Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 117[a]
117 Praise the Lord, all you nations.
Applaud him, all you foreigners.[b]
2 For his loyal love towers[c] over us,
and the Lord’s faithfulness endures.
Praise the Lord.
Psalm 118[d]
118 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
and his loyal love endures.[e]
2 Let Israel say,
“Yes, his loyal love endures.”
3 Let the family[f] of Aaron say,
“Yes, his loyal love endures.”
4 Let the loyal followers of the Lord[g] say,
“Yes, his loyal love endures.”
5 In my distress[h] I cried out to the Lord.
The Lord answered me and put me in a wide open place.[i]
6 The Lord is on my side;[j] I am not afraid.
What can people do to me?[k]
7 The Lord is on my side[l] as my helper.[m]
I look in triumph on those who hate me.
8 It is better to take shelter[n] in the Lord
than to trust in people.
9 It is better to take shelter in the Lord
than to trust in princes.
10 All the nations surrounded me.[o]
Indeed, in the name of the Lord[p] I pushed them away.[q]
11 They surrounded me, yes, they surrounded me.
Indeed, in the name of the Lord I pushed them away.
12 They surrounded me like bees.
But they disappeared as quickly[r] as a fire among thorns.[s]
Indeed, in the name of the Lord I pushed them away.
13 “You aggressively attacked me[t] and tried to knock me down,[u]
but the Lord helped me.
14 The Lord gives me strength and protects me;[v]
he has become my deliverer.”[w]
15 They celebrate deliverance in the tents of the godly.[x]
The Lord’s right hand conquers.[y]
16 The Lord’s right hand gives victory;[z]
the Lord’s right hand conquers.
17 I will not die, but live,
and I will proclaim what the Lord has done.[aa]
18 The Lord severely[ab] punished me,
but he did not hand me over to death.
19 Open for me the gates of the just king’s temple.[ac]
I will enter through them and give thanks to the Lord.
20 This is the Lord’s gate—
the godly enter through it.
21 I will give you thanks, for you answered me,
and have become my deliverer.
22 The stone that the builders discarded[ad]
has become the cornerstone.[ae]
23 This is the Lord’s work.
We consider it amazing![af]
24 This is the day the Lord has brought about.[ag]
We will be happy and rejoice in it.
25 Please, Lord, deliver!
Please, Lord, grant us success![ah]
26 May the one who comes in the name of the Lord[ai] be blessed.
We will pronounce blessings on you[aj] in the Lord’s temple.[ak]
27 The Lord is God, and he has delivered us.[al]
Tie the offering[am] with ropes
to the horns of the altar.[an]
28 You are my[ao] God, and I will give you thanks.
You are my God and I will praise you.
29 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good
and his loyal love endures.[ap]
Psalm 112[a]
112 Praise the Lord!
How blessed is the one[b] who obeys[c] the Lord,
who takes great delight in keeping his commands.[d]
2 His descendants[e] will be powerful on the earth;
the godly[f] will be blessed.
3 His house contains wealth and riches;
his integrity endures.[g]
4 In the darkness a light[h] shines for the godly,
for each one who is merciful, compassionate, and just.[i]
5 It goes well for the one[j] who generously lends money,
and conducts his business honestly.[k]
6 For he will never be shaken;
others will always remember one who is just.[l]
7 He does not fear bad news.
He[m] is confident; he trusts in the Lord.
8 His resolve[n] is firm; he will not succumb to fear
before he looks in triumph on his enemies.
9 He generously gives[o] to the needy;
his integrity endures.[p]
He will be vindicated and honored.[q]
10 When the wicked[r] see this, they will worry;
they will grind their teeth in frustration[s] and melt away.
The desire of the wicked will perish.[t]
Psalm 113[u]
113 Praise the Lord.
Praise, you servants of the Lord,
praise the name of the Lord.
2 May the Lord’s name be praised
now and forevermore.
3 From east to west[v]
the Lord’s name is deserving of praise.
4 The Lord is exalted over all the nations;
his splendor reaches beyond the sky.[w]
5 Who can compare to the Lord our God,
who sits on a high throne?[x]
6 He bends down to look[y]
at the sky and the earth.
7 He raises the poor from the dirt,
and lifts up the needy from the garbage pile,[z]
8 that he might seat him with princes,
with the princes of his people.
9 He makes the barren woman of the family[aa]
a happy mother of children.[ab]
Praise the Lord.
Water at Massah and Meribah
17 [a] The whole community[b] of the Israelites traveled on their journey[c] from the wilderness of Sin according to the Lord’s instruction, and they pitched camp in Rephidim.[d] Now[e] there was no water for the people to drink.[f] 2 So the people contended[g] with Moses, and they said, “Give us water to drink!”[h] Moses said to them, “Why do you contend[i] with me? Why do you test[j] the Lord?” 3 But the people were very thirsty[k] there for water, and they murmured against Moses and said, “Why in the world[l] did you bring us up from Egypt—to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst?”[m]
4 Then Moses cried out to the Lord, “What will I do with[n] this people?—a little more[o] and they will stone me!”[p] 5 The Lord said to Moses, “Go over before the people;[q] take with you some of the elders of Israel and take in your hand your staff with which you struck the Nile and go. 6 I will be standing[r] before you there on[s] the rock in Horeb, and you will strike[t] the rock, and water will come out of it so that the people may drink.”[u] And Moses did so in plain view[v] of the elders of Israel.
7 He called the name of the place Massah and Meribah, because of the contending of the Israelites and because of their testing the Lord,[w] saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?”
The Supremacy of Christ
15 [a] He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn[b] over all creation,[c]
16 for all things in heaven and on earth were created in him—all things, whether visible or invisible, whether thrones or dominions,[d] whether principalities or powers—all things were created through him and for him.
17 He himself is before all things and all things are held together[e] in him.
18 He is the head of the body, the church, as well as the beginning, the firstborn[f] from the dead, so that he himself may become first in all things.[g]
19 For God[h] was pleased to have all his[i] fullness dwell[j] in the Son[k]
20 and through him to reconcile all things to himself by making peace through the blood of his cross—through him,[l] whether things on earth or things in heaven.
Paul’s Goal in Ministry
21 And you were at one time strangers and enemies in your[m] minds[n] as expressed through[o] your evil deeds, 22 but now he has reconciled you[p] by his physical body through death to present you holy, without blemish, and blameless before him— 23 if indeed you remain in the faith, established and firm,[q] without shifting[r] from the hope of the gospel that you heard. This gospel has also been preached in all creation under heaven, and I, Paul, have become its servant.
Teaching About the Spirit
37 On the last day of the feast, the greatest day,[a] Jesus stood up and shouted out,[b] “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me, and 38 let the one who believes in me drink.[c] Just as the scripture says, ‘From within him[d] will flow rivers of living water.’”[e] 39 (Now he said this about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were going to receive, for the Spirit had not yet been given,[f] because Jesus was not yet glorified.)[g]
Differing Opinions About Jesus
40 When they heard these words, some of the crowd[h] began to say, “This really[i] is the Prophet!”[j] 41 Others said, “This is the Christ!”[k] But still others said, “No,[l] for the Christ doesn’t come from Galilee, does he?[m] 42 Don’t the scriptures say that the Christ is a descendant[n] of David[o] and comes from Bethlehem,[p] the village where David lived?”[q] 43 So there was a division in the crowd[r] because of Jesus.[s] 44 Some of them were wanting to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him.[t]
Lack of Belief
45 Then the officers[u] returned[v] to the chief priests and Pharisees,[w] who said to them, “Why didn’t you bring him back with you?”[x] 46 The officers replied, “No one ever spoke like this man!” 47 Then the Pharisees answered,[y] “You haven’t been deceived too, have you?[z] 48 None of the members of the ruling council[aa] or the Pharisees have believed in him, have they?[ab] 49 But this rabble[ac] who do not know the law are accursed!”
50 Nicodemus, who had gone to Jesus[ad] before and who was one of the rulers,[ae] said,[af] 51 “Our law doesn’t condemn[ag] a man unless it first hears from him and learns[ah] what he is doing, does it?”[ai] 52 They replied,[aj] “You aren’t from Galilee too, are you?[ak] Investigate carefully and you will see that no prophet[al] comes from Galilee!”
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