Book of Common Prayer
147 Praise the Lord because he is good.
Sing praises to our God.
It is good and pleasant to praise him.
2 The Lord rebuilds Jerusalem.
He brings back the Israelites who were taken as prisoners.
3 He heals their broken hearts
and bandages their wounds.
4 He counts the stars
and knows each of them by name.
5 Our Lord is great and powerful.
There is no limit to what he knows.
6 The Lord supports the humble,
but he shames the wicked.
7 Give thanks to the Lord.
Praise our God with harps.
8 He fills the sky with clouds.
He sends rain to the earth.
He makes the grass grow on the mountains.
9 He gives food to the animals.
He feeds the young birds that cry out.
10 War horses and powerful soldiers
are not what he cares about.
11 The Lord enjoys people who worship him
and trust in his faithful love.
12 Jerusalem, praise the Lord!
Zion, praise your God!
13 He makes your gates strong,
and he blesses the people in your city.
14 He brought peace to your country,
so you have plenty of grain for food.
15 He gives a command to the earth,
and it quickly obeys.
16 He makes the snow fall until the ground is as white as wool.
He makes sleet blow through the air like dust.
17 He makes hail fall like rocks from the sky.
No one can stand the cold he sends.
18 Then he gives another command, and warm air begins to blow.
The ice melts, and water begins to flow.
19 He gave his commands to Jacob.
He gave his laws and rules to Israel.
20 He did not do this for any other nation.
He did not teach his laws to other people.
Praise the Lord!
The First Harvest
26 “You will soon enter the land that the Lord your God is giving you. You will take that land and live there. 2 You will gather the crops that grow in the land the Lord your God is giving you. You must take some of the first crops you gather and put them in baskets. Then take that part of your harvest to the place that the Lord your God chooses to be the home for his name. 3 Go to the priest who is serving at that time. Tell him, ‘The Lord promised our ancestors that he would give us some land. Today I come to announce to the Lord your God that I have come to that land.’
4 “Then the priest will take the basket from you. He will put it down in front of the altar of the Lord your God. 5 Then there before the Lord your God you will say: ‘My ancestor was a wandering Aramean.[a] He went down into Egypt and stayed there. When he went there, he had only a few people in his family. But in Egypt he became a great nation—a powerful nation with many people. 6 The Egyptians treated us badly. They made us slaves. They hurt us and forced us to work very hard. 7 Then we prayed to the Lord, the God of our ancestors, and complained about them. And the Lord heard us. He saw our trouble, our hard work, and our suffering. 8 Then the Lord brought us out of Egypt with his great power and strength. He used great miracles and wonders and did amazing things. 9 So he brought us to this place. He gave us this land—a land filled with many good things.[b] 10 Now, Lord, I bring you the first harvest from the land that you gave me.’
“Then you must put the harvest down before the Lord your God and bow down to worship him. 11 Then you must have a meal together and enjoy all the good things that the Lord your God has given to you and your family. You must share them with the Levites and the foreigners living among you.
26 He answered, “Why are you looking for me? Is it because you saw miraculous signs? The truth is, you are looking for me because you ate the bread and were satisfied. 27 But earthly food spoils and ruins. So don’t work to get that kind of food. But work to get the food that stays good and gives you eternal life. The Son of Man will give you that food. He is the only one qualified by God the Father to give it to you.”
28 The people asked Jesus, “What does God want us to do?”
29 Jesus answered, “The work God wants you to do is this: to believe in the one he sent.”
30 So the people asked, “What miraculous sign will you do for us? If we can see you do a miracle, then we will believe you. What will you do? 31 Our ancestors were given manna to eat in the desert. As the Scriptures say, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’[a]”
32 Jesus said, “I can assure you that Moses was not the one who gave your people bread from heaven. But my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 God’s bread is the one who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”
34 The people said, “Sir, from now on give us bread like that.”
35 Then Jesus said, “I am the bread that gives life. No one who comes to me will ever be hungry. No one who believes in me will ever be thirsty.
A song of David.
145 I will tell of your greatness, my God and King.
I will praise your name forever and ever.
2 I will praise you every day.
I will praise your name forever and ever.
3 The Lord is great and deserves all our praise!
No one can fully understand his greatness!
4 Each generation will praise you
and tell the next generation about the great things you do.
5 Your majesty and glory are wonderful.
I will tell about your miracles.
6 People will tell about the amazing things you do,
and I will tell everyone how great you are.
7 They will talk about your goodness
and sing about your justice.
8 The Lord is kind and merciful,
patient and full of love.
9 The Lord is good to everyone.
He shows his mercy to everything he made.
10 Lord, all you have made will give thanks to you.
Your loyal followers will praise you.
11 They will tell how great your kingdom is.
They will tell how great you are.
12 So others will learn about the mighty things you do,
about the glory of your kingdom—how marvelous it is!
13 Your kingdom will never end,
and you will rule forever.
The Lord can be trusted in all that he says.
He is loyal in all that he does.[a]
14 The Lord lifts up people who have fallen.
He helps those who are in trouble.
15 All living things look to you for their food,
and you give them their food at the right time.
16 You open your hands
and give every living thing all that it needs.
17 Everything the Lord does is good.
Everything he does shows how loyal he is.
18 The Lord is near to everyone
who sincerely calls to him for help.
19 He listens to his followers and does what they want.
He answers their prayers and saves them.
20 The Lord protects everyone who loves him,
but he destroys all who do evil.
21 I will praise the Lord!
Let everyone praise his holy name forever and ever!
Final Instructions and Greetings
12 Now brothers and sisters, we ask you to recognize the value of those who work hard among you—those who, as followers of the Lord, care for you and tell you how to live. 13 Show them the highest respect and love because of the work they do.
Live in peace with each other. 14 We ask you, brothers and sisters, to warn those who will not work. Encourage those who are afraid. Help those who are weak. Be patient with everyone. 15 Be sure that no one pays back wrong for wrong. But always try to do what is good for each other and for all people.
16 Always be full of joy. 17 Never stop praying. 18 Whatever happens, always be thankful. This is how God wants you to live in Christ Jesus.
19 Don’t stop the work of the Holy Spirit. 20 Don’t treat prophecy like something that is not important. 21 But test everything. Keep what is good, 22 and stay away from everything that is evil.
23 We pray that God himself, the God of peace, will make you pure—belonging only to him. We pray that your whole self—spirit, soul, and body—will be kept safe and be blameless when our Lord Jesus Christ comes. 24 The one who chose you will do that for you. You can trust him.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International