Book of Common Prayer
Praise to God for His Everlasting Mercy
2 (C)Let Israel now say,
“His mercy endures forever.”
3 Let the house of Aaron now say,
“His mercy endures forever.”
4 Let those who fear the Lord now say,
“His mercy endures forever.”
5 (D)I called on the Lord in distress;
The Lord answered me and (E)set me in a broad place.
6 (F)The Lord is on my side;
I will not fear.
What can man do to me?
7 (G)The Lord is for me among those who help me;
Therefore (H)I shall see my desire on those who hate me.
8 (I)It is better to trust in the Lord
Than to put confidence in man.
9 (J)It is better to trust in the Lord
Than to put confidence in princes.
10 All nations surrounded me,
But in the name of the Lord I will destroy them.
11 They (K)surrounded me,
Yes, they surrounded me;
But in the name of the Lord I will destroy them.
12 They surrounded me (L)like bees;
They were quenched (M)like a fire of thorns;
For in the name of the Lord I will [a]destroy them.
13 You pushed me violently, that I might fall,
But the Lord helped me.
14 (N)The Lord is my strength and song,
And He has become my salvation.
15 The voice of rejoicing and salvation
Is in the tents of the righteous;
The right hand of the Lord does valiantly.
16 (O)The right hand of the Lord is exalted;
The right hand of the Lord does valiantly.
17 (P)I shall not die, but live,
And (Q)declare the works of the Lord.
18 The Lord has (R)chastened[b] me severely,
But He has not given me over to death.
19 (S)Open to me the gates of righteousness;
I will go through them,
And I will praise the Lord.
20 (T)This is the gate of the Lord,
(U)Through which the righteous shall enter.
21 I will praise You,
For You have (V)answered me,
And have become my salvation.
22 (W)The stone which the builders rejected
Has become the chief cornerstone.
23 [c]This was the Lord’s doing;
It is marvelous in our eyes.
24 This is the day the Lord has made;
We will rejoice and be glad in it.
25 Save now, I pray, O Lord;
O Lord, I pray, send now prosperity.
26 (X)Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!
We have blessed you from the house of the Lord.
27 God is the Lord,
And He has given us (Y)light;
Bind the sacrifice with cords to the horns of the altar.
28 You are my God, and I will praise You;
(Z)You are my God, I will exalt You.
29 Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!
For His mercy endures forever.
A Song of God’s Majesty and Love
(A)A Praise of David.
145 I will [a]extol You, my God, O King;
And I will bless Your name forever and ever.
2 Every day I will bless You,
And I will praise Your name forever and ever.
3 (B)Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised;
And (C)His greatness is [b]unsearchable.
4 (D)One generation shall praise Your works to another,
And shall declare Your mighty acts.
5 [c]I will meditate on the glorious splendor of Your majesty,
And [d]on Your wondrous works.
6 Men shall speak of the might of Your awesome acts,
And I will declare Your greatness.
7 They shall [e]utter the memory of Your great goodness,
And shall sing of Your righteousness.
8 (E)The Lord is gracious and full of compassion,
Slow to anger and great in mercy.
9 (F)The Lord is good to all,
And His tender mercies are over all His works.
10 (G)All Your works shall praise You, O Lord,
And Your saints shall bless You.
11 They shall speak of the glory of Your kingdom,
And talk of Your power,
12 To make known to the sons of men His mighty acts,
And the glorious majesty of His kingdom.
13 (H)Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
And Your dominion endures throughout all [f]generations.
14 The Lord upholds all who fall,
And (I)raises up all who are bowed down.
15 (J)The eyes of all look expectantly to You,
And (K)You give them their food in due season.
16 You open Your hand
(L)And satisfy the desire of every living thing.
17 The Lord is righteous in all His ways,
Gracious in all His works.
18 (M)The Lord is near to all who call upon Him,
To all who call upon Him (N)in truth.
19 He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him;
He also will hear their cry and save them.
20 (O)The Lord preserves all who love Him,
But all the wicked He will destroy.
21 My mouth shall speak the praise of the Lord,
And all flesh shall bless His holy name
Forever and ever.
19 In that day (A)there will be an altar to the Lord in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar to the (B)Lord at its border. 20 And (C)it will be for a sign and for a witness to the Lord of hosts in the land of Egypt; for they will cry to the Lord because of the oppressors, and He will send them a (D)Savior and a Mighty One, and He will deliver them. 21 Then the Lord will be known to Egypt, and the Egyptians will (E)know the Lord in that day, and (F)will make sacrifice and offering; yes, they will make a vow to the Lord and perform it. 22 And the Lord will strike Egypt, He will strike and (G)heal it; they will return to the Lord, and He will be entreated by them and heal them.
23 In that day (H)there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria, and the Assyrian will come into Egypt and the Egyptian into Assyria, and the Egyptians will (I)serve with the Assyrians.
24 In that day Israel will be one of three with Egypt and Assyria—a blessing in the midst of the land, 25 whom the Lord of hosts shall bless, saying, “Blessed is Egypt My people, and Assyria (J)the work of My hands, and Israel My inheritance.”
5 (A)Now may the God of patience and comfort grant you to be like-minded toward one another, according to Christ Jesus, 6 that you may (B)with one mind and one mouth glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Glorify God Together
7 Therefore (C)receive one another, just (D)as Christ also received [a]us, to the glory of God. 8 Now I say that (E)Jesus Christ has become a [b]servant to the circumcision for the truth of God, (F)to confirm the promises made to the fathers, 9 and (G)that the Gentiles might glorify God for His mercy, as it is written:
(H)“For this reason I will confess to You among the Gentiles,
And sing to Your name.”
10 And again he says:
(I)“Rejoice, O Gentiles, with His people!”
11 And again:
(J)“Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles!
Laud Him, all you peoples!”
12 And again, Isaiah says:
(K)“There shall be a root of Jesse;
And He who shall rise to reign over the Gentiles,
In Him the Gentiles shall hope.”
13 Now may the God of hope fill you with all (L)joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
The Parable of the Minas(A)
11 Now as they heard these things, He spoke another parable, because He was near Jerusalem and because (B)they thought the kingdom of God would appear immediately. 12 (C)Therefore He said: “A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and to return. 13 So he called ten of his servants, delivered to them ten [a]minas, and said to them, ‘Do business till I come.’ 14 (D)But his citizens hated him, and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We will not have this man to reign over us.’
15 “And so it was that when he returned, having received the kingdom, he then commanded these servants, to whom he had given the money, to be called to him, that he might know how much every man had gained by trading. 16 Then came the first, saying, ‘Master, your mina has earned ten minas.’ 17 And he said to him, (E)‘Well done, good servant; because you were (F)faithful in a very little, have authority over ten cities.’ 18 And the second came, saying, ‘Master, your mina has earned five minas.’ 19 Likewise he said to him, ‘You also be over five cities.’
20 “Then another came, saying, ‘Master, here is your mina, which I have kept put away in a handkerchief. 21 (G)For I feared you, because you are [b]an austere man. You collect what you did not deposit, and reap what you did not sow.’ 22 And he said to him, (H)‘Out of your own mouth I will judge you, you wicked servant. (I)You knew that I was an austere man, collecting what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow. 23 Why then did you not put my money in the bank, that at my coming I might have collected it with interest?’
24 “And he said to those who stood by, ‘Take the mina from him, and give it to him who has ten minas.’ 25 (But they said to him, ‘Master, he has ten minas.’) 26 ‘For I say to you, (J)that to everyone who has will be given; and from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. 27 But bring here those enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, and slay them before me.’ ”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.