Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 148
Praise the Lord from the heavens;(B)
praise him in the heights above.
2 Praise him, all his angels;(C)
praise him, all his heavenly hosts.(D)
3 Praise him, sun(E) and moon;
praise him, all you shining stars.
4 Praise him, you highest heavens(F)
and you waters above the skies.(G)
5 Let them praise the name(H) of the Lord,
for at his command(I) they were created,
6 and he established them for ever and ever—
he issued a decree(J) that will never pass away.
7 Praise the Lord(K) from the earth,
you great sea creatures(L) and all ocean depths,(M)
8 lightning and hail,(N) snow and clouds,
stormy winds that do his bidding,(O)
9 you mountains and all hills,(P)
fruit trees and all cedars,
10 wild animals(Q) and all cattle,
small creatures and flying birds,
11 kings(R) of the earth and all nations,
you princes and all rulers on earth,
12 young men and women,
old men and children.
13 Let them praise the name of the Lord,(S)
for his name alone is exalted;
his splendor(T) is above the earth and the heavens.(U)
14 And he has raised up for his people a horn,[b](V)
the praise(W) of all his faithful servants,(X)
of Israel, the people close to his heart.(Y)
Praise the Lord.
Psalm 149
2 Let Israel rejoice(AC) in their Maker;(AD)
let the people of Zion be glad in their King.(AE)
3 Let them praise his name with dancing(AF)
and make music to him with timbrel and harp.(AG)
4 For the Lord takes delight(AH) in his people;
he crowns the humble with victory.(AI)
5 Let his faithful people rejoice(AJ) in this honor
and sing for joy on their beds.(AK)
6 May the praise of God be in their mouths(AL)
and a double-edged(AM) sword in their hands,(AN)
7 to inflict vengeance(AO) on the nations
and punishment(AP) on the peoples,
8 to bind their kings with fetters,(AQ)
their nobles with shackles of iron,(AR)
9 to carry out the sentence written against them—(AS)
this is the glory of all his faithful people.(AT)
Praise the Lord.
Psalm 150
Praise God in his sanctuary;(AV)
praise him in his mighty heavens.(AW)
2 Praise him for his acts of power;(AX)
praise him for his surpassing greatness.(AY)
3 Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet,(AZ)
praise him with the harp and lyre,(BA)
4 praise him with timbrel and dancing,(BB)
praise him with the strings(BC) and pipe,(BD)
5 praise him with the clash of cymbals,(BE)
praise him with resounding cymbals.
6 Let everything(BF) that has breath praise the Lord.
Praise the Lord.
Psalm 114
1 When Israel came out of Egypt,(A)
Jacob from a people of foreign tongue,
2 Judah(B) became God’s sanctuary,(C)
Israel his dominion.
3 The sea looked and fled,(D)
the Jordan turned back;(E)
4 the mountains leaped(F) like rams,
the hills like lambs.
5 Why was it, sea, that you fled?(G)
Why, Jordan, did you turn back?
6 Why, mountains, did you leap like rams,
you hills, like lambs?
7 Tremble, earth,(H) at the presence of the Lord,
at the presence of the God of Jacob,
8 who turned the rock into a pool,
the hard rock into springs of water.(I)
Psalm 115(J)
1 Not to us, Lord, not to us
but to your name be the glory,(K)
because of your love and faithfulness.(L)
2 Why do the nations say,
“Where is their God?”(M)
3 Our God is in heaven;(N)
he does whatever pleases him.(O)
4 But their idols are silver and gold,(P)
made by human hands.(Q)
5 They have mouths, but cannot speak,(R)
eyes, but cannot see.
6 They have ears, but cannot hear,
noses, but cannot smell.
7 They have hands, but cannot feel,
feet, but cannot walk,
nor can they utter a sound with their throats.
8 Those who make them will be like them,
and so will all who trust in them.
9 All you Israelites, trust(S) in the Lord—
he is their help and shield.
10 House of Aaron,(T) trust in the Lord—
he is their help and shield.
11 You who fear him,(U) trust in the Lord—
he is their help and shield.
12 The Lord remembers(V) us and will bless us:(W)
He will bless his people Israel,
he will bless the house of Aaron,
13 he will bless those who fear(X) the Lord—
small and great alike.
14 May the Lord cause you to flourish,(Y)
both you and your children.
15 May you be blessed by the Lord,
the Maker of heaven(Z) and earth.
50 So David triumphed over the Philistine with a sling(A) and a stone; without a sword in his hand he struck down the Philistine and killed him.
51 David ran and stood over him. He took hold of the Philistine’s sword and drew it from the sheath. After he killed him, he cut(B) off his head with the sword.(C)
When the Philistines saw that their hero was dead, they turned and ran. 52 Then the men of Israel and Judah surged forward with a shout and pursued the Philistines to the entrance of Gath[a] and to the gates of Ekron.(D) Their dead were strewn along the Shaaraim(E) road to Gath and Ekron. 53 When the Israelites returned from chasing the Philistines, they plundered their camp.
54 David took the Philistine’s head and brought it to Jerusalem; he put the Philistine’s weapons in his own tent.
55 As Saul watched David(F) going out to meet the Philistine, he said to Abner, commander of the army, “Abner,(G) whose son is that young man?”
Abner replied, “As surely as you live, Your Majesty, I don’t know.”
56 The king said, “Find out whose son this young man is.”
57 As soon as David returned from killing the Philistine, Abner took him and brought him before Saul, with David still holding the Philistine’s head.
58 “Whose son are you, young man?” Saul asked him.
David said, “I am the son of your servant Jesse(H) of Bethlehem.”
Saul’s Growing Fear of David
18 After David had finished talking with Saul, Jonathan(I) became one in spirit with David, and he loved(J) him as himself.(K) 2 From that day Saul kept David with him and did not let him return home to his family. 3 And Jonathan made a covenant(L) with David because he loved him as himself. 4 Jonathan took off the robe(M) he was wearing and gave it to David, along with his tunic, and even his sword, his bow and his belt.(N)
4 Christ is the culmination of the law(A) so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.(B)
5 Moses writes this about the righteousness that is by the law: “The person who does these things will live by them.”[a](C) 6 But the righteousness that is by faith(D) says: “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’”[b](E) (that is, to bring Christ down) 7 “or ‘Who will descend into the deep?’”[c](F) (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead).(G) 8 But what does it say? “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,”[d](H) that is, the message concerning faith that we proclaim: 9 If you declare(I) with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,”(J) and believe(K) in your heart that God raised him from the dead,(L) you will be saved.(M) 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. 11 As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.”[e](N) 12 For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile(O)—the same Lord is Lord of all(P) and richly blesses all who call on him, 13 for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord(Q) will be saved.”[f](R)
14 How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? 15 And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”[g](S)
16 But not all the Israelites accepted the good news.(T) For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our message?”[h](U) 17 Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message,(V) and the message is heard through the word about Christ.(W)
29 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets(A) and decorate the graves of the righteous. 30 And you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ 31 So you testify against yourselves that you are the descendants of those who murdered the prophets.(B) 32 Go ahead, then, and complete(C) what your ancestors started!(D)
33 “You snakes! You brood of vipers!(E) How will you escape being condemned to hell?(F) 34 Therefore I am sending you prophets and sages and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify;(G) others you will flog in your synagogues(H) and pursue from town to town.(I) 35 And so upon you will come all the righteous blood that has been shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel(J) to the blood of Zechariah son of Berekiah,(K) whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.(L) 36 Truly I tell you, all this will come on this generation.(M)
37 “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you,(N) how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings,(O) and you were not willing. 38 Look, your house is left to you desolate.(P) 39 For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’[a]”(Q)
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