Book of Common Prayer
The 1st Hallelujah Psalm[a]
146 Hallelujah! Praise the Lord!
I say to myself, ‘Praise the Lord!’
2 I will praise the Lord through all my life.
While I am alive, I will always sing to praise my God.
3 Do not trust in human leaders.
No human can save you.
4 When they die, they return to the ground.
On that day, their plans come to an end.
5 The person who knows that the God of Jacob will help him is a happy person![b]
If he trusts in the Lord as his God, he is happy.
6 The Lord made the skies, the earth and the sea.
He also made everything that is in them.
He always does what he has promised to do.
7 He helps poor people to receive justice.
He gives food to the hungry.
He makes people that are in a prison go free.
8 The Lord makes blind people see again.
The Lord lifts up people who have fallen down.
The Lord loves people who are righteous.
9 The Lord takes care of strangers who live among us.
He helps widows and children who have no family.
But he stops wicked people doing what they want.
10 The Lord will rule as king for ever!
Zion's people, he will always be your God
and your descendants' God.
Hallelujah! Praise the Lord!
The 2nd Hallelujah Psalm
147 Hallelujah! Praise the Lord!
It is good to sing to praise our God!
Yes, it is right to praise him and it makes us happy.
2 The Lord is building Jerusalem again.
He is bringing home the Israelite exiles.
3 He makes people who are very sad well again.[c]
He helps their wounds to get better.
4 He decided how many stars there should be in the sky.
He has given a name to each of them.
5 Our Lord is great and very powerful.
He understands everything!
6 The Lord gives help to poor people,
but he knocks down wicked people to the ground.
7 Offer a song to the Lord,
to thank him for what he has done.
Make music with a harp
to praise our God.
8 He fills the sky with clouds.
He sends rain to make the earth wet.
He causes grass to grow on the hills.
9 He gives food for the animals to eat.
He feeds the young ravens when they cry.[d]
10 If a horse is very strong,
that does not please him.
If a soldier is brave,
that does not make him happy.
11 Who does make the Lord happy?
People who respect him and serve him well.
People who trust him because they know he loves them.
12 Jerusalem's people, praise the Lord!
Yes, Zion's people, praise your God![e]
13 Praise him because he makes your city's gates strong.
He blesses the people who live there.
14 He causes your borders to be safe from your enemies.
He gives you lots of the best wheat to eat.
15 He sends his commands to reach all the earth.
Very soon the whole world knows what he wants.
16 He covers the earth with snow,
like a white blanket.
He puts white frost everywhere,
like ashes that the wind blows.
17 He throws hail from the sky,
like small stones.
When he sends a cold wind,
nobody can continue to stand.
18 Then he commands it all to melt.
He makes the warm wind blow,
and the ice becomes streams of water.
19 He sends his message to Jacob's descendants.
He gives his rules and laws to Israel's people.[f]
20 He has not done that for any other nation.
They do not know his laws.[g]
Hallelujah! Praise the Lord!
The Lord does great things[a]
111 Hallelujah! Praise the Lord!
I will thank the Lord with all that I am,
when we, his people, meet together.
2 The Lord does great things!
People who enjoy them,
think carefully about them.
3 Everything that he does
shows that he is a very great king!
He will always do what is completely right.
4 The Lord causes us to remember his miracles.
He is kind and he forgives people.
5 He gives food to the people who serve him.
He always remembers the covenant
that he made with his people.
6 He said that he would use his great power
to help his people.
He has given to them
the lands where other nations lived.
7 He is always honest and fair
in the things that he does.
His rules help people to live well.
8 They will continue to be right for all time.
People should trust those rules and obey them.
9 He rescued his people
so that they became free.
He made his covenant with them
so that it would continue for ever.
His name is holy,
and people should respect him with fear.
10 If you want to live in a wise way,
respect and obey the Lord.[b]
Everyone who lives in the way that he teaches
will understand what is right.
People should praise the Lord for ever!
God makes his people strong[c]
112 Hallelujah! Praise the Lord!
When someone respects the Lord with fear,
God has blessed that person!
He is happy to obey the Lord's commands.
2 His children will become powerful in the land.
God will bless their descendants who serve him.
3 His family will have valuable things,
and they will be rich.
People will always remember
the good things that they have done.
4 God's light shines on those who serve him,
even when they are in a dark place.
God blesses those who are kind to others,
and who do what is right and fair.
5 People who are kind and lend money to others,
and who work in an honest way,
will enjoy a good life.
6 Righteous people will never fail.
People will always remember them.
7 They are not afraid to hear bad news.
They are brave,
because they trust in the Lord.
8 Their thoughts are strong
and they will not be afraid.
They know that they will win against their enemies.
9 They give their things to help poor people.
People will always remember
the good things that they have done.
They will be powerful
and people will respect them.
10 When wicked people see this,
they will be angry.
They will show their teeth in anger,
but then they will disappear.
Whatever wicked people want,
they will never get it.
Hallelujah, God helps weak people[d]
113 Hallelujah! Praise the Lord!
Servants of the Lord, praise him!
Praise the name of the Lord!
2 Everyone should praise the Lord
now and for ever!
3 The Lord deserves that people praise him,
from where the sun rises in the east,
to where it goes down in the west.
4 The Lord rules over all nations.
His glory is great
higher than the heavens!
5 There is nobody like the Lord our God.
He sits on his throne high above us.
6 He bends down to look below,
at the sky and the earth.
7 He lifts poor people out of the dirt.
And he lifts up weak people from the ashes.
8 He gives them a seat with princes,
the princes who rule his own people.
9 He makes the wife who cannot give birth
into a happy mother of children.
Hallelujah! Praise the Lord!
God's covenant with his people
4 Israel's people, listen to the rules and laws that I will now teach you. If you obey them, you will live. You will go into the land that the Lord, the God of your ancestors, is giving to you. The land will belong to you, for you to live in. 2 Do not add anything to these rules. Do not remove anything from them. You must obey the commands of the Lord your God that I am giving to you.
3 You saw for yourselves what the Lord your God did at Baal-Peor. He killed every person among you who worshipped Baal there.[a] 4 But each of you who continued to trust the Lord your God is still alive today.
5 Look! I have taught you rules and laws, as the Lord my God told me to do. Now you must obey them when you go into the land where you will live. 6 Obey them carefully. That will show people of other nations that you are wise. They will hear about all your laws. Then they will say, ‘The people of this great nation are very wise and clever!’
7 No other nation has a god who is near to them like the Lord our God. Even great nations have no god like that. But when we pray to the Lord our God, he listens! 8 And no other great nation has rules and laws that are as fair as ours. That is God's Law that I am giving to you today.
9 But be very careful! Never forget the things that you yourselves have seen. Remember these things for as long as you live. Tell your children and your grandchildren about all the things that God has done.
Timothy must continue to do his work for God
4 Timothy, I tell you this seriously, as God and Christ Jesus see everything that we do. When Christ Jesus comes to rule as king, he will judge everyone. He will judge the people who are alive and also those who have already died. When he appears, he will decide what should happen to them all. So I tell you this now: 2 Tell God's message to people. Always be ready to speak God's message clearly to people, whether they want to listen to you or not. Warn people when they are doing something wrong. Tell them to stop doing wrong things, and explain to them what they ought to do. But be very patient while you teach them what is true.
3 Do this, because a time will come when people will not listen to God's true message. Instead, they will want to hear all kinds of new messages that will make them happy. So they will find many teachers for themselves who will tell them what they want to hear. 4 People will refuse to listen to God's true message. Instead, they will want to listen to silly stories that are false. 5 But you yourself must continue to think seriously and clearly. Be patient and brave when troubles come. Continue to tell the good news about Christ to people. Do all the work that God has given you to do as his servant.
6 As for me, it is nearly time for me to die. My death will be like a drink offering that they pour out to God. My life as God's servant will end.[a] 7 I have worked to serve Christ well. I have finished everything that God wanted me to do. I am like a runner who has run to the end of the race. I have continued to believe God's true message. 8 So now a gift is waiting for me. The Lord will make me completely right with him. That will be like a crown which the Lord will give me on that great day when he judges people. He is the judge who is fair and right. He will not only give that gift to me. He will give it to all those people who love him. They will be happy to see him when he comes again.[b]
Jesus at Bethany
12 Six days before the Passover festival, Jesus went to Bethany, the village where Lazarus lived. He was the man who had been dead, but Jesus had raised him. 2 Some friends prepared a special meal there for Jesus. Martha gave out the food, and Lazarus sat among the visitors, with Jesus. 3 Then Mary brought a pound of very expensive oil that had a very nice smell. They used nard to make it. She poured it over Jesus' feet and then she made his feet dry again with her hair. The nice smell of the oil filled the whole house.
4 Judas Iscariot, one of Jesus' disciples, was there. He was the man who would sell Jesus to Jesus' enemies. 5 Judas said, ‘We could have sold this oil for 300 coins. That is as much money as someone would get for a year's work. Then we could have given that money to poor people.’ 6 He did not say this because he really wanted to help the poor people. No, he said it because he wanted the money himself. He kept the bag of money and sometimes he took money from it for himself. 7 But Jesus said, ‘Do not stop her! She has kept this oil safe until now. She wanted it for the day when they will bury my dead body. 8 You will always have poor people with you. But you will not always have me with you.’
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