Book of Common Prayer
A Davidic Psalm.
A Song for the King of Glory
24 The earth and everything in it exists for the Lord—
the world and those who live in it.
2 Indeed, he founded it upon the seas,
he established it upon deep waters.[a]
3 Who may ascend the mountain of the Lord?[b]
Who may stand in his Holy Place?
4 The one who has innocent hands and a pure heart;
the person who does not delight in what is false
and does not swear an oath deceitfully.
5 This person[c] will receive blessing from the Lord
and righteousness from the God of his salvation.
6 This is the generation that seeks him.
Those who seek your face
are the true seed of[d] Jacob.
7 Lift up your heads,[e] gates!
Be lifted up, ancient doors,
so the King of Glory may come in.
8 Who is the King of Glory?
The Lord strong and mighty,
the Lord, mighty in battle.
9 Lift up your heads,[f] gates!
Be lifted up, ancient doors,
so the King of Glory may come in.
10 Who is he, this King of Glory?
The Lord of the heavenly armies—
He is the King of Glory.
A Davidic Psalm.
Praise to the Majestic Lord
29 Ascribe to the Lord, you heavenly beings;
ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
2 Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name;
worship the Lord wearing holy attire.
3 The voice of the Lord was heard[a] above the waters;
the God of glory thundered;
the Lord was heard[b] over many waters.
4 The voice of the Lord is powerful;
the voice of the Lord is majestic.
5 The voice of the Lord snaps the cedars;[c]
the Lord snaps the cedars of Lebanon.
6 He makes them stagger like a calf,
even Lebanon and Sirion[d] like a young wild ox.
7 The voice of the Lord shoots out flashes of fire.
8 The voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness;
the voice of the Lord shakes[e] the wilderness of Kadesh.
9 The voice of the Lord causes deer to give birth,
and strips the forest bare.
In his Temple all of them shout, “Glory!”
10 The Lord sat enthroned over the flood,
and the Lord sits as king forever.
11 The Lord will give strength to his people;
the Lord will bless his people with peace.
To the Director: On a stringed instrument.[a] A Davidic Psalm.
Divine Glory and Human Dignity
8 Lord, our Lord,
how excellent is your name in all the earth!
You set your glory above the heavens!
2 Out of the mouths of infants and nursing babies
you have established strength[b]
on account of your adversaries,
in order to silence the enemy and vengeful foe.
3 When I look at the heavens,
the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars that you established—
4 what is man that you take notice of him,
or the son of man[c] that you pay attention to him?
5 You made him a little less than divine,[d]
but you crowned him with glory and honor.
6 You gave him dominion over the work of your hands,
you put all things under his feet:
7 Sheep and cattle—all of them,
wild creatures of the field,
8 birds in the sky,
fish in the sea—
whatever moves through the currents of the oceans.
9 Lord, our Lord,
how excellent is your name in all the earth!
To the Director: On the Gittith.
A Psalm by the descendants of Korah.
Longing for God
84 How lovely are your dwelling places,
Lord of the Heavenly Armies.
2 I desire and long
for the Temple[a] courts of the Lord.
My heart and body[b] sing for joy
to the living God.[c]
3 Even the sparrow found a house for herself
and the swallow a nest
to lay[d] her young at your altar,
Lord of the Heavenly Armies,
my king and God.
4 How happy are those who live in your Temple,
for they can praise you continuously.
5 How happy are those whose strength is in you,
whose heart is on your path.
6 They will pass through the Baca Valley
where he will prepare a spring for them;
even the early rain will cover it with blessings.
7 They will walk from strength to strength;
each will appear before God in Zion.
8 Lord God of the Heavenly Armies, hear my prayer!
Listen, God of Jacob!
9 God, look at our shield,
and show favor to your anointed,
10 for a day in your Temple[e] courts is better
than a thousand elsewhere;
I would rather stand
at the entrance of God’s house
than live in the tent of wickedness.
11 For the Lord God is a sun and shield;
the Lord grants grace and favor;
the Lord will not withhold any good thing
from those who walk blamelessly.
12 Lord of Heavenly Armies,
how happy are those who trust in you.
Introduction
1 The words of Hilkiah’s son Jeremiah,[a] who was one of the priests at Anathoth in the territory of Benjamin. 2 This message from the Lord came to him during the thirteenth year of the reign of[b] Ammon’s son Josiah, the king of Judah, 3 and during the reign of[c] Josiah’s son Jehoiakim, the king of Judah, and continued until the exile of Jerusalem in the fifth month, at[d] the end of the eleventh year of the reign of Josiah’s son Zedekiah, the king of Judah.
Jeremiah’s Call as a Prophet
4 This message from the Lord came to me:
5 “I knew you before I formed you in the womb;
I set you apart for me before you were born;
I appointed you to be a prophet to the nations.”
6 I replied, “Ah, Lord God! Look, I don’t know how to speak, because I’m only[e] a young man.”
7 Then the Lord told me, “Don’t say, ‘I’m only[f] a young man,’ for you will go everywhere I send you, and you will speak everything I command you. 8 Don’t be afraid of them, because I am with you to deliver you,” declares the Lord.
9 The Lord stretched out his hand, touched my mouth, and then told me, “Look, I’ve put my words in your mouth. 10 See, today I’ve appointed you to prophesy about nations and kingdoms, to pull up and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant.”
11 After all, no one can lay any other foundation than the one that is already laid, and that is Jesus the Messiah.[a] 12 Whether a person builds on this foundation with gold, silver, expensive stones, wood, hay, or straw, 13 the workmanship of each person will become evident, for the day of judgment[b] will show what it is, because it will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s action. 14 If what a person has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward.[c] 15 If his work is burned up, he will suffer loss. However, he himself will be saved, but it will be like going through fire.
16 You know that you are God’s sanctuary and that God’s Spirit lives in you, don’t you? 17 If anyone destroys God’s sanctuary, God will destroy him, for God’s sanctuary is holy. And you are that sanctuary!
True Wisdom
18 Let no one deceive himself. If any of you thinks he is wise in the ways of[d] this world, he must become a fool to become really wise. 19 For the wisdom of this world is nonsense in God’s sight. For it is written,
“He catches the wise with their own trickery,”[e]
20 and again,
21 So let no one boast about human beings, since everything belongs to you, 22 whether Paul, Apollos, Cephas,[h] the world, life, death, the present, or the future—everything belongs to you, 23 but you belong to the Messiah,[i] and the Messiah[j] belongs to God.
The True Family of Jesus(A)
31 Then his mother and his brothers arrived. Milling around outside, they sent for him, continuously summoning him. 32 A crowd was sitting around him. They told him, “Look! Your mother and your brothers[a] are outside asking for you.”
33 He answered them, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” 34 Then looking at the people sitting around him, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! 35 Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.”
The Parable about a Farmer(B)
4 Then Jesus[b] began to teach again beside the sea. Such a large crowd gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it,[c] while the entire crowd remained beside the sea on the shore. 2 He began teaching them many things in parables. While he was teaching them he said, 3 “Listen! A farmer went out to sow. 4 As he was sowing, some seeds fell along the path, and birds came and ate them up. 5 Others fell on stony ground, where they didn’t have a lot of soil. They sprouted at once, because the soil wasn’t deep. 6 But when the sun came up, they were scorched. Since they didn’t have any roots, they dried up. 7 Others fell among thorn bushes, and the thorn bushes came up and choked them out, and they didn’t produce anything. 8 But others fell on good soil and produced a crop. They grew up, increased in size, and produced 30, 60, or 100 times what was sown.”[d] 9 He added, “Let the person who has ears to hear, listen!”
Copyright © 1995-2014 by ISV Foundation. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. Used by permission of Davidson Press, LLC.