Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 138
A Thankful Heart
Of David.
1 I will give you thanks with all my heart;(A)
I will sing your praise before the heavenly beings.[a](B)
2 I will bow down toward your holy temple
and give thanks to your name
for your constant love and truth.
You have exalted your name
and your promise above everything else.[b](C)
3 On the day I called, you answered me;
you increased strength within me.[c](D)
4 All the kings on earth will give you thanks, Lord,
when they hear what you have promised.[d](E)
5 They will sing of the Lord’s ways,
for the Lord’s glory is great.(F)
6 Though the Lord is exalted,
he takes note of the humble;
but he knows the haughty from a distance.(G)
7 If I walk into the thick of danger,
you will preserve my life
from the anger of my enemies.(H)
You will extend your hand;
your right hand will save me.(I)
8 The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me.(J)
Lord, your faithful love endures forever;
do not abandon the work of your hands.(K)
Psalm 139
The All-Knowing, Ever-Present God
For the choir director. A psalm of David.
1 Lord, you have searched me and known me.(L)
2 You know when I sit down and when I stand up;
you understand my thoughts from far away.(M)
3 You observe my travels and my rest;
you are aware of all my ways.(N)
4 Before a word is on my tongue,
you know all about it, Lord.(O)
5 You have encircled me;
you have placed your hand on me.(P)
6 This wondrous knowledge is beyond me.
It is lofty; I am unable to reach it.(Q)
7 Where can I go to escape your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?(R)
8 If I go up to heaven, you are there;(S)
if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there.(T)
9 If I fly on the wings of the dawn
and settle down on the western horizon,[e]
10 even there your hand will lead me;
your right hand will hold on to me.(U)
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me,
and the light around me will be night”(V)—
12 even the darkness is not dark to you.
The night shines like the day;
darkness and light are alike to you.(W)
13 For it was you who created my inward parts;[f]
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.(X)
14 I will praise you
because I have been remarkably and wondrously made.[g][h]
Your works are wondrous,
and I know this very well.(Y)
15 My bones were not hidden from you
when I was made in secret,
when I was formed in the depths of the earth.(Z)
16 Your eyes saw me when I was formless;
all my days were written in your book and planned
before a single one of them began.(AA)
17 God, how precious[i] your thoughts are to me;
how vast their sum is!
18 If I counted them,
they would outnumber the grains of sand;(AB)
when I wake up,[j] I am still with you.(AC)
19 God, if only you would kill the wicked—
you bloodthirsty men, stay away from me(AD)—
20 who invoke you deceitfully.
Your enemies swear by you falsely.(AE)
21 Lord, don’t I hate those who hate you,
and detest those who rebel against you?
22 I hate them with extreme hatred;
I consider them my enemies.(AF)
23 Search me, God, and know my heart;
test me and know my concerns.(AG)
Psalm 147
God Restores Jerusalem
1 Hallelujah!
How good it is to sing to our God,
for praise is pleasant and lovely.(A)
2 The Lord rebuilds Jerusalem;(B)
he gathers Israel’s exiled people.(C)
3 He heals the brokenhearted
and bandages their wounds.(D)
4 He counts the number of the stars;
he gives names to all of them.(E)
5 Our Lord is great, vast in power;
his understanding is infinite.[a](F)
6 The Lord helps the oppressed
but brings the wicked to the ground.(G)
7 Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving;
play the lyre to our God,(H)
8 who covers the sky with clouds,
prepares rain for the earth,
and causes grass to grow on the hills.(I)
9 He provides the animals with their food,
and the young ravens what they cry for.(J)
10 He is not impressed by the strength of a horse;
he does not value the power of a warrior.[b](K)
11 The Lord values those who fear him,
those who put their hope in his faithful love.(L)
12 Exalt the Lord, Jerusalem;
praise your God, Zion!(M)
13 For he strengthens the bars of your city gates
and blesses your children within you.(N)
14 He endows your territory with prosperity;[c](O)
he satisfies you with the finest wheat.(P)
The Lord’s Response
65 “I was sought by those who did not ask;
I was found by those who did not seek me.
I said, ‘Here I am, here I am,’
to a nation that did not call on[a] my name.(A)
2 I spread out my hands all day long
to a rebellious people(B)
who walk in the path that is not good,
following their own thoughts.
3 These people continually anger me
to my face,
sacrificing in gardens,(C)
burning incense on bricks,
4 sitting among the graves,
spending nights in secret places,
eating the meat of pigs,(D)
and putting polluted broth in their bowls.[b]
5 They say, ‘Keep to yourself,
don’t come near me, for I am too holy for you!’
These practices are smoke in my nostrils,
a fire that burns all day long.
6 Look, it is written in front of me:
I will not keep silent,(E) but I will repay;(F)
I will repay them fully[c]
7 for your iniquities and the iniquities(G)
of your[d] ancestors together,”
says the Lord.
“Because they burned incense on the mountains
and reproached me on the hills,(H)
I will reward them fully[e]
for their former deeds.”
8 The Lord says this:
“As the new wine is found in a bunch of grapes,
and one says, ‘Don’t destroy it,
for there’s some good[f] in it,’
so I will act because of my servants
and not destroy them all.
9 I will produce descendants from Jacob,(I)
and heirs to my mountains from Judah;
my chosen(J) ones will possess it,
and my servants will dwell there.(K)
The Letter to Sardis
3 “Write to the angel[a] of the church in Sardis: Thus says the one who has the seven spirits of God(A) and the seven stars:(B) I know your works; (C) you have a reputation[b] for being alive, but you are dead.(D) 2 Be alert(E) and strengthen[c] what remains, which is about to die,[d] for I have not found your works complete before my God. 3 Remember, then, what you have received and heard; keep it, and repent. If you are not alert, I will come[e] like a thief, and you have no idea at what hour I will come upon you.(F) 4 But you have a few people[f] in Sardis who have not defiled[g] their clothes,(G) and they will walk with me in white, because they are worthy.
5 “In the same way, the one who conquers(H) will be dressed in white clothes,(I) and I will never erase his name from the book of life(J) but will acknowledge his name before my Father and before his angels.(K)
6 “Let anyone who has ears to hear listen(L) to what the Spirit says(M) to the churches.
The Fourth Sign: Feeding of the Five Thousand
6 After(A) this, Jesus crossed the Sea of Galilee(B) (or Tiberias(C)). 2 A huge crowd was following him because they saw the signs that he was performing by healing the sick. 3 Jesus went up a mountain and sat down there with his disciples.
4 Now the Passover, a Jewish festival, was near. 5 So when Jesus looked up and noticed a huge crowd coming toward him,(D) he asked Philip,(E) “Where will we buy bread so that these people can eat?” 6 He asked this to test him,(F) for he himself knew what he was going to do.
7 Philip answered him, “Two hundred denarii[a](G) worth of bread wouldn’t be enough for each of them to have a little.”
8 One of his disciples, Andrew,(H) Simon(I) Peter’s(J) brother, said to him, 9 “There’s a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish—but what are they for so many?”
10 Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.”
There was plenty of grass in that place; so they sat down. The men numbered about five thousand.(K) 11 Then Jesus took the loaves, and after giving thanks he distributed them to those who were seated—so also with the fish, as much as they wanted.(L)
12 When they were full, he told his disciples, “Collect the leftovers so that nothing is wasted.”(M) 13 So they collected them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces from the five barley loaves that were left over by those who had eaten.
14 When the people saw the sign[b] he had done, they said, “This truly is the Prophet(N) who is to come(O) into the world.”(P)
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