Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 118
The Stone the Builders Rejected
Introduction
1 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
for his mercy endures forever.
2 Let Israel say now: Yes, his mercy endures forever.
3 Let the house of Aaron say now: Yes, his mercy endures forever.
4 Let those who fear the Lord say now: Yes, his mercy endures forever.
Trust During Distress
5 Under pressure I cried to the Lord.[a]
The Lord answered me.
He set me in a wide-open space.
6 The Lord is with me.
I will not be afraid.
What can people do to me?
7 The Lord, who is with me, is my helper,
so I will look in triumph on my enemies.
8 It is better to take refuge in the Lord
than to trust in people.
9 It is better to take refuge in the Lord
than to trust in human benefactors.[b]
10 All the nations surrounded me,
but in the name of the Lord I cut them off.[c]
11 They surrounded me, yes, they surrounded me,
but in the name of the Lord I cut them off.
12 They surrounded me like bees,
but they were extinguished as quickly as a fire of thorns.
In the name of the Lord I cut them off.
13 You pushed me hard to make me fall,
but the Lord helped me.
The Messiah’s Joy in Victory
14 My strength and song is the Lord,
and he has become salvation for me.
15 Loud shouts of victory are heard in the tents of the righteous:
“The right hand of the Lord has done a mighty deed!
16 The right hand of the Lord is lifted high!
The right hand of the Lord has done a mighty deed!”
17 I will not die. No, I will live,
and I will proclaim the works of the Lord.
18 The Lord has chastened me severely,
but he has not handed me over to death.
19 Open for me the gates of righteousness.
I will enter them. I will give thanks to the Lord.
20 This is the gate to the Lord.
The righteous enter it.
21 I will give you thanks,
because you answered me,
and you have become salvation for me.
The Joy in Victory of Messiah’s Followers
22 The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.[d]
23 This is from the Lord.
It is marvelous in our eyes.
24 This is the day the Lord has made.
Let us rejoice and be glad in it.
25 O Lord, please save us now.[e]
O Lord, grant us success.
26 Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
We bless you from the house of the Lord.
27 The Lord is God,
and he makes light shine on us.
Bind the festival with branches as far as the horns of the altar.[f]
28 You are my God, and I will give you thanks.
You are my God, and I will exalt you.
Conclusion
29 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
for his mercy endures forever.
Psalm 145
The Lord Is Worthy of Praise
Heading
A song of praise. By David.
Praise
1 I will exalt you, my God, the King,
and I will bless your name forever and ever.
2 Every day I will bless you,
and I will praise your name forever and ever.
Proclamation of His Greatness
3 Great is the Lord and worthy of great praise,
and there are no limits to the extent of his greatness.
Praise
4 One generation will praise your deeds to another,
and they will declare your mighty acts.
5 I will contemplate the glorious splendor of your majesty
and the accounts of your wonderful works.
6 Then they will speak about the power of your awesome works,
and I will tell about your great deeds.
7 They will pour forth the memory of your abundant goodness
and sing loudly about your righteousness.
Proclamation of His Grace
8 The Lord is gracious and compassionate,
slow to anger and great in mercy.
9 The Lord is good to all.
His compassion extends over all he has made.
Praise
10 Everyone you have made will thank you, O Lord,
and the ones you favor will bless you.
11 They will tell about the glory of your kingdom,
and they will speak about your might,
12 to make known his might to the children of Adam,
to make known the glorious splendor of his kingdom.
Proclamation of His Kingdom
13 Your kingdom is a kingdom for all ages,
and your dominion endures through all generations.
The Lord is faithful to all his words
and merciful toward all he has made.[a]
14 The Lord lifts up all who fall,
and he supports all who are bowed down.
15 The eyes of all look eagerly to you,
and you give them their food at the proper time.
16 He opens his hand,
and he satisfies the desire of every living thing.[b]
17 The Lord is righteous in all his ways
and merciful toward all that he has made.
18 The Lord is near to all who call on him,
to all who call on him in truth.
19 He grants the desire of those who fear him.
He hears their cry and saves them.
20 The Lord watches over all who love him,
but he will destroy all the wicked.
Praise
21 My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord.
Let all flesh bless his holy name forever and ever.
Isaiah Heals Hezekiah
20 In those days Hezekiah became sick and was dying. Then the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz came to him and said, “This is what the Lord says. Give instructions to your house because you are going to die. You will not recover.”
2 Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, saying, 3 “Please, O Lord, remember how I have walked before you in truth and with a whole heart and have done what is good in your eyes.” Hezekiah wept bitterly.
4 Isaiah had not yet gone out from the middle courtyard when the word of the Lord came to him:
5 Go back and tell Hezekiah, the leader of my people, that this is what the Lord, the God of your father David, says. I have heard your prayer, and I have seen your tears. I will certainly heal you. On the third day from now you will go up to the House of the Lord. 6 I will add fifteen years to your life, and I will rescue you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria. I will protect this city for my own sake and for the sake of my servant David.
7 Then Isaiah said, “Get a cake of figs.” So they got it and put it on the infected sore, and Hezekiah recovered.
8 Then Hezekiah asked Isaiah, “What will be the sign that the Lord will heal me and that I will go up to the House of the Lord on the third day from now?”
9 Isaiah said, “This will be a sign for you from the Lord that the Lord will do the thing which he said. Shall the shadow extend forward over ten more steps, or shall it move backwards ten steps?”
10 Hezekiah said, “It’s easy for the shadow to get longer and cover ten more steps. Instead, have it go back ten steps.”
11 Then the prophet Isaiah called out to the Lord, and he caused the shadow, which had gone down on the steps of Ahaz, to go backwards ten steps.
Envoys From Babylon
12 At that time, Merodak Baladan[a] son of Baladan, the king of Babylon, sent letters and a gift to Hezekiah because he heard that Hezekiah had been sick. 13 Hezekiah heard the envoys and showed them all his palace treasuries, the silver, the gold, the spices, the fine oil, the armory, and all that was found in his treasuries. There was nothing which Hezekiah did not show them in his palace or in his whole kingdom.
14 Then Isaiah the prophet came to King Hezekiah and said, “What did these men say, and where did they come from?”
Hezekiah said, “From a distant land—they came from Babylon.”
15 Then Isaiah asked, “What did they see in your palace?”
Hezekiah said, “They saw everything in my palace. There is nothing in my treasuries which they did not see.”
16 Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of the Lord. 17 Listen carefully! The days are coming when whatever is in your palace, everything which your fathers have stored up to this day, will be taken to Babylon. Not a thing will be left behind, says the Lord. 18 And some of your sons, your own descendants, whom you fathered, will be taken away and will become eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.”
19 Then Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “The word of the Lord which you have spoken is good.” He said, “Won’t there be peace and security in my days?”
(2 Chronicles 32:32-33)
20 As for the rest of Hezekiah’s acts and all his mighty deeds, how he made the pool and the channel and brought water into the city, are they not written in the annals of the kings of Judah? 21 Hezekiah rested with his fathers. Then his son Manasseh became king in his place.
An Angel Frees Peter
12 At about that time, King Herod[a] laid violent hands on some who belonged to the church, in order to mistreat them. 2 He had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword. 3 When he saw that this pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter during the days of Unleavened Bread.
4 After arresting Peter, Herod put him in prison and handed him over to four squads of four soldiers each to guard him. Herod intended to bring him before the people for trial after the Passover. 5 So Peter was kept in prison, but the church earnestly offered up prayer to God for him.
6 The very night before Herod was going to bring him out for trial, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers. He was bound with two chains, while sentries were in front of the door, guarding the prison.
7 Suddenly an angel of the Lord stood near him, and a light shone in the cell. The angel woke Peter up by striking him on the side, saying, “Quick, get up!” The chains fell from his wrists.
8 Then the angel said to him, “Get dressed and put on your sandals.” So he did so. Then the angel told him, “Put on your cloak and follow me.” 9 Peter went out, following the angel, but he did not realize that what the angel was doing was really happening. He thought he was seeing a vision. 10 When they had passed through the first and second guard posts, they came to the iron gate that leads into the city. It opened all by itself for them. They went outside, walked down one street, and immediately the angel left him.
11 When Peter came to himself, he said, “Now I know for sure that the Lord sent his angel and rescued me from the hand of Herod and from everything the Jewish people were expecting.”
12 When he realized this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John, who is also called Mark. Many had gathered there and were praying. 13 When Peter knocked at the entrance gate, a servant girl named Rhoda came to answer. 14 She recognized Peter’s voice and was so overjoyed, she did not open the gate. Instead she ran in and announced that Peter was standing in front of the gate.
15 They told her, “You are out of your mind!” But she kept on insisting it was so, and they started saying, “It’s his angel.”
16 Meanwhile, Peter kept on knocking. When they opened the door and saw him, they were astonished. 17 Peter motioned to them with his hand to be silent and described to them how the Lord had brought him out of prison. He said, “Tell these things to James and to the brothers.” Then he left and went on to another place.
Jesus Raises a Widow’s Son
11 Soon afterward[a] Jesus went on his way to a town called Nain, and[b] his disciples and a large crowd were traveling with him. 12 As he was approaching the town gate, there was a dead man being carried out, the only son of his mother. She was a widow, and a considerable crowd from the town was with her. 13 When the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her and said to her, “Do not cry.” 14 He went up to the open coffin, touched it, and the pallbearers stopped. He said, “Young man, I say to you, get up!” 15 The dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother.
16 Fear gripped all of them, and they glorified God, saying, “A great prophet has arisen among us” and “God has visited his people!” 17 This was reported about him in all of Judea and in all the surrounding countryside.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.