Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 146
The God of Compassion
1 Hallelujah!
My soul, praise the Lord.(A)
2 I will praise the Lord all my life;
I will sing to my God as long as I live.(B)
3 Do not trust in nobles,
in man, who cannot save.(C)
4 When his breath[a] leaves him,
he returns to the ground;
on that day his plans die.(D)
5 Happy is the one whose help is the God of Jacob,
whose hope is in the Lord his God,(E)
6 the Maker of heaven and earth,
the sea and everything in them.(F)
He remains faithful forever,(G)
7 executing justice for the exploited
and giving food to the hungry.(H)
The Lord frees prisoners.(I)
8 The Lord opens the eyes of the blind.(J)
The Lord raises up those who are oppressed.[b](K)
The Lord loves the righteous.(L)
9 The Lord protects foreigners
and helps the fatherless and the widow,(M)
but He frustrates the ways of the wicked.(N)
10 The Lord reigns forever;
Zion, your God reigns for all generations.(O)
Hallelujah!
Psalm 147
God Restores Jerusalem
1 Hallelujah!
How good it is to sing to our God,
for praise is pleasant and lovely.(P)
2 The Lord rebuilds Jerusalem;(Q)
He gathers Israel’s exiled people.(R)
3 He heals the brokenhearted
and binds up their wounds.(S)
4 He counts the number of the stars;
He gives names to all of them.(T)
5 Our Lord is great, vast in power;
His understanding is infinite.[c](U)
6 The Lord helps the afflicted
but brings the wicked to the ground.(V)
7 Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving;
play the lyre to our God,(W)
8 who covers the sky with clouds,
prepares rain for the earth,
and causes grass to grow on the hills.(X)
9 He provides the animals with their food,
and the young ravens, what they cry for.(Y)
10 He is not impressed by the strength of a horse;
He does not value the power[d] of a man.(Z)
11 The Lord values those who fear Him,
those who put their hope in His faithful love.(AA)
12 Exalt the Lord, Jerusalem;
praise your God, Zion!(AB)
13 For He strengthens the bars of your gates
and blesses your children within you.(AC)
14 He endows your territory with prosperity;[e](AD)
He satisfies you with the finest wheat.(AE)
Psalm 111
Praise for the Lord’s Works
1 Hallelujah![a]
I will praise the Lord with all my heart
in the assembly of the upright and in the congregation.(A)
2 The Lord’s works are great,
studied by all who delight in them.(B)
3 All that He does is splendid and majestic;(C)
His righteousness endures forever.(D)
4 He has caused His wonderful works to be remembered.(E)
The Lord is gracious and compassionate.(F)
5 He has provided food for those who fear Him;(G)
He remembers His covenant forever.(H)
6 He has shown His people the power of His works
by giving them the inheritance of the nations.(I)
7 The works of His hands are truth and justice;
all His instructions are trustworthy.(J)
8 They are established forever and ever,
enacted in truth and in what is right.(K)
9 He has sent redemption to His people.(L)
He has ordained His covenant forever.
His name is holy and awe-inspiring.(M)
10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom;(N)
all who follow His instructions[b] have good insight.(O)
His praise endures forever.(P)
Psalm 112
The Traits of the Righteous
2 His descendants will be powerful in the land;
the generation of the upright will be blessed.(R)
3 Wealth and riches are in his house,(S)
and his righteousness endures forever.(T)
4 Light shines in the darkness for the upright.(U)
He is gracious, compassionate, and righteous.(V)
5 Good will come to a man who lends generously
and conducts his business fairly.(W)
6 He will never be shaken.(X)
The righteous man will be remembered forever.(Y)
7 He will not fear bad news;
his heart is confident, trusting in the Lord.(Z)
8 His heart is assured; he will not fear.(AA)
In the end he will look in triumph on his foes.(AB)
9 He distributes freely to the poor;
his righteousness endures forever.(AC)
His horn will be exalted in honor.(AD)
10 The wicked man will see it and be angry;
he will gnash his teeth in despair.(AE)
The desire of the wicked man will come to nothing.(AF)
Psalm 113
Praise to the Merciful God
1 Hallelujah!
Give praise, servants of Yahweh;
praise the name of Yahweh.(AG)
2 Let the name of Yahweh be praised
both now and forever.(AH)
3 From the rising of the sun to its setting,
let the name of Yahweh be praised.(AI)
4 Yahweh is exalted above all the nations,(AJ)
His glory above the heavens.(AK)
5 Who is like Yahweh our God—
the One enthroned on high,(AL)
6 who stoops down to look
on the heavens and the earth?(AM)
7 He raises the poor from the dust
and lifts the needy from the garbage pile(AN)
8 in order to seat them with nobles—
with the nobles of His people.(AO)
9 He gives the childless woman a household,
making her the joyful mother of children.(AP)
Hallelujah!
Joshua Commissioned to Succeed Moses
12 Then the Lord said to Moses,(A) “Go up this mountain of the Abarim range[a] and see the land that I have given the Israelites. 13 After you have seen it, you will also be gathered to your people, as Aaron your brother was.(B) 14 When the community quarreled in the Wilderness of Zin, both of you rebelled against My command to show My holiness in their sight at the waters.” Those were the waters of Meribah[b] of Kadesh in the Wilderness of Zin.(C)
15 So Moses appealed to the Lord, 16 “May the Lord, the God of the spirits of all flesh,(D) appoint a man over the community 17 who will go out before them and come back in before them,(E) and who will bring them out and bring them in, so that the Lord’s community won’t be like sheep without a shepherd.”(F)
18 The Lord replied to Moses, “Take Joshua son of Nun, a man who has the Spirit in him, and lay your hands on him.(G) 19 Have him stand before Eleazar the priest and the whole community, and commission(H) him in their sight. 20 Confer some of your authority on him so that the entire Israelite community will obey him. 21 He will stand before Eleazar who will consult the Lord for him with the decision of the Urim.(I) He and all the Israelites with him, even the entire community, will go out and come back in at his command.”
22 Moses did as the Lord commanded him. He took Joshua, had him stand before Eleazar the priest and the entire community, 23 laid his hands on him, and commissioned him, as the Lord had spoken through Moses.
Demonism Defeated at Ephesus
11 God was performing extraordinary miracles by Paul’s hands, 12 so that even facecloths or work aprons[a] that had touched his skin were brought to the sick, and the diseases left them, and the evil spirits came out of them.(A)
13 Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists attempted to pronounce the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, “I command you by the Jesus that Paul preaches!”(B) 14 Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this. 15 The evil spirit answered them, “I know Jesus, and I recognize Paul—but who are you?” 16 Then the man who had the evil spirit leaped on them, overpowered them all, and prevailed against them, so that they ran out of that house naked and wounded. 17 This became known to everyone who lived in Ephesus, both Jews and Greeks. Then fear fell on all of them, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified.(C) 18 And many who had become believers came confessing and disclosing their practices, 19 while many of those who had practiced magic collected their books and burned them in front of everyone. So they calculated their value and found it to be 50,000 pieces of silver. 20 In this way the Lord’s message flourished and prevailed.(D)
Ministry in Galilee
14 After(A) John was arrested,(B) Jesus went to Galilee,(C) preaching(D) the good news[a][b](E) of God:[c](F) 15 “The time(G) is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God(H) has come(I) near.(J) Repent(K) and believe(L) in the good news!”
The First Disciples
16 As(M) He was passing along by the Sea of Galilee,(N) He saw Simon(O) and Andrew,(P) Simon’s brother. They were casting a net into the sea,(Q) since they were fishermen.
17 “Follow Me,”(R) Jesus told them, “and I will make you fish for[d](S) people!”(T) 18 Immediately they left their nets and followed(U) Him.(V) 19 Going on a little farther, He saw James(W) the son of Zebedee(X) and his brother John.(Y) They were in their boat mending their nets. 20 Immediately He called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed Him.(Z)
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