REJOICE in the LORD, O ye righteous; * for it be-cometh well the just to be thankful.
Praise the LORD with harp; * sing praises unto him with the lute, and instrument of ten strings.
Sing unto the Lord a new song; * sing praises lustily unto him with a good courage.
For the word of the LORD is true; * and all his works are faithful.
He loveth righteousness and judgment; * the earth is full of the goodness of the LORD.
By the word of the LORD were the heavens made; * and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth.
He gathereth the waters of the sea together, as it were upon an heap; * and layeth up the deep, as in a treasure-house.
Let all the earth fear the LORD: * stand in awe of him, all ye that dwell in the world.
For he spake, and it was done; * he commanded, and it stood fast.
The LORD bringeth the counsel of the heathen to nought, * and maketh the devices of the people to be of none effect, and casteth out the counsels of princes.
The counsel of the LORD shall endure for ever, * and the thoughts of his heart from generation to generation.
Blessed are the people whose God is the Lord JEHOVAH; * and blessed are the folk that he hath chosen to him, to be his inheritance.
The LORD looketh down from heaven, and beholdeth all the children of men; * from the habitation of his dwelling, he considereth all them that dwell on the earth.
He fashioneth all the hearts of them, * and understandeth all their works.
There is no king that can be saved by the multitude of an host; * neither is any mighty man delivered by much strength.
A horse is counted but a vain thing to save a man; * neither shall he deliver any man by his great strength.
Behold, the eye of the LORD is upon them that fear him, * and upon them that put their trust in his mercy;
To deliver their soul from death, * and to feed them in the time of dearth.
Our soul hath patiently tarried for the LORD; * for he is our help and our shield.
For our heart shall rejoice in him; * because we have hoped in his holy Name.
Let thy merciful kindness, O LORD, be upon us, * like as we do put our trust in thee.

HEAR my prayer, O LORD, * and let my crying come unto thee.
Hide not thy face from me in the time of my trouble; * incline thine ear unto me when I call; O hear me, and that right soon.
For my days are consumed away like smoke, * and my bones are burnt up as it were a firebrand.
My heart is smitten down, and withered like grass; * so that I forget to eat my bread.
For the voice of my groaning, * my bones will scarce cleave to my flesh.
I am become like a pelican in the wilderness, * and like an owl that is in the desert.
I have watched, and am even as it were a sparrow, * that sitteth alone upon the housetop.
Mine enemies revile me all the day long; * and they that are mad upon me are sworn together against me.
For I have eaten ashes as it were bread, * and mingled my drink with weeping;
And that, because of thine indignation and wrath; * for thou hast taken me up, and cast me down.
My days are gone like a shadow, * and I am withered like grass.
But thou, O LORD, shalt endure for ever, * and thy remembrance throughout all generations.
Thou shalt arise, and have mercy upon Sion; * for it is time that thou have mercy upon her, yea, the time is come.
And why? thy servants think upon her stones, * and it pitieth them to see her in the dust.

vs 15 The nations shall fear thy Name, O LORD; * and all the kings of the earth thy majesty;
When the LORD shall build up Sion, * and when his glory shall appear;
When he turneth him unto the prayer of the poor destitute, * and despiseth not their desire.
This shall be written for those that come after, * and the people which shall be born shall praise the LORD.
For he hath looked down from his sanctuary; * out of the heaven did the LORD behold the earth;
That he might hear the mournings of such as are in captivity, * and deliver them that are appointed unto death;
That they may declare the Name of the LORD in Sion, * and his worship at Jerusalem;
When the peoples are gathered together, * and the kingdoms also, to serve the LORD.
He brought down my strength in my journey, * and shortened my days.
But I said, O my God, take me not away in the midst of mine age; * as for thy years, they endure throughout all generations.
Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth, * and the heavens are the work of thy hands.
They shall perish, but thou shalt endure: * they all shall wax old as doth a garment;
And as a vesture shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed; * but thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail.
The children of thy servants shall continue, * and their seed shall stand fast in thy sight.

PRAISE the LORD, O my soul: while I live, will I praise the LORD; * yea, as long as I have any being, I will sing praises unto my God.
O put not your trust in princes, nor in any child of man; * for there is no help in them.
For when the breath of man goeth forth, he shall turn again to his earth, * and then all his thoughts perish.
Blessed is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, * and whose hope is in the LORD his God:
Who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that therein is; * who keepeth his promise for ever;
Who helpeth them to right that suffer wrong; * who feedeth the hungry.
The LORD looseth men out of prison; * the LORD giveth sight to the blind.
The LORD helpeth them that are fallen; * the LORD careth for the righteous.
The LORD careth for the strangers; he defendeth the fatherless and widow: * as for the way of the ungodly, he turneth it upside down.
The LORD thy God, O Sion, shall be King for ever-more, * and throughout all generations.

Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance? Who hath directed the spirit of the Lord, or being his counsellor hath taught him? With whom took he counsel, and who instructed him, and taught him in the path of judgment, and taught him knowledge, and shewed to him the way of understanding? Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance: behold, he taketh up the isles as a very little thing. And Lebanon is not sufficient to burn, nor the beasts thereof sufficient for a burnt offering. All nations before him are as nothing; and they are counted to him less than nothing, and vanity. To whom then will ye liken God? or what likeness will ye compare unto him? Have ye not known? have ye not heard? hath it not been told you from the beginning? have ye not understood from the foundations of the earth? It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in: That bringeth the princes to nothing; he maketh the judges of the earth as vanity. Yea, they shall not be planted; yea, they shall not be sown: yea, their stock shall not take root in the earth: and he shall also blow upon them, and they shall wither, and the whirlwind shall take them away as stubble. To whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal? saith the Holy One. Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things, that bringeth out their host by number: he calleth them all by names by the greatness of his might, for that he is strong in power; not one faileth. Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel, My way is hid from the Lord, and my judgment is passed over from my God? Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding. He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth; I have put my spirit upon him: he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles. He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street. A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench: he shall bring forth judgment unto truth. He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till he have set judgment in the earth: and the isles shall wait for his law. Thus saith God the Lord, he that created the heavens, and stretched them out; he that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it; he that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein: I the Lord have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles; To open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house. I am the Lord: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images. Behold, the former things are come to pass, and new things do I declare: before they spring forth I tell you of them. Sing unto the Lord a new song, and his praise from the end of the earth, ye that go down to the sea, and all that is therein; the isles, and the inhabitants thereof. Let the wilderness and the cities thereof lift up their voice, the villages that Kedar doth inhabit: let the inhabitants of the rock sing, let them shout from the top of the mountains. Let them give glory unto the Lord, and declare his praise in the islands. The Lord shall go forth as a mighty man, he shall stir up jealousy like a man of war: he shall cry, yea, roar; he shall prevail against his enemies. I have long time holden my peace; I have been still, and refrained myself: now will I cry like a travailing woman; I will destroy and devour at once. I will make waste mountains and hills, and dry up all their herbs; and I will make the rivers islands, and I will dry up the pools. And I will bring the blind by a way that they knew not; I will lead them in paths that they have not known: I will make darkness light before them, and crooked things straight. These things will I do unto them, and not forsake them.

Therefore, brethren, we were comforted over you in all our affliction and distress by your faith: For now we live, if ye stand fast in the Lord. For what thanks can we render to God again for you, for all the joy wherewith we joy for your sakes before our God; Night and day praying exceedingly that we might see your face, and might perfect that which is lacking in your faith? Now God himself and our Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, direct our way unto you. And the Lord make you to increase and abound in love one toward another, and toward all men, even as we do toward you: To the end he may stablish your hearts unblameable in holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints.

Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force. For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. And if ye will receive it, this is Elias, which was for to come. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. But whereunto shall I liken this generation? It is like unto children sitting in the markets, and calling unto their fellows, And saying, We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned unto you, and ye have not lamented. For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, He hath a devil. The Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold a man gluttonous, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners. But wisdom is justified of her children. Then began he to upbraid the cities wherein most of his mighty works were done, because they repented not: Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works, which were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment, than for you. And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But I say unto you, That it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for thee.

O LORD, raise up, we pray thee, thy power, and come among us, and with great might succour us; that whereas, through our sins and wickedness, we are sore let and hindered in running the race that is set before us, thy bountiful grace and mercy may speedily help and deliver us; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with thee and the Holy Ghost, be honour and glory, world without end. Amen.

ALMIGHTY God, give us grace that we may cast away the works of darkness, and put upon us the armour of light, now in the time of this mortal life, in which thy Son Jesus Christ came to visit us in great humility; that in the last day, when he shall come again in his glorious majesty to judge both the quick and the dead, we may rise to the life immortal, through him who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost, now and ever. Amen.

Copyright © 2000-2024, CommonPrayer.org See our home page for further information

Privacy Policy

For information about this web page, please contact the Webmaster at: