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!
Nebuchadnezzar’s Testimonial
from Nebuchadnezzar
the King
To the people of all nations and languages who live on earth.
Peace and prosperity to you!
2 It gives me great pleasure to tell about the signs and wonders that the Most High God has done for me.
3 How great are his signs!
How powerful are his wonders!
His kingdom is an eternal kingdom, and his dominion lasts from generation to generation.
Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream
4 [c]I, Nebuchadnezzar, was resting in my home and prospering in my palace. 5 I had a dream that made me afraid. The thoughts that went through my mind while in bed and the visions in my head terrified me. 6 So I gave an order to bring in all of the advisors[d] of Babylon so they would tell me the interpretation of the dream.
7 Then the diviners, enchanters,[e] Chaldeans, and astrologers[f] came in, and I told them the dream. But they could not reveal its interpretation to me. 8 Eventually, Daniel appeared before me. (He is called Belteshazzar, in accordance with the name of my god, and the spirit of the holy gods is within him.) I told him my dream:
9 “Belteshazzar, chief of the diviners, since I know that the spirit of the holy gods is within you, and no mystery too difficult for you, explain to me the vision of my dream that I saw, along with its interpretation. 10 This is what I saw in the visions of my head while I was in bed: I was looking and—listen carefully!—I saw a tree in the middle of the earth, the height of which was very great. 11 The tree grew large, became strong, and its top reached the sky. It could be seen to the ends of the earth. 12 Its foliage was beautiful, its fruit bountiful, and its food sufficient for everyone. The animals of the field found shade under it, the birds of the sky lived in its branches, and every creature was fed from it.
13 “Then I saw in the visions of my head while I was in bed—and take careful notice!—I saw a holy observer descend from heaven. 14 He called out aloud:
‘Cut down the tree and cut off its branches. Strip off its foliage and scatter its fruit. Let the animals get out from under it, and let the birds leave[g] its branches. 15 Nevertheless, leave the stump and its roots in the ground, but bind it with iron and bronze in the field grass. Let him be drenched with dew from the sky, and let him graze with the animals in the grass of the earth. 16 Let his mind be changed from that of a man, and let him be given the mind of an animal until seven seasons of time pass by for him. 17 This order is announced by the observers, and the holy ones declare the verdict, so that the living may know that the Most High is sovereign over human kingdoms and grants them to whomever he desires, and he places the least important of men over them.’
18 “This is the dream that I, King Nebuchadnezzar, saw. Belteshazzar, tell me its meaning, since none of the advisors[h] in my kingdom can tell me its interpretation. But you are able to do so[i] because the spirit of the holy gods is in you.”
7 Because everything will soon come to an end, be sensible and clear-headed, so you can pray. 8 Above all, continue to love each other deeply, because love covers a multitude of sins. 9 Show hospitality to one another without complaining. 10 As good servant managers of God’s grace in its various forms, serve one another with the gift each of you has received. 11 Whoever speaks must speak God’s words.[a] Whoever serves must serve with the strength[b] that God supplies, so that in every way God may be glorified through Jesus, the Messiah.[c] Glory and power belong to him forever and ever! Amen.
Jesus Speaks with Peter
15 When they had finished breakfast, Jesus asked Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?”
Peter[a] told him, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”
Jesus[b] told him, “Feed my lambs.”
16 Then he asked him a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?”
Peter[c] told him, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”
Jesus[d] told him, “Take care of my sheep.” 17 He asked him a third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?”
Peter was deeply hurt that he had asked him a third time, “Do you love me?” So he told him, “Lord, you know everything. You know that I love you!”
Jesus told him, “Feed my sheep. 18 “Truly, I tell you[e] emphatically, when you were young, you would fasten your belt and go wherever you liked. But when you get old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will fasten your belt and take you where you don’t want to go.” 19 Now he said this to show by what kind of death he would glorify God.
After saying this, Jesus[f] told him, “Keep following me.”
Jesus and the Beloved Disciple
20 Peter turned around and noticed the disciple whom Jesus kept loving following them. He was the one who had put his head on Jesus’ chest at the supper and had asked, “Lord, who is the one who is going to betray you?”
21 When Peter saw him, he said, “Lord, what about him?”
22 Jesus told him, “If it’s my will for him to remain until I come back, how does that concern you? You must keep following me!” 23 So the rumor spread among the brothers[g] that this disciple wasn’t going to die. Yet Jesus didn’t say to Peter[h] that he wasn’t going to die, but, “If it’s my will for him to remain until I come back, how does that concern you?”
24 This is the disciple who is testifying to these things and has written them down. We know that his testimony is true.
25 Of course, Jesus also did many other things, and I suppose that if every one of them were written down, the world couldn’t contain the books that would be written.
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