Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 24
Of David. A psalm.
1 The earth is the Lord’s,(A) and everything in it,
the world, and all who live in it;(B)
2 for he founded it on the seas
and established it on the waters.(C)
3 Who may ascend the mountain(D) of the Lord?
Who may stand in his holy place?(E)
4 The one who has clean hands(F) and a pure heart,(G)
who does not trust in an idol(H)
or swear by a false god.[a]
5 They will receive blessing(I) from the Lord
and vindication(J) from God their Savior.
6 Such is the generation of those who seek him,
who seek your face,(K) God of Jacob.[b][c]
7 Lift up your heads, you gates;(L)
be lifted up, you ancient doors,
that the King(M) of glory(N) may come in.(O)
8 Who is this King of glory?
The Lord strong and mighty,(P)
the Lord mighty in battle.(Q)
9 Lift up your heads, you gates;
lift them up, you ancient doors,
that the King of glory may come in.
10 Who is he, this King of glory?
The Lord Almighty(R)—
he is the King of glory.
Psalm 29
A psalm of David.
1 Ascribe to the Lord,(A) you heavenly beings,(B)
ascribe to the Lord glory(C) and strength.
2 Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name;
worship the Lord in the splendor of his[a] holiness.(D)
3 The voice(E) of the Lord is over the waters;
the God of glory(F) thunders,(G)
the Lord thunders over the mighty waters.(H)
4 The voice of the Lord is powerful;(I)
the voice of the Lord is majestic.
5 The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars;
the Lord breaks in pieces the cedars of Lebanon.(J)
6 He makes Lebanon leap(K) like a calf,
Sirion[b](L) like a young wild ox.(M)
7 The voice of the Lord strikes
with flashes of lightning.(N)
8 The voice of the Lord shakes the desert;
the Lord shakes the Desert of Kadesh.(O)
9 The voice of the Lord twists the oaks[c](P)
and strips the forests bare.
And in his temple all cry, “Glory!”(Q)
Psalm 8[a]
For the director of music. According to gittith.[b] A psalm of David.
1 Lord, our Lord,
how majestic is your name(A) in all the earth!
You have set your glory(B)
in the heavens.(C)
2 Through the praise of children and infants
you have established a stronghold(D) against your enemies,
to silence the foe(E) and the avenger.
3 When I consider your heavens,(F)
the work of your fingers,(G)
the moon and the stars,(H)
which you have set in place,
4 what is mankind that you are mindful of them,
human beings that you care for them?[c](I)
5 You have made them[d] a little lower than the angels[e](J)
and crowned them[f] with glory and honor.(K)
6 You made them rulers(L) over the works of your hands;(M)
you put everything under their[g] feet:(N)
7 all flocks and herds,(O)
and the animals of the wild,(P)
8 the birds in the sky,
and the fish in the sea,(Q)
all that swim the paths of the seas.
9 Lord, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!(R)
Psalm 84[a]
For the director of music. According to gittith.[b] Of the Sons of Korah. A psalm.
1 How lovely is your dwelling place,(A)
Lord Almighty!
2 My soul yearns,(B) even faints,
for the courts of the Lord;
my heart and my flesh cry out
for the living God.(C)
3 Even the sparrow has found a home,
and the swallow a nest for herself,
where she may have her young—
a place near your altar,(D)
Lord Almighty,(E) my King(F) and my God.(G)
4 Blessed are those who dwell in your house;
they are ever praising you.[c]
5 Blessed are those whose strength(H) is in you,
whose hearts are set on pilgrimage.(I)
6 As they pass through the Valley of Baka,
they make it a place of springs;(J)
the autumn(K) rains also cover it with pools.[d]
7 They go from strength to strength,(L)
till each appears(M) before God in Zion.(N)
8 Hear my prayer,(O) Lord God Almighty;
listen to me, God of Jacob.
9 Look on our shield,[e](P) O God;
look with favor on your anointed one.(Q)
10 Better is one day in your courts
than a thousand elsewhere;
I would rather be a doorkeeper(R) in the house of my God
than dwell in the tents of the wicked.
11 For the Lord God is a sun(S) and shield;(T)
the Lord bestows favor and honor;
no good thing does he withhold(U)
from those whose walk is blameless.
12 Lord Almighty,
blessed(V) is the one who trusts in you.
Abraham Pleads for Sodom
16 When the men(A) got up to leave, they looked down toward Sodom, and Abraham walked along with them to see them on their way. 17 Then the Lord said, “Shall I hide from Abraham(B) what I am about to do?(C) 18 Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation,(D) and all nations on earth will be blessed through him.[a] 19 For I have chosen him(E), so that he will direct his children(F) and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord(G) by doing what is right and just,(H) so that the Lord will bring about for Abraham what he has promised him.”(I)
20 Then the Lord said, “The outcry against Sodom(J) and Gomorrah is so great(K) and their sin so grievous(L) 21 that I will go down(M) and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me. If not, I will know.”
22 The men(N) turned away and went toward Sodom,(O) but Abraham remained standing before the Lord.[b](P) 23 Then Abraham approached him and said: “Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked?(Q) 24 What if there are fifty righteous people in the city? Will you really sweep it away and not spare[c] the place for the sake of the fifty righteous people in it?(R) 25 Far be it from you to do such a thing(S)—to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous(T) and the wicked alike.(U) Far be it from you! Will not the Judge(V) of all the earth do right?”(W)
26 The Lord said, “If I find fifty righteous people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake.(X)”
27 Then Abraham spoke up again: “Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, though I am nothing but dust and ashes,(Y) 28 what if the number of the righteous is five less than fifty? Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five people?”
“If I find forty-five there,” he said, “I will not destroy it.”
29 Once again he spoke to him, “What if only forty are found there?”
He said, “For the sake of forty, I will not do it.”
30 Then he said, “May the Lord not be angry,(Z) but let me speak. What if only thirty can be found there?”
He answered, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.”
31 Abraham said, “Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, what if only twenty can be found there?”
He said, “For the sake of twenty, I will not destroy it.”
32 Then he said, “May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak just once more.(AA) What if only ten can be found there?”
He answered, “For the sake of ten,(AB) I will not destroy it.”
33 When the Lord had finished speaking(AC) with Abraham, he left,(AD) and Abraham returned home.(AE)
Life by the Spirit
13 You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free.(A) But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh[a];(B) rather, serve one another(C) humbly in love. 14 For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”[b](D) 15 If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.
16 So I say, walk by the Spirit,(E) and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.(F) 17 For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh.(G) They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever[c] you want.(H) 18 But if you are led by the Spirit,(I) you are not under the law.(J)
19 The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality,(K) impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like.(L) I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.(M)
22 But the fruit(N) of the Spirit is love,(O) joy, peace,(P) forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control.(Q) Against such things there is no law.(R) 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh(S) with its passions and desires.(T) 25 Since we live by the Spirit,(U) let us keep in step with the Spirit.
Jesus Heals a Blind Man at Bethsaida
22 They came to Bethsaida,(A) and some people brought a blind man(B) and begged Jesus to touch him. 23 He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. When he had spit(C) on the man’s eyes and put his hands on(D) him, Jesus asked, “Do you see anything?”
24 He looked up and said, “I see people; they look like trees walking around.”
25 Once more Jesus put his hands on the man’s eyes. Then his eyes were opened, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. 26 Jesus sent him home, saying, “Don’t even go into[a] the village.”
Peter Declares That Jesus Is the Messiah(E)
27 Jesus and his disciples went on to the villages around Caesarea Philippi. On the way he asked them, “Who do people say I am?”
28 They replied, “Some say John the Baptist;(F) others say Elijah;(G) and still others, one of the prophets.”
29 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”
Peter answered, “You are the Messiah.”(H)
30 Jesus warned them not to tell anyone about him.(I)
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