Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 146
1 Praise the Lord! (Hallelujah!) Praise the Lord, O my soul!
2 While I live will I praise the Lord; I will sing praises to my God while I have any being.
3 Put not your trust in princes, in a son of man, in whom there is no help.
4 When his breath leaves him, he returns to his earth; in that very day his [previous] thoughts, plans, and purposes perish.(A)
5 Happy (blessed, fortunate, enviable) is he who has the God of [special revelation to] Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the Lord his God,(B)
6 Who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, Who keeps truth and is faithful forever,
7 Who executes justice for the oppressed, Who gives food to the hungry. The Lord sets free the prisoners,
8 The Lord opens the eyes of the blind, the Lord lifts up those who are bowed down, the Lord loves the [uncompromisingly] righteous (those upright in heart and in right standing with Him).(C)
9 The Lord protects and preserves the strangers and temporary residents, He upholds the fatherless and the widow and sets them upright, but the way of the wicked He makes crooked (turns upside down and brings to ruin).
10 The Lord shall reign forever, even Your God, O Zion, from generation to generation. Praise the Lord! (Hallelujah!)(D)
Psalm 147
1 Praise the Lord! For it is good to sing praises to our God, for He is gracious and lovely; praise is becoming and appropriate.
2 The Lord is building up Jerusalem; He is gathering together the exiles of Israel.
3 He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds [curing their pains and their sorrows].(E)
4 He determines and counts the number of the stars; He calls them all by their names.
5 Great is our Lord and of great power; His understanding is inexhaustible and boundless.
6 The Lord lifts up the humble and downtrodden; He casts the wicked down to the ground.
7 Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving; sing praises with the harp or the lyre to our God!—
8 Who covers the heavens with clouds, Who prepares rain for the earth, Who makes grass to grow on the mountains.
9 He gives to the beast his food, and to the young ravens that for which they cry.
10 He delights not in the strength of the horse, nor does He take pleasure in the legs of a man.
11 The Lord takes pleasure in those who reverently and worshipfully fear Him, in those who hope in His mercy and loving-kindness.(F)
12 Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem! Praise your God, O Zion!
13 For He has strengthened and made hard the bars of your gates, and He has blessed your children within you.
14 He makes peace in your borders; He fills you with the finest of the wheat.
15 He sends forth His commandment to the earth; His word runs very swiftly.
16 He gives [to the earth] snow like [a blanket of] wool; He scatters the hoarfrost like ashes.
17 He casts forth His ice like crumbs; who can stand before His cold?
18 He sends out His word, and melts [ice and snow]; He causes His wind to blow, and the waters flow.
19 He declares His word to Jacob, His statutes and His ordinances to Israel.(G)
20 He has not dealt so with any [other] nation; they have not known (understood, appreciated, given heed to, and cherished) His ordinances. Praise the Lord! (Hallelujah!)(H)
Psalm 111
1 Praise the Lord! (Hallelujah!) I will praise and give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart in the council of the upright and in the congregation.
2 The works of the Lord are great, sought out by all those who have delight in them.
3 His work is honorable and glorious, and His righteousness endures forever.
4 He has made His wonderful works to be remembered; the Lord is gracious, merciful, and full of loving compassion.
5 He has given food and provision to those who reverently and worshipfully fear Him; He will remember His covenant forever and imprint it [on His mind].(A)
6 He has declared and shown to His people the power of His works in giving them the heritage of the nations [of Canaan].
7 The works of His hands are [absolute] truth and justice [faithful and right]; and all His decrees and precepts are sure (fixed, established, and trustworthy).
8 They stand fast and are established forever and ever and are done in [absolute] truth and uprightness.
9 He has sent redemption to His people; He has commanded His covenant to be forever; holy is His name, inspiring awe, reverence, and godly fear.
10 The reverent fear and worship of the Lord is the beginning of [a]Wisdom and skill [the preceding and the first essential, the prerequisite and the alphabet]; a good understanding, wisdom, and meaning have all those who do [the will of the Lord]. Their praise of Him endures forever.(B)
Psalm 112
1 Praise the Lord! (Hallelujah!) Blessed (happy, fortunate, to be envied) is the man who fears (reveres and worships) the Lord, who delights greatly in His commandments.(C)
2 His [spiritual] offspring shall be mighty upon earth; the generation of the upright shall be blessed.
3 Prosperity and welfare are in his house, and his righteousness endures forever.
4 Light arises in the darkness for the upright, gracious, compassionate, and just [who are in right standing with God].
5 It is well with the man who deals generously and lends, who conducts his affairs with justice.(D)
6 He will not be moved forever; the [uncompromisingly] righteous (the upright, in right standing with God) shall be in everlasting remembrance.(E)
7 He shall not be afraid of evil tidings; his heart is firmly fixed, trusting (leaning on and being confident) in the Lord.
8 His heart is established and steady, he will not be afraid while he waits to see his desire established upon his adversaries.
9 He has distributed freely [he has given to the poor and needy]; his righteousness (uprightness and right standing with God) endures forever; his horn shall be exalted in honor.(F)
10 The wicked man will see it and be grieved and angered, he will gnash his teeth and disappear [in despair]; the desire of the wicked shall perish and come to nothing.
Psalm 113
1 Praise the Lord! (Hallelujah!) Praise, O servants of the Lord, praise the name of the Lord!
2 Blessed be the name of the Lord from this time forth and forever
3 From the rising of the sun to the going down of it and from east to west, the name of the Lord is to be praised!
4 The Lord is high above all nations, and His glory above the heavens!
5 Who is like the Lord our God, Who has His seat on high,
6 Who humbles Himself to regard the heavens and the earth!(G)
7 [The Lord] raises the poor out of the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap and the dung hill,
8 That He may seat them with princes, even with the princes of His people.
9 He makes the barren woman to be a homemaker and a joyful mother of [spiritual] children. Praise the Lord! (Hallelujah!)
9 Wisdom has built her house; she has hewn out and set up her seven [perfect number of] pillars.
2 She has killed her beasts, she has mixed her [spiritual] wine; she has also set her table.(A)
3 She has sent out her maids to cry from the highest places of the town:
4 Whoever is simple (easily led astray and wavering), let him turn in here! As for him who lacks understanding, [God’s] Wisdom says to him,
5 Come, eat of my bread and drink of the [spiritual] wine which I have mixed.(B)
6 Leave off, simple ones [forsake the foolish and simpleminded] and live! And walk in the way of insight and understanding.
7 He who rebukes a scorner heaps upon himself abuse, and he who reproves a wicked man gets for himself bruises.
8 Reprove not a scorner, lest he hate you; reprove a wise man, and he will love you.(C)
9 Give instruction to a wise man and he will be yet wiser; teach a righteous man (one upright and in right standing with God) and he will increase in learning.
10 The reverent and worshipful fear of the Lord is the beginning (the chief and choice part) of Wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight and understanding.
11 For by me [Wisdom from God] your days shall be multiplied, and the years of your life shall be increased.
12 If you are wise, you are wise for yourself; if you scorn, you alone will bear it and pay the penalty.
6 [Remember] this: he who sows sparingly and grudgingly will also reap sparingly and grudgingly, and he who sows generously [[a]that blessings may come to someone] will also reap generously and with blessings.
7 Let each one [give] as he has made up his own mind and purposed in his heart, not reluctantly or sorrowfully or under compulsion, for God loves (He [b]takes pleasure in, prizes above other things, and is unwilling to abandon or to do without) a cheerful (joyous, “prompt to do it”) giver [whose heart is in his giving].(A)
8 And God is able to make all grace (every favor and [c]earthly blessing) come to you in abundance, so that you may always and under all circumstances and whatever the need [d]be self-sufficient [possessing enough to require no aid or support and furnished in abundance for every good work and charitable donation].
9 As it is written, He [the benevolent person] scatters abroad; He gives to the poor; His deeds of justice and goodness and kindness and benevolence will go on and endure forever!(B)
10 And [God] Who provides seed for the sower and bread for eating will also provide and multiply your [resources for] sowing and increase the fruits of your righteousness [[e]which manifests itself in active goodness, kindness, and charity].(C)
11 Thus you will be enriched in all things and in every way, so that you can be generous, and [your generosity as it is] administered by us will bring forth thanksgiving to God.
12 For the service that the ministering of this fund renders does not only fully supply what is lacking to the saints (God’s people), but it also overflows in many [cries of] thanksgiving to God.
13 Because at [your] standing of the test of this ministry, they will glorify God for your loyalty and obedience to the Gospel of Christ which you confess, as well as for your generous-hearted liberality to them and to all [the other needy ones].
14 And they yearn for you while they pray for you, because of the surpassing measure of God’s grace (His favor and mercy and spiritual blessing which is shown forth) in you.
15 Now thanks be to God for His Gift, [precious] beyond telling [His indescribable, inexpressible, free Gift]!
46 Then they came to Jericho. And as He was leaving Jericho with His disciples and a great crowd, Bartimaeus, a blind beggar, a son of Timaeus, was sitting by the roadside.
47 And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, saying, Jesus, Son of David, have pity and mercy on me [[a]now]!
48 And many [b]severely censured and reproved him, telling him to keep still, but he kept on shouting out all the more, You Son of David, have pity and mercy on me [now]!
49 And Jesus stopped and said, Call him. And they called the blind man, telling him, Take courage! Get up! He is calling you.
50 And throwing off his outer garment, he leaped up and came to Jesus.
51 And Jesus said to him, What do you want Me to do for you? And the blind man said to Him, Master, let me receive my sight.
52 And Jesus said to him, Go your way; your faith has healed you. And at once he received his sight and accompanied Jesus on the road.(A)
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