Book of Common Prayer
Praise to God for His Faithfulness and Justice
111 Praise[a] the Lord!
(A)I will praise the Lord with my whole heart,
In the assembly of the upright and in the congregation.
2 (B)The works of the Lord are great,
(C)Studied by all who have pleasure in them.
3 His work is (D)honorable and glorious,
And His righteousness endures forever.
4 He has made His wonderful works to be remembered;
(E)The Lord is gracious and full of compassion.
5 He has given food to those who fear Him;
He will ever be mindful of His covenant.
6 He has declared to His people the power of His works,
In giving them the [b]heritage of the nations.
7 The works of His hands are (F)verity[c] and justice;
All His precepts are sure.
8 (G)They stand fast forever and ever,
And are (H)done in truth and uprightness.
9 (I)He has sent redemption to His people;
He has commanded His covenant forever:
(J)Holy and awesome is His name.
10 (K)The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom;
A good understanding have all those who do His commandments.
His praise endures forever.
The Blessed State of the Righteous
112 Praise[d] the Lord!
Blessed is the man who fears the Lord,
Who (L)delights greatly in His commandments.
2 (M)His descendants will be mighty on earth;
The generation of the upright will be blessed.
3 (N)Wealth and riches will be in his house,
And his righteousness [e]endures forever.
4 (O)Unto the upright there arises light in the darkness;
He is gracious, and full of compassion, and righteous.
5 (P)A good man deals graciously and lends;
He will guide his affairs (Q)with discretion.
6 Surely he will never be shaken;
(R)The righteous will be in everlasting remembrance.
7 (S)He will not be afraid of evil tidings;
His heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord.
8 His (T)heart is established;
(U)He will not be afraid,
Until he (V)sees his desire upon his enemies.
9 He has dispersed abroad,
He has given to the poor;
His righteousness endures forever;
His [f]horn will be exalted with honor.
10 The wicked will see it and be grieved;
He will gnash his teeth and melt away;
The desire of the wicked shall perish.
32 And what more shall I say? For the time would fail me to tell of (A)Gideon and (B)Barak and (C)Samson and (D)Jephthah, also of (E)David and (F)Samuel and the prophets: 33 who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, (G)stopped the mouths of lions, 34 (H)quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. 35 (I)Women received their dead raised to life again.
Others were (J)tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection. 36 Still others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and (K)of chains and imprisonment. 37 (L)They were stoned, they were sawn in two, [a]were tempted, were slain with the sword. (M)They wandered about (N)in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented— 38 of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, (O)in dens and caves of the earth.
39 And all these, (P)having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise, 40 God having provided something better for us, that they should not be (Q)made perfect apart from us.
The Race of Faith
12 Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, (R)let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and (S)let us run (T)with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking unto Jesus, the [b]author and [c]finisher of our faith, (U)who for the joy that was set before Him (V)endured the cross, despising the shame, and (W)has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Praise to the Lord from Creation
148 Praise[a] the Lord!
Praise the Lord from the heavens;
Praise Him in the heights!
2 Praise Him, all His angels;
Praise Him, all His hosts!
3 Praise Him, sun and moon;
Praise Him, all you stars of light!
4 Praise Him, (A)you heavens of heavens,
And (B)you waters above the heavens!
5 Let them praise the name of the Lord,
For (C)He commanded and they were created.
6 (D)He also established them forever and ever;
He made a decree which shall not pass away.
7 Praise the Lord from the earth,
(E)You great sea creatures and all the depths;
8 Fire and hail, snow and clouds;
Stormy wind, fulfilling His word;
9 (F)Mountains and all hills;
Fruitful trees and all cedars;
10 Beasts and all cattle;
Creeping things and flying fowl;
11 Kings of the earth and all peoples;
Princes and all judges of the earth;
12 Both young men and maidens;
Old men and children.
13 Let them praise the name of the Lord,
For His (G)name alone is exalted;
His glory is above the earth and heaven.
14 And He (H)has exalted the [b]horn of His people,
The praise of (I)all His saints—
Of the children of Israel,
(J)A people near to Him.
[c]Praise the Lord!
Let All Things Praise the Lord
Praise God in His sanctuary;
Praise Him in His mighty [b]firmament!
2 Praise Him for His mighty acts;
Praise Him according to His excellent (B)greatness!
3 Praise Him with the sound of the [c]trumpet;
Praise Him with the lute and harp!
4 Praise Him with the timbrel and dance;
Praise Him with stringed instruments and flutes!
5 Praise Him with loud cymbals;
Praise Him with clashing cymbals!
6 Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.
[d]Praise the Lord!
All Things Made New
21 Now (A)I saw a new heaven and a new earth, (B)for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. 2 Then I, [a]John, saw (C)the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared (D)as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, (E)the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. 4 (F)And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; (G)there shall be no more death, (H)nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.”
The Glory of the New Jerusalem
22 (A)But I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. 23 (B)The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine [a]in it, for the [b]glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light. 24 (C)And the nations [c]of those who are saved shall walk in its light, and the kings of the earth bring their glory and honor [d]into it. 25 (D)Its gates shall not be shut at all by day (E)(there shall be no night there). 26 (F)And they shall bring the glory and the honor of the nations into [e]it. 27 But (G)there shall by no means enter it anything [f]that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s (H)Book of Life.
The River of Life
22 And he showed me (I)a [g]pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb. 2 (J)In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was (K)the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were (L)for the healing of the nations. 3 And (M)there shall be no more curse, (N)but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His (O)servants shall serve Him. 4 (P)They shall see His face, and (Q)His name shall be on their foreheads. 5 (R)There shall be no night there: They need no lamp nor (S)light of the sun, for (T)the Lord God gives them light. (U)And they shall reign forever and ever.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.