Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 118[a]
118 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
and his loyal love endures.[b]
2 Let Israel say,
“Yes, his loyal love endures.”
3 Let the family[c] of Aaron say,
“Yes, his loyal love endures.”
4 Let the loyal followers of the Lord[d] say,
“Yes, his loyal love endures.”
5 In my distress[e] I cried out to the Lord.
The Lord answered me and put me in a wide open place.[f]
6 The Lord is on my side;[g] I am not afraid.
What can people do to me?[h]
7 The Lord is on my side[i] as my helper.[j]
I look in triumph on those who hate me.
8 It is better to take shelter[k] in the Lord
than to trust in people.
9 It is better to take shelter in the Lord
than to trust in princes.
10 All the nations surrounded me.[l]
Indeed, in the name of the Lord[m] I pushed them away.[n]
11 They surrounded me, yes, they surrounded me.
Indeed, in the name of the Lord I pushed them away.
12 They surrounded me like bees.
But they disappeared as quickly[o] as a fire among thorns.[p]
Indeed, in the name of the Lord I pushed them away.
13 “You aggressively attacked me[q] and tried to knock me down,[r]
but the Lord helped me.
14 The Lord gives me strength and protects me;[s]
he has become my deliverer.”[t]
15 They celebrate deliverance in the tents of the godly.[u]
The Lord’s right hand conquers.[v]
16 The Lord’s right hand gives victory;[w]
the Lord’s right hand conquers.
17 I will not die, but live,
and I will proclaim what the Lord has done.[x]
18 The Lord severely[y] punished me,
but he did not hand me over to death.
19 Open for me the gates of the just king’s temple.[z]
I will enter through them and give thanks to the Lord.
20 This is the Lord’s gate—
the godly enter through it.
21 I will give you thanks, for you answered me,
and have become my deliverer.
22 The stone that the builders discarded[aa]
has become the cornerstone.[ab]
23 This is the Lord’s work.
We consider it amazing![ac]
24 This is the day the Lord has brought about.[ad]
We will be happy and rejoice in it.
25 Please, Lord, deliver!
Please, Lord, grant us success![ae]
26 May the one who comes in the name of the Lord[af] be blessed.
We will pronounce blessings on you[ag] in the Lord’s temple.[ah]
27 The Lord is God, and he has delivered us.[ai]
Tie the offering[aj] with ropes
to the horns of the altar.[ak]
28 You are my[al] God, and I will give you thanks.
You are my God and I will praise you.
29 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good
and his loyal love endures.[am]
Psalm 145[a]
A psalm of praise; by David.
145 I will extol you, my God, O King.
I will praise your name continually.[b]
2 Every day I will praise you.
I will praise your name continually.[c]
3 The Lord is great and certainly worthy of praise.
No one can fathom his greatness.[d]
4 One generation will praise your deeds to another,
and tell about your mighty acts.[e]
5 I will focus on your honor and majestic splendor,
and your amazing deeds.[f]
6 They will proclaim[g] the power of your awesome acts.
I will declare your great deeds.
7 They will talk about the fame of your great kindness,[h]
and sing about your justice.[i]
8 The Lord is merciful and compassionate;
he is patient[j] and demonstrates great loyal love.[k]
9 The Lord is good to all,
and has compassion on all he has made.[l]
10 All your works will give thanks to you, Lord.
Your loyal followers will praise you.
11 They will proclaim the splendor of your kingdom;
they will tell about your power,
12 so that mankind[m] might acknowledge your mighty acts,
and the majestic splendor of your kingdom.
13 Your kingdom is an eternal kingdom,[n]
and your dominion endures through all generations.
14 [o] The Lord supports all who fall,
and lifts up all who are bent over.[p]
15 Everything looks to you in anticipation,[q]
and you provide them with food on a regular basis.[r]
16 You open your hand,
and fill every living thing with the food it desires.[s]
17 The Lord is just in all his actions,[t]
and exhibits love in all he does.[u]
18 The Lord is near all who cry out to him,
all who cry out to him sincerely.[v]
19 He satisfies the desire[w] of his loyal followers;[x]
he hears their cry for help and delivers them.
20 The Lord protects all those who love him,
but he destroys all the wicked.
21 My mouth will praise the Lord.[y]
Let all who live[z] praise his holy name forever.
Hezekiah is Healed
20 In those days Hezekiah was stricken with a terminal illness.[a] The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz visited him and told him, “This is what the Lord has said, ‘Give your household instructions, for you are about to die; you will not get well.’”[b] 2 He turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, 3 “Please, Lord. Remember how I have served you[c] faithfully and with wholehearted devotion,[d] and how I have carried out your will.”[e] Then Hezekiah wept bitterly.[f]
4 Isaiah had not yet left the middle courtyard[g] when the Lord’s message came to him, 5 “Go back and tell Hezekiah, the leader of my people: ‘This is what the Lord God of your ancestor David has said: “I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears. Look, I will heal you. The day after tomorrow[h] you will go up to the Lord’s temple. 6 I will add fifteen years to your life and rescue you and this city from the king of Assyria. I will shield this city for the sake of my reputation and because of my promise to David my servant.”’”[i] 7 Isaiah ordered, “Get a fig cake.” So they did as he ordered[j] and placed it on the ulcerated sore, and he recovered.[k]
8 Hezekiah had said to Isaiah, “What is the confirming sign that the Lord will heal me and that I will go up to the Lord’s temple the day after tomorrow?” 9 Isaiah replied, “This is your sign from the Lord confirming that the Lord will do what he has said. Do you want the shadow to move ahead ten steps or to go back ten steps?”[l] 10 Hezekiah answered, “It is easy for the shadow to lengthen ten steps, but not for it[m] to go back ten steps.” 11 Isaiah the prophet called out to the Lord, and the Lord[n] made the shadow go back ten steps on the stairs of Ahaz.[o]
Messengers from Babylon Visit Hezekiah
12 At that time Merodach Baladan[p] son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent messengers with letters and a gift to Hezekiah, for he had heard that Hezekiah was ill. 13 Hezekiah welcomed[q] them and showed them his whole storehouse, with its silver, gold, spices, and high quality olive oil, as well as his armory and everything in his treasuries. Hezekiah showed them everything in his palace and in his whole kingdom.[r] 14 Isaiah the prophet visited King Hezekiah and asked him, “What did these men say? Where do they come from?” Hezekiah replied, “They come from the distant land of Babylon.” 15 Isaiah[s] asked, “What have they seen in your palace?” Hezekiah replied, “They have seen everything in my palace. I showed them everything[t] in my treasuries.” 16 Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Listen to the Lord’s message, 17 ‘Look, a time is[u] coming when everything in your palace and the things your ancestors have accumulated to this day will be carried away to Babylon; nothing will be left,’ says the Lord. 18 ‘Some of your very own descendants whom you father[v] will be taken away and will be made eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.’” 19 Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “The Lord’s message which you have announced is appropriate.”[w] Then he added,[x] “At least there will be peace and stability during my lifetime.”[y]
20 The rest of the events of Hezekiah’s reign and all his accomplishments, including how he built a pool and conduit to bring[z] water into the city, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Judah.[aa] 21 Hezekiah passed away[ab] and his son Manasseh replaced him as king.
James is Killed and Peter Imprisoned
12 About that time King Herod[a] laid hands on[b] some from the church to harm them.[c] 2 He had James, the brother of John, executed with a sword.[d] 3 When he saw that this pleased the Jews,[e] he proceeded to arrest Peter too. (This took place during the feast of Unleavened Bread.)[f] 4 When he had seized him, he put him in prison, handing him over to four squads[g] of soldiers to guard him. Herod[h] planned[i] to bring him out for public trial[j] after the Passover. 5 So Peter was kept in prison, but those in the church were earnestly[k] praying to God for him.[l] 6 On that very night before Herod was going to bring him out for trial,[m] Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, while[n] guards in front of the door were keeping watch[o] over the prison. 7 Suddenly[p] an angel of the Lord[q] appeared, and a light shone in the prison cell. He struck[r] Peter on the side and woke him up, saying, “Get up quickly!” And the chains fell off Peter’s[s] wrists.[t] 8 The angel said to him, “Fasten your belt[u] and put on your sandals.” Peter[v] did so. Then the angel[w] said to him, “Put on your cloak[x] and follow me.” 9 Peter[y] went out[z] and followed him;[aa] he did not realize that what was happening through the angel was real,[ab] but thought he was seeing a vision. 10 After they had passed the first and second guards,[ac] they came to the iron[ad] gate leading into the city. It[ae] opened for them by itself,[af] and they went outside and walked down one narrow street,[ag] when at once the angel left him. 11 When[ah] Peter came to himself, he said, “Now I know for certain that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued[ai] me from the hand[aj] of Herod[ak] and from everything the Jewish people[al] were expecting to happen.”
12 When Peter[am] realized this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John Mark,[an] where many people had gathered together and were praying. 13 When he knocked at the door of the outer gate, a slave girl named Rhoda answered.[ao] 14 When she recognized Peter’s voice, she was so overjoyed she did not open the gate, but ran back in and told[ap] them[aq] that Peter was standing at the gate. 15 But they said to her, “You’ve lost your mind!”[ar] But she kept insisting that it was Peter,[as] and they kept saying,[at] “It is his angel!”[au] 16 Now Peter continued knocking, and when they opened the door[av] and saw him, they were greatly astonished.[aw] 17 He motioned to them[ax] with his hand to be quiet and then related[ay] how the Lord had brought[az] him out of the prison. He said, “Tell James and the brothers these things,” and then he left and went to another place.[ba]
Raising a Widow’s Son
11 Soon[a] afterward[b] Jesus[c] went to a town[d] called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went with him. 12 As he approached the town gate, a man[e] who had died was being carried out,[f] the only son of his mother (who[g] was a widow[h]), and a large crowd from the town[i] was with her. 13 When[j] the Lord saw her, he had compassion[k] for her and said to her, “Do not weep.”[l] 14 Then[m] he came up[n] and touched[o] the bier,[p] and those who carried it stood still. He[q] said, “Young man, I say to you, get up!” 15 So[r] the dead man[s] sat up and began to speak, and Jesus[t] gave him back[u] to his mother. 16 Fear[v] seized them all, and they began to glorify[w] God, saying, “A great prophet[x] has appeared[y] among us!” and “God has come to help[z] his people!” 17 This[aa] report[ab] about Jesus[ac] circulated[ad] throughout[ae] Judea and all the surrounding country.
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