Book of Common Prayer
Give Thanks to the Lord
Of David.
138 (A)I give you thanks, O Lord, with my whole heart;
before (B)the gods I sing your praise;
2 I bow down (C)toward your (D)holy temple
and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness,
for you have exalted above all things
your name and your word.[a]
3 On the day I called, you answered me;
my strength of soul you increased.[b]
4 (E)All the kings of the earth shall give you thanks, O Lord,
for they have heard the words of your mouth,
5 and they shall sing of (F)the ways of the Lord,
for great is the glory of the Lord.
6 (G)For though the Lord is high, he regards the lowly,
but the haughty he knows from afar.
7 (H)Though I walk in the midst of trouble,
you (I)preserve my life;
you (J)stretch out your hand against the wrath of my enemies,
and your (K)right hand delivers me.
8 The Lord will (L)fulfill his purpose for me;
(M)your steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever.
Do not forsake (N)the work of your hands.
Search Me, O God, and Know My Heart
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.
139 O Lord, you have (O)searched me and known me!
2 You (P)know when I sit down and when I rise up;
you (Q)discern my thoughts from afar.
3 You search out my path and my lying down
and are acquainted with all my ways.
4 Even before a word is on my tongue,
behold, O Lord, (R)you know it altogether.
5 You (S)hem me in, behind and before,
and (T)lay your hand upon me.
6 (U)Such knowledge is (V)too wonderful for me;
it is high; I cannot attain it.
7 (W)Where shall I go from your Spirit?
Or where (X)shall I flee from your presence?
8 (Y)If I ascend to heaven, you are there!
(Z)If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!
9 If I take the wings of the morning
and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
10 even there your hand shall (AA)lead me,
and your right hand shall hold me.
11 If I say, (AB)“Surely the darkness shall cover me,
and the light about me be night,”
12 (AC)even the darkness is not dark to you;
the night is bright as the day,
for darkness is as light with you.
13 For you (AD)formed my inward parts;
you (AE)knitted me together in my mother's womb.
14 I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.[c]
(AF)Wonderful are your works;
my soul knows it very well.
15 (AG)My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,
intricately woven in (AH)the depths of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my unformed substance;
in your (AI)book were written, every one of them,
the days that were formed for me,
when as yet there was none of them.
17 How precious to me are your (AJ)thoughts, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
18 (AK)If I would count them, they are more than (AL)the sand.
I awake, and I am still with you.
19 Oh that you would (AM)slay the wicked, O God!
O (AN)men of blood, (AO)depart from me!
20 They (AP)speak against you with malicious intent;
your enemies (AQ)take your name in vain.[d]
21 (AR)Do I not hate those who hate you, O Lord?
And do I not (AS)loathe those who (AT)rise up against you?
22 I hate them with complete hatred;
I count them my enemies.
He Heals the Brokenhearted
147 (A)Praise the Lord!
For (B)it is good to sing praises to our God;
for (C)it is pleasant,[a] and (D)a song of praise is fitting.
2 The Lord (E)builds up Jerusalem;
he (F)gathers the outcasts of Israel.
3 He heals (G)the brokenhearted
and (H)binds up their wounds.
4 He (I)determines the number of the stars;
he (J)gives to all of them their names.
5 (K)Great is our Lord, and (L)abundant in power;
(M)his understanding is beyond measure.
6 The Lord (N)lifts up the humble;[b]
he casts the wicked to the ground.
7 (O)Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving;
make melody to our God on (P)the lyre!
8 He covers the heavens with clouds;
he prepares (Q)rain for the earth;
he makes (R)grass grow on the hills.
9 He (S)gives to the beasts their food,
and to (T)the young ravens that cry.
10 His delight is not in (U)the strength of the horse,
nor his pleasure in the legs of a man,
11 but the Lord (V)takes pleasure in those who fear him,
in those who (W)hope in his steadfast love.
12 Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem!
Praise your God, O Zion!
13 For he strengthens (X)the bars of your gates;
he blesses your children within you.
14 He (Y)makes peace in your borders;
he (Z)fills you with the (AA)finest of the wheat.
15 He (AB)sends out his command to the earth;
his word runs swiftly.
16 He gives (AC)snow like wool;
he scatters (AD)frost like ashes.
17 He hurls down his crystals of (AE)ice like crumbs;
who can stand before his (AF)cold?
18 He (AG)sends out his word, and melts them;
he makes his wind blow and the waters flow.
19 He declares his word to Jacob,
his (AH)statutes and rules[c] to Israel.
20 He (AI)has not dealt thus with any other nation;
they do not know his rules.[d]
(AJ)Praise the Lord!
The Righteous Branch
23 (A)“Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture!” declares the Lord. 2 Therefore thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, concerning (B)the shepherds who care for my people: “You have scattered my flock and have driven them away, and you have not attended to them. (C)Behold, I will attend to you for your evil deeds, declares the Lord. 3 (D)Then I will gather the remnant of my flock (E)out of all the countries where I have driven them, and I will bring them back to their fold, (F)and they shall be fruitful and multiply. 4 (G)I will set shepherds over them who will care for them, and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall any be missing, declares the Lord.
5 (H)“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous (I)Branch, and (J)he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. 6 In his days Judah will be saved, and (K)Israel will (L)dwell securely. And this is the name by which he will be called: (M)‘The Lord is our righteousness.’
7 (N)“Therefore, behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when they shall no longer say, ‘As the Lord lives who brought up the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt,’ 8 but ‘As the Lord lives who brought up and led the offspring of the house of Israel out of the north country and out of all the countries where he[a] had driven them.’ Then they shall dwell in their own land.”
8 See to it that no one takes you captive by (A)philosophy and (B)empty deceit, according to (C)human tradition, according to the (D)elemental spirits[a] of the world, and not according to Christ. 9 For (E)in him the whole fullness of deity dwells (F)bodily, 10 and (G)you have been filled in him, who is (H)the head of all rule and authority. 11 In him also (I)you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by (J)putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, 12 (K)having been buried with him in baptism, in which (L)you were also raised with him through faith in (M)the powerful working of God, (N)who raised him from the dead. 13 (O)And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God (P)made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, 14 by (Q)canceling (R)the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. 15 (S)He disarmed the rulers and authorities[b] and (T)put them to open shame, by (U)triumphing over them in him.[c]
Let No One Disqualify You
16 Therefore let no one (V)pass judgment on you (W)in questions of food and drink, or with regard to (X)a festival or (Y)a new moon or a Sabbath. 17 (Z)These are a shadow of the things to come, but (AA)the substance belongs to Christ. 18 Let no one (AB)disqualify you, (AC)insisting on asceticism and worship of angels, (AD)going on in detail about visions,[d] (AE)puffed up without reason by (AF)his sensuous mind, 19 and (AG)not (AH)holding fast to the Head, from whom the whole body, nourished and knit together through its joints and ligaments, grows with a growth that is from God.
20 If with Christ (AI)you died to the (AJ)elemental spirits of the world, (AK)why, as if you were still alive in the world, do you submit to regulations— 21 (AL)“Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch” 22 ((AM)referring to things that all perish as they are used)—according to (AN)human precepts and teachings? 23 These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in (AO)promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are (AP)of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh.
7 So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, (A)I am the door of the sheep. 8 All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. 9 I am the door. If anyone enters by me, (B)he will be saved and will go in and out and (C)find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and (D)kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. 11 (E)I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd (F)lays down his life for the sheep. 12 He who is (G)a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and (H)leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and (I)scatters them. 13 He flees because (J)he is a hired hand and (K)cares nothing for the sheep. 14 (L)I am the good shepherd. (M)I know my own and (N)my own know me, 15 (O)just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and (P)I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 And (Q)I have other sheep that are not of this fold. (R)I must bring them also, and (S)they will listen to my voice. So there will be (T)one flock, (U)one shepherd. 17 (V)For this reason the Father loves me, (W)because (X)I lay down my life that I may take it up again.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.