Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 138[a]
By David.
138 I will give you thanks with all my heart;
before the heavenly assembly[b] I will sing praises to you.
2 I will bow down toward your holy temple,
and give thanks to your name,
because of your loyal love and faithfulness,
for you have exalted your promise above the entire sky.[c]
3 When[d] I cried out for help, you answered me.
You made me bold and energized me.[e]
4 Let all the kings of the earth give thanks[f] to you, O Lord,
when they hear the words you speak.[g]
5 Let them sing about the Lord’s deeds,[h]
for the Lord’s splendor is magnificent.[i]
6 Though the Lord is exalted, he looks after the lowly,
and from far away humbles[j] the proud.
7 Even when I must walk in the midst of danger,[k] you revive me.
You oppose my angry enemies,[l]
and your right hand delivers me.
8 The Lord avenges me.[m]
O Lord, your loyal love endures.
Do not abandon those whom you have made.[n]
Psalm 139[o]
For the music director, a psalm of David.
139 O Lord, you examine me[p] and know me.
2 You know when I sit down and when I get up;
even from far away you understand my motives.
3 You carefully observe me when I travel or when I lie down to rest;[q]
you are aware of everything I do.[r]
4 Certainly[s] my tongue does not frame a word
without you, O Lord, being thoroughly aware of it.[t]
5 You squeeze me in from behind and in front;
you place your hand on me.
6 Your knowledge is beyond my comprehension;
it is so far beyond me, I am unable to fathom it.[u]
7 Where can I go to escape your Spirit?
Where can I flee to escape your presence?[v]
8 If I were to ascend[w] to heaven, you would be there.
If I were to sprawl out[x] in Sheol, there you would be.[y]
9 If I were to fly away[z] on the wings of the dawn,[aa]
and settle down on the other side[ab] of the sea,
10 even there your hand would guide me,
your right hand would grab hold of me.
11 If I were to say, “Certainly the darkness will cover me,[ac]
and the light will turn to night all around me,”[ad]
12 even the darkness is not too dark for you to see,[ae]
and the night is as bright as[af] day;
darkness and light are the same to you.[ag]
13 Certainly[ah] you made my mind and heart;[ai]
you wove me together[aj] in my mother’s womb.
14 I will give you thanks because your deeds are awesome and amazing.[ak]
You knew me thoroughly;[al]
15 my bones were not hidden from you,
when[am] I was made in secret
and sewed together in the depths of the earth.[an]
16 Your eyes saw me when I was inside the womb.[ao]
All the days ordained for me
were recorded in your scroll
before one of them came into existence.[ap]
17 How difficult it is for me to fathom your thoughts about me, O God![aq]
How vast is their sum total.[ar]
18 If I tried to count them,
they would outnumber the grains of sand.
Even if I finished counting them,
I would still have to contend with you.[as]
19 If only[at] you would kill the wicked, O God!
Get away from me, you violent men![au]
20 They[av] rebel against you[aw] and act deceitfully;[ax]
your enemies lie.[ay]
21 O Lord, do I not hate those who hate you,
and despise those who oppose you?[az]
22 I absolutely hate them;[ba]
they have become my enemies.
23 Examine me, O God, and probe my thoughts.[bb]
Test me, and know my concerns.[bc]
Psalm 147[a]
147 Praise the Lord,
for it is good to sing praises to our God.
Yes,[b] praise is pleasant and appropriate.
2 The Lord rebuilds Jerusalem,
and gathers the exiles of Israel.
3 He heals[c] the brokenhearted,
and bandages their wounds.
4 He counts the number of the stars;
he names all of them.
5 Our Lord is great and has awesome power;[d]
there is no limit to his wisdom.[e]
6 The Lord lifts up the oppressed,
but knocks[f] the wicked to the ground.
7 Offer to the Lord a song of thanks.[g]
Sing praises to our God to the accompaniment of a harp.
8 He covers[h] the sky with clouds,
provides the earth with rain,
and causes grass to grow on the hillsides.[i]
9 He gives food to the animals,
and to the young ravens when they chirp.[j]
10 He is not enamored with the strength of a horse,
nor is he impressed by the warrior’s strong legs.[k]
11 The Lord takes delight in his faithful followers,[l]
and in those who wait for his loyal love.
12 Extol the Lord, O Jerusalem.
Praise your God, O Zion.
13 For he makes the bars of your gates strong.
He blesses your children[m] within you.
14 He[n] brings peace to your territory.[o]
He abundantly provides for you[p] the best grain.
15 He[q] sends his command through the earth;[r]
swiftly his order reaches its destination.[s]
16 He sends the snow that is white like wool;
he spreads the frost that is white like ashes.[t]
17 He throws his hailstones[u] like crumbs.
Who can withstand the cold wind he sends?[v]
18 He then orders it all to melt;[w]
he breathes on it,[x] and the water flows.
19 He proclaims his word to Jacob,
his statutes and regulations to Israel.
20 He has not done so with any other nation;
they are not aware of his regulations.
Praise the Lord!
The Lord Will Distinguish Between Sinners and the Godly
65 “I made myself available to those who did not ask for me;[a]
I appeared to those who did not look for me.[b]
I said, ‘Here I am! Here I am!’
to a nation that did not invoke[c] my name.
2 I spread out my hands all day long
to my rebellious people,
who lived in a way that is morally unacceptable,
and who did what they desired.[d]
3 These people continually and blatantly offend me[e]
as they sacrifice in their sacred orchards[f]
and burn incense on brick altars.[g]
4 They sit among the tombs[h]
and keep watch all night long.[i]
They eat pork,[j]
and broth[k] from unclean sacrificial meat is in their pans.
5 They say, ‘Keep to yourself!
Don’t get near me, for I am holier than you!’
These people are like smoke in my nostrils,
like a fire that keeps burning all day long.
6 Look, I have decreed:[l]
I will not keep silent, but will pay them back;
I will pay them back exactly what they deserve,[m]
7 for your sins and your ancestors’ sins,”[n] says the Lord.
“Because they burned incense on the mountains
and offended[o] me on the hills,
I will punish them in full measure.”[p]
8 This is what the Lord says:
“When[q] juice is discovered in a cluster of grapes,
someone says, ‘Don’t destroy it, for it contains juice.’[r]
So I will do for the sake of my servants—
I will not destroy everyone.[s]
9 I will bring forth descendants from Jacob,
and from Judah people to take possession of my mountains.
My chosen ones will take possession of the land;[t]
my servants will live there.
To the Church in Sardis
3 “To[a] the angel of the church in Sardis write the following:[b]
“This is the solemn pronouncement of[c] the one who holds[d] the seven spirits of God and the seven stars: ‘I know your deeds, that you have a reputation[e] that you are alive, but[f] in reality[g] you are dead. 2 Wake up then, and strengthen what remains that was about[h] to die, because I have not found your deeds complete[i] in the sight[j] of my God. 3 Therefore, remember what you received and heard,[k] and obey it,[l] and repent. If you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will never[m] know at what hour I will come against[n] you. 4 But you have a few individuals[o] in Sardis who have not stained[p] their clothes, and they will walk with me dressed[q] in white, because they are worthy. 5 The one who conquers[r] will be dressed like them[s] in white clothing,[t] and I will never[u] erase[v] his name from the book of life, but[w] will declare[x] his name before my Father and before his angels. 6 The one who has an ear had better hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’
The Feeding of the Five Thousand
6 After this[a] Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee (also called the Sea of Tiberias).[b] 2 A large crowd was following him because they were observing the miraculous signs he was performing on the sick. 3 So Jesus went on up the mountainside[c] and sat down there with his disciples. 4 (Now the Jewish Feast of the Passover[d] was near.)[e] 5 Then Jesus, when he looked up[f] and saw that a large crowd was coming to him, said to Philip, “Where can we buy bread so that these people may eat?” 6 (Now Jesus[g] said this to test him, for he knew what he was going to do.)[h] 7 Philip replied,[i] “200 silver coins worth[j] of bread would not be enough for them, for each one to get a little.” 8 One of Jesus’ disciples,[k] Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to him, 9 “Here is a boy who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what good[l] are these for so many people?”
10 Jesus said, “Have[m] the people sit down.” (Now there was a lot of grass in that place.)[n] So the men[o] sat down, about 5,000 in number. 11 Then Jesus took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed the bread to those who were seated. He then did the same with the fish,[p] as much as they wanted. 12 When they were all satisfied, Jesus[q] said to his disciples, “Gather up the broken pieces that are left over, so that nothing is wasted.” 13 So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with broken pieces from the five barley loaves[r] left over by the people who had eaten.
14 Now when the people saw the miraculous sign that Jesus[s] performed, they began to say to one another, “This is certainly the Prophet[t] who is to come into the world.”[u]
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