Book of Common Prayer
148 Praise the Lord!
Angels above,
praise the Lord from heaven!
2 Praise him, all you angels!
Praise him, all his army[a]!
3 Sun and moon, praise him!
Stars and lights in the sky, praise him!
4 Praise him, highest heaven!
Waters above the sky, praise him!
5 Let them praise the Lord’s name,
because he gave the command and created them all!
6 He made all these continue forever.
He made the laws that will never end.
7 Everything on earth, praise him!
Great sea animals and all the oceans, praise the Lord!
8 Praise him, fire and hail, snow and clouds,
and the stormy winds that obey him.
9 Praise him, mountains and hills,
fruit trees and cedar trees.
10 Praise him, wild animals and cattle, reptiles and birds.
11 Praise him, kings of the earth and all nations,
princes and all rulers on earth.
12 Praise him, young men and women,
old people and children.
13 Praise the Lord’s name!
Honor his name forever!
His name is greater than any other.
He is more glorious than heaven and earth.
14 He made his people strong.
His loyal followers praise him.
Israel, his precious people, praise the Lord!
149 Praise the Lord!
Sing a new song[b] to the Lord!
Sing his praise in the assembly of his followers.
2 Let Israel be happy with their Maker.
Let the people of Zion rejoice with their King.
3 Let them praise him by dancing
and playing their tambourines and harps.
4 The Lord is happy with his people.
He did a wonderful thing for his humble people.
He saved them!
5 Let his followers rejoice in this victory!
Let them sing for joy, even in their beds!
6 Let the people shout praise to God.
And with a sharp sword in their hand,
7 let them take revenge on the other nations.
Let them go punish those people.
8 They will put their kings in chains
and their leaders in chains of iron.
9 They will punish those nations as God commanded.
This is an honor for all his followers.
Praise the Lord!
150 Praise the Lord!
Praise God in his Temple!
Praise him in heaven, his strong fortress!
2 Praise him for the great things he does!
Praise him for all his greatness!
3 Praise him with trumpets and horns!
Praise him with harps and lyres!
4 Praise him with tambourines and dancing!
Praise him with stringed instruments and flutes!
5 Praise him with loud cymbals!
Praise him with crashing cymbals!
6 Everything that breathes, praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord!
114 The people of Israel escaped from Egypt.
Yes, Jacob’s descendants left that foreign country.
2 Then Judah became God’s special people,
and Israel became his kingdom.
3 The Red Sea saw this and ran away.
The Jordan River turned and ran.
4 The mountains danced like rams.
The hills danced like lambs.
5 Red Sea, why did you run away?
Jordan River, why did you turn and run away?
6 Mountains, why did you dance like rams?
Hills, why did you dance like lambs?
7 The earth shook in front of the Lord,
the God of Jacob.
8 He is the one who caused water to flow from a rock.
He made a spring of water flow from that hard rock.
115 Lord, you should receive the honor, not us.
The honor belongs to you
because of your faithful love and loyalty.
2 Why should the nations wonder
where our God is?
3 Our God is in heaven,
and he does whatever he wants.
4 The “gods” of those nations are only statues
that some human made from gold and silver.
5 Those statues have mouths, but cannot talk.
They have eyes, but cannot see.
6 They have ears, but cannot hear.
They have noses, but cannot smell.
7 They have hands, but cannot feel.
They have feet, but cannot walk.
No sounds come from their throats.
8 The people who make and trust in those statues
will become like them!
9 People of Israel, trust in the Lord!
He is your strength and shield.
10 Aaron’s family, trust in the Lord!
He is your strength and shield.
11 Followers of the Lord, trust in the Lord!
He is your strength and shield.
12 The Lord remembers us.
He will bless us.
He will bless Israel.
He will bless Aaron’s family.
13 The Lord will bless his followers,
great and small.
14 May the Lord give more and more to you
and to your children.
15 May you receive blessings from the Lord,[a]
who made heaven and earth.
16 Heaven belongs to the Lord,
but he gave the earth to people.
17 The dead don’t praise him.
Those in the grave don’t praise the Lord.
18 But we will praise the Lord
now and forever!
Praise the Lord!
Wisdom’s Invitation
9 Wisdom has built her house; she has made it strong with seven columns.[a] 2 She has cooked meat, mixed wine, and put food on the table. 3 She has sent her servant girls to announce from the highest hill in the city,[b] 4 “Whoever needs instruction, come.” She invites all the simple people and says, 5 “Come, eat my food and drink the wine I have prepared. 6 Leave your old, foolish ways and live! Advance along the path of understanding.”
7 Criticize a person who is rude and shows no respect, and you will only get insults. Correct the wicked, and you will only get hurt. 8 Don’t correct such people, or they will hate you. But correct those who are wise, and they will love you. 9 Teach the wise, and they will become wiser. Instruct those who live right, and they will gain more knowledge.
10 Wisdom begins with fear and respect for the Lord. Knowledge of the Holy One leads to understanding. 11 Wisdom will help you live longer; she will add years to your life. 12 If you become wise, it will be for your own good. If you are rude and show no respect, you are the one who will suffer.
14 The apostles in Jerusalem heard that the people of Samaria had accepted the word of God. So they sent Peter and John to the people in Samaria. 15 When Peter and John arrived, they prayed for the Samaritan believers to receive the Holy Spirit. 16 These people had been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus, but the Holy Spirit had not yet come down on any of them. This is why Peter and John prayed. 17 When the two apostles laid their hands on the people, they received the Holy Spirit.
18 Simon saw that the Spirit was given to people when the apostles laid their hands on them. So he offered the apostles money. 19 He said, “Give me this power so that when I lay my hands on someone, they will receive the Holy Spirit.”
20 Peter said to Simon, “You and your money should both be destroyed because you thought you could buy God’s gift with money. 21 You cannot share with us in this work. Your heart is not right before God. 22 Change your heart! Turn away from these evil thoughts and pray to the Lord. Maybe he will forgive you. 23 I see that you are full of bitter jealousy and cannot stop yourself from doing wrong.”
24 Simon answered, “Both of you pray to the Lord for me, so that what you have said will not happen to me.”
25 Then the two apostles told the people what they had seen Jesus do. They told them the message of the Lord. Then they went back to Jerusalem. On the way, they went through many Samaritan towns and told people the Good News.
A Story About the Good Samaritan
25 Then an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. He said, “Teacher, what must I do to get eternal life?”
26 Jesus said to him, “What is written in the law? What do you understand from it?”
27 The man answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.’[a] Also, ‘Love your neighbor the same as you love yourself.’[b]”
28 Jesus said, “Your answer is right. Do this and you will have eternal life.”
Mary and Martha
38 While Jesus and his followers were traveling, he went into a town, and a woman named Martha let him stay at her house. 39 She had a sister named Mary. Mary was sitting at Jesus’ feet and listening to him teach. 40 But her sister Martha was busy doing all the work that had to be done. Martha went in and said, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”
41 But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are getting worried and upset about too many things. 42 Only one thing is important. Mary has made the right choice, and it will never be taken away from her.”
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International