Book of Common Prayer
The Lord an Abundant Helper.
146 Praise the Lord! (Hallelujah!)
Praise the Lord, O my soul!
2
While I live I will praise the Lord;
I will sing praises to my God as long as I live.
3
Do not trust in princes,
In mortal man, in whom there is no salvation (help).
4
When his spirit leaves him, he returns to the earth;
In that very day his thoughts and plans perish.(A)
5
How blessed and graciously favored is he whose help is the God of Jacob (Israel),
Whose hope is in the Lord his God,(B)
6
Who made heaven and earth,
The sea, and all that is in them,
Who keeps truth and is faithful forever,(C)
7
Who executes justice for the oppressed,
Who gives food to the hungry.
The Lord sets free the prisoners.
8
The Lord opens the eyes of the blind;
The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down;
The Lord loves the [a]righteous [the upright in heart].(D)
9
The Lord protects the strangers;
He supports the fatherless and the widow;
But He makes crooked the way of the wicked.
10
The Lord shall reign forever,
Your God, O Zion, to all generations.
Praise the Lord! (Hallelujah!)(E)
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].(F)
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.(G)
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.(H)
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!)(I)
The Lord Praised for His Goodness.
111 Praise the Lord! (Hallelujah!)
I will give thanks to the Lord with all my heart,
In the company of the upright and in the congregation.
2
Great are the works of the Lord,
Studied by all those who delight in them.
3
Splendid and majestic is His work,
And His righteousness endures forever.
4
He has made His wonderful acts to be remembered;
The Lord is gracious and merciful and full of loving compassion.
5
He has given food to those who fear Him [with awe-inspired reverence];
He will remember His covenant forever.(A)
6
He has declared and made known to His people the power of His works,
In giving them the heritage of the nations.
7
The works of His hands are truth and [absolute] justice;
All His precepts are sure (established, reliable, trustworthy).
8
They are upheld forever and ever;
They are done in [absolute] truth and uprightness.
9
He has sent redemption to His people;
He has ordained His covenant forever;
Holy and awesome is His name—[inspiring reverence and godly fear].
10
The [reverent] fear of the Lord is the beginning (the prerequisite, the absolute essential, the alphabet) of wisdom;
A good understanding and a teachable heart are possessed by all those who do the will of the Lord;
His praise endures forever.(B)
Prosperity of the One Who Fears the Lord.
112 Praise the Lord! (Hallelujah!)
Blessed [fortunate, prosperous, and favored by God] is the man who fears the Lord [with awe-inspired reverence and worships Him with obedience],
Who delights greatly in His commandments.(C)
2
His descendants will be mighty on earth;
The generation of the upright will be blessed.
3
Wealth and riches are in his house,
And his righteousness endures forever.
4
Light arises in the darkness for the upright;
He is gracious and compassionate and righteous (upright—in right standing with God).
5
It is well with the man who is gracious and lends;
He conducts his affairs with justice.(D)
6
He will never be shaken;
The righteous will be remembered forever.(E)
7
He will not fear bad news;
His heart is steadfast, trusting [confidently relying on and believing] in the Lord.
8
His heart is upheld, he will not fear
While he looks [with satisfaction] on his adversaries.
9
He has given freely to the poor;
His righteousness endures forever;
His horn will be exalted in honor.(F)
10
The wicked will see it and be angered,
He will gnash his teeth and melt away [in despair and death];
The desire of the wicked will perish and come to nothing.
The Lord Exalts the Humble.
113 [a]Praise the Lord! ([b]Hallelujah!)
Praise, O servants of the Lord,
Praise the name of the Lord.
2
Blessed be the name of the Lord
From this time forth and forever.
3
From the rising of the sun to its setting
The name of the Lord is to be praised [with awe-inspired reverence].
4
The Lord is high above all nations,
And His glory above the heavens.
5
Who is like the Lord our God,
Who is enthroned on high,
6
Who humbles Himself to regard
The heavens and the earth?(G)
7
He raises the poor out of the dust
And lifts the needy from the ash heap,
8
That He may seat them with princes,
With the princes of His people.
9
He makes the barren woman live in the house
As a joyful mother of children.
Praise the Lord! (Hallelujah!)
36 Then Saul said, “Let us go down after the Philistines by night and plunder them until the morning light, and let us not leave a man of them [alive].” They said, “Do whatever seems good to you.” Then the priest said, “Let us approach God here.” 37 Saul asked [counsel] of God, “Shall I go down after the Philistines? Will You hand them over to Israel?” But He did not answer him that day. 38 Then Saul said, “Come here, all you who are leaders of the people, and let us find out how this sin [causing God’s silence] happened today. 39 For as the Lord lives, who saves Israel, for even if the guilt is in my son Jonathan, he shall most certainly die.” But not one of all the people answered him. 40 Then he said to all the Israelites, “[a]You shall be on one side; I and my son Jonathan will be on the other side.” The people said to Saul, “Do what seems good to you.” 41 Therefore, Saul said to the Lord, the God of Israel, “Give a perfect lot [identifying the transgressor].” Then Saul and Jonathan were selected [by lot], but the other men went free. 42 Saul said, “Cast [lots] between me and my son Jonathan.” And Jonathan was selected.
43 Saul said to Jonathan, “Tell me what you have done.” So Jonathan told him, “I tasted a little honey with the end of the staff that was in my hand. Here I am, I must die!” 44 Saul answered, “May God do so [to me], and more also [if I do not keep my word], for you shall most certainly die, Jonathan.” 45 But the people said to Saul, “Must Jonathan, who has brought about this great victory in Israel, be put to death? Far from it! As the Lord lives, not one hair of his head shall fall to the ground, for he has worked with God this day.” So the people rescued Jonathan and he was not put to death.
Results of Justification
5 Therefore, since we have been justified [that is, acquitted of sin, declared blameless before God] by faith, [let us grasp the fact that] we have peace with God [and the joy of reconciliation with Him] through our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed). 2 Through Him we also have access by faith into this [remarkable state of] grace in which we [firmly and safely and securely] stand. Let us rejoice in our [a]hope and the confident assurance of [experiencing and enjoying] the glory of [our great] God [the manifestation of His excellence and power]. 3 And not only this, but [with joy] let us exult in our sufferings and rejoice in our hardships, knowing that hardship (distress, pressure, trouble) produces patient endurance; 4 and endurance, proven character (spiritual maturity); and proven character, hope and confident assurance [of eternal salvation]. 5 Such hope [in God’s promises] never disappoints us, because God’s love has been abundantly poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
6 While we were still helpless [powerless to provide for our salvation], at the right time Christ died [as a substitute] for the ungodly. 7 Now it is an extraordinary thing for one to willingly give his life even for an upright man, though perhaps for a good man [one who is noble and selfless and worthy] someone might even dare to die. 8 But God clearly shows and proves His own love for us, by the fact that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Therefore, since we have now been justified [declared free of the guilt of sin] by His blood, [how much more certain is it that] we will be saved from the [b]wrath of God through Him. 10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, it is much more certain, having been reconciled, that we will be saved [from the consequences of sin] by His life [that is, we will be saved because Christ lives today]. 11 Not only that, but we also rejoice in God [rejoicing in His love and perfection] through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received and enjoy our reconciliation [with God].(A)
Parable of the Marriage Feast
22 Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying, 2 “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son. 3 And he sent his servants to call those who had [previously] been invited to the wedding feast, but they refused to come. 4 Then he sent out some other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who have been invited, “Look, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and fattened calves are butchered and everything is ready; come to the wedding feast.”’ 5 But they paid no attention [they disregarded the invitation, treating it with contempt] and went away, one to his farm, another to his business. 6 The rest [of the invited guests] seized his servants and mistreated them [insulting and humiliating them] and killed them. 7 The king was enraged [when he heard this], and sent his soldiers and destroyed those murderers and burned their city. 8 Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding [feast] is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy. 9 So go to the main highways that lead out of the city, and invite to the wedding feast as many as you find.’ 10 Those servants went out into the streets and gathered together all the people they could find, both bad and good; so the wedding hall was filled with dinner guests [sitting at the banquet table].
11 “But when the king came in to see the dinner guests, he saw a man there who was not dressed [appropriately] in wedding clothes, 12 and he said, ‘Friend, how did you come in here without wearing the wedding clothes [that were provided for you]?’ And the man was speechless and without excuse. 13 Then the king said to the attendants, ‘Tie him hand and foot, and throw him into the darkness outside; in that place there will be weeping [over sorrow and pain] and grinding of teeth [over distress and anger].’ 14 For many are called (invited, summoned), but few are chosen.”
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