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!
God’s Rescue of Israel from Egypt.
114 When Israel went forth (A)from Egypt,
The house of Jacob from a people of a (B)foreign language,
2 Judah became (C)His sanctuary;
Israel, (D)His dominion.
3 The (E)sea looked and fled;
The (F)Jordan turned back.
4 The mountains (G)skipped like rams,
The hills, like lambs.
5 What (H)ails you, sea, that you flee?
Jordan, that you turn back?
6 Mountains, that you skip like rams?
Hills, like lambs?
7 (I)Tremble, earth, before the Lord,
Before the God of Jacob,
8 Who (J)turned the rock into a (K)pool of water,
The (L)flint into a fountain of water.
Heathen Idols Contrasted with the Lord.
115 (M)Not to us, Lord, not to us,
But (N)to Your name give glory,
Because of Your mercy, because of Your [a]truth.
2 (O)Why should the nations say,
“(P)Where, then, is their God?”
3 But our (Q)God is in the heavens;
He (R)does whatever He pleases.
4 Their (S)idols are silver and gold,
The (T)work of human hands.
5 They have mouths, but they (U)cannot speak;
They have eyes, but they cannot see;
6 They have ears, but they cannot hear;
They have noses, but they cannot smell;
7 [b]They have hands, but they cannot feel;
[c]They have feet, but they cannot walk;
They cannot make a sound with their throat.
8 (V)Those who make them [d]will become like them,
Everyone who trusts in them.
9 (W)Israel, (X)trust in the Lord;
He is their (Y)help and their shield.
10 House of (Z)Aaron, trust in the Lord;
He is their help and their shield.
11 You who [e](AA)fear the Lord, trust in the Lord;
He is their help and their shield.
12 The Lord (AB)has been mindful of us; He will bless us.
He will bless the house of Israel;
He will bless the house of Aaron.
13 He will (AC)bless those who [f]fear the Lord,
(AD)The small together with the great.
14 May the Lord (AE)increase you,
You and your children.
15 May you be blessed of the Lord,
(AF)Maker of heaven and earth.
Avoid Israel’s Mistakes
10 For (A)I do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, that our fathers were all (B)under the cloud and they all (C)passed through the sea; 2 and they all were (D)baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea; 3 and they all (E)ate the same spiritual food, 4 and all (F)drank the same spiritual drink, for they were drinking from a spiritual rock which followed them; and the rock was [a]Christ. 5 Nevertheless, with most of them God was not pleased; for their dead bodies were (G)spread out in the wilderness.
6 Now these things happened as (H)examples for us, so that we would not crave evil things as (I)they indeed craved them. 7 Do not be (J)idolaters, as some of them were; as it is written: “(K)The people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to (L)play.” 8 Nor are we to commit sexual immorality, as (M)some of them [b]did, and (N)twenty-three thousand fell in one day. 9 Nor are we to put the Lord to the test, as (O)some of them [c]did, and were killed by the snakes. 10 Nor (P)grumble, as some of them [d]did, and (Q)were killed by the (R)destroyer. 11 Now these things happened to them as an (S)example, and (T)they were written for our instruction, upon whom (U)the ends of the ages have come. 12 Therefore let the one who (V)thinks he stands watch out that he does not fall. 13 No temptation has overtaken you except something common to mankind; and (W)God is faithful, [e]so He will not allow you to be (X)tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.
Peter’s Confession of Christ
13 (A)Now when Jesus came into the region of (B)Caesarea Philippi, He was asking His disciples, “Who do people say that (C)the Son of Man is?” 14 And they said, “Some say (D)John the Baptist; and others, [a](E)Elijah; and still others, [b]Jeremiah, or one of the other prophets.” 15 He *said to them, “But who do you yourselves say that I am?” 16 Simon Peter answered, “You are (F)the [c]Christ, (G)the Son of (H)the living God.” 17 And Jesus said to him, “Blessed are you, (I)Simon [d]Barjona, because (J)flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. 18 And I also say to you that you are [e](K)Peter, and upon this [f]rock I will build My church; and the gates of (L)Hades will not overpower it. 19 I will give you (M)the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and (N)whatever you [g]bind on earth [h]shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you [i]loose on earth [j]shall have been loosed in heaven.” 20 (O)Then He gave the disciples strict orders that they were to tell no one that He was (P)the [k]Christ.
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