Book of Common Prayer
93 The Lord rules.
He puts on majesty as if it were clothes.
The Lord puts on majesty and strength.
Indeed, the world has been set in place.
It is firm and secure.
2 Lord, you began to rule a long time ago.
You have always existed.
3 Lord, the seas have lifted up their voice.
They have lifted up their pounding waves.
4 But Lord, you are more powerful than the roar of the ocean.
You are stronger than the waves of the sea.
Lord, you are powerful in heaven.
5 Your laws do not change, Lord.
Your temple will be holy
for all time to come.
96 Sing a new song to the Lord.
All you people of the earth, sing to the Lord.
2 Sing to the Lord. Praise him.
Day after day tell about how he saves us.
3 Tell the nations about his glory.
Tell all people about the wonderful things he has done.
4 The Lord is great. He is really worthy of praise.
People should have respect for him as the greatest God of all.
5 All the gods of the nations are like their statues.
They can’t do anything.
But the Lord made the heavens.
6 Glory and majesty are all around him.
Strength and glory can be seen in his temple.
7 Praise the Lord, all you nations.
Praise the Lord for his glory and strength.
8 Praise the Lord for the glory that belongs to him.
Bring an offering and come into the courtyards of his temple.
9 Worship the Lord because of his beauty and holiness.
All you people of the earth, tremble when you are with him.
10 Say to the nations, “The Lord rules.”
The world is firmly set in place. It can’t be moved.
The Lord will judge the people of the world fairly.
11 Let the heavens be full of joy. Let the earth be glad.
Let the ocean and everything in it roar.
12 Let the fields and everything in them be glad.
Let all the trees in the forest sing for joy.
13 Let all creation be full of joy in front of the Lord,
because he is coming to judge the earth.
He will faithfully judge the people of the world
in keeping with what is right.
A psalm of David when he was with Abimelek and pretended to be out of his mind. Abimelek drove him away, and David left.
34 I will thank the Lord at all times.
My lips will always praise him.
2 I will find my glory in knowing the Lord.
Let those who are hurting hear me and be joyful.
3 Join me in giving glory to the Lord.
Let us honor him together.
4 I looked to the Lord, and he answered me.
He saved me from everything I was afraid of.
5 Those who look to him have joyful faces.
They are never covered with shame.
6 This poor man called out, and the Lord heard him.
He saved him out of all his troubles.
7 The angel of the Lord stands guard
around those who have respect for him.
And he saves them.
8 Taste and see that the Lord is good.
Blessed is the person who goes to him for safety.
9 You holy people of God, have respect for the Lord.
Those who respect him have everything they need.
10 The lions may grow weak and hungry.
But those who look to the Lord have every good thing they need.
11 My children, come. Listen to me.
I will teach you to have respect for the Lord.
12 Do you love life
and want to see many good days?
13 Then keep your tongues from speaking evil.
Keep your lips from telling lies.
14 Turn away from evil, and do good.
Look for peace, and go after it.
15 The Lord looks with favor on those who are godly.
His ears are open to their cry.
16 But the Lord doesn’t look with favor on those who do evil.
He removes all memory of them from the earth.
17 Godly people cry out, and the Lord hears them.
He saves them from all their troubles.
18 The Lord is close to those whose hearts have been broken.
He saves those whose spirits have been crushed.
19 The person who does what is right may have many troubles.
But the Lord saves him from all of them.
20 The Lord watches over all his bones.
Not one of them will be broken.
21 Sinners will be killed by their own evil.
The enemies of godly people will be judged.
22 The Lord will save those who serve him.
No one who goes to him for safety will be found guilty.
The Lord Comforts People Who Are Sorry for Their Sins
14 A messenger says,
“Build up the road! Build it up! Get it ready!
Remove anything that would keep my people from coming back.”
15 The God who is highly honored lives forever.
His name is holy. He says,
“I live in a high and holy place.
But I also live with anyone who turns away from their sins.
I live with anyone who is not proud.
I give new life to them.
I give it to anyone who turns away from their sins.
16 I will not find fault with my people forever.
I will not always be angry with them.
If I were, I would cause their spirits to grow weak.
The people I created would faint away.
17 I was very angry with them.
They always longed for more and more of everything.
So I punished them for that sin.
I turned my face away from them because I was angry.
But they kept on wanting their own way.
18 I have seen what they have done.
But I will heal them.
I will guide them.
I will give those who mourn in Israel the comfort they had before.
19 Then they will praise me.
I will give perfect peace to those who are far away and those who are near.
And I will heal them,” says the Lord.
20 But those who are evil are like the rolling sea.
It never rests.
Its waves toss up mud and sand.
21 “There is no peace for those who are evil,” says my God.
12 A huge cloud of witnesses is all around us. So let us throw off everything that stands in our way. Let us throw off any sin that holds on to us so tightly. And let us keep on running the race marked out for us. 2 Let us keep looking to Jesus. He is the one who started this journey of faith. And he is the one who completes the journey of faith. He paid no attention to the shame of the cross. He suffered there because of the joy he was looking forward to. Then he sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 He made it through these attacks by sinners. So think about him. Then you won’t get tired. You won’t lose hope.
God Trains His Children
4 You struggle against sin. But you have not yet fought to the point of spilling your blood. 5 Have you completely forgotten this word of hope? It speaks to you as a father to his children. It says,
“My son, think of the Lord’s training as important.
Do not lose hope when he corrects you.
6 The Lord trains the one he loves.
He corrects everyone he accepts as his son.” (Proverbs 3:11,12)
37 It was the last and most important day of the feast. Jesus stood up and spoke in a loud voice. He said, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. 38 Does anyone believe in me? Then, just as Scripture says, rivers of living water will flow from inside them.” 39 When he said this, he meant the Holy Spirit. Those who believed in Jesus would receive the Spirit later. Up to that time, the Spirit had not been given. This was because Jesus had not yet received glory.
40 The people heard his words. Some of them said, “This man must be the Prophet we’ve been expecting.”
41 Others said, “He is the Messiah.”
Still others asked, “How can the Messiah come from Galilee? 42 Doesn’t Scripture say that the Messiah will come from the family line of David? Doesn’t it say that he will come from Bethlehem, the town where David lived?” 43 So the people did not agree about who Jesus was. 44 Some wanted to arrest him. But no one laid a hand on him.
The Jewish Leaders Do Not Believe
45 Finally the temple guards went back to the chief priests and the Pharisees. They asked the guards, “Why didn’t you bring him in?”
46 “No one ever spoke the way this man does,” the guards replied.
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