Book of Common Prayer
Praise to Yahweh for His Faithfulness in Israel’s History
106 Praise Yah.[a] Give thanks to Yahweh, for he is good,
for his loyal love is forever.
2 Who can utter the mighty deeds of Yahweh,
or proclaim all his praise?
3 Blessed are those who observe justice,
he who does righteousness at all times.
4 Remember me, O Yahweh, when you show favor to your people.
Look after me when you deliver,
5 that I may see the good done your chosen ones,
to be glad in the joy of your nation,
to glory together with your inheritance.
6 We have sinned along with our ancestors.[b]
We have committed iniquity; we have incurred guilt.
7 Our ancestors[c] in Egypt did not understand your wonderful works.
They did not remember your many acts of loyal love,
and so they rebelled by the sea at the Red Sea.[d]
8 Yet he saved them for the sake of his name,
to make known his might.
9 So he rebuked the Red Sea,[e] and it dried up,
and he led them through the deep as through a desert.
10 Thus he saved them from the hand of the hater
and redeemed them from the hand of the enemy.
11 But waters covered their adversaries;
not one of them survived.
12 Then they believed his words;
they sang his praise.
13 They quickly forgot his works;
they did not wait for his counsel.
14 And they craved intensely[f] in the wilderness,
and tested God in the desert.
15 So he gave to them their request,
but he sent leanness into their souls.[g]
16 And they were jealous of Moses in the camp,
and of Aaron, the holy one of Yahweh.
17 The earth opened and swallowed up Dathan,
and it covered over the gang of Abiram.
18 Also fire burned in their assembly;
the flame devoured the wicked.
19 They made a calf at Horeb
and bowed down to a cast image.
20 And so they exchanged their glory
for an image of an ox that eats grass.
21 They forgot God their Savior,
who had done great things in Egypt,
22 wonders in the land of Ham,
awesome deeds by the Red Sea.[h]
23 So he said he would exterminate them,
had not Moses, his chosen one,
stood in the breach before him,
to reverse his wrath from destroying them.
24 Then they refused the desirable land;
they did not believe his word,
25 but grumbled in their tents.
They did not obey the voice of Yahweh.
26 So he made an oath[i] against them,
to make them drop in the wilderness,
27 and to disperse[j] their descendants[k] among the nations
and to scatter them among the lands.
28 They also attached themselves to Baal of Peor,
and they ate sacrifices offered to the dead.[l]
29 Thus they provoked to anger by their deeds,
and a plague broke out among them.
30 Then Phinehas stood up and intervened,
and so the plague was stopped,
31 and it was reckoned to him as righteousness
throughout all generations.[m]
32 They also angered God at the waters of Meribah,
and it went badly for Moses on account of them,
33 because they rebelled against his Spirit,[n]
and he spoke thoughtlessly with his lips.
34 They did not exterminate the peoples,
as Yahweh had commanded them, [o]
35 but they mingled with the nations
and learned their works,
36 and served their idols,
which became[p] a snare to them.
37 They even sacrificed their sons and daughters
to the demons,
38 and they poured out innocent blood,
the blood of their sons and daughters,
whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan,
and so the land was defiled with the blood.[q]
39 And they became unclean by their works,
and were unfaithful in their deeds.
40 So Yahweh’s anger burned against his people,
and he abhorred his inheritance.
41 Then he gave them into the hand of the nations,
and those who hated them ruled over them.
42 And their enemies oppressed them,
and they were subdued under their hand.
43 Many times he delivered them,
but they rebelled in their counsel,
and were brought low by their iniquity.
44 Yet he looked upon their distress
when he heard their cry.
45 And he remembered his covenant with them,
and relented based on the abundance of his loyal love.
46 And he let them find compassion[r]
before all their captors.
47 Save us, O Yahweh our God,
and gather us from the nations,
so that we may give thanks to your holy name
and boast in your praise.
48 Blessed is Yahweh, the God of Israel,
from everlasting and to everlasting.
And let all the people say, “Amen!”
Praise Yah.[s]
Return to Yahweh
14 Return to Yahweh your God, O Israel,
for you have stumbled because of your sin.
2 Take words with you,
and return to Yahweh.
Say to him,
“Take away all guilt;
accept good, and we will offer
the fruit[a] of our lips.
3 Assyria will not save us;
we will not ride on horses,[b]
and we will say no more, “Our God,”
to the work of our hands
because in you the fatherless child finds mercy.
4 I will heal their disloyalty;[c]
I will love them freely
because my anger has turned back
from them.[d]
5 I will be like the dew to Israel;
he will blossom like the lily plant,
and he will strike his roots like the trees of Lebanon.
6 His new plant shoots will spread out;
his splendor will be like the olive tree,
and his scent like the trees of Lebanon.
7 They will again dwell[e] in my[f] shadow;
they will grow grain
and they will blossom like the plant vine;
his fame will be like the wine of Lebanon.
8 O Ephraim, what have I to do[g] with idols?
I myself have answered and looked after you.[h]
I am like a luxuriant cypress;
your fruit[i] comes from me.
9 Who is wise that he can understand these things?
Who is discerning that he knows them?
The ways of Yahweh are right,
and the righteous walk in them;
but transgressors stumble in them.
30 But on the next day, because he[a] wanted to know the true reason why he was being accused by the Jews, he released him and ordered the chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin to assemble, and he brought down Paul and[b] had him[c] stand before them.
Paul Before the Sanhedrin
23 And looking intently at the Sanhedrin, Paul said, “Men and brothers, I have lived my life in all good conscience before God to this day.” 2 So the high priest Ananias ordered those standing near him to strike his mouth. 3 Then Paul said to him, “God is going to strike you, you whitewashed wall! And are you sitting there judging me according to the law, and acting contrary to the law do you order me to be struck?” 4 And those who stood nearby said, “Are you reviling the high priest of God?” 5 And Paul said, “I did not know, brothers, that he was high priest. For it is written, ‘You must not speak evil of a ruler of your people.’”[d]
6 Now when[e] Paul realized that one part were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, he shouted out in the Sanhedrin, “Men and brothers! I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees! I am being judged concerning the hope and the resurrection of the dead!” 7 And when[f] he said this, a dispute developed between the Pharisees and Sadducees, and the assembly was divided. 8 (For the Sadducees say there is no resurrection or angel or spirit, but the Pharisees acknowledge them all.) 9 And there was loud shouting, and some of the scribes from the party of the Pharisees stood up and[g] contended sharply, saying, “We find nothing wrong with this man! But what if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him?” 10 And when[h] the dispute became severe, the military tribune, fearing lest Paul be torn apart by them, ordered the detachment to go down, take him away from their midst, and bring him[i] into the barracks.[j] 11 And the next night the Lord stood by him and[k] said, “Have courage, for as you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome.”
39 And he also told them a parable: “Surely a blind person cannot lead the blind, can he?[a] Will they not both fall into a pit? 40 A disciple is not superior to his[b] teacher, but everyone, when he[c] is fully trained, will be like his teacher. 41 And why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the beam of wood that is in your own eye? 42 How are you able to say to your brother, “Brother, allow me to remove the speck that is in your eye,” while[d] you yourself do not see the beam of wood in your own eye? Hypocrite! First remove the beam of wood from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck that is in your brother’s eye!
The Sermon on the Plain: Trees and Their Fruit
43 “For there is no good tree that produces bad fruit, nor on the other hand a bad tree that produces good fruit, 44 for each tree is known by its own fruit. For figs are not gathered from thorn plants, nor are grapes harvested from thorn bushes. 45 The good person out of the good treasury of his heart brings forth good, and the evil person out of his[e] evil treasury[f] brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.
46 “And why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I tell you?[g]
The Sermon on the Plain: Two Houses and Two Foundations
47 “Everyone who comes to me and listens to my words and does them—I will show you what he is like: 48 he is like a man building a house, who dug and went down deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when[h] a flood came, the river burst against that house and was not able to shake it, because it had been built well. 49 But the one who hears my words[i] and does not do them[j] is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation, which the river burst against, and immediately it collapsed—and the collapse of that house was great!”
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