Book of Common Prayer
Praise to God for His Everlasting Mercy
2 (C)Let Israel now say,
“His mercy endures forever.”
3 Let the house of Aaron now say,
“His mercy endures forever.”
4 Let those who fear the Lord now say,
“His mercy endures forever.”
5 (D)I called on the Lord in distress;
The Lord answered me and (E)set me in a broad place.
6 (F)The Lord is on my side;
I will not fear.
What can man do to me?
7 (G)The Lord is for me among those who help me;
Therefore (H)I shall see my desire on those who hate me.
8 (I)It is better to trust in the Lord
Than to put confidence in man.
9 (J)It is better to trust in the Lord
Than to put confidence in princes.
10 All nations surrounded me,
But in the name of the Lord I will destroy them.
11 They (K)surrounded me,
Yes, they surrounded me;
But in the name of the Lord I will destroy them.
12 They surrounded me (L)like bees;
They were quenched (M)like a fire of thorns;
For in the name of the Lord I will [a]destroy them.
13 You pushed me violently, that I might fall,
But the Lord helped me.
14 (N)The Lord is my strength and song,
And He has become my salvation.
15 The voice of rejoicing and salvation
Is in the tents of the righteous;
The right hand of the Lord does valiantly.
16 (O)The right hand of the Lord is exalted;
The right hand of the Lord does valiantly.
17 (P)I shall not die, but live,
And (Q)declare the works of the Lord.
18 The Lord has (R)chastened[b] me severely,
But He has not given me over to death.
19 (S)Open to me the gates of righteousness;
I will go through them,
And I will praise the Lord.
20 (T)This is the gate of the Lord,
(U)Through which the righteous shall enter.
21 I will praise You,
For You have (V)answered me,
And have become my salvation.
22 (W)The stone which the builders rejected
Has become the chief cornerstone.
23 [c]This was the Lord’s doing;
It is marvelous in our eyes.
24 This is the day the Lord has made;
We will rejoice and be glad in it.
25 Save now, I pray, O Lord;
O Lord, I pray, send now prosperity.
26 (X)Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!
We have blessed you from the house of the Lord.
27 God is the Lord,
And He has given us (Y)light;
Bind the sacrifice with cords to the horns of the altar.
28 You are my God, and I will praise You;
(Z)You are my God, I will exalt You.
29 Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!
For His mercy endures forever.
A Song of God’s Majesty and Love
(A)A Praise of David.
145 I will [a]extol You, my God, O King;
And I will bless Your name forever and ever.
2 Every day I will bless You,
And I will praise Your name forever and ever.
3 (B)Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised;
And (C)His greatness is [b]unsearchable.
4 (D)One generation shall praise Your works to another,
And shall declare Your mighty acts.
5 [c]I will meditate on the glorious splendor of Your majesty,
And [d]on Your wondrous works.
6 Men shall speak of the might of Your awesome acts,
And I will declare Your greatness.
7 They shall [e]utter the memory of Your great goodness,
And shall sing of Your righteousness.
8 (E)The Lord is gracious and full of compassion,
Slow to anger and great in mercy.
9 (F)The Lord is good to all,
And His tender mercies are over all His works.
10 (G)All Your works shall praise You, O Lord,
And Your saints shall 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 His mighty acts,
And the glorious majesty of His kingdom.
13 (H)Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
And Your dominion endures throughout all [f]generations.
14 The Lord upholds all who fall,
And (I)raises up all who are bowed down.
15 (J)The eyes of all look expectantly to You,
And (K)You give them their food in due season.
16 You open Your hand
(L)And satisfy the desire of every living thing.
17 The Lord is righteous in all His ways,
Gracious in all His works.
18 (M)The Lord is near to all who call upon Him,
To all who call upon Him (N)in truth.
19 He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him;
He also will hear their cry and save them.
20 (O)The Lord preserves all who love Him,
But all the wicked He will destroy.
21 My mouth shall speak the praise of the Lord,
And all flesh shall bless His holy name
Forever and ever.
16 Thus says the Lord of hosts:
“Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you.
They make you worthless;
(A)They speak a vision of their own heart,
Not from the mouth of the Lord.
17 They continually say to those who despise Me,
‘The Lord has said, (B)“You shall have peace” ’;
And to everyone who (C)walks according to the [a]dictates of his own heart, they say,
(D)‘No evil shall come upon you.’ ”
18 For (E)who has stood in the counsel of the Lord,
And has perceived and heard His word?
Who has marked His word and heard it?
19 Behold, a (F)whirlwind of the Lord has gone forth in fury—
A violent whirlwind!
It will fall violently on the head of the wicked.
20 The (G)anger of the Lord will not turn back
Until He has executed and performed the thoughts of His heart.
(H)In the latter days you will understand it perfectly.
21 “I(I) have not sent these prophets, yet they ran.
I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied.
22 But if they had stood in My counsel,
And had caused My people to hear My words,
Then they would have (J)turned them from their evil way
And from the evil of their doings.
23 “Am I a God near at hand,” says the Lord,
“And not a God afar off?
24 Can anyone (K)hide himself in secret places,
So I shall not see him?” says the Lord;
(L)“Do I not fill heaven and earth?” says the Lord.
25 “I have heard what the prophets have said who prophesy lies in My name, saying, ‘I have dreamed, I have dreamed!’ 26 How long will this be in the heart of the prophets who prophesy lies? Indeed they are prophets of the deceit of their own heart, 27 who try to make My people forget My name by their dreams which everyone tells his neighbor, (M)as their fathers forgot My name for Baal.
28 “The prophet who has a dream, let him tell a dream;
And he who has My word, let him speak My word faithfully.
What is the chaff to the wheat?” says the Lord.
29 “Is not My word like a (N)fire?” says the Lord,
“And like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?
30 “Therefore behold, (O)I am against the prophets,” says the Lord, “who steal My words every one from his neighbor. 31 Behold, I am (P)against the prophets,” says the Lord, “who use their tongues and say, ‘He says.’ 32 Behold, I am against those who prophesy false dreams,” says the Lord, “and tell them, and cause My people to err by their (Q)lies and by (R)their recklessness. Yet I did not send them or command them; therefore they shall not (S)profit this people at all,” says the Lord.
Serving All Men
19 For though I am (A)free from all men, (B)I have made myself a servant to all, (C)that I might win the more; 20 and (D)to the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might win Jews; to those who are under the law, as under the [a]law, that I might win those who are under the law; 21 (E)to (F)those who are without law, as without law (G)(not being without [b]law toward God, but under [c]law toward Christ), that I might win those who are without law; 22 (H)to the weak I became [d]as weak, that I might win the weak. (I)I have become all things to all men, (J)that I might by all means save some. 23 Now this I do for the gospel’s sake, that I may be partaker of it with you.
Striving for a Crown
24 Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? (K)Run in such a way that you may [e]obtain it. 25 And everyone who competes for the prize [f]is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for (L)an imperishable crown. 26 Therefore I run thus: (M)not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air. 27 (N)But I discipline my body and (O)bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become (P)disqualified.
Jesus Predicts His Death and Resurrection(A)
31 And (B)He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things, and be (C)rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be (D)killed, and after three days rise again. 32 He spoke this word openly. Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him. 33 But when He had turned around and looked at His disciples, He (E)rebuked Peter, saying, “Get behind Me, Satan! For you are not [a]mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.”
Take Up the Cross and Follow Him(F)
34 When He had called the people to Himself, with His disciples also, He said to them, (G)“Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. 35 For (H)whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it. 36 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? 37 Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? 38 (I)For whoever (J)is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.”
The Transfiguration of Christ(K)
9 And He said to them, (L)“Assuredly, I say to you that there are some standing here who will not taste death till they see (M)the kingdom of God [b]present with power.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.