Book of Common Prayer
88 Of understanding, for Ethan the Ezrahite.
2 The mercies of the Lord I will sing for ever. I will shew forth thy truth with my mouth to generation and generation.
3 For thou hast said: Mercy shall be built up for ever in the heavens: thy truth shall be prepared in them.
4 I have made a covenant with my elect: I have sworn to David my servant:
5 Thy seed will I settle for ever. And I will build up thy throne unto generation and generation.
6 The heavens shall confess thy wonders, O Lord: and thy truth in the church of the saints.
7 For who in the clouds can be compared to the Lord: or who among the sons of God shall be like to God?
8 God, who is glorified in the assembly of the saints: great and terrible above all them that are about him.
9 O Lord God of hosts, who is like to thee? thou art mighty, O Lord, and thy truth is round about thee.
10 Thou rulest the power of the sea: and appeasest the motion of the waves thereof.
11 Thou hast humbled the proud one, as one that is slain: with the arm of thy strength thou hast scattered thy enemies.
12 Thine are the heavens, and thine is the earth: the world and the fulness thereof thou hast founded:
13 The north and the sea thou hast created. Thabor and Hermon shall rejoice in thy name:
14 Thy arm is with might. Let thy hand be strengthened, and thy right hand exalted:
15 Justice and judgment are the preparation of thy throne. Mercy and truth shall go before thy face:
16 Blessed is the people that knoweth jubilation. They shall walk, O Lord, in the light of thy countenance:
17 And in thy name they shall rejoice all the day, and in thy justice they shall be exalted.
18 For thou art the glory of their strength: and in thy good pleasure shall our horn be exalted.
19 For our protection is of the Lord, and of our king the holy one of Israel.
20 Then thou spokest in a vision to thy saints, and saidst: I have laid help upon one that is mighty, and have exalted one chosen out of my people.
21 I have found David my servant: with my holy oil I have anointed him.
22 For my hand shall help him: and my arm shall strengthen him.
23 The enemy shall have no advantage over him: nor the son of iniquity have power to hurt him.
24 And I will cut down his enemies before his face; and them that hate him I will put to flight.
25 And my truth and my mercy shall be with him: and in my name shall his horn be exalted.
26 And I will set his hand in the sea; and his right hand in the rivers.
27 He shall cry out to me: Thou art my father: my God, and the support of my salvation.
28 And I will make him my firstborn, high above the kings of the earth.
29 I will keep my mercy for him for ever: and my covenant faithful to him.
30 And I will make his seed to endure for evermore: and his throne as the days of heaven.
31 And if his children forsake my law, and walk not in my judgments:
32 If they profane my justices: and keep not my commandments:
33 I will visit their iniquities with a rod: and their sins with stripes.
34 But my mercy I will not take away from him: nor will I suffer my truth to fail.
35 Neither will I profane my covenant: and the words that proceed from my mouth I will not make void.
36 Once have I sworn by my holiness: I will not lie unto David:
37 His seed shall endure for ever.
38 And his throne as the sun before me: and as the moon perfect for ever, and a faithful witness in heaven.
39 But thou hast rejected and despised: thou hast been angry with thy anointed.
40 Thou hast overthrown the covenant of thy servant: thou hast profaned his sanctuary on the earth.
41 Thou hast broken down all his hedges: thou hast made his strength fear.
42 All that pass by the way have robbed him: he is become a reproach to his neighbours.
43 Thou hast set up the right hand of them that oppress him: thou hast made all his enemies to rejoice.
44 Thou hast turned away the help of his sword; and hast not assisted him in battle.
45 Thou hast made his purification to cease: and thou hast cast his throne down to the ground.
46 Thou hast shortened the days of his time: thou hast covered him with confusion.
47 How long, O Lord, turnest thou away unto the end? shall thy anger burn like fire?
48 Remember what my substance is for hast thou made all the children of men in vain?
49 Who is the man that shall live, and not see death: that shall deliver his soul from the hand of hell?
50 Lord, where are thy ancient mercies, according to what thou didst swear to David in thy truth?
51 Be mindful, O Lord, of the reproach of thy servants (which I have held in my bosom) of many nations:
52 Wherewith thy enemies have reproached, O Lord; wherewith they have reproached the change of thy anointed.
53 Blessed be the Lord for evermore. So be it. So be it.
91 A psalm of a canticle on the sabbath day.
2 It is good to give praise to the Lord: and to sing to thy name, O most High.
3 To shew forth thy mercy in the morning, and thy truth in the night:
4 Upon an instrument of ten strings, upon the psaltery: with a canticle upon the harp.
5 For thou hast given me, O Lord, a delight in thy doings: and in the works of thy hands I shall rejoice.
6 O Lord, how great are thy works! thy thoughts are exceeding deep.
7 The senseless man shall not know: nor will the fool understand these things.
8 When the wicked shall spring up as grass: and all the workers of iniquity shall appear: That they may perish for ever and ever:
9 But thou, O Lord, art most high for evermore.
10 For behold thy enemies, O Lord, for behold thy enemies shall perish: and all the workers of iniquity shall be scattered.
11 But my horn shall be exalted like that of the unicorn: and my old age in plentiful mercy.
12 My eye also hath looked down upon my enemies: and my ear shall hear of the downfall of the malignant that rise up against me.
13 The just shall flourish like the palm tree: he shall grow up like the cedar of Libanus.
14 They that are planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of the house of our God.
15 They shall still increase in a fruitful old age: and shall be well treated,
16 That they may shew, That the Lord our God is righteous, and there is no iniquity in him.
92 The Lord hath reigned, he is clothed with beauty: the Lord is clothed with strength, and hath girded himself. For he hath established the world which shall not be moved.
2 Thy throne is prepared from of old: thou art from everlasting.
3 The floods have lifted up, O Lord: the floods have lifted up their voice. The floods have lifted up their waves,
4 With the noise of many waters. Wonderful are the surges of the sea: wonderful is the Lord on high.
5 Thy testimonies are become exceedingly credible: holiness becometh thy house, O Lord, unto length of days.
8 On that day king Assuerus gave the house of Aman, the Jews' enemy, to queen Esther, and Mardochai came in before the king. For Esther had confessed to him that he was her uncle.
2 And the king took the ring which he had commanded to be taken again from Aman, and gave it to Mardochai. And Esther set Mardochai over her house.
3 And not content with these things, she fell down at the king's feet and wept, and speaking to him besought him, that he would give orders that the malice of Aman the Agagite, and his most wicked devices which he had invented against the Jews, should be of no effect.
4 But he, as the manner was, held out the golden sceptre with his hand, which was the sign of clemency: and she arose up and stood before him,
5 And said: If it please the king, and if I have found favour in his sight, and my request be not disagreeable to him, I beseech thee, that the former letters of Aman the traitor and enemy of the Jews, by which he commanded that they should be destroyed in all the king's provinces, may be reversed by new letters.
6 For how can I endure the murdering and slaughter of my people?
7 And king Assuerus answered Esther the queen, and Mardochai the Jew: I have given Aman's house to Esther, and I have commanded him to be hanged on a gibbet, because he durst lay hands on the Jews.
8 Write ye therefore to the Jews, as it pleaseth you, in the king's name, and seal the letters with my ring. For this was the custom, that no man durst gainsay the letters which were sent in the king's name, and were sealed with his ring.
15 And Mardochai going forth out of the palace, and from the king's presence, shone in royal apparel, to wit, of violet and sky colour, wearing a golden crown on his head, and clothed with a cloak of silk and purple. And all the city rejoiced and was glad.
16 But to the Jews a new light seemed to rise, joy, honour, and dancing.
17 And in all peoples, cities, and provinces, whithersoever the king's commandments came, there was wonderful rejoicing, feasts and banquets, and keeping holy day: insomuch that many of other nations and religion, joined themselves to their worship and ceremonies. For a great dread of the name of the Jews had fallen upon all.
21 And when these things were ended, Paul purposed in the spirit, when he had passed through Macedonia and Achaia, to go to Jerusalem, saying: After I have been there, I must see Rome also.
22 And sending into Macedonia two of them that ministered to him, Timothy and Erastus, he himself remained for a time in Asia.
23 Now at that time there arose no small disturbance about the way of the Lord.
24 For a certain man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver temples for Diana, brought no small gain to the craftsmen;
25 Whom he calling together, with the workmen of like occupation, said: Sirs, you know that our gain is by this trade;
26 And you see and hear, that this Paul by persuasion hath drawn away a great multitude, not only of Ephesus, but almost of all Asia, saying: They are not gods which are made by hands.
27 So that not only this our craft is in danger to be set at nought, but also the temple of great Diana shall be reputed for nothing; yea, and her majesty shall begin to be destroyed, whom all Asia and the world worshippeth.
28 Having heard these things, they were full of anger, and cried out, saying: Great is Diana of the Ephesians.
29 And the whole city was filled with confusion; and having caught Gaius and Aristarchus, men of Macedonia, Paul's companions, they rushed with one accord into the theatre.
30 And when Paul would have entered in unto the people, the disciples suffered him not.
31 And some also of the rulers of Asia, who were his friends, sent unto him, desiring that he would not venture himself into the theatre.
32 Now some cried one thing, some another. For the assembly was confused, and the greater part knew not for what cause they were come together.
33 And they drew forth Alexander out of the multitude, the Jews thrusting him forward. And Alexander beckoning with his hand for silence, would have given the people satisfaction.
34 But as soon as they perceived him to be a Jew, all with one voice, for the space of about two hours, cried out: Great is Diana of the Ephesians.
35 And when the town clerk had appeased the multitudes, he said: Ye men of Ephesus, what man is there that knoweth not that the city of the Ephesians is a worshipper of the great Diana, and of Jupiter's offspring.
36 For as much therefore as these things cannot be contradicted, you ought to be quiet, and to do nothing rashly.
37 For you have brought hither these men, who are neither guilty of sacrilege, nor of blasphemy against your goddess.
38 But if Demetrius and the craftsmen that are with him, have a matter against any man, the courts of justice are open, and there are proconsuls: let them accuse one another.
39 And if you inquire after any other matter, it may be decided in a lawful assembly.
40 For we are even in danger to be called in question for this day's uproar, there being no man guilty (of whom we may give account) of this concourse. And when he had said these things, he dismissed the assembly.
31 And he went down into Capharnaum, a city of Galilee, and there he taught them on the sabbath days.
32 And they were astonished at his doctrine: for his speech was with power.
33 And in the synagogue there was a man who had an unclean devil, and he cried out with a loud voice,
34 Saying: Let us alone, what have we to do with thee, Jesus of Nazareth? art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art, the holy one of God.
35 And Jesus rebuked him, saying: Hold thy peace, and go out of him. And when the devil had thrown him into the midst, he went out of him, and hurt him not at all.
36 And there came fear upon all, and they talked among themselves, saying: What word is this, for with authority and power he commandeth the unclean spirits, and they go out?
37 And the fame of him was published into every place of the country.
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