Book of Common Prayer
Thanksgiving for the Lord’s Favor.
A Psalm of David.
138 (A)I will give You thanks with all my heart;
I will sing Your praises before the (B)gods.
2 I will bow down (C)toward Your holy temple
And (D)give thanks to Your name for Your mercy and Your [a]truth;
For You have (E)made Your [b]word great [c]according to all Your name.
3 On the day I (F)called, You answered me;
You made me bold with (G)strength in my soul.
4 (H)All the kings of the earth will give thanks to You, Lord,
When they have heard the words of Your mouth.
5 And they will (I)sing of the ways of the Lord,
For (J)great is the glory of the Lord.
6 For (K)the Lord is exalted,
Yet He (L)looks after the lowly,
But He knows the (M)haughty from afar.
7 Though I (N)walk in the midst of trouble, You will [d](O)revive me;
You will (P)reach out with Your hand against the wrath of my enemies,
And Your right hand will (Q)save me.
8 The Lord will (R)accomplish what concerns me;
Your (S)faithfulness, Lord, is everlasting;
(T)Do not abandon the (U)works of Your hands.
God’s Omnipresence and Omniscience.
For the music director. A Psalm of David.
139 Lord, You have (V)searched me and known me.
2 You (W)know [e]when I sit down and [f]when I get up;
You (X)understand my thought from far away.
3 You [g](Y)scrutinize my [h]path and my lying down,
And are acquainted with all my ways.
4 [i]Even before there is a word on my tongue,
Behold, Lord, You (Z)know it all.
5 You have (AA)encircled me behind and in front,
And (AB)placed Your hand upon me.
6 Such (AC)knowledge is (AD)too wonderful for me;
It is too high, I cannot comprehend it.
7 (AE)Where can I go from Your Spirit?
Or where can I flee from Your presence?
8 (AF)If I ascend to heaven, You are there;
If I make my bed in [j]Sheol, behold, (AG)You are there.
9 If I take up the wings of the dawn,
If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea,
10 Even there Your hand will (AH)lead me,
And Your right hand will take hold of me.
11 If I say, “Surely the (AI)darkness will [k]overwhelm me,
And the light around me will be night,”
12 Even (AJ)darkness is not dark [l]to You,
And the night is as bright as the day.
(AK)Darkness and light are alike to You.
13 For You (AL)created my innermost parts;
You (AM)wove me in my mother’s womb.
14 I will give thanks to You, because [m]I am awesomely and wonderfully made;
(AN)Wonderful are Your works,
And my soul knows it very well.
15 My [n](AO)frame was not hidden from You
When I was made in secret,
And skillfully formed in the (AP)depths of the earth;
16 Your (AQ)eyes have seen my formless substance;
And in (AR)Your book were written
All the (AS)days that were ordained for me,
When as yet there was not one of them.
17 How precious also are Your (AT)thoughts for me, God!
How vast is the sum of them!
18 Were I to count them, they would (AU)outnumber the sand.
When (AV)I awake, I am still with You.
19 If only You would (AW)put the wicked to death, God;
(AX)Leave me, (AY)you men of bloodshed.
20 For they (AZ)speak [o]against You wickedly,
And Your enemies [p](BA)take Your name in vain.
21 Do I not (BB)hate those who hate You, Lord?
And do I not (BC)loathe those who rise up against You?
22 I hate them with the utmost hatred;
They have become my enemies.
Praise for Jerusalem’s Restoration and Prosperity.
147 [a]Praise [b]the Lord!
For (A)it is good to sing praises to our God;
For [c]it is pleasant and praise is [d](B)beautiful.
2 The Lord (C)builds up Jerusalem;
He (D)gathers the outcasts of Israel.
3 He heals the (E)brokenhearted
And (F)binds up their [e]wounds.
4 He (G)counts the number of the stars;
He [f](H)gives names to all of them.
5 (I)Great is our Lord and abundant in strength;
His (J)understanding is [g]infinite.
6 The Lord [h](K)supports the afflicted;
He brings the wicked down to the ground.
7 (L)Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving;
Sing praises to our God on the lyre;
8 It is He who (M)covers the heavens with clouds,
Who (N)provides rain for the earth,
Who (O)makes grass sprout on the mountains.
9 It is He who (P)gives an animal its food,
And feeds (Q)young ravens that cry.
10 He does not delight in [i]the strength of the (R)horse;
He (S)does not take pleasure in the [j]legs of a man.
11 The Lord (T)favors those who fear Him,
(U)Those who wait for His [k]faithfulness.
12 Praise the Lord, Jerusalem!
Praise your God, Zion!
13 For He has strengthened the (V)bars of your gates;
He has (W)blessed your sons among you.
14 He (X)makes [l]peace in your borders;
He (Y)satisfies you with (Z)the [m]finest of the wheat.
15 He sends His (AA)command to the earth;
His (AB)word runs very swiftly.
16 He [n]showers (AC)snow like wool;
He scatters the (AD)frost like ashes.
17 He hurls His (AE)ice as fragments;
Who can stand before His (AF)cold?
18 He (AG)sends His word and makes them melt;
He (AH)makes His wind blow, and the waters flow.
19 He (AI)declares His words to Jacob,
His (AJ)statutes and His judgments to Israel.
20 He (AK)has not dealt this way with any other nation;
And as for His judgments, [o]they have (AL)not known them.
[p]Praise [q]the Lord!
A Rebellious People
65 “I permitted Myself to be sought by (A)those who did not ask for Me;
I permitted Myself to be found by those who did not seek Me.
I said, ‘Here am I, here am I,’
To a nation which (B)did not call on My name.
2 (C)I have spread out My hands all day long to a (D)rebellious people,
Who walk in the way which is not good, [a]following their own (E)thoughts,
3 A people who continually (F)provoke Me to My face,
Offering sacrifices in (G)gardens and (H)burning incense on bricks;
4 Who sit among graves and spend the night in secret places;
Who (I)eat pig’s flesh,
And the broth of unclean meat is in their pots.
5 Who say, ‘(J)Keep to yourself, do not come near me,
For I am holier than you!’
These are smoke in My [b]nostrils,
A fire that burns all the day.
6 Behold, it is written before Me:
I will (K)not keep silent, but (L)I will repay;
I will even repay [c]into their laps,
7 Both your own (M)wrongdoings and the wrongdoings of your fathers together,” says the Lord.
“Because they have (N)burned incense on the mountains
And (O)scorned Me on the hills,
Therefore I will (P)measure their former work [d]into their laps.”
8 This is what the Lord says:
“Just as the new wine is found in the cluster,
And one says, ‘Do not destroy it, for there is [e]benefit in it,’
So I will act in behalf of My servants
In order (Q)not to destroy [f]all of them.
9 I will bring forth [g](R)offspring from Jacob,
And an (S)heir of My mountains from Judah;
(T)My chosen ones shall inherit it,
And (U)My servants will live there.
Message to Sardis
3 “To the angel of the church in (A)Sardis write:
He who has [a](B)the seven spirits of God and (C)the seven stars, says this: ‘(D)I know your deeds, that you have a name that you are alive, and yet you are (E)dead. 2 Be constantly alert, and strengthen the things that remain, which were about to die; for I have not found your deeds completed in the sight of My God. 3 So (F)remember [b]what you have received and heard; and [c]keep it, and (G)repent. Then if you are not alert, (H)I will come (I)like a thief, and you will not know at (J)what hour I will come to you. 4 But you have a few [d](K)people in (L)Sardis who have not (M)soiled their garments; and they will walk with Me (N)in white, for they are worthy. 5 (O)The one who overcomes will be clothed the same way, in (P)white garments; and I will not (Q)erase his name from the book of life, and (R)I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels. 6 (S)The one who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’
Five Thousand Men Fed
6 After these things (A)Jesus went away to the other side of (B)the Sea of Galilee (or (C)Tiberias). 2 A large crowd was following Him, because they were watching the [a](D)signs which He was performing on those who were sick. 3 But (E)Jesus went up on the mountain, and there He sat with His disciples. 4 Now (F)the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was near. 5 So Jesus, after raising His eyes and seeing that a large crowd was coming to Him, *said to (G)Philip, “Where are we to buy bread so that these people may eat?” 6 But He was saying this only to (H)test him, for He Himself knew what He intended to do. 7 (I)Philip answered Him, “(J)Two hundred [b]denarii worth of bread is not enough for them, for each to receive just a little!” 8 One of His (K)disciples, (L)Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, *said to Him, 9 “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two (M)fish; but what are these for so many people?” 10 Jesus said, “Have the people recline to eat.” Now there was (N)plenty of grass in the place. So the men reclined, about [c](O)five thousand in number. 11 Jesus then took the loaves, and (P)after giving thanks He distributed them to those who were reclining; likewise also of the (Q)fish, as much as they wanted. 12 And when they had eaten their fill, He *said to His (R)disciples, “Gather up the leftover pieces so that nothing will be lost.” 13 So they gathered them up, and filled twelve (S)baskets with pieces from the five barley loaves which were left over by those who had eaten. 14 Therefore when the people saw the [d]sign which He had performed, they said, “This is truly the (T)Prophet who is to come into the world.”
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