Book of Common Prayer
146 Hallelujah!
Praise the Lord, my soul!
2 I want to praise the Lord throughout my life.
I want to make music to praise my God as long as I live.
3 Do not trust influential people,
mortals who cannot help you.
4 When they breathe their last breath, they return to the ground.
On that day their plans come to an end.
5 Blessed are those who receive help from the God of Jacob.
Their hope rests on the Lord their God,
6 who made heaven, earth,
the sea, and everything in them.
The Lord remains faithful forever.
7 He brings about justice for those who are oppressed.
He gives food to those who are hungry.
The Lord sets prisoners free.
8 The Lord gives sight to blind people.
The Lord straightens ⌞the backs⌟ of those who are bent over.
The Lord loves righteous people.
9 The Lord protects foreigners.
The Lord gives relief to orphans and widows.
But he keeps wicked people from reaching their goal.
10 The Lord rules as king forever.
Zion, your God rules throughout every generation.
Hallelujah!
147 Hallelujah!
It is good to sing psalms to our God.
It is pleasant to sing ⌞his⌟ praise beautifully.
2 The Lord is the builder of Jerusalem.
He is the one who gathers the outcasts of Israel together.
3 He is the healer of the brokenhearted.
He is the one who bandages their wounds.
4 He determines the number of stars.
He gives each one a name.
5 Our Lord is great, and his power is great.
There is no limit to his understanding.
6 The Lord gives relief to those who are oppressed.
He brings wicked people down to the ground.
7 Sing to the Lord a song of thanksgiving.
Make music to our God with a lyre.
8 He covers the sky with clouds.
He provides rain for the ground.
He makes grass grow on the mountains.
9 He is the one who gives food to animals
and to young ravens when they call out.
10 He finds no joy in strong horses,
nor is he pleased by brave soldiers.
11 The Lord is pleased with those who fear him,
with those who wait with hope for his mercy.
12 Praise the Lord, Jerusalem!
Praise your God, Zion!
13 He makes the bars across your gates strong.
He blesses the children within you.
14 He is the one who brings peace to your borders
and satisfies your ⌞hunger⌟ with the finest wheat.
15 He is the one who sends his promise throughout the earth.
His word travels with great speed.
16 He is the one who sends snow like wool
and scatters frost like ashes.
17 He is the one who throws his hailstones like breadcrumbs.
Who can withstand his chilling blast?
18 He sends out his word and melts his hailstones.
He makes wind blow ⌞and⌟ water flow.
19 He speaks his word to Jacob,
his laws and judicial decisions to Israel.
20 He has done nothing like this for any other nation.
The other nations do not know the decisions he has handed down.
Hallelujah!
111 Hallelujah!
I will give thanks to the Lord with all my heart
in the company of decent people and in the congregation.
2 The Lord’s deeds are spectacular.
They should be studied by all who enjoy them.
3 His work is glorious and majestic.
His righteousness continues forever.
4 He has made his miracles unforgettable.
The Lord is merciful and compassionate.
5 He provides food for those who fear him.
He always remembers his promise.[a]
6 He has revealed the power of his works to his people
by giving them the lands of other nations as an inheritance.
7 His works are done with truth and justice.
All his guiding principles are trustworthy.
8 They last forever and ever.
They are carried out with truth and decency.
9 He has sent salvation to his people.
He has ordered that his promise should continue forever.
His name is holy and terrifying.
10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.
Good sense is shown by everyone who follows ⌞God’s guiding principles⌟.
His praise continues forever.
112 Hallelujah!
Blessed is the person who fears the Lord
and is happy to obey his commands.
2 His descendants will grow strong on the earth.
The family of a decent person will be blessed.
3 Wealth and riches will be in his home.
His righteousness continues forever.
4 Light will shine in the dark for a decent person.
He is merciful, compassionate, and fair.
5 All goes well for the person who is generous and lends willingly.
He earns an honest living.
6 He will never fail.
A righteous person will always be remembered.
7 He is not afraid of bad news.
His heart remains secure, full of confidence in the Lord.
8 His heart is steady, and he is not afraid.
In the end he will look triumphantly at his enemies.
9 He gives freely to poor people.
His righteousness continues forever.
His head is raised in honor.
10 The wicked person sees this and becomes angry.
He angrily grits his teeth and disappears.
The hope that wicked people have will vanish.
113 Hallelujah!
You servants of the Lord, praise him.
Praise the name of the Lord.
2 Thank the name of the Lord now and forever.
3 From where the sun rises to where the sun sets,
the name of the Lord should be praised.
4 The Lord is high above all the nations.
His glory is above the heavens.
5 Who is like the Lord our God?
He is seated on his high throne.
6 He bends down to look at heaven and earth.
7 He lifts the poor from the dust.
He lifts the needy from a garbage heap.
8 He seats them with influential people,
with the influential leaders of his people.
9 He makes a woman who is in a childless home
a joyful mother.
Hallelujah!
8 Bring the people who are blind but still have eyes,
the people who are deaf but still have ears.
9 All nations have gathered together, and people have assembled.
Who among them could have revealed this?
Who among them could have foretold this to us?
They should bring their witnesses to prove that they were right.
Let the people hear them. Then they will say that it is true.
10 “You are my witnesses,” declares the Lord.
“I have chosen you as my servant
so that you can know and believe in me
and understand that I am the one ⌞who did this⌟.
No god was formed before me,
and there will be none after me.
11 I alone am the Lord,
and there is no savior except me.
12 I have revealed it to you, I have saved you,
and I have announced it to you.
There was no foreign ⌞god⌟ among you.
You are my witnesses that I am God,” declares the Lord.
13 “From the ⌞first⌟ day I was the one ⌞who did this⌟.
No one can rescue people from my power.
When I do something, who can undo it?”
2 Desire God’s pure word as newborn babies desire milk. Then you will grow in your salvation. 3 Certainly you have tasted that the Lord is good!
4 You are coming to Christ, the living stone who was rejected by humans but was chosen as precious by God. 5 You come to him as living stones, a spiritual house that is being built into a holy priesthood. So offer spiritual sacrifices that God accepts through Jesus Christ. 6 That is why Scripture says,
“I am laying a chosen and precious cornerstone in Zion,
and the person who believes in him
will never be ashamed.”
7 This honor belongs to those who believe. But to those who don’t believe:
“The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone,
8 a stone that people trip over,
a large rock that people find offensive.”
The people tripped over the word because they refused to believe it. Therefore, this is how they ended up.
9 However, you are chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, people who belong to God. You were chosen to tell about the excellent qualities of God, who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 10 Once you were not God’s people, but now you are. Once you were not shown mercy, but now you have been shown mercy.
Jesus Promises to Send the Holy Spirit
14 “Don’t be troubled. Believe in God, and believe in me. 2 My Father’s house has many rooms. If that were not true, would I have told you that I’m going to prepare a place for you? 3 If I go to prepare a place for you, I will come again. Then I will bring you into my presence so that you will be where I am. 4 You know the way to the place where I am going.”
5 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you’re going. So how can we know the way?”
6 Jesus answered him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one goes to the Father except through me. 7 If you have known me, you will also know my Father. From now on you know him ⌞through me⌟ and have seen him ⌞in me⌟.”
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