Book of Common Prayer
The Lord Extolled for His Goodness.
A Psalm of Praise, of David.
145 I will (A)extol You, (B)my God, O King,
And I will (C)bless Your name forever and ever.
2 Every day I will bless You,
And I will (D)praise Your name forever and ever.
3 (E)Great is the Lord, and highly to be praised,
And His (F)greatness is unsearchable.
4 One (G)generation shall praise Your works to another,
And shall declare Your mighty acts.
5 On the (H)glorious [a]splendor of Your majesty
And (I)on Your wonderful works, I will meditate.
6 Men shall speak of the [b]power of Your (J)awesome acts,
And I will (K)tell of Your greatness.
7 They shall [c]eagerly utter the memory of Your (L)abundant goodness
And will (M)shout joyfully of Your righteousness.
8 The Lord is (N)gracious and merciful;
Slow to anger and great in lovingkindness.
9 The Lord is (O)good to all,
And His (P)mercies are over all His works.
10 (Q)All Your works shall give thanks to You, O Lord,
And Your (R)godly ones shall bless You.
11 They shall speak of the (S)glory of Your kingdom
And talk of Your power;
12 To (T)make known to the sons of men [d]Your mighty acts
And the (U)glory of the majesty of [e]Your kingdom.
13 Your kingdom is [f]an (V)everlasting kingdom,
And Your dominion endures throughout all generations.
14 The Lord (W)sustains all who fall
And (X)raises up all who are bowed down.
15 The eyes of all [g]look to You,
And You (Y)give them their food in due time.
16 You (Z)open Your hand
And satisfy the desire of every living thing.
17 The Lord is (AA)righteous in all His ways
And kind in all His deeds.
18 The Lord is (AB)near to all who call upon Him,
To all who call upon Him (AC)in truth.
19 He will (AD)fulfill the desire of those who fear Him;
He will also (AE)hear their cry and will save them.
20 The Lord (AF)keeps all who love Him,
But all the (AG)wicked He will destroy.
21 My (AH)mouth will speak the praise of the Lord,
And (AI)all flesh will (AJ)bless His holy name forever and ever.
The Lord’s Care over All His Works.
104 (A)Bless the Lord, O my soul!
O Lord my God, You are very great;
You are (B)clothed with splendor and majesty,
2 Covering Yourself with (C)light as with a cloak,
(D)Stretching out heaven like a tent curtain.
3 [a]He (E)lays the beams of His upper chambers in the waters;
[b]He makes the (F)clouds His chariot;
[c]He walks upon the (G)wings of the wind;
4 [d]He makes [e](H)the winds His messengers,
[f]Flaming (I)fire His ministers.
5 He (J)established the earth upon its foundations,
So that it will not [g]totter forever and ever.
6 You (K)covered it with the deep as with a garment;
The waters were standing above the mountains.
7 At Your (L)rebuke they fled,
At the (M)sound of Your thunder they hurried away.
8 The mountains rose; the valleys sank down
To the (N)place which You established for them.
9 You set a (O)boundary that they may not pass over,
So that they will not return to cover the earth.
10 [h]He sends forth (P)springs in the valleys;
They flow between the mountains;
11 They (Q)give drink to every beast of the field;
The (R)wild donkeys quench their thirst.
12 [i]Beside them the birds of the heavens (S)dwell;
They [j]lift up their voices among the branches.
13 [k]He (T)waters the mountains from His upper chambers;
(U)The earth is satisfied with the fruit of His works.
14 [l]He causes the (V)grass to grow for the [m]cattle,
And (W)vegetation for the [n]labor of man,
So that [o]he may bring forth [p]food (X)from the earth,
15 And (Y)wine which makes man’s heart glad,
(Z)So that he may make his face glisten with oil,
And [q]food which (AA)sustains man’s heart.
16 The trees of the Lord [r]drink their fill,
The cedars of Lebanon which He planted,
17 Where the (AB)birds build their nests,
And the (AC)stork, whose home is the [s]fir trees.
18 The high mountains are for the (AD)wild goats;
The (AE)cliffs are a refuge for the [t](AF)shephanim.
19 He made the moon (AG)for the seasons;
The (AH)sun knows the place of its setting.
20 You (AI)appoint darkness and it becomes night,
In which all the (AJ)beasts of the forest [u]prowl about.
21 The (AK)young lions roar after their prey
[v]And (AL)seek their food from God.
22 When the sun rises they withdraw
And lie down in their (AM)dens.
23 Man goes forth to (AN)his work
And to his labor until evening.
24 O Lord, how (AO)many are Your works!
[w]In (AP)wisdom You have made them all;
The (AQ)earth is full of Your [x]possessions.
25 [y]There is the (AR)sea, great and [z]broad,
In which are swarms without number,
Animals both small and great.
26 There the (AS)ships move along,
And [aa](AT)Leviathan, which You have formed to sport in it.
27 They all (AU)wait for You
To (AV)give them their food in [ab]due season.
28 You give to them, they gather it up;
You (AW)open Your hand, they are satisfied with good.
29 You (AX)hide Your face, they are dismayed;
You (AY)take away their [ac]spirit, they expire
And (AZ)return to their dust.
30 You send forth Your [ad](BA)Spirit, they are created;
And You renew the face of the ground.
31 Let the (BB)glory of the Lord endure forever;
Let the Lord (BC)be glad in His works;
32 [ae]He (BD)looks at the earth, and it (BE)trembles;
He (BF)touches the mountains, and they smoke.
33 [af]I will sing to the Lord [ag](BG)as long as I live;
[ah]I will (BH)sing praise to my God [ai]while I have my being.
34 Let my (BI)meditation be pleasing to Him;
As for me, I shall (BJ)be glad in the Lord.
35 Let sinners be (BK)consumed from the earth
And let the (BL)wicked be no more.
(BM)Bless the Lord, O my soul.
[aj](BN)Praise [ak]the Lord!
Song of Praise for God’s Favor
25 O Lord, You are (A)my God;
I will exalt You, I will give thanks to Your name;
For You have (B)worked wonders,
(C)Plans formed long ago, with perfect faithfulness.
2 For You have made a city into a (D)heap,
A (E)fortified city into a ruin;
A (F)palace of strangers is a city no more,
It will never be rebuilt.
3 Therefore a strong people will (G)glorify You;
(H)Cities of ruthless nations will revere You.
4 For You have been a (I)defense for the helpless,
A defense for the needy in his distress,
A (J)refuge from the storm, a shade from the heat;
For the breath of the (K)ruthless
Is like a rain storm against a wall.
5 Like heat in drought, You subdue the (L)uproar of aliens;
Like heat by the shadow of a cloud, the song of the ruthless is [a]silenced.
6 (M)The Lord of hosts will prepare a [b]lavish banquet for (N)all peoples on this mountain;
A banquet of [c]aged wine, [d]choice pieces with marrow,
And [e]refined, aged wine.
7 And on this mountain He will swallow up the [f](O)covering which is over all peoples,
Even the veil which is [g]stretched over all nations.
8 He will (P)swallow up death for all time,
And the Lord [h]God will (Q)wipe tears away from all faces,
And He will remove the (R)reproach of His people from all the earth;
For the Lord has spoken.
9 And it will be said in that day,
“Behold, (S)this is our God for whom we have (T)waited that (U)He might save us.
This is the Lord for whom we have waited;
(V)Let us rejoice and be glad in His salvation.”
Threat and Release
13 Now as they observed the (A)confidence of (B)Peter and John and understood that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were amazed, and (C)began to recognize them [a]as having been with Jesus. 14 And seeing the man who had been healed standing with them, they had nothing to say in reply. 15 But when they had ordered them to leave the [b](D)Council, they began to confer with one another, 16 saying, “(E)What shall we do with these men? For the fact that a (F)noteworthy [c]miracle has taken place through them is apparent to all who live in Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it. 17 But so that it will not spread any further among the people, let us warn them to speak no longer to any man (G)in this name.” 18 And when they had summoned them, they (H)commanded them not to speak or teach at all [d]in the name of Jesus. 19 But (I)Peter and John answered and said to them, “(J)Whether it is right in the sight of God to give heed to you rather than to God, you be the judge; 20 for (K)we cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard.” 21 When they had threatened them further, they let them go (finding no basis on which to punish them) (L)on account of the people, because they were all (M)glorifying God for what had happened; 22 for the man was more than forty years old on whom this [e]miracle of healing had been performed.
23 When they had been released, they went to their own companions and reported all that the chief priests and the elders had said to them. 24 And when they heard this, they lifted their voices to God with one accord and said, “O [f]Lord, it is You who (N)made the heaven and the earth and the sea, and all that is in them, 25 who (O)by the Holy Spirit, through the mouth of our father David Your servant, said,
‘(P)Why did the [g]Gentiles rage,
And the peoples devise futile things?
26 ‘(Q)The kings of the earth [h]took their stand,
And the rulers were gathered together
Against the Lord and against His [i](R)Christ.’
27 For truly in this city there were gathered together against Your holy [j](S)servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both (T)Herod and (U)Pontius Pilate, along with (V)the [k]Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, 28 to do whatever Your hand and (W)Your purpose predestined to occur. 29 And [l]now, Lord, take note of their threats, and grant that Your bond-servants may (X)speak Your word with all (Y)confidence, 30 while You extend Your hand to heal, and [m](Z)signs and wonders take place through the name of Your holy [n](AA)servant Jesus.” 31 And when they had prayed, the (AB)place where they had gathered together was shaken, and they were all (AC)filled with the Holy Spirit and began to (AD)speak the word of God with (AE)boldness.
Jesus’ Death and Resurrection Foretold
16 “(A)A little while, and (B)you will no longer see Me; and again a little while, and (C)you will see Me.” 17 Some of His disciples then said to one another, “What is this thing He is telling us, ‘(D)A little while, and you will not see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me’; and, ‘because (E)I go to the Father’?” 18 So they were saying, “What is this that He says, ‘A little while’? We do not know what He is talking about.” 19 (F)Jesus knew that they wished to question Him, and He said to them, “Are you deliberating together about this, that I said, ‘A little while, and you will not see Me, and again a little while, and you will see Me’? 20 Truly, truly, I say to you, that (G)you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice; you will grieve, but (H)your grief will be turned into joy. 21 (I)Whenever a woman is in labor she has [a]pain, because her hour has come; but when she gives birth to the child, she no longer remembers the anguish because of the joy that a [b]child has been born into the world. 22 Therefore (J)you too have grief now; but (K)I will see you again, and your heart will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you.
Prayer Promises
23 (L)In that day (M)you will not question Me about anything. Truly, truly, I say to you, (N)if you ask the Father for anything in My name, He will give it to you. 24 (O)Until now you have asked for nothing in My name; ask and you will receive, so that your (P)joy may be made full.
25 “These things I have spoken to you in [c](Q)figurative language; (R)an hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in [d]figurative language, but will tell you plainly of the Father. 26 (S)In that day (T)you will ask in My name, and I do not say to you that I will request of the Father on your behalf; 27 for (U)the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me and (V)have believed that (W)I came forth from the Father. 28 (X)I came forth from the Father and have come into the world; I am leaving the world again and (Y)going to the Father.”
29 His disciples *said, “Lo, now You are speaking plainly and are not [e]using (Z)a figure of speech. 30 Now we know that You know all things, and have no need for anyone to question You; by this we (AA)believe that You (AB)came from God.” 31 Jesus answered them, “Do you now believe? 32 Behold, (AC)an hour is coming, and has already come, for (AD)you to be scattered, each to (AE)his own home, and to leave Me alone; and yet (AF)I am not alone, because the Father is with Me. 33 These things I have spoken to you, so that (AG)in Me you may have peace. (AH)In the world you have tribulation, but (AI)take courage; (AJ)I have overcome the world.”
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.