Book of Common Prayer
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!
Praise to God for His Salvation and Judgment
149 Praise[d] the Lord!
(K)Sing to the Lord a new song,
And His praise in the assembly of saints.
2 Let Israel rejoice in their Maker;
Let the children of Zion be joyful in their (L)King.
3 (M)Let them praise His name with the dance;
Let them sing praises to Him with the timbrel and harp.
4 For (N)the Lord takes pleasure in His people;
(O)He will beautify the [e]humble with salvation.
5 Let the saints be joyful in glory;
Let them (P)sing aloud on their beds.
6 Let the high praises of God be in their mouth,
And (Q)a two-edged sword in their hand,
7 To execute vengeance on the nations,
And punishments on the peoples;
8 To bind their kings with chains,
And their nobles with fetters of iron;
9 (R)To execute on them the written judgment—
(S)This honor have all His saints.
[f]Praise the Lord!
Let All Things Praise the Lord
Praise God in His sanctuary;
Praise Him in His mighty [h]firmament!
2 Praise Him for His mighty acts;
Praise Him according to His excellent (U)greatness!
3 Praise Him with the sound of the [i]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.
[j]Praise the Lord!
The Power of God in His Deliverance of Israel(A)
114 When (B)Israel went out of Egypt,
The house of Jacob (C)from a people [a]of strange language,
2 (D)Judah became His sanctuary,
And Israel His dominion.
3 (E)The sea saw it and fled;
(F)Jordan turned back.
4 (G)The mountains skipped like rams,
The little hills like lambs.
5 (H)What ails you, O sea, that you fled?
O Jordan, that you turned back?
6 O mountains, that you skipped like rams?
O little hills, like lambs?
7 Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord,
At the presence of the God of Jacob,
8 (I)Who turned the rock into a pool of water,
The flint into a fountain of waters.
The Futility of Idols and the Trustworthiness of God
115 Not (J)unto us, O Lord, not unto us,
But to Your name give glory,
Because of Your mercy,
Because of Your truth.
2 Why should the [b]Gentiles say,
(K)“So where is their God?”
3 (L)But our God is in heaven;
He does whatever He pleases.
4 (M)Their idols are silver and gold,
The work of men’s hands.
5 They have mouths, but they do not speak;
Eyes they have, but they do not see;
6 They have ears, but they do not hear;
Noses they have, but they do not smell;
7 They have hands, but they do not handle;
Feet they have, but they do not walk;
Nor do they mutter through their throat.
8 (N)Those who make them are like them;
So is everyone who trusts in them.
9 (O)O Israel, trust in the Lord;
(P)He is their help and their shield.
10 O house of Aaron, trust in the Lord;
He is their help and their shield.
11 You who fear the Lord, trust in the Lord;
He is their help and their shield.
12 The Lord [c]has been mindful of us;
He will bless us;
He will bless the house of Israel;
He will bless the house of Aaron.
13 (Q)He will bless those who fear the Lord,
Both small and great.
14 May the Lord give you increase more and more,
You and your children.
15 May you be (R)blessed by the Lord,
(S)Who made heaven and earth.
16 The heaven, even the heavens, are the Lord’s;
But the earth He has given to the children of men.
17 (T)The dead do not praise the Lord,
Nor any who go down into silence.
18 (U)But we will bless the Lord
From this time forth and forevermore.
Praise the Lord!
Warnings to Zion and Samaria
6 Woe (A)to you who are at (B)ease in Zion,
And (C)trust in Mount Samaria,
Notable persons in the (D)chief nation,
To whom the house of Israel comes!
2 (E)Go over to (F)Calneh and see;
And from there go to (G)Hamath the great;
Then go down to Gath of the Philistines.
(H)Are you better than these kingdoms?
Or is their territory greater than your territory?
3 Woe to you who (I)put far off the day of (J)doom,
(K)Who cause (L)the seat of violence to come near;
4 Who lie on beds of ivory,
Stretch out on your couches,
Eat lambs from the flock
And calves from the midst of the stall;
5 (M)Who sing idly to the sound of stringed instruments,
And invent for yourselves (N)musical instruments (O)like David;
6 Who (P)drink wine from bowls,
And anoint yourselves with the best ointments,
(Q)But are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph.
7 Therefore they shall now go (R)captive as the first of the captives,
And those who recline at banquets shall be removed.
8 (S)The Lord God has sworn by Himself,
The Lord God of hosts says:
“I abhor (T)the pride of Jacob,
And hate his palaces;
Therefore I will deliver up the city
And all that is in it.”
9 Then it shall come to pass, that if ten men remain in one house, they shall die. 10 And when [a]a relative of the dead, with one who will burn the bodies, picks up the [b]bodies to take them out of the house, he will say to one inside the house, “Are there any more with you?”
Then someone will say, “None.”
And he will say, (U)“Hold your tongue! (V)For we dare not mention the name of the Lord.”
11 For behold, (W)the Lord gives a command:
(X)He will break the great house into bits,
And the little house into pieces.
5 which is (A)manifest[a] evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, (B)for which you also suffer; 6 (C)since it is a righteous thing with God to repay with [b]tribulation those who trouble you, 7 and to give you who are troubled (D)rest with us when (E)the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, 8 in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 (F)These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and (G)from the glory of His power, 10 when He comes, in that Day, (H)to be (I)glorified in His saints and to be admired among all those who [c]believe, because our testimony among you was believed.
11 Therefore we also pray always for you that our God would (J)count you worthy of this calling, and fulfill all the good pleasure of His goodness and (K)the work of faith with power, 12 (L)that the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Birth of John the Baptist
57 Now Elizabeth’s full time came for her to be delivered, and she brought forth a son. 58 When her neighbors and relatives heard how the Lord had shown great mercy to her, they (A)rejoiced with her.
Circumcision of John the Baptist
59 So it was, (B)on the eighth day, that they came to circumcise the child; and they would have called him by the name of his father, Zacharias. 60 His mother answered and said, (C)“No; he shall be called John.”
61 But they said to her, “There is no one among your relatives who is called by this name.” 62 So they made signs to his father—what he would have him called.
63 And he asked for a writing tablet, and wrote, saying, “His name is John.” So they all marveled. 64 Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he spoke, praising God. 65 Then fear came on all who dwelt around them; and all these sayings were discussed throughout all the hill country of Judea. 66 And all those who heard them (D)kept them in their hearts, saying, “What kind of child will this be?” And (E)the hand of the Lord was with him.
Zacharias’ Prophecy
67 Now his father Zacharias (F)was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying:
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.