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.
19 In that day there will be an altar to the Lord in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a memorial stone to the Lord near its border. 20 It will become a sign and a witness to the Lord of hosts in the land of Egypt; for they will cry to the Lord because of oppressors, and He will send them a Savior, a [Great] Defender, and He will rescue them.(A) 21 And so the Lord will make Himself known to Egypt, and the Egyptians will know [heed, honor, and cherish] the Lord in that day. They will even worship with sacrifices [of animals] and offerings [of produce]; they will make a vow to the Lord and fulfill it. 22 The Lord will strike Egypt, striking but healing it; so they will return to the Lord, and He will respond to them and heal them.
23 In that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria, and the Assyrians will come into Egypt and the Egyptians into Assyria; and the Egyptians will worship and serve [the Lord] with the Assyrians.
24 In that day Israel will be the third party with Egypt and with Assyria [in a Messianic league], a blessing in the midst of the earth, 25 whom the Lord of hosts has blessed, saying, “Blessed is Egypt My people, and Assyria the work of My hands, and Israel My heritage.”
5 Now may the God who gives endurance and who supplies encouragement grant that you be of the same mind with one another according to Christ Jesus, 6 so that with one accord you may with one voice glorify and praise and honor the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
7 Therefore, [continue to] accept and welcome one another, just as Christ has accepted and welcomed us to the glory of [our great] God. 8 For I tell you that Christ has become a servant and a minister to the circumcision (Jews) on behalf of God’s truth, to confirm and verify the promises made to the fathers, 9 and for the Gentiles to glorify God for His mercy [to them, since God had no covenant with them]. As it is written and forever remains written,
“Therefore I praise You among the Gentiles,
And sing praises to Your name.”(A)
10 Again it says,
“Rejoice and celebrate, O Gentiles, along with His people.”(B)
11 And again,
“Praise the Lord all you Gentiles,
And let all the peoples praise Him!”(C)
12 Again Isaiah says,
“There shall be a root of [a]Jesse,
He who arises to rule [as King] over the Gentiles,
In Him shall the Gentiles hope.”(D)
13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing [through the experience of your faith] that by the power of the Holy Spirit you will abound in hope and overflow with confidence in His promises.
Parable of Money Usage
11 While they were listening to these things, Jesus went on to tell a parable, because He was near Jerusalem, and they assumed that the kingdom of God was going to appear immediately [as soon as He reached the city]. 12 So He said, “A nobleman went to a distant country to obtain for himself a kingdom, and [then] to return. 13 So he called ten of his servants, and gave them ten minas [one apiece, each equal to about a hundred days’ wages] and said to them, ‘Do business [with this] until I return.’ 14 But his citizens [the residents of his new kingdom] hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We do not want this man to be a king over us.’ 15 When he returned, after receiving the kingdom, he ordered that these servants, to whom he had given the money, be called to him, that he might find out what business they had done. 16 The first one came before him and said, ‘Lord, your mina has made ten more minas.’ 17 And he said to him, ‘Well done, good servant! Because you proved yourself faithful and trustworthy in a very little thing, you shall [now] have authority over ten cities [in my kingdom].’ 18 The second one came and said, ‘Lord, your mina has made five minas.’ 19 And he said to him also, ‘And you shall take charge over five cities.’ 20 Then another came and said, ‘Lord, here is your mina, which I have kept laid up in a handkerchief [for safekeeping]. 21 I was [always] afraid of you, because you are a stern man; you pick up what you did not lay down and you reap what you did not sow.’ 22 He said to the servant, ‘I will judge and condemn you by your own words, you worthless servant! Did you [really] know that I was a stern man, picking up what I did not lay down and reaping what I did not sow? 23 Then why did you not [at the very least] put my money in a bank? Then on my return, I would have collected it with interest.’ 24 Then he said to the bystanders, ‘Take the mina away from him and give it to the one who has the ten minas.’ 25 And they said to him, ‘Lord, he has ten minas already!’ 26 [Jesus explained,] ‘I tell you that to everyone who has [because he valued his gifts from God and has used them wisely], more will be given; but from the one who does not have [because he disregarded his gifts from God], even what he has will be taken away.’ 27 [The king ended by saying,] ‘But as for these enemies of mine who did not want me to be king over them, bring them here and kill them in my presence.’”
Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA 90631. All rights reserved.