GREAT is the LORD, and highly to be praised * in the city of our God, even upon his holy hill.
 
The hill of Sion is a fair place, and the joy of the whole earth; * upon the north side lieth the city of the great King: God is well known in her palaces as a sure refuge.
 
For lo, the kings of the earth * were gathered, and gone by together.
 
They marvelled to see such things; * they were astonished, and suddenly cast down.
 
Fear came there upon them; and sorrow, * as upon a woman in her travail.
 
Thou dost break the ships of the sea * through the east-wind.
 
Like as we have heard, so have we seen in the city of the LORD of hosts, in the city of our God; * God upholdeth the same for ever.
 
We wait for thy loving-kindness, O God, * in the midst of thy temple.
 
O God, according to thy Name, so is thy praise unto the world's end; * thy right hand is full of righteousness.
 
Let the mount Sion rejoice, and the daughters of Judah be glad, * because of thy judgments.
 
Walk about Sion, and go round about her; * and tell the towers thereof.
 
Mark well her bulwarks, consider her palaces, * that ye may tell them that come after.
 
For this God is our God for ever and ever: * he shall be our guide unto death.

BLESSED is the man that feareth the LORD; * he hath great delight in his commandments.
 
His seed shall be mighty upon earth; * the generation of the faithful shall be blessed.
 
Riches and plenteousness shall be in his house; * and his righteousness endureth for ever.
 
Unto the godly there ariseth up light in the darkness; * he is merciful, loving, and righteous.
 
A good man is merciful, and lendeth; * and will guide his words with discretion.
 
For he shall never be moved: * and the righteous shall be had in everlasting remembrance.
 
He will not be afraid of any evil tidings; * for his heart standeth fast, and believeth in the LORD.
 
His heart is stablished, and will not shrink, * until he see his desire upon his enemies.
 
He hath dispersed abroad, and given to the poor, * and his righteousness remaineth for ever; his horn shall be exalted with honour.
 
The ungodly shall see it, and it shall grieve him; * he shall gnash with his teeth, and consume away; the desire of the ungodly shall perish.

MY soul truly waiteth still upon God; * for of him cometh my salvation.
 
He verily is my strength and my salvation; * he is my defence, so that I shall not greatly fall.
 
How long will ye imagine mischief against every man? * Ye shall be slain all the sort of you; yea, as a tottering wall shall ye be, and like a broken hedge.
 
Their device is only how to put him out whom God will exalt; * their delight is in lies; they give good words with their mouth, but curse with their heart.
 
Nevertheless, my soul, wait thou still upon God; * for my hope is in him.
 
He truly is my strength and my salvation; * he is my defence, so that I shall not fall.
 
In God is my health and my glory; * the rock of my might; and in God is my trust.
 
O put your trust in him alway, ye people; * pour out your hearts before him, for God is our hope.
 
As for the children of men, they are but vanity; the children of men are deceitful; * upon the weights they are altogether lighter than vanity itself.
 
O trust not in wrong and robbery; give not yourselves unto vanity: * if riches increase, set not your heart upon them.
 
God spake once, and twice I have also heard the same, * that power belongeth unto God;
 
And that thou, Lord, art merciful; * for thou rewardest every man according to his work.

O GOD, thou art my God; * early will I seek thee.
 
My soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh also longeth after thee, * in a barren and dry land where no water is.
 
Thus have I looked for thee in the sanctuary, * that I might behold thy power and glory.
 
For thy loving-kindness is better than the life itself: * my lips shall praise thee.
 
As long as I live will I magnify thee in this manner, * and lift up my hands in thy Name.
 
My soul shall be satisfied, even as it were with marrow and fatness, * when my mouth praiseth thee with joyful lips.
 
Have I not remembered thee in my bed, * and thought upon thee when I was waking?
 
Because thou hast been my helper; * therefore under the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice.
 
My soul hangeth upon thee; * thy right hand hath upholden me.
 
These also that seek the hurt of my soul, * they shall go under the earth.
 
Let them fall upon the edge of the sword, * that they may be a portion for foxes.
 
But the King shall rejoice in God; all they also that swear by him shall be commended; * for the mouth of them that speak lies shall be stopped.

I WILL cry unto God with my voice; * even unto God will I cry with my voice, and he shall hearken unto me.
 
In the time of my trouble I sought the Lord: * I stretched forth my hands unto him, and ceased not in the night season; my soul refused comfort.
 
When I am in heaviness, I will think upon God; * when my heart is vexed, I will complain.
 
Thou holdest mine eyes waking: * I am so feeble that I cannot speak.
 
I have considered the days of old, * and the years that are past.
 
I call to remembrance my song, * and in the night I commune with mine own heart, and search out my spirit.
 
Will the Lord absent himself for ever? * and will he be no more intreated?
 
Is his mercy clean gone for ever? * and is his promise come utterly to an end for evermore?
 
Hath God forgotten to be gracious? * and will he shut up his loving-kindness in displeasure?
 
And I said, It is mine own infirmity; * but I will remember the years of the right hand of the Most Highest.
 

 
vs 11 I will remember the works of the LORD, * and call to mind thy wonders of old time.
 
I will think also of all thy works, * and my talking shall be of thy doings.
 
Thy way, O God, is holy: * who is so great a God as our God?
 
Thou art the God that doest wonders, * and hast declared thy power among the peoples.
 
Thou hast mightily delivered thy people, * even the sons of Jacob and Joseph.
 
The waters saw thee, O God, the waters saw thee, and were afraid; * the depths also were troubled.
 
The clouds poured out water, the air thundered, * and thine arrows went abroad.
 
The voice of thy thunder was heard round about: * the lightnings shone upon the ground; the earth was moved, and shook withal.
 
Thy way is in the sea, and thy paths in the great waters, * and thy footsteps are not known.
 
Thou leddest thy people like sheep, * by the hand of Moses and Aaron.

WHEN Israel came out of Egypt, * and the house of Jacob from among the strange people,
 
Judah was his sanctuary, * and Israel his dominion.
 
The sea saw that, and fled; * Jordan was driven back.
 
The mountains skipped like rams, * and the little hills like young sheep.
 
What aileth thee, O thou sea, that thou fleddest? * and thou Jordan, that thou wast driven back?
 
Ye mountains, that ye skipped like rams? * and ye little hills, like young sheep?
 
Tremble, thou earth, at the presence of the Lord: * at the presence of the God of Jacob;
 
Who turned the hard rock into a standing water, * and the flint-stone into a springing well.

My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee; So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding; Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding; If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures; Then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God. For the Lord giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding. He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous: he is a buckler to them that walk uprightly. He keepeth the paths of judgment, and preserveth the way of his saints. Then shalt thou understand righteousness, and judgment, and equity; yea, every good path.

Hear this, O ye that swallow up the needy, even to make the poor of the land to fail, Saying, When will the new moon be gone, that we may sell corn? and the sabbath, that we may set forth wheat, making the ephah small, and the shekel great, and falsifying the balances by deceit? That we may buy the poor for silver, and the needy for a pair of shoes; yea, and sell the refuse of the wheat? The Lord hath sworn by the excellency of Jacob, Surely I will never forget any of their works. Shall not the land tremble for this, and every one mourn that dwelleth therein? and it shall rise up wholly as a flood; and it shall be cast out and drowned, as by the flood of Egypt. And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord God, that I will cause the sun to go down at noon, and I will darken the earth in the clear day: And I will turn your feasts into mourning, and all your songs into lamentation; and I will bring up sackcloth upon all loins, and baldness upon every head; and I will make it as the mourning of an only son, and the end thereof as a bitter day. Behold, the days come, saith the Lord God, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord: And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the Lord, and shall not find it.

And it was told the king of Egypt that the people fled: and the heart of Pharaoh and of his servants was turned against the people, and they said, Why have we done this, that we have let Israel go from serving us? And he made ready his chariot, and took his people with him: And he took six hundred chosen chariots, and all the chariots of Egypt, and captains over every one of them. And the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued after the children of Israel: and the children of Israel went out with an high hand. But the Egyptians pursued after them, all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, and his horsemen, and his army, and overtook them encamping by the sea, beside Pihahiroth, before Baalzephon. And when Pharaoh drew nigh, the children of Israel lifted up their eyes, and, behold, the Egyptians marched after them; and they were sore afraid: and the children of Israel cried out unto the Lord. And they said unto Moses, Because there were no graves in Egypt, hast thou taken us away to die in the wilderness? wherefore hast thou dealt thus with us, to carry us forth out of Egypt? Is not this the word that we did tell thee in Egypt, saying, Let us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians? For it had been better for us to serve the Egyptians, than that we should die in the wilderness. And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will shew to you today: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen today, ye shall see them again no more for ever. The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace. And the angel of God, which went before the camp of Israel, removed and went behind them; and the pillar of the cloud went from before their face, and stood behind them: And it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel; and it was a cloud and darkness to them, but it gave light by night to these: so that the one came not near the other all the night. And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the Lord caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided. And it came to pass, that in the morning watch the Lord looked unto the host of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and of the cloud, and troubled the host of the Egyptians, And took off their chariot wheels, that they drave them heavily: so that the Egyptians said, Let us flee from the face of Israel; for the Lord fighteth for them against the Egyptians. And the Lord said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand over the sea, that the waters may come again upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon their horsemen. And Moses stretched forth his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to his strength when the morning appeared; and the Egyptians fled against it; and the Lord overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea. And the waters returned, and covered the chariots, and the horsemen, and all the host of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them; there remained not so much as one of them. Thus the Lord saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians; and Israel saw the Egyptians dead upon the sea shore.

These things write I unto thee, hoping to come unto thee shortly: But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth. And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory. Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron; Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth. For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving: For it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer. If thou put the brethren in remembrance of these things, thou shalt be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished up in the words of faith and of good doctrine, whereunto thou hast attained. But refuse profane and old wives' fables, and exercise thyself rather unto godliness. For bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come. This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation. For therefore we both labour and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Saviour of all men, specially of those that believe. These things command and teach. Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity. Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine. Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery. Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may appear to all. Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.

In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.) Many of the people therefore, when they heard this saying, said, Of a truth this is the Prophet. Others said, This is the Christ. But some said, Shall Christ come out of Galilee? Hath not the scripture said, That Christ cometh of the seed of David, and out of the town of Bethlehem, where David was? So there was a division among the people because of him. And some of them would have taken him; but no man laid hands on him. Then came the officers to the chief priests and Pharisees; and they said unto them, Why have ye not brought him? The officers answered, Never man spake like this man. Then answered them the Pharisees, Are ye also deceived? Have any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed on him? But this people who knoweth not the law are cursed. Nicodemus saith unto them, (he that came to Jesus by night, being one of them,) Doth our law judge any man, before it hear him, and know what he doeth? They answered and said unto him, Art thou also of Galilee? Search, and look: for out of Galilee ariseth no prophet. And every man went unto his own house.

By faith Moses, when he was born, was hid three months of his parents, because they saw he was a proper child; and they were not afraid of the king's commandment. By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter; Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward. By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible. Through faith he kept the passover, and the sprinkling of blood, lest he that destroyed the firstborn should touch them. By faith they passed through the Red sea as by dry land: which the Egyptians assaying to do were drowned. And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of Gedeon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthae; of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets: Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection: And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment: They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented; (Of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth. And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise: God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.

LORD, we beseech thee, grant thy people grace to withstand the temptations of the world, the flesh, and the devil; and with pure hearts and minds to follow thee, the only God; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Copyright © 2000-2023 , CommonPrayer.org See our home page for further information

Privacy Policy

(Alternate/Backup Site) For information about this web page, please contact the Webmaster at: