Book of Common Prayer
148 Praise the Lord.
Praise the Lord from the heavens.
Praise him in the heavens above.
2 Praise him, all his angels.
Praise him, all his angels in heaven.
3 Praise him, sun and moon.
Praise him, all you shining stars.
4 Praise him, you highest heavens.
Praise him, you waters above the skies.
5 Let all of them praise the name of the Lord,
because at his command they were created.
6 He established them for ever and ever.
He gave them laws they will always have to obey.
7 Praise the Lord from the earth,
you great sea creatures and all the deepest parts of the ocean.
8 Praise him, lightning and hail, snow and clouds.
Praise him, you stormy winds that obey him.
9 Praise him, all you mountains and hills.
Praise him, all you fruit trees and cedar trees.
10 Praise him, all you wild animals and cattle.
Praise him, you small creatures and flying birds.
11 Praise him, you kings of the earth and all nations.
Praise him, all you princes and rulers on earth.
12 Praise him, young men and women.
Praise him, old men and children.
13 Let them praise the name of the Lord.
His name alone is honored.
His glory is higher than the earth and the heavens.
14 He has given his people a strong king.
All his faithful people praise him for that gift.
All the people of Israel are close to his heart.
Praise the Lord.
149 Praise the Lord.
Sing a new song to the Lord.
Sing praise to him in the assembly of his faithful people.
2 Let Israel be filled with joy because God is their Maker.
Let the people of Zion be glad because he is their King.
3 Let them praise his name with dancing.
Let them make music to him with harps and tambourines.
4 The Lord takes delight in his people.
He awards with victory those who are humble.
5 Let his faithful people be filled with joy because of that honor.
Let them sing for joy even when they are lying in bed.
6 May they praise God with their mouths.
May they hold in their hands a sword that has two edges.
7 Let them pay the nations back.
Let them punish the people of the earth.
8 Let them put the kings of those nations in chains.
Let them put their nobles in iron chains.
9 Let them carry out God’s sentence against those nations.
This will bring glory to all his faithful people.
Praise the Lord.
150 Praise the Lord.
Praise God in his holy temple.
Praise him in his mighty heavens.
2 Praise him for his powerful acts.
Praise him because he is greater than anything else.
3 Praise him by blowing trumpets.
Praise him with harps and lyres.
4 Praise him with tambourines and dancing.
Praise him with stringed instruments and flutes.
5 Praise him with clashing cymbals.
Praise him with clanging cymbals.
6 Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.
Praise the Lord.
113 Praise the Lord.
Praise him, you who serve the Lord.
Praise the name of the Lord.
2 Let us praise the name of the Lord,
both now and forever.
3 From the sunrise in the east to the sunset in the west,
may the name of the Lord be praised.
4 The Lord is honored over all the nations.
His glory reaches to the highest heavens.
5 Who is like the Lord our God?
He sits on his throne in heaven.
6 He bends down to look
at the heavens and the earth.
7 He raises poor people up from the trash pile.
He lifts needy people out of the ashes.
8 He causes them to sit with princes.
He causes them to sit with the princes of his people.
9 He gives children to the woman who doesn’t have any children.
He makes her a happy mother in her own home.
Praise the Lord.
114 The people of Israel came out of Egypt.
The people of Jacob left a land where a different language was spoken.
2 Then Judah became the holy place where God lived.
Israel became the land he ruled over.
3 The Red Sea saw him and parted.
The Jordan River stopped flowing.
4 The mountains leaped like rams.
The hills skipped like lambs.
5 Red Sea, why did you part?
Jordan River, why did you stop flowing?
6 Why did you mountains leap like rams?
Why did you hills skip like lambs?
7 Earth, tremble with fear when the Lord comes.
Tremble when the God of Jacob is near.
8 He turned the rock into a pool.
He turned the hard rock into springs of water.
118 Give thanks to the Lord, because he is good.
His faithful love continues forever.
2 Let the people of Israel say,
“His faithful love continues forever.”
3 Let the priests of Aaron say,
“His faithful love continues forever.”
4 Let those who have respect for the Lord say,
“His faithful love continues forever.”
5 When I was in great trouble, I cried out to the Lord.
He answered me and set me free from my trouble.
6 The Lord is with me. I will not be afraid.
What can mere human beings do to me?
7 The Lord is with me. He helps me.
I win the battle over my enemies.
8 It is better to go to the Lord for safety
than to trust in mere human beings.
9 It is better to go to the Lord for safety
than to trust in human leaders.
10 The nations were all around me.
But by the Lord’s power I destroyed them.
11 They were around me on every side.
But by the Lord’s power I destroyed them.
12 They attacked me like swarms of bees.
But they were burned up as quickly as thorns in a fire.
By the Lord’s power I destroyed them.
13 I was pushed back and about to be killed.
But the Lord helped me.
14 The Lord gives me strength and makes me secure.
He has saved me.
15 Shouts of joy ring out in the tents of godly people.
They praise him for his help in battle.
They shout, “The Lord’s powerful right hand has done mighty things!
16 The Lord’s powerful right hand has won the battle!
The Lord’s powerful right hand has done mighty things!”
17 I will not die but live.
I will talk about what the Lord has done.
18 The Lord has really punished me.
But he didn’t let me die.
19 Open for me the gates where the godly can go in.
I will enter and give thanks to the Lord.
20 This is the gate of the Lord.
Only those who do what is right can go through it.
21 Lord, I will give thanks to you, because you answered me.
You have saved me.
22 The stone the builders didn’t accept
has become the most important stone of all.
23 The Lord has done it.
It is wonderful in our eyes.
24 The Lord has done it on this day.
Let us be joyful today and be glad.
25 Lord, save us.
Lord, give us success.
26 Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.
From the temple of the Lord we bless you.
27 The Lord is God.
He has been good to us.
Take branches in your hands. Join in the march on the day of the feast.
March up to the corners of the altar.
28 You are my God, and I will praise you.
You are my God, and I will honor you.
29 Give thanks to the Lord, because he is good.
His faithful love continues forever.
The First Passover Sacrifice
12 The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron in Egypt. 2 He said, “From now on, this month will be your first month. Each of your years will begin with it. 3 Speak to the whole community of Israel. Tell them that on the tenth day of this month each man must get a lamb from his flock. A lamb should be chosen for each family and home. 4 Suppose there are not enough people in your family to eat a whole lamb. Then you must share some of it with your nearest neighbor. You must add up the total number of people there are. You must decide how much lamb is needed for each person. 5 The animals you choose must be males that are a year old. They must not have any flaws. You may choose either sheep or goats. 6 Take care of them until the 14th day of the month. Then the whole community of Israel must kill them when the sun goes down. 7 Take some of the blood. Put it on the sides and tops of the doorframes of the houses where you eat the lambs. 8 That same night eat the meat cooked over a fire. Also eat bitter plants. And eat bread made without yeast. 9 Do not eat the meat when it is raw. Don’t boil it in water. Instead, cook it over a fire. Cook the head, legs and inside parts. 10 Do not leave any of it until morning. If some is left over until morning, burn it up. 11 Eat the meat while your coat is tucked into your belt. Put your sandals on your feet. Take your walking stick in your hand. Eat the food quickly. It is the Lord’s Passover.
12 “That same night I will pass through Egypt. I will strike down all those born first among the people and animals. And I will judge all the gods of Egypt. I am the Lord. 13 The blood on your houses will be a sign for you. When I see the blood, I will pass over you. No deadly plague will touch you when I strike Egypt.
14 “Always remember this day. You and your children after you must celebrate this day as a feast to honor the Lord. You must do this for all time to come. It is a law that will last forever.
9 Wake up, arm of the Lord! Wake up!
Dress yourself with strength as if it were your clothes!
Wake up, just as you did in the past.
Wake up, as you did long ago.
Didn’t you cut Rahab to pieces?
Didn’t you stab that sea monster to death?
10 Didn’t you dry up the Red Sea?
Didn’t you dry up those deep waters?
You made a road on the bottom of that sea.
Then those who were set free went across.
11 Those the Lord has saved will return to their land.
They will sing as they enter the city of Zion.
Joy that lasts forever will be like beautiful crowns on their heads.
They will be filled with gladness and joy.
Sorrow and sighing will be gone.
The Word Became a Human Being
1 In the beginning, the Word was already there. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 All things were made through him. Nothing that has been made was made without him. 4 Life was in him, and that life was the light for all people. 5 The light shines in the darkness. But the darkness has not overcome the light.
6 There was a man sent from God. His name was John. 7 He came to be a witness about that light. He was a witness so that all people might believe. 8 John himself was not the light. He came only as a witness to the light.
9 The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. 10 The Word was in the world. And the world was made through him. But the world did not recognize him. 11 He came to what was his own. But his own people did not accept him. 12 Some people did accept him and did believe in his name. He gave them the right to become children of God. 13 To be a child of God has nothing to do with human parents. Children of God are not born because of human choice or because a husband wants them to be born. They are born because of what God does.
14 The Word became a human being. He made his home with us. We have seen his glory. It is the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father. And the Word was full of grace and truth.
15 John was a witness about the Word. John cried out and said, “This was the one I was talking about. I said, ‘He who comes after me is more important than I am. He is more important because he existed before I was born.’ ” 16 God is full of grace. From him we have all received grace in place of the grace already given. 17 In the past, God gave us grace through the law of Moses. Now, grace and truth come to us through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God. But the One and Only is God and is at the Father’s side. The one at the Father’s side has shown us what God is like.
On the Road to Emmaus
13 That same day two of Jesus’ followers were going to a village called Emmaus. It was about seven miles from Jerusalem. 14 They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. 15 As they talked about those things, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them. 16 But God kept them from recognizing him.
17 Jesus asked them, “What are you talking about as you walk along?”
They stood still, and their faces were sad. 18 One of them was named Cleopas. He said to Jesus, “Are you the only person visiting Jerusalem who doesn’t know? Don’t you know about the things that have happened there in the last few days?”
19 “What things?” Jesus asked.
“About Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied. “He was a prophet. He was powerful in what he said and did in the sight of God and all the people. 20 The chief priests and our rulers handed Jesus over to be sentenced to death. They nailed him to a cross. 21 But we had hoped that he was the one who was going to set Israel free. Also, it is the third day since all this happened. 22 Some of our women amazed us too. Early this morning they went to the tomb. 23 But they didn’t find his body. So they came and told us what they had seen. They saw angels, who said Jesus was alive. 24 Then some of our friends went to the tomb. They saw it was empty, just as the women had said. They didn’t see Jesus’ body there.”
25 Jesus said to them, “How foolish you are! How long it takes you to believe all that the prophets said! 26 Didn’t the Messiah have to suffer these things and then receive his glory?” 27 Jesus explained to them what was said about himself in all the Scriptures. He began with Moses and all the Prophets.
28 They approached the village where they were going. Jesus kept walking as if he were going farther. 29 But they tried hard to keep him from leaving. They said, “Stay with us. It is nearly evening. The day is almost over.” So he went in to stay with them.
30 He joined them at the table. Then he took bread and gave thanks. He broke it and began to give it to them. 31 Their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. But then he disappeared from their sight. 32 They said to each other, “He explained to us what the Scriptures meant. Weren’t we excited as he talked with us on the road?”
33 They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem. There they found the 11 disciples and those with them. They were all gathered together. 34 They were saying, “It’s true! The Lord has risen! He has appeared to Simon!” 35 Then the two of them told what had happened to them on the way. They told how they had recognized Jesus when he broke the bread.
Jesus Appears to His Disciples
19 On the evening of that first day of the week, the disciples were together. They had locked the doors because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders. Jesus came in and stood among them. He said, “May peace be with you!” 20 Then he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples were very happy when they saw the Lord.
21 Again Jesus said, “May peace be with you! The Father has sent me. So now I am sending you.” 22 He then breathed on them. He said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven. If you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”
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