Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 105[a]
105 Give thanks to the Lord.
Call on his name.
Make known his accomplishments among the nations.
2 Sing to him.
Make music to him.
Tell about all his miraculous deeds.
3 Boast about his holy name.
Let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.
4 Seek the Lord and the strength he gives.
Seek his presence continually.
5 Recall the miraculous deeds he performed,
his mighty acts and the judgments he decreed,[b]
6 O children[c] of Abraham,[d] God’s[e] servant,
you descendants[f] of Jacob, God’s[g] chosen ones.
7 He is the Lord our God;
he carries out judgment throughout the earth.[h]
8 He always remembers his covenantal decree,
the promise he made[i] to a thousand generations—
9 the promise[j] he made to Abraham,
the promise he made by oath to Isaac.
10 He gave it to Jacob as a decree,
to Israel as a lasting promise,[k]
11 saying, “To you I will give the land of Canaan
as the portion of your inheritance.”
12 When they were few in number,
just a very few, and resident foreigners within it,
13 they wandered from nation to nation,
and from one kingdom to another.[l]
14 He let no one oppress them;
he disciplined kings for their sake,
15 saying,[m] “Don’t touch my chosen ones.[n]
Don’t harm my prophets.”
16 He called down a famine upon the earth;
he cut off all the food supply.[o]
17 He sent a man ahead of them[p]—
Joseph was sold as a servant.
18 The shackles hurt his feet;[q]
his neck was placed in an iron collar,[r]
19 until the time when his prediction[s] came true.
The Lord’s word[t] proved him right.[u]
20 The king authorized his release;[v]
the ruler of nations set him free.
21 He put him in charge of his palace,[w]
and made him manager of all his property,
22 giving him authority to imprison his officials[x]
and to teach his advisers.[y]
23 Israel moved to[z] Egypt;
Jacob lived for a time[aa] in the land of Ham.
24 The Lord[ab] made his people very fruitful,
and made them[ac] more numerous than their[ad] enemies.
25 He caused the Egyptians[ae] to hate his people,
and to mistreat[af] his servants.
26 He sent his servant Moses,
and Aaron, whom he had chosen.
27 They executed his miraculous signs among them,[ag]
and his amazing deeds in the land of Ham.
28 He made it dark;[ah]
Moses and Aaron did not disobey his orders.[ai]
29 He turned the Egyptians’ water into blood,
and killed their fish.
30 Their land was overrun by frogs,
which even got into the rooms of their kings.
31 He ordered flies to come;[aj]
gnats invaded their whole territory.
32 He sent hail along with the rain;[ak]
there was lightning in their land.[al]
33 He destroyed their vines and fig trees,
and broke the trees throughout their territory.
34 He ordered locusts to come,[am]
innumerable grasshoppers.
35 They ate all the vegetation in their land,
and devoured the crops of their fields.[an]
36 He struck down all the firstborn in their land,
the firstfruits of their reproductive power.[ao]
37 He brought his people[ap] out enriched[aq] with silver and gold;
none of his tribes stumbled.
38 Egypt was happy when they left,
for they were afraid of them.[ar]
39 He spread out a cloud for a cover,[as]
and provided a fire to light up the night.
40 They asked for food,[at] and he sent quail;
he satisfied them with food from the sky.[au]
41 He opened up a rock and water flowed out;
a river ran through dry regions.
42 Yes,[av] he remembered the sacred promise[aw]
he made to Abraham his servant.
43 When he led his people out, they rejoiced;
his chosen ones shouted with joy.[ax]
44 He handed the territory of nations over to them,
and they took possession of what other peoples had produced,[ay]
45 so that they might keep his commands
and obey[az] his laws.
Praise the Lord.
The Lord Ratifies the Covenant
24 [a] But to Moses the Lord[b] said, “Come up[c] to the Lord, you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, and worship from a distance.[d] 2 Moses alone may come near[e] the Lord, but the others[f] must not come near,[g] nor may the people go up with him.”
3 Moses came[h] and told the people all the Lord’s words[i] and all the decisions. All the people answered together,[j] “We are willing to do[k] all the words that the Lord has said,” 4 and Moses wrote down all the words of the Lord. Early in the morning he built[l] an altar at the foot[m] of the mountain and arranged[n] twelve standing stones[o]—according to the twelve tribes of Israel. 5 He sent young Israelite men,[p] and they offered burnt offerings and sacrificed young bulls for peace offerings[q] to the Lord. 6 Moses took half of the blood and put it in bowls, and half of the blood he splashed on the altar.[r] 7 He took the Book of the Covenant[s] and read it aloud[t] to the people, and they said, “We are willing to do and obey[u] all that the Lord has spoken.” 8 So Moses took the blood and splashed it on[v] the people and said, “This is the blood of the covenant[w] that the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words.”
9 Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and the seventy elders of Israel went up,[x] 10 and they saw[y] the God of Israel. Under his feet[z] there was something like a pavement[aa] made of sapphire, clear like the sky itself.[ab] 11 But he did not lay a hand[ac] on the leaders of the Israelites, so they saw God,[ad] and they ate and they drank.[ae]
12 [af] The Lord said to Moses, “Come up to me on the mountain and remain there, and I will give you the stone tablets[ag] with[ah] the law and the commandments that I have written, so that you may teach them.”[ai] 13 So Moses set out[aj] with[ak] Joshua his attendant, and Moses went up the mountain of God. 14 He told the elders, “Wait for us in this place until we return to you. Here are[al] Aaron and Hur with you. Whoever has any matters of dispute[am] can approach[an] them.”
15 Moses went up the mountain, and the cloud covered the mountain. 16 The glory of the Lord resided[ao] on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days.[ap] On the seventh day he called to Moses from within the cloud. 17 Now the appearance of the glory of the Lord was like a devouring fire on the top of the mountain in plain view[aq] of the people. 18 Moses went into the cloud when he went up[ar] the mountain, and Moses was on the mountain forty days and forty nights.[as]
8 Be careful not to allow anyone to captivate you[a] through an empty, deceitful philosophy[b] that is according to human traditions and the elemental spirits[c] of the world, and not according to Christ. 9 For in him all the fullness of deity lives[d] 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,[e] with a circumcision performed by human hands, but by the removal[f] of the fleshly body,[g] that is,[h] through the circumcision done by Christ. 12 Having been buried with him in baptism, you also have been raised with him through your[i] faith in the power[j] of God who raised him from the dead. 13 And even though you were dead in your[k] transgressions and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, he nevertheless[l] made you alive with him, having forgiven all your transgressions. 14 He has destroyed[m] what was against us, a certificate of indebtedness[n] expressed in decrees opposed to us. He has taken it away by nailing it to the cross. 15 Disarming[o] the rulers and authorities, he has made a public disgrace of them, triumphing over them by the cross.[p]
16 Therefore do not let anyone judge you with respect to food or drink, or in the matter of a feast, new moon, or Sabbath days— 17 these are only[q] the shadow of the things to come, but the reality[r] is Christ![s] 18 Let no one who delights in false humility[t] and the worship of angels pass judgment on you. That person goes on at great lengths[u] about what he has supposedly seen, but he is puffed up with empty notions by his fleshly mind.[v] 19 He has not held fast[w] to the head from whom the whole body, supported[x] and knit together through its ligaments and sinews, grows with a growth that is from God.[y]
20 If you have died with Christ to the elemental spirits[z] of the world, why do you submit to them as though you lived in the world? 21 “Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!” 22 These are all destined to perish with use, founded as they are[aa] on human commands and teachings.[ab] 23 Even though they have the appearance of wisdom[ac] with their self-imposed worship and humility achieved by an[ad] unsparing treatment of the body—a wisdom with no true value—they in reality result in fleshly indulgence.[ae]
Preaching in Galilee
12 Now when Jesus[a] heard that John[b] had been imprisoned,[c] he went into Galilee. 13 While in Galilee, he moved from Nazareth to make his home in Capernaum[d] by the sea,[e] in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali, 14 so that what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah would be fulfilled:[f]
15 “Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali,
the way[g] by the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles—
16 the people who sit in darkness have seen a great light,
and on those who sit in the region and shadow of death a light has dawned.”[h]
17 From that time Jesus began to preach this message:[i] “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near!”
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