Book of Common Prayer
The 1st Hallelujah Psalm[a]
146 Hallelujah! Praise the Lord!
I say to myself, ‘Praise the Lord!’
2 I will praise the Lord through all my life.
While I am alive, I will always sing to praise my God.
3 Do not trust in human leaders.
No human can save you.
4 When they die, they return to the ground.
On that day, their plans come to an end.
5 The person who knows that the God of Jacob will help him is a happy person![b]
If he trusts in the Lord as his God, he is happy.
6 The Lord made the skies, the earth and the sea.
He also made everything that is in them.
He always does what he has promised to do.
7 He helps poor people to receive justice.
He gives food to the hungry.
He makes people that are in a prison go free.
8 The Lord makes blind people see again.
The Lord lifts up people who have fallen down.
The Lord loves people who are righteous.
9 The Lord takes care of strangers who live among us.
He helps widows and children who have no family.
But he stops wicked people doing what they want.
10 The Lord will rule as king for ever!
Zion's people, he will always be your God
and your descendants' God.
Hallelujah! Praise the Lord!
The 2nd Hallelujah Psalm
147 Hallelujah! Praise the Lord!
It is good to sing to praise our God!
Yes, it is right to praise him and it makes us happy.
2 The Lord is building Jerusalem again.
He is bringing home the Israelite exiles.
3 He makes people who are very sad well again.[c]
He helps their wounds to get better.
4 He decided how many stars there should be in the sky.
He has given a name to each of them.
5 Our Lord is great and very powerful.
He understands everything!
6 The Lord gives help to poor people,
but he knocks down wicked people to the ground.
7 Offer a song to the Lord,
to thank him for what he has done.
Make music with a harp
to praise our God.
8 He fills the sky with clouds.
He sends rain to make the earth wet.
He causes grass to grow on the hills.
9 He gives food for the animals to eat.
He feeds the young ravens when they cry.[d]
10 If a horse is very strong,
that does not please him.
If a soldier is brave,
that does not make him happy.
11 Who does make the Lord happy?
People who respect him and serve him well.
People who trust him because they know he loves them.
12 Jerusalem's people, praise the Lord!
Yes, Zion's people, praise your God![e]
13 Praise him because he makes your city's gates strong.
He blesses the people who live there.
14 He causes your borders to be safe from your enemies.
He gives you lots of the best wheat to eat.
15 He sends his commands to reach all the earth.
Very soon the whole world knows what he wants.
16 He covers the earth with snow,
like a white blanket.
He puts white frost everywhere,
like ashes that the wind blows.
17 He throws hail from the sky,
like small stones.
When he sends a cold wind,
nobody can continue to stand.
18 Then he commands it all to melt.
He makes the warm wind blow,
and the ice becomes streams of water.
19 He sends his message to Jacob's descendants.
He gives his rules and laws to Israel's people.[f]
20 He has not done that for any other nation.
They do not know his laws.[g]
Hallelujah! Praise the Lord!
The Lord does great things[a]
111 Hallelujah! Praise the Lord!
I will thank the Lord with all that I am,
when we, his people, meet together.
2 The Lord does great things!
People who enjoy them,
think carefully about them.
3 Everything that he does
shows that he is a very great king!
He will always do what is completely right.
4 The Lord causes us to remember his miracles.
He is kind and he forgives people.
5 He gives food to the people who serve him.
He always remembers the covenant
that he made with his people.
6 He said that he would use his great power
to help his people.
He has given to them
the lands where other nations lived.
7 He is always honest and fair
in the things that he does.
His rules help people to live well.
8 They will continue to be right for all time.
People should trust those rules and obey them.
9 He rescued his people
so that they became free.
He made his covenant with them
so that it would continue for ever.
His name is holy,
and people should respect him with fear.
10 If you want to live in a wise way,
respect and obey the Lord.[b]
Everyone who lives in the way that he teaches
will understand what is right.
People should praise the Lord for ever!
God makes his people strong[c]
112 Hallelujah! Praise the Lord!
When someone respects the Lord with fear,
God has blessed that person!
He is happy to obey the Lord's commands.
2 His children will become powerful in the land.
God will bless their descendants who serve him.
3 His family will have valuable things,
and they will be rich.
People will always remember
the good things that they have done.
4 God's light shines on those who serve him,
even when they are in a dark place.
God blesses those who are kind to others,
and who do what is right and fair.
5 People who are kind and lend money to others,
and who work in an honest way,
will enjoy a good life.
6 Righteous people will never fail.
People will always remember them.
7 They are not afraid to hear bad news.
They are brave,
because they trust in the Lord.
8 Their thoughts are strong
and they will not be afraid.
They know that they will win against their enemies.
9 They give their things to help poor people.
People will always remember
the good things that they have done.
They will be powerful
and people will respect them.
10 When wicked people see this,
they will be angry.
They will show their teeth in anger,
but then they will disappear.
Whatever wicked people want,
they will never get it.
Hallelujah, God helps weak people[d]
113 Hallelujah! Praise the Lord!
Servants of the Lord, praise him!
Praise the name of the Lord!
2 Everyone should praise the Lord
now and for ever!
3 The Lord deserves that people praise him,
from where the sun rises in the east,
to where it goes down in the west.
4 The Lord rules over all nations.
His glory is great
higher than the heavens!
5 There is nobody like the Lord our God.
He sits on his throne high above us.
6 He bends down to look below,
at the sky and the earth.
7 He lifts poor people out of the dirt.
And he lifts up weak people from the ashes.
8 He gives them a seat with princes,
the princes who rule his own people.
9 He makes the wife who cannot give birth
into a happy mother of children.
Hallelujah! Praise the Lord!
Who was Amos?
1 Amos was one of the shepherds who lived in the town of Tekoa.[a] God spoke to him. He showed Amos the things that would happen to the people of Israel. God did that two years before the earthquake came. It was during the time that Uzziah was the king of Judah, and Joash's son, Jeroboam, was the king of Israel. This book tells about the message that Amos received from God.
2 Amos said, ‘The Lord speaks loudly from Zion.[b] Yes, he shouts from Jerusalem. As a result, the green fields will become dry and the grass will die. There will be nothing for the sheep to eat. Even the grass on Mount Carmel mountain will die.’
God will punish the nations near Israel
3 The Lord says, ‘The people in Damascus have done more and more wrong things.[c] So I will certainly punish them!
They have been cruel to the people in Gilead. They used their iron weapons to tear them into pieces. 4 I will send a fire to destroy the palace that King Hazael built. It will destroy the strong buildings of King Ben-Hadad. 5 I will also break the strong gates of the city of Damascus. I will remove all the people who live in the Aven valley. I will remove the king of Beth-Eden. Their enemies will take the people of Syria far away to Kir as prisoners.’ That is what the Lord says.
13 The Lord says, ‘The people in Ammon have done more and more wrong things. So I will certainly punish them.
People from Ammon fought against the people in Gilead. Ammon's people wanted to get more land for themselves. While they were killing people there, they also cut pregnant women open. 14 So I will send fire. And the fire will destroy the walls of Rabbah city. It will destroy the strong buildings too. People will fight and they will shout. They will shout loudly, like the noise that a strong wind makes in a storm. 15 The enemies will take away their king and their leaders. They will take them to another country. The king and the leaders will not be free to return.’ That is what the Lord says.
2 The Lord says, ‘The people in Moab have done more and more wrong things. So I will certainly punish them.
They dug up the bones of Edom's king. They burned his bones until they became ashes. 2 So I will send fire to the country called Moab. The fire will destroy the strong buildings in Kerioth town. The people will hear their enemies shout. And they will hear the sounds that their enemies' trumpets make. And the people will die. 3 I will let the enemies kill the ruler of Moab. And I will let them kill all its leaders too.’ That is what the Lord says.
A message to the people in Judah
4 The Lord says, ‘The people in Judah have done more and more wrong things. So I will certainly punish them.
They refused to obey my laws and my commands. They have listened to their false gods, Those are the same false gods that their ancestors served. 5 So I will send fire to Judah. The fire will completely burn the strong buildings that are in Jerusalem.’
A message to the people in Israel
6 The Lord says, ‘The people in Israel have done more and more wrong things. So I will certainly punish them.
They sold people that did not do wrong things. They sold them for silver. And they sold poor people for only the price of shoes. 7 They are not kind to poor people and they do not help them. A father and his son have sex with the same woman. They do not respect the holy way that I want them to live. 8 When they lend money to poor people, they take the poor people's clothes.[a] They do not return the clothes each night, as they should do. Instead they sleep on the clothes themselves. They do that at the places where they worship their gods. The rich people take money from poor people. They use that money to buy wine for themselves. Then they drink the wine in the temples of their gods.
We must be ready for Jesus to return
5 Friends, we do not need to write anything to you about the dates and times when these things will happen. 2 You know very well about how the great day of the Lord will happen. That day will surprise people very much, like when a robber comes in the night. 3 At that time, people will be saying, ‘We are safe and there is no trouble for us.’ But then, when they are not ready for it, great punishment will suddenly happen to them. It will be impossible for them to run away. Pain will suddenly come to them, like a woman who is giving birth to a baby.
4 But you, our Christian friends, know about these things. You are not like people who live in the dark. So when the great day of the Lord happens, it should not suddenly surprise you, like a robber might surprise you. 5 All of you are people who belong to the light and to the day. We who are believers do not belong to the night or to the dark. 6 So we must watch carefully. We should be like people who stay awake. We should not be like other people who are sleeping. 7 It is at night that people sleep. It is at night that people become drunk.
8 But we belong to the day, not to the night. So we should think clearly. We must prepare ourselves like a soldier who puts on his armour. We must continue to trust God and to love him. That will be like a metal shirt that keeps our body safe. We must also continue to hope that God will save us. That will be like a strong hat that keeps our head safe.
9 God did not choose us as his people so that he could be angry with us. He chose us so that he could save us because of what our Lord Jesus Christ has done. 10 Jesus died on our behalf so that we can live together with him. It does not matter whether we are alive or dead when he returns. We will all go to live with him. 11 Because of that, you should help each other to become stronger as believers. I know that you are already doing that.
Jesus talks about things that will happen
5 Some of Jesus' disciples were talking about the temple. They spoke about the many beautiful stones in the walls. They also spoke about the many gifts to God that people had put there. 6 Jesus said to them, ‘You can see all these beautiful things now. But a day is coming when enemies will completely destroy it all. Not even one stone will remain on top of another stone.’
7 ‘Teacher,’ they asked, ‘When will all these things happen? What will show us that they will soon happen?’
8 Jesus replied. ‘Be careful! Some people will tell you things that are not true. Do not believe them. Many people will say that they have come on my behalf. They will say, “I am the Messiah.” They will say, “Now is the time!” Do not agree with those people. 9 You will hear about wars and people fighting each other. Do not be afraid. Those things must happen first, but the end of everything will not happen immediately.’
10 Jesus then said to them, ‘People from one country will attack the people from another country. Kings and their armies will fight against other kings and their armies. 11 The ground will shake, so that people will be afraid. In many different places, people will be hungry, with no food. Diseases will go from one person to another. Many people will die. Things will also happen in the sky that will frighten people.
12 But before all those things happen, people will take hold of you. They will do bad things to you and give you pain. They will take you to the leaders in their meeting places and they will keep you in prisons. They will make you stand in front of kings and rulers. All this will happen because you are my disciples. 13 This will be the time to tell them the good news about me. 14 So prepare your minds. You must decide not to think about how to answer the questions of kings and rulers. Wait until that time comes. 15 I will give you the right words to speak at that time. I will help you to be wise. The people who are against you will not be able to argue with you. They will just be quiet. 16 Even your parents and other people in your family will take hold of you. They will make you stand in front of kings and rulers. They will even kill some of you. 17 Everybody will hate you because you are my disciples. 18 But your life will be safe with me. You will not lose even one hair from your head. 19 Yes, you will have true life, if you remain strong.
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