Book of Common Prayer
97 The Lord rules. Let the earth be glad.
Let countries that are far away be full of joy.
2 Clouds and thick darkness surround him.
His rule is built on what is right and fair.
3 The Lord sends fire ahead of him.
It burns up his enemies all around him.
4 His lightning lights up the world.
The earth sees it and trembles.
5 The mountains melt like wax when the Lord is near.
He is the Lord of the whole earth.
6 The heavens announce that what he does is right.
All people everywhere see his glory.
7 All who worship statues of gods or brag about them are put to shame.
All you gods, worship the Lord!
8 Zion hears about it and is filled with joy.
Lord, the villages of Judah are glad
because of how you judge.
9 Lord, you are the Most High God.
You rule over the whole earth.
You are honored much more than all gods.
10 Let those who love the Lord hate evil.
He guards the lives of those who are faithful to him.
He saves them from the power of sinful people.
11 Good things come to those who do what is right.
Joy comes to those whose hearts are honest.
12 You who are godly, be glad because of what the Lord has done.
Praise him, because his name is holy.
99 The Lord rules.
Let the nations tremble.
He sits on his throne between the cherubim.
Let the earth shake.
2 Great is the Lord in Zion.
He is honored over all the nations.
3 Let them praise his great and wonderful name.
He is holy.
4 The King is mighty and loves justice.
He has set up the rules for fairness.
He has done what is right and fair
for the people of Jacob.
5 Honor the Lord our God.
Worship at his feet.
He is holy.
6 Moses and Aaron were two of his priests.
Samuel was one of those who worshiped him.
They called out to the Lord.
And he answered them.
7 He spoke to them from the pillar of cloud.
They obeyed his laws and the orders he gave them.
8 Lord our God, you answered them.
You showed Israel that you are a God who forgives.
But when they did wrong, you punished them.
9 Honor the Lord our God.
Worship at his holy mountain.
The Lord our God is holy.
A psalm for giving grateful praise.
100 Shout for joy to the Lord, everyone on earth.
2 Worship the Lord with gladness.
Come to him with songs of joy.
3 Know that the Lord is God.
He made us, and we belong to him.
We are his people.
We are the sheep belonging to his flock.
4 Give thanks as you enter the gates of his temple.
Give praise as you enter its courtyards.
Give thanks to him and praise his name.
5 The Lord is good. His faithful love continues forever.
It will last for all time to come.
94 The Lord is a God who punishes.
Since you are the one who punishes, come and show your anger.
2 Judge of the earth, rise up.
Pay back proud people for what they have done.
3 Lord, how long will those who are evil be glad?
How long will they be full of joy?
4 Proud words pour out of their mouths.
All those who do evil are always bragging.
5 Lord, they crush your people.
They treat badly those who belong to you.
6 They kill outsiders. They kill widows.
They murder children whose fathers have died.
7 They say, “The Lord doesn’t see what’s happening.
The God of Jacob doesn’t pay any attention to it.”
8 You who aren’t wise, pay attention.
You foolish people, when will you become wise?
9 Does he who made the ear not hear?
Does he who formed the eye not see?
10 Does he who corrects nations not punish?
Does he who teaches human beings not know anything?
11 The Lord knows what people think.
He knows that their thoughts don’t amount to anything.
12 Lord, blessed is the person you correct.
Blessed is the person you teach from your law.
13 You give them rest from times of trouble,
until a pit is dug to trap sinners.
14 The Lord won’t say no to his people.
He will never desert those who belong to him.
15 He will again judge people in keeping with what is right.
All those who have honest hearts will follow the right way.
16 Who will rise up for me against sinful people?
Who will stand up for me against those who do evil?
17 Suppose the Lord had not helped me.
Then I would soon have been lying quietly in the grave.
18 I said, “My foot is slipping.”
But Lord, your faithful love kept me from falling.
19 I was very worried.
But your comfort brought me joy.
20 Can you have anything to do with rulers who aren’t fair?
Can those who make laws that cause suffering be friends of yours?
21 Evil people join together against those who do what is right.
They sentence to death those who aren’t guilty of doing anything wrong.
22 But the Lord has become like a fort to me.
My God is my rock. I go to him for safety.
23 He will pay them back for their sins.
He will destroy them for their evil acts.
The Lord our God will destroy them.
95 Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord.
Let us give a loud shout to the Rock who saves us.
2 Let us come to him and give him thanks.
Let us praise him with music and song.
3 The Lord is the great God.
He is the greatest King.
He rules over all the gods.
4 He owns the deepest parts of the earth.
The mountain peaks belong to him.
5 The ocean is his, because he made it.
He formed the dry land with his hands.
6 Come, let us bow down and worship him.
Let us fall on our knees in front of the Lord our Maker.
7 He is our God.
We are the sheep belonging to his flock.
We are the people he takes good care of.
If only you would listen to his voice today.
8 He says, “Don’t be stubborn as you were at Meribah.
Don’t be stubborn as you were that day at Massah in the desert.
9 There your people of long ago really tested me.
They did it even though they had seen what I had done for them.
10 For 40 years I was angry with them.
I said, ‘Their hearts are always going astray.
They do not know how I want them to live.’
11 So when I was angry, I made a promise.
I said, ‘They will never enjoy the rest I planned for them.’ ”
10 “ ‘The day for me to punish you is here! It is here! Death has arrived. The time is ripe for you to be judged. Your pride has grown so much that you will be destroyed. 11 Your mean and harmful acts have become like a rod. I will use it to punish those who do evil. None of them will be left. None of their wealth or anything of value will remain.
12 “ ‘The time has come! The day has arrived! I will soon pour out my great anger on the whole crowd of you. Do not let the buyer be happy. Do not let the seller be sad. 13 The seller will not get back the land that was sold. That will be true as long as both the buyer and seller are alive.
“ ‘Ezekiel, the vision I gave you about that whole crowd will come true. They have committed many sins. So not one of them will be able to save their life. 14 They have blown trumpets. They have made everything ready. But no one will go into battle. I will soon pour out my great anger on the whole crowd.
15 “ ‘There is trouble everywhere. War is outside the city. Plague and hunger are inside it. Those out in the country will die in battle. Those in the city will be destroyed by hunger and plague.
23 “ ‘Ezekiel, get ready to put my people in chains. The land is full of murderers. They are harming one another all over Jerusalem. 24 I will bring the most evil nations against them. They will take over the houses in the city. I will put an end to the pride of those who are mighty. Their holy places will be made “unclean.”
25 “ ‘When terror comes, they will look for peace. But there will not be any. 26 Trouble after trouble will come. One report will follow another. But they will not be true. The people will go searching for a vision from the prophets. But there will not be any. The teaching of the law by the priests will be gone. Advice from the elders will come to an end.
27 “ ‘The king will be filled with sadness. The princes will lose all hope. The hands of the people of the land will tremble. I will punish them based on how they have lived. I will judge them by their own standards. Then they will know that I am the Lord.’ ”
God Keeps His Promise
13 When God made his promise to Abraham, God gave his word. There was no one greater than himself to promise by. So he promised by making an appeal to himself. 14 He said, “I will certainly bless you. I will give you many children.” (Genesis 22:17) 15 Abraham was patient while he waited. Then he received what God promised him.
16 People promise things by someone greater than themselves. Giving your word makes a promise certain. It puts an end to all arguing. 17 So God gave his word when he made his promise. He wanted to make it very clear that his purpose does not change. He wanted those who would receive what was promised to know this. 18 When God made his promise, he gave his word. He did this so we would have good reason not to give up. Instead, we have run to take hold of the hope set before us. This hope is set before us in God’s promise. So God made his promise and gave his word. These two things can’t change. He couldn’t lie about them. 19 Our hope is certain. It is something for the soul to hold on to. It is strong and secure. It goes all the way into the Most Holy Room behind the curtain. 20 That is where Jesus has gone. He went there to open the way ahead of us. He has become a high priest forever, just like Melchizedek.
Jesus Sends Out the Seventy-Two
10 After this the Lord appointed 72 others. He sent them out two by two ahead of him. They went to every town and place where he was about to go. 2 He told them, “The harvest is huge, but the workers are few. So ask the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into his harvest field. 3 Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. 4 Do not take a purse or bag or sandals. And don’t greet anyone on the road.
5 “When you enter a house, first say, ‘May this house be blessed with peace.’ 6 If someone there works to bring peace, your blessing of peace will rest on them. If not, it will return to you. 7 Stay there, and eat and drink anything they give you. Workers are worthy of their pay. Do not move around from house to house.
8 “When you enter a town and are welcomed, eat what is given to you. 9 Heal the sick people who are there. Tell them, ‘God’s kingdom has come near to you.’ 10 But what if you enter a town and are not welcomed? Then go into its streets and say, 11 ‘We wipe from our feet even the dust of your town. We do it to warn you. But here is what you can be sure of. God’s kingdom has come near.’ 12 I tell you this. On judgment day it will be easier for Sodom than for that town.
13 “How terrible it will be for you, Chorazin! How terrible for you, Bethsaida! Suppose the miracles done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon. They would have turned away from their sins long ago. They would have put on the rough clothing people wear when they’re sad. They would have sat down in ashes. 14 On judgment day it will be easier for Tyre and Sidon than for you. 15 And what about you, Capernaum? Will you be lifted up to the heavens? No! You will go down to the place of the dead.
16 “Whoever listens to you listens to me. Whoever does not accept you does not accept me. But whoever does not accept me does not accept the one who sent me.”
17 The 72 returned with joy. They said, “Lord, even the demons obey us when we speak in your name.”
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