Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 146
1 Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord, O my soul!
2 While I live I will praise the Lord;
I will sing praises unto my God while I have my life.
3 Do not put your trust in princes,
nor in a son of man, in whom there is no help.
4 His breath leaves him, and he returns to the earth;
on that very day his plans perish.
5 Blessed is he who has the God of Jacob for his help,
whose hope is in the Lord his God,
6 who made heaven, and earth,
the sea, and all that is in them,
who keeps faithfulness forever,
7 who executes justice for the oppressed,
who gives food to the hungry.
The Lord releases the prisoners.
8 The Lord opens the eyes of the blind;
the Lord raises those who are brought down;
the Lord loves the righteous.
9 The Lord preserves the sojourners;
He lifts up the fatherless and widow,
but on the way of the wicked He brings disaster.
10 The Lord shall reign forever,
your God, O Zion, unto all generations.
Praise you the Lord!
Psalm 147
1 Praise the Lord!
For it is good to sing praises unto our God;
for it is pleasant, and a song of praise is fitting.
2 The Lord builds up Jerusalem;
He gathers together the outcasts of Israel.
3 He heals the broken in heart,
and binds up their wounds.
4 He counts the number of the stars;
He calls them all by their names.
5 Great is our Lord and great in power;
His understanding is without measure.
6 The Lord lifts up the meek;
He casts the wicked down to the ground.
7 Sing unto the Lord with thanksgiving;
sing praise upon the harp unto our God:
8 who covers the heaven with clouds,
who provides rain for the earth,
who makes grass to grow upon the mountains.
9 He gives food to the animals
and to the young ravens that chirp.
10 He delights not in the strength of the horse,
nor does He take pleasure in the legs of a man,
11 but 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 He makes peace in your borders,
and fills you with the finest of the wheat.
15 He sends forth His commandment on the earth;
His word goes out swiftly.
16 He gives snow like wool;
He scatters the frost like ashes;
17 He casts forth His ice like morsels;
who can stand before His cold?
18 He sends out His word and melts them;
He causes His wind to blow and the waters flow.
19 He shows His word to Jacob,
and His statutes and His judgments to Israel.
20 He has not dealt so with any other nation;
they have not known His judgments.
Praise the Lord!
Psalm 148
1 Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord from the heavens;
praise Him in the heights.
2 Praise Him, all His angels;
praise Him, all His heavenly hosts.
3 Praise Him, sun and moon;
praise Him, all you stars of light.
4 Praise Him, you highest of heavens,
and you waters that are above the skies.
5 Let them praise the name of the Lord,
for He commanded, and they were created.
6 He has also established them forever and ever;
He has made a decree that shall not pass away.
7 Praise the Lord from the earth,
you great sea creatures, and all you depths,
8 fire and hail, snow and mist,
storming wind fulfilling His word,
9 mountains and all hills,
fruitful trees and all cedars;
10 animals and all cattle,
creeping things and flying birds;
11 kings of the earth and all peoples,
princes and all rulers of the earth;
12 both young men and maidens,
old men and children.
13 Let them praise the name of the Lord,
for His name alone is excellent;
His glory is above the earth and heaven.
14 He has raised up a victory horn for His people,
praise for all His saints,
even for the people of Israel near Him.
Praise the Lord!
Psalm 149
1 Praise the Lord!
Sing unto the Lord a new song,
and His praise in the assembly of the godly ones.
2 Let Israel rejoice in its Maker;
let the children of Zion be joyful in their King.
3 Let them praise His name with dancing;
let them sing praises unto Him with the tambourine and harp.
4 For the Lord takes pleasure in His people;
He will beautify the meek with salvation.
5 Let the godly ones be joyful in glory;
let them sing for joy on their beds.
6 Let the high praises of God be in their mouths,
and two-edged swords in their hands,
7 to execute vengeance on the nations,
and punishments on the peoples;
8 to bind their kings with chains,
and their nobles with shackles of iron;
9 to execute upon them the written judgment;
this is honor for all His godly ones.
Praise the Lord!
The Valley of Dry Bones
37 The hand of the Lord was upon me, and He carried me out in the Spirit of the Lord and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones, 2 and He caused me to pass among them all around. And there were very many in the open valley. And they were very dry. 3 He said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?”
And I answered, “O Lord God, You know.”
4 Again He said to me, “Prophesy over these bones and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. 5 Thus says the Lord God to these bones: I will cause breath to enter you so that you live. 6 And I will lay sinews upon you and will grow back flesh upon you and cover you with skin and put breath in you so that you live. Then you shall know that I am the Lord.”
7 So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was a noise and a shaking. And the bones came together, bone to its bone. 8 When I looked, the sinews and the flesh grew upon them, and the skin covered them. But there was no breath in them.
9 Then He said to me, “Prophesy to the wind; prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind: Thus says the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain so that they live.” 10 So I prophesied as He commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army.
11 Then He said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost. We are cut off completely.’ 12 Therefore prophesy and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: Pay attention, O My people, I will open your graves and cause you to come up out of your graves and bring you into the land of Israel. 13 Then you shall know that I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves, O My people, and brought you up out of your graves. 14 And I shall put My Spirit in you, and you shall live, and I shall place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I the Lord have spoken and performed it, says the Lord.”
Peter’s Speech at Solomon’s Porch
11 As the lame man who was healed held on to Peter and John, all the people ran together to them in the entrance that is called Solomon’s Porch, greatly amazed. 12 When Peter saw it, he answered the people: “Men of Israel, why do you marvel at this man? Or why do you stare at us, as if by our own power or piety we had made him walk? 13 The God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified His Son Jesus, whom you handed over and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release Him. 14 You denied the Holy and Righteous One and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, 15 and you killed the Creator of Life, whom God has raised from the dead, of which we are witnesses. 16 And His name, by faith in His name, has made this man strong, whom you see and know. And faith which comes through Him has given him perfect health in your presence.
17 “Now brothers, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did also your rulers. 18 But what God foretold through all the prophets, that His Christ should suffer, He thus fulfilled. 19 Therefore repent and be converted, that your sins may be wiped away, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, 20 and that He may send the One who previously was preached to you, Jesus Christ, 21 whom the heavens must receive until the time of restoring what God spoke through all His holy prophets since the world began. 22 For Moses indeed said to the fathers, ‘The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brothers. You shall hear whatever He may say to you. 23 And it shall be that every soul who will not hear that prophet shall be utterly eliminated from the people.’[a]
24 “Indeed, all the prophets since Samuel and those who follow, as many as have spoken, have likewise foretold these days. 25 You are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying to Abraham, ‘And in your seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed.’[b] 26 God, having raised up His Son Jesus, sent Him to you first, to bless you in turning every one of you from your iniquities.”
12 This is My commandment: that you love one another, as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no man than this: that a man lay down his life for his friends. 14 You are My friends if you do whatever I command you. 15 I no longer call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master does. But I have called you friends, for everything that I have heard from My Father have I made known to you. 16 You did not choose Me, but I chose you, and appointed you, that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that the Father may give you whatever you ask Him in My name. 17 This I command you: that you love one another.
The World’s Hatred
18 “If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. 19 If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own. But because you are not of the world, since I chose you out of the world, the world therefore hates you. 20 Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My words, they will keep yours also. 21 But all these things they will do to you for My name’s sake, because they do not know Him who sent Me. 22 If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have had sin. But now they have no excuse for their sin. 23 He who hates Me hates My Father also. 24 If I had not performed among them the works which no one else did, they would have no sin. But now have they seen and hated both My Father and Me. 25 But that the word which is written in their law might be fulfilled, ‘They hated Me without a cause.’[a]
26 “But when the Counselor comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will bear witness of Me. 27 And you also will bear witness, because you have been with Me from the beginning.
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.