Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 24[a]
A psalm of David.
24 The Lord owns the earth and all it contains,
the world and all who live in it.
2 For he set its foundation upon the seas,
and established[b] it upon the ocean currents.[c]
3 Who is allowed to ascend[d] the mountain of the Lord?[e]
Who may go up to his holy dwelling place?
4 The one whose deeds are blameless
and whose motives are pure,[f]
who does not lie,[g]
or make promises with no intention of keeping them.[h]
5 Such godly people are rewarded by the Lord,[i]
and vindicated by the God who delivers them.[j]
6 Such purity characterizes the people who seek his favor,
Jacob’s descendants, who pray to him.[k] (Selah)
7 Look up,[l] you gates.
Rise up,[m] you eternal doors.
Then the majestic king[n] will enter.[o]
8 Who is this majestic king?[p]
The Lord who is strong and mighty.
The Lord who is mighty in battle.
9 Look up, you gates.
Rise up, you eternal doors.
Then the majestic king will enter.
10 Who is this majestic king?
The Lord of Heaven’s Armies.[q]
He is the majestic king. (Selah)
Psalm 29[a]
A psalm of David.
29 Acknowledge the Lord, you heavenly beings,[b]
acknowledge the Lord’s majesty and power.[c]
2 Acknowledge the majesty of the Lord’s reputation.[d]
Worship the Lord in holy attire.[e]
3 The Lord’s shout is heard over the water;[f]
the majestic God thunders,[g]
the Lord appears over the surging water.[h]
4 The Lord’s shout is powerful,[i]
the Lord’s shout is majestic.[j]
5 The Lord’s shout breaks[k] the cedars,
the Lord shatters[l] the cedars of Lebanon.[m]
6 He makes them skip like a calf,
Lebanon and Sirion[n] like a young ox.[o]
7 The Lord’s shout strikes[p] with flaming fire.[q]
8 The Lord’s shout shakes[r] the wilderness,
the Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.[s]
9 The Lord’s shout bends[t] the large trees[u]
and strips[v] the leaves from the forests.[w]
Everyone in his temple says, “Majestic!”[x]
10 The Lord sits enthroned over the engulfing waters,[y]
the Lord sits enthroned[z] as the eternal king.
11 The Lord gives[aa] his people strength;[ab]
the Lord grants his people security.[ac]
Psalm 8[a]
For the music director, according to the gittith style;[b] a psalm of David.
8 O Lord, our Lord,[c]
how magnificent[d] is your reputation[e] throughout the earth!
You reveal your majesty in the heavens above.[f]
2 From the mouths of children and nursing babies
you have ordained praise on account of your adversaries,[g]
so that you might put an end to the vindictive enemy.[h]
3 When I look up at the heavens, which your fingers made,
and see the moon and the stars, which you set in place,[i]
4 Of what importance is the human race,[j] that you should notice[k] them?
Of what importance is mankind,[l] that you should pay attention to them?[m]
5 You made them[n] a little less than[o] the heavenly beings.[p]
You crowned mankind[q] with honor and majesty.[r]
6 you appoint them to rule over your creation;[s]
you have placed[t] everything under their authority,[u]
7 including all the sheep and cattle,
as well as the wild animals,[v]
8 the birds in the sky, the fish in the sea,
and everything that moves through the currents[w] of the seas.
9 O Lord, our Lord,[x]
how magnificent[y] is your reputation[z] throughout the earth![aa]
Psalm 84[a]
For the music director, according to the gittith style;[b] written by the Korahites, a psalm.
84 How lovely is the place where you live,[c]
O Lord of Heaven’s Armies![d]
2 I desperately want to be[e]
in the courts of the Lord’s temple.[f]
My heart and my entire being[g] shout for joy
to the living God.
3 Even the birds find a home there,
and the swallow[h] builds a nest,
where she can protect her young[i]
near your altars, O Lord of Heaven’s Armies,
my King and my God.
4 How blessed[j] are those who live in your temple
and praise you continually. (Selah)
5 How blessed are those who[k] find their strength in you,
and long to travel the roads that lead to your temple.[l]
6 As they pass through the Baca Valley,[m]
he provides a spring for them.[n]
The rain[o] even covers it with pools of water.[p]
7 They are sustained as they travel along;[q]
each one appears[r] before God in Zion.
8 O Lord God of Heaven’s Armies,[s]
hear my prayer.
Listen, O God of Jacob. (Selah)
9 O God, take notice of our shield.[t]
Show concern for your chosen king.[u]
10 Certainly[v] spending just one day in your temple courts is better
than spending a thousand elsewhere.[w]
I would rather stand at the entrance[x] to the temple of my God
than live[y] in the tents of the wicked.
11 For the Lord God is our sovereign protector.[z]
The Lord bestows favor[aa] and honor;
he withholds no good thing from those who have integrity.[ab]
12 O Lord of Heaven’s Armies,[ac]
how blessed are those who trust in you.[ad]
14 Then Pharaoh summoned[a] Joseph. So they brought him quickly out of the dungeon; he shaved himself, changed his clothes, and came before Pharaoh. 15 Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I had a dream,[b] and there is no one who can interpret[c] it. But I have heard about you, that[d] you can interpret dreams.”[e] 16 Joseph replied to Pharaoh, “It is not within my power,[f] but God will speak concerning[g] the welfare of Pharaoh.”[h]
17 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “In my dream I was standing[i] by the edge of the Nile. 18 Then seven fat and fine-looking cows were coming up out of the Nile, and they grazed in the reeds.[j] 19 Then[k] seven other cows came up after them; they were scrawny, very bad looking, and lean. I had never seen such bad-looking cows[l] as these in all the land of Egypt! 20 The lean, bad-looking cows ate up the seven[m] fat cows. 21 When they had eaten them,[n] no one would have known[o] that they had done so, for they were just as bad-looking as before. Then I woke up. 22 I also saw in my dream[p] seven heads of grain growing on one stalk, full and good. 23 Then[q] seven heads of grain, withered and thin and burned with the east wind, were sprouting up after them. 24 The thin heads of grain swallowed up the seven good heads of grain. So I told all this[r] to the diviner-priests, but no one could tell me its meaning.”[s]
25 Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, “Both dreams of Pharaoh have the same meaning.[t] God has revealed[u] to Pharaoh what he is about to do.[v] 26 The seven good cows represent seven years, and the seven good heads of grain represent seven years. Both dreams have the same meaning.[w] 27 The seven lean, bad-looking cows that came up after them represent seven years, as do the seven empty heads of grain burned with the east wind. They represent[x] seven years of famine. 28 This is just what I told[y] Pharaoh: God has shown Pharaoh what he is about to do. 29 Seven years of great abundance are coming throughout the whole land of Egypt. 30 But seven years of famine will occur[z] after them, and all the abundance will be forgotten in the land of Egypt. The famine will devastate[aa] the land. 31 The previous abundance of the land will not be remembered[ab] because of the famine that follows, for the famine will be very severe.[ac] 32 The dream was repeated to Pharaoh[ad] because the matter has been decreed[ae] by God, and God will make it happen soon.[af]
33 “So now Pharaoh should look[ag] for a wise and discerning man[ah] and give him authority[ai] over all the land of Egypt. 34 Pharaoh should do[aj] this—he should appoint[ak] officials[al] throughout the land to collect one-fifth of the produce of the land of Egypt[am] during the seven years of abundance. 35 They should gather all the excess food[an] during these good years that are coming. By Pharaoh’s authority[ao] they should store up grain so the cities will have food,[ap] and they should preserve it.[aq] 36 This food should be held in storage for the land in preparation for the seven years of famine that will occur throughout the land of Egypt. In this way the land will survive the famine.”[ar]
37 This advice made sense to Pharaoh and all his officials.[as] 38 So Pharaoh asked his officials, “Can we find a man like Joseph,[at] one in whom the Spirit of God is present?”[au] 39 So Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Because God has enabled you to know all this, there is no one as wise and discerning[av] as you are! 40 You will oversee my household, and all my people will submit to your commands.[aw] Only I, the king, will be greater than you.[ax]
41 “See here,” Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I place[ay] you in authority over all the land of Egypt.”[az] 42 Then Pharaoh took his signet ring from his own hand and put it on Joseph’s. He clothed him with fine linen[ba] clothes and put a gold chain around his neck. 43 Pharaoh[bb] had him ride in the chariot used by his second-in-command,[bc] and they cried out before him, “Kneel down!”[bd] So he placed him over all the land of Egypt. 44 Pharaoh also said to Joseph, “I am Pharaoh, but without your permission[be] no one[bf] will move his hand or his foot[bg] in all the land of Egypt.” 45 Pharaoh gave Joseph the name Zaphenath-Paneah.[bh] He also gave him Asenath[bi] daughter of Potiphera, priest of On,[bj] to be his wife. So Joseph took charge of[bk] all the land of Egypt.
3 Or do you not know that as many as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 Therefore we have been buried with him through baptism into death, in order that just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too may live a new life.[a]
5 For if we have become united with him in the likeness of his death, we will certainly also be united in the likeness of his resurrection.[b] 6 We know that[c] our old man was crucified with him so that the body of sin would no longer dominate us,[d] so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. 7 (For someone who has died has been freed from sin.)[e]
8 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9 We know[f] that since Christ has been raised from the dead, he is never going to die[g] again; death no longer has mastery over him. 10 For the death he died, he died to sin once for all, but the life he lives, he lives to God. 11 So you too consider yourselves[h] dead to sin, but[i] alive to God in Christ Jesus.
12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its desires, 13 and do not present your members to sin as instruments[j] to be used for unrighteousness,[k] but present yourselves to God as those who are alive from the dead and your members to God as instruments[l] to be used for righteousness. 14 For sin will have no mastery over you, because you are not under law but under grace.
19 So Jesus answered them,[a] “I tell you the solemn truth,[b] the Son can do nothing on his own initiative,[c] but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father[d] does, the Son does likewise.[e] 20 For the Father loves the Son and shows him everything he does, and will show him greater deeds than these, so that you will be amazed. 21 For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life,[f] so also the Son gives life to whomever he wishes.[g] 22 Furthermore, the Father does not judge[h] anyone, but has assigned[i] all judgment to the Son, 23 so that all people[j] will honor the Son just as they honor the Father. The one who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him.
24 “I tell you the solemn truth,[k] the one who hears[l] my message[m] and believes the one who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned,[n] but has crossed over from death to life.
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