Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 148
148 Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord from heaven!
Praise God on the heights!
2 Praise God, all of you who are his messengers!
Praise God, all of you who comprise his heavenly forces!
3 Sun and moon, praise God!
All of you bright stars, praise God!
4 You highest heaven, praise God!
Do the same, you waters that are above the sky!
5 Let all of these praise the Lord’s name
because God gave the command and they were created!
6 God set them in place always and forever.
God made a law that will not be broken.
7 Praise the Lord from the earth,
you sea monsters and all you ocean depths!
8 Do the same, fire and hail, snow and smoke,
stormy wind that does what God says!
9 Do the same, you mountains, every single hill,
fruit trees, and every single cedar!
10 Do the same, you animals—wild or tame—
you creatures that creep along and you birds that fly!
11 Do the same, you kings of the earth and every single person,
you princes and every single ruler on earth!
12 Do the same, you young men—young women too!—
you who are old together with you who are young!
13 Let all of these praise the Lord’s name
because only God’s name is high over all.
Only God’s majesty is over earth and heaven.
14 God raised the strength[a] of his people,
the praise of all his faithful ones—
that’s the Israelites,
the people who are close to him.
Praise the Lord!
Psalm 150
150 Praise the Lord!
Praise God in his sanctuary!
Praise God in his fortress, the sky!
2 Praise God in his mighty acts!
Praise God as suits his incredible greatness!
3 Praise God with the blast of the ram’s horn!
Praise God with lute and lyre!
4 Praise God with drum and dance!
Praise God with strings and pipe!
5 Praise God with loud cymbals!
Praise God with clashing cymbals!
6 Let every living thing praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord!
Psalm 91
91 Living in the Most High’s shelter,
camping in the Almighty’s[a] shade,
2 I say to the Lord, “You are my refuge, my stronghold!
You are my God—the one I trust!”
3 God will save you from the hunter’s trap
and from deadly sickness.
4 God will protect you with his pinions;
you’ll find refuge under his wings.
His faithfulness is a protective shield.
5 Don’t be afraid of terrors at night,
arrows that fly in daylight,
6 or sickness that prowls in the dark,
destruction that ravages at noontime.
7 Even if one thousand people fall dead next to you,
ten thousand right beside you—
it won’t happen to you.
8 Just look with your eyes,
and you will see the wicked punished.
9 Because you’ve made the Lord my refuge,
the Most High, your place of residence—
10 no evil will happen to you;
no disease will come close to your tent.
11 Because he will order his messengers to help you,
to protect you wherever you go.
12 They will carry you with their own hands
so you don’t bruise your foot on a stone.
13 You’ll march on top of lions and vipers;
you’ll trample young lions and serpents underfoot.
14 God says,[b] “Because you are devoted to me,
I’ll rescue you.
I’ll protect you because you know my name.
15 Whenever you cry out to me, I’ll answer.
I’ll be with you in troubling times.
I’ll save you and glorify you.
16 I’ll fill you full with old age.
I’ll show you my salvation.”
Psalm 92
A psalm. A song for the Sabbath day.
92 It is good to give thanks to the Lord,
to sing praises to your name, Most High;
2 to proclaim your loyal love in the morning,
your faithfulness at nighttime
3 with the ten-stringed harp,
with the melody of the lyre
4 because you’ve made me happy, Lord,
by your acts.
I sing with joy because of your handiwork.
5 How awesome are your works, Lord!
Your thoughts are so deep!
6 Ignorant people don’t know—
fools don’t understand this:
7 though the wicked spring up like grass
and all evildoers seem to blossom,
they do so only to be destroyed forever.
8 But you, Lord, are exalted forever!
9 Look at your enemies, Lord!
Look at how your enemies die,
how all evildoers are scattered abroad!
10 But you’ve made me as strong as a wild ox.
I’m soaked in precious ointment.
11 My eyes have seen my enemies’ defeat;
my ears have heard the downfall of my evil foes.
12 The righteous will spring up like a palm tree.
They will grow strong like a cedar of Lebanon.
13 Those who have been replanted in the Lord’s house
will spring up in the courtyards of our God.
14 They will bear fruit even when old and gray;
they will remain lush and fresh 15 in order to proclaim:
“The Lord is righteous.
He’s my rock.
There’s nothing unrighteous in him.”
13 Therefore, the Lord God says:
Look, my servants will eat, but you will hunger.
My servants will drink, but you will thirst.
My servants will rejoice, but you will be ashamed.
14 My servants will sing with contented hearts,
but you will cry out from heartache;
with broken spirits you will wail.
15 You will leave your name behind for my chosen ones to curse:
“May the Lord God kill you!
May he call his servants by a different name!”
16 Those who pronounce a blessing in the land
will do so by the God called Amen;
those who make a solemn pledge in the land will do so by the God called Amen.[a]
Past troubles will be forgotten
and hidden from my sight.
Message to Philadelphia
7 “Write this to the angel of the church in Philadelphia:
These are the words of the one who is holy and true, who has the key of David. Whatever he opens, no one will shut; and whatever he shuts, no one opens. 8 I know your works. Look! I have set in front of you an open door that no one can shut. You have so little power, and yet you have kept my word and haven’t denied my name. 9 Because of this I will make the people from Satan’s synagogue (who say they are Jews and really aren’t, but are lying)—I will make them come and bow down at your feet and realize that I have loved you. 10 Because you kept my command to endure, I will keep you safe through the time of testing that is about to come over the whole world, to test those who live on earth. 11 I’m coming soon. Hold on to what you have so that no one takes your crown. 12 As for those who emerge victorious, I will make them pillars in the temple of my God, and they will never leave it. I will write on them the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the New Jerusalem that comes down out of heaven from my God. I will also write on them my own new name. 13 If you can hear, listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches.
15 Jesus understood that they were about to come and force him to be their king, so he took refuge again, alone on a mountain.
Jesus walks on water
16 When evening came, Jesus’ disciples went down to the lake. 17 They got into a boat and were crossing the lake to Capernaum. It was already getting dark and Jesus hadn’t come to them yet. 18 The water was getting rough because a strong wind was blowing. 19 When the wind had driven them out for about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the water. He was approaching the boat and they were afraid. 20 He said to them, “I Am.[a] Don’t be afraid.” 21 Then they wanted to take him into the boat, and just then the boat reached the land where they had been heading.
22 The next day the crowd that remained on the other side of the lake realized that only one boat had been there. They knew Jesus hadn’t gone with his disciples, but that the disciples had gone alone. 23 Some boats came from Tiberias, near the place where they had eaten the bread over which the Lord had given thanks. 24 When the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they got into the boats and came to Capernaum looking for Jesus. 25 When they found him on the other side of the lake, they asked him, “Rabbi, when did you get here?”
Bread of life
26 Jesus replied, “I assure you that you are looking for me not because you saw miraculous signs but because you ate all the food you wanted. 27 Don’t work for the food that doesn’t last but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Human One[b] will give you. God the Father has confirmed him as his agent to give life.”
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible