Book of Common Prayer
The Lord’s Wonderful Works in Behalf of Israel.
105 O give thanks to the Lord, call upon His name;
Make known His deeds among the people.
2
Sing to Him, sing praises to Him;
Speak of all His wonderful acts and devoutly praise them.
3
Glory in His holy name;
Let the hearts of those who seek and require the Lord [as their most essential need] rejoice.
4
Seek and deeply long for the Lord and His strength [His power, His might];
Seek and deeply long for His face and His presence continually.
5
Remember [with awe and gratitude] the wonderful things which He has done,
His amazing deeds and the judgments uttered by His mouth [on His enemies, as in Egypt],(A)
6
O you offspring of Abraham, His servant,
O you sons of Jacob, His chosen ones!
7
He is the Lord our God;
His judgments are in all the earth.
8
He has remembered His covenant forever,
The word which He commanded and established to a [a]thousand generations,
9
The covenant which He made with Abraham,
And His sworn oath to Isaac,(B)
10
Which He confirmed to Jacob as a statute,
To Israel as an everlasting covenant,
11
Saying, “To you I will give the land of Canaan
As the measured portion of your inheritance.”
12
When there were only a few men in number,
Very few [in fact], and strangers in it;
13
And they wandered from one nation to another,
From one kingdom to another people,
14
He allowed no man to oppress them;
He rebuked kings for their sakes, saying,(C)
15
“Do not touch My anointed ones,
And do My prophets no harm.”(D)
16
And He called for a famine upon the land [of Egypt];
He [b]cut off every source of bread.(E)
17
He sent a man before them,
Joseph, who was sold as a slave.(F)
18
His feet they hurt with shackles;
[c]He was put in chains of iron,
19
Until the time that his word [of prophecy regarding his brothers] came true,
The word of the Lord tested and refined him.
20
The king sent and released him,
The ruler of the peoples [of Egypt], and set him free.
21
He made Joseph lord of his house
And ruler of all his possessions,(G)
22
To imprison his princes at his will,
That he might teach his elders wisdom.
23
Israel also came into Egypt;
Thus Jacob sojourned in the land of Ham.(H)
24
There the Lord greatly increased [the number of] His people,
And made them more powerful than their enemies.
25
He turned the heart [of the Egyptians] to hate His people,
To deal craftily with His servants.
26
He sent Moses His servant,
And Aaron, whom He had chosen.
27
They exhibited His wondrous signs among them,
Great miracles in the land of Ham (Egypt).
28
He sent [thick, oppressive] darkness and made the land dark;
And Moses and Aaron did not rebel against His words.(I)
29
He turned Egypt’s waters into blood
And caused their fish to die.(J)
30
Their land swarmed with frogs,
Even in the chambers of their kings.(K)
31
He spoke, and there came swarms of flies
And gnats in all their territory.(L)
32
He gave them hail for rain,
With flaming fire in their land.(M)
33
He struck their vines also and their fig trees,
And shattered the [ice-laden] trees of their territory.(N)
34
He spoke, and the [migratory] locusts came,
And the young locusts, even without number,(O)
35
And ate up all the vegetation in their land,
And devoured the fruit of their ground.
36
He also struck down all the firstborn in their land,
The first fruits and chief substance of all their strength.(P)
37
He brought the sons of Israel out [of Egypt] with silver and gold,
And among their tribes there was not one who stumbled.(Q)
38
Egypt was glad when they departed,
For the dread and fear of them had fallen on the Egyptians.(R)
39
The Lord spread a cloud as a covering [by day],
And a fire to illumine the night.(S)
40
The Israelites asked, and He brought quail,
And satisfied them with the bread of heaven.(T)
41
He opened the rock and water flowed out;
It ran in the dry places like a river.(U)
42
For He remembered His holy word
To Abraham His servant;(V)
43
He brought out His people with joy,
And His chosen ones with a joyful shout,
44
He gave them the lands of the nations [of Canaan],
So that they would possess the fruits of those peoples’ labor,(W)
45
So that they might observe His precepts
And keep His laws [obediently accepting and honoring and valuing them].
Praise the Lord! (Hallelujah!)
A Rebellious People
65 “I let Myself be sought by those who did not ask for Me;
I let Myself be found by those who did not seek Me.
I said, ‘Here am I, here am I,’
To the nation [Israel] which did not call on My Name.(A)
2
“I have spread out My hands all the day long to a rebellious and stubborn people,
Who walk in the way that is not good, [following] after their own thoughts and intentions,
3
The people who continually provoke Me to My face,
Sacrificing [to idols] in gardens and making offerings with incense on bricks [instead of at the designated altar];
4
Who sit among the graves [trying to conjure up evil spirits] and spend the night in the secret places [where spirits are thought to dwell];
Who eat swine’s flesh,
And their pots hold the broth of [a]unclean meat;
5
Who say, ‘Keep to yourself, do not come near me,
For I [b]am too holy for you [and you might defile me]!’
These [people] are smoke in My nostrils,
A fire that burns all the day.
6
“Indeed, it is written before Me,
I will not keep silent, but I will repay;
I will even repay it [directly] into their [c]arms,
7
Both your own wickedness and the wickedness of your fathers,” says the Lord.
“Since they too have made offerings with incense on the mountains
And scorned and taunted Me on the hills,
I therefore will measure [punishment for] their former work [directly] into their [d]arms.”
8 This is what the Lord says,
“As the new wine is found in the cluster,
And one says, ‘Do not destroy it, for there is a blessing and benefit in it,’
So I will do for the sake of My servants
In order not to destroy all of them.
9
“I will bring forth descendants from Jacob,
And an heir of My mountains from Judah;
Even My chosen ones shall inherit it,
And My servants will live there.
10
“And [the plain of] Sharon will be a place for flocks to graze,
And the Valley of Achor a resting place for herds,
For My people who seek Me [who long for Me and require My presence in their lives].
11
“But you who abandon (turn away from) the Lord,
Who forget and ignore My holy mountain (Zion),
Who set a table for Gad [the Babylonian god of fortune],
And who fill a jug of mixed wine for Meni [the god of fate],
12
I will destine you for the sword, [says the Lord],
And all of you will bow down to the slaughter,
Because when I called, you did not answer;
When I spoke, you did not listen or obey.
But you did [what was] evil in My sight
And chose that in which I did not delight.”
Apostasy
4 But the [Holy] Spirit explicitly and unmistakably declares that in later times some will turn away from the faith, paying attention instead to deceitful and seductive spirits and doctrines of demons, 2 [misled] by the hypocrisy of liars whose consciences are seared as with a branding iron [leaving them incapable of ethical functioning], 3 who forbid marriage and advocate abstaining from [certain kinds of] foods which God has created to be gratefully shared by those who believe and have [a clear] knowledge of the truth. 4 For everything God has created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with gratitude; 5 for it is sanctified [set apart, dedicated to God] by means of the word of God and prayer.
A Good Minister’s Discipline
6 If you point out these instructions to the [a]brothers and sisters, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, constantly nourished [through study] on the words of the faith and of the good [Christian] doctrine which you have closely followed. 7 But have nothing to do with irreverent folklore and silly myths. On the other hand, discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness [keeping yourself spiritually fit]. 8 For physical training is of some value, but godliness (spiritual training) is of value in everything and in every way, since it holds promise for the present life and for the life to come. 9 This is a faithful and trustworthy saying worthy of full acceptance and approval. 10 It is for this that we labor and strive [often called to account], because we have fixed our [confident] hope on the living God, who is the [b]Savior of all people, especially of those who believe [in Him, recognize Him as the Son of God, and accept Him as Savior and Lord].
11 Keep commanding and teaching these things. 12 Let no one look down on [you because of] your youth, but be an example and set a pattern for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, and in [moral] purity. 13 Until I come, devote yourself to public reading [of Scripture], to preaching and to teaching [the sound doctrine of God’s word]. 14 Do not neglect the spiritual gift within you, [that special endowment] which was intentionally bestowed on you [by the Holy Spirit] through prophetic utterance when the [c]elders laid their hands on you [at your ordination]. 15 Practice and work hard on these things; be absorbed in them [completely occupied in your ministry], so that your progress will be evident to all. 16 Pay close attention to yourself [concentrate on your personal development] and to your teaching; persevere in these things [hold to them], for as you do this you will ensure salvation both for yourself and for those who hear you.
Jesus Answers the Pharisees, Sadducees and Scribes
13 Then they sent some of the [a]Pharisees and Herodians to Jesus in order to trap Him into making a statement [that they could use against Him].(A) 14 They came and said to Him, “Teacher, we know that You are truthful and have no personal bias toward anyone; for You are not influenced by outward appearances or social status, but in truth You teach the way of God. Is it lawful [according to Jewish law and tradition] to pay the [b]poll-tax to [[c]Tiberius] Caesar, or not? 15 Should we pay [the tax] or should we not pay?” But knowing their hypocrisy, He asked them, “Why are you testing Me? Bring Me a [d]coin (denarius) to look at.” 16 So they brought one. Then He asked them, “Whose image and inscription is this?” They said to Him, “Caesar’s.” 17 Jesus said to them, “Pay to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” And they were greatly amazed at Him.
18 Some Sadducees (who say that there is no resurrection) came to Him, and began questioning Him, saying,(B) 19 “Teacher, Moses wrote for us [a law] that if a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife but leaves no child, his brother is to [e]marry the widow and raise up children for his brother.(C) 20 There were seven brothers; the first [one] took a wife, and died leaving no children. 21 The second brother married her, and died leaving no children; and the third likewise; 22 and so all seven [married her and died, and] left no children. Last of all the woman died also. 23 In the resurrection, whose wife will she be? For all seven [brothers] were married to her.” 24 Jesus said to them, “Is this not why you are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures [that teach the resurrection] nor the power of God [who is able to raise the dead]? 25 For when they rise from the dead, they do not marry nor are they given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. 26 But concerning the raising of the dead, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the passage about the burning bush, how God spoke to him, saying, ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’?(D) 27 He is not the God of the dead, but of the living; you are greatly mistaken and you are deceiving yourselves!”
Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA 90631. All rights reserved.