Book of Common Prayer
Praise to Yahweh for His Faithfulness in Israel’s History
106 Praise Yah.[a] Give thanks to Yahweh, for he is good,
for his loyal love is forever.
2 Who can utter the mighty deeds of Yahweh,
or proclaim all his praise?
3 Blessed are those who observe justice,
he who does righteousness at all times.
4 Remember me, O Yahweh, when you show favor to your people.
Look after me when you deliver,
5 that I may see the good done your chosen ones,
to be glad in the joy of your nation,
to glory together with your inheritance.
6 We have sinned along with our ancestors.[b]
We have committed iniquity; we have incurred guilt.
7 Our ancestors[c] in Egypt did not understand your wonderful works.
They did not remember your many acts of loyal love,
and so they rebelled by the sea at the Red Sea.[d]
8 Yet he saved them for the sake of his name,
to make known his might.
9 So he rebuked the Red Sea,[e] and it dried up,
and he led them through the deep as through a desert.
10 Thus he saved them from the hand of the hater
and redeemed them from the hand of the enemy.
11 But waters covered their adversaries;
not one of them survived.
12 Then they believed his words;
they sang his praise.
13 They quickly forgot his works;
they did not wait for his counsel.
14 And they craved intensely[f] in the wilderness,
and tested God in the desert.
15 So he gave to them their request,
but he sent leanness into their souls.[g]
16 And they were jealous of Moses in the camp,
and of Aaron, the holy one of Yahweh.
17 The earth opened and swallowed up Dathan,
and it covered over the gang of Abiram.
18 Also fire burned in their assembly;
the flame devoured the wicked.
19 They made a calf at Horeb
and bowed down to a cast image.
20 And so they exchanged their glory
for an image of an ox that eats grass.
21 They forgot God their Savior,
who had done great things in Egypt,
22 wonders in the land of Ham,
awesome deeds by the Red Sea.[h]
23 So he said he would exterminate them,
had not Moses, his chosen one,
stood in the breach before him,
to reverse his wrath from destroying them.
24 Then they refused the desirable land;
they did not believe his word,
25 but grumbled in their tents.
They did not obey the voice of Yahweh.
26 So he made an oath[i] against them,
to make them drop in the wilderness,
27 and to disperse[j] their descendants[k] among the nations
and to scatter them among the lands.
28 They also attached themselves to Baal of Peor,
and they ate sacrifices offered to the dead.[l]
29 Thus they provoked to anger by their deeds,
and a plague broke out among them.
30 Then Phinehas stood up and intervened,
and so the plague was stopped,
31 and it was reckoned to him as righteousness
throughout all generations.[m]
32 They also angered God at the waters of Meribah,
and it went badly for Moses on account of them,
33 because they rebelled against his Spirit,[n]
and he spoke thoughtlessly with his lips.
34 They did not exterminate the peoples,
as Yahweh had commanded them, [o]
35 but they mingled with the nations
and learned their works,
36 and served their idols,
which became[p] a snare to them.
37 They even sacrificed their sons and daughters
to the demons,
38 and they poured out innocent blood,
the blood of their sons and daughters,
whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan,
and so the land was defiled with the blood.[q]
39 And they became unclean by their works,
and were unfaithful in their deeds.
40 So Yahweh’s anger burned against his people,
and he abhorred his inheritance.
41 Then he gave them into the hand of the nations,
and those who hated them ruled over them.
42 And their enemies oppressed them,
and they were subdued under their hand.
43 Many times he delivered them,
but they rebelled in their counsel,
and were brought low by their iniquity.
44 Yet he looked upon their distress
when he heard their cry.
45 And he remembered his covenant with them,
and relented based on the abundance of his loyal love.
46 And he let them find compassion[r]
before all their captors.
47 Save us, O Yahweh our God,
and gather us from the nations,
so that we may give thanks to your holy name
and boast in your praise.
48 Blessed is Yahweh, the God of Israel,
from everlasting and to everlasting.
And let all the people say, “Amen!”
Praise Yah.[s]
Yahweh’s Feasts
23 Then[a] Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to the Israelites,[b] and say to them, ‘The festivals of Yahweh that you shall proclaim are holy assemblies; these are my appointed times.
Yahweh’s Sabbath
3 “‘For six days work is to be done, and on the seventh day shall be a Sabbath of complete rest,[c] a holy assembly; you shall not do any work; it shall be a Sabbath for Yahweh in all your dwellings.
The Passover
4 “‘These are Yahweh’s appointed times, holy assemblies, which you shall proclaim at[d] their appointed time. 5 In the first month, on the fourteenth of the month at the evening is Yahweh’s Passover. 6 And on the fifteenth day of this month is Yahweh’s Feast of Unleavened Bread; for seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. 7 On the first day there shall be a holy assembly for you; you shall not do any regular work.[e] 8 And you shall present an offering for Yahweh made by fire for seven days; on the seventh day there shall be a holy assembly; you shall not do any regular work.’”[f]
The Feast of Firstfruits
9 Then[g] Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 10 “Speak to the Israelites,[h] and say to them, ‘When you come to the land that I am about to give to you and you reap its harvest, then[i] you shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruit of your harvest to the priest. 11 And he shall wave the sheaf before[j] Yahweh for your acceptance; the priest shall wave it on the day after[k] the Sabbath. 12 And on the day of your waving the sheaf you shall offer[l] a yearling[m] male lamb without defect as a burnt offering to Yahweh. 13 And its grain offering shall be two-tenths of an ephah[n] of finely milled flour mixed with oil, an offering made by fire for Yahweh, an appeasing fragrance; and its libation shall be a fourth of a hin[o] of wine. 14 And you shall not eat bread or[p] roasted grain or[q] ripe grain until this very same day,[r] until you present your God’s offering. This must be a lasting statute[s] for your generations in all your dwellings.
The Feast of Weeks
15 “‘And you shall count for yourselves from the day after[t] the Sabbath, from the day of your bringing the wave offering’s sheaf—there shall be seven full weeks. 16 Until the day after[u] the seventh Sabbath you shall count fifty days; then[v] you shall present a new grain offering for Yahweh. 17 You shall bring from your dwellings for a wave offering two loaves of bread made with[w] two-tenths of an ephah[x] of finely milled flour; they must be baked with leaven—the firstfruits belonging to[y] Yahweh. 18 And, in addition to the bread, you shall present seven yearling[z] male lambs without defects and one young bull[aa] and two rams—they shall be a burnt offering for Yahweh with[ab] their grain offering and their libations, an offering made by fire, an appeasing fragrance for Yahweh. 19 And you shall offer[ac] one he-goat as a sin offering and two yearling[ad] male lambs as a sacrifice of fellowship offerings. 20 And the priest shall wave them with the bread of the firstfruits as a wave offering before[ae] Yahweh; in addition to the two male lambs, they shall be holy for Yahweh for the priest. 21 And you shall make a proclamation[af] on this very same day;[ag] it shall be a holy assembly for you; you shall not do any regular work;[ah] this is a lasting statute[ai] in all your dwellings throughout[aj] your generations. 22 And when you[ak] reap the harvest of your[al] land, you[am] must not finish the edge of your[an] field at your reaping, and you[ao] must not glean the remnants of your[ap] harvest—you[aq] shall leave them behind for the needy and for the alien; I am Yahweh your[ar] God.’”
The Man of Lawlessness Will Be Revealed
2 Now we ask you, brothers, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our assembling to him, 2 that you not be easily shaken from your composure, nor be troubled either by a spirit or by a message or by a letter alleged to be from us[a], to the effect that the day of the Lord has arrived. 3 Do not let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, 4 who opposes and who exalts himself over every so-called god or object of worship, so that he sits down in the temple of God, proclaiming that he himself is God.
5 Do you not remember that while[b] we were still with you, we were saying these things to you? 6 And you know that which restrains him now, so that he will be revealed in his own time. 7 For the mystery of lawlessness is at work already; only the one who now restrains[c] will do so until he is out of the way,[d] 8 and then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will slay with the breath of his mouth, and wipe out by the appearance of his coming, 9 whose coming is in accordance with the working of Satan, with all power and signs and lying wonders, 10 and with every unrighteous deception against those who are perishing, in place of which they did not accept the love of the truth, so that they would be saved. 11 And because of this, God sends them a powerful delusion[e] so that they will believe the lie, 12 in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth, but delighted in unrighteousness.
Stand Firm and Hold Fast
13 But we ought to give thanks to God always concerning you, brothers dearly loved by the Lord, because God has chosen you as first fruits for salvation by the sanctification of the Spirit and faith in the truth, 14 for which purpose he called[f] you through our gospel for the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. 15 So then, brothers, stand firm and hold fast to the traditions which you were taught, whether by spoken word or by letter from us. 16 Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who has loved us and given us eternal encouragement and good hope by grace, 17 encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good work and word.
The Sermon on the Mount: On Judging Others
7 “Do not judge, so that you will not be judged. 2 For by what judgment you judge, you will be judged, and by what measure you measure out, it will be measured out to you. 3 And why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the beam of wood in your own eye? 4 Or how will you say to your brother, ‘Allow me to remove the speck from your eye,’ and behold, the beam of wood is in your own eye? 5 Hypocrite! First remove the beam of wood from your own eye and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye!
6 “Do not give what is holy to dogs, or throw your pearls in front of pigs, lest they trample them with their feet, and turn around and[a] tear you to pieces.
The Sermon on the Mount: Ask, Seek, Knock
7 “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and it will be opened for you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. 9 Or what man is there among you, if his son will ask him for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or also if he will ask for a fish, will give him a snake? 11 Therefore if you, although you[b] are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him? 12 Therefore in all things, whatever you want that people should do to you, thus also you do to them. For this is the law and the prophets.
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