Morning Prayer

¹ Unto thee, O God, do we give thanks, unto thee do we give thanks: for that thy name is near thy wondrous works declare.

² When I shall receive the congregation I will judge uprightly.

³ The earth and all the inhabitants thereof are dissolved: I bear up the pillars of it. Selah.

⁴ I said unto the fools, Deal not foolishly: and to the wicked, Lift not up the horn:

⁵ Lift not up your horn on high: speak not with a stiff neck.

⁶ For promotion cometh neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south.

⁷ But God is the judge: he putteth down one, and setteth up another.

⁸ For in the hand of the LORD there is a cup, and the wine is red; it is full of mixture; and he poureth out of the same: but the dregs thereof, all the wicked of the earth shall wring them out, and drink them.

⁹ But I will declare for ever; I will sing praises to the God of Jacob.

¹⁰ All the horns of the wicked also will I cut off; but the horns of the righteous shall be exalted.

¹ In Judah is God known: his name is great in Israel.

² In Salem also is his tabernacle, and his dwelling place in Zion.

³ There brake he the arrows of the bow, the shield, and the sword, and the battle. Selah.

⁴ Thou art more glorious and excellent than the mountains of prey.

⁵ The stouthearted are spoiled, they have slept their sleep: and none of the men of might have found their hands.

⁶ At thy rebuke, O God of Jacob, both the chariot and horse are cast into a dead sleep.

⁷ Thou, even thou, art to be feared: and who may stand in thy sight when once thou art angry?

⁸ Thou didst cause judgment to be heard from heaven; the earth feared, and was still,

⁹ When God arose to judgment, to save all the meek of the earth. Selah.

¹⁰ Surely the wrath of man shall praise thee: the remainder of wrath shalt thou restrain.

¹¹ Vow, and pay unto the LORD your God: let all that be round about him bring presents unto him that ought to be feared.

¹² He shall cut off the spirit of princes: he is terrible to the kings of the earth.

¹ I cried unto God with my voice, even unto God with my voice; and he gave ear unto me.

² In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord: my sore ran in the night, and ceased not: my soul refused to be comforted.

³ I remembered God, and was troubled: I complained, and my spirit was overwhelmed. Selah.

⁴ Thou holdest mine eyes waking: I am so troubled that I cannot speak.

⁵ I have considered the days of old, the years of ancient times.

⁶ I call to remembrance my song in the night: I commune with mine own heart: and my spirit made diligent search.

⁷ Will the Lord cast off for ever? and will he be favourable no more?

⁸ Is his mercy clean gone for ever? doth his promise fail for evermore?

⁹ Hath God forgotten to be gracious? hath he in anger shut up his tender mercies? Selah.

¹⁰ And I said, This is my infirmity: but I will remember the years of the right hand of the most High.

¹¹ I will remember the works of the LORD: surely I will remember thy wonders of old.

¹² I will meditate also of all thy work, and talk of thy doings.

¹³ Thy way, O God, is in the sanctuary: who is so great a God as our God?

¹⁴ Thou art the God that doest wonders: thou hast declared thy strength among the people.

¹⁵ Thou hast with thine arm redeemed thy people, the sons of Jacob and Joseph. Selah.

¹⁶ The waters saw thee, O God, the waters saw thee; they were afraid: the depths also were troubled.

¹⁷ The clouds poured out water: the skies sent out a sound: thine arrows also went abroad.

¹⁸ The voice of thy thunder was in the heaven: the lightnings lightened the world: the earth trembled and shook.

¹⁹ Thy way is in the sea, and thy path in the great waters, and thy footsteps are not known.

²⁰ Thou leddest thy people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron.

¹ But now thus saith the LORD that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine.

² When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.

³ For I am the LORD thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour: I gave Egypt for thy ransom, Ethiopia and Seba for thee.

⁴ Since thou wast precious in my sight, thou hast been honourable, and I have loved thee: therefore will I give men for thee, and people for thy life.

⁵ Fear not: for I am with thee: I will bring thy seed from the east, and gather thee from the west;

⁶ I will say to the north, Give up; and to the south, Keep not back: bring my sons from far, and my daughters from the ends of the earth;

⁷ Even every one that is called by my name: for I have created him for my glory, I have formed him; yea, I have made him.

⁸ Bring forth the blind people that have eyes, and the deaf that have ears.

⁹ Let all the nations be gathered together, and let the people be assembled: who among them can declare this, and shew us former things? let them bring forth their witnesses, that they may be justified: or let them hear, and say, It is truth.

¹⁰ Ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me.

¹¹ I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no saviour.

¹² I have declared, and have saved, and I have shewed, when there was no strange god among you: therefore ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, that I am God.

¹³ Yea, before the day was I am he; and there is none that can deliver out of my hand: I will work, and who shall let it?

¹⁴ Thus saith the LORD, your redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; For your sake I have sent to Babylon, and have brought down all their nobles, and the Chaldeans, whose cry is in the ships.

¹⁵ I am the LORD, your Holy One, the creator of Israel, your King.

¹⁶ Thus saith the LORD, which maketh a way in the sea, and a path in the mighty waters;

¹⁷ Which bringeth forth the chariot and horse, the army and the power; they shall lie down together, they shall not rise: they are extinct, they are quenched as tow.

¹⁸ Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old.

¹⁹ Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.

²⁰ The beast of the field shall honour me, the dragons and the owls: because I give waters in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert, to give drink to my people, my chosen.

²¹ This people have I formed for myself; they shall shew forth my praise.

²² But thou hast not called upon me, O Jacob; but thou hast been weary of me, O Israel.

²³ Thou hast not brought me the small cattle of thy burnt offerings; neither hast thou honoured me with thy sacrifices. I have not caused thee to serve with an offering, nor wearied thee with incense.

²⁴ Thou hast bought me no sweet cane with money, neither hast thou filled me with the fat of thy sacrifices: but thou hast made me to serve with thy sins, thou hast wearied me with thine iniquities.

²⁵ I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins.

²⁶ Put me in remembrance: let us plead together: declare thou, that thou mayest be justified.

²⁷ Thy first father hath sinned, and thy teachers have transgressed against me.

²⁸ Therefore I have profaned the princes of the sanctuary, and have given Jacob to the curse, and Israel to reproaches.

¹ And certain men which came down from Judaea taught the brethren, and said, Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved.

² When therefore Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and disputation with them, they determined that Paul and Barnabas, and certain other of them, should go up to Jerusalem unto the apostles and elders about this question.

³ And being brought on their way by the church, they passed through Phenice and Samaria, declaring the conversion of the Gentiles: and they caused great joy unto all the brethren.

⁴ And when they were come to Jerusalem, they were received of the church, and of the apostles and elders, and they declared all things that God had done with them.

⁵ But there rose up certain of the sect of the Pharisees which believed, saying, That it was needful to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses.

⁶ And the apostles and elders came together for to consider of this matter.

⁷ And when there had been much disputing, Peter rose up, and said unto them, Men and brethren, ye know how that a good while ago God made choice among us, that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel, and believe.

⁸ And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us;

⁹ And put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith.

¹⁰ Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?

¹¹ But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they.

¹² Then all the multitude kept silence, and gave audience to Barnabas and Paul, declaring what miracles and wonders God had wrought among the Gentiles by them.

¹³ And after they had held their peace, James answered, saying, Men and brethren, hearken unto me:

¹⁴ Simeon hath declared how God at the first did visit the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for his name.

¹⁵ And to this agree the words of the prophets; as it is written,

¹⁶ After this I will return, and will build again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen down; and I will build again the ruins thereof, and I will set it up:

¹⁷ That the residue of men might seek after the Lord, and all the Gentiles, upon whom my name is called, saith the Lord, who doeth all these things.

¹⁸ Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world.

¹⁹ Wherefore my sentence is, that we trouble not them, which from among the Gentiles are turned to God:

²⁰ But that we write unto them, that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood.

²¹ For Moses of old time hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every sabbath day.

²² Then pleased it the apostles and elders, with the whole church, to send chosen men of their own company to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas; namely, Judas surnamed Barsabas, and Silas, chief men among the brethren:

²³ And they wrote letters by them after this manner; The apostles and elders and brethren send greeting unto the brethren which are of the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia:

²⁴ Forasmuch as we have heard, that certain which went out from us have troubled you with words, subverting your souls, saying, Ye must be circumcised, and keep the law: to whom we gave no such commandment:

²⁵ It seemed good unto us, being assembled with one accord, to send chosen men unto you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul,

²⁶ Men that have hazarded their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

²⁷ We have sent therefore Judas and Silas, who shall also tell you the same things by mouth.

²⁸ For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things;

²⁹ That ye abstain from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication: from which if ye keep yourselves, ye shall do well. Fare ye well.

³⁰ So when they were dismissed, they came to Antioch: and when they had gathered the multitude together, they delivered the epistle:

³¹ Which when they had read, they rejoiced for the consolation.

³² And Judas and Silas, being prophets also themselves, exhorted the brethren with many words, and confirmed them.

³³ And after they had tarried there a space, they were let go in peace from the brethren unto the apostles.

³⁴ Notwithstanding it pleased Silas to abide there still.

³⁵ Paul also and Barnabas continued in Antioch, teaching and preaching the word of the Lord, with many others also.

³⁶ And some days after Paul said unto Barnabas, Let us go again and visit our brethren in every city where we have preached the word of the Lord, and see how they do.

³⁷ And Barnabas determined to take with them John, whose surname was Mark.

³⁸ But Paul thought not good to take him with them, who departed from them from Pamphylia, and went not with them to the work.

³⁹ And the contention was so sharp between them, that they departed asunder one from the other: and so Barnabas took Mark, and sailed unto Cyprus;

⁴⁰ And Paul chose Silas, and departed, being recommended by the brethren unto the grace of God.

⁴¹ And he went through Syria and Cilicia, confirming the churches.