Book of Common Prayer
The Lord’s Wonderful Works in Behalf of Israel.
105 Oh (A)give thanks to the Lord, (B)call upon His name;
(C)Make known His deeds among the peoples.
2 Sing to Him, (D)sing praises to Him;
[a](E)Speak of all His [b]wonders.
3 [c]Glory in His holy name;
Let the (F)heart of those who seek the Lord be glad.
4 Seek the Lord and (G)His strength;
(H)Seek His face continually.
5 Remember His [d](I)wonders which He has done,
His marvels and the (J)judgments [e]uttered by His mouth,
6 O seed of (K)Abraham, His servant,
O sons of (L)Jacob, His (M)chosen ones!
7 He is the Lord our God;
His (N)judgments are in all the earth.
8 He has (O)remembered His covenant forever,
The word which He commanded to a (P)thousand generations,
9 The (Q)covenant which He made with Abraham,
And His (R)oath to Isaac.
10 Then He (S)confirmed it to Jacob for a statute,
To Israel as an everlasting covenant,
11 Saying, “(T)To you I will give the land of Canaan
As the [f](U)portion of your inheritance,”
12 When they were only a (V)few men in number,
Very few, and (W)strangers in it.
13 And they wandered about from nation to nation,
From one kingdom to another people.
14 He (X)permitted no man to oppress them,
And He (Y)reproved kings for their sakes:
15 “(Z)Do not touch My anointed ones,
And do My prophets no harm.”
16 And He (AA)called for a famine upon the land;
He (AB)broke the whole staff of bread.
17 He (AC)sent a man before them,
Joseph, who was (AD)sold as a slave.
18 They afflicted his (AE)feet with fetters,
[g]He himself was laid in irons;
19 Until the time that his (AF)word came to pass,
The word of the Lord [h](AG)tested him.
20 The (AH)king sent and released him,
The ruler of peoples, and set him free.
21 He (AI)made him lord of his house
And ruler over all his possessions,
22 To [i]imprison his princes [j](AJ)at will,
That he might teach his elders wisdom.
23 (AK)Israel also came into Egypt;
Thus Jacob (AL)sojourned in the land of Ham.
24 And He (AM)caused His people to be very fruitful,
And made them stronger than their adversaries.
25 He (AN)turned their heart to hate His people,
To (AO)deal craftily with His servants.
26 He (AP)sent Moses His servant,
And (AQ)Aaron, whom He had chosen.
27 They [k](AR)performed His wondrous acts among them,
And miracles in the land of Ham.
28 He (AS)sent darkness and made it dark;
And they did not (AT)rebel against His words.
29 He (AU)turned their waters into blood
And caused their fish to die.
30 Their land swarmed with (AV)frogs
Even in the (AW)chambers of their kings.
31 He spoke, and there came a (AX)swarm of flies
And (AY)gnats in all their territory.
32 He [l]gave them (AZ)hail for rain,
And flaming fire in their land.
33 He (BA)struck down their vines also and their fig trees,
And shattered the trees of their territory.
34 He spoke, and (BB)locusts came,
And young locusts, even without number,
35 And ate up all vegetation in their land,
And ate up the fruit of their ground.
36 He also (BC)struck down all the firstborn in their land,
The (BD)first fruits of all their vigor.
37 Then He brought them out with (BE)silver and gold,
And among His tribes there was not one who stumbled.
38 Egypt was (BF)glad when they departed,
For the (BG)dread of them had fallen upon them.
39 He spread a (BH)cloud for a [m]covering,
And (BI)fire to illumine by night.
40 [n]They (BJ)asked, and He brought (BK)quail,
And satisfied them with the [o](BL)bread of heaven.
41 He opened the [p]rock and (BM)water flowed out;
[q]It ran in the dry places like a river.
42 For He (BN)remembered His holy word
With Abraham His servant;
43 And He brought forth His people with joy,
His chosen ones with a joyful (BO)shout.
44 He (BP)gave them also the lands of the [r]nations,
That they (BQ)might take possession of the fruit of the peoples’ labor,
45 So that they might (BR)keep His statutes
And observe His laws,
[s]Praise [t]the Lord!
A Rebellious People
65 “I permitted Myself to be sought by (A)those who did not ask for Me;
I permitted Myself to be found by those who did not seek Me.
I said, ‘Here am I, here am I,’
To a nation which (B)did not call on My name.
2 “(C)I have spread out My hands all day long to a (D)rebellious people,
Who walk in the way which is not good, [a]following their own (E)thoughts,
3 A people who continually (F)provoke Me to My face,
Offering sacrifices in (G)gardens and (H)burning incense on bricks;
4 Who sit among graves and spend the night in secret places;
Who (I)eat swine’s flesh,
And the broth of unclean meat is in their pots.
5 “Who say, ‘(J)Keep to yourself, do not come near me,
For I am holier than you!’
These are smoke in My [b]nostrils,
A fire that burns all the day.
6 “Behold, it is written before Me,
I will (K)not keep silent, but (L)I will repay;
I will even repay into their bosom,
7 Both [c]their own (M)iniquities and the iniquities of their fathers together,” says the Lord.
“Because they have (N)burned incense on the mountains
And (O)scorned Me on the hills,
Therefore I will (P)measure their former work into their bosom.”
8 Thus says the Lord,
“As the new wine is found in the cluster,
And one says, ‘Do not destroy it, for there is [d]benefit in it,’
So I will act on behalf of My servants
In order (Q)not to destroy [e]all of them.
9 “I will bring forth (R)offspring from Jacob,
And an (S)heir of My mountains from Judah;
Even (T)My chosen ones shall inherit it,
And (U)My servants will dwell there.
10 “(V)Sharon will be a pasture land for flocks,
And the (W)valley of Achor a resting place for herds,
For My people who (X)seek Me.
11 “But you who (Y)forsake the Lord,
Who forget My (Z)holy mountain,
Who set a table for [f]Fortune,
And who fill cups with mixed wine for [g]Destiny,
12 I will destine you for the (AA)sword,
And all of you will bow down to the (AB)slaughter.
Because I called, but you (AC)did not answer;
I spoke, but you did not hear.
And you did evil in My sight
And chose that in which I did not delight.”
Apostasy
4 But (A)the Spirit explicitly says that (B)in later times some will [a]fall away from the faith, paying attention to (C)deceitful spirits and (D)doctrines of demons, 2 by means of the hypocrisy of liars (E)seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron, 3 men who (F)forbid marriage and advocate (G)abstaining from foods which (H)God has created to be (I)gratefully shared in by those who believe and know the truth. 4 For (J)everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is (K)received with gratitude; 5 for it is sanctified by means of (L)the word of God and prayer.
A Good Minister’s Discipline
6 In pointing out these things to (M)the brethren, you will be a good (N)servant of Christ Jesus, constantly nourished on the words of the faith and of the [b](O)sound doctrine which you (P)have been following. 7 But [c]have nothing to do with (Q)worldly (R)fables fit only for old women. On the other hand, discipline yourself for the purpose of (S)godliness; 8 for (T)bodily discipline is only of little profit, but (U)godliness is profitable for all things, since it (V)holds promise for the (W)present life and also for the life to come. 9 (X)It is a trustworthy statement deserving full acceptance. 10 For it is for this we labor and strive, because we have fixed (Y)our hope on (Z)the living God, who is (AA)the Savior of all men, especially of believers.
11 [d](AB)Prescribe and teach these things. 12 (AC)Let no one look down on your youthfulness, but rather in speech, conduct, (AD)love, faith and purity, show yourself (AE)an example [e]of those who believe. 13 (AF)Until I come, give attention to the public (AG)reading of Scripture, to exhortation and teaching. 14 Do not neglect the spiritual gift within you, which was bestowed on you through (AH)prophetic utterance with (AI)the laying on of hands by the [f](AJ)presbytery. 15 Take pains with these things; be absorbed in them, so that your progress will be evident to all. 16 (AK)Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching; persevere in these things, for as you do this you will [g](AL)ensure salvation both for yourself and for those who hear you.
Jesus Answers the Pharisees, Sadducees and Scribes
13 (A)Then they *sent some of the Pharisees and (B)Herodians to Him in order to (C)trap Him in a statement. 14 They *came and *said to Him, “Teacher, we know that You are truthful and [a]defer to no one; for You are not partial to any, but teach the way of God in truth. Is it [b]lawful to pay a poll-tax to Caesar, or not? 15 Shall we pay or shall we not pay?” But He, knowing their hypocrisy, said to them, “Why are you testing Me? Bring Me a [c]denarius to look at.” 16 They brought one. And He *said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” And they said to Him, “Caesar’s.” 17 And Jesus said to them, “(D)Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” And they [d]were amazed at Him.
18 (E)Some Sadducees (who say that there is no resurrection) *came to Jesus, and began questioning Him, saying, 19 “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that (F)if a man’s brother dies and leaves behind a wife and leaves no child, his brother should [e]marry the wife and raise up children to his brother. 20 There were seven brothers; and the first took a wife, and died leaving no children. 21 The second one [f]married her, and died leaving behind no children; and the third likewise; 22 and so [g]all seven left no children. Last of all the woman died also. 23 In the resurrection, [h]when they rise again, which one’s wife will she be? For [i]all seven had married her.” 24 Jesus said to them, “Is this not the reason you are mistaken, that you do not [j]understand the Scriptures or the power of God? 25 For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. 26 But [k]regarding the fact that the dead rise again, have you not read in the book of Moses, (G)in the passage about the burning bush, how God spoke to him, saying, ‘(H)I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? 27 (I)He is not the God [l]of the dead, but of the living; you are greatly mistaken.”
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