Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 146
Praise Him for Protection
Praise for Protection
1 Praise the Lord.[a]
A Lifetime of Praise
Praise the Lord, O my soul.
2 I will praise the Lord as long as I live.
I will make music to my God as long as I exist.
No Help in Humans
3 Do not trust in human helpers,[b]
in a mortal man who cannot save you.
4 His spirit departs.
He returns to the ground he came from.
On that day, his plans have perished.
Help in the Lord
5 Blessed is everyone who has the God of Jacob as his help.
His hope is in the Lord his God,
6 the Maker of heaven and earth,
the sea, and everything which is in them.
He is the one who stays faithful forever.
7 He obtains justice for the oppressed.
He gives food to the hungry.
The Lord releases prisoners.
8 The Lord opens the eyes of the blind.
The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down.
The Lord loves the righteous.
9 The Lord watches over the aliens.
The fatherless and the widow he sustains,
but he turns aside the way of the wicked.
An Eternity for Praise
10 The Lord reigns forever.
Your God, O Zion, rules for all generations.
Praise the Lord.
Psalm 147
Praise Him for Providing for His People
The Creator Restores His People
1 Praise the Lord.[c]
How good it is to make music to our God.
Yes, praise is pleasant and fitting!
2 The one who builds Jerusalem is the Lord.
He assembles the outcasts of Israel.
3 He is the one who heals the brokenhearted
and who bandages their wounds.
4 He counts the number of the stars.
He calls them all by name.
5 Great is our Lord and mighty in power.
To his understanding there is no limit.
6 The one who sustains the humble is the Lord.
He pushes the wicked down to the ground.
The Creator Loves His People
7 Respond to the Lord with thanksgiving.
Make music to our God on the lyre.
8 He is the one who covers the sky with clouds.
He determines rain for the earth.
He makes grass sprout on the mountains.
9 He gives their food to the cattle
and to the young ravens when they call.
10 He is not impressed by the strength of the horse.
He is not pleased with the legs of a man.
11 The Lord is pleased with those who fear him,
those who wait for his mercy.
The Creator Reveals His Word
12 Worship the Lord, O Jerusalem.
Praise your God, O Zion,
13 because he strengthens the bars on your gates.
He blesses your children within you.
14 He brings peace to your borders.
He satisfies you with the best wheat.
15 He sends his message to the earth.
His word runs swiftly.
16 He gives snow like wool.
He scatters frost like ashes.
17 He sends his hail like pieces of bread.
Who can stand in the face of his cold winds?
18 He sends his word, and the ice melts.
He breathes on the snow.[d] The waters flow.[e]
19 He reveals his words to Jacob,
his statutes and his judgments to Israel.
20 He has not done this for any other nation.
They do not know his judgments.
Praise the Lord.
Psalm 111
God’s Works and God’s Word
Opening Praise
1 Praise the Lord.[a]
I will thank the Lord with all my heart
in the assembly of the upright and in the congregation.
God’s Works
2 Great are the deeds of the Lord.
They are studied by all who delight in them.
3 Glorious and majestic is his work,
and his righteousness stands forever.
4 He has set up a memorial to his wonders.
Gracious and compassionate is the Lord.
5 He gives food to those who fear him.
He remembers his covenant forever.
6 He has declared the power of his deeds to his people,
to give them the nations as their possession.
7 The works of his hands are truth and justice.
God’s Word
All his precepts are trustworthy,
8 steadfast forever and ever,
done in truth and uprightness.
9 He sent redemption for his people.
He commanded his covenant forever.
Holy and awesome is his name.
10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning[b] of wisdom.
All who do his precepts have good understanding.
Closing Praise
His praise stands forever.
Psalm 112
The Man Who Fears the Lord
The Man Who Fears the Lord
1 Praise the Lord.[c]
How blessed is a man who fears the Lord.
In his commands he delights greatly.
2 His descendants will be mighty in the land.
The circle of the upright will be blessed.
3 Wealth and riches are in his house,
and his righteousness stands forever.
4 In darkness, light dawns for the upright.
He is gracious and compassionate and righteous.
5 Good things will come to the man
who is gracious and lends,
who conducts his business with justice.
6 Surely he will never fall.
The righteous will be remembered forever.
7 He will not fear bad news.
His heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord.
8 His heart is secure.
He will have no fear, until he looks in triumph on his foes.
9 He scatters seed—he gives to the poor.
His righteousness stands forever.
His horn[d] will be lifted high in glory.
The End of the Wicked
10 The wicked person will see and be frustrated.
He will gnash his teeth and melt away.
The desire of the wicked will perish.
Psalm 113
The Mighty Deliverer
Invitation to Praise
1 Praise the Lord.[e]
Praise, you servants of the Lord,
praise the name of the Lord.
2 Let the name of the Lord be blessed, from now to eternity.
3 From the rising of the sun to its setting,
the name of the Lord is to be praised.
The Basis for Praise
4 High above all the nations is the Lord.
His glory towers above the heavens.
5 Who is like the Lord our God?
He is seated on high.
6 He bends down to look at the heavens and at the earth.
7 He raises the poor from the dust.
He lifts the needy from the garbage pile
8 to seat them with nobles,
with the nobles of his people.
9 He is the one who settles the barren woman in her home
as a joyful mother of children.
Praise the Lord.
Members of Christ’s Body
4 As a prisoner in the Lord, therefore, I urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called. 2 Live with all humility, gentleness, and patience, bearing with one another in love.
3 Make every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in the one hope of your calling. 5 There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all, and through all, and in us[a] all.
7 But to each one of us grace was given, according to the measure of the gift from Christ. 8 That is why it says, “When he ascended on high, he took captivity captive and gave gifts to his people.”[b] 9 Now what does it mean when it says “he ascended,” other than that he also had descended[c] to the lower parts, namely, the earth?[d] 10 He who descended is the same one who ascended far above all the heavens, so that he might fill all things. 11 He himself gave the apostles, as well as the prophets, as well as the evangelists, as well as the pastors and teachers, 12 for the purpose of training the saints for the work of serving,[e] in order to build up the body of Christ. 13 This is to continue until we all reach unity in the faith and knowledge of the Son of God, resulting in a mature man with a stature reaching to the measure of the fullness of Christ. 14 The goal is that we would no longer be little children, tossed by the waves and blown around by every wind of teaching, when people use tricks and invent clever ways to lead us astray. 15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we would in all things grow up into Christ, who is the head. 16 From him the whole body, being joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows in accordance with Christ’s activity when he measured out each individual part. He causes the growth of the body so that it builds itself up in love.
Christ, the Word, Becomes Flesh
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him everything was made, and without him not one thing was made that has been made. 4 In him was[a] life, and the life was the light of mankind. 5 The light is shining in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome[b] it.
6 There was a man, sent from God, whose name was John. 7 He came as an eyewitness to testify about the light so that everyone would believe through him. 8 He was not the light, but he came to testify about the light.
9 The real light that shines on everyone was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not recognize him. 11 He came to what was his own, yet his own people did not accept him. 12 But to all who did receive him, to those who believe in his name, he gave the right to become children of God. 13 They were born, not of blood, or of the desire of the flesh, or of a husband’s will, but born of God.
14 The Word became flesh and dwelled[c] among us. We have seen his glory, the glory he has as the only-begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.
15 John testified about him. He cried out, “This was the one I spoke about when I said, ‘The one coming after me outranks me because he existed before me.’” 16 For[d] out of his fullness we have all received grace upon grace. 17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God. The only-begotten Son,[e] who is close to the Father’s side, has made him known.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.