Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 24[a]
A psalm of David.
24 The Lord owns the earth and all it contains,
the world and all who live in it.
2 For he set its foundation upon the seas,
and established[b] it upon the ocean currents.[c]
3 Who is allowed to ascend[d] the mountain of the Lord?[e]
Who may go up to his holy dwelling place?
4 The one whose deeds are blameless
and whose motives are pure,[f]
who does not lie,[g]
or make promises with no intention of keeping them.[h]
5 Such godly people are rewarded by the Lord,[i]
and vindicated by the God who delivers them.[j]
6 Such purity characterizes the people who seek his favor,
Jacob’s descendants, who pray to him.[k] (Selah)
7 Look up,[l] you gates.
Rise up,[m] you eternal doors.
Then the majestic king[n] will enter.[o]
8 Who is this majestic king?[p]
The Lord who is strong and mighty.
The Lord who is mighty in battle.
9 Look up, you gates.
Rise up, you eternal doors.
Then the majestic king will enter.
10 Who is this majestic king?
The Lord of Heaven’s Armies.[q]
He is the majestic king. (Selah)
Psalm 29[a]
A psalm of David.
29 Acknowledge the Lord, you heavenly beings,[b]
acknowledge the Lord’s majesty and power.[c]
2 Acknowledge the majesty of the Lord’s reputation.[d]
Worship the Lord in holy attire.[e]
3 The Lord’s shout is heard over the water;[f]
the majestic God thunders,[g]
the Lord appears over the surging water.[h]
4 The Lord’s shout is powerful,[i]
the Lord’s shout is majestic.[j]
5 The Lord’s shout breaks[k] the cedars,
the Lord shatters[l] the cedars of Lebanon.[m]
6 He makes them skip like a calf,
Lebanon and Sirion[n] like a young ox.[o]
7 The Lord’s shout strikes[p] with flaming fire.[q]
8 The Lord’s shout shakes[r] the wilderness,
the Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.[s]
9 The Lord’s shout bends[t] the large trees[u]
and strips[v] the leaves from the forests.[w]
Everyone in his temple says, “Majestic!”[x]
10 The Lord sits enthroned over the engulfing waters,[y]
the Lord sits enthroned[z] as the eternal king.
11 The Lord gives[aa] his people strength;[ab]
the Lord grants his people security.[ac]
Psalm 8[a]
For the music director, according to the gittith style;[b] a psalm of David.
8 O Lord, our Lord,[c]
how magnificent[d] is your reputation[e] throughout the earth!
You reveal your majesty in the heavens above.[f]
2 From the mouths of children and nursing babies
you have ordained praise on account of your adversaries,[g]
so that you might put an end to the vindictive enemy.[h]
3 When I look up at the heavens, which your fingers made,
and see the moon and the stars, which you set in place,[i]
4 Of what importance is the human race,[j] that you should notice[k] them?
Of what importance is mankind,[l] that you should pay attention to them?[m]
5 You made them[n] a little less than[o] the heavenly beings.[p]
You crowned mankind[q] with honor and majesty.[r]
6 you appoint them to rule over your creation;[s]
you have placed[t] everything under their authority,[u]
7 including all the sheep and cattle,
as well as the wild animals,[v]
8 the birds in the sky, the fish in the sea,
and everything that moves through the currents[w] of the seas.
9 O Lord, our Lord,[x]
how magnificent[y] is your reputation[z] throughout the earth![aa]
Psalm 84[a]
For the music director, according to the gittith style;[b] written by the Korahites, a psalm.
84 How lovely is the place where you live,[c]
O Lord of Heaven’s Armies![d]
2 I desperately want to be[e]
in the courts of the Lord’s temple.[f]
My heart and my entire being[g] shout for joy
to the living God.
3 Even the birds find a home there,
and the swallow[h] builds a nest,
where she can protect her young[i]
near your altars, O Lord of Heaven’s Armies,
my King and my God.
4 How blessed[j] are those who live in your temple
and praise you continually. (Selah)
5 How blessed are those who[k] find their strength in you,
and long to travel the roads that lead to your temple.[l]
6 As they pass through the Baca Valley,[m]
he provides a spring for them.[n]
The rain[o] even covers it with pools of water.[p]
7 They are sustained as they travel along;[q]
each one appears[r] before God in Zion.
8 O Lord God of Heaven’s Armies,[s]
hear my prayer.
Listen, O God of Jacob. (Selah)
9 O God, take notice of our shield.[t]
Show concern for your chosen king.[u]
10 Certainly[v] spending just one day in your temple courts is better
than spending a thousand elsewhere.[w]
I would rather stand at the entrance[x] to the temple of my God
than live[y] in the tents of the wicked.
11 For the Lord God is our sovereign protector.[z]
The Lord bestows favor[aa] and honor;
he withholds no good thing from those who have integrity.[ab]
12 O Lord of Heaven’s Armies,[ac]
how blessed are those who trust in you.[ad]
9 Wake up! Wake up!
Clothe yourself with strength, O arm of the Lord![a]
Wake up as in former times, as in antiquity.
Did you not smash[b] the Proud One?[c]
Did you not[d] wound the sea monster?[e]
10 Did you not dry up the sea,
the waters of the great deep?
Did you not make[f] a path through the depths of the sea,
so those delivered from bondage[g] could cross over?
11 Those whom the Lord has ransomed will return;
they will enter Zion with a happy shout.
Unending joy will crown them,[h]
happiness and joy will overwhelm[i] them;
grief and suffering will disappear.[j]
12 “I, I am the one who consoles you.[k]
Why are you afraid of mortal men,
of mere human beings who are as short-lived as grass?[l]
13 Why do you forget[m] the Lord, who made you,
who stretched out the sky[n]
and founded the earth?
Why do you constantly tremble all day long[o]
at the anger of the oppressor,
when he makes plans to destroy?
Where is the anger of the oppressor?[p]
14 The one who suffers[q] will soon be released;
he will not die in prison,[r]
he will not go hungry.[s]
15 I am the Lord your God,
who churns up the sea so that its waves surge.
The Lord of Heaven’s Armies is his name!
Zion’s Time to Celebrate
8 By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place he would later receive as an inheritance, and he went out without understanding where he was going. 9 By faith he lived as a foreigner[a] in the promised land as though it were a foreign country, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, who were fellow heirs[b] of the same promise. 10 For he was looking forward to the city with firm foundations,[c] whose architect and builder is God. 11 By faith, even though Sarah herself was barren and he was too old,[d] he received the ability to procreate,[e] because he regarded the one who had given the promise to be trustworthy. 12 So in fact children[f] were fathered by one man—and this one as good as dead—like the number of stars in the sky and like the innumerable grains of sand[g] on the seashore.[h] 13 These all died in faith without receiving the things promised,[i] but they saw them in the distance and welcomed them and acknowledged that they were strangers and foreigners[j] on the earth. 14 For those who speak in such a way make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. 15 In fact, if they had been thinking of the land that they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 But as it is,[k] they aspire to a better land, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.
Teaching in the Temple
14 When the feast was half over, Jesus went up to the temple courts[a] and began to teach.[b] 15 Then the Jewish leaders[c] were astonished[d] and said, “How does this man know so much when he has never had formal instruction?”[e] 16 So Jesus replied,[f] “My teaching is not from me, but from the one who sent me.[g] 17 If anyone wants to do God’s will,[h] he will know about my teaching, whether it is from God or whether I speak from my own authority.[i] 18 The person who speaks on his own authority[j] desires[k] to receive honor[l] for himself; the one who desires[m] the honor[n] of the one who sent him is a man of integrity,[o] and there is no unrighteousness in him. 19 Hasn’t Moses given you the law? Yet not one of you keeps[p] the law! Why do you want[q] to kill me?”
20 The crowd[r] answered, “You’re possessed by a demon![s] Who is trying to kill you?”[t] 21 Jesus replied,[u] “I performed one miracle[v] and you are all amazed.[w] 22 However, because Moses gave you the practice of circumcision[x] (not that it came from Moses, but from the forefathers), you circumcise a male child[y] on the Sabbath. 23 But if a male child[z] is circumcised[aa] on the Sabbath so that the law of Moses is not broken,[ab] why are you angry with me because I made a man completely well[ac] on the Sabbath? 24 Do not judge according to external appearance,[ad] but judge with proper[ae] judgment.”
Questions About Jesus’ Identity
25 Then some of the residents of Jerusalem began to say, “Isn’t this the man[af] they are trying[ag] to kill? 26 Yet here he is, speaking publicly,[ah] and they are saying nothing to him.[ai] Do the ruling authorities[aj] really know that this man[ak] is the Christ?[al] 27 But we know where this man[am] comes from.[an] Whenever the Christ[ao] comes, no one will know where he comes from.”[ap]
28 Then Jesus, while teaching in the temple courts,[aq] cried out,[ar] “You both know me and know where I come from![as] And I have not come on my own initiative,[at] but the one who sent me[au] is true. You do not know him,[av] 29 but[aw] I know him, because I have come from him[ax] and he[ay] sent me.”
30 So then they tried to seize Jesus,[az] but no one laid a hand on him, because his time[ba] had not yet come. 31 Yet many of the crowd[bb] believed in him and said, “Whenever the Christ[bc] comes, he won’t perform more miraculous signs than this man did, will he?”[bd]
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