Book of Common Prayer
The Concluding Hallel—Pss 146–150[a]
Psalm 146[b]
Trust in God, Creator and Redeemer
1 [c]Alleluia.
Praise the Lord, O my soul.[d]
2 I will praise the Lord as long as I live;
I will sing praise to my God throughout my life.[e]
3 Do not place your trust in princes,
in mortal men who have no power to save.
4 When the spirit departs, they return to the earth;
on that very day all their plans come to naught.[f]
5 [g]Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob,[h]
whose hope is in the Lord, his God,
6 the Maker of heaven and earth,[i]
the sea, and everything in them—
the one who keeps faith forever.
7 He grants justice to the oppressed[j]
and gives bread to the hungry.
The Lord releases prisoners
8 and opens the eyes of those who cannot see.[k]
The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down;
the Lord loves the righteous.
9 The Lord watches over the stranger
and sustains the fatherless and the widow,[l]
but he blocks the way of the wicked.
10 The Lord will reign forever,[m]
your God, O Zion, for all generations.
Alleluia.
Psalm 147[n]
Hymn to the City of God
1 [o]Alleluia.
How good it is to sing praises to our God;
how pleasant it is to give him fitting praise.[p]
2 The Lord restores Jerusalem
and gathers together the dispersed people of Israel.[q]
3 He heals the brokenhearted
and bandages their wounds.[r]
4 He fixes the number of the stars
and assigns a name to each.[s]
5 Great is our Lord and awesome in power;
his wisdom is without limit.[t]
6 The Lord sustains the poor
but humbles the wicked in the dust.[u]
7 [v]Offer songs of thanksgiving to the Lord;
play the lyre in honor of our God.
8 He veils the heavens with clouds,
supplies the earth with rain,
and makes the hills sprout with grass.[w]
9 He provides food for the animals
and for the young ravens when they call.[x]
10 [y]He takes no pleasure in the strength of the horse,
or delight in the fleetness of a runner.
11 The Lord takes pleasure in those who fear him,
those who place their hope in his kindness.
12 [z]Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem!
Glorify your God, O Zion!
13 For he strengthens the bars of your gates
and blesses your children within you.[aa]
14 He brings peace to your borders
and fills you with the finest of wheat.[ab]
15 He sends a command to the earth;
his word runs with utmost speed.
16 He gives the snow like wool
and scatters the frost like ashes.[ac]
17 He hurls down his hail like crumbs;
who can withstand his cold?[ad]
18 He sends his word, and the ice melts;
he stirs up his breezes, and the waters flow.
19 [ae]He has revealed his word to Jacob,
his decrees and his judgments to Israel.
20 He has not done this for the other nations;
they are not aware of his judgments.
Alleluia.
Psalm 111[a]
Praise of God for His Wondrous Works
1 Alleluia.
I will give thanks to the Lord with all my heart[b]
in the council of the upright and in the assembly.
2 Great are the works of the Lord;[c]
they are pondered by all who delight in them.
3 His deeds[d] show forth majesty and splendor,
and his righteousness endures forever.
4 He has won renown for his wonders;[e]
gracious and compassionate is the Lord.
5 He provides food for those who fear him,[f]
and is forever mindful of his covenant.
6 He has manifested the power of his works to his people
by giving them the lands[g] of the nations.
7 The works of his hands[h] are faithful and right,
and all his commandments are trustworthy.
8 They are established forever and ever
to be observed in fidelity and truthfulness.
9 He has granted deliverance to his people
and established his covenant forever;
holy and awe-inspiring is his name.[i]
10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom;[j]
those who are guided by it will grow in understanding.
His praise will last forever.
Psalm 112[k]
The Blessings of the Righteous
1 Alleluia.
Blessed[l] is the man who fears the Lord,
who greatly delights in his precepts.
2 His descendants will be powerful upon the earth;
the generation of the upright will be blessed.[m]
3 His house will be filled with wealth and riches,[n]
and his righteousness will endure forever.
4 He shines as a light for the upright in the darkness;
kindness, mercy, and justice are his hallmarks.[o]
5 The future bodes well[p] for him
who is generous in helping those in need
and who conducts his affairs with justice.
6 [q]He will never be swayed;
the righteous man will be remembered forever.
7 He has no fear of bad news,
for his heart remains steadfast, trusting in the Lord.
8 Since his heart is tranquil, he will not be afraid,
and he will witness the downfall of his enemies.
9 He bestows gifts lavishly on the poor;
his righteousness will endure forever,
and his horn[r] will be exalted in glory.
10 The wicked will be furious when he sees this,
gnashing his teeth and pining away;
the desires of the wicked will be fruitless.[s]
The Egyptian Hallel—Pss 113–118[t]
Psalm 113[u]
Praise of the Lord for His Care of the Lowly
1 Alleluia.
Praise, you servants of the Lord,[v]
praise the name of the Lord.
2 [w]Blessed be the name of the Lord
now and forevermore.
3 From the rising of the sun to its setting
the name of the Lord is to be praised.
4 [x]High is the Lord over all the nations,
and supreme over the heavens is his glory.
5 Who is like the Lord, our God,
the one who is enthroned on high
and who stoops down to look
6 on the heavens and the earth?
7 [y]He raises the poor from the dust
and lifts the needy from the rubbish heap,
8 seating them with princes,
with the princes of his people.
9 He settles the barren woman[z] in a home
and makes her the joyful mother of children.
Alleluia.
Origin of the World and Humankind[a]
Creation and the Fall
Chapter 1
Origin of the Universe.[b] 1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.[c] 2 The earth was formless and barren, and darkness covered the abyss while the Spirit of God hovered over the waters.
3 God said, “Let there be light!” And there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. 5 And he called the light day, and he called the darkness night. This was the evening and the morning of the first day.
6 God said, “Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters to separate one set of waters from the other.”[d] 7 God separated the firmament from the waters, those waters that are under the firmament from those that are above the firmament. And it was so. 8 God called the firmament the heavens. This was the evening and the morning of the second day.
9 God said, “Let the waters that are under the heavens be gathered into one place and let a dry place appear.” And it was so. 10 God called the dry place the land, and the gathered waters he called the sea. And God saw that it was good.
11 God said, “Let the land bring forth plants, those that produce seeds and fruit trees that have seeds inside of the fruit they bear, each according to its own kind. And it was so. 12 The land brought forth plants, each according to its kind, and trees that have fruit with seeds inside of them, each according to its kind.” God saw that they were good. 13 This was the evening and the morning of the third day.
14 God said, “Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to separate the day from the night; let them be markers to separate seasons and days and years, 15 and let them be lights in the firmament of the heavens to give light to the earth.” And it was so. 16 God made the two great lights, the greater light to rule over the day and the lesser light to rule over the night, and he also made the stars. 17 God placed them in the firmament of the heavens to light the earth 18 and to rule over the day and the night and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19 This was the evening and the morning of the fourth day.
20 God said, “Let the waters be filled with living creatures and let birds fly above the earth in the firmament of the heavens.” 21 God created the great sea creatures and all the other creatures that fill the waters, each according to its kind, and all the birds that fly in the sky, each according to its kind. 22 God blessed them saying, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters of the sea, and let the birds multiply upon the earth.” 23 And this was the evening and the morning of the fifth day.
24 God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures each according to its kind: cattle and reptiles and wild animals, each according to its kind.” And it was so. 25 God made the savage beasts according to their kind and the cattle according to their kind and all of the reptiles according to their kind. And God saw that it was good.
26 And God said, “Let us[e] make man in our image and likeness, and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the wild animals and reptiles that crawl upon the earth.”
27 God created mankind in his image, in the image of God he created them, male and female he created them.
28 God blessed them and told them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth; subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the seas and over the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves upon the earth.”
29 And God said, “Behold, I give you every plant that produces seeds upon the earth and every tree that has fruit with its seed inside of it: these shall be your food. 30 And I give all green plants to every wild animal and to all the birds of the air and to all creatures that move upon the surface of the earth and that have the breath of life in them.” And it was so.
31 God saw all that he had made, and behold, it was very good. This was the evening and the morning of the sixth day.
Chapter 2
1 This is how the heavens and the earth and everything in them were made.
2 [f]God completed his work on the seventh day and on the seventh day he rested from all of his work. 3 God blessed the seventh day and he consecrated it, for on it he rested from all the work he had done when he created all things.
The Risen Christ, Lord and Savior of the Whole Human Race[a]
God’s Glorious Plan of Salvation[b]
Conceived by the Father
3 Blessed be the God,
and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who has blessed us in Christ
with every spiritual blessing in the heavens.
4 Before the foundation of the world
he chose us in Christ
to be holy and blameless in his sight
and to be filled with love.
5 He predestined us
for adoption as his children
through Jesus Christ,
in accordance with his purpose and pleasure,
6 to the praise of the glory
of his grace
that he so freely bestowed on us
in the Beloved.
Realized by the Son
7 In Christ
and through his blood
we have redemption[c]
and the forgiveness of our sins.
In accord with the riches of his grace,
8 God lavished on us
all wisdom and insight.
9 He has made known to us
the mystery of his will
in accordance with his good pleasure
that he had predetermined in Christ
10 to be realized when
the fullness of time had been achieved:
namely, the plan to bring all things,
both in heaven and on earth,
together[d] in Christ
as the head.
Fulfilled by the Holy Spirit
11 In Christ we were also chosen,
having been predestined
by the one who accomplishes all things
in accordance with the design of his will,
12 so that we,
who were the first ones
to place our hopes in Christ,
would devote ourselves
to the praise of his glory.
13 In Christ
you also heard the message of truth
and the gospel of your salvation,
and you came to believe in him.
In him,
you were marked with the seal
of the Holy Spirit
who had been promised.
14 That Spirit is the down payment[e] of our inheritance,
which we shall share
when God has redeemed us
as his own possession,
to the praise of his glory.
29 Behold, the Lamb of God, Who Takes Away the Sin of the World.[a] The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and he said,
“Behold, the Lamb of God,
who takes away the sin of the world.
30 This is the one of whom I said,
‘After me is coming one
who ranks ahead of me
because he existed before me.’
31 I myself did not know him,[b]
but the reason I came to baptize with water
was so that he might be revealed to Israel.”
32 John also gave this testimony, saying,
“I saw the Spirit
descending from heaven like a dove,
and it came to rest on him.[c]
33 I myself did not know him,
but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me,
‘The one on whom you see the Spirit descend and rest
is the one who is to baptize with the Holy Spirit.’[d]
34 And I myself have seen and have testified
that this is the Son of God.”
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