Book of Common Prayer
146 Hallelujah!
Praise the Lord, my soul!
2 I want to praise the Lord throughout my life.
I want to make music to praise my God as long as I live.
3 Do not trust influential people,
mortals who cannot help you.
4 When they breathe their last breath, they return to the ground.
On that day their plans come to an end.
5 Blessed are those who receive help from the God of Jacob.
Their hope rests on the Lord their God,
6 who made heaven, earth,
the sea, and everything in them.
The Lord remains faithful forever.
7 He brings about justice for those who are oppressed.
He gives food to those who are hungry.
The Lord sets prisoners free.
8 The Lord gives sight to blind people.
The Lord straightens ⌞the backs⌟ of those who are bent over.
The Lord loves righteous people.
9 The Lord protects foreigners.
The Lord gives relief to orphans and widows.
But he keeps wicked people from reaching their goal.
10 The Lord rules as king forever.
Zion, your God rules throughout every generation.
Hallelujah!
147 Hallelujah!
It is good to sing psalms to our God.
It is pleasant to sing ⌞his⌟ praise beautifully.
2 The Lord is the builder of Jerusalem.
He is the one who gathers the outcasts of Israel together.
3 He is the healer of the brokenhearted.
He is the one who bandages their wounds.
4 He determines the number of stars.
He gives each one a name.
5 Our Lord is great, and his power is great.
There is no limit to his understanding.
6 The Lord gives relief to those who are oppressed.
He brings wicked people down to the ground.
7 Sing to the Lord a song of thanksgiving.
Make music to our God with a lyre.
8 He covers the sky with clouds.
He provides rain for the ground.
He makes grass grow on the mountains.
9 He is the one who gives food to animals
and to young ravens when they call out.
10 He finds no joy in strong horses,
nor is he pleased by brave soldiers.
11 The Lord is pleased with those who fear him,
with those who wait with hope for his mercy.
12 Praise the Lord, Jerusalem!
Praise your God, Zion!
13 He makes the bars across your gates strong.
He blesses the children within you.
14 He is the one who brings peace to your borders
and satisfies your ⌞hunger⌟ with the finest wheat.
15 He is the one who sends his promise throughout the earth.
His word travels with great speed.
16 He is the one who sends snow like wool
and scatters frost like ashes.
17 He is the one who throws his hailstones like breadcrumbs.
Who can withstand his chilling blast?
18 He sends out his word and melts his hailstones.
He makes wind blow ⌞and⌟ water flow.
19 He speaks his word to Jacob,
his laws and judicial decisions to Israel.
20 He has done nothing like this for any other nation.
The other nations do not know the decisions he has handed down.
Hallelujah!
111 Hallelujah!
I will give thanks to the Lord with all my heart
in the company of decent people and in the congregation.
2 The Lord’s deeds are spectacular.
They should be studied by all who enjoy them.
3 His work is glorious and majestic.
His righteousness continues forever.
4 He has made his miracles unforgettable.
The Lord is merciful and compassionate.
5 He provides food for those who fear him.
He always remembers his promise.[a]
6 He has revealed the power of his works to his people
by giving them the lands of other nations as an inheritance.
7 His works are done with truth and justice.
All his guiding principles are trustworthy.
8 They last forever and ever.
They are carried out with truth and decency.
9 He has sent salvation to his people.
He has ordered that his promise should continue forever.
His name is holy and terrifying.
10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.
Good sense is shown by everyone who follows ⌞God’s guiding principles⌟.
His praise continues forever.
112 Hallelujah!
Blessed is the person who fears the Lord
and is happy to obey his commands.
2 His descendants will grow strong on the earth.
The family of a decent person will be blessed.
3 Wealth and riches will be in his home.
His righteousness continues forever.
4 Light will shine in the dark for a decent person.
He is merciful, compassionate, and fair.
5 All goes well for the person who is generous and lends willingly.
He earns an honest living.
6 He will never fail.
A righteous person will always be remembered.
7 He is not afraid of bad news.
His heart remains secure, full of confidence in the Lord.
8 His heart is steady, and he is not afraid.
In the end he will look triumphantly at his enemies.
9 He gives freely to poor people.
His righteousness continues forever.
His head is raised in honor.
10 The wicked person sees this and becomes angry.
He angrily grits his teeth and disappears.
The hope that wicked people have will vanish.
113 Hallelujah!
You servants of the Lord, praise him.
Praise the name of the Lord.
2 Thank the name of the Lord now and forever.
3 From where the sun rises to where the sun sets,
the name of the Lord should be praised.
4 The Lord is high above all the nations.
His glory is above the heavens.
5 Who is like the Lord our God?
He is seated on his high throne.
6 He bends down to look at heaven and earth.
7 He lifts the poor from the dust.
He lifts the needy from a garbage heap.
8 He seats them with influential people,
with the influential leaders of his people.
9 He makes a woman who is in a childless home
a joyful mother.
Hallelujah!
Comfort My People
40 “Comfort my people! Comfort them!” says your God.
2 “Speak tenderly to Jerusalem and announce to it
that its time of hard labor is over
and its wrongs have been paid for.
It has received from the Lord double for all its sins.”
3 A voice cries out in the desert:
“Clear a way for the Lord.
Make a straight highway in the wilderness for our God.
4 Every valley will be raised.
Every mountain and hill will be lowered.
Steep places will be made level.
Rough places will be made smooth.
5 Then the Lord’s glory will be revealed
and all people will see it together.
The Lord has spoken.”
6 A voice called, “Call out!”
I asked, “What should I call out?”
“Call out: All people are like grass,
and all their beauty is like a flower in the field.
7 Grass dries up,
and flowers wither when the Lord’s breath blows on them.
Yes, people are like grass.
8 Grass dries up,
and flowers wither,
but our God’s word will last forever.”
9 Go up a high mountain, Zion.
Tell the good news!
Call out with a loud voice, Jerusalem.
Tell the good news!
Raise your voice without fear.
Tell the cities of Judah:
“Here is your God!”
10 The Almighty Lord is coming with power
to rule with authority.
His reward is with him,
and the people he has won arrive ahead of him.
11 Like a shepherd he takes care of his flock.
He gathers the lambs in his arms.
He carries them in his arms.
He gently helps the sheep and their lambs.
God Has Spoken to Us Through His Son
1 In the past God spoke to our ancestors at many different times and in many different ways through the prophets. 2 In these last days he has spoken to us through his Son. God made his Son responsible for everything. His Son is the one through whom God made the universe. 3 His Son is the reflection of God’s glory and the exact likeness of God’s being. He holds everything together through his powerful words. After he had cleansed people from their sins, he now holds the honored position—the one next to the majestic God [the Father] on the heavenly throne.
God’s Son Is Superior to the Angels
4 The Son has become greater than the angels since he has been given a name that is superior to theirs. 5 God never said to any of his angels,
“You are my Son.
Today I have become your Father.”
And God never said to any of his angels,
“I will be his Father,
and he will be my Son.”
6 When God was about to send his firstborn Son into the world, he said,
“All of God’s angels must worship him.”
7 God said about the angels,
“He makes his messengers winds.
He makes his servants flames of fire.”
8 But God said about his Son,
“Your throne, O God, is forever and ever.
The scepter in your kingdom is a scepter for justice.
9 You have loved what is right and hated what is wrong.
That is why God, your God,
anointed you, rather than your companions, with the oil of joy.”
10 God also said,
“Lord, in the beginning you laid the foundation of the earth.
With your own hands you made the heavens.
11 They will come to an end, but you will live forever.
They will all wear out like clothes.
12 They will be taken off like a coat.
You will change them like clothes.
But you remain the same, and your life will never end.
The Word Becomes Human
1 In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was already with God in the beginning.
3 Everything came into existence through him. Not one thing that exists was made without him.
4 He was the source of life, and that life was the light for humanity.
5 The light shines in the dark, and the dark has never extinguished it.
6 God sent a man named John to be his messenger. 7 John came to declare the truth about the light so that everyone would become believers through his message.
John Prepares the Way(A)
19 This was John’s answer when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?” 20 John didn’t refuse to answer. He told them clearly, “I’m not the Messiah.”
John Identifies Jesus as the Lamb of God
29 John saw Jesus coming toward him the next day and said, “Look! This is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. 30 He is the one I spoke about when I said, ‘A man who comes after me was before me because he existed before I did.’ 31 I didn’t know who he was. However, I came to baptize with water to show him to the people of Israel.”
32 John said, “I saw the Spirit come down as a dove from heaven and stay on him. 33 I didn’t know who he was. But God, who sent me to baptize with water, had told me, ‘When you see the Spirit come down and stay on someone, you’ll know that person is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ 34 I have seen this and have declared that this is the Son of God.”
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