Book of Common Prayer
Put Not Your Trust in Princes
146 (A)Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord, O my soul!
2 I will praise the Lord (B)as long as I live;
(C)I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.
3 (D)Put not your trust in princes,
(E)in a son of man, in whom there is (F)no salvation.
4 When (G)his breath departs, he returns to the earth;
on that very day his plans perish.
5 (H)Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob,
whose (I)hope is in the Lord his God,
6 (J)who made heaven and earth,
the sea, and all that is in them,
(K)who keeps faith forever;
7 (L)who executes justice for the oppressed,
(M)who gives food to the hungry.
(N)The Lord sets the prisoners free;
8 (O)the Lord opens the eyes of the blind.
(P)The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down;
(Q)the Lord loves the righteous.
9 (R)The Lord watches over the sojourners;
(S)he upholds the widow and the fatherless,
but (T)the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.
He Heals the Brokenhearted
147 (W)Praise the Lord!
For (X)it is good to sing praises to our God;
for (Y)it is pleasant,[a] and (Z)a song of praise is fitting.
2 The Lord (AA)builds up Jerusalem;
he (AB)gathers the outcasts of Israel.
3 He heals (AC)the brokenhearted
and (AD)binds up their wounds.
4 He (AE)determines the number of the stars;
he (AF)gives to all of them their names.
5 (AG)Great is our Lord, and (AH)abundant in power;
(AI)his understanding is beyond measure.
6 The Lord (AJ)lifts up the humble;[b]
he casts the wicked to the ground.
7 (AK)Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving;
make melody to our God on (AL)the lyre!
8 He covers the heavens with clouds;
he prepares (AM)rain for the earth;
he makes (AN)grass grow on the hills.
9 He (AO)gives to the beasts their food,
and to (AP)the young ravens that cry.
10 His delight is not in (AQ)the strength of the horse,
nor his pleasure in the legs of a man,
11 but the Lord (AR)takes pleasure in those who fear him,
in those who (AS)hope in his steadfast love.
12 Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem!
Praise your God, O Zion!
13 For he strengthens (AT)the bars of your gates;
he blesses your children within you.
14 He (AU)makes peace in your borders;
he (AV)fills you with the (AW)finest of the wheat.
15 He (AX)sends out his command to the earth;
his word runs swiftly.
16 He gives (AY)snow like wool;
he scatters (AZ)frost like ashes.
17 He hurls down his crystals of (BA)ice like crumbs;
who can stand before his (BB)cold?
18 He (BC)sends out his word, and melts them;
he makes his wind blow and the waters flow.
19 He declares his word to Jacob,
his (BD)statutes and rules[c] to Israel.
20 He (BE)has not dealt thus with any other nation;
they do not know his rules.[d]
(BF)Praise the Lord!
Great Are the Lord's Works
111 [a] (A)Praise the Lord!
I (B)will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart,
in the company of (C)the upright, in the congregation.
2 Great are the (D)works of the Lord,
(E)studied by all who delight in them.
3 (F)Full of splendor and majesty is his work,
and his (G)righteousness endures forever.
4 He has (H)caused his wondrous works to be remembered;
the Lord is gracious and merciful.
5 He provides food for those who fear him;
he (I)remembers his covenant forever.
6 He has shown his people the power of his works,
in giving them the inheritance of the nations.
7 The works of his hands are faithful and just;
all his precepts are (J)trustworthy;
8 they are (K)established forever and ever,
to be performed with (L)faithfulness and uprightness.
9 He sent (M)redemption to his people;
he has (N)commanded his covenant forever.
(O)Holy and awesome is his name!
10 (P)The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom;
all those who practice it have (Q)a good understanding.
His (R)praise endures forever!
The Righteous Will Never Be Moved
112 [b] (S)Praise the Lord!
(T)Blessed is the man who fears the Lord,
who (U)greatly delights in his commandments!
2 His (V)offspring will be mighty in the land;
(W)the generation of the upright will be blessed.
3 (X)Wealth and riches are in his house,
and his (Y)righteousness endures forever.
4 Light dawns in the darkness (Z)for the upright;
he is gracious, merciful, and (AA)righteous.
5 It is well with the man who (AB)deals generously and lends;
who conducts his affairs with justice.
6 For the righteous will (AC)never be moved;
(AD)he will be remembered forever.
7 He is not (AE)afraid of bad news;
his (AF)heart is firm, (AG)trusting in the Lord.
8 His heart is steady;[c] he will not be afraid,
until he looks in triumph on his adversaries.
9 He has (AH)distributed freely; he has given to the poor;
his righteousness endures forever;
his (AI)horn is exalted in honor.
10 The wicked man sees it and is angry;
he (AJ)gnashes his teeth and (AK)melts away;
(AL)the desire of the wicked will perish!
Who Is like the Lord Our God?
2 (AP)Blessed be the name of the Lord
from this time forth and forevermore!
3 (AQ)From the rising of the sun to its setting,
(AR)the name of the Lord is (AS)to be praised!
4 The Lord is (AT)high above all nations,
and his (AU)glory above the heavens!
5 (AV)Who is like the Lord our God,
who is seated on high,
6 who (AW)looks far down
on the heavens and the earth?
7 He (AX)raises the poor from the dust
and lifts the needy from the ash heap,
8 to make them (AY)sit with princes,
with the princes of his people.
9 He (AZ)gives the barren woman a home,
making her the joyous mother of children.
(BA)Praise the Lord!
1 The (A)vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem (B)in the days of (C)Uzziah, (D)Jotham, (E)Ahaz, and (F)Hezekiah, kings of Judah.
The Wickedness of Judah
2 (G)Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O (H)earth;
for the Lord has spoken:
“Children[a] (I)have I reared and brought up,
but they have rebelled against me.
3 The ox (J)knows its owner,
and the donkey its master's crib,
but Israel does (K)not know,
my people do not understand.”
4 Ah, sinful nation,
a people laden with iniquity,
(L)offspring of evildoers,
children who deal corruptly!
They have forsaken the Lord,
they have (M)despised (N)the Holy One of Israel,
they are utterly (O)estranged.
5 Why will you still be (P)struck down?
Why will you (Q)continue to rebel?
The whole head is sick,
and the whole heart faint.
6 (R)From the sole of the foot even to the head,
there is no soundness in it,
but bruises and sores
and raw wounds;
they are (S)not pressed out or bound up
or softened with oil.
The Day of the Lord Will Come
3 This is now the second letter that I am writing to you, beloved. In both of them (A)I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder, 2 (B)that you should remember the predictions of (C)the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior through your apostles, 3 knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come (D)in the last days with scoffing, (E)following their own sinful desires. 4 (F)They will say, “Where is the promise of (G)his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.” 5 For they deliberately overlook this fact, that the heavens existed long ago, and the earth (H)was formed out of water and through water (I)by the word of God, 6 and that by means of these the world that then existed (J)was deluged with water and (K)perished. 7 But by the same word (L)the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and (M)destruction of the ungodly.
8 But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and (N)a thousand years as one day. 9 (O)The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise (P)as some count slowness, but (Q)is patient toward you,[a] (R)not wishing that any should perish, but (S)that all should reach repentance. 10 But (T)the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then (U)the heavens will pass away with a roar, and (V)the heavenly bodies[b] will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.[c]
The Parable of the Ten Virgins
25 “Then the kingdom of heaven will be like (A)ten virgins who took their lamps[a] and went to meet (B)the bridegroom.[b] 2 Five of them were foolish, and five were (C)wise. 3 For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, 4 but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. 5 As the bridegroom (D)was delayed, they all became drowsy and slept. 6 But (E)at midnight there was a cry, ‘Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ 7 Then all those virgins rose and (F)trimmed their lamps. 8 And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ 9 But the wise answered, saying, ‘Since there will not be enough for us and for you, go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves.’ 10 And while they were going to buy, the bridegroom came, and (G)those who were ready went in with him to (H)the marriage feast, and (I)the door was shut. 11 Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, (J)‘Lord, lord, open to us.’ 12 (K)But he answered, ‘Truly, I say to you, (L)I do not know you.’ 13 (M)Watch therefore, for you (N)know neither the day nor the hour.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.