Book of Common Prayer
Praise to God for His Word and Providence
147 Praise[a] the Lord!
For (A)it is good to sing praises to our God;
(B)For it is pleasant, and (C)praise is beautiful.
2 The Lord (D)builds up Jerusalem;
(E)He gathers together the outcasts of Israel.
3 (F)He heals the brokenhearted
And binds up their [b]wounds.
4 (G)He counts the number of the stars;
He calls them all by name.
5 (H)Great is our Lord, and (I)mighty in power;
(J)His understanding is infinite.
6 (K)The Lord lifts up the humble;
He casts the wicked down to the ground.
7 Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving;
Sing praises on the harp to our God,
8 (L)Who covers the heavens with clouds,
Who prepares rain for the earth,
Who makes grass to grow on the mountains.
9 (M)He gives to the beast its food,
And (N)to the young ravens that cry.
10 (O)He does not delight in the strength of the horse;
He takes no pleasure in the legs of a man.
11 The Lord takes pleasure in those who fear Him,
In those who hope in His mercy.
12 Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem!
Praise your God, O Zion!
13 For He has strengthened the bars of your gates;
He has blessed your children within you.
14 (P)He makes peace in your borders,
And (Q)fills you with [c]the finest wheat.
15 (R)He sends out His command to the earth;
His word runs very swiftly.
16 (S)He gives snow like wool;
He scatters the frost like ashes;
17 He casts out His hail like [d]morsels;
Who can stand before His cold?
18 (T)He sends out His word and melts them;
He causes His wind to blow, and the waters flow.
19 (U)He declares His word to Jacob,
(V)His statutes and His judgments to Israel.
20 (W)He has not dealt thus with any nation;
And as for His judgments, they have not known them.
[e]Praise the Lord!
Offerings of Firstfruits and Tithes
26 “And it shall be, when you come into the land which the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance, and you possess it and dwell in it, 2 (A)that you shall take some of the first of all the produce of the ground, which you shall bring from your land that the Lord your God is giving you, and put it in a basket and (B)go to the place where the Lord your God chooses to make His name abide. 3 And you shall go to the one who is priest in those days, and say to him, ‘I declare today to the Lord [a]your God that I have come to the country which the Lord swore to our fathers to give us.’
4 “Then the priest shall take the basket out of your hand and set it down before the altar of the Lord your God. 5 And you shall answer and say before the Lord your God: ‘My father was (C)a [b]Syrian, (D)about to perish, and (E)he went down to Egypt and [c]dwelt there, (F)few in number; and there he became a nation, (G)great, mighty, and populous. 6 But the (H)Egyptians mistreated us, afflicted us, and laid hard bondage on us. 7 (I)Then we cried out to the Lord God of our fathers, and the Lord heard our voice and looked on our affliction and our labor and our oppression. 8 So (J)the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and with an outstretched arm, (K)with great terror and with signs and wonders. 9 He has brought us to this place and has given us this land, (L)“a land flowing with milk and honey”; 10 and now, behold, I have brought the firstfruits of the land which you, O Lord, have given me.’
“Then you shall set it before the Lord your God, and worship before the Lord your God. 11 So (M)you shall rejoice in every good thing which the Lord your God has given to you and your house, you and the Levite and the stranger who is among you.
26 Jesus answered them and said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled. 27 (A)Do not labor for the food which perishes, but (B)for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, (C)because God the Father has set His seal on Him.”
28 Then they said to Him, “What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?”
29 Jesus answered and said to them, (D)“This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.”
30 Therefore they said to Him, (E)“What sign will You perform then, that we may see it and believe You? What work will You do? 31 (F)Our fathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written, (G)‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’ ”
32 Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but (H)My Father gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”
34 (I)Then they said to Him, “Lord, give us this bread always.”
35 And Jesus said to them, (J)“I am the bread of life. (K)He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never (L)thirst.
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.
Various Exhortations
12 And we urge you, brethren, (A)to recognize those who labor among you, and are over you in the Lord and [a]admonish you, 13 and to esteem them very highly in love for their work’s sake. (B)Be at peace among yourselves.
14 Now we [b]exhort you, brethren, (C)warn those who are [c]unruly, (D)comfort the fainthearted, (E)uphold the weak, (F)be patient with all. 15 (G)See that no one renders evil for evil to anyone, but always (H)pursue what is good both for yourselves and for all.
16 (I)Rejoice always, 17 (J)pray without ceasing, 18 in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
19 (K)Do not quench the Spirit. 20 (L)Do not despise prophecies. 21 (M)Test all things; (N)hold fast what is good. 22 Abstain from every form of evil.
Blessing and Admonition
23 Now may (O)the God of peace Himself (P)sanctify[d] you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body (Q)be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24 He who calls you is (R)faithful, who also will (S)do it.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.