Book of Common Prayer
Thanksgiving for the Lord’s Saving Goodness.
118 O give thanks to the Lord, for He is good;
For His lovingkindness endures forever.
2
Oh let Israel say,
“His lovingkindness endures forever.”
3
Oh let the house of Aaron say,
“His lovingkindness endures forever.”
4
Oh let those who [reverently] fear the Lord, say,
“His lovingkindness endures forever.”
5
Out of my distress I called on the Lord;
The Lord answered me and set me free.
6
The Lord is on my side; I will not fear.
What can [mere] man do to me?(A)
7
The Lord is on my side, He is among those who help me;
Therefore I will look [in triumph] on those who hate me.
8
It is better to take refuge in the Lord
Than to trust in man.
9
It is better to take refuge in the Lord
Than to trust in princes.
10
All nations encompassed me;
In the name of the Lord I will surely cut them off.
11
They encompassed me, yes, they surrounded me [on every side];
In the name of the Lord I will cut them off.
12
They swarmed around me like bees;
They flare up and are extinguished like a fire of thorns;
In the name of the Lord I will surely cut them off.(B)
13
You [my enemy] pushed me violently so that I was falling,
But the Lord helped me.
14
The Lord is my strength and song,
And He has become my salvation.
15
The sound of joyful shouting and salvation is in the tents of the righteous:
The right hand of the Lord does valiantly.
16
The right hand of the Lord is exalted;
The right hand of the Lord does valiantly.
17
I will not die, but live,
And declare the works and recount the illustrious acts of the Lord.
18
The Lord has disciplined me severely,
But He has not given me over to death.(C)
19
Open to me the [temple] gates of righteousness;
I shall enter through them, I shall give thanks to the Lord.
20
This is the gate of the Lord;
The righteous will enter through it.(D)
21
I will give thanks to You, for You have heard and answered me;
And You have become my salvation [my Rescuer, my Savior].
22
The stone which the builders rejected
Has become the [a]chief corner stone.
23
This is from the Lord and is His doing;
It is marvelous in our eyes.(E)
24
This [day in which God has saved me] is the day which the Lord has made;
Let us rejoice and be glad in it.
25
O Lord, save now, we beseech You;
O Lord, we beseech You, send now prosperity and give us success!
26
Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord;
We have blessed you from the house of the Lord [you who come into His sanctuary under His guardianship].(F)
27
The Lord is God, and He has given us light [illuminating us with His grace and freedom and joy].
Bind the festival sacrifices with [b]cords to the horns of the altar.
28
You are my God, and I give thanks to You;
[You are] my God, I extol You.
29
O give thanks to the Lord, for He is good;
For His lovingkindness endures forever.
The Lord Extolled for His Goodness.
A Psalm of praise. Of David.
145 I will exalt You, my God, O King,
And [with gratitude and submissive wonder] I will bless Your name forever and ever.
2
Every day I will bless You and lovingly praise You;
Yes, [with awe-inspired reverence] I will praise Your name forever and ever.
3
Great is the Lord, and highly to be praised,
And His greatness is [so vast and profound as to be] unsearchable [incomprehensible to man].(A)
4
One generation shall praise Your works to another,
And shall declare Your mighty and remarkable acts.
5
On the glorious splendor of Your majesty
And on Your wonderful works, I will meditate.
6
People will speak of the power of Your awesome acts,
And [with gratitude and submissive wonder] I will tell of Your greatness.
7
They will overflow [like a fountain] when they speak of Your great and abundant goodness
And will sing joyfully of Your righteousness.
8
The Lord is gracious and full of compassion,
Slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness.
9
The Lord is good to all,
And His tender mercies are over all His works [the entirety of things created].
10
All Your works shall give thanks to You and praise You, O Lord,
And Your godly ones will bless You.
11
They shall speak of the glory of Your kingdom
And talk of Your power,
12
To make known to the sons of men Your mighty acts
And the glorious majesty of Your kingdom.
13
Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
And Your dominion endures throughout all generations.(B)
14
The Lord upholds all those [of His own] who fall
And raises up all those who are bowed down.
15
The eyes of all look to You [in hopeful expectation],
And You give them their food in due time.
16
You open Your hand
And satisfy the desire of every living thing.
17
The Lord is [unwaveringly] righteous in all His ways
And gracious and kind in all His works.
18
The Lord is near to all who call on Him,
To all who call on Him in truth (without guile).
19
He will fulfill the desire of those who fear and worship Him [with awe-inspired reverence and obedience];
He also will hear their cry and will save them.
20
The Lord keeps all who love Him,
But all the wicked He will destroy.
21
My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord,
And all flesh will bless and gratefully praise His holy name forever and ever.
16
Thus says the Lord of hosts,
“Do not listen to the words of the [false] prophets who prophesy to you.
They are teaching you worthless things and are leading you into futility;
They speak a vision of their own mind and imagination
And not [truth] from the mouth of the Lord.
17
“They are continually saying to those who despise Me [and My word],
‘The Lord has said, “You will have peace”’;
And they say to everyone who walks after the stubbornness of his own heart,
‘No evil will come on you.’
18
“But who [among them] has stood in the council of the Lord,
That he would perceive and hear His word?
Who has marked His word [noticing and observing and paying attention to it] and has [actually] heard it?
19
“Behold, the tempest of the Lord has gone forth in wrath,
A whirling tempest;
It will whirl and burst on the heads of the wicked.
20
“The anger of the Lord will not turn back
Until He has set in motion and accomplished the thoughts and intentions of His heart;
In the last days you will clearly understand it.
21
“I did not send [these counterfeit] prophets,
Yet they ran;
I did not speak to them,
Yet they prophesied.
22
“But if they had stood in My council,
Then they would have caused My people to hear My words,
Then they would have turned My people from their evil way
And from the evil of their decisions and deeds.
23
“Am I a God who is at hand,” says the Lord,
“And not a God far away?”
24
“Can anyone hide himself in secret places
So that I cannot see him?” says the Lord.
“Do I not fill heaven and earth?” says the Lord.
25 “I have heard what the prophets have said who prophesy lies in My Name, saying, ‘I have dreamed, I have dreamed [visions when on my bed at night].’ 26 How long [shall this state of affairs continue]? Is there anything in the hearts of the prophets who prophesy falsehood, even these prophets of the deception of their own heart, 27 who think that they can make My people forget My Name by their [contrived] dreams which each one tells another, just as their fathers forgot My Name because of Baal? 28 The prophet who has a dream may tell his dream; but he who has My word, let him speak My word faithfully. What has straw in common with wheat [for nourishment]?” says the Lord. 29 “Is not My word like fire [that consumes all that cannot endure the test]?” says the Lord, “and like a hammer that breaks the [most stubborn] rock [in pieces]? 30 Therefore behold (hear this), I am against the [counterfeit] prophets,” says the Lord, “[I am descending on them with punishment, these prophets] who steal My words from one another [imitating the words of the true prophets]. 31 Hear this, I am against the prophets,” says the Lord, “who use their [own deceitful] tongues and say, ‘Thus says the Lord.’ 32 Hear this, I am against those who have prophesied false and made-up dreams,” says the Lord, “and have told them and have made My people err and go astray by their lies and by their reckless boasting; yet I did not send them or command them nor do they benefit and enhance [the life of] these people in the slightest way,” says the Lord.
19 For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a slave to everyone, so that I may win more [for Christ]. 20 To the Jews I became as a Jew, so that I might win Jews [for Christ]; to men under the Law, [I became] as one [a]under the Law, though not being under the Law myself, so that I might win those who are under the Law. 21 To those who are without (outside) the Law, [I became] as one without the Law, though [I am] not without the law of God, but under the law of Christ, so that I might win those who are without law. 22 To the [b]weak I became [as the] weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men, so that I may by all means [in any and every way] save some [by leading them to faith in Jesus Christ]. 23 And I do all this for the sake of the gospel, so that I may share in its blessings along with you.
24 [c]Do you not know that in a race all the runners run [their very best to win], but only one receives the prize? Run [your race] in such a way that you may seize the prize and make it yours! 25 Now every athlete who [goes into training and] competes in the games is disciplined and exercises self-control in all things. They do it to win a [d]crown that withers, but we [do it to receive] an imperishable [crown that cannot wither]. 26 Therefore I do not run without a definite goal; I do not flail around like one beating the air [just shadow boxing]. 27 But [like a boxer] I strictly discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached [the gospel] to others, I myself will not somehow be disqualified [as unfit for service].
31 And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must [of necessity] suffer many things and be rejected [as the Messiah] by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes, and must be put to death, and after three days rise [from death to life].(A) 32 He was stating the matter plainly [not holding anything back]. Then Peter took Him aside and began to reprimand Him. 33 But turning around [with His back to Peter] and seeing His disciples, He rebuked Peter, saying, “Get behind Me, Satan; for your mind is not set on God’s will or His values and purposes, but on what pleases man.”
34 Jesus called the crowd together with His disciples, and said to them, “If anyone wishes to follow Me [as My disciple], he must deny himself [set aside selfish interests], and [a]take up his cross [expressing a willingness to endure whatever may come] and follow Me [believing in Me, conforming to My example in living and, if need be, suffering or perhaps dying because of faith in Me]. 35 For whoever wishes to save his life [in this world] will [eventually] lose it [through death], but whoever loses his life [in this world] for My sake and the gospel’s will save it [from the consequences of sin and separation from God].(B) 36 For what does it benefit a man to gain the whole world [with all its pleasures], and forfeit his soul? 37 For what will a man give in exchange for his soul and eternal life [in God’s kingdom]? 38 For whoever is ashamed [here and now] of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.”
The Transfiguration
9 And Jesus said to them, “I assure you and most solemnly say to you, there are [b]some of those who are standing here who will not taste (experience) death before they see the kingdom of God after it has come with power.”
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