Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 145[a]
Praise of the Divine Majesty
1 [b]Praise. Of David.
I will extol you, my God and King;
I will bless your name[c] forever and ever.
2 Every day I will bless you
and praise your name forever and ever.[d]
3 [e]Great is the Lord and worthy of the highest praise;
no one can even begin to comprehend his greatness.[f]
4 Each generation will praise your works[g] to the next
and proclaim your mighty deeds.
5 People will proclaim the glorious splendor of your majesty,
and I will meditate on your wonderful works.
6 They will speak of the power of your awesome deeds,
and I will relate your greatness.
7 They will celebrate your abundant goodness
and sing joyfully of your saving justice.
8 [h]The Lord is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger and abounding in kindness.[i]
9 The Lord is good to all,
showing compassion to every creature.
10 All your creatures praise you,[j] O Lord,
and all your saints bless you.
11 They relate the glory of your kingdom
and tell of all your power.[k]
12 They make known to all people your mighty deeds
and the glorious majesty of your kingdom.
13 Your kingdom will last forever,
and your dominion will endure throughout all generations.[l]
[m]The Lord is faithful in all his promises
and kind[n] in all his deeds.
14 The Lord supports all those who are falling
and raises up all who are bowed down.[o]
15 The eyes of all look hopefully to you,
and you give them their food at the right time.
16 You open your hand
and satisfy the needs of every living creature.[p]
17 [q]The Lord is righteous in all his ways
and merciful in everything he does.[r]
18 The Lord is near to all who call out to him,
to all who call out to him sincerely.[s]
19 He satisfies the desires of all who fear him;
he hears their cry and saves them.[t]
20 The Lord watches over all who love him,
but he will completely destroy all the wicked.[u]
21 May my mouth declare the praise of the Lord,
and may every creature[v] bless his holy name
forever and ever.
Psalm 104[a]
Praise of God the Creator
1 Bless the Lord, O my soul.
O Lord, my God, you are indeed very great.
You are clothed in majesty and splendor,
2 wrapped in light[b] as in a robe.
You have stretched out the heavens like a tent;
3 you have established your palace[c] upon the waters.
You make the clouds serve as your chariot;
you ride forth on the wings of the wind.
4 You have appointed the winds as your messengers
and flames of fire[d] as your ministers.
5 You established the earth on its foundations
so that it will remain unshaken forever.[e]
6 You covered it with the deep like a cloak;
the waters rose above the mountains.
7 At your rebuke[f] the waters took to flight;
at the sound of your thunder they fled in terror.
8 They rose up to the mountains
and flowed down to the valleys,[g]
to the place that you had designated for them.
9 You established a boundary that they were not to cross
so that they would never again cover the earth.
10 [h]You made springs gush forth in the valleys
and flow between the mountains.
11 They supply water to every beast of the field,
and from them the wild asses quench their thirst.
12 On the banks the birds of the air build nests
and sing among the branches.
13 [i]From your dwelling you water the mountains,
enriching the earth with the fruit of your labor.
14 You provide grass for the cattle,
and the plants for man to cultivate.
You bring forth food from the earth
15 and wine to gladden the heart[j] of man,
oil to make his face shine
and bread to strengthen his body.
16 The trees of the Lord have fruit in abundance,
the cedars of Lebanon[k] that he planted.
17 In them the birds build their nests;
in the fir trees the stork makes its home.
18 The high mountains are inhabited by the wild goats;
in the rocky crags the badgers[l] find refuge.
19 You created the moon that marks the seasons
and the sun that knows its time for setting.[m]
20 You bring on darkness, and it is night,
when all the beasts of the forests go on the prowl.
21 The young lions[n] roar for their prey,
seeking their food from God.
22 When the sun rises, they steal away
and return to their lairs to rest.
23 People go forth to their work
and to their labor until darkness descends.
24 [o]How countless are your works, O Lord;
by your wisdom you have made them all;
the earth abounds with your creatures.
25 There is the sea, vast and broad,
filled with numberless species,
living creatures both great and small.
26 There the ships sail forth,
and the Leviathan[p] that you formed to play therein.
27 [q]All of them look to you
to give them their food at the appropriate time.[r]
28 [s]When you provide it for them,
they gather it up;
when you open your hand,
they are filled with good things.
29 When you turn away your face,[t]
they are dismayed;
when you take away their breath,
they die and return to the dust.
30 When you send forth your Spirit,[u]
they are created,
and you renew the face of the earth.
31 [v]May the glory of the Lord abide forever,
and may the Lord rejoice in his works.[w]
32 When he looks at the earth, it quakes;
when he touches the mountains, they smoke.[x]
33 I will sing to the Lord as long as I live;[y]
I will sing praise to my God while I have life.
34 May my meditation be pleasing to him,
for I find my joy in the Lord.
35 May sinners be banished from the earth,
and may the wicked no longer exist.
Bless the Lord, O my soul.[z]
Alleluia.
17 When Pharaoh let the people leave, God did not guide them on the road through the land of the Philistines, even though it was shorter, for God thought, “Otherwise the people, seeing they would have to fight, may change their minds and return to Egypt.” 18 God guided the people along the desert road toward the Red Sea. The children of Israel, well armed, left the land of Egypt.
19 Moses took the bones of Joseph along with him, for Joseph had solemnly sworn the children of Israel, saying, “Surely God will come to visit you, and when he does you must carry away my bones.”
20 They left Succoth and camped in Etham on the edge of the desert. 21 The Lord went before them as a pillar of cloud during the day to guide them on their way, and as a column of fire during the night to give them light, so that they could travel day and night. 22 During the day the pillar of cloud never disappeared from the sight of the people, nor did the column of fire during the night.
Chapter 14
“I Will Display My Glory against Pharaoh.”[a] 1 The Lord said to Moses, 2 “Order the children of Israel to turn around and camp in front of Pi-hahiroth between Migdol and the sea, in front of Baal-zephon. You shall camp in front of it by the sea. 3 Pharaoh will think that the children of Israel are wandering through the land because the desert has blocked them in. 4 I shall harden the heart of Pharaoh, and he will follow them. I will display my glory against Pharaoh and all his army, so that the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord.” This is what they did.
16 An Eternal Dwelling in Heaven. Therefore, we do not lose heart. Even though our outer self is continuing to decay, our inner self is being renewed day by day. 17 Our temporary light afflictions are preparing for us an incomparable weight of eternal glory, 18 for our eyes are fixed not on what is seen but rather on that which cannot be seen. What is visible is transitory; what is invisible is eternal.
Chapter 5
1 Now we know that if the earthly tent in which we live is destroyed, we have a dwelling prepared for us by God, a dwelling in the heavens, not made with human hands, that will be eternal. 2 While we are in this earthly tent, we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling; 3 for when we have put it on, we will not be naked.[a]
4 While we are enclosed in this earthly tent we groan, burdened because we do not wish to be stripped naked but rather to be further clothed, so that our mortal state may be swallowed up by immortality. 5 God is the one who has prepared us for this destiny, and he has given us the Spirit as a pledge of this.
6 Therefore, we are always confident, even though we realize that as long as we are at home in the body, we are exiles from the Lord, 7 for we walk by faith, not by sight. 8 Yet we are filled with confidence, even as we long to be exiled from the body and be at home with the Lord.
9 For this reason, whether at home or away, we strive to please him. 10 For all of us must appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive suitable recompense for his conduct in the body, whether good or bad.
18 Marriage and the Resurrection.[a] Then some Sadducees, who assert that there is no resurrection, approached him and posed this question, 19 “Teacher, Moses wrote down for us that if a man’s brother dies, leaving a wife but no child, the man shall take his brother’s wife and raise up children for his brother. 20 Now there were seven brothers. The first brother took a wife and died, leaving no children. 21 The second brother married the widow and died, leaving no children. The same was true of the third brother. 22 None of the seven left any children. Last of all, the woman herself died. 23 Now at the resurrection, when they rise up, whose wife will she be, inasmuch as all seven had her?”
24 Jesus said to them, “Is not this the reason you are in error—namely, that you do not understand the Scriptures or the power of God? 25 For when they rise from the dead, they will neither marry nor be given in marriage. They are like angels in heaven.
26 “And in regard to the dead being raised, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the account about the bush, how God said to him: ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’ 27 He is not the God of the dead but of the living. You are very badly mistaken.”
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