Book of Common Prayer
97 [a]I truly love your law.
It is my meditation throughout the day.
98 [b]Your precept has given me greater wisdom than my enemies,
for it is mine forever.
99 I am wiser than all my teachers
because I meditate on your commands.
100 I have greater insight than the elders,[c]
because I keep your commandments.
101 I point my feet away from evil paths
so that I might observe your word.
102 I refuse to ignore your judgments,
for it is you yourself who have taught me.
103 Your words are sweet to my palate,
even sweeter to my tongue than honey.[d]
104 Through your commandments I achieve wisdom;
therefore, I hate every way that is false.
Nun
105 [e]Your word is a lamp for my feet[f]
and a light to my path.
106 With a solemn vow I have sworn[g]
to obey the judgments of your righteousness.
107 I have been afflicted beyond measure;
O Lord, let me live in accord with your word.
108 Receive, O Lord, the homage my lips offer you,
and instruct me about your judgments.
109 Even though I continually take my life in my hands,[h]
I do not neglect your law.
110 The wicked seek to entrap me,
but I have not strayed from your commands.
111 [i]Your statutes are my everlasting heritage;
they are the very joy of my heart.
112 I have set my heart on keeping your decrees,
even to the end.
Samekh
113 [j]I detest those who are hypocritical,[k]
but I love your law.
114 You are my refuge and my shield;
I put my hope in your word.
115 Depart from my presence, you evildoers,
so that I may observe the precepts of my God.
116 Sustain me according to your promise, and I will live;
do not delude me in my hope.
117 Uphold me, and I will be saved
and will remain completely focused on your decrees.
118 You cast away all those who swerve from your decrees;
their cunning is futile.
119 You discard all the wicked of the earth like dross;[l]
therefore, I love your teachings.
120 My flesh trembles[m] before you in terror;
your judgments fill me with awe.
Ayin
Psalm 81[a]
Exhortation To Worship Worthily
1 For the director.[b] “Upon the gittith.” Of Asaph.
2 Sing out your joy to God our strength;
shout aloud to the God of Jacob.[c]
3 Raise the chant and sound the tambourine;
play the pleasant harp and the lyre.
4 Sound the trumpet at the new moon,
and also at the full moon on the day of our Feast.[d]
5 For this is a law in Israel,
a decree of the God of Jacob.
6 He imposed this testimony on Joseph[e]
when he departed from the land of Egypt.
I now hear an unfamiliar voice:
7 “I lifted the burden from their shoulders;
their hands put aside the laborer’s basket.[f]
8 When you cried out to me in distress, I rescued you;[g]
from the thunderclouds I answered you;
I tested you at the waters of Meribah: Selah
9 “ ‘Listen to me, O my people, while I warn you.
O Israel, if only you would listen to me!
10 You must not accept a foreign god in your presence;
you must not bow down to an alien deity.
11 I am the Lord, your God,
who brought you up from the land of Egypt;
open your mouth[h] wide so that I may fill it.’
12 “But my people did not listen to my voice;
Israel refused to obey me.[i]
13 So I abandoned them to their stubborn hearts[j]
and let them follow their own devices.
14 [k]“If only my people would listen to me,
if only Israel would walk in my ways,[l]
15 I would quickly subdue their enemies
and raise my hand[m] against their foes.
16 “Then those who hate the Lord[n] would tremble before him,
for their doom would last forever.
17 But Israel he would feed with the finest of wheat[o]
and fill them with honey from the rock.”
Psalm 82[p]
Judgment on Abuse of Authority
1 A psalm of Asaph.[q]
God takes his place in the divine council;[r]
in the midst of the gods he pronounces judgment:
2 “How long will you issue unfair judgments
and rule in favor of those who are wicked?[s] Selah
3 [t]“Grant justice to the weak and the orphan;
defend the rights of the lowly and the poor.
4 Rescue the wretched and the needy;
free them from the hand of the wicked.
5 “They neither know nor understand;
they wander around in darkness
while all the foundations of the earth[u] are crumbling.
6 [v]I declare, ‘Although you are gods,
all of you sons of the Most High,
7 you will die as all men do;
like any ruler you will fall.’ ”[w]
8 Rise up, O God, and judge the earth,
for all the nations belong to you.[x]
16 In the house of Pharaoh they heard the report: “The brothers of Joseph have arrived.” This pleased Pharaoh and his ministers. 17 Pharaoh said to Joseph: “Tell your brothers, ‘Do this: load up your animals, leave, and go to the land of Canaan. 18 Then bring your father and your families and come to me. I will give you the best of the land of Egypt, and you will eat the finest products of the land.’
19 “As for you, give them this command: ‘Do this: take wagons with you from the land of Egypt for your children and your wives. Bring your father and come. 20 Do not be concerned about your possessions, for the best of everything in the land of Egypt shall be yours.’ ”
21 The Sons of Jacob Return Home Again.[a] This is what the sons of Israel did. Joseph gave them wagons as Pharaoh ordered, and he gave them provisions for their journey. 22 He gave all of them fresh clothing, but he gave Benjamin three hundred shekels of silver and five sets of clothes. 23 He also sent his father ten donkeys loaded with products of Egypt and ten donkeys loaded with grain, bread, and other food for their father’s trip. 24 He then sent his brothers off and, while they were leaving, he said to them, “Do not fight during the journey.”
25 They left Egypt and returned to the land of Canaan, to their father Jacob, 26 and immediately told him, “Joseph is alive; he is the ruler over the whole land of Egypt!” But his heart was cold, for he could not believe them. 27 When they told him all the things Joseph had said to them and when he saw the wagons that Joseph had sent to bring him, their father’s spirit revived. 28 Israel said, “Enough! Joseph, my son, is alive. I will go to see him before I die!”
Christians and Pagan Customs[a]
The Question of Meat Sacrificed to Idols
Chapter 8
An Idol Is Not Nothing. 1 Now concerning the question of meat that has been sacrificed to idols, we are well aware that all of us possess knowledge. However, while knowledge puffs up, love builds up. 2 Anyone who believes that his knowledge about something is complete will soon discover that his knowledge is flawed, 3 but anyone who loves God is known by him.
4 Now in regard to the eating of meat sacrificed to idols, we know that idols are nothing in the world and that there is only one God. 5 Indeed, even though there are so-called gods in heaven and on earth—and there are in fact many gods and many lords— 6 for us there is
one God, the Father,
from whom all things are
and for whom we exist,[b]
and one Lord, Jesus Christ,
through whom all things are
and through whom we exist.
Do Not Cause a Brother To Fall. 7 However, not everyone possesses this knowledge. There are some who have become so accustomed to idolatry up until now that when they consume meat that has been sacrificed to an idol, their conscience in its weakness is defiled.
8 Obviously, food cannot bring us closer to God. We do not lack anything if we do not eat, and we have no advantage if we do. 9 Just take care that your freedom does not become a stumbling block to the weak. 10 If someone who regards you as knowledgeable observes you eating in an idol’s temple, will he not, burdened by a weak conscience, be influenced to eat food that has been sacrificed to idols?
11 Therefore, through your knowledge, this weak believer is brought to destruction, the brother for whom Christ died. 12 And when you sin against your brethren and wound their weak consciences, you sin against Christ. 13 Hence, if food can lead my brother to sin, I will never again eat meat lest I cause the downfall of one of my brethren.
13 They cast out many demons, and they anointed with oil many people who were sick and cured them.[a]
14 The Name of Jesus Becomes Renowned.[b] King Herod heard of it, for Jesus’ name had become renowned, and some people were saying, “John the Baptist has been raised from the dead. That is why such powers are at work in him.” 15 But others said, “He is Elijah,” while still others proclaimed, “He is a prophet, like one of the prophets of old.” 16 But when Herod heard of it, he said, “John, whom I beheaded, has been raised from the dead.”
17 The Death of John the Baptist.[c] It was this same Herod who had ordered John to be arrested and put in chains in prison on account of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, because Herod had married her. 18 For John had told Herod, “It is unlawful for you to have your brother’s wife.”
19 As for Herodias, she was filled with resentment against John and wanted to have him killed, but she was unable to do so, 20 because Herod was afraid of John, knowing him to be a holy and righteous man. Therefore, he protected him from harm. When he heard John speak, he was greatly perplexed by his words, but even so he liked to listen to him.
21 Her opportunity came when Herod on his birthday gave a banquet for his court officials and military officers and the leaders of Galilee. 22 When the daughter of Herodias came in, she performed a dance that delighted Herod and his guests. The king said to the girl, “Ask me for whatever you wish, and I will give it to you.” 23 And he solemnly swore to her, “Whatever you ask I will give you, even half of my kingdom.”
24 The girl went out and said to her mother, “What shall I ask for?” She replied, “The head of John the Baptist.” 25 The girl then hurried back to the king and made her request, “I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter.”
26 The king was greatly distressed, but because of the oath he had sworn and the presence of the guests, he was unwilling to break his word to her. 27 Therefore, he immediately ordered an executioner to bring him John’s head. The man went off and beheaded him in the prison. 28 Then he brought in the head on a platter and gave it to the girl, and the girl in turn gave it to her mother. 29 When John’s disciples heard about this, they came and removed his body and laid it in a tomb.
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