Book of Common Prayer
Thanksgiving for Victory
118 Thank the Lord because he is good.
His love continues forever.
2 Let the people of Israel say,
“His love continues forever.”
3 Let the family of Aaron say,
“His love continues forever.”
4 Let those who respect the Lord say,
“His love continues forever.”
5 I was in trouble, so I called to the Lord.
The Lord answered me and set me free.
6 I will not be afraid, because the Lord is with me.
People can’t do anything to me.
7 The Lord is with me to help me,
so I will see my enemies defeated.
8 It is better to trust the Lord
than to trust people.
9 It is better to trust the Lord
than to trust princes.
10 All the nations surrounded me,
but I defeated them in the name of the Lord.
11 They surrounded me on every side,
but with the Lord’s power I defeated them.
12 They surrounded me like a swarm of bees,
but they died as quickly as thorns burn.
By the Lord’s power, I defeated them.
13 They chased me until I was almost defeated,
but the Lord helped me.
14 The Lord gives me strength and a song.
He has saved me.
15 Shouts of joy and victory
come from the tents of those who do right:
“The Lord has done powerful things.”
16 The power of the Lord has won the victory;
with his power the Lord has done mighty things.
17 I will not die, but live,
and I will tell what the Lord has done.
18 The Lord has taught me a hard lesson,
but he did not let me die.
19 Open for me the Temple gates.
Then I will come in and thank the Lord.
20 This is the Lord’s gate;
only those who are good may enter through it.
21 Lord, I thank you for answering me.
You have saved me.
22 The stone that the builders rejected
became the cornerstone.
23 The Lord did this,
and it is wonderful to us.
24 This is the day that the Lord has made.
Let us rejoice and be glad today!
25 Please, Lord, save us;
please, Lord, give us success.
26 God bless the one who comes in the name of the Lord.
We bless all of you from the Temple of the Lord.
27 The Lord is God,
and he has shown kindness to us.
With branches in your hands, join the feast.
Come to the corners of the altar.
28 You are my God, and I will thank you;
you are my God, and I will praise your greatness.
29 Thank the Lord because he is good.
His love continues forever.
Praise to God the King
A psalm of praise. Of David.
145 I praise your greatness, my God the King;
I will praise you forever and ever.
2 I will praise you every day;
I will praise you forever and ever.
3 The Lord is great and worthy of our praise;
no one can understand how great he is.
4 Parents will tell their children what you have done.
They will retell your mighty acts,
5 wonderful majesty, and glory.
And I will think about your miracles.
6 They will tell about the amazing things you do,
and I will tell how great you are.
7 They will remember your great goodness
and will sing about your fairness.
8 The Lord is kind and shows mercy.
He does not become angry quickly but is full of love.
9 The Lord is good to everyone;
he is merciful to all he has made.
10 Lord, everything you have made will praise you;
those who belong to you will bless you.
11 They will tell about the glory of your kingdom
and will speak about your power.
12 Then everyone will know the mighty things you do
and the glory and majesty of your kingdom.
13 Your kingdom will go on and on,
and you will rule forever.
The Lord will keep all his promises;
he is loyal to all he has made.
14 The Lord helps those who have been defeated
and takes care of those who are in trouble.
15 All living things look to you for food,
and you give it to them at the right time.
16 You open your hand,
and you satisfy all living things.
17 Everything the Lord does is right.
He is loyal to all he has made.
18 The Lord is close to everyone who prays to him,
to all who truly pray to him.
19 He gives those who respect him what they want.
He listens when they cry, and he saves them.
20 The Lord protects everyone who loves him,
but he will destroy the wicked.
21 I will praise the Lord.
Let everyone praise his holy name forever.
19 At that time there will be an altar for the Lord in the middle of Egypt and a monument to the Lord at the border of Egypt. 20 This will be a sign and a witness to the Lord All-Powerful in the land of Egypt. When the people cry to the Lord for help, he will send someone to save and defend them. He will rescue them from those who hurt them.
21 So the Lord will show himself to the Egyptians, and then they will know he is the Lord. They will worship God and offer many sacrifices. They will make promises to the Lord and will keep them. 22 The Lord will punish the Egyptians, but then he will heal them. They will come back to the Lord, and he will listen to their prayers and heal them.
23 At that time there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria, and the Assyrians will go to Egypt, and the Egyptians will go to Assyria. The Egyptians and Assyrians will worship God together. 24 At that time Israel, Assyria, and Egypt will join together, which will be a blessing for the earth. 25 The Lord All-Powerful will bless them, saying, “Egypt, you are my people. Assyria, I made you. Israel, I own you. You are all blessed!”
5 May the patience and encouragement that come from God allow you to live in harmony with each other the way Christ Jesus wants. 6 Then you will all be joined together, and you will give glory to God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. 7 Christ accepted you, so you should accept each other, which will bring glory to God. 8 I tell you that Christ became a servant of the Jews to show that God’s promises to the Jewish ancestors are true. 9 And he also did this so that those who are not Jews could give glory to God for the mercy he gives to them. It is written in the Scriptures:
“So I will praise you among the non-Jewish people.
I will sing praises to your name.” Psalm 18:49
10 The Scripture also says,
“Be happy, you who are not Jews, together with his people.” Deuteronomy 32:43
11 Again the Scripture says,
“All you who are not Jews, praise the Lord.
All you people, sing praises to him.” Psalm 117:1
12 And Isaiah says,
“A new king will come from the family of Jesse.[a]
He will come to rule over the non-Jewish people,
and they will have hope because of him.” Isaiah 11:10
13 I pray that the God who gives hope will fill you with much joy and peace while you trust in him. Then your hope will overflow by the power of the Holy Spirit.
A Story About Three Servants
11 As the people were listening to this, Jesus told them a story because he was near Jerusalem and they thought God’s kingdom would appear immediately. 12 He said: “A very important man went to a country far away to be made a king and then to return home. 13 So he called ten of his servants and gave a coin[a] to each servant. He said, ‘Do business with this money until I get back.’ 14 But the people in the kingdom hated the man. So they sent a group to follow him and say, ‘We don’t want this man to be our king.’
15 “But the man became king. When he returned home, he said, ‘Call those servants who have my money so I can know how much they earned with it.’
16 “The first servant came and said, ‘Sir, I earned ten coins with the one you gave me.’ 17 The king said to the servant, ‘Excellent! You are a good servant. Since I can trust you with small things, I will let you rule over ten of my cities.’
18 “The second servant said, ‘Sir, I earned five coins with your one.’ 19 The king said to this servant, ‘You can rule over five cities.’
20 “Then another servant came in and said to the king, ‘Sir, here is your coin which I wrapped in a piece of cloth and hid. 21 I was afraid of you, because you are a hard man. You even take money that you didn’t earn and gather food that you didn’t plant.’ 22 Then the king said to the servant, ‘I will condemn you by your own words, you evil servant. You knew that I am a hard man, taking money that I didn’t earn and gathering food that I didn’t plant. 23 Why then didn’t you put my money in the bank? Then when I came back, my money would have earned some interest.’
24 “The king said to the men who were standing by, ‘Take the coin away from this servant and give it to the servant who earned ten coins.’ 25 They said, ‘But sir, that servant already has ten coins.’ 26 The king said, ‘Those who have will be given more, but those who do not have anything will have everything taken away from them. 27 Now where are my enemies who didn’t want me to be king? Bring them here and kill them before me.’”
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.