Book of Common Prayer
Davidic
Praise God, who Forgives
103 Bless the Lord, my soul,
and all that is within me, bless[a] his holy name.
2 Bless the Lord, my soul,
and never forget any of his benefits:
3 He continues to forgive all your sins,
he continues to heal all your diseases,
4 he continues to redeem your life from the Pit,[b]
and he continuously surrounds you
with gracious love and compassion.
5 He keeps satisfying you with good things,
and he keeps renewing your youth like the eagle’s.
6 The Lord continuously does what is right,
executing justice for all who are being oppressed.
7 He revealed his plans[c] to Moses
and his deeds to the people of Israel.
8 The Lord is compassionate and gracious,
patient,[d] and abundantly rich in gracious love.
9 He does not maintain a dispute[e] continuously
or remain angry for all time.
10 He neither deals with us according to our sins,
nor repays us equivalent to our iniquity.
11 As high as heaven rises above earth,
so his gracious love strengthens[f] those who fear him.
12 As distant as the east is from the west,
that is how far he has removed our sins from us.
13 As a father has compassion for his children,
so the Lord has compassion for those who fear him.
14 For he knows how we were formed,
aware that we were made from dust.
15 A person’s life is like grass—
it blossoms like wild flowers,
16 but when the wind blows through it,
it withers away and no one remembers where it was.
17 Yet the Lord’s gracious love remains
throughout eternity for those who fear him
and his righteous acts extend to their children’s children,
18 to those who keep his covenant
and to those who remember to observe his precepts.
19 The Lord has established his throne in heaven
and his kingdom rules over all.
20 Bless the Lord, you angels who belong to him,
you mighty warriors who carry out his commands,
who are obedient to the sound of his words.[g]
21 Bless the Lord, all his heavenly armies,
his ministers who do his will.
22 Bless the Lord, all his creation,[h]
in all the places of his dominion.
Bless the Lord, my soul.
Let All the Earth Praise the Lord
148 Hallelujah!
Praise the Lord from heaven;
praise him in the highest places.
2 Praise him, all his angels;
praise him, all his armies!
3 Praise him, sun and moon;
praise him, all you shining stars.[a]
4 Praise him, you heaven of heavens,
and you waters above the heavens.
5 Let them praise the name of the Lord,
for he himself gave the command that they be created.
6 He set them in place to last forever and ever;
he gave the command and will not rescind it.
7 Praise the Lord, you from the earth,
you creatures of the sea
and all you depths,
8 fire, hail, snow, fog, and wind storm
that carry out his command,[b]
9 mountains and every hill,
fruit trees and cedars,
10 living creatures and livestock,
insects and flying birds,
11 earthly kings and all peoples,
nobles and all court officials of the earth,
12 young men and young women alike,
along with older people and children.
13 Let them praise the name of the Lord,
for his name alone is lifted up;
his majesty transcends earth and heaven.
14 He has raised up a source of strength[c] for his people,
an object of praise for all of his holy ones,
that is, for the people of Israel who are near him.
Hallelujah!
God Appears to Abram
17 When Abram was 99 years old, the Lord appeared to Abram and announced, “I am God Almighty. Live in constant awareness that I’m always with you,[a] and be blameless. 2 I’ll establish my covenant between me and you, and I’ll greatly increase your numbers.” 3 Then Abram fell to the ground[b] as God continued speaking to him. 4 “Look, I’ve made a covenant with you. You will be the father of many nations. 5 Your name is no longer to be Abram.[c] Instead your name will be Abraham,[d] since I’ll make you the father of many nations. 6 I’m going to cause you to have many descendants, and I’ll bring nations from you. Kings will come from you. 7 I’m establishing my covenant between me and you, and with your descendants who come after you, generation after generation, as an eternal covenant, to be your God and your descendants’ God after you. 8 I’ll give to you and to your descendants the land to which you have traveled—all the land of Canaan—as an eternal possession. I will be their God.”
The Sign of the Covenant
9 God continued to speak to Abraham, “You and your descendants who are born in the future are to keep my covenant—that is, you and your descendants, generation after generation. 10 Here is my covenant that you are to observe, between me and you and your descendants: Every male among you is to be circumcised. 11 You are all to be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskin, and this is to be the sign of the covenant between me and you. 12 Generation after generation, every male among you is to be circumcised on the eighth day after his birth,[e] including the servant born in your house or the one purchased from a foreigner, who is not of your offspring.
Fullness of Life
6 So then, just as you have received the Messiah[a] Jesus the Lord, continue to live dependent on him. 7 For you have been rooted in him and are being built up and strengthened in the faith, just as you were taught, while you continue to be thankful. 8 See to it that no one enslaves you through philosophy and empty deceit according to human tradition, according to the basic principles of the world,[b] and not according to the Messiah,[c] 9 because all the essence[d] of deity inhabits him in bodily form. 10 And you have been filled by him, who is the head of every ruler and authority. 11 In union with him you were also circumcised with a circumcision performed without human[e] hands by stripping off the corrupt nature by the circumcision performed by the Messiah.[f] 12 When you were buried with the Messiah[g] in baptism, you were also raised with him through faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead.
23 On that day, you won’t ask me for anything. Truly, I tell all of you[a] emphatically, whatever you ask the Father for in my name, he will give it to you.[b] 24 So far you haven’t asked for anything in my name. Keep asking and you will receive, so that your joy may be complete.”
Victory over the World
25 “I have said these things to you in figurative language. The time is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figurative language, but will tell you plainly about the Father. 26 At that time, you will make your requests in my name, so that I will have no need to ask the Father on your behalf, 27 because the Father himself loves you, and because you have loved me and believed that I came from God.[c] 28 I left the Father and came into the world. Now[d] I’m leaving the world and going back to the Father.”
29 Jesus’[e] disciples said, “Well, now you’re speaking plainly and not using figurative language. 30 Now we know that you know everything and don’t need to have anyone ask you any questions. Because of this, we believe that you have come from God.”
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