Book of Common Prayer
Israel’s Rebelliousness and the Lord’s Deliverances.
106 Praise the Lord! (Hallelujah!)
Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good;
For His mercy and lovingkindness endure forever!(A)
2
Who can put into words the mighty deeds of the Lord?
Or who can proclaim all His praise [that is due Him]?
3
Blessed are those who observe justice [by honoring God’s precepts],
Who practice righteousness at all times.
4
Remember me, O Lord, when You favor Your people.
Visit me with Your salvation [when You rescue them],
5
That I may see the prosperity of Your chosen ones,
That I may rejoice in the gladness of Your nation,
That I may glory with Your inheritance.
6
We have sinned like our fathers;
We have committed iniquity, we have behaved wickedly.(B)
7
Our fathers in Egypt did not understand nor appreciate Your miracles;
They did not remember the abundance of Your mercies nor imprint Your lovingkindnesses on their hearts,
But they were rebellious at the sea, at the [a]Red Sea.(C)
8
Nevertheless He saved them for His name’s sake,
That He might make His [supreme] power known.
9
He rebuked the Red Sea, and it dried up;
And He led them through the depths as through a pasture.(D)
10
So He saved them from the hand of the one that hated them,
And redeemed them from the hand of the [Egyptian] enemy.(E)
11
And the waters covered their adversaries;
Not one of them was left.(F)
12
Then Israel believed in [the validity of] His words;
They sang His praise.
13
But they quickly forgot His works;
They did not [patiently] wait for His counsel and purpose [to be revealed regarding them],
14
But lusted intensely in the wilderness
And tempted God [with their insistent desires] in the desert.(G)
15
So He gave them their request,
But sent a wasting disease among them.(H)
16
They envied Moses in the camp,
And Aaron [the high priest], the holy one of the Lord,(I)
17
Therefore the earth opened and swallowed Dathan,
And engulfed the company of Abiram.(J)
18
And a fire broke out in their company;
The flame consumed the wicked.(K)
19
They made a calf in Horeb (Sinai)
And worshiped a cast image.(L)
20
Thus they exchanged [the true God who was] their glory
For the image of an ox that eats grass.
21
They forgot God their Savior,
Who had done such great things in Egypt,
22
Wonders in the land of Ham,
Awesome things at the Red Sea.
23
Therefore He said He would destroy them,
[And He would have done so] had not Moses, His chosen one, stepped into the gap before Him,
To turn away His wrath from destroying them.(M)
24
Then they despised the pleasant land [of Canaan];
They did not believe in His word nor rely on it,
25
But they sulked and complained in their tents;
They did not listen to the voice of the Lord.
26
Therefore He lifted up His hand [swearing] to them,
That He would cause them to fall in the wilderness,
27
And that He would cast out their descendants among the nations
And scatter them in the lands [of the earth].
28
They joined themselves also to [the idol] Baal of Peor,
And ate sacrifices offered to the dead.
29
Thus they provoked Him to anger with their practices,
And a plague broke out among them.
30
Then Phinehas [the priest] stood up and [b]interceded,
And so the plague was halted.(N)
31
And that was credited to him for righteousness,
To all generations forever.
32
They provoked Him to anger at the waters of [c]Meribah,
So that it went hard with Moses on their account;(O)
33
Because they were rebellious against His Spirit,
Moses spoke recklessly with his lips.
34
They did not destroy the [pagan] peoples [in Canaan],
As the Lord commanded them,
35
But they mingled with the [idolatrous] nations
And learned their ways,
36
And served their idols,
Which became a [dreadful] snare to them.
37
They even sacrificed their sons and their daughters to demons(P)
38
And shed innocent blood,
Even the blood of their sons and of their daughters,
Whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan;
And the land was polluted with their blood.
39
In this way they became unclean in their practices;
They played the prostitute in their own deeds [by giving their worship, which belongs to God alone, to other “gods”].
40
Therefore the anger of the Lord was kindled against His people
And He detested His own [d]inheritance.(Q)
41
He gave them into the hands of the nations,
And those who hated them ruled over them.
42
Their enemies also oppressed them,
And they were subdued under the [powerful] hand of their enemies.
43
Many times He rescued them;
But they were rebellious in their counsel,
And sank down in their wickedness.
44
Nevertheless He looked [sympathetically] at their distress
When He heard their cry;
45
And He remembered His covenant for their sake,
And relented [rescinding their sentence] according to the greatness of His lovingkindness [when they cried out to Him],
46
He also made them objects of compassion
Among those who had carried them away captive.(R)
47
Save us, O Lord our God,
And gather us from among the nations,
That we may give thanks to Your holy name
And glory in praising You.
48
Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,
From everlasting even to everlasting.
And let all the people say, “Amen.”
Praise the Lord! (Hallelujah!)(S)
13 Then let us not criticize one another anymore, but rather determine this—not to put an obstacle or a stumbling block or a source of temptation in another believer’s way. 14 I know and am convinced [as one] in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean [ritually defiled, and unholy] in itself; but [nonetheless] it is unclean to anyone who thinks it is unclean. 15 If your brother is being hurt or offended because of food [that you insist on eating], you are no longer walking in love [toward him]. Do not let what you eat destroy and spiritually harm one for whom Christ died. 16 Therefore do not let what is a good thing for you [because of your freedom to choose] be spoken of as evil [by someone else]; 17 for the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking [what one likes], but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. 18 For the one who serves Christ in this way [recognizing that food choice is secondary] is acceptable to God and is approved by men. 19 So then, let us pursue [with enthusiasm] the things which make for peace and the building up of one another [things which lead to spiritual growth]. 20 Do not, for the sake of food, tear down the work of God. All things indeed are [ceremonially] clean, but they are wrong for the person who eats and offends [another’s conscience in the process]. 21 It is good [to do the right thing and] not eat meat or drink wine, or do anything that offends your brother and weakens him spiritually. 22 The faith which you have [that gives you freedom of choice], have as your own conviction before God [just keep it between yourself and God, seeking His will]. Happy is he who has no reason to condemn himself for what he approves. 23 But he who is uncertain [about eating a particular thing] is condemned if he eats, because he is not acting from faith. Whatever is not from faith is sin [whatever is done with doubt is sinful].
Miracles of Healing
40 Now as Jesus was returning [to Galilee], the people welcomed Him, for they had all been expecting Him. 41 Now a man named Jairus, a synagogue official, came [to Him]; and he fell at Jesus’ feet and began begging Him to come to his house;(A) 42 for he had an only daughter, about twelve years old, and she was dying. But as Jesus went, the people were crowding against Him [almost crushing Him].
43 And a woman who had [suffered from] a hemorrhage for twelve years [a][and had spent all her money on physicians], and could not be healed by anyone, 44 came up behind Him and touched the fringe of His outer robe, and immediately her bleeding stopped. 45 Jesus said, “Who touched Me?” While they all were denying it, Peter [b][and those who were with him] said, “Master, the people are crowding and pushing against You!” 46 But Jesus said, “Someone did touch Me, because I was aware that power [to heal] had gone out of Me.” 47 When the woman saw that she had not escaped notice, she came up trembling and fell down before Him. She declared in the presence of all the people the reason why she had touched Him, and how she had been immediately healed. 48 He said to her, “Daughter, your faith [your personal trust and confidence in Me] has made you well. Go in peace (untroubled, undisturbed well-being).”
49 While He was still speaking, someone from the synagogue official’s house came and said [to Jairus], “Your daughter is dead; do not inconvenience the Teacher any further.” 50 But Jesus, hearing this, answered him, “Do not be afraid any longer; only believe and trust [in Me and have faith in My ability to do this], and she will be made well.” 51 When He came to the house, He allowed no one to enter with Him, except Peter and John and James, and the girl’s father and mother. 52 Now they were all weeping loudly and mourning for her; but He said, “Do not weep, for she is not dead, but is sleeping.” 53 Then they began laughing scornfully at Him and ridiculing Him, knowing [without any doubt] that she was dead. 54 But Jesus took hold of her hand and spoke, saying, “Child, arise!” 55 And her spirit returned, and she got up immediately; and He ordered that she be given something to eat. 56 Her parents were greatly astonished [by the miracle]; but He instructed them to tell no one what had happened.
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