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 Whole Creation Invoked to Praise the Lord.
148 [x]Praise [y]the Lord!
Praise the Lord (BK)from the heavens;
Praise Him (BL)in the heights!
2 Praise Him, (BM)all His angels;
Praise Him, (BN)all His hosts!
3 Praise Him, sun and moon;
Praise Him, all stars of light!
4 Praise Him, [z](BO)highest heavens,
And the (BP)waters that are above the heavens!
5 Let them praise the name of the Lord,
For (BQ)He commanded and they were created.
6 He has also (BR)established them forever and ever;
He has made a (BS)decree which will not pass away.
7 Praise the Lord from the earth,
(BT)Sea monsters and all (BU)deeps;
8 (BV)Fire and hail, (BW)snow and (BX)clouds;
(BY)Stormy wind, (BZ)fulfilling His word;
9 (CA)Mountains and all hills;
Fruit (CB)trees and all cedars;
10 (CC)Beasts and all cattle;
(CD)Creeping things and winged fowl;
11 (CE)Kings of the earth and all peoples;
Princes and all judges of the earth;
12 Both young men and virgins;
Old men and children.
13 Let them praise the name of the Lord,
For His (CF)name alone is exalted;
His (CG)glory is above earth and heaven.
14 And He has (CH)lifted up a horn for His people,
(CI)Praise for all His godly ones;
Even for the sons of Israel, a people (CJ)near to Him.
[aa]Praise [ab]the Lord!
Israel Invoked to Praise the Lord.
149 [ac]Praise [ad]the Lord!
Sing to the Lord a (CK)new song,
And His praise (CL)in the congregation of the godly ones.
2 Let Israel be glad in (CM)his Maker;
Let the sons of Zion rejoice in their (CN)King.
3 Let them praise His name with (CO)dancing;
Let them sing praises to Him with (CP)timbrel and lyre.
4 For the Lord (CQ)takes pleasure in His people;
He will (CR)beautify the afflicted ones with salvation.
5 Let the (CS)godly ones exult in glory;
Let them (CT)sing for joy on their beds.
6 Let the (CU)high praises of God be in their [ae]mouth,
And a (CV)two-edged (CW)sword in their hand,
7 To (CX)execute vengeance on the nations
And punishment on the peoples,
8 To bind their kings (CY)with chains
And their (CZ)nobles with fetters of iron,
9 To (DA)execute on them the judgment written;
This is an (DB)honor for all His godly ones.
[af]Praise [ag]the Lord!
3 Moses said to the people, “(A)Remember this day in which you went out from Egypt, from the house of [a]slavery; for (B)by [b]a powerful hand the Lord brought you out from this place. (C)And nothing leavened shall be eaten. 4 On this day in the (D)month of Abib, you are about to go forth. 5 It shall be when the Lord (E)brings you to the land of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Hivite and the Jebusite, which (F)He swore to your fathers to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey, (G)that you shall [c]observe this rite in this month. 6 For (H)seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there shall be a feast to the Lord. 7 Unleavened bread shall be eaten throughout the seven days; and (I)nothing leavened shall be seen [d]among you, nor shall any leaven be seen [e]among you in all your borders. 8 (J)You shall tell your son on that day, saying, ‘It is because of what the Lord did for me when I came out of Egypt.’ 9 And (K)it shall [f]serve as a sign to you on your hand, and as a reminder [g]on your forehead, that the law of the Lord may be in your mouth; for with (L)a powerful hand the Lord brought you out of Egypt. 10 Therefore, you shall (M)keep this ordinance at its appointed time from [h]year to year.
41 There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for star differs from star in glory.
42 (A)So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown [a](B)a perishable body, it is raised [b](C)an imperishable body; 43 it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in (D)glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; 44 it is sown a (E)natural body, it is raised a (F)spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. 45 So also it is written, “The first (G)man, Adam, became a living soul.” The (H)last Adam became a (I)life-giving spirit. 46 However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural; then the spiritual. 47 The first man is (J)from the earth, [c](K)earthy; the second man is from heaven. 48 As is the earthy, so also are those who are earthy; and as is the heavenly, (L)so also are those who are heavenly. 49 Just as we have (M)borne the image of the earthy, [d]we (N)will also bear the image of the heavenly.
The Mystery of Resurrection
50 Now I say this, brethren, that (O)flesh and blood cannot (P)inherit the kingdom of God; nor does [e]the perishable inherit [f](Q)the imperishable.
The Great Commission
16 But the eleven disciples proceeded (A)to Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had designated. 17 When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but (B)some were doubtful. 18 And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “(C)All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 [a](D)Go therefore and (E)make disciples of (F)all the nations, (G)baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, (H)I am with you [b]always, even to (I)the end of the age.”
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