Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 97
1 The Lord reigns,(A) let the earth be glad;(B)
let the distant shores(C) rejoice.
2 Clouds(D) and thick darkness(E) surround him;
righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.(F)
3 Fire(G) goes before(H) him
and consumes(I) his foes on every side.
4 His lightning(J) lights up the world;
the earth(K) sees and trembles.(L)
5 The mountains melt(M) like wax(N) before the Lord,
before the Lord of all the earth.(O)
6 The heavens proclaim his righteousness,(P)
and all peoples see his glory.(Q)
7 All who worship images(R) are put to shame,(S)
those who boast in idols(T)—
worship him,(U) all you gods!(V)
8 Zion hears and rejoices
and the villages of Judah are glad(W)
because of your judgments,(X) Lord.
9 For you, Lord, are the Most High(Y) over all the earth;(Z)
you are exalted(AA) far above all gods.
10 Let those who love the Lord hate evil,(AB)
for he guards(AC) the lives of his faithful ones(AD)
and delivers(AE) them from the hand of the wicked.(AF)
11 Light shines[a](AG) on the righteous(AH)
and joy on the upright in heart.(AI)
12 Rejoice in the Lord,(AJ) you who are righteous,
and praise his holy name.(AK)
Psalm 99
1 The Lord reigns,(A)
let the nations tremble;(B)
he sits enthroned(C) between the cherubim,(D)
let the earth shake.
2 Great is the Lord(E) in Zion;(F)
he is exalted(G) over all the nations.
3 Let them praise(H) your great and awesome name(I)—
he is holy.(J)
4 The King(K) is mighty, he loves justice(L)—
you have established equity;(M)
in Jacob you have done
what is just and right.(N)
5 Exalt(O) the Lord our God
and worship at his footstool;
he is holy.
6 Moses(P) and Aaron(Q) were among his priests,
Samuel(R) was among those who called on his name;
they called on the Lord
and he answered(S) them.
7 He spoke to them from the pillar of cloud;(T)
they kept his statutes and the decrees he gave them.
8 Lord our God,
you answered them;
you were to Israel a forgiving God,(U)
though you punished(V) their misdeeds.[a]
9 Exalt the Lord our God
and worship at his holy mountain,
for the Lord our God is holy.
Psalm 100
A psalm. For giving grateful praise.
Psalm 94
1 The Lord is a God who avenges.(A)
O God who avenges, shine forth.(B)
2 Rise up,(C) Judge(D) of the earth;
pay back(E) to the proud what they deserve.
3 How long, Lord, will the wicked,
how long will the wicked be jubilant?(F)
4 They pour out arrogant(G) words;
all the evildoers are full of boasting.(H)
5 They crush your people,(I) Lord;
they oppress your inheritance.(J)
6 They slay the widow(K) and the foreigner;
they murder the fatherless.(L)
7 They say, “The Lord does not see;(M)
the God of Jacob(N) takes no notice.”
8 Take notice, you senseless ones(O) among the people;
you fools, when will you become wise?
9 Does he who fashioned the ear not hear?
Does he who formed the eye not see?(P)
10 Does he who disciplines(Q) nations not punish?
Does he who teaches(R) mankind lack knowledge?
11 The Lord knows all human plans;(S)
he knows that they are futile.(T)
12 Blessed is the one you discipline,(U) Lord,
the one you teach(V) from your law;
13 you grant them relief from days of trouble,(W)
till a pit(X) is dug for the wicked.
14 For the Lord will not reject his people;(Y)
he will never forsake his inheritance.
15 Judgment will again be founded on righteousness,(Z)
and all the upright in heart(AA) will follow it.
16 Who will rise up(AB) for me against the wicked?
Who will take a stand for me against evildoers?(AC)
17 Unless the Lord had given me help,(AD)
I would soon have dwelt in the silence of death.(AE)
18 When I said, “My foot is slipping,(AF)”
your unfailing love, Lord, supported me.
19 When anxiety(AG) was great within me,
your consolation(AH) brought me joy.
20 Can a corrupt throne(AI) be allied with you—
a throne that brings on misery by its decrees?(AJ)
21 The wicked band together(AK) against the righteous
and condemn the innocent(AL) to death.(AM)
22 But the Lord has become my fortress,
and my God the rock(AN) in whom I take refuge.(AO)
23 He will repay(AP) them for their sins
and destroy(AQ) them for their wickedness;
the Lord our God will destroy them.
Psalm 95
1 Come,(AR) let us sing for joy(AS) to the Lord;
let us shout aloud(AT) to the Rock(AU) of our salvation.
2 Let us come before him(AV) with thanksgiving(AW)
and extol him with music(AX) and song.
3 For the Lord is the great God,(AY)
the great King(AZ) above all gods.(BA)
4 In his hand are the depths of the earth,(BB)
and the mountain peaks belong to him.
5 The sea is his, for he made it,
and his hands formed the dry land.(BC)
6 Come, let us bow down(BD) in worship,(BE)
let us kneel(BF) before the Lord our Maker;(BG)
7 for he is our God
and we are the people of his pasture,(BH)
the flock under his care.
Today, if only you would hear his voice,
8 “Do not harden your hearts(BI) as you did at Meribah,[a](BJ)
as you did that day at Massah[b] in the wilderness,(BK)
9 where your ancestors tested(BL) me;
they tried me, though they had seen what I did.
10 For forty years(BM) I was angry with that generation;
I said, ‘They are a people whose hearts go astray,(BN)
and they have not known my ways.’(BO)
11 So I declared on oath(BP) in my anger,
‘They shall never enter my rest.’”(BQ)
The Ark Returned to Israel
6 When the ark of the Lord had been in Philistine territory seven months, 2 the Philistines called for the priests and the diviners(A) and said, “What shall we do with the ark of the Lord? Tell us how we should send it back to its place.”
3 They answered, “If you return the ark of the god of Israel, do not send it back to him without a gift;(B) by all means send a guilt offering(C) to him. Then you will be healed, and you will know why his hand(D) has not been lifted from you.”
4 The Philistines asked, “What guilt offering should we send to him?”
They replied, “Five gold tumors and five gold rats, according to the number(E) of the Philistine rulers, because the same plague(F) has struck both you and your rulers. 5 Make models of the tumors(G) and of the rats that are destroying the country, and give glory(H) to Israel’s god. Perhaps he will lift his hand from you and your gods and your land. 6 Why do you harden(I) your hearts as the Egyptians and Pharaoh did? When Israel’s god dealt harshly with them,(J) did they(K) not send the Israelites out so they could go on their way?
7 “Now then, get a new cart(L) ready, with two cows that have calved and have never been yoked.(M) Hitch the cows to the cart, but take their calves away and pen them up. 8 Take the ark of the Lord and put it on the cart, and in a chest beside it put the gold objects you are sending back to him as a guilt offering. Send it on its way, 9 but keep watching it. If it goes up to its own territory, toward Beth Shemesh,(N) then the Lord has brought this great disaster on us. But if it does not, then we will know that it was not his hand that struck us but that it happened to us by chance.”
10 So they did this. They took two such cows and hitched them to the cart and penned up their calves. 11 They placed the ark of the Lord on the cart and along with it the chest containing the gold rats and the models of the tumors. 12 Then the cows went straight up toward Beth Shemesh, keeping on the road and lowing all the way; they did not turn to the right or to the left. The rulers of the Philistines followed them as far as the border of Beth Shemesh.
13 Now the people of Beth Shemesh were harvesting their wheat(O) in the valley, and when they looked up and saw the ark, they rejoiced at the sight. 14 The cart came to the field of Joshua of Beth Shemesh, and there it stopped beside a large rock. The people chopped up the wood of the cart and sacrificed the cows as a burnt offering(P) to the Lord. 15 The Levites(Q) took down the ark of the Lord, together with the chest containing the gold objects, and placed them on the large rock.(R) On that day the people of Beth Shemesh(S) offered burnt offerings and made sacrifices to the Lord. 16 The five rulers of the Philistines saw all this and then returned that same day to Ekron.
27 The apostles were brought in and made to appear before the Sanhedrin(A) to be questioned by the high priest. 28 “We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name,”(B) he said. “Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to make us guilty of this man’s blood.”(C)
29 Peter and the other apostles replied: “We must obey God rather than human beings!(D) 30 The God of our ancestors(E) raised Jesus from the dead(F)—whom you killed by hanging him on a cross.(G) 31 God exalted him to his own right hand(H) as Prince and Savior(I) that he might bring Israel to repentance and forgive their sins.(J) 32 We are witnesses of these things,(K) and so is the Holy Spirit,(L) whom God has given to those who obey him.”
33 When they heard this, they were furious(M) and wanted to put them to death. 34 But a Pharisee named Gamaliel,(N) a teacher of the law,(O) who was honored by all the people, stood up in the Sanhedrin and ordered that the men be put outside for a little while. 35 Then he addressed the Sanhedrin: “Men of Israel, consider carefully what you intend to do to these men. 36 Some time ago Theudas appeared, claiming to be somebody, and about four hundred men rallied to him. He was killed, all his followers were dispersed, and it all came to nothing. 37 After him, Judas the Galilean appeared in the days of the census(P) and led a band of people in revolt. He too was killed, and all his followers were scattered. 38 Therefore, in the present case I advise you: Leave these men alone! Let them go! For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail.(Q) 39 But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God.”(R)
40 His speech persuaded them. They called the apostles in and had them flogged.(S) Then they ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go.
41 The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing(T) because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name.(U) 42 Day after day, in the temple courts(V) and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news(W) that Jesus is the Messiah.(X)
37 Each day Jesus was teaching at the temple,(A) and each evening he went out(B) to spend the night on the hill called the Mount of Olives,(C) 38 and all the people came early in the morning to hear him at the temple.(D)
Judas Agrees to Betray Jesus(E)
22 Now the Festival of Unleavened Bread, called the Passover, was approaching,(F) 2 and the chief priests and the teachers of the law were looking for some way to get rid of Jesus,(G) for they were afraid of the people. 3 Then Satan(H) entered Judas, called Iscariot,(I) one of the Twelve. 4 And Judas went to the chief priests and the officers of the temple guard(J) and discussed with them how he might betray Jesus. 5 They were delighted and agreed to give him money.(K) 6 He consented, and watched for an opportunity to hand Jesus over to them when no crowd was present.
The Last Supper(L)(M)(N)(O)(P)
7 Then came the day of Unleavened Bread on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed.(Q) 8 Jesus sent Peter and John,(R) saying, “Go and make preparations for us to eat the Passover.”
9 “Where do you want us to prepare for it?” they asked.
10 He replied, “As you enter the city, a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him to the house that he enters, 11 and say to the owner of the house, ‘The Teacher asks: Where is the guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’ 12 He will show you a large room upstairs, all furnished. Make preparations there.”
13 They left and found things just as Jesus had told them.(S) So they prepared the Passover.
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