Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 148[a]
All Creation Summoned to Praise
1 Hallelujah!
I
Praise the Lord from the heavens;
praise him in the heights.
2 Praise him, all you his angels;
give praise, all you his hosts.(A)
3 Praise him, sun and moon;
praise him, all shining stars.
4 Praise him, highest heavens,[b]
you waters above the heavens.
5 Let them all praise the Lord’s name;
for he commanded and they were created,(B)
6 Assigned them their station forever,
set an order that will never change.
II
7 Praise the Lord from the earth,
you sea monsters and all the deeps of the sea;(C)
8 Lightning and hail, snow and thick clouds,
storm wind that fulfills his command;
9 Mountains and all hills,
fruit trees and all cedars;(D)
10 Animals wild and tame,
creatures that crawl and birds that fly;(E)
11 Kings of the earth and all peoples,
princes and all who govern on earth;
12 Young men and women too,
old and young alike.
13 Let them all praise the Lord’s name,
for his name alone is exalted,
His majesty above earth and heaven.(F)
14 [c]He has lifted high the horn of his people;
to the praise of all his faithful,
the Israelites, the people near to him.
Hallelujah!
Psalm 149[d]
Praise God with Song and Sword
1 Hallelujah!
Sing to the Lord a new song,
his praise in the assembly of the faithful.(G)
2 Let Israel be glad in its maker,
the people of Zion rejoice in their king.
3 Let them praise his name in dance,
make music with tambourine and lyre.[e](H)
4 For the Lord takes delight in his people,
honors the poor with victory.
5 Let the faithful rejoice in their glory,
cry out for joy on their couches,[f]
6 With the praise of God in their mouths,
and a two-edged sword in their hands,(I)
7 To bring retribution on the nations,
punishment on the peoples,(J)
8 To bind their kings in shackles,
their nobles in chains of iron,
9 To execute the judgments decreed for them—
such is the glory[g] of all God’s faithful.
Hallelujah!
Psalm 150[h]
Final Doxology
1 Hallelujah!
Praise God in his holy sanctuary;[i](K)
give praise in the mighty dome of heaven.
2 Give praise for his mighty deeds,(L)
praise him for his great majesty.
3 Give praise with blasts upon the horn,(M)
praise him with harp and lyre.
4 Give praise with tambourines and dance,
praise him with strings and pipes.(N)
5 Give praise with crashing cymbals,
praise him with sounding cymbals.
6 Let everything that has breath
give praise to the Lord!(O)
Hallelujah!
Psalm 114[a]
The Lord’s Wonders at the Exodus
1 When Israel came forth from Egypt,
the house of Jacob from an alien people,
2 Judah became God’s sanctuary,
Israel, God’s domain.(A)
3 [b]The sea saw and fled;
the Jordan turned back.(B)
4 The mountains skipped like rams;
the hills, like lambs.(C)
5 Why was it, sea, that you fled?
Jordan, that you turned back?
6 Mountains, that you skipped like rams?
You hills, like lambs?
7 Tremble, earth, before the Lord,(D)
before the God of Jacob,
8 [c]Who turned the rock into pools of water,
flint into a flowing spring.(E)
Psalm 115[d]
The Greatness of the True God
I
1 Not to us, Lord, not to us
but to your name give glory
because of your mercy and faithfulness.(F)
2 Why should the nations say,
“Where is their God?”[e](G)
3 Our God is in heaven
and does whatever he wills.(H)
II
4 Their idols are silver and gold,(I)
the work of human hands.(J)
5 They have mouths but do not speak,
eyes but do not see.
6 They have ears but do not hear,
noses but do not smell.
7 They have hands but do not feel,
feet but do not walk;
they produce no sound from their throats.
8 Their makers will be like them,
and anyone who trusts in them.
III
9 [f]The house of Israel trusts in the Lord,(K)
who is their help and shield.(L)
10 The house of Aaron trusts in the Lord,
who is their help and shield.
11 Those who fear the Lord trust in the Lord,
who is their help and shield.
12 The Lord remembers us and will bless us,
will bless the house of Israel,
will bless the house of Aaron,
13 Will bless those who fear the Lord,
small and great alike.
14 May the Lord increase your number,
yours and your descendants.
15 May you be blessed by the Lord,
maker of heaven and earth.
16 [g]The heavens belong to the Lord,
but he has given the earth to the children of Adam.(M)
17 [h]The dead do not praise the Lord,
not all those go down into silence.(N)
18 It is we who bless the Lord,
both now and forever.
Hallelujah!
50 Thus David triumphed over the Philistine with sling and stone; he struck the Philistine dead, and did it without a sword in his hand.(A) 51 Then David ran and stood over him; with the Philistine’s own sword which he drew from its sheath he killed him, and cut off his head.(B)
Flight of the Philistines. When the Philistines saw that their hero was dead, they fled. 52 Then the men of Israel and Judah sprang up with a battle cry and pursued them to the approaches of Gath and to the gates of Ekron, and Philistines fell wounded along the road from Shaaraim as far as Gath and Ekron. 53 When they returned from their pursuit of the Philistines, the Israelites looted their camp. 54 (C)David took the head of the Philistine and brought it to Jerusalem; but he kept Goliath’s armor in his own tent.[a]
David Presented to Saul. 55 As Saul watched David go out to meet the Philistine, he asked his general Abner, “Abner, whose son is that young man?” Abner replied, “On your life, O king, I have no idea.”(D) 56 And the king said, “Find out whose son the lad is.” 57 So when David returned from slaying the Philistine, Abner escorted him into Saul’s presence. David was still holding the Philistine’s head. 58 Saul then asked him, “Whose son are you, young man?” David replied, “I am the son of your servant Jesse of Bethlehem.”
Chapter 18
David and Jonathan. 1 By the time David finished speaking with Saul, Jonathan’s life became bound up with David’s life; he loved him as his very self.(E) 2 Saul retained David on that day and did not allow him to return to his father’s house.(F) 3 Jonathan and David made a covenant, because Jonathan loved him as his very self. 4 Jonathan took off[b] the cloak he was wearing and handed it over to David, along with his military dress, even his sword, bow, and belt.(G)
4 For Christ is the end[a] of the law for the justification of everyone who has faith.(A)
5 [b]Moses writes about the righteousness that comes from [the] law, “The one who does these things will live by them.”(B) 6 But the righteousness that comes from faith says,(C) “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will go up into heaven?’ (that is, to bring Christ down) 7 [c]or ‘Who will go down into the abyss?’ (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead).”(D) 8 But what does it say?
“The word is near you,
in your mouth and in your heart”(E)
(that is, the word of faith that we preach), 9 for, if you confess[d] with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.(F) 10 For one believes with the heart and so is justified, and one confesses with the mouth and so is saved. 11 For the scripture says, “No one who believes in him will be put to shame.”(G) 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all, enriching all who call upon him.(H) 13 For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”(I)
14 [e]But how can they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how can they believe in him of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone to preach?(J) 15 And how can people preach unless they are sent? As it is written,(K) “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring [the] good news!”[f] 16 But not everyone has heeded the good news; for Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed what was heard from us?”(L) 17 Thus faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the word of Christ.(M)
29 [a]“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees,[b] you hypocrites. You build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the memorials of the righteous, 30 (A)and you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would not have joined them in shedding the prophets’ blood.’ 31 (B)Thus you bear witness against yourselves that you are the children of those who murdered the prophets; 32 now fill up what your ancestors measured out! 33 (C)You serpents, you brood of vipers, how can you flee from the judgment of Gehenna? 34 [c](D)Therefore, behold, I send to you prophets and wise men and scribes; some of them you will kill and crucify, some of them you will scourge in your synagogues and pursue from town to town, 35 so that there may come upon you all the righteous blood shed upon earth, from the righteous blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, the son of Barachiah, whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar. 36 Amen, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.
The Lament over Jerusalem.[d] 37 (E)“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how many times I yearned to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her young under her wings, but you were unwilling!(F) 38 (G)Behold, your house will be abandoned, desolate. 39 (H)I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’”
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.