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.
Introduction
1 The following is a record of what Amos prophesied.[a] He[b] was one of the herdsmen from Tekoa. These prophecies about Israel were revealed to him[c] during the time of[d] King Uzziah of Judah and[e] King Jeroboam son of Joash of Israel, two years before the earthquake.[f]
God Will Judge the Surrounding Nations
2 Amos[g] said:
“The Lord comes roaring[h] out of Zion;
from Jerusalem he comes bellowing![i]
The shepherds’ pastures wilt;[j]
the summit of Carmel[k] withers.”[l]
3 This is what the Lord says:
“Because Damascus has committed three crimes[m]—
make that four![n]—I will not revoke my
decree of judgment.[o]
They ripped through Gilead like threshing sledges with iron teeth.[p]
4 So I will set Hazael’s house[q] on fire;
fire[r] will consume Ben Hadad’s[s] fortresses.
5 I will break the bar on the gate[t] of Damascus.
I will remove[u] the ruler[v] from Wicked Valley,[w]
the one who holds the royal scepter from Beth Eden.[x]
The people of Aram will be deported to Kir.”[y]
The Lord has spoken!
13 This is what the Lord says:
“Because the Ammonites have committed three crimes[a]—
make that four[b]—I will not revoke my decree of judgment.[c]
They ripped open Gilead’s pregnant women[d]
so they could expand their territory.
14 So I will set fire to Rabbah’s[e] city wall;[f]
fire[g] will consume her fortresses.
War cries will be heard on the day of battle;[h]
a strong gale will blow on the day of the windstorm.[i]
15 Ammon’s[j] king will be deported;[k]
he and his officials[l] will be carried off[m] together.”
The Lord has spoken
2 This is what the Lord says:
“Because Moab has committed three crimes[n]—
make that four[o]—I will not revoke my decree of judgment.[p]
They burned the bones of Edom’s king into lime.[q]
2 So I will set Moab on fire,[r]
and it will consume Kerioth’s[s] fortresses.
Moab will perish[t] in the heat of battle[u]
amid war cries and the blaring[v] of the ram’s horn.[w]
3 I will remove[x] Moab’s leader;[y]
I will kill all Moab’s[z] officials[aa] with him.”
The Lord has spoken!
4 This is what the Lord says:
“Because Judah has committed three covenant transgressions[ab]—
make that four[ac]—I will not revoke my decree of judgment.[ad]
They rejected the Lord’s law;[ae]
they did not obey his commands.
Their false gods,[af]
to which their fathers were loyal,[ag]
led them astray.
5 So I will set Judah on fire,
and it will consume Jerusalem’s fortresses.”
God Will Judge Israel
6 This is what the Lord says:
“Because Israel has committed three covenant transgressions[ah]—
make that four[ai]—I will not revoke my decree of judgment.[aj]
They sold the innocent[ak] for silver,
the needy for a pair of sandals.[al]
7 They trample[am] on the dirt-covered heads of the poor;[an]
they push the destitute away.[ao]
A man and his father go to the same girl;[ap]
in this way they show disrespect for[aq] my moral purity.[ar]
8 They stretch out on clothing seized as collateral;
they do so right[as] beside every altar!
They drink wine bought with the fines they have levied;
they do so right in the temple[at] of their God![au]
The Day of the Lord
5 Now on the topic of times and seasons,[a] brothers and sisters,[b] you have no need for anything to be written to you. 2 For you know quite well that the day of the Lord[c] will come in the same way as a thief in the night.[d] 3 Now when[e] they are saying, “There is peace and security,”[f] then sudden destruction comes on them, like labor pains[g] on a pregnant woman, and they will surely not escape. 4 But you, brothers and sisters,[h] are not in the darkness for the day to overtake you like a thief would. 5 For you all are sons of the light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of the darkness. 6 So then we must not sleep as the rest, but must stay alert and sober. 7 For those who sleep, sleep at night and those who get drunk are drunk at night. 8 But since we are of the day, we must stay sober by putting on the breastplate[i] of faith and love and as a helmet our hope for salvation.[j] 9 For God did not destine us for wrath[k] but for gaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. 10 He died[l] for us so that whether we are alert or asleep[m] we will come to life together with him. 11 Therefore encourage one another and build up each other, just as you are in fact doing.
The Signs of the End of the Age
5 Now[a] while some were speaking about the temple, how it was adorned[b] with beautiful stones and offerings,[c] Jesus[d] said, 6 “As for these things that you are gazing at, the days will come when not one stone will be left on another.[e] All will be torn down!”[f] 7 So[g] they asked him,[h] “Teacher, when will these things[i] happen? And what will be the sign that[j] these things are about to take place?” 8 He[k] said, “Watch out[l] that you are not misled. For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he,’[m] and, ‘The time is near.’ Do not follow them! 9 And when you hear of wars and rebellions,[n] do not be afraid.[o] For these things must happen first, but the end will not come at once.”[p]
Persecution of Disciples
10 Then he said to them, “Nation will rise up in arms[q] against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. 11 There will be great earthquakes, and famines[r] and plagues in various places, and there will be terrifying sights[s] and great signs[t] from heaven. 12 But before all this,[u] they will seize[v] you and persecute you, handing you over to the synagogues[w] and prisons. You[x] will be brought before kings and governors because of my name. 13 This will be a time for you to serve as witnesses.[y] 14 Therefore be resolved[z] not to rehearse[aa] ahead of time how to make your defense. 15 For I will give you the words[ab] along with the wisdom[ac] that none of your adversaries will be able to withstand or contradict. 16 You will be betrayed even by parents,[ad] brothers, relatives,[ae] and friends, and they will have some of you put to death. 17 You will be hated by everyone because of my name.[af] 18 Yet[ag] not a hair of your head will perish.[ah] 19 By your endurance[ai] you will gain[aj] your lives.[ak]
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