Book of Common Prayer
148 Praise the Lord!
Angels above,
praise the Lord from heaven!
2 Praise him, all you angels!
Praise him, all his army[a]!
3 Sun and moon, praise him!
Stars and lights in the sky, praise him!
4 Praise him, highest heaven!
Waters above the sky, praise him!
5 Let them praise the Lord’s name,
because he gave the command and created them all!
6 He made all these continue forever.
He made the laws that will never end.
7 Everything on earth, praise him!
Great sea animals and all the oceans, praise the Lord!
8 Praise him, fire and hail, snow and clouds,
and the stormy winds that obey him.
9 Praise him, mountains and hills,
fruit trees and cedar trees.
10 Praise him, wild animals and cattle, reptiles and birds.
11 Praise him, kings of the earth and all nations,
princes and all rulers on earth.
12 Praise him, young men and women,
old people and children.
13 Praise the Lord’s name!
Honor his name forever!
His name is greater than any other.
He is more glorious than heaven and earth.
14 He made his people strong.
His loyal followers praise him.
Israel, his precious people, praise the Lord!
149 Praise the Lord!
Sing a new song[b] to the Lord!
Sing his praise in the assembly of his followers.
2 Let Israel be happy with their Maker.
Let the people of Zion rejoice with their King.
3 Let them praise him by dancing
and playing their tambourines and harps.
4 The Lord is happy with his people.
He did a wonderful thing for his humble people.
He saved them!
5 Let his followers rejoice in this victory!
Let them sing for joy, even in their beds!
6 Let the people shout praise to God.
And with a sharp sword in their hand,
7 let them take revenge on the other nations.
Let them go punish those people.
8 They will put their kings in chains
and their leaders in chains of iron.
9 They will punish those nations as God commanded.
This is an honor for all his followers.
Praise the Lord!
150 Praise the Lord!
Praise God in his Temple!
Praise him in heaven, his strong fortress!
2 Praise him for the great things he does!
Praise him for all his greatness!
3 Praise him with trumpets and horns!
Praise him with harps and lyres!
4 Praise him with tambourines and dancing!
Praise him with stringed instruments and flutes!
5 Praise him with loud cymbals!
Praise him with crashing cymbals!
6 Everything that breathes, praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord!
114 The people of Israel escaped from Egypt.
Yes, Jacob’s descendants left that foreign country.
2 Then Judah became God’s special people,
and Israel became his kingdom.
3 The Red Sea saw this and ran away.
The Jordan River turned and ran.
4 The mountains danced like rams.
The hills danced like lambs.
5 Red Sea, why did you run away?
Jordan River, why did you turn and run away?
6 Mountains, why did you dance like rams?
Hills, why did you dance like lambs?
7 The earth shook in front of the Lord,
the God of Jacob.
8 He is the one who caused water to flow from a rock.
He made a spring of water flow from that hard rock.
115 Lord, you should receive the honor, not us.
The honor belongs to you
because of your faithful love and loyalty.
2 Why should the nations wonder
where our God is?
3 Our God is in heaven,
and he does whatever he wants.
4 The “gods” of those nations are only statues
that some human made from gold and silver.
5 Those statues have mouths, but cannot talk.
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 feel.
They have feet, but cannot walk.
No sounds come from their throats.
8 The people who make and trust in those statues
will become like them!
9 People of Israel, trust in the Lord!
He is your strength and shield.
10 Aaron’s family, trust in the Lord!
He is your strength and shield.
11 Followers of the Lord, trust in the Lord!
He is your strength and shield.
12 The Lord remembers us.
He will bless us.
He will bless Israel.
He will bless Aaron’s family.
13 The Lord will bless his followers,
great and small.
14 May the Lord give more and more to you
and to your children.
15 May you receive blessings from the Lord,[a]
who made heaven and earth.
16 Heaven belongs to the Lord,
but he gave the earth to people.
17 The dead don’t praise him.
Those in the grave don’t praise the Lord.
18 But we will praise the Lord
now and forever!
Praise the Lord!
Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream About a Tree
4 King Nebuchadnezzar sent this letter to the many nations and language groups living around the world.
Greetings:
2 I am very happy to tell you about the miracles and wonderful things that the Most High God did for me.
3 God has done amazing miracles!
He has done powerful miracles!
His kingdom continues forever;
his rule will continue for all generations.
4 I, Nebuchadnezzar, was at my palace. I was happy and successful. 5 I had a dream that made me afraid. I was lying on my bed, and I saw pictures and visions in my mind. These things made me very afraid. 6 So I gave an order that all the wise men of Babylon be brought to me to tell me what my dream meant. 7 When the men of magic and the Chaldeans came, I told them about the dream, but they could not tell me what it meant. 8 Finally, Daniel came to me. (I gave Daniel the name Belteshazzar to honor my god. The spirit of the holy gods is in him.) I told him about my dream. 9 I said, “Belteshazzar, you are the most important of all the men of magic. I know that the spirit of the holy gods is in you. I know there is no secret that is too hard for you to understand. This was what I dreamed. Tell me what it means. 10 These are the visions I saw while I was lying in my bed: I looked, and there in front of me was a tree standing in the middle of the earth. The tree was very tall. 11 The tree grew large and strong. The top of the tree touched the sky.[a] It could be seen from anywhere on earth. 12 The leaves of the tree were beautiful. It had much good fruit on it. And on the tree was plenty of food for everyone. The wild animals found shelter under the tree, and the birds lived in its branches. Every animal ate from the tree.
13 “I was looking at those things in the vision while lying on my bed. And then I saw a holy angel coming down from heaven. 14 He spoke very loud and said, ‘Cut down the tree, and cut off its branches. Strip off its leaves. Scatter its fruit around. The animals that are under the tree will run away. The birds that are in its branches will fly away. 15 But let the stump and roots stay in the ground. Put a band of iron and bronze around it. The stump and roots will stay in the field with the grass all around it. It will live among the wild animals and plants in the fields. It will become wet with dew. 16 He will not think like a man any longer. He will have the mind of an animal. Seven seasons will pass while he is like this.’
17 “Holy angels announced this punishment so that all the people on earth may know that God Most High rules over human kingdoms. God gives those kingdoms to whoever he wants, and he chooses humble people to rule them.
18 “That is what I, King Nebuchadnezzar, dreamed. Now, Belteshazzar,[b] tell me what it means. None of the wise men in my kingdom can tell me what that dream means. But Belteshazzar, you can interpret the dream because the spirit of the holy gods is in you.”
Be Good Managers of God’s Gifts
7 The time is near when all things will end. So keep your minds clear, and control yourselves. This will help you in your prayers. 8 Most important of all, love each other deeply, because love makes you willing to forgive many sins. 9 Open your homes to each other and share your food without complaining. 10 God has shown you his grace in many different ways. So be good servants and use whatever gift he has given you in a way that will best serve each other. 11 If your gift is speaking, your words should be like words from God. If your gift is serving, you should serve with the strength that God gives. Then it is God who will be praised in everything through Jesus Christ. Power and glory belong to him forever and ever. Amen.
Jesus Talks to Peter
15 When they finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these other men love me?”
Peter answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”
Then Jesus said to him, “Take care of my lambs.[a]”
16 Again Jesus said to him, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?”
Peter answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”
Then Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.”
17 A third time Jesus said, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?”
Peter was sad because Jesus asked him three times, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know everything. You know that I love you!”
Jesus said to him, “Take care of my sheep. 18 The truth is, when you were young, you tied your own belt and went where you wanted. But when you are old, you will put out your hands, and someone else will tie your belt. They will lead you where you don’t want to go.” 19 (Jesus said this to show how Peter would die to give glory to God.) Then he said to Peter, “Follow me!”
20 Peter turned and saw the follower Jesus loved very much walking behind them. (This was the follower who had leaned against Jesus at the supper and said, “Lord, who is it that will hand you over?”) 21 When Peter saw him behind them, he asked Jesus, “Lord, what about him?”
22 Jesus answered, “Maybe I want him to live until I come. That should not matter to you. You follow me!”
23 So a story spread among the followers of Jesus. They were saying that this follower would not die. But Jesus did not say he would not die. He only said, “Maybe I want him to live until I come. That should not matter to you.”
24 That follower is the one who is telling these things. He is the one who has now written them all down. We know that what he says is true.
25 There are many other things that Jesus did. If every one of them were written down, I think the whole world would not be big enough for all the books that would be written.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International