Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 118[a]
118 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
and his loyal love endures.[b]
2 Let Israel say,
“Yes, his loyal love endures.”
3 Let the family[c] of Aaron say,
“Yes, his loyal love endures.”
4 Let the loyal followers of the Lord[d] say,
“Yes, his loyal love endures.”
5 In my distress[e] I cried out to the Lord.
The Lord answered me and put me in a wide open place.[f]
6 The Lord is on my side;[g] I am not afraid.
What can people do to me?[h]
7 The Lord is on my side[i] as my helper.[j]
I look in triumph on those who hate me.
8 It is better to take shelter[k] in the Lord
than to trust in people.
9 It is better to take shelter in the Lord
than to trust in princes.
10 All the nations surrounded me.[l]
Indeed, in the name of the Lord[m] I pushed them away.[n]
11 They surrounded me, yes, they surrounded me.
Indeed, in the name of the Lord I pushed them away.
12 They surrounded me like bees.
But they disappeared as quickly[o] as a fire among thorns.[p]
Indeed, in the name of the Lord I pushed them away.
13 “You aggressively attacked me[q] and tried to knock me down,[r]
but the Lord helped me.
14 The Lord gives me strength and protects me;[s]
he has become my deliverer.”[t]
15 They celebrate deliverance in the tents of the godly.[u]
The Lord’s right hand conquers.[v]
16 The Lord’s right hand gives victory;[w]
the Lord’s right hand conquers.
17 I will not die, but live,
and I will proclaim what the Lord has done.[x]
18 The Lord severely[y] punished me,
but he did not hand me over to death.
19 Open for me the gates of the just king’s temple.[z]
I will enter through them and give thanks to the Lord.
20 This is the Lord’s gate—
the godly enter through it.
21 I will give you thanks, for you answered me,
and have become my deliverer.
22 The stone that the builders discarded[aa]
has become the cornerstone.[ab]
23 This is the Lord’s work.
We consider it amazing![ac]
24 This is the day the Lord has brought about.[ad]
We will be happy and rejoice in it.
25 Please, Lord, deliver!
Please, Lord, grant us success![ae]
26 May the one who comes in the name of the Lord[af] be blessed.
We will pronounce blessings on you[ag] in the Lord’s temple.[ah]
27 The Lord is God, and he has delivered us.[ai]
Tie the offering[aj] with ropes
to the horns of the altar.[ak]
28 You are my[al] God, and I will give you thanks.
You are my God and I will praise you.
29 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good
and his loyal love endures.[am]
Psalm 145[a]
A psalm of praise; by David.
145 I will extol you, my God, O King.
I will praise your name continually.[b]
2 Every day I will praise you.
I will praise your name continually.[c]
3 The Lord is great and certainly worthy of praise.
No one can fathom his greatness.[d]
4 One generation will praise your deeds to another,
and tell about your mighty acts.[e]
5 I will focus on your honor and majestic splendor,
and your amazing deeds.[f]
6 They will proclaim[g] the power of your awesome acts.
I will declare your great deeds.
7 They will talk about the fame of your great kindness,[h]
and sing about your justice.[i]
8 The Lord is merciful and compassionate;
he is patient[j] and demonstrates great loyal love.[k]
9 The Lord is good to all,
and has compassion on all he has made.[l]
10 All your works will give thanks to you, Lord.
Your loyal followers will praise you.
11 They will proclaim the splendor of your kingdom;
they will tell about your power,
12 so that mankind[m] might acknowledge your mighty acts,
and the majestic splendor of your kingdom.
13 Your kingdom is an eternal kingdom,[n]
and your dominion endures through all generations.
14 [o] The Lord supports all who fall,
and lifts up all who are bent over.[p]
15 Everything looks to you in anticipation,[q]
and you provide them with food on a regular basis.[r]
16 You open your hand,
and fill every living thing with the food it desires.[s]
17 The Lord is just in all his actions,[t]
and exhibits love in all he does.[u]
18 The Lord is near all who cry out to him,
all who cry out to him sincerely.[v]
19 He satisfies the desire[w] of his loyal followers;[x]
he hears their cry for help and delivers them.
20 The Lord protects all those who love him,
but he destroys all the wicked.
21 My mouth will praise the Lord.[y]
Let all who live[z] praise his holy name forever.
Samuel Anoints Saul
10 Then Samuel took a small container of olive oil and poured it on Saul’s[a] head. Samuel[b] kissed him and said, “The Lord has chosen you[c] to lead his people Israel! You will rule over the Lord’s people and you will deliver them from the power of the enemies who surround them. This will be your sign that the Lord has chosen[d] you as leader over his inheritance.[e] 2 When you leave me today, you will find two men near Rachel’s tomb at Zelzah on Benjamin’s border. They will say to you, ‘The donkeys you have gone looking for have been found. Your father is no longer concerned about the donkeys but has become anxious about you two![f] He is asking, “What should I do about my son?”’
3 “As you continue on from there, you will come to the tall tree of Tabor. At that point three men who are going up to God at Bethel will meet you. One of them will be carrying three young goats, one of them will be carrying three round loaves of bread, and one of them will be carrying a container of wine. 4 They will ask you how you’re doing and will give you two loaves of bread. You will accept them. 5 Afterward you will go to Gibeah of God, where there are Philistine officials.[g] When you enter the town, you will meet a company of prophets coming down from the high place. They will have harps, tambourines, flutes, and lyres, and they will be prophesying. 6 Then the Spirit of the Lord will rush upon you and you will prophesy with them. You will be changed into a different person.
7 “When these signs have taken place, do whatever your hand finds to do, for God will be with you.[h] 8 You will go down to Gilgal before me. I am going to join you there to offer burnt offerings and to make peace offerings. You should wait for seven days until I arrive and tell you what to do.”
Saul Becomes King
9 As Saul[i] turned[j] to leave Samuel, God changed his inmost person.[k] All these signs happened on that very day. 10 When Saul and his servant[l] arrived at Gibeah, a company of prophets was coming out to meet him. Then the Spirit of God rushed upon Saul[m] and he prophesied among them. 11 When everyone who had known him previously saw him prophesying with the prophets, the people asked one another, “What on earth has happened to the son of Kish? Does even Saul belong with the prophets?”
12 A man who was from there replied, “And who is their father?” Therefore this became a proverb: “Is even Saul among the prophets?” 13 When Saul[n] had finished prophesying, he went to the high place.
14 Saul’s uncle asked him and his servant, “Where did you go?” Saul[o] replied, “To look for the donkeys. But when we realized they were lost,[p] we went to Samuel.” 15 Saul’s uncle said, “Tell me what Samuel said to you.”[q] 16 Saul said to his uncle, “He assured us that the donkeys had been found.” But Saul[r] did not tell him what Samuel had said about the matter of kingship.
13 For the promise[a] to Abraham or to his descendants that he would inherit the world was not fulfilled through the law, but through the righteousness that comes by faith. 14 For if they become heirs by the law, faith is empty and the promise is nullified.[b] 15 For the law brings wrath, because where there is no law there is no transgression[c] either. 16 For this reason it is by faith so that it may be by grace,[d] with the result that the promise may be certain to all the descendants—not only to those who are under the law, but also to those who have the faith of Abraham,[e] who is the father of us all 17 (as it is written, “I have made you the father of many nations”).[f] He is our father[g] in the presence of God whom he believed—the God who[h] makes the dead alive and summons the things that do not yet exist as though they already do.[i] 18 Against hope Abraham[j] believed[k] in hope with the result that he became the father of many nations[l] according to the pronouncement,[m] “so will your descendants be.”[n] 19 Without being weak in faith, he considered[o] his own body as dead[p] (because he was about 100 years old) and the deadness of Sarah’s womb. 20 He[q] did not waver in unbelief about the promise of God but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God. 21 He was[r] fully convinced that what God[s] promised he was also able to do. 22 So indeed it was credited to Abraham[t] as righteousness.
23 But the statement it was credited to him[u] was not written only for Abraham’s[v] sake, 24 but also for our sake, to whom it will be credited, those who believe in the one who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. 25 He[w] was given over[x] because of our transgressions and was raised for the sake of[y] our justification.[z]
The Authority of Jesus
23 Now after Jesus[a] entered the temple courts,[b] the chief priests and elders of the people came up to him as he was teaching and said, “By what authority[c] are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?” 24 Jesus[d] answered them, “I will also ask you one question. If you answer me then I will also tell you by what authority I do these things. 25 Where did John’s baptism come from? From heaven or from people?”[e] They discussed this among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘Then why did you not believe him?’ 26 But if we say, ‘From people,’ we fear the crowd, for they all consider John to be a prophet.” 27 So[f] they answered Jesus,[g] “We don’t know.”[h] Then he said to them, “Neither will I tell you[i] by what authority[j] I am doing these things.
The Parable of the Two Sons
28 “What[k] do you think? A man had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’ 29 The boy answered,[l] ‘I will not.’ But later he had a change of heart[m] and went. 30 The father[n] went to the other son and said the same thing. This boy answered,[o] ‘I will, sir,’ but did not go. 31 Which of the two did his father’s will?” They said, “The first.”[p] Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth,[q] tax collectors[r] and prostitutes will go ahead of you into the kingdom of God! 32 For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him. But the tax collectors and prostitutes did believe. Although[s] you saw this, you did not later change your minds[t] and believe him.
NET Bible® copyright ©1996-2017 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.