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!
God’s Own Power Will Save His People
9 Wake up! Wake up!
Arm of the Lord, clothe yourself with strength.
Show your power the way you did long ago,
as you have from ancient times.
You are the one who destroyed Rahab.
You defeated the Dragon.[a]
10 You dried up the water that was in the deep sea.
You made a road through the deepest parts of the sea.
Your people crossed over and were saved.
11 The Lord will save his people.
They will return to Zion with joy.
They will be very happy.
Their happiness will be like a crown on their heads forever.
They will be singing with joy.
All sadness will be gone far away.
12 The Lord says, “I am the one who comforts you.
So why should you be afraid of people?
They are only humans who live and die like the grass.
13 “I, the Lord, am the one who made you.
With my power I made the earth
and spread the sky over the earth.
But you have forgotten me,
so you are always afraid that angry men will hurt you.
Those men planned to destroy you,
but where are they now?
14 “People in prison will soon be made free.
They will not die and rot in prison.
They will have plenty of food.
15 “I am the Lord your God,
the one who stirs up the sea and makes the waves roar.”
The Lord All-Powerful is his name.
16 “My servant, I gave you the words I want you to say, and I covered you with my hands to protect you. I did this to make a new heaven and earth and so that you would say to Israel, ‘You are my people.’”
8 God called Abraham to travel to another place that he promised to give him. Abraham did not know where that other place was. But he obeyed God and started traveling because he had faith. 9 Abraham lived in the country that God promised to give him. He lived there like a visitor who did not belong. He did this because he had faith. He lived in tents with Isaac and Jacob, who also received the same promise from God. 10 Abraham was waiting for the city[a] that has real foundations. He was waiting for the city that is planned and built by God.
11 Sarah was not able to have children, and Abraham was too old. But he had faith in God, trusting him to do what he promised. And so God made them able to have children. 12 Abraham was so old he was almost dead. But from that one man came as many descendants as there are stars in the sky. So many people came from him that they are like grains of sand on the seashore.
13 All these great people continued living with faith until they died. They did not get the things God promised his people. But they were happy just to see those promises coming far in the future. They accepted the fact that they were like visitors and strangers here on earth. 14 When people accept something like that, they show they are waiting for a country that will be their own. 15 If they were thinking about the country they had left, they could have gone back. 16 But they were waiting for a better country—a heavenly country. So God is not ashamed to be called their God. And he has prepared a city for them.
Jesus Teaches in Jerusalem
14 When the festival was about half finished, Jesus went to the Temple area and began to teach. 15 The Jewish leaders were amazed and said, “How did this man learn so much? He never had the kind of teaching we had!”
16 Jesus answered, “What I teach is not my own. My teaching comes from the one who sent me. 17 People who really want to do what God wants will know that my teaching comes from God. They will know that this teaching is not my own. 18 If I taught my own ideas, I would just be trying to get honor for myself. But if I am trying to bring honor to the one who sent me, I can be trusted. Anyone doing that is not going to lie. 19 Moses gave you the law, right? But you don’t obey that law. If you do, then why are you trying to kill me?”
20 The people answered, “A demon is making you crazy! We are not trying to kill you.”
21 Jesus said to them, “I did one miracle on a Sabbath day, and you were all surprised. 22 But you obey the law Moses gave you about circumcision—and sometimes you do it on a Sabbath day. (Really, Moses is not the one who gave you circumcision. It came from our ancestors who lived before Moses.) Yes, you often circumcise baby boys on a Sabbath day. 23 This shows that someone can be circumcised on a Sabbath day to obey the Law of Moses. So why are you angry with me for healing a person’s whole body on the Sabbath day? 24 Stop judging by the way things look. Be fair and judge by what is really right.”
People Wonder if Jesus Is the Messiah
25 Then some of the people who lived in Jerusalem said, “This is the man they are trying to kill. 26 But he is teaching where everyone can see and hear him. And no one is trying to stop him from teaching. Maybe the leaders have decided that he really is the Messiah. 27 But when the real Messiah comes, no one will know where he comes from. And we know where this man’s home is.”
28 Jesus was still teaching in the Temple area when he said loudly, “Do you really know me and where I am from? I am here, but not by my own decision. I was sent by one who is very real. But you don’t know him. 29 I know him because I am from him. He is the one who sent me.”
30 When Jesus said this, the people tried to grab him. But no one was able even to touch him, because the right time for him had not yet come. 31 But many of the people believed in Jesus. They said, “We are waiting for the Messiah to come. When he comes, will he do more miraculous signs than this man has done?”
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International