Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 105[a]
God’s Faithfulness to the Covenant
1 [b]Give thanks to the Lord, invoke his name;[c]
proclaim his deeds among the peoples.
2 Offer him honor with songs of praise;
recount all his marvelous deeds.
3 Glory in his holy name;
let the hearts[d] of those who seek the Lord exult.
4 Reflect on the Lord and his strength;
seek his face continually.
5 Remember the marvels he has wrought,
his portents, and the judgments[e] he has set forth.
6 You are the offspring of his servant Abraham,
the children of Jacob, his chosen ones.[f]
7 He is the Lord, our God;
his judgments prevail all over the earth.
8 He is mindful of his covenant[g] forever,
the promise he laid down for a thousand generations,
9 the covenant he made with Abraham
and the oath he swore to Isaac.[h]
10 [i]He established it as a decree for Jacob,
and as an everlasting covenant for Israel,
11 saying, “To you I will give the land of Canaan
as the portion of your heritage.”
12 [j]When they were few in number,
an insignificant group of strangers in it,
13 they wandered from nation to nation,
from one kingdom to another.
14 He permitted no one to oppress them,
and in their regard he warned kings:[k]
15 “Do not touch my anointed ones;
do no harm to my prophets.”[l]
16 Then he invoked a famine on the land
and destroyed their supply of bread.
17 But he had sent a man ahead of them,
Joseph, who had been sold as a slave.
18 They shackled his feet with fetters
and clamped an iron collar around his neck,
19 until what he had prophesied was fulfilled
and the word of the Lord proved him true.
20 The king ordered that he be released;
the ruler of the peoples set him free.
21 He appointed him as master of his household
and as ruler of all his possessions.
22 He was to instruct[m] his princes as he deemed fit
and to impart wisdom to his elders.
23 Then Israel went down into Egypt;
Jacob lived as an alien in the land of Ham.[n]
24 God greatly increased the number of his people
and made them too strong for their foes,
25 whose hearts he then turned[o] to hate his people
and to conspire against his servants.
26 He sent his servant Moses,
and Aaron whom he had chosen.
27 They performed his signs among them
and worked wonders in the land of Ham.
28 [p]He sent darkness that enveloped the land,
but they rebelled against his warnings.
29 He turned their waters into blood,
and all their fish were destroyed.
30 Their land was saturated with frogs,
even in the royal chambers.
31 At his command there came hordes of flies
and gnats throughout their country.
32 He sent them hail instead of rain,
and flashes of lightning in all their land.
33 He struck down their vines and their fig trees
and demolished the trees of their country.
34 At his word the locusts came,
as well as grasshoppers beyond all count.
35 They gobbled up every green plant in the land
and devoured the produce of the soil.
36 He struck down all the firstborn of the land,
the firstfruits of their manhood.
37 Then he led out his people with silver and gold,
and there was not one among their tribes who stumbled.
38 Egypt was glad when they departed,
for dread of Israel had overwhelmed them.
39 He spread a cloud over his people as a cover[q]
and a fire to give light by night.
40 At their request he supplied them with quail,
and he filled them with bread from heaven.[r]
41 He split open a rock and water gushed forth,
flowing through the wilderness like a river.[s]
42 For he remembered the sacred promise
that he had made to Abraham, his servant.
43 He led forth his people with rejoicing,
his chosen ones with exultation.[t]
44 He gave them the lands of the nations,
and they inherited the fruit of other people’s toil,
45 so that they might keep his decrees
and observe his laws.
Alleluia.
Chapter 4[a]
Vision of the Lampstand and Olives. 1 Then the angel who had talked with me returned and roused me, as though awakening someone who was asleep. 2 He asked me, “What do you see?” I replied, “I see a lampstand of solid gold, with a bowl at the top. There are seven lamps on it, with seven openings to hold the lamps. 3 Alongside it are two olive trees, one to the right and the other to the left.”
4 I then said to the angel who was speaking to me, “What are these things, my lord?” 5 The angel who was speaking to me replied, “Do you not know what they are?” “No, my lord,” I answered. 6 Then he said to me, “This is the Lord’s message to Zerubbabel: Not by force, nor by strength, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of hosts. 7 What are you, O great mountain? Compared with Zerubbabel, you are nothing more than a plain. He will bring out the capstone amid shouts of acclamation.”
8 This word of the Lord was then addressed to me as follows: 9 “The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of the house, and his hands will complete the work. Then you will know that the Lord of hosts has sent me to you. 10 For those who spoke disparagingly on that day of small beginnings will rejoice to see the chosen stone in the hands of Zerubbabel. These seven facets are the eyes of the Lord that range throughout the entire earth.”
11 Then I asked the angel, “What is the significance of those two olive trees to the left and the right of the lampstand?” 12 And I asked him further, “What is the meaning of the two olive branches that pour forth the oil through the two golden channels?”
13 “Do you not know what these are?” he said to me. “No, my lord,” I replied. 14 He answered, “These are the two anointed ones who stand in attendance on the Lord of the entire earth.”
17 The Newness of the Christian Life. Therefore, I declare and attest in the Lord that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. 18 They are darkened in their understanding and alienated from the life of God because of their ignorance and their hardness of heart. 19 Having lost all sensitivity, they have abandoned themselves to vice, committing every kind of impurity in growing excess.
20 That is not how you learned Christ. 21 Clearly, you were told about him and were taught what the truth is in Jesus. 22 You were taught to cast aside the old self of your former way of life that had been corrupted by its captivating desires. 23 You are to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, 24 and to clothe yourselves with the new self created in God’s image, in the way of uprightness and holiness that belong to the truth.
25 A Life Based on Love. Therefore, cease your lying and speak the truth to each other, for we are all members of one another. 26 If you are angry, do not sin. Do not let the sun set on your anger, 27 and do not give the devil an opening. 28 Anyone who has been stealing must no longer do so; rather, let him labor, performing some honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with those in need.
29 Let no foul word ever pass your lips. Say only what is useful for edification, so that your words may benefit your listeners. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God who has marked you with his seal for the day of redemption. 31 Remove all forms of bitterness and wrath and anger and shouting and slander, as well as all malice from your lives. 32 Rather, be kind to one another and compassionate, and forgive one another as God has forgiven you in Christ.
Chapter 9
The Healing of a Paralyzed Man.[a] 1 Therefore, Jesus got into a boat and, crossing over the lake, arrived at his hometown.[b] 2 Some people then approached him, carrying a paralyzed man lying on a bed. On perceiving their faith, Jesus said to the man, “Take heart, son. Your sins are forgiven.”
3 On hearing this, some of the scribes said to themselves, “This man is blaspheming.”[c] 4 Jesus perceived what they were thinking, and he said, “Why do you harbor evil thoughts in your hearts? 5 [d]Which is easier, to say: ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say: ‘Stand up and walk’? 6 But so that you may come to realize that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he said to the paralyzed man—“Stand up, take your bed, and go to your home.” 7 The man got up and returned to his home. 8 When the crowd saw this, they were filled with awe, and they glorified God for having given such authority to men.
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