that the resurrection has already occurred, and they are undermining some people’s faith. 19 However, God’s solid foundation remains standing, bearing this seal: “The Lord knows those who are his,”[k] and “Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord[l] must turn away from evil.”
20 Now in a wealthy home[m] there are not only gold and silver vessels, but also ones made of wood and of clay, and some are for honorable use, but others for ignoble use.[n] 21 So if someone cleanses himself of such behavior,[o] he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart, useful for the Master, prepared for every good work.
Jesus and Little Children
13 Now[a] people were bringing little children to him for him to touch,[b] but the disciples scolded those who brought them.[c] 14 But when Jesus saw this, he was indignant and said to them, “Let the little children come to me and do not try to stop them, for the kingdom of God[d] belongs to such as these.[e] 15 I tell you the truth,[f] whoever does not receive[g] the kingdom of God like a child[h] will never[i] enter it.” 16 After he took the children in his arms, he placed his hands on them and blessed them.
The Rich Man
17 Now[j] as Jesus[k] was starting out on his way, someone ran up to him, fell on his knees, and said, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”[l] 18 Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good?[m] No one is good except God alone. 19 You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, do not defraud, honor your father and mother.’”[n] 20 The man[o] said to him, “Teacher, I have wholeheartedly obeyed[p] all these laws[q] since my youth.”[r] 21 As Jesus looked at him, he felt love for him and said, “You lack one thing. Go, sell whatever you have and give the money[s] to the poor, and you will have treasure[t] in heaven. Then come, follow me.” 22 But at this statement, the man[u] looked sad and went away sorrowful, for he was very rich.[v]
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