Book of Common Prayer
The Lord an Abundant Helper.
146 [a]Praise [b]the Lord!
(A)Praise the Lord, O my soul!
2 I will praise the Lord (B)while I live;
I will (C)sing praises to my God while I have my being.
3 (D)Do not trust in princes,
In [c]mortal (E)man, in whom there is (F)no salvation.
4 His (G)spirit departs, he (H)returns to [d]the earth;
In that very day his (I)thoughts perish.
5 How (J)blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob,
Whose (K)hope is in the Lord his God,
6 Who (L)made heaven and earth,
The (M)sea and all that is in them;
Who (N)keeps [e]faith forever;
7 Who (O)executes justice for the oppressed;
Who (P)gives food to the hungry.
The Lord (Q)sets the prisoners free.
8 The Lord (R)opens the eyes of the blind;
The Lord (S)raises up those who are bowed down;
The Lord (T)loves the righteous;
9 The Lord [f](U)protects the [g]strangers;
He [h](V)supports the fatherless and the widow,
But He [i]thwarts (W)the way of the wicked.
10 The Lord will (X)reign forever,
Your God, O Zion, to all generations.
[j]Praise [k]the Lord!
Praise for Jerusalem’s Restoration and Prosperity.
147 [l]Praise [m]the Lord!
For (Y)it is good to sing praises to our God;
For [n]it is pleasant and praise is (Z)becoming.
2 The Lord (AA)builds up Jerusalem;
He (AB)gathers the outcasts of Israel.
3 He heals the (AC)brokenhearted
And (AD)binds up their [o]wounds.
4 He (AE)counts the number of the stars;
He [p](AF)gives names to all of them.
5 (AG)Great is our Lord and abundant in strength;
His (AH)understanding is [q]infinite.
6 The Lord [r](AI)supports the afflicted;
He brings down the wicked to the ground.
7 (AJ)Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving;
Sing praises to our God on the lyre,
8 Who (AK)covers the heavens with clouds,
Who (AL)provides rain for the earth,
Who (AM)makes grass to [s]grow on the mountains.
9 He (AN)gives to the beast its food,
And to the (AO)young ravens which cry.
10 He does not delight in the strength of the (AP)horse;
He (AQ)does not take pleasure in the legs of a man.
11 The Lord (AR)favors those who fear Him,
(AS)Those who wait for His lovingkindness.
12 Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem!
Praise your God, O Zion!
13 For He has strengthened the (AT)bars of your gates;
He has (AU)blessed your sons within you.
14 He (AV)makes [t]peace in your borders;
He (AW)satisfies you with (AX)the [u]finest of the wheat.
15 He sends forth His (AY)command to the earth;
His (AZ)word runs very swiftly.
16 He gives (BA)snow like wool;
He scatters the (BB)frost like ashes.
17 He casts forth His (BC)ice as fragments;
Who can stand before His (BD)cold?
18 He (BE)sends forth His word and melts them;
He (BF)causes His wind to blow and the waters to flow.
19 He (BG)declares His words to Jacob,
His (BH)statutes and His ordinances to Israel.
20 He (BI)has not dealt thus with any nation;
And as for His ordinances, they have (BJ)not known them.
[v]Praise [w]the Lord!
The Lord Praised for His Goodness.
111 [a]Praise [b]the Lord!
I (A)will give thanks to the Lord with all my heart,
In the (B)company of the upright and in the assembly.
2 (C)Great are the works of the Lord;
They are [c](D)studied by all who delight in them.
3 [d](E)Splendid and majestic is His work,
And (F)His righteousness endures forever.
4 He has made His [e]wonders [f]to be remembered;
The Lord is (G)gracious and compassionate.
5 He has (H)given [g]food to those who [h]fear Him;
He will (I)remember His covenant forever.
6 He has made known to His people the power of His works,
In giving them the heritage of the nations.
7 The works of His hands are [i](J)truth and justice;
All His precepts (K)are [j]sure.
8 They are (L)upheld forever and ever;
They are performed in [k](M)truth and uprightness.
9 He has sent (N)redemption to His people;
He has [l]ordained His covenant forever;
(O)Holy and [m]awesome is His name.
10 The [n](P)fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom;
A (Q)good understanding have all those who [o]do His commandments;
His (R)praise endures forever.
Prosperity of the One Who Fears the Lord.
112 [p]Praise [q]the Lord!
How (S)blessed is the man who [r]fears the Lord,
Who greatly (T)delights in His commandments.
2 His [s](U)descendants will be mighty [t]on earth;
The generation of the (V)upright will be blessed.
3 (W)Wealth and riches are in his house,
And his righteousness endures forever.
4 Light arises in the darkness (X)for the upright;
He is (Y)gracious and compassionate and righteous.
5 It is well with the man who (Z)is gracious and lends;
He will [u]maintain his cause in judgment.
6 For he will (AA)never be shaken;
The (AB)righteous will be [v]remembered forever.
7 He will not fear (AC)evil tidings;
His (AD)heart is steadfast, (AE)trusting in the Lord.
8 His (AF)heart is upheld, he (AG)will not fear,
Until he (AH)looks with satisfaction on his adversaries.
9 [w]He (AI)has given freely to the poor,
His righteousness endures forever;
His (AJ)horn will be exalted in honor.
10 The (AK)wicked will see it and be [x]vexed,
He will (AL)gnash his teeth and (AM)melt away;
The (AN)desire of the wicked will perish.
The Lord Exalts the Humble.
113 [y]Praise [z]the Lord!
(AO)Praise, O (AP)servants of the Lord,
Praise the name of the Lord.
2 (AQ)Blessed be the name of the Lord
From this time forth and forever.
3 (AR)From the rising of the sun to its setting
The (AS)name of the Lord is to be praised.
4 The Lord is (AT)high above all nations;
His (AU)glory is above the heavens.
5 (AV)Who is like the Lord our God,
Who (AW)is enthroned on high,
6 Who [aa](AX)humbles Himself to behold
The things that are in heaven and in the earth?
7 He (AY)raises the poor from the dust
And lifts the needy from the ash heap,
8 To make them (AZ)sit with [ab]princes,
With the [ac]princes of His people.
9 He (BA)makes the barren woman abide in the house
As a joyful mother of children.
[ad]Praise [ae]the Lord!
The Census Taken
24 (A)Now (B)again the anger of the Lord burned against Israel, and it incited David against them to say, “(C)Go, number Israel and Judah.” 2 The king said to Joab the commander of the army who was with him, “Go about now through all the tribes of Israel, (D)from Dan to Beersheba, and [a]register the people, that I may know the number of the people.”
10 Now (A)David’s heart [a]troubled him after he had numbered the people. So David said to the Lord, “(B)I have sinned greatly in what I have done. But now, O Lord, please [b]take away the iniquity of Your servant, for (C)I have acted very foolishly.” 11 When David arose in the morning, the word of the Lord came to (D)the prophet Gad, David’s (E)seer, saying, 12 “Go and speak to David, ‘Thus the Lord says, “I am offering you three things; choose for yourself one of them, which I will do to you.”’” 13 So Gad came to David and told him, and said to him, “Shall (F)seven years of famine come to you in your land? Or will you flee three months before your foes while they pursue you? Or shall there be three days’ pestilence in your land? Now consider and see what answer I shall return to Him who sent me.” 14 Then David said to Gad, “I am in great distress. Let us now fall into the hand of the Lord (G)for His mercies are great, but do not let me fall into the hand of man.”
Pestilence Sent
15 So (H)the Lord [c]sent a pestilence upon Israel from the morning until the appointed time, and seventy thousand men of the people (I)from Dan to Beersheba died. 16 (J)When the angel stretched out his hand toward Jerusalem to destroy it, (K)the Lord relented from the calamity and said to the angel who destroyed the people, “It is enough! Now relax your hand!” And the angel of the Lord was by the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite. 17 Then David spoke to the Lord when he saw the angel who was striking down the people, and said, “Behold, (L)it is I who have sinned, and it is I who have done wrong; but (M)these sheep, what have they done? Please let Your hand be against me and against my father’s house.”
David Builds an Altar
18 So Gad came to David that day and said to him, “(N)Go up, erect an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of [d]Araunah the Jebusite.” 19 David went up according to the word of Gad, just as the Lord had commanded. 20 Araunah looked down and saw the king and his servants crossing over toward him; and Araunah went out and bowed his face to the ground before the king. 21 Then Araunah said, “Why has my lord the king come to his servant?” And David said, “To buy the threshing floor from you, in order to build an altar to the Lord, (O)that the plague may be held back from the people.” 22 Araunah said to David, “Let my lord the king take and offer up what is good in his sight. Look, (P)the oxen for the burnt offering, the threshing sledges and the yokes of the oxen for the wood. 23 Everything, O king, Araunah gives to the king.” And Araunah said to the king, “May the Lord your God (Q)accept you.” 24 However, the king said to Araunah, “No, but I will surely buy it from you for a price, for (R)I will not offer burnt offerings to the Lord my God [e]which cost me nothing.” So (S)David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver. 25 David built there an altar to the Lord and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. (T)Thus the Lord was moved by prayer for the land, and the plague was held back from Israel.
23 But before faith came, we were kept in custody under the law, (A)being shut up to the faith which was later to be revealed. 24 Therefore the Law has become our (B)tutor to lead us to Christ, so that (C)we may be justified by faith. 25 But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a [a](D)tutor. 26 For you are all (E)sons of God through faith in (F)Christ Jesus. 27 For all of you who were (G)baptized into Christ have (H)clothed yourselves with Christ. 28 (I)There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is [b]neither male nor female; for (J)you are all one in (K)Christ Jesus. 29 And if (L)you [c]belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s [d]descendants, heirs according to (M)promise.
Sonship in Christ
4 Now I say, as long as the heir is a [e]child, he does not differ at all from a slave although he is [f]owner of everything, 2 but he is under guardians and [g]managers until the date set by the father. 3 So also we, while we were children, were held (N)in bondage under the [h](O)elemental things of the world. 4 But when (P)the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, (Q)born of a woman, born (R)under [i]the Law, 5 so that He might redeem those who were under [j]the Law, that we might receive the adoption as (S)sons. 6 Because you are sons, (T)God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, “(U)Abba! Father!” 7 Therefore you are no longer a slave, but a son; and (V)if a son, then an heir [k]through God.
Jesus Is the Light of the World
12 Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, “(A)I am the Light of the world; (B)he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.” 13 So the Pharisees said to Him, “(C)You are testifying about Yourself; Your testimony is not [a]true.” 14 Jesus answered and said to them, “(D)Even if I testify about Myself, My testimony is [b]true, for I know (E)where I came from and where I am going; but (F)you do not know where I come from or where I am going. 15 (G)You judge [c]according to the flesh; (H)I am not judging anyone. 16 But even (I)if I do judge, My judgment is true; for I am not alone in it, but I and the Father who sent Me. 17 Even in (J)your law it has been written that the testimony of (K)two men is [d]true. 18 I am He who testifies about Myself, and (L)the Father who sent Me testifies about Me.” 19 So they were saying to Him, “Where is Your Father?” Jesus answered, “You know neither Me nor My Father; (M)if you knew Me, you would know My Father also.” 20 These words He spoke in (N)the treasury, as (O)He taught in the temple; and no one seized Him, because (P)His hour had not yet come.
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