Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 148
Creation’s Praise of the Lord
1 Hallelujah!
Praise the Lord from the heavens;
praise him in the heights.(A)
2 Praise him, all his angels;
praise him, all his heavenly armies.(B)
3 Praise him, sun and moon;
praise him, all you shining stars.(C)
4 Praise him, highest heavens,
and you waters above the heavens.(D)
5 Let them praise the name of the Lord,
for he commanded, and they were created.(E)
6 He set them in position forever and ever;
he gave an order that will never pass away.(F)
7 Praise the Lord from the earth,
all sea monsters and ocean depths,(G)
8 lightning[a] and hail, snow and cloud,
stormy wind that executes his command,(H)
9 mountains and all hills,
fruit trees and all cedars,(I)
10 wild animals and all cattle,
creatures that crawl and flying birds,(J)
11 kings of the earth and all peoples,
princes and all judges of the earth,(K)
12 young men as well as young women,
old and young together.(L)
13 Let them praise the name of the Lord,
for his name alone is exalted.
His majesty covers heaven and earth.(M)
14 He has raised up a horn for his people,
resulting in praise to all his faithful ones,
to the Israelites, the people close to him.(N)
Hallelujah!
Psalm 149
Praise for God’s Triumph
1 Hallelujah!
Sing to the Lord a new song,(O)
his praise in the assembly of the faithful.(P)
2 Let Israel celebrate its Maker;
let the children of Zion rejoice in their King.(Q)
3 Let them praise his name with dancing
and make music to him with tambourine and lyre.(R)
4 For the Lord takes pleasure in his people;(S)
he adorns the humble with salvation.(T)
5 Let the faithful celebrate in triumphal glory;
let them shout for joy on their beds.(U)
6 Let the exaltation of God be in their mouths[b]
and a double-edged sword in their hands,(V)
7 inflicting vengeance on the nations
and punishment on the peoples,(W)
8 binding their kings with chains
and their dignitaries with iron shackles,(X)
9 carrying out the judgment decreed against them.
This honor is for all his faithful people.(Y)
Hallelujah!
Psalm 150
Praise the Lord
1 Hallelujah!
Praise God in his sanctuary.
Praise him in his mighty expanse.(Z)
2 Praise him for his powerful acts;(AA)
praise him for his abundant greatness.(AB)
3 Praise him with the blast of a ram’s horn;(AC)
praise him with harp and lyre.(AD)
4 Praise him with tambourine and dance;(AE)
praise him with strings and flute.(AF)
5 Praise him with resounding cymbals;
praise him with clashing cymbals.(AG)
6 Let everything that breathes praise the Lord.(AH)
Hallelujah!
Psalm 114
God’s Deliverance of Israel
1 When Israel came out of Egypt—
the house of Jacob from a people
who spoke a foreign language(A)—
2 Judah became his sanctuary,
Israel, his dominion.(B)
3 The sea looked and fled;(C)
the Jordan turned back.(D)
4 The mountains skipped like rams,
the hills, like lambs.(E)
5 Why was it, sea, that you fled?
Jordan, that you turned back?(F)
6 Mountains, that you skipped like rams?
Hills, like lambs?(G)
7 Tremble, earth, at the presence of the Lord,
at the presence of the God of Jacob,(H)
8 who turned the rock into a pool,
the flint into a spring.(I)
Psalm 115
Glory to God Alone
1 Not to us, Lord, not to us,
but to your name give glory
because of your faithful love, because of your truth.(J)
2 Why should the nations say,
“Where is their God?” (K)
3 Our God is in heaven
and does whatever he pleases.(L)
4 Their idols are silver and gold,
made by human hands.(M)
5 They have mouths but cannot speak,
eyes, but cannot see.
6 They have ears but cannot hear,
noses, but cannot smell.(N)
7 They have hands but cannot feel,
feet, but cannot walk.(O)
They cannot make a sound with their throats.(P)
8 Those who make them are[a] just like them,
as are all who trust in them.(Q)
9 Israel,[b] trust in the Lord!(R)
He is their help and shield.(S)
10 House of Aaron, trust in the Lord!(T)
He is their help and shield.(U)
11 You who fear the Lord, trust in the Lord!(V)
He is their help and shield.
12 The Lord remembers us and will bless us.
He will bless the house of Israel;
he will bless the house of Aaron;(W)
13 he will bless those who fear the Lord—
small and great alike.(X)
14 May the Lord add to your numbers,
both yours and your children’s.(Y)
15 May you be blessed by the Lord,
the Maker of heaven and earth.(Z)
16 The heavens are the Lord’s,[c]
but the earth he has given to the human race.(AA)
17 It is not the dead who praise the Lord,
nor any of those descending into the silence of death.(AB)
18 But we will bless the Lord,
both now and forever.(AC)
Hallelujah!
Woe to the Complacent
6 Woe to those who are at ease in Zion(A)
and to those who feel secure on the hill of Samaria—
the notable people in this first of the nations,
those the house of Israel comes to.
2 Cross over to Calneh(B) and see;
go from there to great Hamath;(C)
then go down to Gath(D) of the Philistines.
Are you better than these kingdoms?
Is their territory larger than yours?
3 You dismiss any thought of the evil day(E)
and bring in a reign of violence.(F)
4 They lie on beds inlaid with ivory,(G)
sprawled out on their couches,(H)
and dine on lambs from the flock(I)
and calves from the stall.
5 They improvise songs[a] to the sound of the harp(J)
and invent[b] their own musical instruments like David.(K)
6 They drink wine by the bowlful(L)
and anoint themselves with the finest oils
but do not grieve over the ruin of Joseph.(M)
7 Therefore, they will now go into exile
as the first of the captives,(N)
and the feasting(O) of those who sprawl out
will come to an end.
Israel’s Pride Judged
8 The Lord God has sworn by himself(P)—this is the declaration of the Lord, the God of Armies:
I loathe Jacob’s pride(Q)
and hate his citadels,(R)
so I will hand over the city(S) and everything in it.
9 And if there are ten men left in one house, they will die.(T) 10 A close relative[c] and burner[d](U) will remove his corpse[e] from the house. He will call to someone in the inner recesses of the house, “Any more with you?”
That person will reply, “None.”
Then he will say, “Silence, because the Lord’s name must not be invoked.”(V)
11 For the Lord commands:
The large house will be smashed to pieces,
and the small house to rubble.(W)
12 Do horses gallop on the cliffs?
Does anyone plow there with oxen?[f]
Yet you have turned justice into poison(X)
and the fruit of righteousness into wormwood(Y)—
13 you who rejoice over Lo-debar(Z)
and say, “Didn’t we capture Karnaim
for ourselves by our own strength?” (AA)
14 But look, I am raising up a nation
against you, house of Israel(AB)—
this is the declaration of the Lord,
the God of Armies—
and they will oppress you
from the entrance of Hamath[g](AC)
to the Brook of the Arabah.[h]
5 It is clear evidence of God’s righteous(A) judgment(B) that you will be counted worthy of God’s kingdom, for which you also are suffering,(C) 6 since it is just for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you 7 and to give relief to you who are afflicted, along with us. This will take place at the revelation of the Lord Jesus from heaven with his powerful angels, 8 when he takes vengeance with flaming fire(D) on those who don’t know God(E) and on those who don’t obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.(F) 9 They will pay the penalty of eternal destruction(G) from the Lord’s presence(H) and from his glorious strength(I) 10 on that day when he comes(J) to be glorified(K) by his saints(L) and to be marveled at by all those who have believed, because our testimony among you was believed. 11 In view of this, we always pray for you that our God will make you worthy of his calling,(M) and by his power fulfill your every desire to do good[a] and your work produced by faith,(N) 12 so that the name(O) of our Lord Jesus will be glorified(P) by you, and you by him,(Q) according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Birth and Naming of John
57 Now the time had come for Elizabeth to give birth, and she had a son. 58 Then her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown her his great mercy,(A) and they rejoiced with her.
59 When they came to circumcise the child on the eighth day,(B) they were going to name him Zechariah, after his father. 60 But his mother responded, “No. He will be called John.”(C)
61 Then they said to her, “None of your relatives has that name.” 62 So they motioned to his father(D) to find out what he wanted him to be called. 63 He asked for a writing tablet and wrote, “His name is John.” And they were all amazed. 64 Immediately his mouth was opened(E) and his tongue set free, and he began to speak, praising God. 65 Fear came on all those who lived around them, and all these things were being talked about throughout the hill country of Judea. 66 All who heard about him(F) took it to heart, saying, “What then will this child become?” For, indeed, the Lord’s hand was with him.
Zechariah’s Prophecy
67 Then his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit(G) and prophesied:(H)
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