Book of Common Prayer
The Lord’s Wonderful Works in Behalf of Israel.
105 (A)Give thanks to the Lord, (B)call upon His name;
(C)Make His deeds known among the peoples.
2 Sing to Him, (D)sing praises to Him;
[a](E)Tell of all His [b]wonders.
3 Boast in His holy name;
May the (F)heart of those who seek the Lord be joyful.
4 Seek the Lord and (G)His strength;
(H)Seek His face continually.
5 Remember His [c](I)wonders which He has done,
His marvels and the (J)judgments [d]spoken by His mouth,
6 You [e]descendants of (K)Abraham, His servant,
You sons of (L)Jacob, His (M)chosen ones!
7 He is the Lord our God;
His (N)judgments are in all the earth.
8 He has (O)remembered His covenant forever,
The word which He commanded to a (P)thousand generations,
9 The (Q)covenant which He made with Abraham,
And His (R)oath to Isaac.
10 Then He (S)confirmed it to Jacob as a statute,
To Israel as an everlasting covenant,
11 Saying, “(T)To you I will give the land of Canaan
As the [f](U)portion of your inheritance,”
12 When they were only a (V)few people in number,
Very few, and (W)strangers in it.
13 And they wandered from nation to nation,
From one kingdom to another people,
14 He (X)allowed no one to oppress them,
And He [g](Y)rebuked kings for their sakes, saying,
15 “(Z)Do not touch My anointed ones,
And do not harm My prophets.”
16 And He (AA)called for a famine upon the land;
He (AB)broke the whole staff of bread.
17 He (AC)sent a man before them,
Joseph, who was (AD)sold as a slave.
18 They forced his (AE)feet into shackles,
[h]He was put in irons;
19 Until the time that his (AF)word came to pass,
The word of the Lord (AG)refined him.
20 The (AH)king sent and released him,
The ruler of peoples, and set him free.
21 He (AI)made him lord of his house,
And ruler over all his possessions,
22 To [i]imprison his high officials [j](AJ)at will,
That he might teach his elders wisdom.
23 (AK)Israel also came into Egypt;
So Jacob (AL)lived in the land of Ham.
24 And He (AM)made His people very fruitful,
And made them stronger than their enemies.
25 He (AN)turned their heart to hate His people,
To (AO)deal cunningly with His servants.
26 He (AP)sent His servant Moses,
And (AQ)Aaron, whom He had chosen.
27 They [k](AR)performed His wondrous acts among them,
And miracles in the land of Ham.
28 He (AS)sent darkness and made it dark;
And they did not (AT)rebel against His words.
29 He (AU)turned their waters into blood,
And caused their fish to die.
30 Their land swarmed with (AV)frogs
Even in the (AW)chambers of their kings.
31 He spoke, and a (AX)swarm of flies
And (AY)gnats invaded all their territory.
32 He [l]gave them (AZ)hail for rain,
And flaming fire in their land.
33 He also (BA)struck their vines and their fig trees,
And smashed the trees of their territory.
34 He spoke, and (BB)locusts came,
And creeping locusts, beyond number,
35 And they ate all the vegetation in their land,
And ate the fruit of their ground.
36 He also (BC)fatally struck all the firstborn in their land,
The (BD)first fruits of all their vigor.
37 Then He brought [m]the Israelites out with (BE)silver and gold,
And among His tribes there was not one who stumbled.
38 Egypt was (BF)glad when they departed,
For the (BG)dread of them had fallen upon [n]the Egyptians.
39 He spread out a (BH)cloud as a [o]covering,
And (BI)fire to illumine by night.
40 [p]They (BJ)asked, and He brought (BK)quail,
And satisfied them with the [q](BL)bread of heaven.
41 He opened the [r]rock and (BM)water flowed out;
[s]It ran in the dry places like a river.
42 For He (BN)remembered His holy word
With His servant Abraham;
43 And He led out His people with joy,
His chosen ones with a joyful (BO)shout.
44 He also (BP)gave them the lands of the [t]nations,
So that they (BQ)might take possession of the fruit of the peoples’ labor,
45 And that they might (BR)keep His statutes
And comply with His laws;
[u]Praise [v]the Lord!
People Affirm Their Covenant with God
24 Then He said to Moses, “(A)Come up to the Lord, you and Aaron, (B)Nadab and Abihu, and (C)seventy of the elders of Israel, and you shall worship at a distance. 2 Moses alone, however, shall approach the Lord, but they shall not approach, nor shall the people come up with him.”
3 Then Moses came and reported to the people all the words of the Lord and all the [a]ordinances; and all the people answered with one voice and said, “(D)All the words which the Lord has spoken we will do!” 4 And (E)Moses wrote down all the words of the Lord. Then he got up early in the morning, and built an (F)altar [b]at the foot of the mountain with twelve memorial stones for the twelve tribes of Israel. 5 And he sent young men of the sons of Israel, (G)and they offered burnt offerings and sacrificed bulls as peace offerings to the Lord. 6 (H)Moses took half of the blood and put it in basins, and the other half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar. 7 Then he took (I)the Book of the Covenant and read it [c]as the people listened; and they said, “(J)All that the Lord has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient!” 8 So (K)Moses took the blood and sprinkled it on the people, and said, “Behold (L)the blood of the covenant, which the Lord has [d]made with you [e]in accordance with all these words.”
9 Then Moses went up [f]with Aaron, (M)Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, 10 and (N)they saw the God of Israel; and under His feet [g](O)there appeared to be a pavement of sapphire, [h]as clear as the sky itself. 11 Yet He did not reach out with His hand against the nobles of the sons of Israel; and (P)they saw God, and they ate and drank.
12 Now the Lord said to Moses, “Come up to Me on the mountain and [i]stay there, and (Q)I will give you the stone tablets [j]with the Law and the [k]commandments which I have written for their instruction.” 13 So Moses got up [l]along with (R)Joshua his [m]servant, and Moses went up to (S)the mountain of God. 14 But to the elders he said, “(T)Wait here for us until we return to you. And behold, (U)Aaron and Hur are with you; whoever [n]has a legal matter, have him approach them.” 15 Then Moses went up to the mountain, and (V)the cloud covered the mountain. 16 (W)The glory of the Lord [o]settled on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days; and on the seventh day He (X)called to Moses from the midst of the cloud. 17 (Y)And to the eyes of the sons of Israel, the appearance of the glory of the Lord was like a (Z)consuming fire on the mountain top. 18 Then Moses entered the midst of the cloud [p]as he went up to the mountain; and Moses was on the mountain for (AA)forty days and forty nights.
8 (A)See to it that there is no one who takes you captive through (B)philosophy and empty deception in accordance with human tradition, in accordance with the (C)elementary principles of the world, [a]rather than in accordance with Christ. 9 For in Him all the (D)fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form, 10 and in Him you have been (E)made [b]complete, and (F)He is the head [c]over every (G)ruler and authority; 11 and in Him (H)you were also circumcised with a circumcision performed without hands, in the removal of (I)the body of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ, 12 having been (J)buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also (K)raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who (L)raised Him from the dead. 13 And [d]when you were (M)dead [e]in your wrongdoings and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He (N)made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our wrongdoings, 14 having canceled (O)the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and (P)He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. 15 When He had [f](Q)disarmed the (R)rulers and authorities, He (S)made a public display of them, having (T)triumphed over them through [g]Him.
16 Therefore, no one is to [h](U)act as your judge in regard to (V)food and (W)drink, or in respect to a (X)festival or a (Y)new moon, or a (Z)Sabbath [i]day— 17 things which are only a (AA)shadow of what is to come; but the [j]substance [k]belongs to Christ. 18 Take care that no one keeps [l](AB)defrauding you of your prize by (AC)delighting in humility and the worship of the angels, [m]taking his stand on visions he has seen, [n](AD)inflated without cause by his (AE)fleshly mind, 19 and not holding firmly to (AF)the head, from whom (AG)the entire body, being supplied and held together by the joints and [o]ligaments, grows with a growth [p]which is from God.
20 (AH)If you have died with Christ [q]to the (AI)elementary principles of the world, (AJ)why, as if you were living in the world, do you submit yourself to (AK)decrees, such as, 21 “Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch!” 22 (which all refer (AL)to things destined to perish [r]with use)—in accordance with the (AM)commandments and teachings of man? 23 These are matters which do have the [s]appearance of wisdom in [t](AN)self-made religion and humility and (AO)severe treatment of the body, but are of no value against (AP)fleshly indulgence.
Jesus Begins His Ministry
12 Now when Jesus heard that (A)John had been taken into custody, (B)He withdrew into Galilee; 13 and leaving Nazareth, He came and (C)settled in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali. 14 This happened so that what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet would be fulfilled:
15 “(D)The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali,
[a]By the way of the sea, on the other side of the Jordan, Galilee of the [b]Gentiles—
16 (E)The people who were sitting in darkness saw a great Light,
And those who were sitting in the land and shadow of death,
Upon them a Light dawned.”
17 (F)From that time Jesus began to [c]preach and say, “(G)Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”
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