Book of Common Prayer
A Psalm of David, when he was in the wilderness of Judah.
1 ¶ O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee; my soul thirsts for thee; my flesh longs for thee in a dry and thirsty land where there is no water;
2 in this manner I beheld thee in holiness when I beheld thy power and thy glory.
3 ¶ Because thy mercy is better than life, my lips shall praise thee.
4 Thus will I bless thee in my life; in thy name shall I lift up my hands.
5 My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness, and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips
6 When I remember thee upon my bed and meditate on thee in the night watches.
7 ¶ Because thou hast been my help, therefore in the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice.
8 My soul has followed hard after thee; thy right hand has upheld me.
9 But those that sought my soul, to destroy it, descended into the lower parts of the earth.
10 They shall be slain by the sword; they shall be a portion for foxes.
11 But the king shall rejoice in God; every one that swears by him shall be praised; for the mouth of those that speak lies shall be stopped.
A Psalm of David.
1 ¶ Bless the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless the name of his holiness.
2 Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits:
3 Who forgives all thine iniquities; who heals all thy diseases;
4 who redeems thy life from destruction; who crowns thee with mercy and compassion;
5 who satisfies thy mouth with good things so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
6 ¶ The LORD executes righteousness and justice unto all that suffer violence.
7 He made known his ways unto Moses, his acts unto the sons of Israel.
8 The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy.
9 He will not always chide, neither will he keep his anger for ever.
10 He has not dealt with us after our sins, nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.
11 For as the heavens are high above the earth so does he increase his mercy over those that fear him.
12 As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our rebellions from us.
13 Like as a father has mercy upon his children, so the LORD has mercy upon those that fear him.
14 For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust.
15 As for man, his days are as grass; as an open flower of the field, so he blossoms.
16 For the wind passes over it, and it is gone, and its place shall know it no more.
17 But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting upon those that fear him, and his righteousness unto the children’s children,
18 to such as keep his covenant and to those that remember his commandments to do them.
19 ¶ The LORD has prepared his throne in the heavens, and his kingdom rules over all.
20 Bless the LORD, ye his angels, valiant and strong, that do his commandments, hearkening unto the voice of his word.
21 Bless ye the LORD, all ye his hosts, ye ministers of his, that do his pleasure.
22 Bless the LORD, all his works in all places of his dominion: bless the LORD, O my soul.
21 And when Rehoboam came to Jerusalem, he assembled all the house of Judah, with the tribe of Benjamin, one hundred and eighty thousand chosen men of war, to fight against the house of Israel, to bring the kingdom again to Rehoboam, the son of Solomon.
22 But the word of God came unto Shemaiah, the man of God, saying,
23 Speak unto Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and unto all the house of Judah and Benjamin and to the remnant of the people, saying,
24 Thus hath the LORD said, Ye shall not go up nor fight against your brethren, the sons of Israel; return each one to his house, for this thing is from me. They hearkened, therefore, to the word of the LORD and returned to depart, according to the word of the LORD.
25 ¶ And Jeroboam rebuilt Shechem in Mount Ephraim and dwelt therein, and going out from there, rebuilt Penuel.
26 And Jeroboam said in his heart, Now shall the kingdom return to the house of David
27 if this people go up to sacrifice in the house of the LORD at Jerusalem; for the heart of this people shall turn again unto their lord, even unto Rehoboam, king of Judah, and they shall kill me and go again to Rehoboam, king of Judah.
28 And having taken counsel, the king made two calves of gold and said unto the people, It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem; behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.
29 And he set the one in Bethel and the other he put in Dan.
30 And this became an occasion for sin, for the people went to worship before the one, even unto Dan.
31 And he made a house of high places and made priests of the lowest of the people, who were not of the sons of Levi.
32 Then Jeroboam ordained a solemnity in the eighth month, on the fifteenth day of the month, like unto the solemnity that was celebrated in Judah; and he sacrificed upon the altar. So did he in Bethel, sacrificing unto the calves that he had made. He also ordered in Bethel the priests of the high places which he had made.
33 So he sacrificed upon the altar which he had made in Bethel on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, the month which he had devised of his own heart, and made a feast unto the sons of Israel; and he climbed up on the altar to burn incense.
18 And they called them and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus.
19 Then Peter and John answered and said unto them, Judge whether it is right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God.
20 For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.
21 So when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding no way how they might punish them because of the people, for everyone glorified God for that which was done.
22 For the man was above forty years old, on whom this miracle of healing was shown.
23 ¶ And being let go, they went to their own company and reported all that the princes of the priests and the elders had said unto them.
24 And when they heard that, they lifted up their voice to God with one accord and said, Lord, thou art the God, who hast made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all that is in them,
25 who (in the Holy Spirit) by the mouth of thy servant David (our father) hast said, Why did the Gentiles rage, and the peoples imagine vain things?
26 The kings of the earth were present, and the princes were gathered together against the Lord and against his Christ.
27 For of a truth against thy holy servant Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, were gathered together (in this city),
28 to do that which thy hand and thy counsel had determined beforehand must be done.
29 And now, Lord, behold their threatenings and grant unto thy slaves that with all boldness they may speak thy word,
30 that thou might stretch forth thine hand so that healings and signs and wonders may be done by the name of thy holy slave Jesus.
31 And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness.
31 Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him.
32 Jesus answered them, Many good works have I showed you from my Father; for which of those works do ye stone me?
33 The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we do not stone thee, but for blasphemy; and because thou, being a man, makest thyself God.
34 Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods?
35 If he called them gods unto whom the word of God came (and the scripture cannot be broken),
36 do ye say of him whom the Father has sanctified and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest, because I said, I am the Son of God?
37 If I do not do the works of my Father, do not believe me.
38 But if I do, though ye do not believe me, believe the works that ye may know and believe that the Father is in me and I in him.
39 ¶ Therefore they sought again to take him, but he escaped out of their hand
40 and went away again beyond Jordan into the place where John at first baptized, and there he abode.
41 And many came unto him and said, John certainly did no sign, but all the things that John spoke of this man were true.
42 And many believed in him there.
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