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!
Jethro Visits Moses
18 Jethro, the priest of Midian, Moses’ father-in-law, heard all that God had done for Moses and for his people Israel, and how the Lord had brought Israel out of Egypt. 2 Now Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, had taken back Moses’ wife Zipporah after she had been sent away, 3 along with her two sons. The name of the one was Gershom, because he would say, “I was an alien[a] in a foreign land,” 4 while the name of the other was Eliezer,[b] because he would say,[c] “My father’s God helped me and delivered me from Pharaoh’s sword.”
5 Moses’ father-in-law Jethro, together with Moses’ two sons and his wife, came to Moses in the desert where he was camped at the mountain of God.[d] 6 He told Moses, “I, your father-in-law Jethro, am coming to you along with your wife and her two sons.” 7 When Moses went out to meet his father-in-law, he bowed low and kissed him, and they greeted one another. Then they went into the tent.
8 Moses told his father-in-law all that the Lord had done to Pharaoh and to the Egyptians on Israel’s behalf, all the hardships that they had encountered along the way, and how the Lord had delivered them. 9 Jethro rejoiced over all the good that the Lord had done for Israel in delivering them from the hand of the Egyptians. 10 Jethro said, “Blessed be the Lord, who delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of Pharaoh, and who delivered the people from the oppression[e] of the Egyptians. 11 Now I know that the Lord is greater than all other gods,[f] because of what happened to[g] the Egyptians when[h] they acted arrogantly against Israel.” 12 Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, brought a burnt offering and sacrifices for God, and Aaron and all the elders of Israel came to dine with Moses’ father-in-law in the presence of God.
We Must Obey God’s Commandments
7 Dear friends, I am not writing to you a new commandment, but an old commandment that you have had from the beginning. This old commandment is the word you have heard. 8 On the other hand, I am writing to you a new commandment that is truly in him and in you. For the darkness is fading away, and the true light is already shining.
9 The person who says that he is in the light but hates his brother is still in the darkness. 10 The person who loves his brother abides in the light, and there is no reason for him to stumble. 11 But the person who hates his brother is in the darkness and lives in the darkness. He does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.
12 I am writing to you, little children,
because your sins have been forgiven
on account of his name.
13 I am writing to you, fathers,
because you have known the one who
has existed from the beginning.
I am writing to you, young people,
because you have overcome the evil one.
14 I have written to you, little children,
because you have known the Father.
I have written to you, fathers,
because you have known the one who
has existed from the beginning.
I have written to you, young people,
because you are strong
and because God’s word remains in you
and you have overcome the evil one.
15 Stop loving[a] the world and the things that are in the world. If anyone persists in loving the world, the Father’s love is not in him. 16 For everything that is in the world—the desire for fleshly gratification,[b] the desire for possessions,[c] and worldly arrogance—is not from the Father but is from the world. 17 And the world and its desires are fading away, but the person who does God’s will remains forever.
Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene(A)
9 After Jesus[a] had risen early on the first day of that week,[b] he appeared first to Mary Magdalene,[c] from whom he had driven out seven demons. 10 She went and told those who had been with Jesus[d] and who now were grieving and crying. 11 When they heard that he was alive and that he had been seen by her, they refused to believe Mary.[e]
Jesus Appears to Two Disciples(B)
12 After this, Jesus[f] appeared in a different form to two disciples[g] as they were walking into the country. 13 They went back and told the others, who didn’t believe them, either.
Jesus Commissions His Disciples(C)
14 Finally he appeared to his eleven disciples[h] while they were eating. He rebuked them for their unbelief and stubbornness, because they had not believed those who had seen him after he had risen. 15 Then he told them, “As you go into the entire world, proclaim the gospel to everyone.[i] 16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever doesn’t believe will be condemned. 17 These are the signs that will accompany those who believe: In my name they’ll drive out demons. they’ll speak in new languages,[j] 18 and they’ll pick up snakes with their hands.[k] Even if they drink any deadly poison, it won’t hurt them, and they’ll place their hands on the sick, and they’ll recover.”
Jesus is Taken Up to Heaven(D)
19 So the Lord Jesus,[l] after talking with his disciples,[m] was taken up to heaven and sat down at the right hand of God. 20 Then his disciples[n] went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord kept working with them and confirming the message by the signs that accompanied it.
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