Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 118
A Song of Victory
1 O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
his steadfast love endures forever!(A)
2 Let Israel say,
“His steadfast love endures forever.”(B)
3 Let the house of Aaron say,
“His steadfast love endures forever.”
4 Let those who fear the Lord say,
“His steadfast love endures forever.”
5 Out of my distress I called on the Lord;
the Lord answered me and set me in a broad place.(C)
6 With the Lord on my side I do not fear.
What can mortals do to me?(D)
7 The Lord is on my side to help me;
I shall look in triumph on those who hate me.(E)
8 It is better to take refuge in the Lord
than to put confidence in mortals.(F)
9 It is better to take refuge in the Lord
than to put confidence in princes.(G)
10 All nations surrounded me;
in the name of the Lord I cut them off!(H)
11 They surrounded me, surrounded me on every side;
in the name of the Lord I cut them off!
12 They surrounded me like bees;
they blazed[a] like a fire of thorns;
in the name of the Lord I cut them off!
13 I was pushed hard,[b] so that I was falling,
but the Lord helped me.(I)
14 The Lord is my strength and my might;
he has become my salvation.(J)
15 There are glad songs of victory in the tents of the righteous:
“The right hand of the Lord does valiantly;(K)
16 the right hand of the Lord is exalted;
the right hand of the Lord does valiantly.”(L)
17 I shall not die, but I shall live
and recount the deeds of the Lord.(M)
18 The Lord has punished me severely,
but he did not give me over to death.(N)
19 Open to me the gates of righteousness,
that I may enter through them
and give thanks to the Lord.(O)
20 This is the gate of the Lord;
the righteous shall enter through it.(P)
21 I thank you that you have answered me
and have become my salvation.(Q)
22 The stone that the builders rejected
has become the chief cornerstone.(R)
23 This is the Lord’s doing;
it is marvelous in our eyes.
24 This is the day that the Lord has made;
let us rejoice and be glad in it.[c]
25 Save us, we beseech you, O Lord!
O Lord, we beseech you, give us success!
26 Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.[d]
We bless you from the house of the Lord.(S)
27 The Lord is God,
and he has given us light.
Bind the festal procession with branches,
up to the horns of the altar.[e](T)
28 You are my God, and I will give thanks to you;
you are my God; I will extol you.(U)
29 O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
for his steadfast love endures forever.(V)
Psalm 145
The Greatness and the Goodness of God
Praise. Of David.
1 I will extol you, my God and King,
and bless your name forever and ever.
2 Every day I will bless you
and praise your name forever and ever.(A)
3 Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised;
his greatness is unsearchable.(B)
4 One generation shall extol your works to another
and shall declare your mighty acts.(C)
5 They will recount the glorious[a] splendor of your majesty,
and on your wondrous works I will meditate.(D)
6 They will proclaim the might of your awesome deeds,
and I will declare your greatness.(E)
7 They shall celebrate the fame of your abundant goodness
and shall sing aloud of your righteousness.(F)
8 The Lord is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.(G)
9 The Lord is good to all,
and his compassion is over all that he has made.(H)
10 All your works shall give thanks to you, O Lord,
and all your faithful shall bless you.(I)
11 They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom
and tell of your power,
12 to make known to all people your[b] mighty deeds
and the glorious splendor of your[c] kingdom.
13 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
and your dominion endures throughout all generations.
The Lord is faithful in all his words
and gracious in all his deeds.[d](J)
14 The Lord upholds all who are falling
and raises up all who are bowed down.(K)
15 The eyes of all look to you,
and you give them their food in due season.(L)
16 You open your hand,
satisfying the desire of every living thing.
17 The Lord is just in all his ways
and kind in all his doings.
18 The Lord is near to all who call on him,
to all who call on him in truth.(M)
19 He fulfills the desire of all who fear him;
he also hears their cry and saves them.(N)
20 The Lord watches over all who love him,
but all the wicked he will destroy.(O)
21 My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord,
and all flesh will bless his holy name forever and ever.
The Call of Wisdom
20 Wisdom cries out in the street;
in the squares she raises her voice.(A)
21 At the busiest corner she cries out;
at the entrance of the city gates she speaks:
22 “How long, O simple ones, will you love being simple?
How long will scoffers delight in their scoffing
and fools hate knowledge?(B)
23 Give heed to my reproof;
I will pour out my thoughts to you;
I will make my words known to you.(C)
24 Because I have called and you refused,
have stretched out my hand and no one heeded,(D)
25 and because you have ignored all my counsel
and would have none of my reproof,(E)
26 I also will laugh at your calamity;
I will mock when panic strikes you,(F)
27 when panic strikes you like a storm
and your calamity comes like a whirlwind,
when distress and anguish come upon you.
28 Then they will call upon me, but I will not answer;
they will seek me diligently but will not find me.(G)
29 Because they hated knowledge
and did not choose the fear of the Lord,
30 would have none of my counsel
and despised all my reproof,(H)
31 therefore they shall eat the fruit of their way
and be sated with their own devices.(I)
32 For waywardness kills the simple,
and the complacency of fools destroys them;(J)
33 but those who listen to me will be secure
and will live at ease without dread of disaster.”(K)
The Ministry of Reconciliation
11 Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we try to persuade people, but we ourselves are well known to God, and I hope that we are also well known to your consciences.(A) 12 We are not commending ourselves to you again but giving you an opportunity to boast about us, so that you may be able to answer those who boast in outward appearance and not in the heart.(B) 13 For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you.(C) 14 For the love of Christ urges us on, because we are convinced that one has died for all; therefore all have died.(D) 15 And he died for all, so that those who live might live no longer for themselves but for the one who for their sake died and was raised.
16 From now on, therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view;[a] even though we once knew Christ from a human point of view,[b] we no longer know him in that way.(E) 17 So if anyone is in Christ, there[c] is a new creation: everything old has passed away; look, new things have come into being 18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and has given us the ministry of reconciliation;(G) 19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself,[e] not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us.(H) 20 So we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us; we entreat you on behalf of Christ: be reconciled to God.(I) 21 For our sake God made the one who knew no sin to be sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.(J)
The Request of James and John
35 James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came forward to him and said to him, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.” 36 And he said to them, “What is it you want me to do for you?” 37 And they said to him, “Appoint us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.”(A) 38 But Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink or be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?”(B) 39 They replied, “We are able.” Then Jesus said to them, “The cup that I drink you will drink, and with the baptism with which I am baptized you will be baptized,(C) 40 but to sit at my right hand or at my left is not mine to appoint, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared.”
41 When the ten heard this, they began to be angry with James and John. 42 So Jesus called them and said to them, “You know that among the gentiles those whom they recognize as their rulers lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them. 43 But it is not so among you; instead, whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant,(D) 44 and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all. 45 For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve and to give his life a ransom for many.”(E)
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.