Book of Common Prayer
Let All Creation Praise Yahweh
148 Praise Yah.[a]
Praise Yahweh from the heavens;
praise him in the heights.
2 Praise him, all his angels;
praise him, all his hosts.[b]
3 Praise him, sun and moon;
praise him, all stars of light.
4 Praise him, highest heavens,[c]
and waters above the heavens.
5 Let them praise the name of Yahweh,
because he commanded and they were created.
6 And he put them in place forever and ever,
by a decree he gave that will not pass away.
7 Praise Yahweh from the earth—
great sea creatures and all deeps,
8 fire and hail, snow and cloud,[d]
stormy wind doing his bidding,[e]
9 the mountains and all hills,
fruit trees and all cedars,
10 beasts and all cattle,[f]
creeping things and flying birds,[g]
11 kings of the earth and all peoples,
princes and all judges of the earth,
12 young men and young women as well,
the old together with the young—
13 let them praise the name of Yahweh,
because his name alone is is exalted.
His splendor is above earth and heavens.
14 And he has raised high a horn for his people,
praise for all his faithful—
for the children of Israel,
a people close to him.
Praise Yah.[h]
Praise to God for His Future Judgment
149 Praise Yah.[i]
Sing to Yahweh a new song,
his praise in the assembly of the faithful.
2 Let Israel be glad in its maker;
let the children of Zion rejoice in their king.
3 Let them praise his name with dancing;
let them sing praises to him with tambourine and lyre.
4 For Yahweh takes pleasure in his people;
he glorifies the afflicted with salvation.
5 Let the faithful exult in glory;
let them sing for joy on their beds.
6 Let the extolling of God be in their throat,
and a double-edged sword in their hand,
7 to execute vengeance on the nations
and punishment on the peoples,[j]
8 to bind their kings with chains
and their nobles[k] with fetters of iron,
9 to execute on them the judgment that is decreed.[l]
This will be honor for all his faithful ones;
Praise Yah.[m]
Let Everything Praise Yahweh
150 Praise Yah.[n]
Praise God in his sanctuary;
praise him in his mighty firmament.
2 Praise him for his mighty deeds;
praise him according to the abundance of his greatness.
3 Praise him with blast of horn;
praise him with harp and lyre.
4 Praise him with tambourine and dancing;
praise him with strings and flute.
5 Praise him with sounding cymbals;
praise him with clashing cymbals.
6 Every breathing thing,
let it praise Yah.[o]
Praise Yah.[p]
Praise to God for His Works During the Exodus
114 When Israel went out from Egypt,
the house of Jacob from a people of a strange language,
2 Judah became his sanctuary,
Israel his dominion.
3 The sea looked and fled;
the Jordan turned back.
4 The mountains skipped like rams,
the hills like lambs.[a]
5 What’s with you, O sea, that you fled?
O Jordan, that you turned back?
6 O mountains, that you skipped like rams?
O hills, like lambs?
7 At the presence of the Lord writhe, O earth,[b]
at the presence of the God of Jacob,
8 who turned the rock into a pool of water,
flinty stone into a spring of water.
Dead Idols and the Living God
115 Not to us, O Yahweh, not to us,
but to your name give glory,
because of your loyal love,
because of your faithfulness.
2 Why should the nations say,
“Where, pray tell,[c] is their God?”
3 But our God is in the heavens;
all that he desires, he does.
4 Their idols are silver and gold,
the work of 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 their hands, but they cannot feel,
their feet, but they cannot walk;
they cannot utter a sound in their throats.
8 Those who make them become like them,
as does everyone who trusts in them.
9 O Israel, trust Yahweh;
he is their help and their shield.
10 O house of Aaron, trust in Yahweh;
he is their help and their shield.
11 You who fear Yahweh, trust in Yahweh;
he is their help and their shield.
12 Yahweh remembers us; he will bless us.
He will bless the house of Israel;
he will bless the house of Aaron.
13 He will bless those who fear Yahweh,
the small with the great.
14 May Yahweh give you increase,
you and your children.
15 May you be blessed by Yahweh,
who made heaven and earth.
16 The heavens are Yahweh’s heavens,
but the earth he has given to the children of humankind.
17 The dead do not praise Yah,[d]
nor any descending into silence.
18 It is we, we will bless Yah[e]
from now until forever.
Praise Yah![f]
Jeremiah’s Letter to the Exiles in Babylon
29 And these are the words of the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem to the remainder of the exiles,[a] and to the priests, and to the prophets, and to all the people whom Nebuchadnezzar had deported from Jerusalem to Babylon,
4 “Thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles[a] whom I have deported from Jerusalem to Babylon, 5 ‘Build houses and live in them,[b] and plant gardens and eat their fruit. 6 Take wives and father sons and daughters, and take for your sons wives, and give your daughters to men that they may bear sons and daughters, and multiply there, and you must not be few. 7 And seek the prosperity of the city where I have deported you, and pray on behalf of it to Yahweh, for in its prosperity you will have prosperity.’
8 For thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel, ‘Do not let your prophets who are in your midst, and your diviners, deceive you, and you must not listen to your dreams that you are causing them to dream. 9 For they are prophesying falsely[c] to you in my name; I have not sent them,’ declares[d] Yahweh. 10 For thus says Yahweh, ‘As soon as the time has passed,[e] seventy years[f] for Babylon, I will attend to you, and I will fulfill my good word to you, to bring you back to this place. 11 For I know the plans that I am planning concerning you,’ declares[g] Yahweh, ‘plans for prosperity and not for harm, to give to you a future and a hope. 12 Then when you call me, and you come and pray to me, then I will listen to you. 13 When you search for me, then you will find me, if you seek me with all your heart. 14 And I will let myself be found by you,’ declares[h] Yahweh, ‘and I will restore your fortunes,[i] and I will gather you from all the nations and from all the places to which I have driven you,’ declares[j] Yahweh, ‘and I will bring you back to the place from which I deported you.’
Paul’s Vision of a Man of Macedonia
6 And they traveled through the Phrygian and Galatian region, having been prevented by the Holy Spirit from speaking the message in Asia.[a] 7 And when they[b] came to Mysia, they attempted to go into Bithynia, and the Spirit of Jesus did not permit them. 8 So going through Mysia, they went down to Troas. 9 And a vision appeared to Paul during the night: a certain Macedonian man was standing there and imploring him and saying, “Come over to Macedonia and[c] help us!” 10 And when he had seen the vision, we wanted at once to go away to Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to proclaim the good news to them.
The Conversion of Lydia at Philippi
11 So putting out to sea from Troas, we sailed a straight course to Samothrace, and on the following day to Neapolis, 12 and from there to Philippi, which is a leading city of that district of Macedonia, a Roman colony. And we were staying in this city for some days. 13 And on the day of the Sabbath, we went outside the city gate beside the river, where we thought there was a place of prayer, and we sat down and[d] spoke to the women assembled there. 14 And a certain woman named[e] Lydia from the city of Thyatira, a merchant dealing in purple cloth who showed reverence for God, was listening. The Lord opened her[f] heart to pay attention to what was being said by Paul. 15 And after she was baptized, and her household, she urged us,[g] saying, “If you consider me to be a believer in the Lord, come to my house and[h] stay.” And she prevailed upon us.
The Seventy-Two Appointed and Sent Out
10 And after these things, the Lord also[a] appointed seventy-two others and sent them out two by two before him[b] into every town and place where he was about to go. 2 And he said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Therefore ask the Lord of the harvest that he send out workers into his harvest. 3 Go! Behold, I am sending you out like lambs in the midst of wolves! 4 Do not carry a money bag or a traveler’s bag or sandals, and greet no one along the road. 5 And into whatever house you enter, first say, “Peace be to this household!” 6 And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest on him. But if not, it will return to you. 7 And remain in the same house, eating and drinking whatever they provide,[c] for the worker is worthy of his pay. Do not move from house to house. 8 And into whatever town you enter and they welcome you, eat whatever is[d] set before you, 9 and heal the sick in it, and say to them, “The kingdom of God has come near to you.” 10 But into whatever town you enter and they do not welcome you, go out into its streets and[e] say, 11 “Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet we wipe off against you! Nevertheless know this: that the kingdom of God has come near!”[f] 12 I tell you that it will be more bearable on that day for Sodom than for that town!
17 And the seventy-two returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!” 18 So he said to them, “I saw Satan falling like lightning from heaven. 19 Behold, I have given you the authority to tread on snakes and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing will ever harm you. 20 Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are inscribed in heaven.”
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