Book of Common Prayer
146 Praise the Lord.
I will praise the Lord.
2 I will praise the Lord all my life.
I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.
3 Don’t put your trust in human leaders.
Don’t trust in people who can’t save you.
4 When they die, they return to the ground.
On that day their plans come to nothing.
5 Blessed are those who depend on the God of Jacob for help.
Blessed are those who put their hope in the Lord their God.
6 He is the Maker of heaven and earth and the ocean.
He made everything in them.
He remains faithful forever.
7 He stands up for those who are treated badly.
He gives food to hungry people.
The Lord sets prisoners free.
8 The Lord gives sight to those who are blind.
The Lord lifts up those who feel helpless.
The Lord loves those who do what is right.
9 The Lord watches over the outsiders who live in our land.
He takes good care of children whose fathers have died.
He also takes good care of widows.
But he causes evil people to fail
in everything they do.
10 The Lord rules forever.
The God of Zion will rule for all time to come.
Praise the Lord.
147 Praise the Lord.
How good it is to sing praises to our God!
How pleasant and right it is to praise him!
2 The Lord builds up Jerusalem.
He gathers the scattered people of Israel.
3 He heals those who have broken hearts.
He takes care of their wounds.
4 He decides how many stars there should be.
He gives each one of them a name.
5 Great is our Lord. His power is mighty.
There is no limit to his understanding.
6 The Lord gives strength to those who aren’t proud.
But he throws evil people down to the ground.
7 Sing to the Lord and give him grateful praise.
Make music to our God on the harp.
8 He covers the sky with clouds.
He supplies the earth with rain.
He makes grass grow on the hills.
9 He provides food for the cattle.
He provides for the young ravens when they cry out.
10 He doesn’t take pleasure in the strength of horses.
He doesn’t take delight in the strong legs of warriors.
11 The Lord takes delight in those who have respect for him.
They put their hope in his faithful love.
12 Jerusalem, praise the Lord.
Zion, praise your God.
13 He makes the metal bars of your gates stronger.
He blesses the people who live inside you.
14 He keeps your borders safe and secure.
He satisfies you with the finest wheat.
15 He sends his command to the earth.
His word arrives there quickly.
16 He spreads the snow like wool.
He scatters the frost like ashes.
17 He throws down his hail like pebbles.
No one can stand his icy blast.
18 He gives his command, and the ice melts.
He stirs up his winds, and the waters flow.
19 He has made his word known to the people of Jacob.
He has made his laws and rules known to Israel.
20 He hasn’t done that for any other nation.
They don’t know his laws.
Praise the Lord.
148 Praise the Lord.
Praise the Lord from the heavens.
Praise him in the heavens above.
2 Praise him, all his angels.
Praise him, all his angels in heaven.
3 Praise him, sun and moon.
Praise him, all you shining stars.
4 Praise him, you highest heavens.
Praise him, you waters above the skies.
5 Let all of them praise the name of the Lord,
because at his command they were created.
6 He established them for ever and ever.
He gave them laws they will always have to obey.
7 Praise the Lord from the earth,
you great sea creatures and all the deepest parts of the ocean.
8 Praise him, lightning and hail, snow and clouds.
Praise him, you stormy winds that obey him.
9 Praise him, all you mountains and hills.
Praise him, all you fruit trees and cedar trees.
10 Praise him, all you wild animals and cattle.
Praise him, you small creatures and flying birds.
11 Praise him, you kings of the earth and all nations.
Praise him, all you princes and rulers on earth.
12 Praise him, young men and women.
Praise him, old men and children.
13 Let them praise the name of the Lord.
His name alone is honored.
His glory is higher than the earth and the heavens.
14 He has given his people a strong king.
All his faithful people praise him for that gift.
All the people of Israel are close to his heart.
Praise the Lord.
149 Praise the Lord.
Sing a new song to the Lord.
Sing praise to him in the assembly of his faithful people.
2 Let Israel be filled with joy because God is their Maker.
Let the people of Zion be glad because he is their King.
3 Let them praise his name with dancing.
Let them make music to him with harps and tambourines.
4 The Lord takes delight in his people.
He awards with victory those who are humble.
5 Let his faithful people be filled with joy because of that honor.
Let them sing for joy even when they are lying in bed.
6 May they praise God with their mouths.
May they hold in their hands a sword that has two edges.
7 Let them pay the nations back.
Let them punish the people of the earth.
8 Let them put the kings of those nations in chains.
Let them put their nobles in iron chains.
9 Let them carry out God’s sentence against those nations.
This will bring glory to all his faithful people.
Praise the Lord.
The Valley of Dry Bones
37 The power of the Lord came on me. His Spirit brought me away from my home. He put me down in the middle of a valley. It was full of bones. 2 He led me back and forth among them. I saw a huge number of bones in the valley. The bones were very dry. 3 The Lord asked me, “Son of man, can these bones live?”
I said, “Lord and King, you are the only one who knows.”
4 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones. Tell them, ‘Dry bones, listen to the Lord’s message. 5 The Lord and King speaks to you. He says, “I will put breath in you. Then you will come to life again. 6 I will attach tendons to you. I will put flesh on you. I will cover you with skin. So I will put breath in you. And you will come to life again. Then you will know that I am the Lord.” ’ ”
7 So I prophesied just as the Lord commanded me to. As I was prophesying, I heard a noise. It was a rattling sound. The bones came together. One bone connected itself to another. 8 I saw tendons and flesh appear on them. Skin covered them. But there was no breath in them.
9 Then the Lord said to me, “Prophesy to the breath. Prophesy, son of man. Tell it, ‘The Lord and King says, “Breath, come from all four directions. Go into these people who have been killed. Then they can live.” ’ ” 10 So I prophesied just as he commanded me to. And breath entered them. Then they came to life again. They stood up on their feet. They were like a huge army.
11 Then the Lord said to me, “Son of man, these bones stand for all the people of Israel. The people say, ‘Our bones are dried up. We’ve lost all hope. We are destroyed.’ 12 So prophesy. Tell them, ‘The Lord and King says, “My people, I am going to open up your graves. I am going to bring you out of them. I will take you back to the land of Israel. 13 So I will open up your graves and bring you out of them. Then you will know that I am the Lord. You are my people. 14 I will put my Spirit in you. And you will live again. I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I have spoken. I have done it,” announces the Lord.’ ”
Peter Speaks to the People at the Temple
11 The man was holding on to Peter and John. All the people were amazed. They came running to them at the place called Solomon’s Porch. 12 When Peter saw this, he said, “Fellow Israelites, why does this surprise you? Why do you stare at us? It’s not as if we’ve made this man walk by our own power or godliness. 13 The God of our fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, has done this. God has brought glory to Jesus, who serves him. But you handed Jesus over to be killed. Pilate had decided to let him go. But you spoke against Jesus when he was in Pilate’s court. 14 You spoke against the Holy and Blameless One. You asked for a murderer to be set free instead. 15 You killed the one who gives life. But God raised him from the dead. We are witnesses of this. 16 This man whom you see and know was made strong because of faith in Jesus’ name. Faith in Jesus has healed him completely. You can see it with your own eyes.
17 “My fellow Israelites, I know you didn’t realize what you were doing. Neither did your leaders. 18 But God had given a promise through all the prophets. And this is how he has made his promise come true. He said that his Messiah would suffer. 19 So turn away from your sins. Turn to God. Then your sins will be wiped away. The time will come when the Lord will make everything new. 20 He will send the Messiah. Jesus has been appointed as the Messiah for you. 21 Heaven must receive him until the time when God makes everything new. He promised this long ago through his holy prophets. 22 Moses said, ‘The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me. He will be one of your own people. You must listen to everything he tells you. 23 Anyone who does not listen to him will be completely cut off from their people.’ (Deuteronomy 18:15,18,19)
24 “Beginning with Samuel, all the prophets spoke about this. They said these days would come. 25 What the prophets said was meant for you. The covenant God made with your people long ago is yours also. He said to Abraham, ‘All nations on earth will be blessed through your children.’ (Genesis 22:18; 26:4) 26 God raised up Jesus, who serves him. God sent him first to you. He did it to bless you. He wanted to turn each of you from your evil ways.”
12 Here is my command. Love one another, just as I have loved you. 13 No one has greater love than the one who gives their life for their friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command. 15 I do not call you slaves anymore. Slaves do not know their master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends. I have told you everything I learned from my Father. 16 You did not choose me. Instead, I chose you. I appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit that will last. I also appointed you so that the Father will give you what you ask for. He will give you whatever you ask for in my name. 17 Here is my command. Love one another.
The World Hates the Disciples
18 “My disciples, does the world hate you? Remember that it hated me first. 19 If you belonged to the world, it would love you like one of its own. But you do not belong to the world. I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. 20 Remember what I told you. I said, ‘A slave is not more important than his master.’ (John 13:16) If people hated me and tried to hurt me, they will do the same to you. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. 21 They will treat you like that because of my name. They do not know the one who sent me. 22 If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin. But now they have no excuse for their sin. 23 Whoever hates me hates my Father also. 24 I did works among them that no one else did. If I hadn’t, they would not be guilty of sin. But now they have seen those works. And still they have hated both me and my Father. 25 This has happened so that what is written in their Law would come true. It says, ‘They hated me without any reason.’ (Psalms 35:19; 69:4)
The Work of the Holy Spirit
26 “I will send the Friend to you from the Father. He is the Spirit of truth, who comes out from the Father. When the Friend comes to help you, he will be a witness about me. 27 You must also be witnesses about me. That’s because you have been with me from the beginning.
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