Book of Common Prayer
A song of David.
24 The earth and everything on it belong to the Lord.
The world and all its people belong to him.
2 He built the earth on the water.
He built it over the rivers.
3 Who can go up on the Lord’s mountain[a]?
Who can stand in his holy Temple?
4 Only those who have not done evil,
who have pure hearts,
who have not used my name[b] to hide their lies,
and who have not made false promises.
5 Good people ask the Lord to bless others.
They ask God, their Savior, to do good things.
6 They try to follow God.
They go to the God of Jacob for help. Selah
7 Gates, proudly lift your heads!
Open, ancient doors,
and the glorious King will come in.
8 Who is the glorious King?
He is the Lord, the powerful soldier.
He is the Lord, the war hero.
9 Gates, proudly lift your heads!
Open, ancient doors,
and the glorious King will come in.
10 Who is the glorious King?
The Lord All-Powerful is the glorious King. Selah
A song of David.
29 Praise the Lord, you heavenly angels[a]!
Praise the Lord’s glory and power.
2 Praise the Lord and honor his name!
Worship the Lord in all his holy beauty.
3 The Lord’s voice can be heard over the sea.
The voice of our glorious Lord God is like thunder over the great ocean.
4 The Lord’s voice is powerful.
It shows the Lord’s glory.
5 The Lord’s voice shatters great cedar trees.
The Lord breaks the great cedars of Lebanon.
6 He makes Lebanon shake like a young calf dancing.
Sirion[b] trembles like a young bull jumping up and down.
7 The Lord’s voice cuts the air with flashes of lightning.
8 The Lord’s voice shakes the desert.
The desert of Kadesh[c] trembles at the Lord’s voice.
9 The Lord’s voice frightens the deer.[d]
He destroys the forests.
In his temple everyone shouts, “Glory to God!”
10 The Lord ruled as king at the time of the flood,
and the Lord will rule as king forever.
11 May the Lord make his people strong.
May the Lord bless his people with peace.
To the director: With the gittith. A song of David.
8 Lord our Lord, your name is the most wonderful in all the earth!
It brings you praise everywhere in heaven.
2 From the mouths of children and babies come songs of praise to you.
They sing of your power to silence your enemies who were seeking revenge.
3 I look at the heavens you made with your hands.
I see the moon and the stars you created.
4 And I wonder, “Why are people so important to you?
Why do you even think about them?
Why do you care so much about humans[a]?
Why do you even notice them?”
5 But you made them almost like gods
and crowned them with glory and honor.
6 You put them in charge of everything you made.
You put everything under their control.
7 People rule over the sheep and cattle and all the wild animals.
8 They rule over the birds in the sky
and the fish that swim in the sea.
9 Lord our Lord, your name is the most wonderful name in all the earth!
To the director: On the gittith. A song of praise from the Korah family.
84 Lord All-Powerful, the place where you live is so beautiful!
2 Lord, I cannot wait to enter your Temple.
I am so excited!
Every part of me cries out to be with the Living God.
3 Lord All-Powerful, my King, my God,
even the birds have found a home in your Temple.
They make their nests near your altar,
and there they have their babies.
4 Great blessings belong to those who live at your Temple!
They continue to praise you. Selah
5 Great blessings belong to those who depend on you for strength!
Their heart’s desire is to make the trip to your Temple.
6 They travel through Baca Valley,
which God has made into a place of springs.
Autumn rains form pools of water there.
7 The people travel from town to town[a]
on their way to Zion, where they will meet with God.
8 Lord God All-Powerful, listen to my prayer.
God of Jacob, listen to me. Selah
9 God, watch over the king, our protector.[b]
Be kind to him, the one you have chosen.
10 One day in your Temple is better
than a thousand days anywhere else.
Serving as a guard at the gate of my God’s house is better
than living in the homes of the wicked.
11 The Lord God is our protector and glorious king.[c]
He blesses us with kindness and honor.
The Lord freely gives every good thing
to those who do what is right.
12 Lord All-Powerful,
great blessings belong to those who trust in you!
16 Then the men got up to leave. They looked toward Sodom and began walking in that direction. Abraham walked with them to send them on their way.
Abraham’s Bargain With God
17 The Lord said to himself, “Should I tell Abraham what I am going to do now? 18 Abraham will become a great and powerful nation, and all the nations on earth will be blessed because of him. 19 I have made a special agreement with him. I did this so that he would command his children and his descendants to live the way the Lord wants them to. I did this so that they would live right and be fair. Then I, the Lord, can give him what I promised.”
20 Then the Lord said, “I have heard many times that the people of Sodom and Gomorrah are very evil. 21 I will go and see if they are as bad as I have heard. Then I will know for sure.”
22 So the men turned and started walking toward Sodom while Abraham stood there before the Lord. 23 Then Abraham approached him and asked, “Will you destroy the good people while you are destroying those who are evil? 24 What if there are fifty good people in that city? Will you still destroy it? Surely you will save the city for the fifty good people living there. 25 Surely you would not destroy the city. You would not destroy fifty good people to kill those who are evil. If that happened, those who are good would be the same as those who are evil—both would be punished. As the judge of the whole world, surely you would do the right thing!”
26 Then the Lord said, “If I find fifty good people in the city of Sodom, I will save the whole city.”
27 Then Abraham said, “Compared to you, Lord, I am only dust and ashes. But let me bother you again and ask you this question. 28 What if there are five less than fifty? Will you destroy a whole city because of just five people?”
The Lord said, “If I find forty-five good people there, I will not destroy the city.”
29 Abraham spoke again. He said, “And if you find only forty good people there, will you destroy the city?”
The Lord said, “If I find forty good people, I will not destroy the city.”
30 Then Abraham said, “Lord, please don’t be angry with me, but let me ask you this. If only thirty good people are in the city, will you destroy it?”
The Lord said, “If I find thirty good people there, I will not destroy the city.”
31 Then Abraham said, “Lord, may I bother you again and ask, what if there are twenty good people?”
The Lord answered, “If I find twenty good people, I will not destroy the city.”
32 Then Abraham said, “Lord, please don’t be angry with me, but let me bother you this one last time. If you find ten good people there, what will you do?”
The Lord said, “If I find ten good people in the city, I will not destroy it.”
33 The Lord finished speaking to Abraham and left. Then Abraham went back home.
13 My brothers and sisters, God chose you to be free. But don’t use your freedom as an excuse to do what pleases your sinful selves. Instead, serve each other with love. 14 The whole law is made complete in this one command: “Love your neighbor[a] the same as you love yourself.”[b] 15 If you continue hurting each other and tearing each other apart, be careful, or you will completely destroy each other.
The Spirit and Human Nature
16 So I tell you, live the way the Spirit leads you. Then you will not do the evil things your sinful self wants. 17 The sinful self wants what is against the Spirit, and the Spirit wants what is against the sinful self. They are always fighting against each other, so that you don’t do what you really want to do. 18 But if you let the Spirit lead you, you are not under law.[c]
19 The wrong things the sinful self does are clear: committing sexual sin, being morally bad, doing all kinds of shameful things, 20 worshiping false gods, taking part in witchcraft, hating people, causing trouble, being jealous, angry or selfish, causing people to argue and divide into separate groups, 21 being filled with envy, getting drunk, having wild parties, and doing other things like this. I warn you now as I warned you before: The people who do these things will not have a part in God’s kingdom. 22 But the fruit that the Spirit produces in a person’s life is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these kinds of things. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified their sinful self. They have given up their old selfish feelings and the evil things they wanted to do. 25 We get our new life from the Spirit, so we should follow the Spirit.
Jesus Heals a Blind Man in Bethsaida
22 Jesus and his followers came to Bethsaida. Some people brought a blind man to him and begged him to touch the man. 23 So Jesus held the blind man’s hand and led him out of the village. Then he spit on the man’s eyes. He laid his hands on him and asked, “Can you see now?”
24 The man looked up and said, “Yes, I see people. They look like trees walking around.”
25 Again Jesus laid his hands on the man’s eyes, and the man opened them wide. His eyes were healed, and he was able to see everything clearly. 26 Jesus told him to go home. He said, “Don’t go into the town.”
Peter Says Jesus Is the Messiah(A)
27 Jesus and his followers went to the towns in the area of Caesarea Philippi. While they were traveling, Jesus asked the followers, “Who do people say I am?”
28 They answered, “Some people say you are John the Baptizer. Others say you are Elijah. And others say you are one of the prophets.”
29 Then Jesus asked, “Who do you say I am?”
Peter answered, “You are the Messiah.”
30 Jesus told the followers, “Don’t tell anyone who I am.”
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International