Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 8
For the Music Director. According to The Gittith. A Psalm of David.
1 O Lord, our Lord,
how excellent is Your name in all the earth!
You have set Your glory
above the heavens.
2 Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants
You have ordained strength
because of Your enemies,
to silence the enemy and the avenger.
3 When I consider Your heavens,
the work of Your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
which You have established,
4 what is man that You are mindful of him,
and the son of man that You attend to him?
5 For You have made him a little lower than the angels,
and crowned him with glory and honor.
6 You have given him dominion over the works of Your hands;
You have put all things under his feet,
7 all sheep and oxen,
and also the beasts of the field,
8 the birds of the air,
and the fish of the sea,
and whatever travels the paths of the seas.
9 O Lord, our Lord,
how excellent is Your name in all the earth!
Psalm 148
1 Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord from the heavens;
praise Him in the heights.
2 Praise Him, all His angels;
praise Him, all His heavenly hosts.
3 Praise Him, sun and moon;
praise Him, all you stars of light.
4 Praise Him, you highest of heavens,
and you waters that are above the skies.
5 Let them praise the name of the Lord,
for He commanded, and they were created.
6 He has also established them forever and ever;
He has made a decree that shall not pass away.
7 Praise the Lord from the earth,
you great sea creatures, and all you depths,
8 fire and hail, snow and mist,
storming wind fulfilling His word,
9 mountains and all hills,
fruitful trees and all cedars;
10 animals and all cattle,
creeping things and flying birds;
11 kings of the earth and all peoples,
princes and all rulers of the earth;
12 both young men and maidens,
old men and children.
13 Let them praise the name of the Lord,
for His name alone is excellent;
His glory is above the earth and heaven.
14 He has raised up a victory horn for His people,
praise for all His saints,
even for the people of Israel near Him.
Praise the Lord!
The Lord Speaks to Job
38 Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind and said:
2 “Who is this who darkens counsel
by words without knowledge?
3 Prepare yourself like a man;
for I will question you,
and you shall answer Me.
4 “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?
Declare, if you have understanding.
5 Who has determined its measurements, if you know?
Or who has stretched the line upon it?
6 To what are its foundations fastened?
Or who laid its cornerstone
7 when the morning stars sang together,
and all the sons of God shouted for joy?
God Has Spoken by His Son
1 God, who at various times and in diverse ways spoke long ago to the fathers through the prophets, 2 has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, and through whom He made the world. 3 He is the brightness of His glory, the express image of Himself, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had by Himself purged our sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high. 4 He was made so much better than the angels as He has inherited a more excellent name than they.
The Son Superior to Angels
5 For to which of the angels did He at any time say:
“You are My Son;
today I have become Your Father”[a]?
Or again,
“I will be a Father to Him,
and He shall be a Son to Me”[b]?
6 And again, when He brings the firstborn into the world, He says:
“Let all the angels of God worship Him.”[c]
7 Of the angels He says:
“He makes His angels spirits,
and His servants a flame of fire.”[d]
8 But to the Son He says:
“Your throne, O God, lasts forever and ever;
a scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your kingdom.[e]
9 You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness;
therefore God, Your God, has anointed You
with the oil of gladness more than Your companions.”[f]
10 And,
“You, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning,
and the heavens are the works of Your hands.
11 They will perish, but You remain;
and they all will wear out like a garment;
12 as a cloak You will fold them up,
and they will be changed.
But You are the same,
and Your years will not end.”[g]
13 But to which of the angels did He at any time say:
“Sit at My right hand,
until I make Your enemies
Your footstool”[h]?
14 Are they not all ministering spirits sent out to minister to those who will inherit salvation?
Psalm 34
A Psalm of David, when he feigned madness before Abimelek, who drove him away, and he departed.
1 I will bless the Lord at all times;
His praise will continually be in my mouth.
2 My soul will make its boast in the Lord;
the humble will hear of it and be glad.
3 Oh, magnify the Lord with me,
and let us exalt His name together.
4 I sought the Lord, and He answered me,
and delivered me from all my fears.
5 They looked to Him and became radiant,
and their faces are not ashamed.
6 This poor man cried, and the Lord heard,
and saved him out of all his troubles.
7 The angel of the Lord camps around those who fear Him,
and delivers them.
8 Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good;
blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him.
9 Oh, fear the Lord, you His saints;
for the ones who fear Him will not be in need.
10 The young lions are in want and suffer hunger,
but the ones who seek the Lord will not lack any good thing.
11 Come, you children, listen to me;
I will teach you the fear of the Lord.
12 Who is the man who desires life,
and loves a long life in order to see good?
13 Keep your tongue from evil,
and your lips from speaking deceit.
14 Turn away from evil, and do good;
seek peace, and pursue it.
15 The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,
and His ears are open to their cry.
16 The face of the Lord is against the ones doing evil,
to cut off the memory of them from the earth.
17 The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears,
and delivers them out of all their troubles.
18 The Lord is near to the broken-hearted,
and saves the contrite of spirit.
19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous,
but the Lord delivers him out of them all.
20 A righteous one keeps all his bones;
not one of them is broken.
21 Evil will slay the wicked,
and those who hate the righteous will be condemned.
22 The Lord redeems the life of His servants,
and all who take refuge in Him will not be punished.
Psalm 150
1 Praise the Lord!
Praise God in His sanctuary;
praise Him in the firmament of His power!
2 Praise Him for His mighty acts;
praise Him according to His excellent greatness!
3 Praise Him with the sound of the trumpet;
praise Him with the lyre and harp!
4 Praise Him with the tambourine and dancing;
praise Him with stringed instruments and flute!
5 Praise Him with loud cymbals;
praise Him with the clanging cymbals!
6 Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.
Praise the Lord!
Psalm 104
1 Bless the Lord, O my soul!
O Lord my God, You are very great!
You are clothed with honor and majesty,
2 covering Yourself with light as a garment,
who stretches out the heavens like a tent curtain,
3 who lays the upper beams of His chambers on the waters above,
who makes the clouds His chariot,
who rides upon the wings of the wind,
4 who makes His angels as winds,
His ministers a flaming fire.
5 You laid the earth on its foundations,
so that it should never be moved.
6 You covered it with the deep as a garment;
the waters stood above the mountains.
7 At Your rebuke they fled;
at the sound of Your thunder they departed away.
8 The mountains rose up;
the valleys went down
to the place that You appointed them.
9 You set a boundary that they may not pass over,
that they may not again cover the earth.
10 You send the springs to gush forth in the valleys,
which flow between the hills.
11 They give drink to every animal of the field;
the wild donkeys quench their thirst.
12 By them the birds of the heavens have their habitation;
they sing among the branches.
13 You water the mountains from Your lofty chamber;
the earth is satisfied with the fruit of Your works.
14 You cause the grass to grow for the cattle
and plants for the cultivation of man,
that he may bring forth food from the earth
15 and wine that makes glad the heart of man,
and oil that makes shine his face,
and bread that strengthens his heart.
16 The trees of the Lord are well watered,
the cedars of Lebanon that He has planted,
17 where the birds make their nests,
where the stork has its home in the fir trees.
18 The high mountains are for the wild goats,
and the rocks a refuge for the badgers.
19 He set the moon to mark the appointed seasons;
the sun knows its time for going down.
20 You make darkness, and it is night,
when all the animals of the forest go forth.
21 The young lions roar after their prey
and seek their food from God.
22 When the sun arises, they gather themselves together
and lay down in their dens.
23 Man goes forth to his work
and to his labor until the evening.
24 O Lord, how manifold are Your works!
With wisdom You have made them all;
the earth is full of Your creatures—
25 so is this great and wide sea,
which is full of innumerable creatures,
living animals both small and great.
26 There go the ships,
and there is Leviathan, which You have made to play in it.
27 These all wait upon You,
that You may give them their food in due season.
28 When You give it to them,
they gather it;
when You open Your hand,
they are filled with good food.
29 When You hide Your face,
they are troubled;
You take away their breath,
and they die and return to their dust.
30 When You send forth Your Spirit,
they are created,
and You renew the surface of the ground.
31 May the glory of the Lord endure forever;
may the Lord rejoice in His works.
32 He looks on the earth, and it trembles;
He touches the mountains, and they smoke.
33 I will sing unto the Lord as long as I live;
I will sing praise to my God while I have my being.
34 May my meditation be sweet to Him,
for I will be glad in the Lord.
35 Let sinners be consumed from the earth,
and let the wicked be no more.
Bless the Lord, O my soul!
Praise the Lord!
21 Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘Look, there He is!’ do not believe it. 22 For false christs and false prophets will rise and show signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. 23 But take heed. I have told you all things beforehand.
The Coming of the Son of Man(A)
24 “But in those days, after that distress,
‘the sun will be darkened,
and the moon will not give her light;
25 the stars of heaven will fall,
and the powers that are in heaven will be shaken.’[a]
26 “Then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. 27 Then He will send His angels and gather His elect from the four winds, from the farthest part of the earth to the farthest part of heaven.
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.