Book of Common Prayer
The Lord, an Abundant Helper.
146 [a]Praise [b]the Lord!
(A)Praise the Lord, my soul!
2 I will praise the Lord (B)while I live;
I will (C)sing praises to my God while I [c]have my being.
3 (D)Do not trust in noblemen,
In [d]mortal (E)man, in whom there is (F)no salvation.
4 His (G)spirit departs, he (H)returns to [e]the earth;
On that very day his (I)plans perish.
5 (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 everything that is in them;
Who (N)keeps [f]faith forever;
7 Who (O)executes justice for the oppressed;
Who (P)gives food to the hungry.
The Lord (Q)frees the prisoners.
8 The Lord (R)opens the eyes of those who are blind;
The Lord (S)raises up those who are bowed down;
The Lord (T)loves the righteous.
9 The Lord (U)watches over strangers;
He [g](V)supports the fatherless and the widow,
But He [h]thwarts (W)the way of the wicked.
10 The Lord will (X)reign forever,
Your God, Zion, to all generations.
[i]Praise [j]the Lord!
Praise for Jerusalem’s Restoration and Prosperity.
147 [k]Praise [l]the Lord!
For (Y)it is good to sing praises to our God;
For [m]it is pleasant and praise is [n](Z)beautiful.
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 the wicked down to the ground.
7 (AJ)Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving;
Sing praises to our God on the lyre;
8 It is He who (AK)covers the heavens with clouds,
Who (AL)provides rain for the earth,
Who (AM)makes grass sprout on the mountains.
9 It is He who (AN)gives an animal its food,
And feeds (AO)young ravens that cry.
10 He does not delight in [s]the strength of the (AP)horse;
He (AQ)does not take pleasure in the [t]legs of a man.
11 The Lord (AR)favors those who fear Him,
(AS)Those who wait for His [u]faithfulness.
12 Praise the Lord, Jerusalem!
Praise your God, Zion!
13 For He has strengthened the (AT)bars of your gates;
He has (AU)blessed your sons among you.
14 He (AV)makes [v]peace in your borders;
He (AW)satisfies you with (AX)the [w]finest of the wheat.
15 He sends His (AY)command to the earth;
His (AZ)word runs very swiftly.
16 He [x]showers (BA)snow like wool;
He scatters the (BB)frost like ashes.
17 He hurls His (BC)ice as fragments;
Who can stand before His (BD)cold?
18 He (BE)sends His word and makes them melt;
He (BF)makes His wind blow, and the waters flow.
19 He (BG)declares His words to Jacob,
His (BH)statutes and His judgments to Israel.
20 He (BI)has not dealt this way with any other nation;
And as for His judgments, [y]they have (BJ)not known them.
[z]Praise [aa]the Lord!
The Whole Creation Invoked to Praise the Lord.
148 [ab]Praise [ac]the Lord!
Praise the Lord (BK)from the heavens;
Praise Him (BL)in the heights!
2 Praise Him, (BM)all His angels;
Praise Him, (BN)all His heavenly armies!
3 Praise Him, sun and moon;
Praise Him, all stars of light!
4 Praise Him, [ad](BO)highest heavens,
And the (BP)waters that are above the heavens!
5 They are to praise the name of the Lord,
For (BQ)He commanded and they were created.
6 He has also (BR)established them forever and ever;
He has made a (BS)decree, and it will not pass away.
7 Praise the Lord from the earth,
(BT)Sea monsters, and all the ocean (BU)depths;
8 (BV)Fire and hail, (BW)snow and (BX)clouds;
(BY)Stormy wind, (BZ)fulfilling His word;
9 (CA)Mountains and all hills;
Fruit (CB)trees and all cedars;
10 (CC)Animals and all cattle;
(CD)Crawling things and winged fowl;
11 (CE)Kings of the earth and all peoples;
Rulers and all judges of the earth;
12 Both young men and virgins;
Old men and children.
13 They are to praise the name of the Lord,
For His (CF)name alone is exalted;
His (CG)majesty is above earth and heaven.
14 And He has (CH)lifted up a horn for His people,
(CI)Praise for all His godly ones,
For the sons of Israel, a people (CJ)near to Him.
[ae]Praise [af]the Lord!
Israel Invoked to Praise the Lord.
149 [ag]Praise [ah]the Lord!
Sing a (CK)new song to the Lord,
And His praise (CL)in the congregation of the godly ones.
2 Israel shall be joyful in (CM)his Maker;
The sons of Zion shall rejoice in their (CN)King.
3 They shall praise His name with (CO)dancing;
They shall sing praises to Him with (CP)tambourine and lyre.
4 For the Lord (CQ)takes pleasure in His people;
He will (CR)glorify the lowly with salvation.
5 The (CS)godly ones shall be jubilant in glory;
They shall (CT)sing for joy on their beds.
6 The (CU)high praises of God shall be in their [ai]mouths,
And a (CV)two-edged (CW)sword in their hands,
7 To (CX)execute vengeance on the nations,
And punishment on the peoples,
8 To bind their kings (CY)with chains,
And their (CZ)dignitaries with shackles of iron,
9 To (DA)execute against them the judgment written.
This is an (DB)honor for all His godly ones.
[aj]Praise [ak]the Lord!
3 And Moses said to the people, “(A)Remember this day in which you departed from Egypt, from the house of [a]slavery; for (B)by [b]a powerful hand the Lord brought you out from this place. (C)And nothing with yeast shall be eaten. 4 On this day in the (D)month of Abib, you are about to go out from here. 5 And it shall be when the Lord (E)brings you to the land of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite, which (F)He swore to your fathers to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey, (G)that you shall [c]perform this rite in this month. 6 For (H)seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there shall be a feast to the Lord. 7 Unleavened bread shall be eaten throughout the seven days; and (I)nothing with yeast shall [d]be seen among you, nor shall any dough with yeast [e]be seen among you in all your borders. 8 And (J)you shall tell your son on that day, saying, ‘It is because of what the Lord did for me when I came out of Egypt.’ 9 And (K)it shall [f]serve as a sign to you on your hand, and as a reminder [g]on your forehead, that the law of the Lord may be in your mouth; for with (L)a powerful hand the Lord brought you out of Egypt. 10 Therefore, you shall (M)keep this ordinance at its appointed time from [h]year to year.
41 There is one glory of the sun, another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for star differs from star in glory.
42 (A)So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown [a](B)a perishable body, it is raised [b](C)an imperishable body; 43 it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in (D)glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; 44 it is sown a (E)natural body, it is raised a (F)spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. 45 So also it is written: “The first (G)man, Adam, became a living [c]person.” The (H)last Adam was a (I)life-giving spirit. 46 However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural; then the spiritual. 47 The first man is (J)from the earth, [d](K)earthy; the second Man is from heaven. 48 As is the earthy one, so also are those who are earthy; and as is the heavenly One, (L)so also are those who are heavenly. 49 Just as we have (M)borne the image of the earthy, [e]we (N)will also bear the image of the heavenly.
The Mystery of Resurrection
50 Now I say this, brothers and sisters, that (O)flesh and blood cannot (P)inherit the kingdom of God; nor does [f]the perishable inherit [g](Q)the imperishable.
The Great Commission
16 But the eleven disciples proceeded (A)to Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had designated to them. 17 And when they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but (B)some [a]were doubtful. 18 And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “(C)All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. 19 [b](D)Go, therefore, and (E)make disciples of (F)all the nations, (G)baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to [c]follow all that I commanded you; and behold, (H)I am with you [d]always, to (I)the end of the age.”
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