Book of Common Prayer
Let All the Earth Praise the Lord
148 Hallelujah!
Praise the Lord from heaven;
praise him in the highest places.
2 Praise him, all his angels;
praise him, all his armies!
3 Praise him, sun and moon;
praise him, all you shining stars.[a]
4 Praise him, you heaven of heavens,
and you waters above the heavens.
5 Let them praise the name of the Lord,
for he himself gave the command that they be created.
6 He set them in place to last forever and ever;
he gave the command and will not rescind it.
7 Praise the Lord, you from the earth,
you creatures of the sea
and all you depths,
8 fire, hail, snow, fog, and wind storm
that carry out his command,[b]
9 mountains and every hill,
fruit trees and cedars,
10 living creatures and livestock,
insects and flying birds,
11 earthly kings and all peoples,
nobles and all court officials of the earth,
12 young men and young women alike,
along with older people and children.
13 Let them praise the name of the Lord,
for his name alone is lifted up;
his majesty transcends earth and heaven.
14 He has raised up a source of strength[c] for his people,
an object of praise for all of his holy ones,
that is, for the people of Israel who are near him.
Hallelujah!
A Song About Rejoicing in God
149 Hallelujah!
Sing a new song to the Lord,
praising him where the godly gather together.
2 May Israel rejoice in its Maker,
and Zion’s descendants in their King!
3 May they praise his name with dancing,
chanting songs to him with tambourines and lyres.
4 For the Lord is pleased with his people;
he beautifies the afflicted with salvation.
5 May those he loves be exalted,
singing for joy on their couches.
6 Let high praises to God be heard[d] in their throats,
while they wield two-edged swords in their hands
7 as they bring retribution to nations
and punishment to peoples,
8 binding their kings with chains,
their officials with iron bands,
9 and executing the judgment written against them.
This is honor for all the ones he loves.
Hallelujah!
A Psalm of Praise
150 Hallelujah!
Praise God in his Holy Place.
Praise him in his great expanse.
2 Praise him for his mighty works.
Praise him according to his excellent greatness.
3 Praise him with trumpet sounding.
Praise him with stringed instrument and harp.
4 Praise him with tambourine and dancing.
Praise him with stringed and wind instruments.
5 Praise him with loud cymbals.
Praise him with reverberating cymbals.
6 Let everyone who breathes praise the Lord.
Hallelujah!
Deliverance of Israel from Egypt
114 When Israel came out of Egypt—
the household of Jacob from a people of foreign speech—
2 Judah became his sanctuary
and Israel his place of dominion.
3 The sea saw this[a] and fled,
the Jordan River[b] ran backwards,
4 the mountains skipped like rams,
and the hills like lambs.
5 What happened to you, sea, that you fled?
Jordan, that you ran backwards?
6 Mountains, that you skipped like rams?
And you hills, that you skipped[c] like lambs?
7 Tremble then, earth, at the presence of the Lord,
at the presence of the God of Jacob,
8 who turned the rock into a pool of water,
the flinty rock into flowing springs.
The Impotence of Idols
115 Not to us, Lord, not to us,
but to your name be given glory
on account of your gracious love and faithfulness.
2 Why should the nations ask
“Where now is their God?”
3 when our God is in the heavens
and he does whatever he desires?
4 Their idols are silver and gold,
crafted by human hands.
5 They have mouths, but cannot speak;
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 touch;
feet, but cannot walk;
they cannot even groan with their throats.
8 Those who craft them will become like them,
as will all those who trust in them.
9 Israel, trust in the Lord!
He is their helper and shield.
10 House of Aaron, trust in the Lord!
He is their helper and shield.
11 You who fear the Lord, trust in the Lord!
He is their helper and shield.
12 The Lord remembers and blesses us.
He will indeed bless the house of Israel;
he will bless the house of Aaron.
13 He will bless those who fear the Lord,
both the important and the insignificant together.
14 May the Lord add to your numbers—
to you and to your descendants.
15 May you be blessed by the Lord,
who made the heavens and the earth.
16 The highest heavens[d] belong to the Lord,
but he gave the earth to human beings.
17 Neither can the dead praise the Lord,
nor those who go down into the silence of death.[e]
18 But we will bless the Lord
from now to eternity.
Hallelujah!
The Covenant of Love
6 “Now these are the commands, decrees, and ordinances that the Lord commanded me[a] to teach you. Obey them in the land you are entering to possess, 2 so that you, your children, and your grandchildren may fear the Lord your God. Keep all his decrees and commandments that I’m giving you every day of your life, so you may live a long time. 3 Listen, Israel! Be careful to obey, so that life[b] may go well for you and that you may increase greatly. Just as the Lord God of your ancestors told you, you’ll have a land flowing with milk and honey.
4 “Listen, Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone.[c] 5 You are to love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. 6 Let these words that I’m commanding you today be always[d] on your heart. 7 Teach them repeatedly to your children. Talk about them while sitting in your house or walking on the road, and as you lie down or get up. 8 Tie them as reminders[e] on your forearm, bind them on your forehead,[f] 9 and write them on the door frames of your house and on your gates.”
18 You have not come to something[a] that can be touched, to a blazing fire, to darkness, to gloom, 19 to a trumpet’s blast, or to a voice that made the hearers beg that not another word be spoken to them. 20 For they could not endure the command that was given: “If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned to death.”[b] 21 Indeed, the sight was so terrifying that Moses said, “I am trembling with fear.”[c] 22 Instead, you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, to the heavenly Jerusalem, to tens of thousands of angels joyfully gathered together, 23 to the assembly[d] of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, to a judge who is the God of all, to the spirits of righteous people who have been made perfect, 24 to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better message than Abel’s.
25 See to it that you do not ignore the one who is speaking. For if the hearers[e] did not escape when they ignored the one who warned them on earth, how much less will we escape[f] if we turn away from the one who is from heaven! 26 At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “Once more I will shake not only the earth but also heaven.”[g] 27 The expression “once more”[h] signifies the removal of what can be shaken, that is, what he has made, so that what cannot be shaken may remain. 28 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful and worship God in reverence and fear in a way that pleases him. 29 For “our God is an all-consuming fire.”[i]
24 Truly, I tell all of you[a] emphatically, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone. But if it dies, it produces a lot of grain. 25 The one who loves his life will destroy it, and the one who hates his life in this world will preserve it for eternal life. 26 If anyone serves me, he must follow me. And where I am, there my servant will also be. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.”
Jesus Speaks about His Death
27 “Now my soul is in turmoil, and what should I say—‘Father, save me from this hour’? No! It was for this very reason that I came to this hour. 28 Father, glorify your name.”
Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again!” 29 The crowd standing there heard this and said that it was thunder.
Others were saying, “An angel has spoken to him.”
30 Jesus replied, “This voice is for your benefit, not for mine. 31 Now is the time for the judgment of this world to begin.[b] Now the ruler of this world will be thrown out. 32 As for me, if I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all people to myself.”
Copyright © 1995-2014 by ISV Foundation. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. Used by permission of Davidson Press, LLC.