Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 145[a]
A psalm of praise; by David.
145 I will extol you, my God, O King.
I will praise your name continually.[b]
2 Every day I will praise you.
I will praise your name continually.[c]
3 The Lord is great and certainly worthy of praise.
No one can fathom his greatness.[d]
4 One generation will praise your deeds to another,
and tell about your mighty acts.[e]
5 I will focus on your honor and majestic splendor,
and your amazing deeds.[f]
6 They will proclaim[g] the power of your awesome acts.
I will declare your great deeds.
7 They will talk about the fame of your great kindness,[h]
and sing about your justice.[i]
8 The Lord is merciful and compassionate;
he is patient[j] and demonstrates great loyal love.[k]
9 The Lord is good to all,
and has compassion on all he has made.[l]
10 All your works will give thanks to you, Lord.
Your loyal followers will praise you.
11 They will proclaim the splendor of your kingdom;
they will tell about your power,
12 so that mankind[m] might acknowledge your mighty acts,
and the majestic splendor of your kingdom.
13 Your kingdom is an eternal kingdom,[n]
and your dominion endures through all generations.
14 [o] The Lord supports all who fall,
and lifts up all who are bent over.[p]
15 Everything looks to you in anticipation,[q]
and you provide them with food on a regular basis.[r]
16 You open your hand,
and fill every living thing with the food it desires.[s]
17 The Lord is just in all his actions,[t]
and exhibits love in all he does.[u]
18 The Lord is near all who cry out to him,
all who cry out to him sincerely.[v]
19 He satisfies the desire[w] of his loyal followers;[x]
he hears their cry for help and delivers them.
20 The Lord protects all those who love him,
but he destroys all the wicked.
21 My mouth will praise the Lord.[y]
Let all who live[z] praise his holy name forever.
Psalm 104[a]
104 Praise the Lord, O my soul!
O Lord my God, you are magnificent.[b]
You are robed in splendor and majesty.
2 He covers himself with light as if it were a garment.
He stretches out the skies like a tent curtain,
3 and lays the beams of the upper rooms of his palace on the rain clouds.[c]
He makes the clouds his chariot,
and travels on the wings of the wind.[d]
4 He makes the winds his messengers,
and the flaming fire his attendant.[e]
5 He established the earth on its foundations;
it will never be moved.
6 The watery deep covered it[f] like a garment;
the waters reached[g] above the mountains.[h]
7 Your shout made the waters retreat;
at the sound of your thunderous voice they hurried off—
8 as the mountains rose up,
and the valleys went down—
to the place you appointed for them.[i]
9 You set up a boundary for them that they could not cross,
so that they would not cover the earth again.[j]
10 He turns springs into streams;[k]
they flow between the mountains.
11 They provide water for all the animals in the field;
the wild donkeys quench their thirst.
12 The birds of the sky live beside them;
they chirp among the bushes.[l]
13 He waters the mountains from the upper rooms of his palace;[m]
the earth is full of the fruit you cause to grow.[n]
14 He provides grass[o] for the cattle,
and crops for people to cultivate,[p]
so they can produce food from the ground,[q]
15 as well as wine that makes people glad,[r]
and olive oil to make their faces shine,[s]
as well as bread that sustains them.[t]
16 The trees of the Lord[u] receive all the rain they need,[v]
the cedars of Lebanon that he planted,
17 where the birds make nests,
near the evergreens in which the herons live.[w]
18 The wild goats live in the high mountains;[x]
the rock badgers find safety in the cliffs.
19 He made the moon to mark the months,[y]
and the sun sets according to a regular schedule.[z]
20 You make it dark and night comes,[aa]
during which all the beasts of the forest prowl around.
21 The lions roar for prey,
seeking their food from God.[ab]
22 When the sun rises, they withdraw
and sleep[ac] in their dens.
23 People then go out to do their work,
and they labor until evening.[ad]
24 How many living things you have made, O Lord![ae]
You have exhibited great skill in making all of them;[af]
the earth is full of the living things you have made.
25 Over here is the deep, wide sea,[ag]
which teems with innumerable swimming creatures,[ah]
living things both small and large.
26 The ships travel there,
and over here swims the whale[ai] you made to play in it.
27 All your creatures[aj] wait for you
to provide them with food on a regular basis.[ak]
28 You give food to them and they receive it;
you open your hand and they are filled with food.[al]
29 When you ignore them, they panic.[am]
When you take away their life’s breath,
they die and return to dust.
30 When you send your life-giving breath, they are created,
and you replenish the surface of the ground.
31 May the splendor of the Lord endure.[an]
May the Lord find pleasure in the living things he has made.[ao]
32 He looks down on the earth and it shakes;
he touches the mountains and they start to smolder.
33 I will sing to the Lord as long as I live;
I will sing praise to my God as long as I exist.[ap]
34 May my thoughts[aq] be pleasing to him.
I will rejoice in the Lord.
35 May sinners disappear[ar] from the earth,
and the wicked vanish.
Praise the Lord, O my soul.
Praise the Lord.
25 O Lord, you are my God![a]
I will exalt you in praise, I will extol your fame.[b]
For you have done extraordinary things,
and executed plans made long ago exactly as you decreed.[c]
2 Indeed,[d] you have made the city[e] into a heap of rubble,
the fortified town into a heap of ruins;
the fortress of foreigners[f] is no longer a city,
it will never be rebuilt.
3 So a strong nation will extol you;
the towns of[g] powerful nations will fear you.
4 For you are a protector for the poor,
a protector for the needy in their distress,
a shelter from the rainstorm,
a shade from the heat.
Though the breath of tyrants[h] is like a winter rainstorm,[i]
5 like heat[j] in a dry land,
you humble the boasting foreigners.[k]
Just as the shadow of a cloud causes the heat to subside,[l]
so he causes the song of tyrants to cease.[m]
6 The Lord of Heaven’s Armies will hold a banquet for all the nations on this mountain.[n]
At this banquet there will be plenty of meat and aged wine—
tender meat and choicest wine.[o]
7 On this mountain he will swallow up
the shroud that is over all the peoples,[p]
the woven covering that is over all the nations;[q]
8 he will swallow up death permanently.[r]
The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears from every face,
and remove his people’s disgrace from all the earth.
Indeed, the Lord has announced it![s]
9 At that time they will say,[t]
“Look, here[u] is our God!
We waited for him, and he delivered us.
Here[v] is the Lord! We waited for him.
Let’s rejoice and celebrate his deliverance!”
13 When they saw the boldness[a] of Peter and John, and discovered[b] that they were uneducated[c] and ordinary[d] men, they were amazed and recognized these men had been with Jesus. 14 And because they saw the man who had been healed standing with them, they had nothing to say against this.[e] 15 But when they had ordered them to go outside the council,[f] they began to confer with one another, 16 saying, “What should we do with these men? For it is plain[g] to all who live in Jerusalem that a notable miraculous sign[h] has come about through them,[i] and we cannot deny it. 17 But to keep this matter from spreading any further among the people, let us warn them to speak no more[j] to anyone in this name.” 18 And they called them in and ordered[k] them not to speak or teach at all in the name[l] of Jesus. 19 But Peter and John replied,[m] “Whether it is right before God to obey[n] you rather than God, you decide, 20 for it is impossible[o] for us not to speak about what we have seen and heard.” 21 After threatening them further, they released them, for they could not find how to punish them on account of the people, because they were all praising[p] God for what had happened. 22 For the man, on whom this miraculous sign[q] of healing had been performed,[r] was over forty years old.
The Followers of Jesus Pray for Boldness
23 When they were released, Peter and John[s] went to their fellow believers[t] and reported everything the high priests and the elders had said to them. 24 When they heard this, they raised their voices to God with one mind[u] and said, “Master of all,[v] you who made the heaven, the earth,[w] the sea, and everything that is in them, 25 who said by the Holy Spirit through[x] your servant David our forefather,[y]
‘Why do the nations[z] rage,[aa]
and the peoples plot foolish[ab] things?
26 The kings of the earth stood together,[ac]
and the rulers assembled together,
against the Lord and against his[ad] Christ.’[ae]
27 “For indeed both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, assembled together in this city against[af] your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed,[ag] 28 to do as much as your power[ah] and your plan[ai] had decided beforehand[aj] would happen. 29 And now, Lord, pay attention to[ak] their threats, and grant[al] to your servants[am] to speak your message[an] with great courage,[ao] 30 while you extend your hand to heal, and to bring about miraculous signs[ap] and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” 31 When[aq] they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken,[ar] and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak[as] the word of God[at] courageously.[au]
16 In a little while you[a] will see me no longer; again after a little while, you[b] will see me.”[c]
17 Then some of his disciples said to one another, “What is the meaning of what he is saying,[d] ‘In a little while you[e] will not see me; again after a little while, you[f] will see me,’ and, ‘because I am going to the Father’?”[g] 18 So they kept on repeating,[h] “What is the meaning of what he says,[i] ‘In a little while’?[j] We do not understand[k] what he is talking about.”[l]
19 Jesus could see[m] that they wanted to ask him about these things,[n] so[o] he said to them, “Are you asking[p] each other about this—that I said, ‘In a little while you[q] will not see me; again after a little while, you[r] will see me’? 20 I tell you the solemn truth,[s] you will weep[t] and wail,[u] but the world will rejoice; you will be sad,[v] but your sadness will turn into[w] joy. 21 When a woman gives birth, she has distress[x] because her time[y] has come, but when her child is born, she no longer remembers the suffering because of her joy that a human being[z] has been born into the world.[aa] 22 So also you have sorrow[ab] now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you.[ac] 23 At that time[ad] you will ask me nothing. I tell you the solemn truth,[ae] whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give you.[af] 24 Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive it,[ag] so that your joy may be complete.
25 “I have told you these things in obscure figures of speech;[ah] a time[ai] is coming when I will no longer speak to you in obscure figures, but will tell you[aj] plainly[ak] about the Father. 26 At that time[al] you will ask in my name, and I do not say[am] that I will ask the Father on your behalf. 27 For the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God.[an] 28 I came from the Father and entered into the world, but in turn,[ao] I am leaving the world and going back to the Father.”[ap]
29 His disciples said, “Look, now you are speaking plainly[aq] and not in obscure figures of speech![ar] 30 Now we know that you know everything[as] and do not need anyone[at] to ask you anything.[au] Because of this[av] we believe that you have come from God.”
31 Jesus replied,[aw] “Do you now believe? 32 Look, a time[ax] is coming—and has come—when you will be scattered, each one to his own home,[ay] and I will be left alone.[az] Yet[ba] I am not alone, because my Father[bb] is with me. 33 I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. In the world you have trouble and suffering,[bc] but take courage[bd]—I have conquered the world.”[be]
NET Bible® copyright ©1996-2017 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.