Book of Common Prayer
A psalm by David.
24 The earth and everything it contains are the Lord’s.
The world and all who live in it are his.
2 He laid its foundation on the seas
and set it firmly on the rivers.
3 Who may go up the Lord’s mountain?
Who may stand in his holy place?
4 ⌞The one who⌟ has clean hands and a pure heart
and does not long for what is false
or lie when he is under oath.
5 ⌞This person⌟ will receive a blessing from the Lord
and righteousness from God, his savior.
6 This is the person who seeks him,
who searches for the face of the God of Jacob.[a] Selah
7 Lift your heads, you gates.
Be lifted, you ancient doors,
so that the king of glory may come in.
8 Who is this king of glory?
The Lord, strong and mighty!
The Lord, heroic in battle!
9 Lift your heads, you gates.
Be lifted, you ancient doors,
so that the king of glory may come in.
10 Who, then, is this king of glory?
The Lord of Armies is the king of glory! Selah
A psalm by David.
29 Give to the Lord, you heavenly beings.
Give to the Lord glory and power.
2 Give to the Lord the glory his name deserves.
Worship the Lord in ⌞his⌟ holy splendor.
3 The voice of the Lord rolls over the water.
The God of glory thunders.
The Lord shouts over raging water.
4 The voice of the Lord is powerful.
The voice of the Lord is majestic.
5 The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars.
The Lord splinters the cedars of Lebanon.
6 He makes Lebanon skip along like a calf
and Mount Sirion like a wild ox.
7 The voice of the Lord strikes with flashes of lightning.
8 The voice of the Lord makes the wilderness tremble.
The Lord makes the wilderness of Kadesh tremble.
9 The voice of the Lord splits the oaks
and strips ⌞the trees of⌟ the forests bare.
Everyone in his temple is saying, “Glory!”
10 The Lord sat enthroned over the flood.
The Lord sits enthroned as king forever.
11 The Lord will give power to his people.
The Lord will bless his people with peace.
For the choir director; on the gittith; [a] a psalm by David.
8 O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name throughout the earth!
Your glory is sung above the heavens.
2 From the mouths of little children and infants,
you have built a fortress against your opponents
to silence the enemy and the avenger.
3 When I look at your heavens,
the creation of your fingers,
the moon and the stars that you have set in place—
4 what is a mortal that you remember him
or the Son of Man that you take care of him?
5 You have made him a little lower than yourself.
You have crowned him with glory and honor.
6 You have made him rule what your hands created.
You have put everything under his control:
7 all the sheep and cattle, the wild animals,
8 the birds, the fish,
whatever swims in the currents of the seas.
9 O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name throughout the earth!
For the choir director; on the gittith; a psalm by Korah’s descendants.
84 Your dwelling place is lovely, O Lord of Armies!
2 My soul longs and yearns
for the Lord’s courtyards.
My whole body shouts for joy to the living God.
3 Even sparrows find a home,
and swallows find a nest for themselves.
There they hatch their young
near your altars, O Lord of Armies, my king and my God.
4 Blessed are those who live in your house.
They are always praising you. Selah
5 Blessed are those who find strength in you.
Their hearts are on the road ⌞that leads to you⌟.
6 As they pass through a valley where balsam trees grow,[a]
they make it a place of springs.
The early rains cover it with blessings.[b]
7 Their strength grows as they go along
until each one of them appears
in front of God in Zion.
8 O Lord God, commander of armies, hear my prayer.
Open your ears, O God of Jacob. Selah
9 Look at our shield, O God.
Look with favor on the face of your anointed one.
10 One day in your courtyards is better than a thousand ⌞anywhere else⌟.
I would rather stand in the entrance to my God’s house
than live inside wicked people’s homes.
11 The Lord God is a sun and shield.
The Lord grants favor and honor.
He does not hold back any blessing
from those who live innocently.
12 O Lord of Armies, blessed is the person who trusts you.
Joshua Adds an Agreement to the Book of God’s Teachings
24 Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel together at Shechem. He called together Israel’s leaders, chiefs, judges, and officers, and they presented themselves to God.
2 Joshua said to all the people, “This is what the Lord God of Israel says: Long ago your ancestors, Terah and his sons Abraham and Nahor, lived on the other side of the Euphrates River and served other gods. 3 But I took your ancestor Abraham from the other side of the Euphrates River. I led him through all of Canaan and gave him many descendants. I also gave him Isaac. 4 To Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau. I gave Esau the mountains in Seir as his own. However, Jacob and his sons went to Egypt.
5 “Then I sent Moses and Aaron, and I struck Egypt with plagues. Later I led you out. 6 When I led your ancestors out of Egypt, you came to the sea. The Egyptians with their chariots and horsemen chased your ancestors to the Red Sea. 7 When your ancestors cried out to the Lord, he put darkness between you and the Egyptians. He made the sea flow back and cover them. You saw for yourselves what I did to Egypt. Then you lived in the desert for a long time.
8 “After that I brought you to the land of the Amorites who lived on the east side of the Jordan River. They fought you. However, I handed them over to you. So you took their land, and I destroyed them in front of you. 9 Then Balak, son of King Zippor of Moab, fought Israel. He summoned Balaam, son of Beor, to curse you. 10 But I refused to listen to Balaam. All he could do was bless you. So I saved you from his power.
11 “Then you crossed the Jordan River and came to Jericho. The citizens of Jericho, the Amorites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hittites, Girgashites, Hivites, and Jebusites fought you. But I handed them over to you. 12 I sent hornets ahead of you to force out the two kings of the Amorites ahead of you. These things didn’t happen because of your battle skills or fighting ability. 13 So I gave you a land that you hadn’t farmed, cities to live in that you hadn’t built, vineyards and olive groves that you hadn’t planted. So you ate all you wanted!
14 “Fear the Lord, and serve him with integrity and faithfulness. Get rid of the gods your ancestors served on the other side of the Euphrates River and in Egypt, and serve only the Lord. 15 But if you don’t want to serve the Lord, then choose today whom you will serve. Even if you choose the gods your ancestors served on the other side of the Euphrates or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you live, my family and I will still serve the Lord.”
23 On a designated day a larger number of influential Jews ⌞than expected⌟ went to the place where Paul was staying. From morning until evening, Paul was explaining God’s kingdom to them. He was trying to convince them about Jesus from Moses’ Teachings and the Prophets. 24 Some of them were convinced by what he said, but others continued to disbelieve.
25 The Jews, unable to agree among themselves, left after Paul had quoted this particular passage to them: “How well the Holy Spirit spoke to your ancestors through the prophet Isaiah! 26 The Spirit said: ‘Go to these people and say,
“You will hear clearly but never understand.
You will see clearly but never comprehend.
27 These people have become close-minded
and hard of hearing.
They have shut their eyes
so that their eyes never see.
Their ears never hear.
Their minds never understand.
And they never turn to me for healing.” ’
28 “You need to know that God has sent his salvation to people who are not Jews. They will listen.” [a]
30 Paul rented a place to live for two full years and welcomed everyone who came to him. 31 He spread the message about God’s kingdom and taught very boldly about the Lord Jesus Christ. No one stopped him.
Jesus Has Authority over the Day of Rest—a Holy Day(A)
23 Once on a day of rest—a holy day, Jesus was going through the grainfields. As the disciples walked along, they began to pick the heads of grain.
24 The Pharisees asked him, “Look! Why are your disciples doing something that is not permitted on the day of rest—a holy day?”
25 Jesus asked them, “Haven’t you ever read what David did when he and his men were in need and were hungry? 26 Haven’t you ever read how he went into the house of God when Abiathar was chief priest and ate the bread of the presence? He had no right to eat those loaves. Only the priests have that right. Haven’t you ever read how he also gave some of it to his men?”
27 Then he added, “The day of rest—a holy day, was made for people, not people for the day of rest. 28 For this reason the Son of Man has authority over the day of rest—a holy day.”
Copyright © 1995, 2003, 2013, 2014, 2019, 2020 by God’s Word to the Nations Mission Society. All rights reserved.