Book of Common Prayer
Thanksgiving to God
118 Give thanks to the Lord,
for he is good;
his gracious love is eternal.
2 Let Israel now say,
“His gracious love is eternal.”
3 Let the house of Aaron now say,
“His gracious love is eternal.”
4 Let those who fear the Lord now say,
“His gracious love is eternal.”
5 I called on the Lord in my distress;
the Lord answered me openly.[a]
6 The Lord is with me.
I will not be afraid.
What can people do to me?
7 With the Lord beside me as my helper,
I will triumph over those who hate me.
8 It is better to take shelter[b] in the Lord
than to trust in people.
9 It is better to take shelter[c] in the Lord
than to trust in princes.
10 All the nations surrounded me;
but in the name of the Lord I will defeat them.
11 They surrounded me, they are around me;
but in the name of the Lord I will defeat them.
12 They surrounded me like bees;
but they will be extinguished like[d] burning thorns.
In the name of the Lord I will defeat them.
13 Indeed, you[e] oppressed me so much that I nearly fell,
but the Lord helped me.
14 The Lord is my strength and protector,[f]
for he has become my deliverer.[g]
15 There’s exultation[h] for deliverance in the tents of the righteous:
“The right hand of the Lord is victorious![i]
16 The right hand of the Lord is exalted!
The right hand of the Lord is victorious!”[j]
17 I will not die, but I will live
to recount the deeds of the Lord.
18 The Lord will discipline me severely,
but he won’t hand me over to die.
19 Open for me the righteous gates
so I may enter through them to give thanks to the Lord.
20 This is the Lord’s gate—
The righteous will enter through it.
21 I will praise you because you have answered me
and have become my deliverer.
22 The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone.
23 This is from the Lord—
it is awesome in our sight.
24 This is the day that the Lord has made;
let’s rejoice and be glad in it.
25 Please Lord, deliver us!
Please Lord, hurry[k] and bring success now!
26 Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!
Let us bless you from the Lord’s house.
27 The Lord is God—he will be our light!
Bind the festival sacrifice with ropes
to the horn at the altar.
28 You are my God, and I will praise you;
my God, and I will exalt you.
29 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good
and his gracious love is eternal.
A Davidic Psalm[a]
Praising God for His Works
145 I will speak highly of you, my God and King,
and I will bless your name forever and ever.
2 I will bless you every day
and I will praise your name forever and ever.
3 The Lord is great,
and to be praised highly,
though his greatness is indescribable.
4 One generation will acclaim your works to another
and will describe your mighty actions.
5 I[b] will speak about the glorious splendor of your majesty
as well as[c] your awesome actions.
6 People[d] will speak about the might of your great deeds,
and I will announce your greatness.
7 They will extol the fame of your abundant goodness,
and will sing out loud about your righteousness.
8 Gracious and merciful is the Lord,
slow to become angry,
and overflowing with gracious love.
9 The Lord is good to everyone
and his mercies extend to everything he does.
10 Lord, everything you have done will praise you,
and your holy ones will bless you.
11 They will speak about the glory of your kingdom,
and they will talk about your might,
12 in order to make known your mighty acts to mankind[e]
as well as the majestic splendor of your kingdom.
13 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
and your authority endures from one generation to another.
13b God[f] is faithful about everything he says
and merciful in everything he does.
14 The Lord supports everyone who falls
and raises up those who are bowed down.
15 Everyone’s eyes are on you,
as you give them their food in due time.
16 You[g] open your hand
and keep on satisfying the desire of every living thing.
17 The Lord is righteous in all of his ways
and graciously loving in all of his activities.
18 The Lord remains near to all who call out to him,
to everyone who calls out to him sincerely.[h]
19 He fulfills the desire of those who fear him,
hearing their cry and saving them.
20 The Lord preserves everyone who loves him,
but he will destroy all of the wicked.
21 My mouth will praise the Lord,
and all creatures will bless his holy name forever and ever.
The Lord is Israel’s God
4 “I am the Lord your God
from the land of Egypt,
and you have known no god except for me,
because except for me there is no savior.
5 I took care of[a] you in the wilderness,
in a waterless land.
6 As their pastures flourished,
all their desires were met.[b]
As they were satiated,
they became arrogant
and therefore ignored me.
7 “So I will be like a lion to them.
Like a leopard I will stalk them along the road.
8 I will confront them like a bear deprived of her cubs;[c]
I will tear open their ribs.
I will devour them like a lion—
the wild beasts will rip them apart.
9 “You have destroyed yourself, Israel,
although I remain your help.
10 Now where is your king?
Will he save you in all your cities?
And where are[d] your judges,
about whom you demanded,
‘Give me a king and officials!’?
11 I gave you a king in my anger,
and I took him[e] away in my fury.”
12 “Ephraim’s guilt is on record;
his sin is stored away.
13 When the time of childbirth comes,
he will be so foolish
that he will refuse to be born.”
God’s Spirit Reveals Everything
6 However, when we are among mature people, we do speak a message of[a] wisdom, but not the wisdom of this world or of the rulers of this world, who are passing off the scene. 7 Instead, we speak about God’s wisdom in a hidden secret, which God destined before the world began[b] for our glory. 8 None of the rulers of this world understood it, because if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. 9 But as it is written,
“No eye has seen, no ear has heard,
and no mind has imagined
the things that God has prepared
for those who love him.”[c]
10 But[d] God has revealed those things to us by his Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the deep things of God.
11 Is there anyone who can understand his own thoughts except his own inner spirit? In the same way, no one can know the thoughts of God except God’s Spirit. 12 Now, we have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who comes from God, so that we can understand the things that were freely given to us by God. 13 We don’t speak about these things with words taught us by human wisdom, but with words[e] taught by the Spirit, as we explain spiritual things to spiritual people.[f] 14 A person who isn’t spiritual doesn’t accept the things of God’s Spirit, for they are nonsense to him. He can’t understand them because they are spiritually evaluated. 15 The spiritual person evaluates everything but is subject to no one else’s evaluation. 16 For
However, we have the mind of the Messiah.[i]
The Death of John the Baptist(A)
14 At that time Herod the tetrarch,[a] hearing about the fame of Jesus, 2 told his servants, “This is John the Baptist! He has been raised from the dead, and that’s why these miracles are being done by him.” 3 Herod had arrested John, bound him with chains, and put him in prison on account of Herodias, his brother Philip’s[b] wife.
4 John had been telling him, “It is not lawful for you to have her.” 5 Although Herod[c] wanted to kill him, he was afraid of the crowd, since they regarded John[d] as a prophet.
6 But when Herod’s birthday celebration was held, the daughter of Herodias danced before the guests.[e] She pleased Herod 7 so much that he promised with an oath to give her whatever she asked for. 8 Prompted by her mother, she said, “Give me, right here on a platter, the head of John the Baptist.” 9 Under pressure because of his promises and his assembled guests, the king ordered that it be done. 10 So he sent word[f] and had John beheaded in prison. 11 His head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she took it to her mother. 12 When John’s[g] disciples came, they carried off the body and buried it. Then they went and told Jesus.
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