Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 148[a]
148 Praise the Lord.
Praise the Lord from the sky.
Praise him in the heavens.
2 Praise him, all his angels.[b]
Praise him, all his heavenly assembly.[c]
3 Praise him, O sun and moon.
Praise him, all you shiny stars.[d]
4 Praise him, O highest heaven,
and you waters above the sky.[e]
5 Let them praise the name of the Lord,
for he gave the command and they came into existence.
6 He established them so they would endure;[f]
he issued a decree that will not be revoked.[g]
7 Praise the Lord from the earth,
you sea creatures and all you ocean depths,
8 O fire and hail, snow and clouds,[h]
O stormy wind that carries out his orders,[i]
9 you mountains and all you hills,
you fruit trees and all you cedars,
10 you animals and all you cattle,
you creeping things and birds,
11 you kings of the earth and all you nations,
you princes and all you leaders[j] on the earth,
12 you young men and young women,
you elderly, along with you children.
13 Let them praise the name of the Lord,
for his name alone is exalted;
his majesty extends over the earth and sky.
14 He has made his people victorious,[k]
and given all his loyal followers reason to praise—
the Israelites, the people who are close to him.[l]
Praise the Lord!
Psalm 149[m]
149 Praise the Lord.
Sing to the Lord a new song.
Praise him in the assembly of the godly.[n]
2 Let Israel rejoice in their Creator.
Let the people[o] of Zion delight in their King.[p]
3 Let them praise his name with dancing.
Let them sing praises to him to the accompaniment of the tambourine and harp.
4 For the Lord takes delight in his people;
he exalts the oppressed by delivering them.[q]
5 Let the godly rejoice because of their vindication.[r]
Let them shout for joy upon their beds.[s]
6 May the praises of God be in their mouths
and a two-edged sword in their hands,
7 in order to take[t] revenge on the nations,
and punish foreigners.
8 The godly bind[u] their enemies’ kings in chains,
and their nobles in iron shackles,
9 and execute the judgment to which their enemies[v] have been sentenced.[w]
All his loyal followers will be vindicated.[x]
Praise the Lord.
Psalm 150[y]
150 Praise the Lord!
Praise God in his sanctuary;
praise him in the sky, which testifies to his strength![z]
2 Praise him for his mighty acts;
praise him for his surpassing greatness!
3 Praise him with the blast of the horn;
praise him with the lyre and the harp!
4 Praise him with the tambourine and with dancing;
praise him with stringed instruments and the flute!
5 Praise him with loud cymbals;
praise him with clanging cymbals!
6 Let everything that has breath praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord!
Psalm 114[a]
114 When Israel left Egypt,
when the family of Jacob left a foreign nation behind,[b]
2 Judah became his sanctuary,
Israel his kingdom.
3 The sea looked and fled;[c]
the Jordan River[d] turned back.[e]
4 The mountains skipped like rams,
the hills like lambs.[f]
5 Why do you flee, O sea?
Why do you turn back, O Jordan River?
6 Why do you skip like rams, O mountains,
like lambs, O hills?
7 Tremble, O earth, before the Lord—
before the God of Jacob,
8 who turned a rock into a pool of water,
a hard rock into springs of water.[g]
Psalm 115[h]
115 Not to us, O Lord, not to us,
but to your name bring honor,[i]
for the sake of your loyal love and faithfulness.[j]
2 Why should the nations say,
“Where is their God?”
3 Our God is in heaven.
He does whatever he pleases.[k]
4 Their[l] idols are made of silver and gold—
they are man-made.[m]
5 They have mouths, but cannot speak,
eyes, but cannot see,
6 ears, but cannot hear,
noses, but cannot smell,
7 hands, but cannot touch,
feet, but cannot walk.
They cannot even clear their throats.[n]
8 Those who make them will end up[o] like them,
as will everyone who trusts in them.
9 O Israel, trust in the Lord.
He is their deliverer[p] and protector.[q]
10 O family[r] of Aaron, trust in the Lord.
He is their deliverer[s] and protector.[t]
11 You loyal followers of the Lord,[u] trust in the Lord.
He is their deliverer[v] and protector.[w]
12 The Lord takes notice of us;[x] he will bless[y]—
he will bless the family[z] of Israel,
he will bless the family of Aaron.
13 He will bless his loyal followers,[aa]
both young and old.[ab]
14 May he increase your numbers,
yours and your children’s.[ac]
15 May you be blessed by the Lord,
the Creator[ad] of heaven and earth.
16 The heavens belong to the Lord,[ae]
but the earth he has given to mankind.[af]
17 The dead do not praise the Lord,
nor do any of those who descend into the silence of death.[ag]
18 But we will praise the Lord
now and forevermore.
Praise the Lord!
Zophar’s First Speech to Job[a]
11 Then Zophar the Naamathite spoke up and said:
2 “Should not this[b] abundance of words be answered,[c]
or should this[d] talkative man[e]
be vindicated?[f]
3 Should people remain silent[g] at your idle talk,[h]
and should no one rebuke[i] you when you mock?[j]
4 For you have said, ‘My teaching[k] is flawless,
and I am pure in your sight.’
5 But if only God would speak,[l]
if only he would open his lips against you,[m]
6 and reveal to you the secrets of wisdom—
for true wisdom has two sides[n]—
so that you would know[o]
that God has forgiven some of your sins.[p]
7 “Can you discover[q] the essence[r] of God?
and if[c] you stretch out your hands toward him,[d]
14 if[e] iniquity is in your hand—put it far away,[f]
and do not let evil reside in your tents.
15 For[g] then you will lift up your face
without[h] blemish;[i]
you will be securely established[j]
and will not fear.
16 For you[k] will forget your trouble;[l]
you will remember it
like water that[m] has flowed away.
17 And life[n] will be brighter[o] than the noonday;
though there be darkness,[p]
it will be like the morning.
18 And you will be secure, because there is hope;
you will be protected[q]
and will take your rest in safety.
19 You will lie down with[r] no one to make you afraid,
and many will seek your favor.[s]
20 But the eyes of the wicked fail,[t]
and escape[u] eludes them;
their one hope[v] is to breathe their last.”[w]
The Opening of the Scroll
5 Then[a] I saw in the right hand of the one who was seated on the throne a scroll written on the front and back[b] and sealed with seven seals.[c] 2 And I saw a powerful angel proclaiming in a loud voice: “Who is worthy to open the scroll and to break its seals?” 3 But[d] no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or look into it. 4 So[e] I began weeping bitterly[f] because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or to look into it. 5 Then[g] one of the elders said[h] to me, “Stop weeping![i] Look, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David, has conquered;[j] thus he can open[k] the scroll and its seven seals.”
6 Then[l] I saw standing in the middle of the throne[m] and of the four living creatures, and in the middle of the elders, a Lamb that appeared to have been killed.[n] He had[o] seven horns and seven eyes, which[p] are the seven[q] spirits of God[r] sent out into all the earth. 7 Then[s] he came and took the scroll[t] from the right hand of the one who was seated on the throne, 8 and when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders threw themselves to the ground[u] before the Lamb. Each[v] of them had a harp and golden bowls full of incense (which are the prayers of the saints).[w] 9 They were singing a new song:[x]
“You are worthy to take the scroll
and to open its seals
because you were killed,[y]
and at the cost of your own blood[z] you have purchased[aa] for God
persons[ab] from every tribe, language,[ac] people, and nation.
10 You have appointed[ad] them[ae] as a kingdom and priests[af] to serve[ag] our God, and they will reign[ah] on the earth.”
11 Then[ai] I looked and heard the voice of many angels in a circle around the throne, as well as the living creatures and the elders. Their[aj] number was ten thousand times ten thousand[ak]—thousands times thousands— 12 all of whom[al] were singing[am] in a loud voice:
“Worthy is the lamb who was killed[an]
to receive power and wealth
and wisdom and might
and honor and glory and praise!”
13 Then[ao] I heard every creature—in heaven, on earth, under the earth, in the sea, and all that is in them—singing:[ap]
“To the one seated on the throne and to the Lamb
be praise, honor, glory, and ruling power[aq] forever and ever!”
14 And the four living creatures were saying “Amen,” and the elders threw themselves to the ground[ar] and worshiped.
The Beatitudes
5 When[a] he saw the crowds, he went up the mountain.[b] After he sat down his disciples came to him. 2 Then[c] he began to teach[d] them by saying:
3 “Blessed[e] are the poor in spirit,[f] for the kingdom of heaven belongs[g] to them.
4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.[h]
5 “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
6 “Blessed are those who hunger[i] and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied.
7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the children[j] of God.
10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to them.
11 “Blessed are you when people[k] insult you and persecute you and say all kinds of evil things about you falsely[l] on account of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because your reward is great in heaven, for they persecuted the prophets before you in the same way.
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