Book of Common Prayer
The Whole Creation Invoked to Praise the Lord.
148 [a]Praise [b]the Lord!
Praise the Lord (A)from the heavens;
Praise Him (B)in the heights!
2 Praise Him, (C)all His angels;
Praise Him, (D)all His hosts!
3 Praise Him, sun and moon;
Praise Him, all stars of light!
4 Praise Him, [c](E)highest heavens,
And the (F)waters that are above the heavens!
5 Let them praise the name of the Lord,
For (G)He commanded and they were created.
6 He has also (H)established them forever and ever;
He has made a (I)decree which will not pass away.
7 Praise the Lord from the earth,
(J)Sea monsters and all (K)deeps;
8 (L)Fire and hail, (M)snow and (N)clouds;
(O)Stormy wind, (P)fulfilling His word;
9 (Q)Mountains and all hills;
Fruit (R)trees and all cedars;
10 (S)Beasts and all cattle;
(T)Creeping things and winged fowl;
11 (U)Kings of the earth and all peoples;
Princes and all judges of the earth;
12 Both young men and virgins;
Old men and children.
13 Let them praise the name of the Lord,
For His (V)name alone is exalted;
His (W)glory is above earth and heaven.
14 And He has (X)lifted up a horn for His people,
(Y)Praise for all His godly ones;
Even for the sons of Israel, a people (Z)near to Him.
[d]Praise [e]the Lord!
Israel Invoked to Praise the Lord.
149 [f]Praise [g]the Lord!
Sing to the Lord a (AA)new song,
And His praise (AB)in the congregation of the godly ones.
2 Let Israel be glad in (AC)his Maker;
Let the sons of Zion rejoice in their (AD)King.
3 Let them praise His name with (AE)dancing;
Let them sing praises to Him with (AF)timbrel and lyre.
4 For the Lord (AG)takes pleasure in His people;
He will (AH)beautify the afflicted ones with salvation.
5 Let the (AI)godly ones exult in glory;
Let them (AJ)sing for joy on their beds.
6 Let the (AK)high praises of God be in their [h]mouth,
And a (AL)two-edged (AM)sword in their hand,
7 To (AN)execute vengeance on the nations
And punishment on the peoples,
8 To bind their kings (AO)with chains
And their (AP)nobles with fetters of iron,
9 To (AQ)execute on them the judgment written;
This is an (AR)honor for all His godly ones.
[i]Praise [j]the Lord!
A Psalm of Praise.
150 [k]Praise [l]the Lord!
Praise God in His (AS)sanctuary;
Praise Him in His mighty [m](AT)expanse.
2 Praise Him for His (AU)mighty deeds;
Praise Him according to His excellent (AV)greatness.
3 Praise Him with (AW)trumpet sound;
Praise Him with (AX)harp and lyre.
4 Praise Him with (AY)timbrel and dancing;
Praise Him with (AZ)stringed instruments and (BA)pipe.
5 Praise Him with loud (BB)cymbals;
Praise Him with resounding cymbals.
6 Let (BC)everything that has breath praise [n]the Lord.
[o]Praise [p]the Lord!
God’s Deliverance of Israel from Egypt.
114 When Israel went forth (A)from Egypt,
The house of Jacob from a people of (B)strange language,
2 Judah became (C)His sanctuary,
Israel, (D)His dominion.
3 The (E)sea looked and fled;
The (F)Jordan turned back.
4 The mountains (G)skipped like rams,
The hills, like lambs.
5 What (H)ails you, O sea, that you flee?
O Jordan, that you turn back?
6 O mountains, that you skip like rams?
O hills, like lambs?
7 (I)Tremble, O earth, before the Lord,
Before the God of Jacob,
8 Who (J)turned the rock into a (K)pool of water,
The (L)flint into a fountain of water.
Heathen Idols Contrasted with the Lord.
115 (M)Not to us, O Lord, not to us,
But (N)to Your name give glory
Because of Your lovingkindness, because of Your [a]truth.
2 (O)Why should the nations say,
“(P)Where, now, is their God?”
3 But our (Q)God is in the heavens;
He (R)does whatever He pleases.
4 Their (S)idols are silver and gold,
The (T)work of man’s hands.
5 They have mouths, but they (U)cannot speak;
They have eyes, but they cannot see;
6 They have ears, but they cannot hear;
They have noses, but they cannot smell;
7 [b]They have hands, but they cannot feel;
[c]They have feet, but they cannot walk;
They cannot make a sound with their throat.
8 (V)Those who make them [d]will become like them,
Everyone who trusts in them.
9 O (W)Israel, (X)trust in the Lord;
He is their (Y)help and their shield.
10 O house of (Z)Aaron, trust in the Lord;
He is their help and their shield.
11 You who [e](AA)fear the Lord, trust in the Lord;
He is their help and their shield.
12 The Lord (AB)has been mindful of us; He will bless us;
He will bless the house of Israel;
He will bless the house of Aaron.
13 He will (AC)bless those who [f]fear the Lord,
(AD)The small together with the great.
14 May the Lord (AE)give you increase,
You and your children.
15 May you be blessed of the Lord,
(AF)Maker of heaven and earth.
Zophar Rebukes Job
11 Then Zophar the Naamathite [a]answered,
2 “Shall a multitude of words go unanswered,
And a (A)talkative man be acquitted?
3 “Shall your boasts silence men?
And shall you (B)scoff and none rebuke?
4 “For (C)you have said, ‘My teaching is pure,
And (D)I am innocent in your eyes.’
5 “But would that God might speak,
And open His lips against you,
6 And show you the secrets of wisdom!
For sound wisdom [b](E)has two sides.
Know then that God [c]forgets a part of (F)your iniquity.
13 “(A)If you would (B)direct your heart right
And (C)spread out your hand to Him,
14 If iniquity is in your hand, (D)put it far away,
And do not let wickedness dwell in your tents;
15 “Then, indeed, you could (E)lift up your face without moral defect,
And you would be steadfast and (F)not fear.
16 “For you would (G)forget your trouble,
As (H)waters that have passed by, you would remember it.
17 “Your [a]life would be [b](I)brighter than noonday;
Darkness would be like the morning.
18 “Then you would trust, because there is hope;
And you would look around and rest securely.
19 “You would (J)lie down and none would disturb you,
And many would (K)entreat your [c]favor.
20 “But the (L)eyes of the wicked will fail,
And [d]there will (M)be no escape for them;
And their (N)hope is [e](O)to breathe their last.”
The Book with Seven Seals
5 I saw [a]in the right hand of Him who (A)sat on the throne a [b](B)book written inside and on the back, (C)sealed up with seven seals. 2 And I saw a (D)strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the [c]book and to break its seals?” 3 And no one (E)in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the [d]book or to look into it. 4 Then I began to weep greatly because no one was found worthy to open the [e]book or to look into it; 5 and one of the elders *said to me, “Stop weeping; behold, the (F)Lion that is (G)from the tribe of Judah, the (H)Root of David, has overcome so as to open the [f]book and its seven seals.”
6 And I saw [g]between the throne (with the four living creatures) and (I)the elders a (J)Lamb standing, as if (K)slain, having seven (L)horns and (M)seven eyes, which are (N)the seven Spirits of God, sent out into all the earth. 7 And He came and took (O)the book out of the right hand of Him who (P)sat on the throne. 8 When He had taken the [h]book, the (Q)four living creatures and the (R)twenty-four elders (S)fell down before the (T)Lamb, each one holding a (U)harp and (V)golden bowls full of incense, which are the (W)prayers of the [i]saints. 9 And they *sang a (X)new song, saying,
“(Y)Worthy are You to take the [j]book and to break its seals; for You were (Z)slain, and (AA)purchased for God with Your blood men from (AB)every tribe and tongue and people and nation.
10 “You have made them to be a (AC)kingdom and (AD)priests to our God; and they will (AE)reign upon the earth.”
Angels Exalt the Lamb
11 Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels (AF)around the throne and the (AG)living creatures and the (AH)elders; and the number of them was (AI)myriads of myriads, and thousands of thousands, 12 saying with a loud voice,
“(AJ)Worthy is the (AK)Lamb that was (AL)slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing.”
13 And (AM)every created thing which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all things in them, I heard saying,
“To Him who (AN)sits on the throne, and to the (AO)Lamb, (AP)be blessing and honor and glory and dominion forever and ever.”
14 And the (AQ)four living creatures kept saying, “(AR)Amen.” And the (AS)elders (AT)fell down and worshiped.
The Sermon on the Mount; The Beatitudes
5 (A)When Jesus saw the crowds, He went up on (B)the [a]mountain; and after He sat down, His disciples came to Him. 2 (C)He opened His mouth and began to teach them, saying,
3 “[b](D)Blessed are the [c]poor in spirit, for (E)theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 “Blessed are (F)those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
5 “Blessed are (G)the [d]gentle, for they shall inherit the earth.
6 “Blessed are (H)those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
7 “Blessed are (I)the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
8 “Blessed are (J)the pure in heart, for (K)they shall see God.
9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for (L)they shall be called sons of God.
10 “Blessed are those who have been (M)persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for (N)theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 “Blessed are you when people (O)insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for (P)in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
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