Book of Common Prayer
Praise for Jerusalem’s Restoration and Prosperity.
147 Praise the Lord!
For it is good to sing praises to our [gracious and majestic] God;
Praise is becoming and appropriate.
2
The Lord is building up Jerusalem;
He is gathering [together] the exiles of Israel.
3
He heals the brokenhearted
And binds up their wounds [healing their pain and comforting their sorrow].(A)
4
He counts the number of the stars;
He calls them all by their names.
5
Great is our [majestic and mighty] Lord and abundant in strength;
His understanding is inexhaustible [infinite, boundless].
6
The Lord lifts up the humble;
He casts the wicked down to the ground.
7
Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving;
Sing praises to our God with the lyre,
8
Who covers the heavens with clouds,
Who provides rain for the earth,
Who makes grass grow on the mountains.
9
He gives to the beast its food,
And to the young ravens that for which they cry.
10
He does not delight in the strength (military power) of the horse,
Nor does He take pleasure in the legs (strength) of a man.
11
The Lord favors those who fear and worship Him [with awe-inspired reverence and obedience],
Those who wait for His mercy and lovingkindness.(B)
12
Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem!
Praise your God, O Zion!
13
For He has strengthened the bars of your gates,
He has blessed your children within you.
14
He makes peace in your borders;
He satisfies you with the finest of the wheat.
15
He sends His command to the earth;
His word runs very swiftly.
16
He gives [to the earth] snow like [a blanket of] wool;
He scatters the frost like ashes.
17
He casts out His ice like fragments;
Who can stand before His cold?
18
He sends out His word and melts the ice;
He causes His wind to blow and the waters to flow.
19
He declares His word to Jacob,
His statutes and His ordinances to Israel.(C)
20
He has not dealt this way with any [other] nation;
They have not known [understood, appreciated, heeded, or cherished] His ordinances.
Praise the Lord! (Hallelujah!)(D)
Offering First Fruits
26 “Then it shall be, when you enter the land which the Lord your God gives you as an inheritance, and you take possession of it and live in it, 2 that you shall take some of the first of all the produce of the ground which you harvest from the land that the Lord your God gives you, and you shall put it in a basket and go to the [a]place where the Lord your God chooses to establish His Name (Presence). 3 You shall go to the priest who is in office at that time and say to him, ‘I declare this day to the Lord [b]my God that I have entered the land which the Lord swore to our fathers to give us.’ 4 Then the priest will take the basket from you and place it before the altar of the Lord your God. 5 And you shall say before the Lord your God, ‘My father [Jacob] was a wandering Aramean, and he [along with his family] went down to Egypt and [c]lived there [as strangers], few in number; but while there he became a great, mighty and populous nation. 6 And the Egyptians treated us badly and oppressed us, and imposed hard labor on us. 7 Then we cried out to the Lord, the God of our fathers for help, and He heard our voice and saw our suffering and our labor and our [cruel] oppression; 8 and the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and with an outstretched arm and with great terror [suffered by the Egyptians] and with signs and with wonders; 9 and He has brought us to this place and has given us this land, a land [d]flowing with milk and honey. 10 And now, look, I have brought the first of the produce of the ground which You, O Lord, have given me.’ And you shall place it before the Lord your God, and shall worship before the Lord your God; 11 and you and the Levite and the stranger (resident alien, foreigner) among you shall rejoice in all the good which the Lord your God has given you and your household.
Words to the People
26 Jesus answered, “I assure you and most solemnly say to you, you have been searching for Me, not because you saw the signs (attesting miracles), but because you ate the loaves and were filled. 27 Do not work for food that perishes, but for food that endures [and leads] to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you; for God the Father has authorized Him and put His seal on Him.” 28 Then they asked Him, “What are we to do, so that we may habitually be doing the works of God?” 29 Jesus answered, “This is the work of God: that you believe [adhere to, trust in, rely on, and have faith] in the One whom He has sent.” 30 So they said to Him, “What sign (attesting miracle) will You do that we may see it and believe You? What [supernatural] work will You do [as proof]? 31 Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written [in Scripture], ‘He gave them bread out of heaven to eat.’”(A) 32 Then Jesus said to them, “I assure you and most solemnly say to you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread out of heaven, but it is My Father who gives you the true [a]bread out of heaven. 33 For the Bread of God is He who comes down out of heaven, and gives life to the world.” 34 Then they said to Him, “Lord, always give us this bread.”
35 Jesus replied to them, “[b]I am the Bread of Life. The one who comes to Me will never be hungry, and the one who believes in Me [as Savior] will never be thirsty [for that one will be sustained spiritually].
The Lord Extolled for His Goodness.
A Psalm of praise. Of David.
145 I will exalt You, my God, O King,
And [with gratitude and submissive wonder] I will bless Your name forever and ever.
2
Every day I will bless You and lovingly praise You;
Yes, [with awe-inspired reverence] I will praise Your name forever and ever.
3
Great is the Lord, and highly to be praised,
And His greatness is [so vast and profound as to be] unsearchable [incomprehensible to man].(A)
4
One generation shall praise Your works to another,
And shall declare Your mighty and remarkable acts.
5
On the glorious splendor of Your majesty
And on Your wonderful works, I will meditate.
6
People will speak of the power of Your awesome acts,
And [with gratitude and submissive wonder] I will tell of Your greatness.
7
They will overflow [like a fountain] when they speak of Your great and abundant goodness
And will sing joyfully of Your righteousness.
8
The Lord is gracious and full of compassion,
Slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness.
9
The Lord is good to all,
And His tender mercies are over all His works [the entirety of things created].
10
All Your works shall give thanks to You and praise You, O Lord,
And Your godly ones will bless You.
11
They shall speak of the glory of Your kingdom
And talk of Your power,
12
To make known to the sons of men Your mighty acts
And the glorious majesty of Your kingdom.
13
Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
And Your dominion endures throughout all generations.(B)
14
The Lord upholds all those [of His own] who fall
And raises up all those who are bowed down.
15
The eyes of all look to You [in hopeful expectation],
And You give them their food in due time.
16
You open Your hand
And satisfy the desire of every living thing.
17
The Lord is [unwaveringly] righteous in all His ways
And gracious and kind in all His works.
18
The Lord is near to all who call on Him,
To all who call on Him in truth (without guile).
19
He will fulfill the desire of those who fear and worship Him [with awe-inspired reverence and obedience];
He also will hear their cry and will save them.
20
The Lord keeps all who love Him,
But all the wicked He will destroy.
21
My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord,
And all flesh will bless and gratefully praise His holy name forever and ever.
Christian Conduct
12 Now we ask you, brothers and sisters, to appreciate those who diligently work among you [recognize, acknowledge, and respect your leaders], who are in charge over you in the Lord and who give you instruction, 13 and [we ask that you appreciate them and] hold them in the highest esteem in love because of their work [on your behalf]. Live in peace with one another. 14 We [earnestly] urge you, believers, admonish those who are out of line [the undisciplined, the unruly, the disorderly], encourage the timid [who lack spiritual courage], help the [spiritually] weak, be very patient with everyone [always controlling your temper].(A) 15 See that no one repays another with evil for evil, but always seek that which is good for one another and for all people. 16 Rejoice always and delight in your faith; 17 be unceasing and persistent in prayer; 18 in every situation [no matter what the circumstances] be thankful and continually give thanks to God; for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus. 19 Do not quench [subdue, or be unresponsive to the working and guidance of] the [Holy] Spirit. 20 Do not scorn or reject gifts of prophecy or prophecies [spoken revelations—words of instruction or exhortation or warning]. 21 But test [a]all things carefully [so you can recognize what is good]. Hold firmly to that which is good. 22 Abstain from every form of evil [withdraw and keep away from it].
23 Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you through and through [that is, separate you from profane and vulgar things, make you pure and whole and undamaged—consecrated to Him—set apart for His purpose]; and may your spirit and soul and body be kept complete and [be found] blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24 Faithful and absolutely trustworthy is He who is calling you [to Himself for your salvation], and He will do it [He will fulfill His call by making you holy, guarding you, watching over you, and protecting you as His own].
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