Book of Common Prayer
97 O, how I love Your Law! It is what I think about all through the day. 98 Your Word makes me wiser than those who hate me, for it is always with me. 99 I have better understanding than all my teachers because I think about Your Law. 100 I have a better understanding than those who are old because I obey Your Word. 101 I have kept my feet from every sinful way so that I may keep Your Word. 102 I have not turned away from Your Law, for You Yourself have taught me. 103 How sweet is Your Word to my taste! It is sweeter than honey to my mouth! 104 I get understanding from Your Law and so I hate every false way.
105 Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. 106 I have promised that I will keep Your Law. And I will add strength to this promise. 107 I am in much suffering. O Lord, give me life again by Your Word. 108 Take my willing gift of thanks, O Lord, and teach me Your Law. 109 My life is always in my hand, yet I do not forget Your Law. 110 The sinful have set a trap for me, yet I have not turned from Your Law. 111 I have been given Your Law forever. It is the joy of my heart. 112 I have set my heart on obeying Your Law forever, even to the end.
113 I hate those who have two ways of thinking, but I love Your Law. 114 You are my hiding place and my battle-covering. I put my hope in Your Word. 115 Go away from me, you who do wrong, so I may keep the Word of my God. 116 Hold me up by Your Word and I will live. Do not let me be ashamed of my hope. 117 Hold me up so I will be safe, and I will always have respect for Your Law. 118 You turn away from all those who turn from Your Law. They fool themselves with their own lying. 119 You put away like waste all the sinful of the earth, so I love Your Law. 120 My flesh shakes in fear of You, and I am afraid of how You may punish.
A Song to God’s Care
81 Sing for joy to God our strength! Call out for joy to the God of Jacob! 2 Sing a song, beat the timbrel. Play the sweet-sounding harps. 3 Blow the horn at the new moon, at the full moon on the day of our special supper. 4 For this is a Law for Israel, a Law of the God of Jacob. 5 He made it a Law for Joseph, when he went through the land of Egypt. I heard a language that I did not know:
6 “I took the load off his shoulders. His hands were set free from the basket. 7 You called in your trouble, and I took you out of it. I answered you in the hiding place of thunder. I tested you at the waters of Meribah. 8 Hear, O My people, and I will tell you what to do. O Israel, if you would listen to Me! 9 Let there be no strange god among you. Do not worship any false god. 10 I, the Lord, am your God. I brought you out of the land of Egypt. Open your mouth wide and I will fill it.
11 “But My people did not listen to My voice. And Israel did not obey Me. 12 So I let them follow the desires of their sinful hearts. They followed their own plans. 13 If only My people would listen to Me! If only Israel would follow My ways! 14 I would hurry to crush those who fight against them. I would turn My hand against those who hate them. 15 Those who hate the Lord would pretend to obey Him. And their punishment would last forever. 16 But I would feed you with the best of grain. And I would fill you with honey from the rock.”
God’s Rule
82 God takes His stand in the great meeting of His people. He judges among the rulers. 2 How long will you rulers be wrong in how you judge? How long will you show favor to the sinful? 3 Do the right thing for the weak and those without a father. Stand up for the rights of those who are suffering and in need. 4 Save the weak and those in need. Set them free from the hand of the sinful.
5 They know nothing; they understand nothing. They walk around in the dark. All that the earth is built upon is shaking. 6 I said, “You are gods. You are all sons of the Most High. 7 But you will die like men, and fall like one of the princes.”
8 Rise up, O God! Say who is guilty or not guilty upon the earth! For all the nations belong to You.
19 So Gideon and the 100 men who were with him came to the side of the tents. It was late in the night. Different soldiers had just come to keep watch. Then the men blew the horns and broke the pots that were in their hands. 20 All three groups blew their horns and broke their pots. They held the sticks of fire in their left hands and horns to be blown in their right hands. And they called out, “A sword for the Lord and for Gideon!” 21 Each man stood in his place around the tents. And all the Midianite army ran. They cried out and ran away. 22 When the 300 horns were blown, the Lord made every man fight the man next to him among the tents. And the army ran away as far as Beth-shittah toward Zererah. They went as far as the land of Abel-meholah, by Tabbath. 23 The men of Israel were called out from Naphtali and Asher and all Manasseh, to go after Midian.
24 Gideon sent men through all the hill country of Ephraim, saying, “Come down against Midian. Take the waters in front of them, as far as Beth-barah and the Jordan.” So all the men of Ephraim were gathered together. And they took the waters as far as Beth-barah and the Jordan. 25 They took the two leaders of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb. They killed Oreb at the rock of Oreb. And they killed Zeeb at the place of Zeeb where the grapes are crushed. They went after Midian, and brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon from the other side of the Jordan.
Gideon Wins over the Midianites
8 Then the men of Ephraim said to Gideon, “What is this you have done to us? Why did you not call us when you went to fight against Midian?” They were angry when they argued with him. 2 But he said to them, “What have I done to compare with you? Are not the grapes that are left of Ephraim better than all the grapes gathered of Abiezer? 3 God has given the leaders of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb, into your hands. What was I able to do to compare with you?” They were no longer angry when he said that.
4 Then Gideon and the 300 men with him came to the Jordan and crossed it. They were tired but they kept going. 5 Gideon said to the men of Succoth, “I ask of you, give loaves of bread to the people who are following me. For they are tired and weak. I am going after Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian.” 6 But the leaders of Succoth said, “Are Zebah and Zalmunna already in your hands, that we should give bread to your army?” 7 Gideon said, “The Lord will give Zebah and Zalmunna into my hand. Then I will beat your bodies with the thorns and thistles from the desert.” 8 From there he went up to Penuel and spoke to them in the same way. The men of Penuel gave him the same answer as the men of Succoth. 9 So he said to the men of Penuel, “When I return safe, I will tear down this tower.” 10 Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor. With them were their armies, about 15,000 men. These were all who were left of the whole army of the people of the east. For 120,000 men who fought with swords had been killed. 11 Gideon went up by the way of those who lived in tents east of Nobah and Jogbehah. And he fought against the army by surprise. 12 Zebah and Zalmunna ran away. Gideon went after them and took the two kings of Midian, Zebah and Zalmunna. The whole army was afraid.
Peter Preaches the Second Time
12 When Peter saw this, he said to them, “Jewish men, why are you surprised at this? Why do you look at us as if we had made this man walk by our own power or holy lives? 13 The God of our fathers, the God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, has done this. He has honored His Son Jesus. He is the One you handed over to Pilate. You turned your backs on Him after Pilate had decided to let Him go free. 14 But you turned your backs against the Holy and Right One. Then you asked for a man who had killed someone to go free. 15 You killed the very One Who made all life. But God raised Him from the dead. We saw Him alive. 16 You see and know this man here. He has been made strong through faith in Jesus’ name. Yes, it is faith in Christ that has made this man well and strong. This man is standing here in front of you all.
17 “Brothers, I know you and your leaders did this without knowing what you were doing. 18 In this way, God did what He said He would do through all the early preachers. He said that Christ must suffer many hard things. 19 But you must be sorry for your sins and turn from them. You must turn to God and have your sins taken away. Then many times your soul will receive new strength from the Lord. 20 He will send Jesus back to the world. He is the Christ Who long ago was chosen for you. 21 But for awhile He must stay in heaven until the time when all things are made right. God said these things would happen through His holy early preachers.
22 “Moses said, ‘The Lord God will raise up from among your brothers One Who speaks for God, as He raised me. You must listen to everything He says. 23 Everyone among the people who will not listen to that One Who speaks for God will be put to death.’ (A) 24 All the early preachers who have spoken from Samuel until now have told of these days. 25 You are of the family of the early preachers and of the promise that God made with our early fathers. He said to Abraham, ‘All the families of the earth will receive God’s favor through your children.’ 26 God has raised up His Son Jesus and has sent Him to you first to give God’s favor to each of you who will turn away from his sinful ways.”
The Baptism of Jesus (A)
29 The next day John the Baptist saw Jesus coming to him. He said, “See! The Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world! 30 I have been talking about Him. I said, ‘One is coming after me Who is more important than I, because He lived before I was born.’ 31 I did not know who He was, but I have come to baptize with water so the Jews might know about Him.”
32 Then John said, “I saw the Holy Spirit come down on Jesus as a dove from heaven. The Holy Spirit stayed on Him. 33 I did not know Him then. But God sent me to baptize with water. God said to me, ‘The Holy Spirit will come down and stay on Him. He is the One Who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ 34 I saw this happen. I am now saying that Jesus is the Son of God.”
Jesus Calls Andrew and Peter
35 The next day John the Baptist was standing with two of his own followers. 36 Jesus walked by. John looked at Him and said, “See! The Lamb of God.” 37 John’s two followers heard him say this and followed Jesus.
38 Jesus turned around and saw them following. He said to them, “What are you looking for?” They answered, “Teacher, where are you staying?” 39 He said to them, “Come and see.” They followed Him and saw where He lived. They stayed with Him that day. It was about four o’clock in the afternoon.
40 Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who had heard John’s words and had followed Jesus. 41 The first thing he did was to find his brother Simon. He said to him, “We have found the Christ!” 42 Andrew took Simon to Jesus. When Jesus saw Simon, He said, “You are Simon, the son of John. Your name will be Cephas.” The name Cephas means Peter, or a rock.
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