Book of Common Prayer
The Whole Creation Invoked to Praise the Lord.
148 [a]Praise [b]the Lord!
Praise the Lord (A)from the heavens;
Praise Him (B)in the heights!
2 Praise Him, (C)all His angels;
Praise Him, (D)all His heavenly armies!
3 Praise Him, sun and moon;
Praise Him, all stars of light!
4 Praise Him, [c](E)highest heavens,
And the (F)waters that are above the heavens!
5 They are to praise the name of the Lord,
For (G)He commanded and they were created.
6 He has also (H)established them forever and ever;
He has made a (I)decree, and it will not pass away.
7 Praise the Lord from the earth,
(J)Sea monsters, and all the ocean (K)depths;
8 (L)Fire and hail, (M)snow and (N)clouds;
(O)Stormy wind, (P)fulfilling His word;
9 (Q)Mountains and all hills;
Fruit (R)trees and all cedars;
10 (S)Animals and all cattle;
(T)Crawling things and winged fowl;
11 (U)Kings of the earth and all peoples;
Rulers and all judges of the earth;
12 Both young men and virgins;
Old men and children.
13 They are to praise the name of the Lord,
For His (V)name alone is exalted;
His (W)majesty is above earth and heaven.
14 And He has (X)lifted up a horn for His people,
(Y)Praise for all His godly ones,
For the sons of Israel, a people (Z)near to Him.
[d]Praise [e]the Lord!
Israel Invoked to Praise the Lord.
149 [f]Praise [g]the Lord!
Sing a (AA)new song to the Lord,
And His praise (AB)in the congregation of the godly ones.
2 Israel shall be joyful in (AC)his Maker;
The sons of Zion shall rejoice in their (AD)King.
3 They shall praise His name with (AE)dancing;
They shall sing praises to Him with (AF)tambourine and lyre.
4 For the Lord (AG)takes pleasure in His people;
He will (AH)glorify the lowly with salvation.
5 The (AI)godly ones shall be jubilant in glory;
They shall (AJ)sing for joy on their beds.
6 The (AK)high praises of God shall be in their [h]mouths,
And a (AL)two-edged (AM)sword in their hands,
7 To (AN)execute vengeance on the nations,
And punishment on the peoples,
8 To bind their kings (AO)with chains,
And their (AP)dignitaries with shackles of iron,
9 To (AQ)execute against them the judgment written.
This is an (AR)honor for all His godly ones.
[i]Praise [j]the Lord!
A Psalm of Praise.
150 [k]Praise [l]the Lord!
Praise God in His (AS)sanctuary;
Praise Him in His mighty [m](AT)expanse.
2 Praise Him for His (AU)mighty deeds;
Praise Him according to His excellent (AV)greatness.
3 Praise Him with (AW)trumpet sound;
Praise Him with (AX)harp and lyre.
4 Praise Him with (AY)tambourine and dancing;
Praise Him with (AZ)stringed instruments and (BA)flute.
5 Praise Him with loud (BB)cymbals;
Praise Him with resounding cymbals.
6 (BC)Everything that has breath shall praise [n]the Lord.
[o]Praise [p]the Lord!
The Lord Exalts the Humble.
113 [a]Praise [b]the Lord!
(A)Praise Him, you (B)servants of the Lord,
Praise the name of the Lord.
2 (C)Blessed be the name of the Lord
From this time on and forever.
3 (D)From [c]the rising of the sun to its setting,
The (E)name of the Lord is to be praised.
4 The Lord is (F)high above all nations;
His (G)glory is above the heavens.
5 (H)Who is like the Lord our God,
Who (I)is enthroned on high,
6 Who (J)looks far down to
The heavens and the earth?
7 He (K)raises the poor from the dust,
He lifts the needy from the garbage heap,
8 To (L)seat them with noblemen,
With the noblemen of His people.
9 He (M)has the infertile woman live in the house
As a joyful mother of children.
[d]Praise [e]the Lord!
God’s Rescue of Israel from Egypt.
114 When Israel went forth (N)from Egypt,
The house of Jacob from a people of a (O)foreign language,
2 Judah became (P)His sanctuary;
Israel, (Q)His dominion.
Thanksgiving for the Lord’s Saving Goodness.
118 (A)Give thanks to the Lord, for (B)He is good;
For His mercy is everlasting.
2 Let (C)Israel say,
“His mercy is everlasting.”
3 Oh let the (D)house of Aaron say,
“His mercy is everlasting.”
4 Let those (E)who [a]fear the Lord say,
“His mercy is everlasting.”
5 From my (F)distress I called upon [b]the Lord;
[c]The Lord answered me and (G)put me in an open space.
6 The Lord is (H)for me; I will (I)not fear;
(J)What can man do to me?
7 The Lord is for me (K)among those who help me;
Therefore I will (L)look with satisfaction on those who hate me.
8 It is (M)better to take refuge in the Lord
Than to trust in people.
9 It is (N)better to take refuge in the Lord
Than to trust in noblemen.
10 All nations (O)surrounded me;
In the name of the Lord I will certainly (P)fend them off.
11 They (Q)surrounded me, yes, they surrounded me;
In the name of the Lord I will certainly fend them off.
12 They surrounded me (R)like bees;
They were extinguished like a (S)fire of thorn bushes;
In the name of the Lord I will certainly fend them off.
13 You (T)pushed me violently so that I [d]was falling,
But the Lord (U)helped me.
14 [e](V)The Lord is my strength and song,
And He has become (W)my salvation.
15 The sound of (X)joyful shouting and salvation is in the tents of the righteous;
The (Y)right hand of the Lord performs valiantly.
16 The (Z)right hand of the Lord is exalted;
The right hand of the Lord performs valiantly.
17 I (AA)will not die, but live,
And (AB)tell of the works of [f]the Lord.
18 [g]The Lord has (AC)disciplined me severely,
But He has (AD)not turned me over to death.
19 (AE)Open the gates of righteousness to me;
I will enter through them, I will give thanks to [h]the Lord.
20 This is the gate of the Lord;
The (AF)righteous will enter through it.
21 I will give thanks to You, for You have (AG)answered me,
And You have (AH)become my salvation.
22 A (AI)stone which the builders rejected
Has become the [i]chief cornerstone.
23 This came about from the Lord;
It is marvelous in our eyes.
24 This is the day which the Lord has made;
Let’s (AJ)rejoice and be glad in it.
25 Please, O Lord, (AK)do save us;
Please, O Lord, do send (AL)prosperity!
26 (AM)Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord;
We have (AN)blessed you from the house of the Lord.
27 (AO)The Lord is God, and He has given us (AP)light;
Bind the festival sacrifice [j]to the (AQ)horns of the altar with cords.
28 (AR)You are my God, and I give thanks to You;
You are my God, (AS)I exalt You.
29 (AT)Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good;
For His mercy is everlasting.
The Passover Lamb
12 Now the Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of [a]Egypt, 2 “(A)This month shall be the beginning of months for you; it is to be the first month of the year for you. 3 Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying, ‘On the tenth of this month they are, each one, to take a [b]lamb for themselves, according to the fathers’ households, a [c]lamb for [d]each household. 4 Now if the household is too small for a [e]lamb, then he and his neighbor nearest to his house are to take one according to the [f]number of persons in them; in proportion to [g]what each one should eat, you are to [h]divide the lamb. 5 Your [i]lamb shall be (B)an unblemished male a year old; you may take it from the sheep or from the goats. 6 [j]You shall keep it until the (C)fourteenth day of the same month, then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel is to slaughter it [k](D)at twilight. 7 (E)Moreover, they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel [l]of the houses in which they eat it. 8 They shall eat the flesh (F)that same night, (G)roasted with fire, and they shall eat it with (H)unleavened bread [m](I)and bitter herbs. 9 Do not eat any of it raw or boiled at all with water, but rather (J)roasted with fire, both its head and its legs along with (K)its entrails. 10 (L)And you shall not leave any of it over until morning, but whatever is left of it until morning, you shall completely burn with fire. 11 Now you shall eat it in this way: with your garment [n]belted around your waist, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and you shall eat it in a hurry—it is (M)the Lord’s Passover. 12 For (N)I will go through the land of Egypt on that night, and fatally strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the human firstborn to animals; and (O)against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments—(P)I am the Lord. 13 (Q)The blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you [o]live; and when I see the blood I will pass over you, and no plague will come upon you [p]to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.
Feast of Unleavened Bread
14 ‘Now (R)this day shall be (S)a memorial to you, and you shall celebrate it as a feast to the Lord; throughout your generations you are to celebrate it as [q](T)a permanent ordinance.
9 (A)Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the Lord;
Awake as in the (B)days of old, the generations of long ago.
(C)Was it not You who cut [a]Rahab in pieces,
Who pierced the (D)dragon?
10 Was it not You who (E)dried up the sea,
The waters of the great deep;
Who made the depths of the sea a pathway
For the (F)redeemed to cross over?
11 And the (G)redeemed of the Lord will return
And come to Zion with joyful shouting,
And (H)everlasting joy will be on their heads.
They will obtain gladness and joy,
And (I)sorrow and sighing will flee away.
1 (A)In the beginning was (B)the Word, and the Word was (C)with God, and (D)the Word was God. 2 [a]He was in the beginning with God. 3 (E)All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him [b]not even one thing came into being that has come into being. 4 (F)In Him was life, and the life was (G)the Light of mankind. 5 And (H)the Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not [c]grasp it.
The Witness John the Baptist
6 A man [d]came, one sent from God, and his name was (I)John. 7 [e]He came [f](J)as a witness, to testify about the Light, (K)so that all might believe through him. 8 [g](L)He was not the Light, but he came to testify about the Light.
9 [h]This was (M)the true Light [i]that, coming into the world, enlightens every person. 10 He was in the world, and (N)the world came into being through Him, and yet the world did not [j]know Him. 11 He came to His [k]own, and His own people did not [l]accept Him. 12 But [m]as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become (O)children of God, (P)to those who [n]believe in His name, 13 (Q)who were [o]born, not of [p]blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of a man, but of God.
The Word Made Flesh
14 And (R)the Word (S)became flesh, and (T)dwelt among us; and (U)we saw His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of (V)grace and (W)truth. 15 John *(X)testified about Him and called out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘(Y)He who is coming after me has proved to be [q]my superior, (Z)because He existed before me.’” 16 For of His (AA)fullness [r]we have all received, and [s]grace upon grace. 17 For (AB)the Law was given through Moses; (AC)grace and (AD)truth [t]were realized through Jesus Christ. 18 (AE)No one has seen God at any time; (AF)God the only Son, who is (AG)in the [u]arms of the Father, (AH)He has [v]explained Him.
The Road to Emmaus
13 And behold, on that very day (A)two of them were going to a village named Emmaus, which was [a]sixty stadia from Jerusalem. 14 And they were talking with each other about all these things which had taken place. 15 While they were talking and discussing, Jesus Himself approached and began traveling with them. 16 But (B)their eyes were kept from recognizing Him. 17 And He said to them, “What are these words that you are exchanging with one another as you are walking?” And they came to a stop, looking sad. 18 One of them, named Cleopas, answered and said to Him, “Are You possibly the only one living near Jerusalem [b]who does not know about the things that happened here in these days?” 19 And He said to them, “What sort of things?” And they said to Him, “Those about (C)Jesus the Nazarene, who proved to be a (D)prophet mighty in deed and word in the sight of God and all the people, 20 and how the chief priests and our (E)rulers handed Him over to be sentenced to death, and crucified Him. 21 But we [c]were hoping that it was He who was going to (F)redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, it is now the third day since these things happened. 22 But also some women among us left us bewildered. (G)When they were at the tomb early in the morning, 23 and did not find His body, they came, saying that they had also seen a vision of angels who said that He was alive. 24 And so some of those who were with us went to the tomb, and found it just exactly as the women also had said; but Him they did not see.” 25 And then He said to them, “[d]You foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that (H)the prophets have spoken! 26 (I)Was it not necessary for the [e]Christ to suffer these things and to come into His glory?” 27 Then beginning [f]with (J)Moses and [g]with all the (K)Prophets, He explained to them the things written about Himself in all the Scriptures.
28 And they approached the village where they were going, and (L)He gave the impression that He was going farther. 29 And so they strongly urged Him, saying, “Stay with us, for it is getting toward evening, and the day [h]is now nearly over.” So He went in to stay with them. 30 And it came about, when He had reclined at the table with them, that He took the bread and (M)blessed it, and He broke it and began giving it to them. 31 And then their (N)eyes were opened and they recognized Him; and He vanished from [i]their sight. 32 They said to one another, “[j]Were our hearts not burning within us when He was speaking to us on the road, while He (O)was [k]explaining the Scriptures to us?” 33 And they got up that very hour and returned to Jerusalem, and (P)found the eleven gathered together and (Q)those who were with them, 34 saying, “(R)The Lord has really risen and (S)has appeared to Simon!” 35 They began to relate [l]their experiences on the road, and how (T)He was recognized by them at the breaking of the bread.
Jesus among His Disciples
19 Now when it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and when the doors were [a]shut where the disciples were together due to (A)fear of the [b]Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst, and *said to them, “(B)Peace be to you.” 20 And when He had said this, (C)He showed them both His hands and His side. The disciples then (D)rejoiced when they saw the Lord. 21 So Jesus said to them again, “(E)Peace be to you; (F)just as the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” 22 And when He had said this, He breathed on them and *said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 (G)If you forgive the sins of any, their sins [c]have been forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they have been retained.”
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