Book of Common Prayer
God Reigns
93 The Lord reigns! He is clothed in majesty;
the Lord is clothed,
and he is girded[a] with strength.
Indeed, the world is well established,
and cannot be shaken.
2 Your throne has been established since time immemorial;
you are king from eternity.
3 The rivers have flooded, Lord;
the rivers have spoken aloud,
the rivers have lifted up their crushing waves.
4 More than the sound of surging waters—
the majestic waves of the sea—
the Lord on high is majestic.
5 Your decrees are very trustworthy,
and holiness always befits your house, Lord.
Give Glory to the Lord
96 Sing a new song to the Lord!
Sing to the Lord, all the earth!
2 Sing to the Lord!
Bless his name!
Proclaim his deliverance every day!
3 Declare his glory among the nations
and his awesome deeds among all the peoples!
4 For the Lord is great,
and greatly to be praised;
he is awesome above all gods.
5 For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols,
but the Lord made the heavens.
6 Splendor and majesty are before him;
might and beauty are in his sanctuary.
7 Ascribe to the Lord, you families of peoples,
ascribe to the Lord glory and strength!
8 Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name,
bring an offering and enter his courts!
9 Worship the Lord in holy splendor;
tremble before him, all the earth.
10 Declare among the nations, “The Lord reigns!”
Indeed, he established the world so that it will not falter.
He will judge people fairly.
11 The heavens will be glad
and the earth will rejoice;
even the sea and everything that fills it will roar.[a]
12 The field and all that is in it will rejoice;
then all the trees of the forest will sing for joy
13 in the Lord’s presence,
because he is coming;
indeed, he will come to judge the earth.
He will judge the world fairly
and its people reliably.
By David, when he pretended to be insane before Abimelech, who drove him away. So David[a] left.
Learning about God’s Deliverance
34 [b]I will bless the Lord at all times;
his praise will be in my mouth continuously.
2 My soul will glorify the Lord;
the humble will hear about it and rejoice.
3 Magnify the Lord with me!
Let us lift up his name together!
4 I sought the Lord and he answered me;
he delivered me from all of my fears.
5 Look to him and be radiant;
and you[c] will not be ashamed.
6 This poor man cried out, and the Lord heard
and delivered him from all of his distress.
7 The angel of the Lord surrounds those who fear him,
and he delivers them.
8 Taste and see that the Lord is good!
How blessed is the person who trusts in him!
9 Fear the Lord, you holy ones of his;
for those who fear him lack nothing.
10 Young lions lack and go hungry,
but those who seek the Lord will never lack any good thing.
11 Come, children, listen to me,
and I will teach you the fear of the Lord.
12 Who among you[d] desires life,
and wants long life in order to see good?
13 Then keep your tongue from doing evil
and your lips from spreading lies.
14 Avoid evil and do good!
Seek peace and pursue it!
15 The[e] Lord looks on the righteous,
and he listens to their cries.
16 The face of the Lord is set against those who do evil,
and he will remove people’s recollection of them from the earth.
17 The Lord hears those who cry out,
and he delivers them from all their distress.
18 The Lord is close to the brokenhearted,
and he delivers those whose spirit has been crushed.
19 A righteous person will have many troubles,
but the Lord will deliver him from them all.
20 God[f] protects all his bones;
not one of them will be broken.
21 Evil will kill the wicked;
those who hate the righteous will be held guilty.
22 The Lord redeems the lives of his servants;
and none of those who trust in him will be held guilty.
The Vision of Seven Angels with Seven Plagues
15 I saw another sign in heaven. It was both spectacular and amazing. There were seven angels with the seven last plagues, with which God’s wrath is completed.
The Vision of the Sea of Glass
2 Then I saw what looked like a sea of glass mixed with fire. Those who had conquered the beast, its image, and the number of its name were standing on the sea of glass holding God’s harps in their hands. 3 They sang the song of God’s servant Moses and the song of the lamb:
“Your deeds are both spectacular and amazing,
Lord God Almighty.
Your ways are just and true,
King of the nations.[a]
4 Lord, who won’t fear and praise your name?
For you alone are holy,
and all the nations will come and worship you
because your judgments have been revealed.”
The Vision of the Temple Opened
5 After these things, I looked, and the Temple, which is the Tent of Testimony in heaven, was open! 6 The seven angels with the seven plagues came out of the Temple wearing clean, shining linen with gold sashes around their chests.[b] 7 One of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven gold bowls full of the wrath of God, who lives forever and ever. 8 The Temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God and his power, and no one could enter the Temple until the seven plagues of the seven angels came to an end.
True Greatness(A)
18 At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who, then, is the greatest in the kingdom from[a] heaven?”
2 Calling a little child forward, he had him stand among them. 3 Then he said, “I tell all of you[b] with certainty, unless you change[c] and become like little children, you will never get into the kingdom from[d] heaven. 4 Therefore, whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom from[e] heaven, 5 and whoever receives a little child like this in my name receives me.”
Causing Others to Sin(B)
6 “If anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a large millstone were hung around his neck and he were drowned at the bottom of the sea. 7 How terrible it will be for the world due to its temptations to sin! Temptations to sin are bound to happen, but how terrible it will be for that person who causes someone to sin!
8 “So if your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life injured or crippled than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into eternal fire. 9 And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell[f] fire.
10 “See to it that you do not despise one of these little ones, because I tell you, their angels in heaven always have access to my Father in heaven. 11 For the Son of Man came to save the lost.”[g]
The Parable about the Faithful Shepherd(C)
12 “What do you think? If a man has 100 sheep and one of them strays, he leaves the 99 in the hills and goes to look for the one that has strayed, doesn’t he? 13 If he finds it, I tell all of you[h] with certainty that he rejoices over it more than over the 99 that haven’t strayed. 14 In the same way, it is not the will of your[i] Father in heaven that one of these little ones should be lost.”
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