Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 103[a]
By David.
103 Praise the Lord, O my soul.
With all that is within me, praise[b] his holy name.
2 Praise the Lord, O my soul.
Do not forget all his kind deeds.[c]
3 He is the one who forgives all your sins,
who heals all your diseases,[d]
4 who delivers[e] your life from the Pit,[f]
who crowns you with his loyal love and compassion,
5 who satisfies your life with good things,[g]
so your youth is renewed like an eagle’s.[h]
6 The Lord does what is fair,
and executes justice for all the oppressed.[i]
7 The Lord revealed his faithful acts[j] to Moses,
his deeds to the Israelites.
8 The Lord is compassionate and merciful;
he is patient[k] and demonstrates great loyal love.[l]
9 He does not always accuse,
and does not stay angry.[m]
10 He does not deal with us as our sins deserve;[n]
he does not repay us as our misdeeds deserve.[o]
11 For as the skies are high above the earth,
so his loyal love towers[p] over his faithful followers.[q]
12 As far as the eastern horizon[r] is from the west,[s]
so he removes the guilt of our rebellious actions[t] from us.
13 As a father has compassion on his children,[u]
so the Lord has compassion on his faithful followers.[v]
14 For he knows what we are made of;[w]
he realizes[x] we are made of clay.[y]
15 A person’s life is like grass.[z]
Like a flower in the field it flourishes,
16 but when the hot wind[aa] blows, it disappears,
and one can no longer even spot the place where it once grew.
17 But the Lord continually shows loyal love to his faithful followers,[ab]
and is faithful to their descendants,[ac]
18 to those who keep his covenant,
who are careful to obey his commands.[ad]
19 The Lord has established his throne in heaven;
his kingdom extends over everything.[ae]
20 Praise the Lord, you angels of his,
you powerful warriors who carry out his decrees
and obey his orders.[af]
21 Praise the Lord, all you warriors of his,[ag]
you servants of his who carry out his desires.[ah]
22 Praise the Lord, all that he has made,[ai]
in all the regions[aj] of his kingdom.
Praise the Lord, O my soul.
Psalm 148[a]
148 Praise the Lord.
Praise the Lord from the sky.
Praise him in the heavens.
2 Praise him, all his angels.[b]
Praise him, all his heavenly assembly.[c]
3 Praise him, O sun and moon.
Praise him, all you shiny stars.[d]
4 Praise him, O highest heaven,
and you waters above the sky.[e]
5 Let them praise the name of the Lord,
for he gave the command and they came into existence.
6 He established them so they would endure;[f]
he issued a decree that will not be revoked.[g]
7 Praise the Lord from the earth,
you sea creatures and all you ocean depths,
8 O fire and hail, snow and clouds,[h]
O stormy wind that carries out his orders,[i]
9 you mountains and all you hills,
you fruit trees and all you cedars,
10 you animals and all you cattle,
you creeping things and birds,
11 you kings of the earth and all you nations,
you princes and all you leaders[j] on the earth,
12 you young men and young women,
you elderly, along with you children.
13 Let them praise the name of the Lord,
for his name alone is exalted;
his majesty extends over the earth and sky.
14 He has made his people victorious,[k]
and given all his loyal followers reason to praise—
the Israelites, the people who are close to him.[l]
Praise the Lord!
The Sign of the Covenant
17 When Abram was 99 years old,[a] the Lord appeared to him and said,[b] “I am the Sovereign God.[c] Walk[d] before me[e] and be blameless.[f] 2 Then I will confirm my covenant[g] between me and you, and I will give you a multitude of descendants.”[h]
3 Abram bowed down with his face to the ground,[i] and God said to him,[j] 4 “As for me,[k] this[l] is my covenant with you: You will be the father of a multitude of nations. 5 No longer will your name be[m] Abram. Instead, your name will be Abraham[n] because I will make you[o] the father of a multitude of nations. 6 I will make you[p] extremely[q] fruitful. I will make nations of you, and kings will descend from you.[r] 7 I will confirm[s] my covenant as a perpetual[t] covenant between me and you. It will extend to your descendants after you throughout their generations. I will be your God and the God of your descendants after you.[u] 8 I will give the whole land of Canaan—the land where you are now residing[v]—to you and your descendants after you as a permanent[w] possession. I will be their God.”
9 Then God said to Abraham, “As for you, you must keep[x] the covenantal requirement[y] I am imposing on you and your descendants after you throughout their generations. 10 This is my requirement that you and your descendants after you must keep:[z] Every male among you must be circumcised.[aa] 11 You must circumcise the flesh of your foreskins. This will be a reminder[ab] of the covenant between me and you. 12 Throughout your generations every male among you who is eight days old[ac] must be circumcised, whether born in your house or bought with money from any foreigner who is not one of your descendants.
Warnings Against the Adoption of False Philosophies
6 Therefore, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord,[a] continue to live your lives[b] in him, 7 rooted[c] and built up in him and firm[d] in your[e] faith just as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. 8 Be careful not to allow anyone to captivate you[f] through an empty, deceitful philosophy[g] that is according to human traditions and the elemental spirits[h] of the world, and not according to Christ. 9 For in him all the fullness of deity lives[i] in bodily form, 10 and you have been filled in him, who is the head over every ruler and authority. 11 In him you also were circumcised—not, however,[j] with a circumcision performed by human hands, but by the removal[k] of the fleshly body,[l] that is,[m] through the circumcision done by Christ. 12 Having been buried with him in baptism, you also have been raised with him through your[n] faith in the power[o] of God who raised him from the dead.
23 At that time[a] you will ask me nothing. I tell you the solemn truth,[b] whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give you.[c] 24 Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive it,[d] so that your joy may be complete.
25 “I have told you these things in obscure figures of speech;[e] a time[f] is coming when I will no longer speak to you in obscure figures, but will tell you[g] plainly[h] about the Father. 26 At that time[i] you will ask in my name, and I do not say[j] that I will ask the Father on your behalf. 27 For the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God.[k] 28 I came from the Father and entered into the world, but in turn,[l] I am leaving the world and going back to the Father.”[m]
29 His disciples said, “Look, now you are speaking plainly[n] and not in obscure figures of speech![o] 30 Now we know that you know everything[p] and do not need anyone[q] to ask you anything.[r] Because of this[s] we believe that you have come from God.”
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