Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 146[a]
146 Praise the Lord.
Praise the Lord, O my soul.
2 I will praise the Lord as long as I live.
I will sing praises to my God as long as I exist.
3 Do not trust in princes,
or in human beings, who cannot deliver.[b]
4 Their life’s breath departs, they return to the ground.
On that day their plans die.[c]
5 How blessed is the one whose helper is the God of Jacob,
whose hope is in the Lord his God,
6 the one who made heaven and earth,
the sea, and all that is in them,
who remains forever faithful,[d]
7 vindicates the oppressed,[e]
and gives food to the hungry.
The Lord releases the imprisoned.
8 The Lord gives sight to the blind.
The Lord lifts up all who are bent over.[f]
The Lord loves the godly.
9 The Lord protects the resident foreigner.
He lifts up the fatherless and the widow,[g]
but he opposes the wicked.[h]
10 The Lord rules forever,
your God, O Zion, throughout the generations to come.[i]
Praise the Lord!
Psalm 147[j]
147 Praise the Lord,
for it is good to sing praises to our God.
Yes,[k] praise is pleasant and appropriate.
2 The Lord rebuilds Jerusalem,
and gathers the exiles of Israel.
3 He heals[l] the brokenhearted,
and bandages their wounds.
4 He counts the number of the stars;
he names all of them.
5 Our Lord is great and has awesome power;[m]
there is no limit to his wisdom.[n]
6 The Lord lifts up the oppressed,
but knocks[o] the wicked to the ground.
7 Offer to the Lord a song of thanks.[p]
Sing praises to our God to the accompaniment of a harp.
8 He covers[q] the sky with clouds,
provides the earth with rain,
and causes grass to grow on the hillsides.[r]
9 He gives food to the animals,
and to the young ravens when they chirp.[s]
10 He is not enamored with the strength of a horse,
nor is he impressed by the warrior’s strong legs.[t]
11 The Lord takes delight in his faithful followers,[u]
and in those who wait for his loyal love.
12 Extol the Lord, O Jerusalem.
Praise your God, O Zion.
13 For he makes the bars of your gates strong.
He blesses your children[v] within you.
14 He[w] brings peace to your territory.[x]
He abundantly provides for you[y] the best grain.
15 He[z] sends his command through the earth;[aa]
swiftly his order reaches its destination.[ab]
16 He sends the snow that is white like wool;
he spreads the frost that is white like ashes.[ac]
17 He throws his hailstones[ad] like crumbs.
Who can withstand the cold wind he sends?[ae]
18 He then orders it all to melt;[af]
he breathes on it,[ag] and the water flows.
19 He proclaims his word to Jacob,
his statutes and regulations to Israel.
20 He has not done so with any other nation;
they are not aware of his regulations.
Praise the Lord!
Psalm 111[a]
111 Praise the Lord!
I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart,
in the assembly of the godly and the congregation.
2 The Lord’s deeds are great,
eagerly awaited[b] by all who desire them.
3 His work is majestic and glorious,[c]
and his faithfulness endures[d] forever.
4 He does[e] amazing things that will be remembered;[f]
the Lord is merciful and compassionate.
5 He gives[g] food to his faithful followers;[h]
he always remembers his covenant.[i]
6 He announced that he would do mighty deeds for his people,
giving them a land that belonged to other nations.[j]
7 His acts are characterized by[k] faithfulness and justice;
all his precepts are reliable.[l]
8 They are forever firm,
and should be faithfully and properly carried out.[m]
9 He delivered his people;[n]
he ordained that his covenant be observed forever.[o]
His name is holy and awesome.
10 To obey the Lord is the fundamental principle for wise living;[p]
all who carry out his precepts acquire good moral insight.[q]
He will receive praise forever.[r]
Psalm 112[s]
112 Praise the Lord!
How blessed is the one[t] who obeys[u] the Lord,
who takes great delight in keeping his commands.[v]
2 His descendants[w] will be powerful on the earth;
the godly[x] will be blessed.
3 His house contains wealth and riches;
his integrity endures.[y]
4 In the darkness a light[z] shines for the godly,
for each one who is merciful, compassionate, and just.[aa]
5 It goes well for the one[ab] who generously lends money,
and conducts his business honestly.[ac]
6 For he will never be shaken;
others will always remember one who is just.[ad]
7 He does not fear bad news.
He[ae] is confident; he trusts in the Lord.
8 His resolve[af] is firm; he will not succumb to fear
before he looks in triumph on his enemies.
9 He generously gives[ag] to the needy;
his integrity endures.[ah]
He will be vindicated and honored.[ai]
10 When the wicked[aj] see this, they will worry;
they will grind their teeth in frustration[ak] and melt away.
The desire of the wicked will perish.[al]
Psalm 113[am]
113 Praise the Lord.
Praise, you servants of the Lord,
praise the name of the Lord.
2 May the Lord’s name be praised
now and forevermore.
3 From east to west[an]
the Lord’s name is deserving of praise.
4 The Lord is exalted over all the nations;
his splendor reaches beyond the sky.[ao]
5 Who can compare to the Lord our God,
who sits on a high throne?[ap]
6 He bends down to look[aq]
at the sky and the earth.
7 He raises the poor from the dirt,
and lifts up the needy from the garbage pile,[ar]
8 that he might seat him with princes,
with the princes of his people.
9 He makes the barren woman of the family[as]
a happy mother of children.[at]
Praise the Lord.
David Displeases the Lord by Taking a Census
24 The Lord’s anger again raged against Israel, and he incited David against them, saying, “Go count Israel and Judah.”[a] 2 The king told Joab, the general in command of his army, “Go through all the tribes of Israel from Dan to Beer Sheba and muster the army, so I may know the size of the army.”
10 David felt guilty[a] after he had numbered the army. David said to the Lord, “I have sinned greatly by doing this! Now, O Lord, please remove the guilt of your servant, for I have acted very foolishly.”
11 When David got up the next morning, the Lord’s message had already come to the prophet Gad, David’s seer: 12 “Go, tell David, ‘This is what the Lord has said: I am offering you three forms of judgment. Pick one of them and I will carry it out against you.’”
13 Gad went to David and told him, “Shall seven[b] years of famine come upon your land? Or shall you flee for three months from your enemies with them in hot pursuit? Or shall there be three days of plague in your land? Now decide[c] what I should tell the one who sent me.” 14 David said to Gad, “I am very upset! I prefer that we be attacked by the Lord, for his mercy is great; I do not want to be attacked by human hands!”[d]
15 So the Lord sent a plague through Israel from the morning until the completion of the appointed time, and 70,000 people died from Dan to Beer Sheba. 16 When the angel[e] extended his hand to destroy Jerusalem, the Lord relented from his judgment.[f] He told the angel who was killing the people, “That’s enough! Stop now!”[g] (Now the angel of the Lord was near the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.)
17 When he saw the angel who was destroying the people, David said to the Lord, “Look, it is I who have sinned and done this evil thing! As for these sheep—what have they done? Attack me and my family.”[h]
David Acquires a Threshing Floor and Constructs an Altar There
18 So Gad went to David that day and told him, “Go up and build an altar for the Lord on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.” 19 So David went up as Gad instructed him to do, according to the Lord’s instructions.
20 When Araunah looked out and saw the king and his servants approaching him, he[i] went out and bowed to the king with his face[j] to the ground. 21 Araunah said, “Why has my lord the king come to his servant?” David replied, “To buy from you the threshing floor so I can build an altar for the Lord, so that the plague may be removed from the people.” 22 Araunah told David, “My lord the king may take whatever he wishes[k] and offer it. Look! Here are oxen for burnt offerings, and threshing sledges[l] and harnesses[m] for wood. 23 I, the servant of my lord[n] the king, give it all to the king!” Araunah also told the king, “May the Lord your God show you favor!” 24 But the king said to Araunah, “No, I insist on buying it from you! I will not offer to the Lord my God burnt sacrifices that cost me nothing.”
So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty pieces of silver.[o] 25 Then David built an altar for the Lord there and offered burnt sacrifices and peace offerings. And the Lord accepted prayers for the land, and the plague was removed from Israel.
Sons of God Are Heirs of Promise
23 Now before faith[a] came we were held in custody under the law, being kept as prisoners[b] until the coming faith would be revealed. 24 Thus the law had become our guardian[c] until Christ, so that we could be declared righteous[d] by faith. 25 But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian.[e] 26 For in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God through faith.[f] 27 For all of you who[g] were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave[h] nor free, there is neither male nor female[i]—for all of you are one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendants,[j] heirs according to the promise.
4 Now I mean that the heir, as long as he is a minor,[k] is no different from a slave, though he is the owner[l] of everything. 2 But he is under guardians[m] and managers until the date set by his[n] father. 3 So also we, when we were minors,[o] were enslaved under the basic forces[p] of the world. 4 But when the appropriate time[q] had come, God sent out his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the law, so that we may be adopted as sons with full rights.[r] 6 And because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, who calls[s] “Abba![t] Father!” 7 So you are no longer a slave but a son, and if you are[u] a son, then you are also an heir through God.[v]
Jesus as the Light of the World
12 Then Jesus spoke out again,[a] “I am the light of the world![b] The one who follows me will never[c] walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” 13 So the Pharisees[d] objected,[e] “You testify about yourself; your testimony is not true!”[f] 14 Jesus answered,[g] “Even if I testify about myself, my testimony is true, because I know where I came from and where I am going. But you people[h] do not know where I came from or where I am going.[i] 15 You people[j] judge by outward appearances;[k] I do not judge anyone.[l] 16 But if I judge, my evaluation is accurate,[m] because I am not alone when I judge,[n] but I and the Father who sent me do so together.[o] 17 It is written in your law that the testimony of two men is true.[p] 18 I testify about myself[q] and the Father who sent me testifies about me.”
19 Then they began asking[r] him, “Who is your father?” Jesus answered, “You do not know either me or my Father. If you knew me you would know my Father too.”[s] 20 (Jesus[t] spoke these words near the offering box[u] while he was teaching in the temple courts.[v] No one seized him because his time[w] had not yet come.)[x]
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