Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 148[a]
148 Praise the Lord.
Praise the Lord from the sky.
Praise him in the heavens.
2 Praise him, all his angels.[b]
Praise him, all his heavenly assembly.[c]
3 Praise him, O sun and moon.
Praise him, all you shiny stars.[d]
4 Praise him, O highest heaven,
and you waters above the sky.[e]
5 Let them praise the name of the Lord,
for he gave the command and they came into existence.
6 He established them so they would endure;[f]
he issued a decree that will not be revoked.[g]
7 Praise the Lord from the earth,
you sea creatures and all you ocean depths,
8 O fire and hail, snow and clouds,[h]
O stormy wind that carries out his orders,[i]
9 you mountains and all you hills,
you fruit trees and all you cedars,
10 you animals and all you cattle,
you creeping things and birds,
11 you kings of the earth and all you nations,
you princes and all you leaders[j] on the earth,
12 you young men and young women,
you elderly, along with you children.
13 Let them praise the name of the Lord,
for his name alone is exalted;
his majesty extends over the earth and sky.
14 He has made his people victorious,[k]
and given all his loyal followers reason to praise—
the Israelites, the people who are close to him.[l]
Praise the Lord!
Psalm 149[m]
149 Praise the Lord.
Sing to the Lord a new song.
Praise him in the assembly of the godly.[n]
2 Let Israel rejoice in their Creator.
Let the people[o] of Zion delight in their King.[p]
3 Let them praise his name with dancing.
Let them sing praises to him to the accompaniment of the tambourine and harp.
4 For the Lord takes delight in his people;
he exalts the oppressed by delivering them.[q]
5 Let the godly rejoice because of their vindication.[r]
Let them shout for joy upon their beds.[s]
6 May the praises of God be in their mouths
and a two-edged sword in their hands,
7 in order to take[t] revenge on the nations,
and punish foreigners.
8 The godly bind[u] their enemies’ kings in chains,
and their nobles in iron shackles,
9 and execute the judgment to which their enemies[v] have been sentenced.[w]
All his loyal followers will be vindicated.[x]
Praise the Lord.
Psalm 150[y]
150 Praise the Lord!
Praise God in his sanctuary;
praise him in the sky, which testifies to his strength![z]
2 Praise him for his mighty acts;
praise him for his surpassing greatness!
3 Praise him with the blast of the horn;
praise him with the lyre and the harp!
4 Praise him with the tambourine and with dancing;
praise him with stringed instruments and the flute!
5 Praise him with loud cymbals;
praise him with clanging cymbals!
6 Let everything that has breath praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord!
Psalm 114[a]
114 When Israel left Egypt,
when the family of Jacob left a foreign nation behind,[b]
2 Judah became his sanctuary,
Israel his kingdom.
3 The sea looked and fled;[c]
the Jordan River[d] turned back.[e]
4 The mountains skipped like rams,
the hills like lambs.[f]
5 Why do you flee, O sea?
Why do you turn back, O Jordan River?
6 Why do you skip like rams, O mountains,
like lambs, O hills?
7 Tremble, O earth, before the Lord—
before the God of Jacob,
8 who turned a rock into a pool of water,
a hard rock into springs of water.[g]
Psalm 115[h]
115 Not to us, O Lord, not to us,
but to your name bring honor,[i]
for the sake of your loyal love and faithfulness.[j]
2 Why should the nations say,
“Where is their God?”
3 Our God is in heaven.
He does whatever he pleases.[k]
4 Their[l] idols are made of silver and gold—
they are man-made.[m]
5 They have mouths, but cannot speak,
eyes, but cannot see,
6 ears, but cannot hear,
noses, but cannot smell,
7 hands, but cannot touch,
feet, but cannot walk.
They cannot even clear their throats.[n]
8 Those who make them will end up[o] like them,
as will everyone who trusts in them.
9 O Israel, trust in the Lord.
He is their deliverer[p] and protector.[q]
10 O family[r] of Aaron, trust in the Lord.
He is their deliverer[s] and protector.[t]
11 You loyal followers of the Lord,[u] trust in the Lord.
He is their deliverer[v] and protector.[w]
12 The Lord takes notice of us;[x] he will bless[y]—
he will bless the family[z] of Israel,
he will bless the family of Aaron.
13 He will bless his loyal followers,[aa]
both young and old.[ab]
14 May he increase your numbers,
yours and your children’s.[ac]
15 May you be blessed by the Lord,
the Creator[ad] of heaven and earth.
16 The heavens belong to the Lord,[ae]
but the earth he has given to mankind.[af]
17 The dead do not praise the Lord,
nor do any of those who descend into the silence of death.[ag]
18 But we will praise the Lord
now and forevermore.
Praise the Lord!
Solomon Prays for Israel
22 Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in front of the entire assembly of Israel and spread out his hands toward the sky.[a] 23 He prayed:[b] “O Lord, God of Israel, there is no god like you in heaven above or on earth below! You maintain covenantal loyalty[c] to your servants who obey you with sincerity.[d] 24 You have kept your word to your servant, my father David;[e] this very day you have fulfilled what you promised.[f] 25 Now, O Lord, God of Israel, keep the promise you made to your servant, my father David, when you said, ‘You will never fail to have a successor ruling before me on the throne of Israel,[g] provided that your descendants watch their step[h] and serve me as you have done.’[i] 26 Now, O God of Israel, may the promise you made[j] to your servant, my father David, be realized.[k]
27 “God does not really live on the earth![l] Look, if the sky and the highest heaven cannot contain you, how much less this temple I have built! 28 But respond favorably to[m] your servant’s prayer and his request for help, O Lord my God. Answer[n] the desperate prayer[o] your servant is presenting to you[p] today. 29 Night and day may you watch over this temple, the place where you promised you would live.[q] May you answer your servant’s prayer for this place.[r] 30 Respond to the request of your servant and your people Israel for this place.[s] Hear from inside your heavenly dwelling place[t] and respond favorably.[u]
31 “When someone is accused of sinning against his neighbor and the latter pronounces a curse on the alleged offender before your altar in this temple, be willing to forgive the accused if the accusation is false.[v] 32 Listen from heaven and make a just decision about your servants’ claims. Condemn the guilty party, declare the other innocent, and give both of them what they deserve.[w]
33 “The time will come when[x] your people Israel are defeated by an enemy[y] because they sinned against you. If they come back to you, renew their allegiance to you,[z] and pray for your help[aa] in this temple, 34 then listen from heaven, forgive the sin of your people Israel, and bring them back to the land you gave to their ancestors.
35 “The time will come when[ab] the skies are shut up tightly and no rain falls because your people[ac] sinned against you. When they direct their prayers toward this place, renew their allegiance to you,[ad] and turn away from their sin because you punish[ae] them, 36 then listen from heaven and forgive the sin of your servants, your people Israel. Certainly[af] you will then teach them the right way to live[ag] and send rain on your land that you have given your people to possess.[ah]
37 “The time will come when the land suffers from a famine, a plague, blight and disease, or a locust[ai] invasion, or when their enemy lays siege to the cities of the land,[aj] or when some other type of plague or epidemic occurs. 38 When all your people Israel pray and ask for help,[ak] as they acknowledge their pain[al] and spread out their hands toward this temple, 39 then listen from your heavenly dwelling place, forgive their sin,[am] and act favorably toward each one based on your evaluation of his motives.[an] (Indeed you are the only one who can correctly evaluate the motives of all people.)[ao] 40 Then they will obey[ap] you throughout their lifetimes as[aq] they live on the land you gave to our ancestors.
7 But reject those myths[a] fit only for the godless and gullible,[b] and train yourself for godliness. 8 For “physical exercise[c] has some value, but godliness is valuable in every way. It holds promise for the present life and for the life to come.” 9 This saying[d] is trustworthy and deserves full acceptance. 10 In fact this is why[e] we work hard and struggle,[f] because we have set our hope on the living God, who is the Savior of all people,[g] especially of believers.
11 Command and teach these things. 12 Let no one look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in your speech, conduct, love, faithfulness,[h] and purity. 13 Until I come, give attention to the public reading of scripture,[i] to exhortation, to teaching. 14 Do not neglect the spiritual gift you have,[j] given to you and confirmed by prophetic words[k] when the elders laid hands on you.[l] 15 Take pains with these things; be absorbed in them, so that everyone will see your progress.[m] 16 Be conscientious about how you live and what you teach.[n] Persevere in this, because by doing so you will save both yourself and those who listen to you.
47 The one who belongs to[a] God listens and responds[b] to God’s words. You don’t listen and respond,[c] because you don’t belong to God.”[d]
48 The Judeans[e] replied,[f] “Aren’t we correct in saying[g] that you are a Samaritan and are possessed by a demon?”[h] 49 Jesus answered, “I am not possessed by a demon,[i] but I honor my Father—and yet[j] you dishonor me. 50 I am not trying to get[k] praise for myself.[l] There is one who demands[m] it, and he also judges.[n] 51 I tell you the solemn truth,[o] if anyone obeys[p] my teaching,[q] he will never see death.”[r]
52 Then[s] the Judeans[t] responded,[u] “Now we know you’re possessed by a demon![v] Both Abraham and the prophets died, and yet[w] you say, ‘If anyone obeys[x] my teaching,[y] he will never experience[z] death.’[aa] 53 You aren’t greater than our father Abraham who died, are you?[ab] And the prophets died too! Who do you claim to be?” 54 Jesus replied,[ac] “If I glorify myself, my glory is worthless.[ad] The one who glorifies me is my Father, about whom you people[ae] say, ‘He is our God.’ 55 Yet[af] you do not know him, but I know him. If I were to say that I do not know him,[ag] I would be a liar like you. But I do know him, and I obey[ah] his teaching.[ai] 56 Your father Abraham was overjoyed[aj] to see my day, and he saw it and was glad.”[ak]
57 Then the Judeans[al] replied,[am] “You are not yet fifty years old![an] Have[ao] you seen Abraham?” 58 Jesus said to them, “I tell you the solemn truth,[ap] before Abraham came into existence,[aq] I am!”[ar] 59 Then they picked up[as] stones to throw at him,[at] but Jesus was hidden from them[au] and went out from the temple area.[av]
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