Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 97[a]
The Divine Ruler of All
I
1 The Lord is king; let the earth rejoice;
let the many islands be glad.(A)
2 Cloud and darkness surround him;
justice and right are the foundation of his throne.(B)
3 Fire goes before him,
consuming his foes on every side.
4 His lightening illumines the world;
the earth sees and trembles.(C)
5 The mountains melt like wax before the Lord,
before the Lord of all the earth.(D)
6 The heavens proclaim his justice;
all peoples see his glory.(E)
II
7 All who serve idols are put to shame,
who glory in worthless things;
all gods[b] bow down before him.(F)
8 Zion hears and is glad,
and the daughters of Judah rejoice
because of your judgments, O Lord.(G)
9 For you, Lord, are the Most High over all the earth,(H)
exalted far above all gods.
10 You who love the Lord, hate evil,
he protects the souls of the faithful,(I)
rescues them from the hand of the wicked.
11 Light dawns for the just,
and gladness for the honest of heart.(J)
12 Rejoice in the Lord, you just,
and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness.(K)
Psalm 99[a]
The Holy King
I
1 The Lord is king, the peoples tremble;
he is enthroned on the cherubim,[b] the earth quakes.(A)
2 Great is the Lord in Zion,
exalted above all the peoples.
3 Let them praise your great and awesome name:
Holy is he!(B)
II
4 O mighty king, lover of justice,
you have established fairness;
you have created just rule in Jacob.(C)
5 Exalt the Lord, our God;
bow down before his footstool;[c](D)
holy is he!
III
6 Moses and Aaron were among his priests,
Samuel among those who called on his name;
they called on the Lord, and he answered them.(E)
7 From the pillar of cloud he spoke to them;
they kept his decrees, the law he had given them.(F)
8 O Lord, our God, you answered them;
you were a forgiving God to them,
though you punished their offenses.(G)
9 Exalt the Lord, our God;
bow down before his holy mountain;
holy is the Lord, our God.
Psalm 100[d]
Processional Hymn
1 A psalm of thanksgiving.
Shout joyfully to the Lord, all you lands;
2 serve the Lord with gladness;
come before him with joyful song.
3 [e]Know that the Lord is God,
he made us, we belong to him,
we are his people, the flock he shepherds.(H)
4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
his courts with praise.
Give thanks to him, bless his name;(I)
5 good indeed is the Lord,
His mercy endures forever,
his faithfulness lasts through every generation.
Psalm 94[a]
A Prayer for Deliverance from the Wicked
I
1 Lord, avenging God,
avenging God, shine forth!(A)
2 Rise up, O judge of the earth;
give the proud what they deserve!(B)
II
3 How long, Lord, shall the wicked,
how long shall the wicked glory?(C)
4 How long will they mouth haughty speeches,
go on boasting, all these evildoers?(D)
5 They crush your people, Lord,
torment your very own.
6 They kill the widow and alien;
the orphan they murder.(E)
7 They say, “The Lord does not see;
the God of Jacob takes no notice.”(F)
III
8 Understand, you stupid people!
You fools, when will you be wise?(G)
9 Does the one who shaped the ear not hear?
The one who formed the eye not see?(H)
10 Does the one who guides nations not rebuke?
The one who teaches man not have knowledge?
11 The Lord knows the plans of man;
they are like a fleeting breath.(I)
IV
12 Blessed the one whom you guide, Lord,(J)
whom you teach by your instruction,
13 To give rest from evil days,
while a pit is being dug for the wicked.
14 For the Lord will not forsake his people,
nor abandon his inheritance.(K)
15 Judgment shall again be just,
and all the upright of heart will follow it.
V
16 Who will rise up for me against the wicked?
Who will stand up for me against evildoers?
17 If the Lord were not my help,
I would long have been silent in the grave.(L)
18 When I say, “My foot is slipping,”
your mercy, Lord, holds me up.(M)
19 When cares increase within me,
your comfort gives me joy.
VI
20 Can unjust judges be your allies,
those who create burdens by decree,
21 Those who conspire against the just
and condemn the innocent to death?
22 No, the Lord is my secure height,
my God, my rock of refuge,
23 (N)Who will turn back their evil upon them(O)
and destroy them for their wickedness.
Surely the Lord our God will destroy them!
Psalm 95[b]
A Call to Praise and Obedience
I
1 Come, let us sing joyfully to the Lord;
cry out to the rock of our salvation.(P)
2 Let us come before him with a song of praise,
joyfully sing out our psalms.
3 For the Lord is the great God,
the great king over all gods,(Q)
4 Whose hand holds the depths of the earth;
who owns the tops of the mountains.
5 The sea and dry land belong to God,
who made them, formed them by hand.(R)
II
6 Enter, let us bow down in worship;
let us kneel before the Lord who made us.
7 For he is our God,
we are the people he shepherds,
the sheep in his hands.(S)
III
Oh, that today you would hear his voice:(T)
8 Do not harden your hearts as at Meribah,
as on the day of Massah in the desert.[c]
9 There your ancestors tested me;
they tried me though they had seen my works.(U)
10 Forty years I loathed that generation;
I said: “This people’s heart goes astray;
they do not know my ways.”(V)
11 Therefore I swore in my anger:
“They shall never enter my rest.”[d]
Prayer for the Return of God’s Favor
7 [a]The loving deeds of the Lord I will recall,
the glorious acts of the Lord,
Because of all the Lord has done for us,
the immense goodness to the house of Israel,
Which he has granted according to his mercy
and his many loving deeds.(A)
8 He said: “They are indeed my people,
children who are not disloyal.”
So he became their savior
9 in their every affliction.
It was not an envoy or a messenger,
but his presence that saved them.
Because of his love and pity
the Lord redeemed them,
Lifting them up and carrying them
all the days of old.(B)
10 But they rebelled
and grieved his holy spirit;
So he turned to become their enemy,
and warred against them.(C)
11 Then they remembered the days of old, of Moses, his servant:
Where is the one who brought up out of the sea
the shepherd of his flock?
Where is the one who placed in their midst
his holy spirit,(D)
12 Who guided Moses by the hand,
with his glorious arm?
Where is the one who divided the waters before them—
winning for himself an everlasting renown—
13 Who guided them through the depths,
like horses in open country?
14 As cattle going down into the valley,
they did not stumble.
The spirit of the Lord guided them.
Thus you led your people,
to make for yourself a glorious name.
18 I entrust this charge to you, Timothy, my child, in accordance with the prophetic words once spoken about you.[a] Through them may you fight a good fight(A) 19 by having faith and a good conscience. Some, by rejecting conscience, have made a shipwreck of their faith,(B) 20 among them Hymenaeus[b] and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan to be taught not to blaspheme.(C)
III. Problems of Discipline
Chapter 2
Prayer and Conduct. 1 [c]First of all, then, I ask that supplications, prayers, petitions, and thanksgivings be offered for everyone,(D) 2 for kings and for all in authority, that we may lead a quiet and tranquil life in all devotion and dignity. 3 This is good and pleasing to God our savior,(E) 4 who wills everyone to be saved and to come to knowledge of the truth.(F)
5 For there is one God.
There is also one mediator between God and the human race,
Christ Jesus, himself human,(G)
6 who gave himself as ransom for all.
This was the testimony[d] at the proper time.(H) 7 For this I was appointed preacher and apostle (I am speaking the truth, I am not lying), teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.(I)
8 [e]It is my wish, then, that in every place the men should pray, lifting up holy hands, without anger or argument.
12 The next day as they were leaving Bethany he was hungry.(A) 13 Seeing from a distance a fig tree in leaf, he went over to see if he could find anything on it. When he reached it he found nothing but leaves; it was not the time for figs. 14 And he said to it in reply, “May no one ever eat of your fruit again!” And his disciples heard it.
Cleansing of the Temple.[a] 15 They came to Jerusalem,(B) and on entering the temple area he began to drive out those selling and buying there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were selling doves. 16 He did not permit anyone to carry anything through the temple area. 17 Then he taught them saying, “Is it not written:
‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples’?
But you have made it a den of thieves.”(C)
18 The chief priests and the scribes came to hear of it and were seeking a way to put him to death, yet they feared him because the whole crowd was astonished at his teaching. 19 When evening came, they went out of the city.(D)
The Withered Fig Tree. 20 (E)Early in the morning, as they were walking along, they saw the fig tree withered to its roots. 21 Peter remembered and said to him, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree that you cursed has withered.” 22 Jesus said to them in reply, “Have faith in God. 23 Amen, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it shall be done for him.(F) 24 Therefore I tell you, all that you ask for in prayer, believe that you will receive it and it shall be yours.(G) 25 When you stand to pray, forgive anyone against whom you have a grievance, so that your heavenly Father may in turn forgive you your transgressions.”(H) [26 ][b]
The Authority of Jesus Questioned.[c]
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.