Book of Common Prayer
146 Praise the Lord.
I will praise the Lord.
2 I will praise the Lord all my life.
I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.
3 Don’t put your trust in human leaders.
Don’t trust in people who can’t save you.
4 When they die, they return to the ground.
On that day their plans come to nothing.
5 Blessed are those who depend on the God of Jacob for help.
Blessed are those who put their hope in the Lord their God.
6 He is the Maker of heaven and earth and the ocean.
He made everything in them.
He remains faithful forever.
7 He stands up for those who are treated badly.
He gives food to hungry people.
The Lord sets prisoners free.
8 The Lord gives sight to those who are blind.
The Lord lifts up those who feel helpless.
The Lord loves those who do what is right.
9 The Lord watches over the outsiders who live in our land.
He takes good care of children whose fathers have died.
He also takes good care of widows.
But he causes evil people to fail
in everything they do.
10 The Lord rules forever.
The God of Zion will rule for all time to come.
Praise the Lord.
147 Praise the Lord.
How good it is to sing praises to our God!
How pleasant and right it is to praise him!
2 The Lord builds up Jerusalem.
He gathers the scattered people of Israel.
3 He heals those who have broken hearts.
He takes care of their wounds.
4 He decides how many stars there should be.
He gives each one of them a name.
5 Great is our Lord. His power is mighty.
There is no limit to his understanding.
6 The Lord gives strength to those who aren’t proud.
But he throws evil people down to the ground.
7 Sing to the Lord and give him grateful praise.
Make music to our God on the harp.
8 He covers the sky with clouds.
He supplies the earth with rain.
He makes grass grow on the hills.
9 He provides food for the cattle.
He provides for the young ravens when they cry out.
10 He doesn’t take pleasure in the strength of horses.
He doesn’t take delight in the strong legs of warriors.
11 The Lord takes delight in those who have respect for him.
They put their hope in his faithful love.
12 Jerusalem, praise the Lord.
Zion, praise your God.
13 He makes the metal bars of your gates stronger.
He blesses the people who live inside you.
14 He keeps your borders safe and secure.
He satisfies you with the finest wheat.
15 He sends his command to the earth.
His word arrives there quickly.
16 He spreads the snow like wool.
He scatters the frost like ashes.
17 He throws down his hail like pebbles.
No one can stand his icy blast.
18 He gives his command, and the ice melts.
He stirs up his winds, and the waters flow.
19 He has made his word known to the people of Jacob.
He has made his laws and rules known to Israel.
20 He hasn’t done that for any other nation.
They don’t know his laws.
Praise the Lord.
111 Praise the Lord.
I will praise the Lord with all my heart.
I will praise him where honest people gather for worship.
2 The Lord has done great things.
All who take delight in those things think deeply about them.
3 What he does shows his glory and majesty.
He will always do what is right.
4 The Lord causes his wonders to be remembered.
He is kind and tender.
5 He provides food for those who have respect for him.
He remembers his covenant forever.
6 He has shown his people what his power can do.
He has given them the lands of other nations.
7 He is faithful and right in everything he does.
All his rules can be trusted.
8 They will stand firm for ever and ever.
They were given by the Lord.
He is faithful and honest.
9 He set his people free.
He made a covenant with them that will last forever.
His name is holy and wonderful.
10 If you really want to become wise,
you must begin by having respect for the Lord.
All those who follow his rules have good understanding.
People should praise him forever.
112 Praise the Lord.
Blessed are those who have respect for the Lord.
They find great delight when they obey God’s commands.
2 Their children will be powerful in the land.
Because they are honest, their children will be blessed.
3 Their family will have wealth and riches.
They will always be blessed for doing what is right.
4 Even in the darkness light shines on honest people.
It shines on those who are kind and tender and godly.
5 Good things will come to those who are willing to lend freely.
Good things will come to those who are fair in everything they do.
6 Those who do what is right will always be secure.
They will be remembered forever.
7 They aren’t afraid when bad news comes.
They stand firm because they trust in the Lord.
8 Their hearts are secure. They aren’t afraid.
In the end they will see their enemies destroyed.
9 They have spread their gifts around to poor people.
Their good works continue forever.
They will be powerful and honored.
10 Evil people will see it and be upset.
They will grind their teeth and become weaker and weaker.
What evil people long to do can’t succeed.
113 Praise the Lord.
Praise him, you who serve the Lord.
Praise the name of the Lord.
2 Let us praise the name of the Lord,
both now and forever.
3 From the sunrise in the east to the sunset in the west,
may the name of the Lord be praised.
4 The Lord is honored over all the nations.
His glory reaches to the highest heavens.
5 Who is like the Lord our God?
He sits on his throne in heaven.
6 He bends down to look
at the heavens and the earth.
7 He raises poor people up from the trash pile.
He lifts needy people out of the ashes.
8 He causes them to sit with princes.
He causes them to sit with the princes of his people.
9 He gives children to the woman who doesn’t have any children.
He makes her a happy mother in her own home.
Praise the Lord.
David Counts His Fighting Men
24 The Lord was very angry with Israel. He stirred up David against them. He said, “Go! Count the men of Israel and Judah.”
2 So the king spoke to Joab and the army commanders with him. He said, “Go all through the territories of the tribes of Israel. Go from the town of Dan all the way to Beersheba. Count the fighting men. Then I’ll know how many there are.”
10 David felt sorry that he had counted the fighting men. So he said to the Lord, “I committed a great sin when I counted Judah and Israel’s men. Lord, I beg you to take away my guilt. I’ve done a very foolish thing.”
11 Before David got up the next morning, a message from the Lord came to Gad the prophet. He was David’s seer. The message said, 12 “Go and tell David, ‘The Lord says, “I could punish you in three different ways. Choose one of them for me to use against you.” ’ ”
13 So Gad went to David. He said to him, “Take your choice. Do you want three years when there won’t be enough food in your land? Or do you want three months when you will run away from your enemies while they chase you? Or do you want three days when there will be a plague in your land? Think it over. Then take your pick. Tell me how to answer the one who sent me.”
14 David said to Gad, “I’m suffering terribly. Let us fall into the hands of the Lord. His mercy is great. But don’t let me fall into human hands.”
15 So the Lord sent a plague on Israel. It lasted from that morning until he decided to end it. From Dan all the way to Beersheba 70,000 people died. 16 The angel reached his hand out to destroy Jerusalem. But the Lord stopped sending the plague. So he spoke to the angel who was making the people suffer. He said, “That is enough! Do not kill any more people.” The angel of the Lord was at Araunah’s threshing floor. Araunah was from the city of Jebus.
17 David saw the angel who was striking down the people. David said to the Lord, “I’m the one who has sinned. I’m the one who has done what is wrong. I’m like a shepherd for these people. These people are like sheep. What have they done? Let your judgment be on me and my family.”
David Builds an Altar
18 On that day Gad went to David. Gad said to him, “Go up to the threshing floor of Araunah, the Jebusite. Build an altar there to honor the Lord.” 19 So David went up and did it. He did what the Lord had commanded through Gad. 20 Araunah looked and saw the king and his officials coming toward him. So he went out to welcome them. He bowed down to the king with his face toward the ground.
21 Araunah said, “King David, you are my master. Why have you come to see me?”
“To buy your threshing floor,” David answered. “I want to build an altar there to honor the Lord. When I do, the plague on the people will be stopped.”
22 Araunah said to David, “Take anything you wish. Offer it up. Here are oxen for the burnt offering. Here are threshing sleds. And here are wooden collars from the necks of the oxen. Use all the wood to burn the offering. 23 Your Majesty, I’ll give all of it to you.” Araunah continued, “And may the Lord your God accept you.”
24 But the king replied to Araunah, “No. I want to pay you for it. I won’t sacrifice to the Lord my God burnt offerings that haven’t cost me anything.”
So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen. He paid 20 ounces of silver for them. 25 David built an altar there to honor the Lord. He sacrificed burnt offerings and friendship offerings. Then the Lord answered David’s prayer and blessed the land. The plague on Israel was stopped.
Children of God
23 Before faith in Christ came, we were guarded by the law. We were locked up until this faith was made known. 24 So the law was put in charge of us until Christ came. He came so that we might be made right with God by believing in Christ. 25 But now faith in Christ has come. So the law is no longer in charge of us.
26 So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God by believing in Christ. 27 This is because all of you who were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. You have put him on as if he were your clothes. 28 There is no Jew or Gentile. There is no slave or free person. There is no male or female. That’s because you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 You who belong to Christ are Abraham’s seed. So you will receive what God has promised.
4 Here is what I have been saying. As long as your own children are young, they are no different from slaves in your house. They are no different, even though they will own all the property. 2 People are in charge of the property. And other people are in charge of the children. The children remain under their care until they become adults. At that time their fathers give them the property. 3 It is the same with us. When we were children, we were slaves to the basic spiritual powers of the world. 4 But then the chosen time came. God sent his Son. A woman gave birth to him. He was born under the authority of the law. 5 He came to set free those who were under the authority of the law. He wanted us to be adopted as children with all the rights children have. 6 Because you are his children, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts. He is the Holy Spirit. By his power we call God Abba. Abba means Father. 7 So you aren’t a slave any longer. You are God’s child. Because you are his child, God gives you the rights of those who are his children.
Challenge to What Jesus Says About Himself
12 Jesus spoke to the people again. He said, “I am the light of the world. Anyone who follows me will never walk in darkness. They will have that light. They will have life.”
13 The Pharisees argued with him. “Here you are,” they said, “appearing as your own witness. But your witness does not count.”
14 Jesus answered, “Even if I am a witness about myself, what I say does count. I know where I came from. And I know where I am going. But you have no idea where I come from or where I am going. 15 You judge by human standards. I don’t judge anyone. 16 But if I do judge, what I decide is true. This is because I am not alone. I stand with the Father, who sent me. 17 Your own Law says that the witness of two people proves the truth about something. 18 I am a witness about myself. The other witness about me is the Father, who sent me.”
19 Then they asked him, “Where is your father?”
“You do not know me or my Father,” Jesus replied. “If you knew me, you would know my Father also.” 20 He spoke these words while he was teaching in the temple courtyard. He was near the place where the offerings were put. But no one arrested him. That’s because the time for him to die had not yet come.
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