Book of Common Prayer
Praise God Who Helps the Weak
146 Praise the Lord!
My whole being, praise the Lord.
2 I will praise the Lord all my life;
I will sing praises to my God as long as I live.
3 Do not put your trust in princes
or other people, who cannot save you.
4 When people die, they are buried.
Then all of their plans come to an end.
5 Happy are those who are helped by the God of Jacob.
Their hope is in the Lord their God.
6 He made heaven and earth,
the sea and everything in it.
He remains loyal forever.
7 He does what is fair for those who have been wronged.
He gives food to the hungry.
The Lord sets the prisoners free.
8 The Lord gives sight to the blind.
The Lord lifts up people who are in trouble.
The Lord loves those who do right.
9 The Lord protects the foreigners.
He defends the orphans and widows,
but he blocks the way of the wicked.
10 The Lord will be King forever.
Jerusalem, your God is everlasting.
Praise the Lord!
Praise God Who Helps His People
147 Praise the Lord!
It is good to sing praises to our God;
it is good and pleasant to praise him.
2 The Lord rebuilds Jerusalem;
he brings back the captured Israelites.
3 He heals the brokenhearted
and bandages their wounds.
4 He counts the stars
and names each one.
5 Our Lord is great and very powerful.
There is no limit to what he knows.
6 The Lord defends the humble,
but he throws the wicked to the ground.
7 Sing praises to the Lord;
praise our God with harps.
8 He fills the sky with clouds
and sends rain to the earth
and makes grass grow on the hills.
9 He gives food to cattle
and to the little birds that call.
10 He is not impressed with the strength of a horse
or with human might.
11 The Lord is pleased with those who respect him,
with those who trust his love.
12 Jerusalem, praise the Lord;
Jerusalem, praise your God.
13 He makes your city gates strong
and blesses your children inside.
14 He brings peace to your country
and fills you with the finest grain.
15 He gives a command to the earth,
and it quickly obeys him.
16 He spreads the snow like wool
and scatters the frost like ashes.
17 He throws down hail like rocks.
No one can stand the cold he sends.
18 Then he gives a command, and it melts.
He sends the breezes, and the waters flow.
19 He gave his word to Jacob,
his laws and demands to Israel.
20 He didn’t do this for any other nation.
They don’t know his laws.
Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord’s Goodness
111 Praise the Lord!
I will thank the Lord with all my heart
in the meeting of his good people.
2 The Lord does great things;
those who enjoy them seek them.
3 What he does is glorious and splendid,
and his goodness continues forever.
4 His miracles are unforgettable.
The Lord is kind and merciful.
5 He gives food to those who fear him.
He remembers his agreement forever.
6 He has shown his people his power
when he gave them the lands of other nations.
7 Everything he does is good and fair;
all his orders can be trusted.
8 They will continue forever.
They were made true and right.
9 He sets his people free.
He made his agreement everlasting.
He is holy and wonderful.
10 Wisdom begins with respect for the Lord;
those who obey his orders have good understanding.
He should be praised forever.
Honest People Are Blessed
112 Praise the Lord!
Happy are those who respect the Lord,
who want what he commands.
2 Their descendants will be powerful in the land;
the children of honest people will be blessed.
3 Their houses will be full of wealth and riches,
and their goodness will continue forever.
4 A light shines in the dark for honest people,
for those who are merciful and kind and good.
5 It is good to be merciful and generous.
Those who are fair in their business
6 will never be defeated.
Good people will always be remembered.
7 They won’t be afraid of bad news;
their hearts are steady because they trust the Lord.
8 They are confident and will not be afraid;
they will look down on their enemies.
9 They give freely to the poor.
The things they do are right and will continue forever.
They will be given great honor.
10 The wicked will see this and become angry;
they will grind their teeth in anger and then disappear.
The wishes of the wicked will come to nothing.
Praise for the Lord’s Kindness
113 Praise the Lord!
Praise him, you servants of the Lord;
praise the name of the Lord.
2 The Lord’s name should be praised
now and forever.
3 The Lord’s name should be praised
from where the sun rises to where it sets.
4 The Lord is supreme over all the nations;
his glory reaches to the skies.
5 No one is like the Lord our God,
who rules from heaven,
6 who bends down to look
at the skies and the earth.
7 The Lord lifts the poor from the dirt
and takes the helpless from the ashes.
8 He seats them with princes,
the princes of his people.
9 He gives children to the woman who has none
and makes her a happy mother.
Praise the Lord!
Eliphaz Speaks
4 Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered:
2 “If someone tried to speak with you, would you be upset?
I cannot keep from speaking.
3 Think about the many people you have taught
and the weak hands you have made strong.
4 Your words have comforted those who fell,
and you have strengthened those who could not stand.
5 But now trouble comes to you, and you are discouraged;
trouble hits you, and you are terrified.
6 You should have confidence because you respect God;
you should have hope because you are innocent.
12 “A word was brought to me in secret,
and my ears heard a whisper of it.
13 It was during a nightmare
when people are in deep sleep.
14 I was trembling with fear;
all my bones were shaking.
15 A spirit glided past my face,
and the hair on my body stood on end.
16 The spirit stopped,
but I could not see what it was.
A shape stood before my eyes,
and I heard a quiet voice.
17 It said, ‘Can a human be more right than God?
Can a person be pure before his maker?
18 God does not trust his angels;
he blames them for mistakes.
19 So he puts even more blame on people who live in clay houses,[a]
whose foundations are made of dust,
who can be crushed like a moth.
20 Between dawn and sunset many people are broken to pieces;
without being noticed, they die and are gone forever.
21 The ropes of their tents are pulled up,
and they die without wisdom.’
John Sees Heaven
4 After the vision of these things I looked, and there before me was an open door in heaven. And the same voice that spoke to me before, that sounded like a trumpet, said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must happen after this.” 2 Immediately I was in the Spirit, and before me was a throne in heaven, and someone was sitting on it. 3 The One who sat on the throne looked like precious stones, like jasper and carnelian. All around the throne was a rainbow the color of an emerald. 4 Around the throne there were twenty-four other thrones with twenty-four elders sitting on them. They were dressed in white and had golden crowns on their heads. 5 Lightning flashes and noises and thunder came from the throne. Before the throne seven lamps were burning, which are the seven spirits of God. 6 Also before the throne there was something that looked like a sea of glass, clear like crystal.
In the center and around the throne were four living creatures with eyes all over them, in front and in back. 7 The first living creature was like a lion. The second was like a calf. The third had a face like a man. The fourth was like a flying eagle. 8 Each of these four living creatures had six wings and was covered all over with eyes, inside and out. Day and night they never stop saying:
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty.
He was, he is, and he is coming.”
9 These living creatures give glory, honor, and thanks to the One who sits on the throne, who lives forever and ever. 10 Then the twenty-four elders bow down before the One who sits on the throne, and they worship him who lives forever and ever. They put their crowns down before the throne and say:
11 “You are worthy, our Lord and God,
to receive glory and honor and power,
because you made all things.
Everything existed and was made,
because you wanted it.”
Jesus Goes to His Hometown
6 Jesus left there and went to his hometown, and his followers went with him. 2 On the Sabbath day he taught in the synagogue. Many people heard him and were amazed, saying, “Where did this man get these teachings? What is this wisdom that has been given to him? And where did he get the power to do miracles? 3 He is just the carpenter, the son of Mary and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas, and Simon. And his sisters are here with us.” So the people were upset with Jesus.
4 Jesus said to them, “A prophet is honored everywhere except in his hometown and with his own people and in his own home.” 5 So Jesus was not able to work any miracles there except to heal a few sick people by putting his hands on them. 6 He was amazed at how many people had no faith.
Then Jesus went to other villages in that area and taught.
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.