Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 105
God’s Faithfulness to His People
1 Give thanks to Yahweh, call on His name;
proclaim His deeds among the peoples.(A)
2 Sing to Him, sing praise to Him;
tell about all His wonderful works!(B)
3 Honor His holy name;
let the hearts of those who seek Yahweh rejoice.(C)
4 Search for the Lord and for His strength;
seek His face always.(D)
5 Remember the wonderful works He has done,
His wonders, and the judgments He has pronounced,[a](E)
6 you offspring of Abraham His servant,
Jacob’s descendants—His chosen ones.(F)
7 He is the Lord our God;
His judgments govern the whole earth.(G)
8 He remembers His covenant forever,
the promise He ordained
for a thousand generations(H)—
9 the covenant He made with Abraham,
swore[b] to Isaac,(I)
10 and confirmed to Jacob as a decree
and to Israel as an everlasting covenant:(J)
11 “I will give the land of Canaan to you
as your inherited portion.”(K)
12 When they were few in number,
very few indeed,
and temporary residents in Canaan,(L)
13 wandering from nation to nation
and from one kingdom to another,(M)
14 He allowed no one to oppress them;
He rebuked kings on their behalf:(N)
15 “Do not touch My anointed ones,(O)
or harm My prophets.”(P)
16 He called down famine against the land
and destroyed the entire food supply.(Q)
17 He had sent a man ahead of them—
Joseph, who was sold as a slave.(R)
18 They hurt his feet with shackles;
his neck was put in an iron collar.(S)
19 Until the time his prediction came true,
the word of the Lord tested him.(T)
20 The king sent for him and released him;
the ruler of peoples set him free.(U)
21 He made him master of his household,
ruler over all his possessions(V)—
22 binding[c] his officials at will
and instructing his elders.(W)
23 Then Israel went to Egypt;
Jacob lived as a foreigner in the land of Ham.[d](X)
24 The Lord[e] made His people very fruitful;
He made them more numerous than their foes,(Y)
25 whose hearts He turned to hate His people
and to deal deceptively with His servants.(Z)
26 He sent Moses His servant,
and Aaron, whom He had chosen.(AA)
27 They performed His miraculous signs among them,
and wonders in the land of Ham.[f](AB)
28 He sent darkness, and it became dark—
for did they not defy[g] His commands?(AC)
29 He turned their water into blood
and caused their fish to die.(AD)
30 Their land was overrun with frogs,
even in their royal chambers.(AE)
31 He spoke, and insects came(AF)—
gnats throughout their country.(AG)
32 He gave them hail for rain,
and lightning throughout their land.(AH)
33 He struck their vines and fig trees
and shattered the trees of their territory.(AI)
34 He spoke, and locusts came—
young locusts without number.
35 They devoured all the vegetation in their land
and consumed the produce of their land.(AJ)
36 He struck all the firstborn in their land,
all their first progeny.(AK)
37 Then He brought Israel out with silver and gold,
and no one among His tribes stumbled.(AL)
38 Egypt was glad when they left,
for the dread of Israel[h] had fallen on them.(AM)
39 He spread a cloud as a covering
and gave a fire to light up the night.(AN)
40 They asked, and He brought quail
and satisfied them with bread from heaven.(AO)
41 He opened a rock, and water gushed out;
it flowed like a stream in the desert.(AP)
42 For He remembered His holy promise
to Abraham His servant.(AQ)
43 He brought His people out with rejoicing,
His chosen ones with shouts of joy.(AR)
44 He gave them the lands of the nations,
and they inherited
what other peoples had worked for.(AS)
45 All this happened
so that they might keep His statutes
and obey His instructions.(AT)
Hallelujah!
3 Jacob sent messengers ahead of him to his brother Esau in the land of Seir, the country of Edom. 4 He commanded them, “You are to say to my lord Esau, ‘This is what your servant Jacob says. I have been staying with Laban and have been delayed until now. 5 I have oxen, donkeys, flocks, male and female slaves. I have sent this message to inform my lord, in order to seek your favor.’”(A)
6 When the messengers returned to Jacob, they said, “We went to your brother Esau; he is coming to meet you—and he has 400 men with him.”(B) 7 Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed; he divided the people with him into two camps, along with the flocks, cattle, and camels. 8 He thought, “If Esau comes to one camp and attacks it, the remaining one can escape.”(C)
9 Then Jacob said, “God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac,(D) the Lord who said to me, ‘Go back to your land and to your family, and I will cause you to prosper,’(E) 10 I am unworthy of all the kindness and faithfulness You have shown Your servant. Indeed, I crossed over this Jordan with my staff, and now I have become two camps. 11 Please rescue me from the hand of my brother Esau, for I am afraid of him; otherwise, he may come and attack me, the mothers, and their children. 12 You have said, ‘I will cause you to prosper, and I will make your offspring like the sand of the sea, which cannot be counted.’”(F)
13 He spent the night there and took part of what he had brought with him as a gift for his brother Esau:(G) 14 200 female goats, 20 male goats, 200 ewes, 20 rams, 15 30 milk camels with their young, 40 cows, 10 bulls, 20 female donkeys, and 10 male donkeys. 16 He entrusted them to his slaves as separate herds and said to them, “Go on ahead of me, and leave some distance between the herds.”
17 And he told the first one: “When my brother Esau meets you and asks, ‘Who do you belong to? Where are you going? And whose animals are these ahead of you?’ 18 then tell him, ‘They belong to your servant Jacob. They are a gift sent to my lord Esau. And look, he is behind us.’”
19 He also told the second one, the third, and everyone who was walking behind the animals, “Say the same thing to Esau when you find him. 20 You are also to say, ‘Look, your servant Jacob is right behind us.’” For he thought, “I want to appease Esau with the gift that is going ahead of me. After that, I can face him, and perhaps he will forgive me.”
21 So the gift was sent on ahead of him while he remained in the camp that night.
The Last Hour
18 Children, it is the last hour.(A) And as you have heard, “Antichrist(B) is coming,” even now many antichrists have come. We know from this that it is the last hour. 19 They went out from us, but they did not belong to us; for if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us. However, they went out so that it might be made clear that none of them belongs to us.
20 But you have an anointing(C) from the Holy One,(D) and all of you have knowledge.[a] 21 I have not written to you because you don’t know the truth, but because you do know it, and because no lie comes from the truth. 22 Who is the liar, if not the one who denies that Jesus is the Messiah?(E) This one is the antichrist: the one who denies the Father and the Son. 23 No one who denies the Son can have the Father;(F) he who confesses the Son has the Father as well.(G)
Remaining with God
24 What you have heard from the beginning must remain in you. If what you have heard from the beginning remains in you, then you will remain in the Son(H) and in the Father.(I) 25 And this is the promise that He Himself made to us: eternal life.(J) 26 I have written these things to you about those who are trying to deceive you.
27 The anointing you received from Him remains in you, and you don’t need anyone to teach you. Instead, His anointing teaches you about all things(K) and is true and is not a lie; just as He has taught you, remain in Him.(L)
God’s Children
28 So now, little children, remain in Him, so that when He appears(M) we may have boldness and not be ashamed before Him at His coming.(N) 29 If you know that He is righteous, you know this as well: Everyone who does what is right(O) has been born of Him.(P)
19 Again a division(A) took place among the Jews because of these words. 20 Many of them were saying, “He has a demon(B) and He’s crazy! Why do you listen to Him?” 21 Others were saying, “These aren’t the words of someone demon-possessed. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?”(C)
Jesus at the Festival of Dedication
22 Then the Festival of Dedication[a] took place in Jerusalem, and it was winter. 23 Jesus was walking in the temple complex in Solomon’s Colonnade.[b](D) 24 Then the Jews surrounded Him and asked, “How long are You going to keep us in suspense?[c] If You are the Messiah,(E) tell us plainly.”[d](F)
25 “I did tell you and you don’t believe,” Jesus answered them. “The works(G) that I do in My Father’s name testify about Me. 26 But you don’t believe because you are not My sheep.[e](H) 27 My sheep hear My voice, I know them, and they follow Me. 28 I give them eternal life,(I) and they will never perish(J)—ever! No one will snatch(K) them out of My hand. 29 My Father,(L) who has given them to Me, is greater than all. No one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. 30 The Father and I are one.”[f](M)
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