Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 105
The Lord Remembers His Covenant
Opening Praise
1 Give thanks to the Lord.
Proclaim[a] his name.
Make his deeds known among the peoples.
2 Sing to him, make music to him.
Meditate on all his wonders.
3 Take pride in his holy name.
Let the heart of those who seek the Lord rejoice.
4 Search for the Lord and his strength.
Seek his face always.
5 Remember the wonders which he has done,
his signs, and the judgments from his mouth,
6 you descendants of Abraham his servant,
you sons of Jacob, his chosen ones.
7 He is the Lord our God.
His judgments are in all the earth.
The Promise of the Covenant
8 He remembers his covenant forever,
the word he commanded for a thousand generations,
9 the covenant which he made with Abraham,
and his oath to Isaac.
10 Yes, he confirmed it to Jacob as a statute,
to Israel as an everlasting covenant.
11 He said, “To you I will give the land of Canaan,
the territory you will possess.”
The Lord Is Faithful in Canaan:
His Protection of the Patriarchs
12 While they were few in number,
just a little group and aliens in the land,
13 they moved around from nation to nation,
from one kingdom to another people.
14 He did not allow anyone to oppress them,
and he rebuked kings because of them:
15 “Do not touch my anointed ones,
and do not harm my prophets.”
The Lord Is Faithful in Egypt:
His Protection of Joseph
16 Then he summoned a famine on the land.
He destroyed their entire food supply.
17 He sent ahead of them a man sold as a slave, Joseph.
18 They hurt his feet with chains.
His throat was clamped in an iron collar,
19 until the time when his predictions came true.
The promise of the Lord tested him.
20 The king sent for him and released him.
The ruler of peoples set him free.
21 He made him master of his house
and ruler over all his possessions,
22 to bind his officials by his will,
to teach his elders wisdom.
The Lord Is Faithful in Egypt:
His Protection of the People
23 Then Israel came to Egypt.
Jacob lived as an alien in the land of Ham.[b]
24 Then the Lord made his people very fruitful.
He made them too numerous for their foes.
25 He turned the Egyptians’ hearts so they hated his people.
They dealt deceitfully with his servants.
26 He sent Moses his servant,
and Aaron, whom he had chosen.
27 They performed his signs among them,
his warning signs in the land of Ham.
28 He sent darkness, and it became extremely dark,
because Israel[c] did not rebel against his words.
29 He turned their waters into blood,
and he caused their fish to die.
30 Their land swarmed with frogs,
even in the rooms of their kings.
31 He spoke, and a swarm of flies came.
There were lice[d] throughout their borders.
32 He gave them hail instead of rain,
with blazing lightning throughout their land.
33 Then he struck down their vines and fig trees,
and he broke down the trees within their borders.
34 He spoke, and the locusts came,
and grasshoppers without number.
35 They ate every green plant in their land.
They ate the produce of their soil.
36 Then he struck down all the firstborn in their land,
the first fruit of all their virility.
37 Then he brought Israel out with silver and gold.
From among their tribes no one stumbled.
38 Egypt was glad when they went out,
because fear of Israel had fallen on them.
The Lord Is Faithful in the Wilderness
39 He spread out a cloud as a canopy
and fire to give light at night.
40 They asked, and he brought quail,
and he satisfied them with bread from heaven.
41 He opened the rock, and water gushed out.
It flowed in the desert like a river.
The Lord Is Faithful in the Land
42 Because he remembered his holy word to Abraham, his servant,
43 he brought out his people with rejoicing,
his chosen ones with a joyful shout.
44 He gave them the lands of the nations,
and they took possession of the work of other peoples
45 so that they could keep his statutes and observe his laws.
Praise the Lord.[e]
The Wicked Will Die; The Righteous Will Live
18 The word of the Lord came to me.
2 What do you mean, you who keep repeating this proverb concerning the soil of Israel, “Fathers eat sour grapes, and their sons’ teeth are set on edge”? 3 As surely as I live, declares the Lord God, you will never again use this proverb in Israel. 4 Indeed, all souls are mine. The soul of the father is mine just like the soul of the son. The soul who sins is the one who will die.
19 But you ask, “Why doesn’t the son share in the guilt of the father?” Because the son did what was just and right. He kept all my statutes and carried them out, so he will surely live. 20 The soul who sins is the one who will die. The son will not share in the guilt of the father, and the father will not share in the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous person will be credited to him alone, and the wickedness of the wicked person will be charged against him alone.
21 A wicked man, if he turns away from[a] all his sins that he has committed and keeps all my statutes and carries out justice and righteousness, he will surely live. He will not die. 22 All of the rebellious acts that he had committed will not be remembered against him. Because of his righteousness that he has practiced, he will live. 23 Do I really find any pleasure in the death of the wicked? says the Lord God. Don’t I want him to turn from his ways and live?
24 But if a righteous man turns away from his righteousness and does what is unrighteous—namely, all the abominations that the wicked man practices—will he live? All the righteous deeds that he did will not be remembered. Because he added one infidelity to another and because of the sins that he has committed, because of them, he will die.
25 But you say, “The Lord’s way is not fair.” Listen now, house of Israel. Is it my way that is not fair? Is it not your ways that are not fair? 26 If a righteous man turns away from his righteousness and practices unrighteousness, he will die because of it. Because of the unrighteousness that he has practiced, he will die.
27 But if a wicked man turns from his wickedness that he has done and practices justice and righteousness, he will preserve his life. 28 Because he has seen and turned away from[b] all the rebellious acts that he had committed, he will surely live, and he will not die. 29 But the house of Israel says, “The Lord’s way is not fair.” Is it really my ways that are not fair, O house of Israel? Is it not your ways that are not fair?
30 Therefore, I will judge each one of you according to his ways, O house of Israel, declares the Lord God. Repent and turn away from all your rebellious acts, so that you will not set out a stumbling block that makes you guilty. 31 Throw off from yourselves all your rebellious actions by which you have rebelled, and obtain a new heart and a new spirit for yourselves. Why should you die, O house of Israel? 32 For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone who dies, declares the Lord God. So repent and live!
18 To be sure, the former requirement is annulled, because it was weak and useless— 19 for the law did not bring anything to its goal—but now a better hope is introduced, by which we approach God.
20 And something like this did not happen without an oath. Indeed, others who became priests did so without an oath, 21 but this one became a priest with an oath, through the one who said to him:
The Lord has sworn an oath
and will not change his mind:
“You are a priest forever.”[a]
22 In this way, Jesus has become the guarantor[b] of a better covenant.[c]
23 There were many who became priests because death prevented any of them from continuing to remain in office. 24 But because this one endures forever, he has a permanent priesthood. 25 So for this reason he is able to save forever those who come to God through him, because he always lives to plead on their behalf.
Jesus Is the High Priest We Need
26 This is certainly the kind of high priest we needed: one who is holy, innocent, pure, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens. 27 Unlike the other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices on a daily basis, first for his own sins and then for the sins of the people. In fact, he sacrificed for sins once and for all when he offered himself. 28 For the law appoints as high priests men who have weaknesses. But the word of the oath, which came after the law, appointed the Son, who has been brought to his goal forever.
The Good Samaritan
25 Just then, an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus, saying, “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
26 “What is written in the law?” he asked him. “What do you read there?”
27 He replied, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind;[a] and, love your neighbor as yourself.”[b]
28 He said to him, “You have answered correctly. Do this, and you will live.”
29 But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
30 Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho. He fell among robbers who stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead. 31 It just so happened that a priest was going down that way. But when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32 In the same way, a Levite also happened to go there, but when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 33 A Samaritan, as he traveled, came to where the man was. When he saw him, he felt sorry for the man. 34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them. He put him on his own animal, took him to an inn, and took care of him. 35 The next day, when he left, he took out two denarii,[c] gave them to the innkeeper, and said, ‘Take care of him. Whatever extra you spend, I will repay you when I return.’ 36 Which of these three do you think acted like a neighbor to the man who fell among robbers?”
37 “The one who showed mercy to him,” he replied.
Then Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.