Book of Common Prayer
The Whole Creation Invoked to Praise the Lord.
148 Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord from the heavens;
Praise Him in the heights!
2
Praise Him, all His angels;
Praise Him, all His hosts (armies)!
3
Praise Him, sun and moon:
Praise Him, all stars of light!
4
Praise Him, highest heavens,
And the waters above the heavens!
5
Let them praise the name of the Lord,
For He commanded and they were created.
6
He has also established them forever and ever;
He has made a decree which shall not pass away.
7
Praise the Lord from the earth,
Sea monsters and all deeps;
8
Lightning and hail, snow and fog;
Stormy wind, fulfilling His orders;
9
Mountains and all hills;
Fruitful trees and all cedars;
10
Beasts and all cattle;
Creeping things and winged birds;
11
Kings of the earth and all people;
Princes and all judges of the earth;
12
Both young men and virgins;
Old men and children.
13
Let them praise the name of the Lord,
For His name alone is exalted and supreme;
His glory and majesty are above earth and heaven.
14
He has lifted up a horn for His people [giving them strength, prosperity, dignity, and preeminence],
Praise for all His godly ones;
For the people of Israel, a people near to Him.
Praise the Lord! (Hallelujah!)(A)
Israel Invoked to Praise the Lord.
149 Praise the Lord!
Sing to the Lord a new song,
And praise Him in the congregation of His godly ones (believers).
2
Let Israel rejoice in their Maker;
Let Zion’s children rejoice in their King.(B)
3
Let them praise His name with dancing;
Let them sing praises to Him with the tambourine and lyre.
4
For the Lord takes pleasure in His people;
He will beautify the humble with salvation.
5
Let the godly ones exult in glory;
Let them sing for joy on their beds.
6
Let the high praises of God be in their throats,
And a two-edged sword in their hands,(C)
7
To execute vengeance on the nations
And punishment on the peoples,
8
To bind their kings with chains
And their nobles with fetters of iron,
9
To execute on them the judgment written.
This is the honor for all His godly ones.
Praise the Lord! (Hallelujah!)
A Psalm of Praise.
150 Praise the Lord!
Praise God in His sanctuary;
Praise Him in His mighty heavens.
2
Praise Him for His mighty acts;
Praise Him according to [the abundance of] His greatness.(D)
3
Praise Him with trumpet sound;
Praise Him with harp and lyre.
4
Praise Him with tambourine and dancing;
Praise Him with stringed instruments and flute.
5
Praise Him with resounding cymbals;
Praise Him with loud cymbals.
6
Let everything that has breath and every breath of life praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord! (Hallelujah!)
God’s Rescue of Israel from Egypt.
114 When Israel came out of Egypt,
The house of Jacob from a people of strange language,
2
Judah became His sanctuary,
And Israel His dominion.(A)
3
The [Red] Sea [a]looked and fled;
The Jordan turned back.(B)
4
The mountains leaped like rams,
The [little] hills, like lambs.
5
What ails you, O sea, that you flee?
O Jordan, that you turn back?
6
O mountains, that you leap 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 (Israel),
8
Who turned the rock into a pool of water,
The flint into a fountain of water.(C)
Pagan Idols Contrasted with the Lord.
115 Not to us, O Lord, not to us,
But to Your name give glory
Because of Your lovingkindness, because of Your truth and faithfulness.
2
Why should the nations say,
“Where, now, is their God?”
3
But our God is in heaven;
He does whatever He pleases.
4
The idols [of the nations] are silver and gold,
The work of man’s hands.
5
They have mouths, but they cannot speak;
They have eyes, but they cannot see;
6
They have ears, but they cannot hear;
They have noses, but they cannot smell;
7
They have hands, but they cannot feel;
They have feet, but they cannot walk;
Nor can they make a sound with their throats.
8
Those who make them will become like them,
Everyone who trusts in them.(D)
9
O Israel, trust and take refuge in the Lord! [Be confident in Him, cling to Him, rely on His word!]
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 [reverently] fear the Lord, trust in Lord;
He is their help and their shield.
12
The Lord has been mindful of us; He will bless,
He will bless the house of Israel;
He will bless the house of Aaron.
13
He will bless those who fear and worship the Lord [with awe-inspired reverence and submissive wonder],
Both the small and the great.(E)
14
May the Lord give you [great] increase,
You and your children.
15
May you be blessed of the Lord,
Who made heaven and earth.
16
The heavens are the heavens of the Lord,
But the earth He has given to the children of men.
17
The dead do not praise the Lord,
Nor do any who go down into silence;
18
But as for us, we will bless and affectionately and gratefully praise the Lord
From this time forth and forever.
Praise the Lord! (Hallelujah!)
Jethro, Moses’ Father-in-law
18 Now Jethro (Reuel), the priest of Midian, Moses’ father-in-law, heard of all that God had done for Moses and for Israel His people, and that the Lord had brought Israel out of Egypt. 2 Then Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, took Moses’ wife Zipporah, after he had sent her away [from Egypt], 3 along with her two sons, of whom one was named Gershom (stranger), for Moses said, “I have been a stranger in a foreign land.” 4 The other [son] was named Eliezer (my God is help), for Moses said, “The God of my father was my help, and He rescued me from the sword of Pharaoh.”
5 Then Jethro, his father-in-law, came with Moses’ sons and his wife to [join] Moses in the wilderness where he was camped, at the mountain of God [that is, Mt. Sinai in Horeb]. 6 He sent a message to Moses, “I, your father-in-law Jethro, am coming to you with your wife and her two sons [who are] with her.” 7 So Moses went out to meet his father-in-law, and he bowed down [in respect] and kissed him. They asked each other about their well-being and went into the tent. 8 Moses told his father-in-law about all that the Lord had done to Pharaoh and the Egyptians for Israel’s sake, and about all the hardship that had happened during the journey, and how the Lord had rescued them. 9 Jethro rejoiced over all the good things the Lord had done to Israel, in that He had rescued them from the hand of the Egyptians. 10 Jethro said, “Blessed be the Lord, who has rescued you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of Pharaoh, and who has rescued the people from under the hand of the Egyptians. 11 Now I know that the Lord is [a]greater than all gods; indeed, it was proven when they acted insolently toward Israel [and the Lord showed Himself infinitely superior to all their gods].” 12 Then Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, took a burnt offering and [other] sacrifices [to offer] to God, and Aaron came with all the elders of Israel to eat a meal with Moses’ father-in-law before God.
7 Beloved, I am not writing a new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you have had from the beginning; the old commandment is the message which you have heard [before from us].(A) 8 On the other hand, I am writing a new commandment to you, which is true and realized in Christ and in you, because the darkness [of moral blindness] is clearing away and the true Light [the revelation of God in Christ] is already shining. 9 The one who says he is in the Light [in consistent fellowship with Christ] and yet [a]habitually hates (works against) his brother [in Christ] is in the darkness until now. 10 The one who [b]loves and unselfishly seeks the best for his [believing] brother lives in the Light, and in him there is no occasion for stumbling or offense [he does not hurt the cause of Christ or lead others to sin]. 11 But the one who habitually hates (works against) his brother [in Christ] is in [spiritual] darkness and is walking in the darkness, and does not know where he is going because the darkness has blinded his eyes.
12 I am writing to you, little children (believers, dear ones), because your sins have been forgiven for His name’s sake [you have been pardoned and released from spiritual debt through His name because you have confessed His name, believing in Him as Savior]. 13 I am writing to you, fathers [those believers who are spiritually mature], because you know Him who has existed from the beginning. I am writing to you, young men [those believers who are growing in spiritual maturity], because you have been victorious and have overcome the evil one. I have written to you, children [those who are new believers, those spiritually immature], because you have come to know the Father. 14 I have written to you, fathers, because you know Him who has existed from the beginning. I have written to you, young men, because you are strong and vigorous, and the word of God remains [always] in you, and you have been victorious over the evil one [by accepting Jesus as Savior].
Do Not Love the World
15 Do not love the world [of sin that opposes God and His precepts], nor the things that are in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world—the lust and sensual craving of the flesh and the lust and longing of the eyes and the boastful pride of life [pretentious confidence in one’s resources or in the stability of earthly things]—these do not come from the Father, but are from the world. 17 The world is passing away, and with it its lusts [the shameful pursuits and ungodly longings]; but the one who does the will of God and carries out His purposes lives forever.
9 [a][Now Jesus, having risen [from death] early on the first day of the week, appeared first to Mary Magdalene, from whom He had cast out seven demons. 10 She went and reported it to those who had been with Him, while they were mourning and weeping. 11 When they heard that He was alive and had been seen by her, they did not believe it.
12 After that, He appeared in a different form to two of them as they were walking along the way to the country.(A) 13 They returned [to Jerusalem] and told the others, but they did not believe them either.
The Disciples Commissioned
14 Later, Jesus appeared to the eleven [disciples] themselves as they were reclining at the table; and He called them to account for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they had not believed those who had seen Him after He had risen [from death]. 15 And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. 16 He who has believed [in Me] and has been baptized will be saved [from the penalty of God’s wrath and judgment]; but he who has not believed will be condemned. 17 These signs will accompany those who have believed: in My name they will cast out demons, they will speak in new tongues; 18 they will pick up serpents, and if they drink anything deadly, it will not hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will get well.”
19 So then, when the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, He was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God.(B) 20 And they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord was working with them and confirming the word by the signs that followed.]
Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA 90631. All rights reserved.