Book of Common Prayer
97 The Lord rules as king.
Let the earth rejoice.
Let all the islands be joyful.
2 Clouds and darkness surround him.
Righteousness and justice are the foundations of his throne.
3 Fire spreads ahead of him.
It burns his enemies who surround him.
4 His flashes of lightning light up the world.
The earth sees them and trembles.
5 The mountains melt like wax in the presence of the Lord,
in the presence of the Lord of the whole earth.
6 The heavens tell about his righteousness,
and all the people of the world see his glory.
7 Everyone who worships idols
and brags about false gods will be put to shame.
All the gods will bow to him.
8 Zion hears about this and rejoices.
The people of Judah are delighted with your judgments, O Lord.
9 You, O Lord, the Most High, are above the whole earth.
You are highest. You are above all the gods.
10 Let those who love the Lord hate evil.
The one who guards the lives of his godly ones
will rescue them from the power of wicked people.
11 Light dawns for righteous people [a]
and joy for those whose motives are decent.
12 Find joy in the Lord, you righteous people.
Give thanks to him as you remember how holy he is.
99 The Lord rules as king.
Let the people tremble.
He is enthroned over the angels.[a]
Let the earth quake.
2 The Lord is mighty in Zion.
He is high above all people.
3 Let them give thanks to your great and fearful name.
He is holy!
4 The king’s strength is that he loves justice.
You have established fairness.
You have done what is fair and right for Jacob.
5 Highly honor the Lord our God.
Bow down at his footstool.
He is holy!
6 Moses and Aaron were among his priests.
Samuel was among those who prayed to him.
They called to the Lord, and he answered them.
7 He spoke to them from a column of smoke.
They obeyed his written instructions and the laws that he gave them.
8 O Lord, our God, you answered them.
You showed them that you are a forgiving God
and that you are a God who punishes their ⌞sinful⌟ deeds.
9 Highly honor the Lord our God.
Bow at his holy mountain.
The Lord our God is holy!
A psalm of thanksgiving.
100 Shout happily to the Lord, all the earth.
2 Serve the Lord cheerfully.
Come into his presence with a joyful song.
3 Realize that the Lord alone is God.
He made us, and we are his.[b]
We are his people and the sheep in his care.
4 Enter his gates with a song of thanksgiving.
Come into his courtyards with a song of praise.
Give thanks to him; praise his name.
5 The Lord is good.
His mercy endures forever.
His faithfulness endures throughout every generation.
94 O Lord, God of vengeance,
O God of vengeance, appear!
2 Arise, O Judge of the earth.
Give arrogant people what they deserve.
3 How long, O Lord, will wicked people triumph?
How long?
4 They ramble.
They speak arrogantly.
All troublemakers brag about themselves.
5 They crush your people, O Lord.
They make those who belong to you suffer.
6 They kill widows and foreigners, and they murder orphans.
7 They say, “The Lord doesn’t see it.
The God of Jacob doesn’t even pay attention to it.”
8 Pay attention, you stupid people!
When will you become wise, you fools?
9 God created ears.
Do you think he can’t hear?
He formed eyes.
Do you think he can’t see?
10 He disciplines nations.
Do you think he can’t punish?
He teaches people.
Do you think he doesn’t know anything?
11 The Lord knows that people’s thoughts are pointless.
12 O Lord, blessed is the person
whom you discipline and instruct from your teachings.
13 You give him peace and quiet from times of trouble
while a pit is dug to trap wicked people.
14 The Lord will never desert his people
or abandon those who belong to him.
15 The decisions of judges will again become fair,
and everyone whose motives are decent will pursue justice.
16 Who will stand up for me against evildoers?
Who will stand by my side against troublemakers?
17 If the Lord had not come to help me,
my soul would have quickly fallen silent ⌞in death⌟.
18 When I said, “My feet are slipping,”
your mercy, O Lord, continued to hold me up.
19 When I worried about many things,
your assuring words soothed my soul.
20 Are wicked rulers who use the law to do unlawful things
able to be your partners?
21 They join forces to take the lives of righteous people.
They condemn innocent people to death.
22 The Lord has become my stronghold.
My God has become my rock of refuge.
23 He has turned their own wickedness against them.
He will destroy them because of their sins.
The Lord our God will destroy them.
95 Come, let’s sing joyfully to the Lord.
Let’s shout happily to the rock of our salvation.
2 Let’s come into his presence with a song of thanksgiving.
Let’s shout happily to him with psalms.
3 The Lord is a great God and a great king above all gods.
4 In his hand are the deep places of the earth,
and the mountain peaks are his.
5 The sea is his.
He made it, and his hands formed the dry land.
6 Come, let’s worship and bow down.
Let’s kneel in front of the Lord, our maker,
7 because he is our God
and we are the people in his care,
the flock that he leads.
If only you would listen to him today!
8 “Do not be stubborn like ⌞my people were⌟ at Meribah,
like the time at Massah in the desert.
9 Your ancestors challenged me and tested me there,
although they had seen what I had done.
10 For 40 years I was disgusted with those people.
So I said, ‘They are a people whose hearts continue to stray.
They have not learned my ways.’
11 That is why I angrily took this solemn oath:
‘They will never enter my place of rest!’ ”
A New Heaven and a New Earth
21 I saw a new heaven and a new earth, because the first heaven and earth had disappeared, and the sea was gone. 2 Then I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, dressed like a bride ready for her husband. 3 I heard a loud voice from the throne say, “God lives with humans! God will make his home with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them and be their God. 4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There won’t be any more death. There won’t be any grief, crying, or pain, because the first things have disappeared.”
5 The one sitting on the throne said, “I am making everything new.” He said, “Write this: ‘These words are faithful and true.’ ” 6 He said to me, “It has happened! I am the A and the Z,[a] the beginning and the end. I will give a drink from the fountain filled with the water of life to anyone who is thirsty. It won’t cost anything. 7 Everyone who wins the victory will inherit these things. I will be their God, and they will be my children. 8 But cowardly, unfaithful, and detestable people, murderers, sexual sinners, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars will find themselves in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”
Jesus Cures a Demon-Possessed Boy(A)
14 When they came to a crowd, a man came up to Jesus, knelt in front of him, 15 and said, “Sir, have mercy on my son. He suffers from seizures. Often he falls into fire or water. 16 I brought him to your disciples, but they couldn’t cure him.”
17 Jesus replied, “You unbelieving and corrupt generation! How long must I be with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring him here to me!”
18 Jesus ordered the demon to come out of the boy. At that moment the boy was cured.
19 Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and asked, “Why couldn’t we force the demon out of the boy?”
20 He told them, “Because you have so little faith. I can guarantee this truth: If your faith is the size of a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” [a]
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