Book of Common Prayer
The King of Glory and His Kingdom
A Psalm of David.
24 The (A)earth is the Lord’s, and all its fullness,
The world and those who dwell therein.
2 For He has (B)founded it upon the seas,
And established it upon the [a]waters.
3 (C)Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord?
Or who may stand in His holy place?
4 He who has (D)clean hands and (E)a pure heart,
Who has not lifted up his soul to an idol,
Nor (F)sworn deceitfully.
5 He shall receive blessing from the Lord,
And righteousness from the God of his salvation.
6 This is Jacob, the generation of those who (G)seek Him,
Who seek Your face. Selah
7 (H)Lift up your heads, O you gates!
And be lifted up, you everlasting doors!
(I)And the King of glory shall come in.
8 Who is this King of glory?
The Lord strong and mighty,
The Lord mighty in (J)battle.
9 Lift up your heads, O you gates!
Lift up, you everlasting doors!
And the King of glory shall come in.
10 Who is this King of glory?
The Lord of hosts,
He is the King of glory. Selah
Praise to God in His Holiness and Majesty
A Psalm of David.
29 Give[a] (A)unto the Lord, O you mighty ones,
Give unto the Lord glory and strength.
2 [b]Give unto the Lord the glory [c]due to His name;
Worship the Lord in (B)the [d]beauty of holiness.
3 The voice of the Lord is over the waters;
(C)The God of glory thunders;
The Lord is over many waters.
4 The voice of the Lord is powerful;
The voice of the Lord is full of majesty.
5 The voice of the Lord breaks (D)the cedars,
Yes, the Lord splinters the cedars of Lebanon.
6 (E)He makes them also skip like a calf,
Lebanon and (F)Sirion like a young wild ox.
7 The voice of the Lord [e]divides the flames of fire.
The Glory of the Lord in Creation
To the Chief Musician. [a]On the instrument of Gath. A Psalm of David.
8 O Lord, our Lord,
How (A)excellent is Your name in all the earth,
Who have (B)set Your glory above the heavens!
2 (C)Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants
You have [b]ordained strength,
Because of Your enemies,
That You may silence (D)the enemy and the avenger.
3 When I (E)consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers,
The moon and the stars, which You have ordained,
4 (F)What is man that You are mindful of him,
And the son of man that You (G)visit[c] him?
5 For You have made him a little lower than [d]the angels,
And You have crowned him with glory and honor.
6 (H)You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands;
(I)You have put all things under his feet,
7 All sheep and oxen—
Even the beasts of the field,
8 The birds of the air,
And the fish of the sea
That pass through the paths of the seas.
9 (J)O Lord, our Lord,
How excellent is Your name in all the earth!
The Blessedness of Dwelling in the House of God
To the Chief Musician. (A)On[a] an instrument of Gath. A Psalm of the sons of Korah.
84 How (B)lovely [b]is Your tabernacle,
O Lord of hosts!
2 (C)My soul longs, yes, even faints
For the courts of the Lord;
My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.
3 Even the sparrow has found a home,
And the swallow a nest for herself,
Where she may lay her young—
Even Your altars, O Lord of hosts,
My King and my God.
4 Blessed are those who dwell in Your (D)house;
They will still be praising You. Selah
5 Blessed is the man whose strength is in You,
Whose heart is set on pilgrimage.
6 As they pass through the Valley (E)of [c]Baca,
They make it a spring;
The rain also covers it with [d]pools.
7 They go (F)from strength to strength;
[e]Each one (G)appears before God in Zion.
8 O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer;
Give ear, O God of Jacob! Selah
9 (H)O God, behold our shield,
And look upon the face of Your [f]anointed.
10 For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand.
I would rather [g]be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
Than dwell in the tents of wickedness.
11 For the Lord God is (I)a sun and (J)shield;
The Lord will give grace and glory;
(K)No good thing will He withhold
From those who walk uprightly.
12 O Lord of hosts,
(L)Blessed is the man who trusts in You!
Abraham Intercedes for Sodom
16 Then the men rose from there and looked toward Sodom, and Abraham went with them (A)to send them on the way. 17 And the Lord said, (B)“Shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing, 18 since Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be (C)blessed in him? 19 For I have known him, in order (D)that he may command his children and his household after him, that they keep the way of the Lord, to do righteousness and justice, that the Lord may bring to Abraham what He has spoken to him.” 20 And the Lord said, “Because (E)the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their (F)sin is very grave, 21 (G)I will go down now and see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry against it that has come to Me; and if not, (H)I will know.”
22 Then the men turned away from there (I)and went toward Sodom, but Abraham still stood before the Lord. 23 And Abraham (J)came near and said, (K)“Would You also (L)destroy the (M)righteous with the wicked? 24 Suppose there were fifty righteous within the city; would You also destroy the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous that were in it? 25 Far be it from You to do such a thing as this, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so (N)that the righteous should be as the wicked; far be it from You! (O)Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?”
26 So the Lord said, (P)“If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes.”
27 Then Abraham answered and said, “Indeed now, I who am (Q)but dust and ashes have taken it upon myself to speak to the Lord: 28 Suppose there were five less than the fifty righteous; would You destroy all of the city for lack of five?”
So He said, “If I find there forty-five, I will not destroy it.”
29 And he spoke to Him yet again and said, “Suppose there should be forty found there?”
So He said, “I will not do it for the sake of forty.”
30 Then he said, “Let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak: Suppose thirty should be found there?”
So He said, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.”
31 And he said, “Indeed now, I have taken it upon myself to speak to the Lord: Suppose twenty should be found there?”
So He said, “I will not destroy it for the sake of twenty.”
32 Then he said, (R)“Let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak but once more: Suppose ten should be found there?”
(S)And He said, “I will not destroy it for the sake of ten.” 33 So the Lord went His way as soon as He had finished speaking with Abraham; and Abraham returned to his place.
13 For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only (A)do not use liberty as an (B)opportunity for the flesh, but (C)through love serve one another. 14 For (D)all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: (E)“You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 15 But if you bite and devour one another, beware lest you be consumed by one another!
Walking in the Spirit
16 I say then: (F)Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. 17 For (G)the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, (H)so that you do not do the things that you wish. 18 But (I)if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
19 Now (J)the works of the flesh are evident, which are: [a]adultery, [b]fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, 21 envy, [c]murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that (K)those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
22 But (L)the fruit of the Spirit is (M)love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, (N)goodness, (O)faithfulness, 23 [d]gentleness, self-control. (P)Against such there is no law. 24 And those who are Christ’s (Q)have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 (R)If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.
A Blind Man Healed at Bethsaida
22 Then He came to Bethsaida; and they brought a (A)blind man to Him, and begged Him to (B)touch him. 23 So He took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the town. And when (C)He had spit on his eyes and put His hands on him, He asked him if he saw anything.
24 And he looked up and said, “I see men like trees, walking.”
25 Then He put His hands on his eyes again and made him look up. And he was restored and saw everyone clearly. 26 Then He sent him away to his house, saying, [a]“Neither go into the town, (D)nor tell anyone in the town.”
Peter Confesses Jesus as the Christ(E)
27 (F)Now Jesus and His disciples went out to the towns of Caesarea Philippi; and on the road He asked His disciples, saying to them, “Who do men say that I am?”
28 So they answered, (G)“John the Baptist; but some say, (H)Elijah; and others, one of the prophets.”
29 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”
Peter answered and said to Him, (I)“You are the Christ.”
30 (J)Then He strictly warned them that they should tell no one about Him.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.