Book of Common Prayer
Thanksgiving for Victory
118 Thank the Lord because he is good.
His love continues forever.
2 Let the people of Israel say,
“His love continues forever.”
3 Let the family of Aaron say,
“His love continues forever.”
4 Let those who respect the Lord say,
“His love continues forever.”
5 I was in trouble, so I called to the Lord.
The Lord answered me and set me free.
6 I will not be afraid, because the Lord is with me.
People can’t do anything to me.
7 The Lord is with me to help me,
so I will see my enemies defeated.
8 It is better to trust the Lord
than to trust people.
9 It is better to trust the Lord
than to trust princes.
10 All the nations surrounded me,
but I defeated them in the name of the Lord.
11 They surrounded me on every side,
but with the Lord’s power I defeated them.
12 They surrounded me like a swarm of bees,
but they died as quickly as thorns burn.
By the Lord’s power, I defeated them.
13 They chased me until I was almost defeated,
but the Lord helped me.
14 The Lord gives me strength and a song.
He has saved me.
15 Shouts of joy and victory
come from the tents of those who do right:
“The Lord has done powerful things.”
16 The power of the Lord has won the victory;
with his power the Lord has done mighty things.
17 I will not die, but live,
and I will tell what the Lord has done.
18 The Lord has taught me a hard lesson,
but he did not let me die.
19 Open for me the Temple gates.
Then I will come in and thank the Lord.
20 This is the Lord’s gate;
only those who are good may enter through it.
21 Lord, I thank you for answering me.
You have saved me.
22 The stone that the builders rejected
became the cornerstone.
23 The Lord did this,
and it is wonderful to us.
24 This is the day that the Lord has made.
Let us rejoice and be glad today!
25 Please, Lord, save us;
please, Lord, give us success.
26 God bless the one who comes in the name of the Lord.
We bless all of you from the Temple of the Lord.
27 The Lord is God,
and he has shown kindness to us.
With branches in your hands, join the feast.
Come to the corners of the altar.
28 You are my God, and I will thank you;
you are my God, and I will praise your greatness.
29 Thank the Lord because he is good.
His love continues forever.
Praise to God the King
A psalm of praise. Of David.
145 I praise your greatness, my God the King;
I will praise you forever and ever.
2 I will praise you every day;
I will praise you forever and ever.
3 The Lord is great and worthy of our praise;
no one can understand how great he is.
4 Parents will tell their children what you have done.
They will retell your mighty acts,
5 wonderful majesty, and glory.
And I will think about your miracles.
6 They will tell about the amazing things you do,
and I will tell how great you are.
7 They will remember your great goodness
and will sing about your fairness.
8 The Lord is kind and shows mercy.
He does not become angry quickly but is full of love.
9 The Lord is good to everyone;
he is merciful to all he has made.
10 Lord, everything you have made will praise you;
those who belong to you will bless you.
11 They will tell about the glory of your kingdom
and will speak about your power.
12 Then everyone will know the mighty things you do
and the glory and majesty of your kingdom.
13 Your kingdom will go on and on,
and you will rule forever.
The Lord will keep all his promises;
he is loyal to all he has made.
14 The Lord helps those who have been defeated
and takes care of those who are in trouble.
15 All living things look to you for food,
and you give it to them at the right time.
16 You open your hand,
and you satisfy all living things.
17 Everything the Lord does is right.
He is loyal to all he has made.
18 The Lord is close to everyone who prays to him,
to all who truly pray to him.
19 He gives those who respect him what they want.
He listens when they cry, and he saves them.
20 The Lord protects everyone who loves him,
but he will destroy the wicked.
21 I will praise the Lord.
Let everyone praise his holy name forever.
16 This is what the Lord All-Powerful says:
“Don’t pay attention to what those prophets are saying to you.
They are trying to fool you.
They talk about visions their own minds made up,
not about visions from me.
17 They say to those who hate me:
‘The Lord says: You will have peace.’
They say to all those who are stubborn and do as they please:
‘Nothing bad will happen to you.’
18 But none of these prophets has stood in the meeting of angels
to see or hear the message of the Lord.
None of them has paid close attention to his message.
19 Look, the punishment from the Lord
will come like a storm.
His anger will be like a hurricane.
It will come swirling down on the heads of those wicked people.
20 The Lord’s anger will not stop
until he finishes what he plans to do.
When that day is over,
you will understand this clearly.
21 I did not send those prophets,
but they ran to tell their message.
I did not speak to them,
but they prophesied anyway.
22 But if they had stood in the meeting of angels,
they would have told my message to my people.
They would have turned the people from their evil ways
and from doing evil.
23 “I am a God who is near,” says the Lord.
“I am also a God who is far away.
24 No one can hide
where I cannot see him,” says the Lord.
“I fill all of heaven and earth,” says the Lord.
25 “I have heard the prophets who prophesy lies in my name. They say, ‘I have had a dream! I have had a dream!’ 26 How long will this continue in the minds of these lying prophets? They prophesy from their own wishful thinking. 27 They are trying to make the people of Judah forget me by telling each other these dreams. In the same way, their ancestors forgot me and worshiped Baal. 28 Is straw the same thing as wheat?” says the Lord. “If a prophet wants to tell about his dreams, let him! But let the person who hears my message speak it truthfully! 29 Isn’t my message like a fire?” says the Lord. “Isn’t it like a hammer that smashes a rock?
30 “So I am against the false prophets,” says the Lord. “They keep stealing words from each other and say they are from me. 31 I am against the false prophets,” says the Lord. “They use their own words and pretend it is a message from me. 32 I am against the prophets who prophesy false dreams,” says the Lord. “They mislead my people with their lies and false teachings! I did not send them or command them to do anything for me. They can’t help the people of Judah at all,” says the Lord.
19 I am free and belong to no one. But I make myself a slave to all people to win as many as I can. 20 To the Jews I became like a Jew to win the Jews. I myself am not ruled by the law. But to those who are ruled by the law I became like a person who is ruled by the law. I did this to win those who are ruled by the law. 21 To those who are without the law I became like a person who is without the law. I did this to win those people who are without the law. (But really, I am not without God’s law—I am ruled by Christ’s law.) 22 To those who are weak, I became weak so I could win the weak. I have become all things to all people so I could save some of them in any way possible. 23 I do all this because of the Good News and so I can share in its blessings.
24 You know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize. So run to win! 25 All those who compete in the games use self-control so they can win a crown. That crown is an earthly thing that lasts only a short time, but our crown will never be destroyed. 26 So I do not run without a goal. I fight like a boxer who is hitting something—not just the air. 27 I treat my body hard and make it my slave so that I myself will not be disqualified after I have preached to others.
31 Then Jesus began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and that he would be rejected by the Jewish elders, the leading priests, and the teachers of the law. He told them that the Son of Man must be killed and then rise from the dead after three days. 32 Jesus told them plainly what would happen. Then Peter took Jesus aside and began to tell him not to talk like that. 33 But Jesus turned and looked at his followers. Then he told Peter not to talk that way. He said, “Go away from me, Satan![a] You don’t care about the things of God, but only about things people think are important.”
34 Then Jesus called the crowd to him, along with his followers. He said, “If people want to follow me, they must give up the things they want. They must be willing even to give up their lives to follow me. 35 Those who want to save their lives will give up true life. But those who give up their lives for me and for the Good News will have true life. 36 It is worthless to have the whole world if they lose their souls. 37 They could never pay enough to buy back their souls. 38 The people who live now are living in a sinful and evil time. If people are ashamed of me and my teaching, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes with his Father’s glory and with the holy angels.”
9 Then Jesus said to the people, “I tell you the truth, some people standing here will see the kingdom of God come with power before they die.”
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.