Book of Common Prayer
Praise to the Lord from Creation
148 Praise[a] the Lord!
Praise the Lord from the heavens;
Praise Him in the heights!
2 Praise Him, all His angels;
Praise Him, all His hosts!
3 Praise Him, sun and moon;
Praise Him, all you stars of light!
4 Praise Him, (A)you heavens of heavens,
And (B)you waters above the heavens!
5 Let them praise the name of the Lord,
For (C)He commanded and they were created.
6 (D)He also established them forever and ever;
He made a decree which shall not pass away.
7 Praise the Lord from the earth,
(E)You great sea creatures and all the depths;
8 Fire and hail, snow and clouds;
Stormy wind, fulfilling His word;
9 (F)Mountains and all hills;
Fruitful trees and all cedars;
10 Beasts and all cattle;
Creeping things and flying fowl;
11 Kings of the earth and all peoples;
Princes and all judges of the earth;
12 Both young men and maidens;
Old men and children.
13 Let them praise the name of the Lord,
For His (G)name alone is exalted;
His glory is above the earth and heaven.
14 And He (H)has exalted the [b]horn of His people,
The praise of (I)all His saints—
Of the children of Israel,
(J)A people near to Him.
[c]Praise the Lord!
Praise to God for His Salvation and Judgment
149 Praise[d] the Lord!
(K)Sing to the Lord a new song,
And His praise in the assembly of saints.
2 Let Israel rejoice in their Maker;
Let the children of Zion be joyful in their (L)King.
3 (M)Let them praise His name with the dance;
Let them sing praises to Him with the timbrel and harp.
4 For (N)the Lord takes pleasure in His people;
(O)He will beautify the [e]humble with salvation.
5 Let the saints be joyful in glory;
Let them (P)sing aloud on their beds.
6 Let the high praises of God be in their mouth,
And (Q)a two-edged sword in their hand,
7 To execute vengeance on the nations,
And punishments on the peoples;
8 To bind their kings with chains,
And their nobles with fetters of iron;
9 (R)To execute on them the written judgment—
(S)This honor have all His saints.
[f]Praise the Lord!
Let All Things Praise the Lord
Praise God in His sanctuary;
Praise Him in His mighty [h]firmament!
2 Praise Him for His mighty acts;
Praise Him according to His excellent (U)greatness!
3 Praise Him with the sound of the [i]trumpet;
Praise Him with the lute and harp!
4 Praise Him with the timbrel and dance;
Praise Him with stringed instruments and flutes!
5 Praise Him with loud cymbals;
Praise Him with clashing cymbals!
6 Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.
[j]Praise the Lord!
The Power of God in His Deliverance of Israel(A)
114 When (B)Israel went out of Egypt,
The house of Jacob (C)from a people [a]of strange language,
2 (D)Judah became His sanctuary,
And Israel His dominion.
3 (E)The sea saw it and fled;
(F)Jordan turned back.
4 (G)The mountains skipped like rams,
The little hills like lambs.
5 (H)What ails you, O sea, that you fled?
O Jordan, that you turned back?
6 O mountains, that you skipped like rams?
O little hills, like lambs?
7 Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord,
At the presence of the God of Jacob,
8 (I)Who turned the rock into a pool of water,
The flint into a fountain of waters.
The Futility of Idols and the Trustworthiness of God
115 Not (J)unto us, O Lord, not unto us,
But to Your name give glory,
Because of Your mercy,
Because of Your truth.
2 Why should the [b]Gentiles say,
(K)“So where is their God?”
3 (L)But our God is in heaven;
He does whatever He pleases.
4 (M)Their idols are silver and gold,
The work of men’s hands.
5 They have mouths, but they do not speak;
Eyes they have, but they do not see;
6 They have ears, but they do not hear;
Noses they have, but they do not smell;
7 They have hands, but they do not handle;
Feet they have, but they do not walk;
Nor do they mutter through their throat.
8 (N)Those who make them are like them;
So is everyone who trusts in them.
9 (O)O Israel, trust in the Lord;
(P)He is their help and their shield.
10 O house of Aaron, trust in the Lord;
He is their help and their shield.
11 You who fear the Lord, trust in the Lord;
He is their help and their shield.
12 The Lord [c]has been mindful of us;
He will bless us;
He will bless the house of Israel;
He will bless the house of Aaron.
13 (Q)He will bless those who fear the Lord,
Both small and great.
14 May the Lord give you increase more and more,
You and your children.
15 May you be (R)blessed by the Lord,
(S)Who made heaven and earth.
16 The heaven, even the heavens, are the Lord’s;
But the earth He has given to the children of men.
17 (T)The dead do not praise the Lord,
Nor any who go down into silence.
18 (U)But we will bless the Lord
From this time forth and forevermore.
Praise the Lord!
The Greatest Commandment
6 “Now this is (A)the commandment, and these are the statutes and judgments which the Lord your God has commanded to teach you, that you may observe them in the land which you are crossing over to possess, 2 (B)that you may fear the Lord your God, to keep all His statutes and His commandments which I command you, you and your son and your grandson, all the days of your life, (C)and that your days may be prolonged. 3 Therefore hear, O Israel, and [a]be careful to observe it, that it may be well with you, and that you may (D)multiply greatly (E)as the Lord God of your fathers has promised you—(F)‘a land flowing with milk and honey.’
4 (G)“Hear, O Israel: [b]The Lord our God, the Lord is one! 5 (H)You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, (I)with all your soul, and with all your strength.
6 “And (J)these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. 7 (K)You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. 8 (L)You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 9 (M)You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.
The Glorious Company
18 For you have not come [a]to (A)the mountain that may be touched and that burned with fire, and to blackness and [b]darkness and tempest, 19 and the sound of a trumpet and the voice of words, so that those who heard it (B)begged that the word should not be spoken to them anymore. 20 (For they could not endure what was commanded: (C)“And if so much as a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned [c]or shot with an arrow.” 21 And so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, (D)“I am exceedingly afraid and trembling.”)
22 But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, 23 to the [d]general assembly and church of (E)the firstborn (F)who are registered in heaven, to God (G)the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men (H)made perfect, 24 to Jesus (I)the Mediator of the new covenant, and to (J)the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things (K)than that of Abel.
Hear the Heavenly Voice
25 See that you do not refuse Him who speaks. For (L)if they did not escape who refused Him who spoke on earth, much more shall we not escape if we turn away from Him who speaks from heaven, 26 whose voice then shook the earth; but now He has promised, saying, (M)“Yet once more I [e]shake not only the earth, but also heaven.” 27 Now this, “Yet once more,” indicates the (N)removal of those things that are being shaken, as of things that are made, that the things which cannot be shaken may remain.
28 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we [f]may (O)serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. 29 For (P)our God is a consuming fire.
24 Most assuredly, I say to you, (A)unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much [a]grain. 25 (B)He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26 If anyone serves Me, let him (C)follow Me; and (D)where I am, there My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor.
Jesus Predicts His Death on the Cross
27 (E)“Now My soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save Me from this hour’? (F)But for this purpose I came to this hour. 28 Father, glorify Your name.”
(G)Then a voice came from heaven, saying, “I have both glorified it and will glorify it again.”
29 Therefore the people who stood by and heard it said that it had thundered. Others said, “An angel has spoken to Him.”
30 Jesus answered and said, (H)“This voice did not come because of Me, but for your sake. 31 Now is the judgment of this world; now (I)the ruler of this world will be cast out. 32 And I, (J)if I am [b]lifted up from the earth, will draw (K)all peoples to Myself.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.