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.
36 Saul said, “We will pursue the Philistines by night and take plunder from them until the morning light. We will not allow a man of them to survive.”
The people responded, “Do whatever seems good to you.”
But the priest said, “We should consult God here.”
37 So Saul inquired of God, “Shall I pursue the Philistines? Will you deliver them into Israel’s hand?” But God did not answer him that day. 38 So Saul said, “Come over here, all you pillars[a] of the people, and let us find out what sin has been committed today. 39 For, as the Lord lives, who saves Israel, even if it is my son Jonathan, he must surely die.” But there was not a man among all the people who responded to him. 40 Then Saul said to all Israel, “You stand on one side, and I and my son Jonathan will be on the other side.”
The people said to Saul, “Do whatever seems good to you.”
41 So Saul said to the Lord, the God of Israel, ⎣“Why have you not answered your servant today? If the fault is in me or my son Jonathan, respond with Urim, but if the fault is with the men of Israel,⎦[b] respond with Thummim.”
Then Jonathan and Saul were chosen, and the people were not chosen.
42 Saul said, “Cast lots between me and Jonathan my son. ⎣The person the Lord identifies by lot shall be put to death.”
But the people said to Saul, “Absolutely not.” But Saul overruled the people, so they cast lots between him and Jonathan his son,⎦[c] and Jonathan was selected by lot.
43 Then Saul said to Jonathan, “Tell me what you have done!”
Jonathan told him, “I just tasted a little honey with the tip of the staff that was in my hand, and now I must die?”
44 Saul said, “May God punish me severely and double it,[d] if you are not put to death, Jonathan.”
45 The people said to Saul, “Should Jonathan die? He has accomplished this great deliverance for Israel. Absolutely not![e] As the Lord lives, not one hair of his head shall fall to the ground, because he has worked with God today!” So the people rescued Jonathan, so that he did not die.
Justification Brings Peace and Joy
5 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace[a] with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Through him we also have obtained access by faith[b] into this grace in which we stand. And we rejoice confidently on the basis of our hope for the glory[c] of God.
3 Not only this, but we also rejoice confidently in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces patient endurance, 4 and patient endurance produces tested character, and tested character produces hope. 5 And hope will not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, who was given to us.
God’s Love Is Evident in Christ’s Death for the Ungodly
6 For at the appointed time, while we were still helpless, Christ died for the ungodly. 7 It is rare indeed that someone will die for a righteous person. Perhaps someone might actually go so far as to die for a person who has been good to him. 8 But God shows his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
9 Therefore, since we have now been justified by his blood, it is even more certain that we will be saved from God’s wrath through him. 10 For if, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, it is even more certain that, since we have been reconciled, we will be saved by his life. 11 And not only is this so, but we also go on rejoicing confidently in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received this reconciliation.
The Parable of the Wedding Banquet
22 Jesus spoke to them again in parables. He said, 2 “The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son. 3 He sent out his servants to summon those who were invited to the wedding banquet, but they did not want to come.
4 “Then he sent out other servants and said, ‘Tell those who are invited: Look, I have prepared my dinner. My oxen and my fattened cattle have been butchered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet!’
5 “But those who were invited paid no attention and went off, one to his own farm, another to his business. 6 The rest seized the king’s servants, mistreated them, and killed them. 7 As a result, the king was very angry. He sent his army and killed those murderers and burned their town.
8 “Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding banquet is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy. 9 So go to the main crossroads and invite as many as you find to the wedding banquet.’ 10 Those servants went out to the roads and gathered together everyone they found, both good and bad, and the wedding hall was filled with guests. 11 But when the king came in to see the guests, he saw a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. 12 He said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without wearing wedding clothes?’ The man was speechless. 13 Then the king told the servants, ‘Tie him hand and foot and throw him into the outer darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ 14 For many are called, but few are chosen.”
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.