Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 148
Praise the Lord from the heavens;(B)
praise him in the heights above.
2 Praise him, all his angels;(C)
praise him, all his heavenly hosts.(D)
3 Praise him, sun(E) and moon;
praise him, all you shining stars.
4 Praise him, you highest heavens(F)
and you waters above the skies.(G)
5 Let them praise the name(H) of the Lord,
for at his command(I) they were created,
6 and he established them for ever and ever—
he issued a decree(J) that will never pass away.
7 Praise the Lord(K) from the earth,
you great sea creatures(L) and all ocean depths,(M)
8 lightning and hail,(N) snow and clouds,
stormy winds that do his bidding,(O)
9 you mountains and all hills,(P)
fruit trees and all cedars,
10 wild animals(Q) and all cattle,
small creatures and flying birds,
11 kings(R) of the earth and all nations,
you princes and all rulers on earth,
12 young men and women,
old men and children.
13 Let them praise the name of the Lord,(S)
for his name alone is exalted;
his splendor(T) is above the earth and the heavens.(U)
14 And he has raised up for his people a horn,[b](V)
the praise(W) of all his faithful servants,(X)
of Israel, the people close to his heart.(Y)
Praise the Lord.
Psalm 149
2 Let Israel rejoice(AC) in their Maker;(AD)
let the people of Zion be glad in their King.(AE)
3 Let them praise his name with dancing(AF)
and make music to him with timbrel and harp.(AG)
4 For the Lord takes delight(AH) in his people;
he crowns the humble with victory.(AI)
5 Let his faithful people rejoice(AJ) in this honor
and sing for joy on their beds.(AK)
6 May the praise of God be in their mouths(AL)
and a double-edged(AM) sword in their hands,(AN)
7 to inflict vengeance(AO) on the nations
and punishment(AP) on the peoples,
8 to bind their kings with fetters,(AQ)
their nobles with shackles of iron,(AR)
9 to carry out the sentence written against them—(AS)
this is the glory of all his faithful people.(AT)
Praise the Lord.
Psalm 150
Praise God in his sanctuary;(AV)
praise him in his mighty heavens.(AW)
2 Praise him for his acts of power;(AX)
praise him for his surpassing greatness.(AY)
3 Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet,(AZ)
praise him with the harp and lyre,(BA)
4 praise him with timbrel and dancing,(BB)
praise him with the strings(BC) and pipe,(BD)
5 praise him with the clash of cymbals,(BE)
praise him with resounding cymbals.
6 Let everything(BF) that has breath praise the Lord.
Praise the Lord.
Psalm 114
1 When Israel came out of Egypt,(A)
Jacob from a people of foreign tongue,
2 Judah(B) became God’s sanctuary,(C)
Israel his dominion.
3 The sea looked and fled,(D)
the Jordan turned back;(E)
4 the mountains leaped(F) like rams,
the hills like lambs.
5 Why was it, sea, that you fled?(G)
Why, Jordan, did you turn back?
6 Why, mountains, did you leap like rams,
you hills, like lambs?
7 Tremble, earth,(H) at the presence of the Lord,
at the presence of the God of Jacob,
8 who turned the rock into a pool,
the hard rock into springs of water.(I)
Psalm 115(J)
1 Not to us, Lord, not to us
but to your name be the glory,(K)
because of your love and faithfulness.(L)
2 Why do the nations say,
“Where is their God?”(M)
3 Our God is in heaven;(N)
he does whatever pleases him.(O)
4 But their idols are silver and gold,(P)
made by human hands.(Q)
5 They have mouths, but cannot speak,(R)
eyes, but cannot see.
6 They have ears, but cannot hear,
noses, but cannot smell.
7 They have hands, but cannot feel,
feet, but cannot walk,
nor can they utter a sound with their throats.
8 Those who make them will be like them,
and so will all who trust in them.
9 All you Israelites, trust(S) in the Lord—
he is their help and shield.
10 House of Aaron,(T) trust in the Lord—
he is their help and shield.
11 You who fear him,(U) trust in the Lord—
he is their help and shield.
12 The Lord remembers(V) us and will bless us:(W)
He will bless his people Israel,
he will bless the house of Aaron,
13 he will bless those who fear(X) the Lord—
small and great alike.
14 May the Lord cause you to flourish,(Y)
both you and your children.
15 May you be blessed by the Lord,
the Maker of heaven(Z) and earth.
Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream of a Tree
4 [a]King Nebuchadnezzar,
To the nations and peoples of every language,(A) who live in all the earth:
May you prosper greatly!(B)
2 It is my pleasure to tell you about the miraculous signs(C) and wonders that the Most High God(D) has performed for me.
3 How great are his signs,
how mighty his wonders!(E)
His kingdom is an eternal kingdom;
his dominion endures(F) from generation to generation.
4 I, Nebuchadnezzar, was at home in my palace, contented(G) and prosperous. 5 I had a dream(H) that made me afraid. As I was lying in bed,(I) the images and visions that passed through my mind(J) terrified me.(K) 6 So I commanded that all the wise men of Babylon be brought before me to interpret(L) the dream for me. 7 When the magicians,(M) enchanters, astrologers[b] and diviners(N) came, I told them the dream, but they could not interpret it for me.(O) 8 Finally, Daniel came into my presence and I told him the dream. (He is called Belteshazzar,(P) after the name of my god, and the spirit of the holy gods(Q) is in him.)
9 I said, “Belteshazzar, chief(R) of the magicians, I know that the spirit of the holy gods(S) is in you, and no mystery is too difficult for you. Here is my dream; interpret it for me. 10 These are the visions I saw while lying in bed:(T) I looked, and there before me stood a tree in the middle of the land. Its height was enormous.(U) 11 The tree grew large and strong and its top touched the sky; it was visible to the ends of the earth.(V) 12 Its leaves were beautiful, its fruit abundant, and on it was food for all. Under it the wild animals found shelter, and the birds lived in its branches;(W) from it every creature was fed.
13 “In the visions I saw while lying in bed,(X) I looked, and there before me was a holy one,(Y) a messenger,[c] coming down from heaven. 14 He called in a loud voice: ‘Cut down the tree(Z) and trim off its branches; strip off its leaves and scatter its fruit. Let the animals flee from under it and the birds from its branches.(AA) 15 But let the stump and its roots, bound with iron and bronze, remain in the ground, in the grass of the field.
“‘Let him be drenched with the dew of heaven, and let him live with the animals among the plants of the earth. 16 Let his mind be changed from that of a man and let him be given the mind of an animal, till seven times[d] pass by for him.(AB)
17 “‘The decision is announced by messengers, the holy ones declare the verdict, so that the living may know that the Most High(AC) is sovereign(AD) over all kingdoms on earth and gives them to anyone he wishes and sets over them the lowliest(AE) of people.’
18 “This is the dream that I, King Nebuchadnezzar, had. Now, Belteshazzar, tell me what it means, for none of the wise men in my kingdom can interpret it for me.(AF) But you can,(AG) because the spirit of the holy gods(AH) is in you.”(AI)
7 The end of all things is near.(A) Therefore be alert and of sober mind(B) so that you may pray. 8 Above all, love each other deeply,(C) because love covers over a multitude of sins.(D) 9 Offer hospitality(E) to one another without grumbling.(F) 10 Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others,(G) as faithful(H) stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. 11 If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God.(I) If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides,(J) so that in all things God may be praised(K) through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.(L)
Jesus Reinstates Peter
15 When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?”
“Yes, Lord,” he said, “you know that I love you.”(A)
Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.”(B)
16 Again Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”
He answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”
Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.”(C)
17 The third time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”
Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?”(D) He said, “Lord, you know all things;(E) you know that I love you.”
Jesus said, “Feed my sheep.(F) 18 Very truly I tell you, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.” 19 Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death(G) by which Peter would glorify God.(H) Then he said to him, “Follow me!”(I)
20 Peter turned and saw that the disciple whom Jesus loved(J) was following them. (This was the one who had leaned back against Jesus at the supper and had said, “Lord, who is going to betray you?”)(K) 21 When Peter saw him, he asked, “Lord, what about him?”
22 Jesus answered, “If I want him to remain alive until I return,(L) what is that to you? You must follow me.”(M) 23 Because of this, the rumor spread among the believers(N) that this disciple would not die. But Jesus did not say that he would not die; he only said, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you?”
24 This is the disciple who testifies to these things(O) and who wrote them down. We know that his testimony is true.(P)
25 Jesus did many other things as well.(Q) If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.
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