Book of Common Prayer
Your Throne, O God, Is Forever
For the choir director. According to [a]Shoshannim. Of the sons of Korah. A [b]Maskil. A Song of Love.
45 My heart [c]overflows with a good theme;
I [d]address my [e]verses to the [f]King;
My tongue is the pen of (A)a skillful scribe.
2 You are fairer than the sons of men;
(B)Grace is poured [g]upon Your lips;
Therefore God has (C)blessed You forever.
3 Gird (D)Your sword on Your thigh, O [h](E)Mighty One,
In Your splendor and Your majesty!
4 And in Your majesty ride on victoriously,
For the cause of truth and (F)meekness and righteousness;
Let Your (G)right hand teach You [i]awesome things.
5 Your (H)arrows are sharp;
The (I)peoples fall under You;
Your arrows are (J)in the heart of the King’s enemies.
6 (K)Your throne, O God, is forever and ever;
A scepter of (L)uprightness is the scepter of Your kingdom.
7 You have (M)loved righteousness and hated wickedness;
Therefore God, Your God, has (N)anointed You
With the oil of joy above Your companions.
8 All Your garments are fragrant with (O)myrrh and aloes and cassia;
Out of ivory palaces (P)stringed instruments have made You glad.
9 Kings’ daughters are among (Q)Your noble ladies;
At Your (R)right hand stands the queen in (S)gold from Ophir.
10 Listen, O daughter, give attention and incline your ear:
(T)Forget your people and your father’s house;
11 Then the King will desire your beauty.
Because He is your (U)Lord, (V)bow down to Him.
12 The daughter of (W)Tyre will come with a present;
The (X)rich among the people will seek your favor.
13 The King’s daughter is all glorious within her chamber;
Her clothing is (Y)interwoven with gold.
14 She will be (Z)led to the King (AA)in embroidered work;
The (AB)virgins, her companions who follow her,
Will be brought to You.
15 They will be led forth with gladness and rejoicing;
They will enter into the King’s palace.
God Is King of All the Earth
For the choir director. Of the sons of Korah. A Psalm.
47 O (A)clap your hands, all peoples;
(B)Make a loud shout to God with the sound of a shout of [a]joy.
2 For Yahweh Most High is [b](C)fearsome,
A (D)great King over all the earth.
3 He (E)subdues peoples under us
And nations under our feet.
4 He chooses our (F)inheritance for us,
The (G)pride of Jacob whom He loves. [c]Selah.
5 God has (H)ascended [d]with a loud shout,
Yahweh, [e]with the (I)sound of a trumpet.
6 (J)Sing praises to God, sing praises;
Sing praises to (K)our King, sing praises.
7 For God is the (L)King of all the earth;
Sing praises (M)with a [f]skillful psalm.
8 God (N)reigns over the nations,
God [g]sits on (O)His holy throne.
9 The (P)nobles of the peoples have assembled themselves with the (Q)people of the God of Abraham,
For the (R)shields of the earth belong to God;
He [h]is (S)highly exalted.
The City of Our God
A Song. A Psalm of the sons of Korah.
48 (T)Great is Yahweh, and greatly to be praised,
In the (U)city of our God, His (V)holy mountain.
2 (W)Beautiful in elevation, (X)the joy of the whole earth,
Is Mount Zion in the far north,
The (Y)city of the great King.
3 God, in her palaces,
Has made Himself known as a (Z)stronghold.
4 For, behold, the (AA)kings assembled themselves,
They passed by together.
5 They saw it, then they were astonished;
They were (AB)dismayed, they [i]fled in alarm.
6 [j]Panic seized them there,
Anguish, as of (AC)a woman in childbirth.
7 With the (AD)east wind
You (AE)break the (AF)ships of Tarshish.
8 As we have heard, so have we seen
In the city of Yahweh of hosts, in the city of our God;
God will (AG)establish her forever. [k]Selah.
9 We have thought on (AH)Your lovingkindness, O God,
In the midst of Your temple.
10 As is Your (AI)name, O God,
So is Your (AJ)praise to the ends of the earth;
Your (AK)right hand is full of righteousness.
11 Let Mount (AL)Zion be glad,
Let the (AM)daughters of Judah rejoice
Because of Your judgments.
12 Walk about Zion and go around her;
Count her (AN)towers;
13 Consider her (AO)ramparts;
Go through her palaces,
That you may (AP)recount it to the next generation.
14 For this is God,
Our God forever and ever;
He will (AQ)guide us [l]over death.
Yahweh Cuts a Covenant with Abram
15 After these things (A)the word of Yahweh came to Abram in a vision, saying,
2 And Abram said, “O Lord Yahweh, what will You give me, as I go on being childless, and the [b]heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” 3 And Abram said, “[c]Since You have given no seed to me, behold, [d]one (E)born in my house is my heir.” 4 Then behold, the word of Yahweh came to him, saying, “This one will not be your heir; (F)but one who will come forth from your own [e]body, he shall be your heir.” 5 And He brought him outside and said, “Now look toward the heavens, and (G)number the stars, if you are able to number them.” And He said to him, “(H)So shall your seed be.” 6 (I)Then he believed in Yahweh; and He counted it to him as righteousness. 7 And He said to him, “I am Yahweh who brought you out of (J)Ur of the Chaldeans, to (K)give you this land to [f]possess it.” 8 And he said, “O Lord Yahweh, (L)how may I know that I will [g]possess it?” 9 So He said to him, “[h]Bring Me a three year old heifer, and a three year old female goat, and a three year old ram, and a turtledove, and a young pigeon.” 10 Then he [i]brought all these to Him and (M)split them into parts [j]down the middle and laid each part opposite the other; but he (N)did not split apart the birds. 11 Then the birds of prey came down upon the carcasses, and Abram drove them away.
17 Now it happened that the sun had set, and it was very dark, and behold, there appeared a smoking oven and a flaming torch which (A)passed between these pieces. 18 On that day Yahweh cut a covenant with Abram, saying,
“(B)To your seed I have given this land,
From (C)the river of Egypt as far as the great river, the river Euphrates:
19 (D)the Kenite and the Kenizzite and the Kadmonite 20 and the Hittite and the Perizzite and the Rephaim 21 and the Amorite and the Canaanite and the Girgashite and the Jebusite.”
The Old Covenant
9 Now even the first covenant had (A)requirements of divine worship and (B)the earthly sanctuary. 2 For there was (C)a tabernacle prepared: the first part, in which were (D)the lampstand and (E)the table and (F)the [a]sacred bread, which is called the holy place. 3 And behind (G)the second veil there was a tabernacle which is called the (H)Holy of Holies, 4 having a golden [b](I)altar of incense and (J)the ark of the covenant covered on all sides with gold, in which was (K)a golden jar holding the manna, and (L)Aaron’s rod which budded, and (M)the tablets of the covenant. 5 And above it were the (N)cherubim of glory (O)overshadowing the [c]mercy seat. Of these things we cannot now speak in detail.
6 Now when these things have been so prepared, the priests (P)are continually entering the first part of the tabernacle performing the divine worship, 7 but into (Q)the second, only (R)the high priest enters (S)once a year, (T)not without taking blood, which he (U)offers for himself and for the [d](V)sins of the people committed in ignorance. 8 (W)The Holy Spirit is indicating this, (X)that the way into the holy places has not yet been manifested while that first part of the tabernacle is still standing, 9 which is a symbol for the present time. Accordingly (Y)both gifts and sacrifices are offered which (Z)cannot make the worshiper perfect in conscience, 10 since they relate only to (AA)food and (AB)drink and various (AC)washings, (AD)requirements for the [e]body imposed until (AE)a time of reformation.
The New Covenant
11 But when Christ appeared as a (AF)high priest of the (AG)good things [f]to come, He entered through (AH)the greater and more perfect tabernacle, (AI)not made with hands, that is to say, (AJ)not of this creation, 12 and not through (AK)the blood of goats and calves, but (AL)through His own blood, He (AM)entered the holy places (AN)once for all, [g]having obtained (AO)eternal redemption. 13 For if (AP)the blood of goats and bulls and (AQ)the ashes of a heifer sprinkling those who have been defiled sanctify for the [h]cleansing of the flesh, 14 how much more will (AR)the blood of Christ, who through [i](AS)the eternal Spirit (AT)offered Himself without blemish to God, (AU)cleanse [j]your conscience from (AV)dead works to serve (AW)the living God?
The Healing at Bethesda
5 After these things there was (A)a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
2 Now there is in Jerusalem by (B)the sheep gate a pool, which is called (C)in [a]Hebrew [b]Bethesda, having five porticoes. 3 In these lay a multitude of those who were sick, blind, lame, and withered, [c][waiting for the moving of the waters; 4 for an angel of the Lord went down at certain seasons into the pool and stirred up the water; whoever then first, after the stirring up of the water, stepped in was made well from whatever sickness with which he was afflicted.] 5 And a man was there who had been sick for thirty-eight years. 6 When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had already been sick a long time, He *said to him, “Do you wish to get well?” 7 The sick man answered Him, “Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when (D)the water is stirred up, but while I am coming, another steps down before me.” 8 Jesus *said to him, “(E)Get up, pick up your mat and walk.” 9 And immediately the man became well, and picked up his mat and began to walk.
(F)Now it was the Sabbath on that day. 10 So (G)the Jews were saying to the man who had been healed, “It is the Sabbath, and (H)it is not lawful for you to carry your mat.” 11 But he answered them, “He who made me well was the one who said to me, ‘Pick up your mat and walk.’” 12 They asked him, “Who is the man who said to you, ‘Pick up your mat and walk’?” 13 But the man who was healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had slipped away while there was a crowd in that place. 14 Afterward Jesus *found him in the temple and said to him, “Behold, you have become well; do not (I)sin anymore, (J)so that nothing worse happens to you.” 15 The man went away, and disclosed to (K)the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well. 16 And for this reason (L)the Jews were persecuting Jesus, because He was doing these things on the Sabbath. 17 But He answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I Myself am working.”
Jesus’ Equality with the Father
18 For this reason therefore (M)the Jews (N)were seeking all the more to kill Him, because He not only was breaking the Sabbath, but also was calling God His own Father, (O)making Himself equal with God.
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