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]
9 This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies[a] said to me:[b]
“Those who remain in Israel will be
like the grapes thoroughly gleaned[c] from a vine.
So go over them again, as though you were a grape harvester
passing your hand over the branches one last time.”[d]
10 I answered,[e]
“Who would listen
if I spoke to them and warned them?[f]
Their ears are so closed[g]
that they cannot hear!
Indeed,[h] the Lord’s message is offensive to them.
They do not like it at all.[i]
11 I am as full of anger as you are, Lord,[j]
I am tired of trying to hold it in.”
The Lord answered,[k]
“Vent it, then,[l] on the children who play in the street
and on the young men who are gathered together.
Husbands and wives are to be included,[m]
as well as the old and those who are advanced in years.
12 Their houses will be turned over to others
as will their fields and their wives.
For I will unleash my power[n]
against those who live in this land,”
says the Lord.
13 “That is because, from the least important to the most important of them,
all of them are greedy for dishonest gain.
Prophets and priests alike,
all of them practice deceit.
14 They offer only superficial help
for the harm my people have suffered.[o]
They say, ‘Everything will be all right!’
But everything is not all right![p]
15 Are they ashamed because they have done such shameful things?
No, they are not at all ashamed.
They do not even know how to blush!
So they will die, just like others have died.[q]
They will be brought to ruin when I punish them,”
says the Lord.
Flee Sexual Immorality
12 “All things are lawful for me”[a]—but not everything is beneficial. “All things are lawful for me”—but I will not be controlled by anything. 13 “Food is for the stomach and the stomach is for food, but God will do away with both.”[b] The body is not for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. 14 Now God indeed raised the Lord and he will raise us by his power. 15 Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Should I take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? Never! 16 Or do you not know that anyone who is united with[c] a prostitute is one body with her?[d] For it is said, “The two will become one flesh.”[e] 17 But the one united with[f] the Lord is one spirit with him.[g] 18 Flee sexual immorality! “Every sin a person commits is outside of the body”[h]—but the immoral person sins against his own body. 19 Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you,[i] whom you have from God, and you are not your own? 20 For you were bought at a price. Therefore glorify God with your body.
Healing of a Demoniac
5 So[a] they came to the other side of the lake, to the region of the Gerasenes.[b] 2 Just as Jesus[c] was getting out of the boat,[d] a man with an unclean spirit[e] came from the tombs and met him.[f] 3 He lived among the tombs, and no one could bind him anymore, not even with a chain. 4 For his hands and feet had often been bound with chains and shackles,[g] but[h] he had torn the chains apart and broken the shackles in pieces. No one was strong enough to subdue him. 5 Each night and every day among the tombs and in the mountains, he would cry out and cut himself with stones. 6 When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and bowed down before him. 7 Then[i] he cried out with a loud voice, “Leave me alone,[j] Jesus, Son of the Most High God! I implore you by God[k]—do not torment me!” 8 (For Jesus[l] had said to him, “Come out of that man, you unclean spirit!”)[m] 9 Jesus[n] asked him, “What is your name?” And he said, “My name is Legion,[o] for we are many.” 10 He begged Jesus[p] repeatedly not to send them out of the region. 11 There on the hillside,[q] a great herd of pigs was feeding. 12 And the demonic spirits[r] begged him, “Send us into the pigs. Let us enter them.” 13 Jesus[s] gave them permission.[t] So[u] the unclean spirits came out and went into the pigs. Then the herd rushed down the steep slope into the lake, and about 2,000 were drowned in the lake.
14 Now[v] the herdsmen ran off and spread the news in the town and countryside, and the people went out to see what had happened. 15 They came to Jesus and saw the demon-possessed man sitting there, clothed and in his right mind—the one who had the “Legion”—and they were afraid. 16 Those who had seen what had happened to the demon-possessed man reported it, and they also told about the pigs. 17 Then[w] they began to beg Jesus[x] to leave their region. 18 As he was getting into the boat the man who had been demon-possessed asked if he could go[y] with him. 19 But[z] Jesus[aa] did not permit him to do so. Instead, he said to him, “Go to your home and to your people and tell them what the Lord has done for you,[ab] that he had mercy on you.” 20 So[ac] he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis[ad] what Jesus had done for him,[ae] and all were amazed.
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