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!)
God Speaks Now to Job
38 Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind and said,
2
“Who is this that darkens counsel [questioning my authority and wisdom]
By words without knowledge?(A)
3
“Now [a]gird up your loins like a man,
And I will ask you, and you instruct Me!
4
“Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?
Tell Me, if you know and have understanding.
5
“Who determined the measurements [of the earth], if you know?
Or who stretched the [measuring] line on it?
6
“On what were its foundations fastened?
Or who laid its cornerstone,
7
When the morning stars sang together
And all the sons of God (angels) shouted for joy?
8
“Or who enclosed the sea with doors
When it burst forth and went out of the womb;
9
When I made the clouds its garment
And thick darkness its swaddling band,
10
And marked for it My [appointed] boundary
And set bars and doors [defining the shorelines],(B)
11
And said, ‘This far you shall come, but no farther;
And here your proud waves shall stop’?(C)
Job’s Confession
42 Then Job answered the Lord and said,
2
“I know that You can do all things,
And that no thought or purpose of Yours can be restrained.
3
“[You said to me] ‘Who is this that darkens and obscures counsel [by words] without knowledge?’
Therefore [I now see] I have [rashly] uttered that which I did not understand,
Things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.(A)
4
‘Hear, please, and I will speak;
I will ask You, and You instruct [and answer] me.’
5
“I had heard of You [only] by the hearing of the ear,
But now my [spiritual] eye sees You.
4 Then the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures also fell down and worshiped God who sits on the throne, saying, “Amen. Hallelujah (praise the Lord)!”(A) 5 Then from the throne there came a voice, saying,
“Praise our God, all you bond-servants of His, you who fear Him, the small (common) and the great (distinguished).”(B)
Marriage of the Lamb
6 Then I heard something like the shout of a vast multitude, and like the boom of many pounding waves, and like the roar of mighty peals of thunder, saying,
“Hallelujah! For the Lord our God, the Almighty, [the Omnipotent, the Ruler of all] reigns. 7 Let us rejoice and shout for joy! Let us give Him glory and honor, for the marriage of the Lamb has come [at last] and His bride (the redeemed) has prepared herself.”(C) 8 She has been permitted to dress in fine linen, dazzling white and clean—for the fine linen signifies the righteous acts of the saints [the ethical conduct, personal integrity, moral courage, and godly character of believers].
9 Then the angel said to me, “Write, ‘[a]Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the [b]Lamb.’” And he said to me [further], “These are the true and exact words of God.”(D) 10 Then I fell down at his feet to worship him, but he [stopped me and] said to me, “You must not do that; I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers and sisters who have and hold the testimony of Jesus. Worship God [alone]. For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy [His life and teaching are the heart of prophecy].”(E)
The Coming of Christ the Conqueror
11 And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who was riding it is called Faithful and True (trustworthy, loyal, incorruptible, steady), and in righteousness He judges and wages war [on the rebellious nations].(F) 12 His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many royal crowns; and He has a name inscribed [on Him] which no one knows or understands except Himself. 13 He is dressed in a robe dipped in [c]blood, and His name is called The Word of God.(G) 14 And the armies of heaven, dressed in fine linen, [dazzling] white and clean, followed Him on white horses. 15 From His mouth comes a sharp sword (His word) with which He may strike down the nations, and He will [d]rule them with a rod of iron; and He will tread the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty [in judgment of the rebellious world].(H) 16 And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name inscribed, “KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.”(I)
29 The next day he saw Jesus coming to him and said, “Look! The Lamb of God [a]who takes away the sin of the world!(A) 30 This is He on behalf of whom I said, ‘After me comes a Man who has a higher rank than I and has priority over me, for He existed before me.’ 31 [b]I did not recognize Him [as the Messiah]; but I came baptizing [c]in water so that He would be [publicly] revealed to Israel.” 32 John gave [further] evidence [testifying officially for the record, with validity and relevance], saying, “I have seen the [d]Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven, and He remained upon Him.(B) 33 I did not recognize Him [as the Messiah], but He who sent me to baptize [e]in water said to me, ‘He upon whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this One is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ 34 I myself have [actually] seen [that happen], and my testimony is that this is the Son of God!”
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