Book of Common Prayer
A Hymn About the Lord’s Power
97 The Lord ·is king [reigns; 47:2; 93:1; 96:10; 98:6; 99:1; Rev. 19:6]. Let the earth rejoice;
·faraway lands [or islands; or coastlands] should be glad.
2 Thick, dark clouds surround him.
His ·kingdom [L throne] is ·built [established] on ·what is right [righteousness] and ·fair [justice].
3 A fire goes before him
and ·burns up [flames] his enemies all around.
4 His lightning ·lights up [illuminates] the world;
when the ·people [earth] see it, they ·tremble [writhe].
5 The mountains melt like wax before the Lord,
before the Lord of all the earth.
6 The heavens ·tell about [declare] his ·goodness [righteousness],
and all the people see his glory [C his manifest presence].
7 Those who ·worship [serve] idols should be ·ashamed [embarrassed; Is. 42:17; 45:16];
they brag about their ·gods [worthless things].
All the gods should ·worship [bow down to] the Lord.
8 When ·Jerusalem [L Zion; C the location of the Temple] hears this, she is glad,
and the ·towns [L daughters] of Judah rejoice.
They are happy because of your judgments, Lord.
9 You are the Lord Most High over all the earth;
you are ·supreme [exalted] over all gods.
10 People who love the Lord hate evil.
The Lord ·watches over [keeps; guards] ·those who follow him [his loyal ones/saints]
and ·frees [rescues] them from the ·power [L hand] of the wicked.
11 Light ·shines [L is sown] on ·those who do right [the righteous];
joy belongs to those who are ·honest [L virtuous/upright in heart].
12 Rejoice in the Lord, you who ·do right [are righteous].
Praise his ·holy name [or unforgettable holiness].
The Lord, the Fair and Holy King
99 The Lord ·is king [reigns; 47:2; 93:1; 96:10; 97:1; 98:6; Rev. 19:6].
Let the peoples ·shake [tremble; C with fear].
He sits between the ·gold creatures with wings [L cherubim; C above the Ark of the Covenant; Ex. 25:17–22; 1 Kin. 8:7].
Let the earth shake.
2 The Lord in ·Jerusalem [L Zion; C the location of the Temple] is great;
he is ·supreme [exalted] over all the peoples.
3 Let them ·praise [thank] your name;
it is great, holy and ·to be feared [awesome].
4 The King is ·powerful [strong] and loves justice.
Lord, you ·made [established] things fair;
you have done what is ·fair [righteous] and ·right [just]
for the people of Jacob [C another name for Israel].
5 ·Praise [Exalt] the Lord our God,
and ·worship [bow down] at the footstool of his feet [C the Ark located in the Temple].
He is holy.
6 Moses and Aaron were among his priests,
and Samuel was among ·his worshipers [L those who called on his name].
They called to the Lord,
and he answered them [Ex. 32:11–13, 30–32; Num. 12:13; 14:13–19; 1 Sam. 7:5, 8–9; 12:16–18; Jer. 15:1].
7 He spoke to them from the pillar of cloud [Ex. 13:21].
They ·kept [observed; guarded] the ·rules [statutes; ordinances; requirements] and ·laws [decrees; testimonies] he gave them.
8 Lord our God, you answered them.
You showed them that you are a forgiving God,
but you ·punished them [are an avenger] for their wrongs [Deut. 32:35; Is. 34:8; Ezek. 24:8; 25:14–17; Nah. 1:2; Rom. 12:19; 1 Thess. 4:6].
9 ·Praise [Exalt] the Lord our God,
and ·worship [bow down] at his holy mountain,
because the Lord our God is holy.
A Call to Praise the Lord
A psalm of thanks.
100 Shout to the Lord, all the earth.
2 Serve the Lord with joy;
come before him with singing.
3 Know that the Lord is God.
He made us [Gen. 1–2], and ·we belong to him [or not ourselves];
we are his people, the sheep ·he tends [L of his pasture; 74:1; 79:13; John 10:11–14].
4 Come into his ·city [L gates] with songs of thanksgiving
and into his courtyards with songs of praise.
·Thank [Praise] him and ·praise [bless] his name.
5 The Lord is good. His ·love [loyalty] is forever,
and his ·loyalty [faithfulness] ·goes on and on [L for all generations].
God Will Pay Back His Enemies
94 The Lord is a God ·who punishes [of vengeance; Deut. 32:35; Is. 34:8; Ezek. 24:8; 25:14–17; Nah. 1:2; Rom. 12:19; 1 Thess. 4:6].
·God, show your greatness and punish [L God of vengeance, shine forth]!
2 Rise up, Judge of the earth,
and give the ·proud [arrogant] ·what they deserve [their due].
3 How long will the wicked be ·happy [joyful]?
How long, Lord?
4 They ·are full of [L bubble forth, speaking] ·proud [insolent] words;
those who do evil ·brag about what they have done [L talk a lot].
5 Lord, they crush your people
and ·make your children suffer [L afflict your inheritance].
6 They kill widows and ·foreigners [sojourners; wanderers]
and murder orphans [Ex. 22:21–24].
7 They say, “The Lord doesn’t see;
the God of Jacob [C another name for Israel] doesn’t ·notice [understand].”
8 You ·stupid [senseless; dull witted] ones among the people, ·pay attention [L understand].
You fools, when will you ·understand [get insight]?
9 Can’t the ·creator [L planter] of ears hear?
Can’t the ·maker [former; shaper] of eyes see?
10 Won’t the one who ·corrects [instructs; disciplines] nations ·punish [reprimand; reprove] you?
Doesn’t the teacher of people know everything?
11 The Lord knows ·what people think [L the thoughts of humans].
He knows their thoughts are ·just a puff of wind [a bubble/vapor/meaningless/futile; Eccl. 1:2].
12 Lord, those you ·correct [instruct; discipline] are ·happy [blessed];
you teach them from your ·law [instruction; teaching].
13 You give them ·rest [peace; quiet] from ·times [L days] of ·trouble [harm; evil]
until a pit is dug for the wicked [Prov. 26:7; Eccl. 10:8].
14 The Lord won’t ·leave [abandon; cast off] his people
nor ·give up [abandon; forsake] his ·children [L inheritance].
15 Judgment will again be ·fair [just; righteous],
and all who are ·honest [L upright/virtuous of heart] will follow it.
16 Who will ·help me fight [L rise up with me] against the wicked?
Who will stand with me against those who do evil?
17 If the Lord had not helped me,
I would have ·died in a minute [L quickly dwelled in silence].
18 I said, “·I am about to fall [L My feet totter],”
but, Lord, your ·love [loyalty] ·kept me safe [steadied/supported me].
19 ·I was very worried [L In my many disquieting thoughts in my insides],
but you comforted me and ·made me happy [cheered me up].
20 ·Crooked leaders [L Ruinous thrones] cannot be your ·friends [allies].
They use the ·law [statute; ordinance; requirement] to cause ·suffering [distress].
21 They ·join forces [band together] against ·people who do right [righteous people]
and ·sentence [condemn] to death the innocent.
22 But the Lord is my ·defender [stronghold; fortress];
my God is the rock [28:1; 42:9; 62:2; Deut. 32:4] of my ·protection [refuge].
23 God will pay them back for their ·sins [guilt; iniquity]
and will destroy them for their evil.
The Lord our God will destroy them.
A Call to Praise and Obedience
95 Come, let’s sing for joy to the Lord.
Let’s shout praises to the Rock [28:1; 42:9; 62:2; Deut. 32:4] who ·saves us [gives us victory].
2 Let’s ·come [present ourselves] to him with ·thanksgiving [praise].
Let’s ·sing songs [shout psalms] to him,
3 because the Lord is the great God,
the great King over all gods [Ex. 15:11].
4 The deepest places on earth are ·his [L in his hand],
and the ·highest [peaks of the] mountains belong to him.
5 The sea is his because he made it,
and he created the ·land [dry ground] with his own hands.
6 Come, let’s ·worship him [bow down] and ·bow down [bend the knee].
Let’s kneel before the Lord who made us,
7 because he is our God
and we are the people ·he takes care of [L of his pasture],
the sheep ·that he tends [L of his hand; 74:1; 79:13; 100:3; John 10:11–14].
Today listen to ·what he says [L his voice]:
8 “Do not ·be stubborn [L harden your heart], as at Meribah [C “contending”; 81:7; 106:32; Ex. 17:1–17; Num. 20:1–13],
as that day at Massah [C “testing”] in the ·desert [wilderness; Heb. 4:7].
9 There your ·ancestors [fathers] tested me
and tried me even though they saw what I did.
10 I ·was angry with [felt disgust for] ·those people [L that generation] for forty years.
I said, ‘They are ·not loyal to me [L a people whose hearts wander/go astray]
and have not understood my ways.’
11 I was angry and made a promise,
‘They will never enter my rest.’”
The New Jerusalem
21 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth [Is. 65:17; 66:22; 2 Pet. 3:13]. [L For] The first heaven and the first earth had ·disappeared [passed away], and there was no sea anymore [C the sea represents chaos and evil, so its absence indicates peace and security]. 2 And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem [C the believers’ eternal dwelling place; 3:12], coming down out of heaven from God. It was prepared like a bride ·dressed [adorned] for her husband [19:7, 9]. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “[L Look; T Behold] Now God’s ·presence [dwelling; tabernacle] is with people, and he will ·live [dwell; tabernacle; John 1:14] with them, and they will be his people [Ex. 29:45; Jer. 31:33; Ezek. 37:27]. God himself will be with them and will be their God.[a] 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes [7:17; Is. 25:8], and there will be no more death [Is. 25:8; 1 Cor. 15:54], ·sadness [mourning], crying, or pain, because ·all the old ways [the old order; L the first things] are gone.”
5 The One who was sitting on the throne [C Jesus] said, “Look! I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this, because these words are ·true and can be trusted [L faithful/reliable and true].”
6 The One on the throne said to me, “It is ·finished [done; accomplished]. I am the Alpha and the Omega [C the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet; 1:8], the Beginning and the End. I will give ·free water [L freely] from the spring of the water of life to anyone who is thirsty [Is. 55:1; John 7:37]. 7 Those who ·win the victory [conquer] will ·receive [inherit] ·this [L these things; C God’s promise], and I will be their God, and they will be my children [21:3; 2 Sam. 7:14]. 8 But cowards, those ·who refuse to believe [without faith], who do ·evil [vile; detestable] things, who kill, who sin sexually, who do ·evil magic [sorcery], who worship idols, and who tell lies—all these will have ·a place [L their part] in the lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death [20:6].”
Jesus Heals a Sick Boy(A)
14 When Jesus and his ·followers [disciples] came back to the crowd, a man came to Jesus and ·bowed [knelt] before him. 15 The man said, “Lord, have mercy on my son. He ·has epilepsy [has seizures; or is demented/a lunatic; C the word for epilepsy could also mean “moonstruck” or demented; Mark 9:17 says the boy was demon possessed] and is suffering ·very much [terribly], because he often falls into the fire or into the water. 16 I brought him to your ·followers [disciples], but they could not ·cure [heal] him.”
17 Jesus answered, “·You people have no faith, and your lives are all wrong [L O faithless/unbelieving and perverse/corrupt generation]. How long must I ·put up [stay; L be] with you? How long must I ·continue to be patient [put up] with you? Bring the boy here to me.” 18 Jesus ·commanded [reprimanded; rebuked] the demon and it came out of him, and the boy was healed from that ·time on [moment; L hour].
19 The ·followers [disciples] came to Jesus when he was alone and asked, “Why couldn’t we ·force [drive; cast] the demon out?”
20 Jesus answered, “Because ·your faith is too small [you have so little faith]. I tell you the truth, if your faith is ·as big as [as small as; the size of; L as; like] a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. ·All things will be possible [L Nothing would be impossible] for you. |21 That kind of spirit comes out only if you use prayer and fasting.|”[a]
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