Book of Common Prayer
The Lord Exalted for His Goodness.
A Psalm of Praise, of David.
145 I will (A)exalt You, (B)my God, the 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 will praise Your works to another,
And will declare Your mighty acts.
5 On the (H)glorious [a]splendor of Your majesty
And (I)on Your wonderful works, I will meditate.
6 People will speak of the [b]power of Your (J)awesome acts,
And I will (K)tell of Your greatness.
7 They will burst forth [c]in speaking of Your (L)abundant goodness,
And will (M)shout joyfully of Your righteousness.
8 The Lord is (N)gracious and compassionate;
Slow to anger and great in mercy.
9 The Lord is (O)good to all,
And His (P)mercies are over all His works.
10 (Q)All Your works will give thanks to You, Lord,
And Your (R)godly ones will bless You.
11 They will speak of the (S)glory of Your kingdom,
And talk of Your might,
12 To (T)make known to the sons of mankind [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.
[g]The Lord is faithful in His words,
And holy in all His works.
14 The Lord (W)supports all who fall,
And (X)raises up all who are bowed down.
15 The eyes of all [h]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 works.
18 The Lord is (AB)near to all who call on Him,
To all who call on Him (AC)in truth.
19 He will (AD)fulfill the desire of those who fear Him;
He will also (AE)hear their cry for help and save them.
20 The Lord (AF)watches over all who love Him,
But He will destroy all the (AG)wicked.
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, my soul!
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 on 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 sea as with a garment;
The waters were standing above the mountains.
7 They fled from Your (L)rebuke,
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 so that they will 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 animal of the field;
The (R)wild donkeys quench their thirst.
12 The birds of the sky (S)dwell [i]beside them;
They [j]lift up their voices from 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 labor of mankind,
So that [n]they may produce [o]food (X)from the earth,
15 And (Y)wine, which makes a human heart cheerful,
(Z)So that he makes his face gleam with oil,
And [p]food, which (AA)sustains a human heart.
16 The trees of the Lord [q]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 juniper trees.
18 The high mountains are for the (AD)wild goats;
The (AE)cliffs are a refuge for the (AF)rock hyrax.
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)animals of the forest [r]prowl about.
21 The (AK)young lions roar for their prey
[s]And (AL)seek their food from God.
22 When the sun rises they withdraw,
And they lie down in their (AM)dens.
23 A person goes out to (AN)his work
And to his labor until evening.
24 Lord, how (AO)many are Your works!
[t]In (AP)wisdom You have made them all;
The (AQ)earth is full of Your [u]possessions.
25 [v]There is the (AR)sea, great and [w]broad,
In which are swarms without number,
Animals both small and great.
26 The (AS)ships move along there,
And [x](AT)Leviathan, which You have formed to have fun in it.
27 They all (AU)wait for You
To (AV)give them their food in [y]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 terrified;
You (AY)take away their breath, they perish
And (AZ)return to their dust.
30 You send forth Your [z](BA)Spirit, they are created;
And You renew the face of the ground.
31 May the (BB)glory of the Lord endure forever;
May the Lord (BC)rejoice in His works;
32 [aa]He (BD)looks at the earth, and it (BE)trembles;
He (BF)touches the mountains, and they smoke.
33 [ab]I will sing to the Lord [ac](BG)as long as I live;
[ad]I will (BH)sing praise to my God [ae]while I have my being.
34 May my (BI)praise be pleasing to Him;
As for me, I shall (BJ)rejoice in the Lord.
35 May sinners be (BK)removed from the earth
And may the (BL)wicked be no more.
(BM)Bless the Lord, my soul.
[af](BN)Praise [ag]the Lord!
Song of Praise for God’s Favor
25 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 turned a city into a (D)heap,
A (E)fortified city into a ruin;
A (F)palace of strangers is no longer a city,
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)stronghold for the helpless,
A stronghold for the poor 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 a dry land, You subdue the (L)uproar of foreigners;
Like heat by the shadow of a cloud, the song of the ruthless is [a]silenced.
6 (M)Now the Lord of armies 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 destroy the [f](O)covering which is over all peoples,
The veil which is [g]stretched over all nations.
8 He will [h](P)swallow up death for all time,
And the Lord [i]God will (Q)wipe tears away from all faces,
And He will remove the (R)disgrace of His people from all the earth;
For the Lord has spoken.
9 And it will be said on that day,
“Behold, (S)this is our God for whom we have (T)waited [j]that (U)He might save us.
This is the Lord for whom we have waited;
(V)Let’s 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 are we to 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’s warn them not to speak any longer to any person (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 listen to you rather than to God, make your own judgment; 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 on whom this [e]miracle of healing had been performed was more than forty years old.
23 When they had been released, they went to their own companions and reported everything that the chief priests and the elders had said to them. 24 And when they heard this, they raised their voices to God with one mind and said, “[f]Lord, it is You who (N)made the heaven and the earth and the sea, and everything that is in them, 25 who (O)by the Holy Spirit, through the mouth of our father David Your servant, said,
‘(P)Why were the [g]nations insolent,
And the peoples plotting in vain?
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)purpose predestined to occur. 29 And [l]now, Lord, look at their threats, and grant it to Your bond-servants to (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 no longer are going to see Me; and again a little while, and (C)you will see Me.” 17 So some of His disciples said to one another, “What is this that He is telling us, ‘(D)A little while, and you are not going to see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me’; and, ‘because (E)I am going 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 wanted to question Him, and He said to them, “Are you deliberating together about this, that I said, ‘A little while, and you are not going to 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 mourn, 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 is going to take your joy away from you.
Prayer Promises
23 And (L)on 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 (Q)figures of speech; (R)an hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figures of speech, but will tell you plainly about the Father. 26 (S)On that day (T)you will ask in My name, and I am not saying 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; again, I am leaving the world and (Y)going to the Father.”
29 His disciples *said, “See, now You are speaking plainly and are not [c]using any (Z)figure of speech. 30 Now we know that You know all things, and that You have no need for anyone to question You; this is why we (AA)believe that You (AB)came forth from God.” 31 Jesus replied to 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.”
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