Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 8
God’s Glory, Man’s Dignity
For the choir director: on the Gittith.(A) A Davidic psalm.
1 Yahweh, our Lord,
how magnificent is Your name throughout the earth!(B)
You have covered the heavens with Your majesty.[a](C)
2 Because of Your adversaries,
You have established a stronghold[b]
from the mouths of children and nursing infants(D)
to silence the enemy and the avenger.
3 When I observe Your heavens,
the work of Your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
which You set in place,(E)
4 what is man that You remember him,
the son of man that You look after him?(F)
5 You made him little less than God[c][d]
and crowned him with glory and honor.
6 You made him lord over the works of Your hands;
You put everything under his feet:[e](G)
7 all the sheep and oxen,
as well as the animals in the wild,
8 the birds of the sky,
and the fish of the sea
that pass through the currents of the seas.(H)
9 Yahweh, our Lord,
how magnificent is Your name throughout the earth!
Psalm 148
Creation’s Praise of the Lord
1 Hallelujah!
Praise the Lord from the heavens;
praise Him in the heights.(A)
2 Praise Him, all His angels;
praise Him, all His hosts.(B)
3 Praise Him, sun and moon;
praise Him, all you shining stars.(C)
4 Praise Him, highest heavens,
and you waters above the heavens.(D)
5 Let them praise the name of Yahweh,
for He commanded, and they were created.(E)
6 He set them in position forever and ever;
He gave an order that will never pass away.(F)
7 Praise the Lord from the earth,
all sea monsters and ocean depths,(G)
8 lightning[a] and hail, snow and cloud,
powerful wind that executes His command,(H)
9 mountains and all hills,
fruit trees and all cedars,(I)
10 wild animals and all cattle,
creatures that crawl and flying birds,(J)
11 kings of the earth and all peoples,
princes and all judges of the earth,(K)
12 young men as well as young women,
old and young together.(L)
13 Let them praise the name of Yahweh,
for His name alone is exalted.
His majesty covers heaven and earth.(M)
14 He has raised up a horn for His people,
resulting in praise to all His godly ones,
to the Israelites, the people close to Him.(N)
Hallelujah!
The Lord Speaks
38 Then the Lord answered Job from the whirlwind.(A) He said:
2 Who is this who obscures My counsel
with ignorant words?(B)
3 Get ready to answer Me like a man;
when I question(C) you, you will inform Me.
4 Where were you when I established(D) the earth?
Tell Me, if you have[a] understanding.
5 Who fixed its dimensions? Certainly you know!
Who stretched a measuring line across it?
6 What supports its foundations?
Or who laid its cornerstone
7 while the morning stars sang together
and all the sons of God(E) shouted for joy?
The Nature of the Son
1 Long ago God spoke(A) to the fathers by the prophets(B) at different times and in different ways.(C) 2 In these last days,(D) He has spoken to us by His Son. God has appointed Him heir of all things and made the universe[a](E) through Him. 3 The Son is the radiance[b] of God’s glory and the exact expression[c] of His nature, sustaining all things by His powerful word. After making purification for sins,[d] He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.[e](F) 4 So He became higher in rank than the angels, just as the name He inherited is superior to theirs.(G)
The Son Superior to Angels
5 For to which of the angels did He ever say, You are My Son; today I have become Your Father,[f][g] or again, I will be His Father, and He will be My Son?(H)[h] 6 When He again[i] brings His firstborn into the world,(I) He says, And all God’s angels must worship Him.(J)[j] 7 And about the angels He says:
8 but to[n] the Son:
Your throne, God,
is forever and ever,
and the scepter of Your kingdom
is a scepter of justice.(L)
9 You have loved righteousness
and hated lawlessness;
this is why God, Your God,
has anointed You
with the oil of joy(M)
rather than Your companions.[o][p]
10 And:
In the beginning, Lord,
You established the earth,
and the heavens are the works of Your hands;(N)
11 they will perish, but You remain.
They will all wear out like clothing;(O)
12 You will roll them up like a cloak,[q]
and they will be changed like a robe.
But You are the same,
and Your years will never end.(P)[r]
13 Now to which of the angels has He ever said:
14 Are they not all ministering spirits sent out to serve those who are going to inherit salvation?(R)
Psalm 34
The Lord Delivers the Righteous
Concerning David, when he pretended to be insane in the presence of Abimelech,[a](A) who drove him out, and he departed.
1 I[b] will praise the Lord at all times;
His praise will always be on my lips.(B)
2 I will boast in the Lord;(C)
the humble will hear and be glad.(D)
3 Proclaim Yahweh’s greatness with me;(E)
let us exalt His name together.(F)
4 I sought the Lord, and He answered me
and delivered me from all my fears.(G)
5 Those who look to Him are[c] radiant with joy;(H)
their faces will never be ashamed.(I)
6 This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him
and saved him from all his troubles.(J)
7 The Angel of the Lord encamps
around those who fear Him, and rescues them.(K)
8 Taste and see that the Lord is good.(L)
How happy is the man who takes refuge in Him!(M)
9 You who are His holy ones, fear Yahweh,
for those who fear Him lack nothing.(N)
10 Young lions[d] lack food and go hungry,(O)
but those who seek the Lord
will not lack any good thing.(P)
11 Come, children, listen to me;
I will teach you the fear of the Lord.(Q)
12 Who is the man who delights in life,
loving a long life to enjoy what is good?(R)
13 Keep your tongue from evil
and your lips from deceitful speech.(S)
14 Turn away from evil and do what is good;(T)
seek peace and pursue it.(U)
15 The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,
and His ears are open to their cry for help.(V)
16 The face of the Lord is set
against those who do what is evil,(W)
to erase[e] all memory of them from the earth.(X)
17 The righteous[f] cry out, and the Lord hears,
and delivers them from all their troubles.(Y)
18 The Lord is near the brokenhearted;
He saves those crushed in spirit.(Z)
19 Many adversities come to the one who is righteous,
but the Lord delivers him from them all.(AA)
20 He protects all his bones;
not one of them is broken.(AB)
21 Evil brings death to the wicked,
and those who hate the righteous will be punished.(AC)
22 The Lord redeems the life of His servants,
and all who take refuge in Him will not be punished.(AD)
Psalm 150
Praise the Lord
1 Hallelujah!
Praise God in His sanctuary.
Praise Him in His mighty heavens.(A)
2 Praise Him for His powerful acts;(B)
praise Him for His abundant greatness.(C)
3 Praise Him with trumpet blast;(D)
praise Him with harp and lyre.(E)
4 Praise Him with tambourine and dance;(F)
praise Him with flute and strings.(G)
5 Praise Him with resounding cymbals;
praise Him with clashing cymbals.(H)
6 Let everything that breathes praise the Lord.(I)
Hallelujah!
Psalm 104
God the Creator
1 My soul, praise Yahweh!
Lord my God, You are very great;
You are clothed with majesty and splendor.(A)
2 He wraps Himself in light as if it were a robe,
spreading out the sky like a canopy,(B)
3 laying the beams of His palace
on the waters above,(C)
making the clouds His chariot,(D)
walking on the wings of the wind,(E)
4 and making the winds His messengers,[a]
flames of fire His servants.(F)
5 He established the earth on its foundations;
it will never be shaken.(G)
6 You covered it with the deep
as if it were a garment;
the waters stood above the mountains.(H)
7 At Your rebuke the waters fled;
at the sound of Your thunder they hurried away(I)—
8 mountains rose and valleys sank[b]—
to the place You established for them.(J)
9 You set a boundary they cannot cross;
they will never cover the earth again.(K)
10 He causes the springs to gush into the valleys;
they flow between the mountains.(L)
11 They supply water for every wild beast;
the wild donkeys quench their thirst.(M)
12 The birds of the sky live beside the springs;
they sing among the foliage.(N)
13 He waters the mountains from His palace;
the earth is satisfied by the fruit of Your labor.(O)
14 He causes grass to grow for the livestock
and provides crops for man to cultivate,
producing food from the earth,(P)
15 wine that makes man’s heart glad—
making his face shine with oil—
and bread that sustains man’s heart.(Q)
16 The trees of the Lord flourish,[c]
the cedars of Lebanon that He planted.(R)
17 There the birds make their nests;
the stork makes its home in the pine trees.(S)
18 The high mountains are for the wild goats;
the cliffs are a refuge for hyraxes.(T)
19 He made the moon to mark the[d] festivals;[e]
the sun knows when to set.(U)
20 You bring darkness, and it becomes night,
when all the forest animals stir.(V)
21 The young lions roar for their prey
and seek their food from God.(W)
22 The sun rises; they go back
and lie down in their dens.(X)
23 Man goes out to his work
and to his labor until evening.(Y)
24 How countless are Your works, Lord!
In wisdom You have made them all;
the earth is full of Your creatures.[f](Z)
25 Here is the sea, vast and wide,
teeming with creatures beyond number—
living things both large and small.(AA)
26 There the ships move about,
and Leviathan, which You formed to play there.(AB)
27 All of them wait for You
to give them their food at the right time.(AC)
28 When You give it to them,
they gather it;
when You open Your hand,
they are satisfied with good things.(AD)
29 When You hide Your face,
they are terrified;
when You take away their breath,
they die and return to the dust.(AE)
30 When You send Your breath,[g]
they are created,
and You renew the face of the earth.(AF)
31 May the glory of the Lord endure forever;
may the Lord rejoice in His works.(AG)
32 He looks at the earth, and it trembles;
He touches the mountains,
and they pour out smoke.(AH)
33 I will sing to the Lord all my life;
I will sing praise to my God while I live.(AI)
34 May my meditation be pleasing to Him;
I will rejoice in the Lord.(AJ)
35 May sinners vanish from the earth
and wicked people be no more.(AK)
My soul, praise Yahweh!
Hallelujah!
21 “Then if anyone tells you, ‘Look, here is the Messiah!(A) Look—there!’ do not believe it! 22 For false messiahs[a] and false prophets will rise up and will perform signs and wonders(B) to lead astray, if possible, the elect. 23 And you must watch! I have told you everything in advance.
The Coming of the Son of Man
24 “But in those days, after that tribulation:(C)
The sun will be darkened,
and the moon will not shed its light;
25 the stars(D) will be falling from the sky,
and the celestial powers will be shaken.(E)
26 Then they will see the Son of Man(F) coming(G) in clouds(H) with great power(I) and glory.(J) 27 He will send out the angels(K) and gather His elect(L) from the four winds, from the end of the earth to the end of the sky.(M)
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