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!
First Series of Speeches
Eliphaz Speaks
4 Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied:
2 Should anyone try to speak with you
when you are exhausted?
Yet who can keep from speaking?
3 Indeed, you have instructed many
and have strengthened(A) weak hands.
4 Your words have steadied the one who was stumbling
and braced the knees that were buckling.(B)
5 But now that this has happened to you,
you have become exhausted.
It strikes(C) you, and you are dismayed.
6 Isn’t your piety your confidence,
and the integrity of your life[a] your hope?(D)
12 A word was brought to me in secret;
my ears caught a whisper of it.(A)
13 Among unsettling thoughts from visions in the night,(B)
when deep sleep(C) descends on men,
14 fear and trembling came over me(D)
and made all my bones shake.
15 A wind[a] passed by me,
and I shuddered with fear.[b]
16 A figure stood there,
but I could not recognize its appearance;
a form loomed before my eyes.
I heard a quiet voice:
17 “Can a person be more righteous than God,
or a man more pure than his Maker?”(E)
18 If God puts no trust in His servants
and He charges His angels with foolishness,[c](F)
19 how much more those who dwell in clay houses,(G)
whose foundation is in the dust,
who are crushed like a moth!
20 They are smashed to pieces from dawn to dusk;
they perish forever while no one notices.(H)
21 Are their tent cords not pulled up?
They die without wisdom.(I)
The Throne Room of Heaven
4 After this I looked, and there in heaven was an open door. The first voice that I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.”
2 Immediately I was in the Spirit,[a](A) and a throne was set there in heaven.(B) One was seated on the throne, 3 and the One seated[b] looked like jasper[c] and carnelian[d] stone. A rainbow that looked like an emerald surrounded the throne. 4 Around that throne were 24 thrones, and on the thrones sat 24 elders dressed in white clothes, with gold crowns on their heads. 5 Flashes of lightning and rumblings of thunder came from the throne. Seven fiery torches were burning before the throne, which are the seven spirits of God.(C) 6 Something like a sea of glass, similar to crystal, was also before the throne. Four living creatures(D) covered with eyes in front and in back were in the middle[e] and around the throne. 7 The first living creature was like a lion; the second living creature was like a calf; the third living creature had a face like a man; and the fourth living creature was like a flying eagle. 8 Each of the four living creatures had six wings;(E) they were covered with eyes around and inside. Day and night they never stop,[f] saying:
Holy, holy, holy,[g]
Lord God, the Almighty,
who was, who is, and who is coming.
9 Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor, and thanks to the One seated on the throne, the One who lives forever and ever, 10 the 24 elders fall down before the One seated on the throne, worship the One who lives forever and ever, cast their crowns before the throne, and say:
11 Our Lord and God,[h]
You are worthy to receive
glory and honor and power,
because You have created all things,
and because of Your will
they exist and were created.
Rejection at Nazareth
6 He(A) went away from there and came to His hometown,(B) and His disciples(C) followed Him. 2 When the Sabbath(D) came, He began to teach(E) in the synagogue,(F) and many who heard Him were astonished. “Where did this man get these things?” they said. “What is this wisdom(G) given to Him, and how are these miracles(H) performed by His hands? 3 Isn’t this the carpenter,(I) the son of Mary,(J) and the brother of James,(K) Joses, Judas,(L) and Simon? And aren’t His sisters here with us?” So they were offended(M) by Him.
4 Then Jesus said to them, “A prophet(N) is not without honor(O) except in his hometown, among his relatives, and in his household.” 5 So He was not able to do any miracles[a](P) there, except that He laid His hands on(Q) a few sick(R) people and healed(S) them. 6 And He was amazed(T) at their unbelief.(U)
Commissioning the Twelve
Now He was going around the villages in a circuit, teaching.(V)
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