Book of Common Prayer
Mem.
97 O how I (A)love Your law!
It is my (B)meditation all the day.
98 Your (C)commandments make me wiser than my enemies,
For they are ever [a]mine.
99 I have more insight than all my teachers,
For Your testimonies are my (D)meditation.
100 I understand (E)more than the aged,
Because I have (F)observed Your precepts.
101 I have (G)restrained my feet from every evil way,
That I may keep Your word.
102 I have not (H)turned aside from Your ordinances,
For You Yourself have taught me.
103 How (I)sweet are Your [b]words to my [c]taste!
Yes, sweeter than honey to my mouth!
104 From Your precepts I (J)get understanding;
Therefore I (K)hate every false way.
Nun.
105 Your word is a (L)lamp to my feet
And a light to my path.
106 I have (M)sworn and I will confirm it,
That I will keep Your righteous ordinances.
107 I am exceedingly (N)afflicted;
[d](O)Revive me, O Lord, according to Your word.
108 O accept the (P)freewill offerings of my mouth, O Lord,
And (Q)teach me Your ordinances.
109 My [e](R)life is continually [f]in my hand,
Yet I do not (S)forget Your law.
110 The wicked have (T)laid a snare for me,
Yet I have not (U)gone astray from Your precepts.
111 I have (V)inherited Your testimonies forever,
For they are the (W)joy of my heart.
112 I have (X)inclined my heart to perform Your statutes
Forever, even (Y)to the end.
Samekh.
113 I hate those who are (Z)double-minded,
But I love Your (AA)law.
114 You are my (AB)hiding place and my (AC)shield;
I [g](AD)wait for Your word.
115 (AE)Depart from me, evildoers,
That I may (AF)observe the commandments of my God.
116 (AG)Sustain me according to Your [h]word, that I may live;
And (AH)do not let me be [i]ashamed of my hope.
117 Uphold me that I may be (AI)safe,
That I may (AJ)have regard for Your statutes continually.
118 You have [j]rejected all those (AK)who wander from Your statutes,
For their deceitfulness is [k]useless.
119 You have [l]removed all the wicked of the earth like (AL)dross;
Therefore I (AM)love Your testimonies.
120 My flesh [m](AN)trembles for fear of You,
And I am (AO)afraid of Your judgments.
God’s Goodness and Israel’s Waywardness.
For the choir director; [a]on the Gittith. A Psalm of Asaph.
81 (A)Sing for joy to God our (B)strength;
Shout (C)joyfully to the (D)God of Jacob.
2 Raise a song, strike (E)the timbrel,
The sweet sounding (F)lyre with the (G)harp.
3 Blow the trumpet at the (H)new moon,
At the full moon, on our (I)feast day.
4 For it is a statute for Israel,
An ordinance of the God of Jacob.
5 He established it for a testimony in Joseph
When he [b](J)went throughout the land of Egypt.
I heard a (K)language that I did not know:
6 “I [c](L)relieved his shoulder of the burden,
His hands were freed from the [d]basket.
7 “You (M)called in trouble and I rescued you;
I (N)answered you in the hiding place of thunder;
I proved you at the (O)waters of Meribah. [e]Selah.
8 “(P)Hear, O My people, and I will [f]admonish you;
O Israel, if you (Q)would listen to Me!
9 “Let there be no (R)strange god among you;
Nor shall you worship any foreign god.
10 “(S)I, the Lord, am your God,
Who brought you up from the land of Egypt;
(T)Open your mouth wide and I will (U)fill it.
11 “But My people (V)did not listen to My voice,
And Israel did not [g]obey Me.
12 “So I (W)gave [h]them over to the stubbornness of their heart,
To walk in their own devices.
13 “Oh that My people (X)would listen to Me,
That Israel would (Y)walk in My ways!
14 “I would quickly (Z)subdue their enemies
And (AA)turn My hand against their adversaries.
15 “(AB)Those who hate the Lord would (AC)pretend obedience to Him,
And their time of punishment would be forever.
16 “[i]But I would feed you with the [j](AD)finest of the wheat,
And with (AE)honey from the rock I would satisfy you.”
Unjust Judgments Rebuked.
A Psalm of Asaph.
82 God takes His (AF)stand in [k]His own congregation;
He (AG)judges in the midst of the [l](AH)rulers.
2 How long will you (AI)judge unjustly
And (AJ)show partiality to the wicked? [m]Selah.
3 (AK)Vindicate the weak and fatherless;
Do justice to the afflicted and destitute.
4 (AL)Rescue the weak and needy;
Deliver them out of the hand of the wicked.
5 They (AM)do not know nor do they understand;
They (AN)walk about in darkness;
All the (AO)foundations of the earth are shaken.
6 [n]I (AP)said, “You are gods,
And all of you are (AQ)sons of the Most High.
7 “Nevertheless (AR)you will die like men
And fall like any (AS)one of the princes.”
8 (AT)Arise, O God, (AU)judge the earth!
For it is You who (AV)possesses all the nations.
The Sin of Eli’s Sons
12 Now the sons of Eli were [a](A)worthless men; they did not know the Lord 13 (B)and the custom of the priests with the people. When any man was offering a sacrifice, the priest’s servant would come while the meat was boiling, with a three-pronged fork in his hand. 14 Then he would thrust it into the pan, or kettle, or caldron, or pot; all that the fork brought up the priest would take for himself. Thus they did in Shiloh to all the Israelites who came there. 15 Also, before (C)they burned the fat, the priest’s servant would come and say to the man who was sacrificing, “Give the priest meat for roasting, as he will not take boiled meat from you, only raw.” 16 If the man said to him, “They must surely [b]burn the fat [c]first, and then take as much as [d]you desire,” then he would say, “No, but you shall give it to me now; and if not, I will take it by force.” 17 Thus the sin of the young men was very great before the Lord, for the men (D)despised the offering of the Lord.
Samuel before the Lord as a Boy
18 Now (E)Samuel was ministering before the Lord, as a boy [e](F)wearing a linen ephod. 19 And his mother would make him a little (G)robe and bring it to him from year to year when she would come up with her husband to offer (H)the yearly sacrifice. 20 Then Eli would (I)bless Elkanah and his wife and say, “May the Lord give you [f]children from this woman in place of [g]the one she (J)dedicated to the Lord.” And they went to their own [h]home.
21 (K)The Lord visited Hannah; and she conceived and gave birth to three sons and two daughters. And (L)the boy Samuel grew before the Lord.
Eli Rebukes His Sons
22 Now Eli was very old; and he heard (M)all that his sons were doing to all Israel, and how they lay with (N)the women who served at the doorway of the tent of meeting. 23 He said to them, “Why do you do such things, the evil things that I hear from all these people? 24 No, my sons; for the report is not good (O)which I hear [i]the Lord’s people circulating. 25 If one man sins against another, (P)God will mediate for him; but (Q)if a man sins against the Lord, who can intercede for him?” But they would not listen to the voice of their father, for the (R)Lord desired to put them to death.
26 Now the boy (S)Samuel [j]was growing in stature and in favor both with the Lord and with men.
The Day of Pentecost
2 When (A)the day of Pentecost [a]had come, they were all together in one place. 2 And suddenly there came from heaven a noise like a violent rushing wind, and it filled (B)the whole house where they were sitting. 3 And there appeared to them tongues as of fire [b]distributing themselves, and [c]they [d]rested on each one of them. 4 And they were all (C)filled with the Holy Spirit and began to (D)speak with other [e]tongues, as the Spirit was giving them [f]utterance.
5 Now there were Jews living in Jerusalem, (E)devout men from every nation under heaven. 6 And when (F)this sound occurred, the crowd came together, and were bewildered because each one of them was hearing them speak in his own [g]language. 7 (G)They were amazed and astonished, saying, “[h]Why, are not all these who are speaking (H)Galileans? 8 And how is it that we each hear them in our own [i]language [j]to which we were born? 9 Parthians and Medes and Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and (I)Cappadocia, (J)Pontus and [k](K)Asia, 10 (L)Phrygia and (M)Pamphylia, Egypt and the districts of Libya around (N)Cyrene, and [l](O)visitors from Rome, both Jews and [m](P)proselytes, 11 Cretans and Arabs—we hear them in our own tongues speaking of the mighty deeds of God.” 12 And (Q)they all continued in amazement and great perplexity, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” 13 But others were mocking and saying, “(R)They are full of [n]sweet wine.”
Peter’s Sermon
14 But Peter, [o]taking his stand with (S)the eleven, raised his voice and declared to them: “Men of Judea and all you who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you and give heed to my words. 15 For these men are not drunk, as you suppose, (T)for it is only the [p]third hour of the day; 16 but this is what was spoken of through the prophet Joel:
17 ‘(U)And it shall be in the last days,’ God says,
‘That I will pour forth of My Spirit on all [q]mankind;
And your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
And your young men shall see visions,
And your old men shall dream dreams;
18 Even on My bondslaves, both men and women,
I will in those days pour forth of My Spirit
And they shall prophesy.
19 ‘And I will grant wonders in the sky above
And signs on the earth below,
Blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke.
20 ‘The sun will be turned into darkness
And the moon into blood,
Before the great and glorious day of the Lord shall come.
21 ‘And it shall be that (V)everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’
Is There a Resurrection?
27 (A)Now there came to Him some of the (B)Sadducees (who say that there is no resurrection), 28 and they questioned Him, saying, “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that (C)if a man’s brother dies, having a wife, and he is childless, his brother should [a]marry the wife and raise up children to his brother. 29 Now there were seven brothers; and the first took a wife and died childless; 30 and the second 31 and the third [b]married her; and in the same way [c]all seven [d]died, leaving no children. 32 Finally the woman died also. 33 In the resurrection therefore, which one’s wife will she be? For [e]all seven [f]had married her.”
34 Jesus said to them, “The sons of (D)this age marry and are given in marriage, 35 but those who are considered worthy to attain to (E)that age and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry nor are given in marriage; 36 for they cannot even die anymore, because they are like angels, and are (F)sons of God, being sons of the resurrection. 37 But that the dead are raised, even Moses showed, in (G)the passage about the burning bush, where he calls the Lord (H)the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. 38 (I)Now He is not the God of the dead but of the living; for (J)all live to Him.” 39 Some of the scribes answered and said, “Teacher, You have spoken well.” 40 For (K)they did not have courage to question Him any longer about anything.
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