Book of Common Prayer
The Lord an Abundant Helper.
146 [a]Praise [b]the Lord!
(A)Praise the Lord, O my soul!
2 I will praise the Lord (B)while I live;
I will (C)sing praises to my God while I have my being.
3 (D)Do not trust in princes,
In [c]mortal (E)man, in whom there is (F)no salvation.
4 His (G)spirit departs, he (H)returns to [d]the earth;
In that very day his (I)thoughts perish.
5 How (J)blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob,
Whose (K)hope is in the Lord his God,
6 Who (L)made heaven and earth,
The (M)sea and all that is in them;
Who (N)keeps [e]faith forever;
7 Who (O)executes justice for the oppressed;
Who (P)gives food to the hungry.
The Lord (Q)sets the prisoners free.
8 The Lord (R)opens the eyes of the blind;
The Lord (S)raises up those who are bowed down;
The Lord (T)loves the righteous;
9 The Lord [f](U)protects the [g]strangers;
He [h](V)supports the fatherless and the widow,
But He [i]thwarts (W)the way of the wicked.
10 The Lord will (X)reign forever,
Your God, O Zion, to all generations.
[j]Praise [k]the Lord!
Praise for Jerusalem’s Restoration and Prosperity.
147 [l]Praise [m]the Lord!
For (Y)it is good to sing praises to our God;
For [n]it is pleasant and praise is (Z)becoming.
2 The Lord (AA)builds up Jerusalem;
He (AB)gathers the outcasts of Israel.
3 He heals the (AC)brokenhearted
And (AD)binds up their [o]wounds.
4 He (AE)counts the number of the stars;
He [p](AF)gives names to all of them.
5 (AG)Great is our Lord and abundant in strength;
His (AH)understanding is [q]infinite.
6 The Lord [r](AI)supports the afflicted;
He brings down the wicked to the ground.
7 (AJ)Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving;
Sing praises to our God on the lyre,
8 Who (AK)covers the heavens with clouds,
Who (AL)provides rain for the earth,
Who (AM)makes grass to [s]grow on the mountains.
9 He (AN)gives to the beast its food,
And to the (AO)young ravens which cry.
10 He does not delight in the strength of the (AP)horse;
He (AQ)does not take pleasure in the legs of a man.
11 The Lord (AR)favors those who fear Him,
(AS)Those who wait for His lovingkindness.
12 Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem!
Praise your God, O Zion!
13 For He has strengthened the (AT)bars of your gates;
He has (AU)blessed your sons within you.
14 He (AV)makes [t]peace in your borders;
He (AW)satisfies you with (AX)the [u]finest of the wheat.
15 He sends forth His (AY)command to the earth;
His (AZ)word runs very swiftly.
16 He gives (BA)snow like wool;
He scatters the (BB)frost like ashes.
17 He casts forth His (BC)ice as fragments;
Who can stand before His (BD)cold?
18 He (BE)sends forth His word and melts them;
He (BF)causes His wind to blow and the waters to flow.
19 He (BG)declares His words to Jacob,
His (BH)statutes and His ordinances to Israel.
20 He (BI)has not dealt thus with any nation;
And as for His ordinances, they have (BJ)not known them.
[v]Praise [w]the Lord!
The Lord Praised for His Goodness.
111 [a]Praise [b]the Lord!
I (A)will give thanks to the Lord with all my heart,
In the (B)company of the upright and in the assembly.
2 (C)Great are the works of the Lord;
They are [c](D)studied by all who delight in them.
3 [d](E)Splendid and majestic is His work,
And (F)His righteousness endures forever.
4 He has made His [e]wonders [f]to be remembered;
The Lord is (G)gracious and compassionate.
5 He has (H)given [g]food to those who [h]fear Him;
He will (I)remember His covenant forever.
6 He has made known to His people the power of His works,
In giving them the heritage of the nations.
7 The works of His hands are [i](J)truth and justice;
All His precepts (K)are [j]sure.
8 They are (L)upheld forever and ever;
They are performed in [k](M)truth and uprightness.
9 He has sent (N)redemption to His people;
He has [l]ordained His covenant forever;
(O)Holy and [m]awesome is His name.
10 The [n](P)fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom;
A (Q)good understanding have all those who [o]do His commandments;
His (R)praise endures forever.
Prosperity of the One Who Fears the Lord.
112 [p]Praise [q]the Lord!
How (S)blessed is the man who [r]fears the Lord,
Who greatly (T)delights in His commandments.
2 His [s](U)descendants will be mighty [t]on earth;
The generation of the (V)upright will be blessed.
3 (W)Wealth and riches are in his house,
And his righteousness endures forever.
4 Light arises in the darkness (X)for the upright;
He is (Y)gracious and compassionate and righteous.
5 It is well with the man who (Z)is gracious and lends;
He will [u]maintain his cause in judgment.
6 For he will (AA)never be shaken;
The (AB)righteous will be [v]remembered forever.
7 He will not fear (AC)evil tidings;
His (AD)heart is steadfast, (AE)trusting in the Lord.
8 His (AF)heart is upheld, he (AG)will not fear,
Until he (AH)looks with satisfaction on his adversaries.
9 [w]He (AI)has given freely to the poor,
His righteousness endures forever;
His (AJ)horn will be exalted in honor.
10 The (AK)wicked will see it and be [x]vexed,
He will (AL)gnash his teeth and (AM)melt away;
The (AN)desire of the wicked will perish.
The Lord Exalts the Humble.
113 [y]Praise [z]the Lord!
(AO)Praise, O (AP)servants of the Lord,
Praise the name of the Lord.
2 (AQ)Blessed be the name of the Lord
From this time forth and forever.
3 (AR)From the rising of the sun to its setting
The (AS)name of the Lord is to be praised.
4 The Lord is (AT)high above all nations;
His (AU)glory is above the heavens.
5 (AV)Who is like the Lord our God,
Who (AW)is enthroned on high,
6 Who [aa](AX)humbles Himself to behold
The things that are in heaven and in the earth?
7 He (AY)raises the poor from the dust
And lifts the needy from the ash heap,
8 To make them (AZ)sit with [ab]princes,
With the [ac]princes of His people.
9 He (BA)makes the barren woman abide in the house
As a joyful mother of children.
[ad]Praise [ae]the Lord!
The Creation
1 (A)In the beginning (B)God (C)created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was [a](D)formless and void, and (E)darkness was over the [b]surface of the deep, and (F)the Spirit of God (G)was [c]moving over the [d]surface of the waters. 3 Then (H)God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was (I)good; and God (J)separated the light from the darkness. 5 (K)God called the light day, and the darkness He called night. And (L)there was evening and there was morning, one day.
6 Then God said, “Let there be [e]an (M)expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.” 7 God made the [f]expanse, and separated (N)the waters which were below the [g]expanse from the waters (O)which were above the [h]expanse; and it was so. 8 God called the [i]expanse heaven. And there was evening and there was morning, a second day.
9 Then God said, “(P)Let the waters below the heavens be gathered into one place, and let (Q)the dry land appear”; and it was so. 10 God called the dry land earth, and the (R)gathering of the waters He called seas; and God saw that it was good. 11 Then God said, “Let the earth sprout [j](S)vegetation, [k]plants yielding seed, and fruit trees on the earth bearing fruit after [l]their kind [m]with seed in them”; and it was so. 12 The earth brought forth [n]vegetation, [o]plants yielding seed after [p]their kind, and trees bearing fruit [q]with seed in them, after [r]their kind; and God saw that it was good. 13 There was evening and there was morning, a third day.
14 Then God said, “Let there be [s](T)lights in the [t](U)expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night, and let them be for (V)signs and for (W)seasons and for days and years; 15 and let them be for [u]lights in the [v]expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth”; and it was so. 16 God made the two [w]great lights, the (X)greater [x]light [y]to govern the day, and the lesser [z]light [aa]to govern the night; He made (Y)the stars also. 17 (Z)God placed them in the [ab]expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, 18 and [ac]to (AA)govern the day and the night, and to separate the light from the darkness; and God saw that it was good. 19 There was evening and there was morning, a fourth day.
20 Then God said, “Let the waters [ad]teem with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth [ae]in the open [af]expanse of the heavens.” 21 God created (AB)the great sea monsters and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarmed after their kind, and every winged bird after its kind; and God saw that it was good. 22 God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” 23 There was evening and there was morning, a fifth day.
24 (AC)Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures after [ag]their kind: cattle and creeping things and beasts of the earth after [ah]their kind”; and it was so. 25 God made the (AD)beasts of the earth after [ai]their kind, and the cattle after [aj]their kind, and everything that creeps on the ground after its kind; and God saw that it was good.
26 Then God said, “Let (AE)Us make (AF)man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them (AG)rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the [ak]sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 27 God created man (AH)in His own image, in the image of God He created him; (AI)male and female He created them. 28 God blessed them; and God said to them, “(AJ)Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the [al]sky and over every living thing that [am]moves on the earth.” 29 Then God said, “Behold, (AK)I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the [an]surface of all the earth, and every tree [ao]which has fruit yielding seed; it shall be food for you; 30 and (AL)to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the [ap]sky and to every thing that [aq]moves on the earth [ar]which has life, I have given every green plant for food”; and it was so. 31 God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very (AM)good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.
The Creation of Man and Woman
2 Thus the heavens and the earth were completed, and all (AN)their hosts. 2 By (AO)the seventh day God completed His work which He had done, and (AP)He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. 3 Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created [as]and made.
3 (A)Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in (B)the heavenly places in Christ, 4 just as (C)He chose us in Him before (D)the foundation of the world, that we would be (E)holy and blameless before [a]Him. (F)In love 5 [b]He (G)predestined us to (H)adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, (I)according to the [c]kind intention of His will, 6 (J)to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in (K)the Beloved. 7 (L)In [d]Him we have (M)redemption (N)through His blood, the (O)forgiveness of our trespasses, according to (P)the riches of His grace 8 which He [e]lavished on [f]us. In all wisdom and insight 9 He [g](Q)made known to us the mystery of His will, (R)according to His [h]kind intention which He (S)purposed in Him 10 with a view to an administration [i]suitable to (T)the fullness of the times, that is, (U)the summing up of all things in Christ, things [j]in the heavens and things on the earth. In Him 11 [k]also we [l](V)have obtained an inheritance, having been (W)predestined (X)according to His purpose who works all things (Y)after the counsel of His will, 12 to the end that we who were the first to hope in [m]Christ would be (Z)to the praise of His glory. 13 In [n]Him, you also, after listening to (AA)the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also [o]believed, you were (AB)sealed in [p]Him with (AC)the Holy Spirit of promise, 14 who is [q](AD)given as a pledge of (AE)our inheritance, with a view to the (AF)redemption of (AG)God’s own possession, (AH)to the praise of His glory.
29 The next day he *saw Jesus coming to him and *said, “Behold, (A)the Lamb of God who (B)takes away the sin of the world! 30 This is He on behalf of whom I said, ‘(C)After me comes a Man who [a]has a higher rank than I, (D)for He existed before me.’ 31 I did not recognize [b]Him, but so that He might be manifested to Israel, I came baptizing [c]in water.” 32 John (E)testified saying, “(F)I have seen the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven, and He remained upon Him. 33 I did not recognize [d]Him, but He who sent me to baptize [e]in water said to me, ‘He upon whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining upon Him, (G)this is the One who baptizes [f]in the Holy Spirit.’ 34 I myself have seen, and have testified that this is (H)the Son of God.”
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.