Book of Common Prayer
A Welcome for God into the Temple
A psalm of David.
24 The earth belongs to the Lord, and everything in it—
the world and all its people.
2 He built it on the waters
and set it on the rivers.
3 Who may go up on the mountain of the Lord?
Who may stand in his holy Temple?
4 Only those with clean hands and pure hearts,
who have not worshiped idols,
who have not made promises in the name of a false god.
5 They will receive a blessing from the Lord;
the God who saves them will declare them right.
6 They try to follow God;
they look to the God of Jacob for help. Selah
7 Open up, you gates.
Open wide, you aged doors
and the glorious King will come in.
8 Who is this glorious King?
The Lord, strong and mighty.
The Lord, the powerful warrior.
9 Open up, you gates.
Open wide, you aged doors
and the glorious King will come in.
10 Who is this glorious King?
The Lord All-Powerful—
he is the glorious King. Selah
God in the Thunderstorm
A psalm of David.
29 Praise the Lord, you angels;
praise the Lord’s glory and power.
2 Praise the Lord for the glory of his name;
worship the Lord because he is holy.
3 The Lord’s voice is heard over the sea.
The glorious God thunders;
the Lord thunders over the ocean.
4 The Lord’s voice is powerful;
the Lord’s voice is majestic.
5 The Lord’s voice breaks the trees;
the Lord breaks the cedars of Lebanon.
6 He makes the land of Lebanon dance like a calf
and Mount Hermon jump like a baby bull.
7 The Lord’s voice makes the lightning flash.
8 The Lord’s voice shakes the desert;
the Lord shakes the Desert of Kadesh.
9 The Lord’s voice shakes the oaks
and strips the leaves off the trees.
In his Temple everyone says, “Glory to God!”
10 The Lord controls the flood.
The Lord will be King forever.
11 The Lord gives strength to his people;
the Lord blesses his people with peace.
The Lord’s Greatness
For the director of music. On the gittith. A psalm of David.
8 Lord our Lord,
your name is the most wonderful name in all the earth!
It brings you praise in heaven above.
2 You have taught children and babies
to sing praises to you
because of your enemies.
And so you silence your enemies
and destroy those who try to get even.
3 I look at your heavens,
which you made with your fingers.
I see the moon and stars,
which you created.
4 But why are people even important to you?
Why do you take care of human beings?
5 You made them a little lower than the angels
and crowned them with glory and honor.
6 You put them in charge of everything you made.
You put all things under their control:
7 all the sheep, the cattle,
and the wild animals,
8 the birds in the sky,
the fish in the sea,
and everything that lives under water.
9 Lord our Lord,
your name is the most wonderful name in all the earth!
Wishing to Be in the Temple
For the director of music. On the gittith. A psalm of the sons of Korah.
84 Lord All-Powerful,
how lovely is your Temple!
2 I want more than anything
to be in the courtyards of the Lord’s Temple.
My whole being wants
to be with the living God.
3 The sparrows have found a home,
and the swallows have nests.
They raise their young near your altars,
Lord All-Powerful, my King and my God.
4 Happy are the people who live at your Temple;
they are always praising you. Selah
5 Happy are those whose strength comes from you,
who want to travel to Jerusalem.
6 As they pass through the Valley of Baca,
they make it like a spring.
The autumn rains fill it with pools of water.
7 The people get stronger as they go,
and everyone meets with God in Jerusalem.
8 Lord God All-Powerful, hear my prayer;
God of Jacob, listen to me. Selah
9 God, look at our shield;
be kind to your appointed king.
10 One day in the courtyards of your Temple is better
than a thousand days anywhere else.
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the Temple of my God
than live in the homes of the wicked.
11 The Lord God is like a sun and shield;
the Lord gives us kindness and honor.
He does not hold back anything good
from those whose lives are innocent.
12 Lord All-Powerful,
happy are the people who trust you!
24 Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel together at Shechem. He called the elders, heads of families, judges, and officers of Israel to stand before God.
2 Then Joshua said to all the people, “Here’s what the Lord, the God of Israel, says to you: ‘A long time ago your ancestors lived on the other side of the Euphrates River. Terah, the father of Abraham and Nahor, worshiped other gods. 3 But I, the Lord, took your ancestor Abraham from the other side of the river and led him through the land of Canaan. And I gave him many children, including his son Isaac. 4 I gave Isaac two sons named Jacob and Esau. I gave the land around the mountains of Edom to Esau, but Jacob and his sons went down to Egypt. 5 Then I sent Moses and Aaron to Egypt, where I brought many disasters on the Egyptians. Afterwards I brought you out. 6 When I brought your ancestors out of Egypt, they came to the Red Sea, and the Egyptians chased them with chariots and men on horses. 7 So the people called out to the Lord. And I brought darkness between you and the Egyptians and made the sea to cover them. You yourselves saw what I did to the army of Egypt. After that, you lived in the desert for a long time.
8 “‘Then I brought you to the land of the Amorites, east of the Jordan River. They fought against you, but I handed them over to you. I destroyed them before you, and you took control of that land. 9 But the king of Moab, Balak son of Zippor, prepared to fight against the Israelites. The king sent for Balaam son of Beor to curse you, 10 but I refused to listen to Balaam. So he asked for good things to happen to you! I saved you and brought you out of his power.
11 “‘Then you crossed the Jordan River and came to Jericho, where the people of Jericho fought against you. Also, the Amorites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hittites, Girgashites, Hivites, and Jebusites fought against you. But I handed them over to you. 12 I sent terror ahead of you to force out two Amorite kings. You took the land without using swords and bows. 13 I gave you that land where you did not have to work. I gave you cities that you did not have to build. And now you live in that land and in those cities, and you eat from vineyards and olive trees that you did not plant.’”
14 Then Joshua said to the people, “Now respect the Lord and serve him fully and sincerely. Throw away the gods that your ancestors worshiped on the other side of the Euphrates River and in Egypt. Serve the Lord. 15 But if you don’t want to serve the Lord, you must choose for yourselves today whom you will serve. You may serve the gods that your ancestors worshiped when they lived on the other side of the Euphrates River, or you may serve the gods of the Amorites who lived in this land. As for me and my family, we will serve the Lord.”
23 Paul and the people chose a day for a meeting and on that day many more of the Jews met with Paul at the place he was staying. He spoke to them all day long. Using the law of Moses and the prophets’ writings, he explained the kingdom of God, and he tried to persuade them to believe these things about Jesus. 24 Some believed what Paul said, but others did not. 25 So they argued and began leaving after Paul said one more thing to them: “The Holy Spirit spoke the truth to your ancestors through Isaiah the prophet, saying,
26 ‘Go to this people and say:
You will listen and listen, but you will not understand.
You will look and look, but you will not learn,
27 because these people have become stubborn.
They don’t hear with their ears,
and they have closed their eyes.
Otherwise, they might really understand
what they see with their eyes
and hear with their ears.
They might really understand in their minds
and come back to me and be healed.’ Isaiah 6:9–10
28 “I want you to know that God has also sent his salvation to all nations, and they will listen!” [29 After Paul said this, the Jews left. They were arguing very much with each other.][a]
30 Paul stayed two full years in his own rented house and welcomed all people who came to visit him. 31 He boldly preached about the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ, and no one stopped him.
Jesus Is Lord of the Sabbath
23 One Sabbath day, as Jesus was walking through some fields of grain, his followers began to pick some grain to eat. 24 The Pharisees said to Jesus, “Why are your followers doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath day?”
25 Jesus answered, “Have you never read what David did when he and those with him were hungry and needed food? 26 During the time of Abiathar the high priest, David went into God’s house and ate the holy bread, which is lawful only for priests to eat. And David also gave some of the bread to those who were with him.”
27 Then Jesus said to the Pharisees, “The Sabbath day was made to help people; they were not made to be ruled by the Sabbath day. 28 So then, the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath day.”
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.