Book of Common Prayer
God is good, so thank him[a]
118 Thank the Lord, because he is good.
His faithful love will always be with us.
2 Israel's people must now say,
‘His faithful love will always be with us.’
3 Aaron's family, the priests, must now say,
‘His faithful love will always be with us.’
4 Everyone who serves the Lord must now say,
‘His faithful love will always be with us.’
5 I was in trouble,
so I called to the Lord to help me.
The Lord answered me
and he made me free.
6 The Lord is there to help me,
so I will not be afraid.
What can any person do to hurt me?
7 The Lord is with me as my helper.
As for those people who hate me,
I will win against them.
8 It is better to go to the Lord to keep you safe,
than to trust in people.
9 It is better to trust the Lord to keep you safe,
than to trust even in important people.
10 All the nations were ready to attack me,
but I turned them away
by the power of the Lord.
11 Yes, they were all round me, ready to attack,
but I won against them
in the name of the Lord.
12 They were all round me like a cloud of bees!
But they were like a fire in a thorn bush
that burns quickly and has soon gone.
I turned them away
by the power of the Lord.
13 My enemies attacked me
and they tried to knock me down!
But the Lord helped me.
14 The Lord makes me strong
and he takes care of me.
He is the one who keeps me safe.
15 Listen to the happy shouts of God's people in their tents!
They have won against their enemies,
because the Lord has power to do great things.
16 Yes, the Lord has lifted up his strong right hand.
He has the strength to win the battle!
17 I will not die. Instead, I will live.
I will tell everyone what the Lord has done.
18 The Lord has punished me very much,
but he has not let me die.
19 Open the gates of the temple!
I will go in there,
and I will thank the Lord.
20 This is the Lord's gate.
Righteous people can go in through it.
21 I will thank you, Lord,
because you answered my prayer.
You have rescued me.
22 The builders threw away a certain stone.
But now that stone has become the most important stone
at the corner of the building.
23 The Lord has done this.
And we can see that it is wonderful![b]
24 This is the day that the Lord has done a great thing.
We will be very happy today!
25 Lord, please save us now!
Lord, please help us to do well!
26 May the Lord bless the man who comes with his authority![c]
We praise you from here,
in the house of the Lord.
27 The Lord is our God.
He has caused his light to shine on us.
Make a happy festival!
Take branches in your hands,
and go to offer a sacrifice on the altar.
28 You are my God,
and I will thank you.
You are my God,
and I will say how great you are.
29 Thank the Lord, because he is good.
His faithful love will always be with us.
This is a song that David wrote to praise God.
An alphabet of praise[a]
145 Always I will praise you, my God and my king,
and I will say how great you are!
2 Because you are good, I will praise you every day.
Yes, I will always praise your name.
3 Clearly the Lord is great!
He is so great that we cannot understand it.
4 Down from father to son, people will praise you.
They will tell each other about the powerful things that you have done.
5 Everyone will speak about your glory and authority.
I also will think carefully about your great miracles.
6 Famous are the powerful things that you have done.
People will talk about them.
I also will speak about the great things that you do.
7 Good things are what everybody will remember about you.
They will sing about your justice.
8 How very kind the Lord is!
He is very patient and his faithful love continues.
9 It is the Lord who takes care of everybody.
He is kind to everything that he has made.
10 Join together to thank the Lord!
Everything that he has made will praise him.
Your own people will praise you, Lord!
11 King is who you are and your kingdom is great!
People will speak about your royal authority.
12 Let everyone agree that you do great things!
Let them say that you rule with great authority.
13 Many years your kingdom will remain, even for ever.
You will always rule your people and their descendants.
Nothing that the Lord promises is false.
He is kind in everything that he does.[b]
14 Often people fall, but the Lord lifts them up.
He helps everyone who has trouble.
15 People look to you for help.
You give them food when they need it.
16 Ready to help, you open your hand.
You give to every living thing the good things that they want.
17 So the Lord is fair in all that he does.
He always shows how much he loves us.
18 The Lord is ready to help everyone who asks him.
He is near to everyone who prays honestly.
19 Very kindly he gives his own people the things that they need.
He saves them when they call to him for help.
20 Whoever loves the Lord, he keeps safe.
But he destroys wicked people.
21 Yes, I will praise the Lord!
Everyone who lives should praise his holy name for ever!
The Festival of Weeks[a]
9 Count seven weeks from the first day that you bring in crops of grain from your fields. 10 Then eat the Feast of Weeks to worship the Lord your God. Bring the gifts that you want to offer to him. Bring gifts that show how much he has blessed you. 11 You and your family will be happy to worship the Lord your God, at the special place that he chooses. Enjoy time together with your children, your servants and the Levites who live in your town. Also join with the foreign people who live among you, with widows, and children who have no family. Worship God happily together. 12 Remember that you were once slaves in Egypt. So be careful to obey these commands.
18 Then the Jewish leaders told Peter and John to come back into the room. They said to them, ‘You must not use the authority of Jesus to teach people any more. You must not speak about him.’ 19 Then Peter and John replied to the leaders, ‘What do you think God wants us to do? Should we obey you? Or should we obey God? You decide! 20 We know what is right. We must continue to speak about these things. We must tell people about the things that we have seen and heard.’
21 The Jewish leaders were angry. They told Peter and John that they must obey them. Then they let Peter and John go free. All the people there were praising God because of the miracle. So the leaders could not decide how to punish Peter and John.
The group of believers pray to God
23 After the Jewish leaders let them go free, Peter and John went back to the group of believers. They told them what the leaders of the priests and the important Jews had said. 24 The believers listened to what Peter and John told them. Then they all prayed together. They said to God, ‘You are the Lord who rules over everything. You made the sky, the earth and the sea. You also made everything that is in them. 25 Our ancestor, King David, was your servant. You sent your Holy Spirit to him so that he spoke your message. You said through him,[a]
“People of other nations were very angry.
They made plans to do useless things.
Why did they do that?
26 The kings and rulers of the world met together.
They decided to fight against the Lord God
and against his Messiah.”
27 Lord God, it has now happened like that. Herod and Pontius Pilate have met together here in Jerusalem. They met with Israelite people and with people of other nations. Together they made plans to kill your holy servant, Jesus. He is the one that you chose to be your Messiah. 28 But you are powerful. These men did only what you said would happen. You had already decided on these events. 29 Lord God, you know that the Jewish leaders want to punish Peter and John. We are your servants. Please help us not to be afraid. Help us to speak your message to people without fear. 30 Show people that you are strong. Cause sick people to become well. Do other powerful things to show that you are God. It is the authority of your holy servant Jesus that will make these things happen.’
31 The believers finished praying. The house where they were meeting together shook. God filled them all with his Holy Spirit. That made them very brave and they spoke God's message clearly to people.
The believers help each other
32 All the believers agreed completely with each other about how they should live. They wanted to help each other. Nobody kept anything only for themselves. They let the other believers use it. 33 The apostles continued to teach about the Lord Jesus. They spoke with great power. They told people, ‘After Jesus died, God caused him to live again. We saw that happen.’ God was very kind to all the believers and he helped them in many ways.
19 The woman said to him, ‘Sir, I can see that you are a prophet. 20 Our ancestors worshipped God on this mountain. But you Jews say that Jerusalem is the right place to worship.’[a]
21 Jesus said to her, ‘Believe me, woman. Soon you will not worship the Father either on this mountain or at Jerusalem. 22 You people from Samaria do not know the one that you worship. But we Jews do know him, because God's salvation comes from among the Jewish people. 23 But people will soon have a new way to worship the Father. Yes, that time has already come. Those people who really want to worship the Father will worship him in their spirits, in a true way. The Father looks for people who will worship him like that. 24 God is spirit. People who worship him must worship from their spirits in a true way.’
25 The woman said to Jesus, ‘I know that the Messiah will come. He is called Christ. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.’ 26 Jesus said to her, ‘I, who am speaking to you, am he.’
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