Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 24[a]
The Lord’s Solemn Entry into Jerusalem
1 [b]A psalm of David.
The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it,
the world and all who live in it.[c]
2 For he founded it on the seas
and established[d] it on the rivers.
3 Who may ascend the mountain of the Lord?
Who may stand in his holy place?
4 One who has clean hands and a pure heart,[e]
who does not turn his mind to vanities
or swear an oath in order to deceive.
5 He will receive a blessing from the Lord
and vindication from God, his Savior.
6 This is the generation of those who seek him,
who seek the face of the God of Jacob. Selah
7 [f]Lift up your arches, O gates;
rise up, you ancient portals,[g]
so that the King of glory may come in.
8 Who is this King of glory?
The Lord, strong and mighty,
the Lord, valiant in battle.
9 Lift up your arches, O gates,
rise up, you ancient portals,
so that the King of glory may come in.
10 Who is this King of glory?
The Lord of hosts:[h]
he is the King of glory. Selah
Psalm 29[a]
God’s Majesty in the Storm
1 A psalm of David.
Ascribe to the Lord, O mighty ones,[b]
ascribe to the Lord glory and might.
2 Ascribe to the Lord the glory due to his name;[c]
worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness.
3 The voice of the Lord[d] echoes over the waters;
the God of glory thunders,
the Lord thunders over mighty waters.
4 The voice of the Lord is powerful;
the voice of the Lord is filled with majesty.
5 The voice of the Lord shatters the cedars;
the Lord shatters the cedars of Lebanon.[e]
6 He makes Lebanon skip like a calf,
and Sirion[f] like a young wild ox.
7 The voice of the Lord flashes forth
with bolts of lightning.
8 The voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness;
the Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.[g]
9 The voice of the Lord batters the oaks
and strips the forests bare,
while in his temple all cry out, “Glory!”[h]
10 The Lord sits enthroned above the flood;[i]
the Lord is enthroned as king forever.
11 May the Lord grant strength to his people.
May the Lord bless his people with peace.
Psalm 8[a]
The Majesty of God and the Dignity of Human Beings
1 For the director.[b] “Upon the gittith.” A psalm of David.
2 O Lord, our Lord,
how glorious is your name[c] in all the earth!
You have exalted your majesty above the heavens.
3 Out of the mouths of newborn babes and infants[d]
you have brought forth praise
as a bulwark against your foes,
to silence the enemy and the avenger.
4 When I look up at your heavens
that have been formed by your fingers,
the moon and the stars
that you set in place,
5 what is man that you are mindful of him,
the son of man[e] that you care for him?
6 You have made him a little less than the angels[f]
and crowned him with glory and honor.
7 You have given him dominion over the works of your hands
and placed everything under his feet:
8 all sheep and oxen
as well as the beasts of the field,
9 the birds of the air, the fish of the sea,
and whatever swims in the paths of the sea.
10 O Lord, our Lord,
how glorious is your name in all the earth!
Psalm 84[a]
Longing for God’s Dwelling
1 For the director.[b] “Upon the gittith.” A psalm of the sons of Korah.
2 How lovely is your dwelling place,
O Lord of hosts.[c]
3 My soul yearns and is filled with longing
for the courts of the Lord.
My heart and my flesh cry out
for the living God.
4 Just as the sparrow searches for a home
and the swallow builds a nest for herself
where she may place her young,
so do I seek your altars,[d]
O Lord of hosts, my King and my God.
5 Blessed[e] are those who dwell in your house;
they offer continuous praise to you. Selah
6 Blessed are those who find strength in you,
who set their hearts upon your ways.[f]
7 As they pass through the Valley of Baca,
they turn it into a region of springs,
and the early rain covers it with pools.[g]
8 [h]They move forward with increasing strength
as they behold the God of gods in Zion.
9 O Lord of hosts, hear my prayer;
listen to my pleas, O God of Jacob. Selah
10 O God, look upon our shield[i]
behold the face of your anointed one.
11 It is better to spend one day in your courts
than a thousand elsewhere.
I would rather be a doorkeeper[j] in God’s house
than dwell inside the tents of the wicked.
12 The Lord God serves as our sun[k] and our shield;
the Lord showers us with grace and glory.
He does not withhold any good thing
from those who walk in integrity.
13 O Lord of hosts,
blessed is the man who puts his trust in you.
Chapter 24[a]
Renewing the Covenant. 1 Joshua then gathered all of the tribes of Israel at Shechem. He summoned the elders of Israel along with their leaders, their judges, and their officers, and they presented themselves before God. 2 Joshua said to all of the people, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Your fathers dwelt on the other side of the river in times of old, including Terah, the father of Abraham and the father of Nahor, and they served other gods. 3 Then I took Abraham from the other side of the river and I led him all through the land of Canaan. I multiplied his descendants, giving him Isaac. 4 I gave Jacob and Esau to Isaac. I gave Mount Seir to Esau to possess, but Jacob and his children went down to Egypt.
5 “I sent Moses and Aaron and I plagued Egypt with what I did in their midst. Afterward, I brought you out. 6 Then I brought your fathers out of Egypt. You came to the sea, and the Egyptians pursued your fathers with chariots and horsemen into the Red Sea. 7 They cried to the Lord, and he caused darkness to descend between you and the Egyptians. He brought the sea down upon them, and it covered them. Your own eyes have seen what I did in Egypt. You then dwelt in the wilderness for a long time. 8 I brought you to the land of the Amorites who lived on the other side of the Jordan. They fought against you, and I gave them up into your hands so that you might take possession of the land, and I crushed them before you. 9 Then Balak, the son of Zippor, the king of Moab, rose up and fought against Israel. He sent for and summoned Balaam, the son of Beor, to curse you, 10 but I would not listen to Balaam. He therefore blessed you, and so I delivered you out of his hands. 11 You crossed over the Jordan and arrived at Jericho. The men of Jericho fought against you along with the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. I delivered them into your hands. 12 I sent hornets before you to drive them out before you, including the two kings of the Amorites. It was not your sword or your bow that did it. 13 I gave you a land on which you did not labor, I gave you cities which you had not built, and you dwell in them. You eat the fruit of vineyards and olive trees that you did not plant. 14 Therefore, you must fear the Lord and serve him with sincerity and fidelity. Put aside the gods that your fathers served on the other side of the river and in Egypt. Serve the Lord. 15 If it seems wrong to you to serve the Lord, then today you must choose whom you will serve, whether it be the gods that your fathers served on the other side of the river, or the gods of the Amorites who dwell in the land. As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”
23 And so they agreed on a day to meet with him, and they came to his lodgings in great numbers. From early morning until evening, he presented his case to them, testifying to the kingdom of God and attempting to convince them about Jesus as he argued from both the Law of Moses and the Prophets. 24 Some were persuaded by what he had said, but others refused to believe.
25 Having failed to reach an agreement among themselves, they began to leave. Then Paul made his final statement, “How right the Holy Spirit was when he spoke to your ancestors through the prophet Isaiah, saying,
26 ‘Go to the people and say
You will indeed listen but never understand,
and you will indeed look but never perceive.
27 For this people’s heart has become dull,
their ears have been stopped up,
and they have shut their eyes,
lest their eyes might see,
their ears might hear,
and their hearts might understand.
Then they would be converted,
and I would heal them.’
28 “Therefore, let it be known to you that this salvation offered by God has been sent to the Gentiles, and they will listen.” [ 29 And when he had said this, the Jews departed, arguing vigorously among themselves.][a]
30 Conclusion—But Not an End.[b] Paul remained there in his lodgings for two full years at his own expense. He welcomed all who came to him, 31 and without hindrance he boldly proclaimed the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ.
23 Picking Grain on the Sabbath.[a] One day, as Jesus was passing through a field of grain on the Sabbath, his disciples began to pick some heads of grain as they walked along. 24 The Pharisees said to him, “Behold, why are your disciples doing what is forbidden on the Sabbath?”
25 He answered, “Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need of food? 26 He entered the house of God when Abiathar[b] was high priest and ate the sacred bread that only the priests were permitted to eat, and he shared it with his companions.” 27 Then he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.[c] 28 That is why the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”
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