Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 148
148 Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord from heaven!
Praise God on the heights!
2 Praise God, all of you who are his messengers!
Praise God, all of you who comprise his heavenly forces!
3 Sun and moon, praise God!
All of you bright stars, praise God!
4 You highest heaven, praise God!
Do the same, you waters that are above the sky!
5 Let all of these praise the Lord’s name
because God gave the command and they were created!
6 God set them in place always and forever.
God made a law that will not be broken.
7 Praise the Lord from the earth,
you sea monsters and all you ocean depths!
8 Do the same, fire and hail, snow and smoke,
stormy wind that does what God says!
9 Do the same, you mountains, every single hill,
fruit trees, and every single cedar!
10 Do the same, you animals—wild or tame—
you creatures that creep along and you birds that fly!
11 Do the same, you kings of the earth and every single person,
you princes and every single ruler on earth!
12 Do the same, you young men—young women too!—
you who are old together with you who are young!
13 Let all of these praise the Lord’s name
because only God’s name is high over all.
Only God’s majesty is over earth and heaven.
14 God raised the strength[a] of his people,
the praise of all his faithful ones—
that’s the Israelites,
the people who are close to him.
Praise the Lord!
Psalm 149
149 Praise the Lord!
Sing to the Lord a new song;
sing God’s praise in the assembly of the faithful!
2 Let Israel celebrate its maker;
let Zion’s children rejoice in their king!
3 Let them praise God’s name with dance;
let them sing God’s praise with the drum and lyre!
4 Because the Lord is pleased with his people,
God will beautify the poor with saving help.
5 Let the faithful celebrate with glory;
let them shout for joy on their beds.[b]
6 Let the high praises of God be in their mouths
and a double-edged sword in their hands,
7 to get revenge against the nations
and punishment on the peoples,
8 binding their rulers in chains
and their officials in iron shackles,
9 achieving the justice
written against them.
That will be an honor for all God’s faithful people.
Praise the Lord!
Psalm 150
150 Praise the Lord!
Praise God in his sanctuary!
Praise God in his fortress, the sky!
2 Praise God in his mighty acts!
Praise God as suits his incredible greatness!
3 Praise God with the blast of the ram’s horn!
Praise God with lute and lyre!
4 Praise God with drum and dance!
Praise God with strings and pipe!
5 Praise God with loud cymbals!
Praise God with clashing cymbals!
6 Let every living thing praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord!
Psalm 114
114 When Israel came out of Egypt—
when the house of Jacob came out
from a people who spoke a different language—
2 Judah was God’s sanctuary;
Israel was God’s territory.
3 The sea saw it happen and ran away;
the Jordan River retreated!
4 The mountains leaped away like rams;
the hills leaped away like lambs!
5 Sea, why did you run away?
Jordan, why did you retreat?
6 Mountains, why did you leap away like rams?
Hills, why did you leap away like lambs?
7 Earth: Tremble before the Lord!
Tremble before the God of Jacob,
8 the one who turned that rock into a pool of water,
that flint stone into a spring of water!
Psalm 115
115 Not to us, Lord, not to us—
no, but to your own name give glory
because of your loyal love and faithfulness!
2 Why do the nations say,
“Where’s their God now?”
3 Our God is in heaven—
he can do whatever he wants!
4 Their idols are just silver and gold—
things made by human hands.
5 They have mouths, but they can’t speak.
They have eyes, but they can’t see.
6 They have ears, but they can’t hear.
They have noses, but they can’t smell.
7 They have hands, but they can’t feel.
They have feet, but they can’t walk.
They can’t even make a noise in their throats!
8 Let the people who made these idols
and all who trust in them
become just like them!
9 But you, Israel, trust in the Lord!
God is their help and shield.
10 Trust in the Lord, house of Aaron!
God is their help and shield.
11 You who honor the Lord, trust in the Lord!
God is their help and shield.
12 The Lord remembers us and will bless us:
God will bless the house of Israel;
God will bless the house of Aaron;
13 God will bless those who honor the Lord—
from the smallest to the greatest.
14 May the Lord add to your numbers—
both you and your children.
15 May you be blessed by the Lord,
the maker of heaven and earth!
16 The highest heaven belongs to the Lord,
but he gave the earth to all people.
17 The dead don’t praise the Lord,
nor do those who go down to silence.
18 But us? We will bless the Lord
from now until forever from now!
Praise the Lord!
The great commandment
6 Now these are the commandments, the regulations, and the case laws that the Lord your God commanded me to teach you to follow in the land you are entering to possess, 2 so that you will fear the Lord your God by keeping all his regulations and his commandments that I am commanding you—both you and your sons and daughters—all the days of your life and so that you will lengthen your life. 3 Listen to them, Israel! Follow them carefully so that things will go well for you and so that you will continue to multiply exactly as the Lord, your ancestors’ God, promised you, in a land full of milk and honey.
4 Israel, listen! Our God is the Lord! Only the Lord![a]
5 Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your being, and all your strength. 6 These words that I am commanding you today must always be on your minds. 7 Recite them to your children. Talk about them when you are sitting around your house and when you are out and about, when you are lying down and when you are getting up. 8 Tie them on your hand as a sign. They should be on your forehead as a symbol.[b] 9 Write them on your house’s doorframes and on your city’s gates.
Priestly service in heavenly Jerusalem
18 You haven’t drawn near to something that can be touched: a burning fire, darkness, shadow, a whirlwind, 19 a blast of a trumpet, and a sound of words that made the ones who heard it beg that there wouldn’t be one more word. 20 They couldn’t stand the command, If even a wild animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned.[a] 21 The sight was so frightening that Moses said, “I’m terrified and shaking!”
22 But you have drawn near to Mount Zion, the city of the living God, heavenly Jerusalem, to countless angels in a festival gathering, 23 to the assembly of God’s firstborn children who are registered in heaven, to God the judge of all, to the spirits of the righteous who have been made perfect, 24 to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks better than Abel’s blood.
25 See to it that you don’t resist the one who is speaking. If the people didn’t escape when they refused to listen to the one who warned them on earth, how will we escape if we reject the one who is warning from heaven? 26 His voice shook the earth then, but now he has made a promise: Still once more I will shake not only the earth but heaven also.[b] 27 The words “still once more” reveal the removal of what is shaken—the things that are part of this creation—so that what isn’t shaken will remain. 28 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that can’t be shaken, let’s continue to express our gratitude.[c] With this gratitude, let’s serve[d] in a way that is pleasing to God with respect and awe, 29 because our God really is a consuming fire.
24 I assure you that unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it can only be a single seed. But if it dies, it bears much fruit. 25 Those who love their lives will lose them, and those who hate their lives in this world will keep them forever. 26 Whoever serves me must follow me. Wherever I am, there my servant will also be. My Father will honor whoever serves me.
27 “Now I am deeply troubled.[a] What should I say? ‘Father, save me from this time’? No, for this is the reason I have come to this time. 28 Father, glorify your name!”
Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.”
29 The crowd standing there heard and said, “It’s thunder.” Others said, “An angel spoke to him.”
30 Jesus replied, “This voice wasn’t for my benefit but for yours. 31 Now is the time for judgment of this world. Now this world’s ruler will be thrown out. 32 When I am lifted up[b] from the earth, I will draw everyone to me.”
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible