Book of Common Prayer
Let All the Earth Praise the Lord
148 Hallelujah!
Praise the Lord from heaven;
praise him in the highest places.
2 Praise him, all his angels;
praise him, all his armies!
3 Praise him, sun and moon;
praise him, all you shining stars.[a]
4 Praise him, you heaven of heavens,
and you waters above the heavens.
5 Let them praise the name of the Lord,
for he himself gave the command that they be created.
6 He set them in place to last forever and ever;
he gave the command and will not rescind it.
7 Praise the Lord, you from the earth,
you creatures of the sea
and all you depths,
8 fire, hail, snow, fog, and wind storm
that carry out his command,[b]
9 mountains and every hill,
fruit trees and cedars,
10 living creatures and livestock,
insects and flying birds,
11 earthly kings and all peoples,
nobles and all court officials of the earth,
12 young men and young women alike,
along with older people and children.
13 Let them praise the name of the Lord,
for his name alone is lifted up;
his majesty transcends earth and heaven.
14 He has raised up a source of strength[c] for his people,
an object of praise for all of his holy ones,
that is, for the people of Israel who are near him.
Hallelujah!
A Song About Rejoicing in God
149 Hallelujah!
Sing a new song to the Lord,
praising him where the godly gather together.
2 May Israel rejoice in its Maker,
and Zion’s descendants in their King!
3 May they praise his name with dancing,
chanting songs to him with tambourines and lyres.
4 For the Lord is pleased with his people;
he beautifies the afflicted with salvation.
5 May those he loves be exalted,
singing for joy on their couches.
6 Let high praises to God be heard[d] in their throats,
while they wield two-edged swords in their hands
7 as they bring retribution to nations
and punishment to peoples,
8 binding their kings with chains,
their officials with iron bands,
9 and executing the judgment written against them.
This is honor for all the ones he loves.
Hallelujah!
A Psalm of Praise
150 Hallelujah!
Praise God in his Holy Place.
Praise him in his great expanse.
2 Praise him for his mighty works.
Praise him according to his excellent greatness.
3 Praise him with trumpet sounding.
Praise him with stringed instrument and harp.
4 Praise him with tambourine and dancing.
Praise him with stringed and wind instruments.
5 Praise him with loud cymbals.
Praise him with reverberating cymbals.
6 Let everyone who breathes praise the Lord.
Hallelujah!
Deliverance of Israel from Egypt
114 When Israel came out of Egypt—
the household of Jacob from a people of foreign speech—
2 Judah became his sanctuary
and Israel his place of dominion.
3 The sea saw this[a] and fled,
the Jordan River[b] ran backwards,
4 the mountains skipped like rams,
and the hills like lambs.
5 What happened to you, sea, that you fled?
Jordan, that you ran backwards?
6 Mountains, that you skipped like rams?
And you hills, that you skipped[c] like lambs?
7 Tremble then, earth, at the presence of the Lord,
at the presence of the God of Jacob,
8 who turned the rock into a pool of water,
the flinty rock into flowing springs.
The Impotence of Idols
115 Not to us, Lord, not to us,
but to your name be given glory
on account of your gracious love and faithfulness.
2 Why should the nations ask
“Where now is their God?”
3 when our God is in the heavens
and he does whatever he desires?
4 Their idols are silver and gold,
crafted by human hands.
5 They have mouths, but cannot speak;
they have eyes, but cannot see.
6 They have ears, but cannot hear;
they have noses, but cannot smell.
7 They have hands, but cannot touch;
feet, but cannot walk;
they cannot even groan with their throats.
8 Those who craft them will become like them,
as will all those who trust in them.
9 Israel, trust in the Lord!
He is their helper and shield.
10 House of Aaron, trust in the Lord!
He is their helper and shield.
11 You who fear the Lord, trust in the Lord!
He is their helper and shield.
12 The Lord remembers and blesses us.
He will indeed bless the house of Israel;
he will bless the house of Aaron.
13 He will bless those who fear the Lord,
both the important and the insignificant together.
14 May the Lord add to your numbers—
to you and to your descendants.
15 May you be blessed by the Lord,
who made the heavens and the earth.
16 The highest heavens[d] belong to the Lord,
but he gave the earth to human beings.
17 Neither can the dead praise the Lord,
nor those who go down into the silence of death.[e]
18 But we will bless the Lord
from now to eternity.
Hallelujah!
Jeremiah’s Letter to the Exiles
29 These are the words of the letter that the prophet Jeremiah sent from Jerusalem to the remaining elders among the exiles, to the priests, to the prophets, and to all the people whom Nebuchadnezzar had taken into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon,
4 “This is what the Lord of the Heavenly Armies, the God of Israel, says to all the exiles who were taken from Jerusalem into exile to Babylon, 5 ‘Build houses and live in them.[a] Plant gardens and eat their produce. 6 Take wives and father sons and daughters. Take wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so they may have sons and daughters. Increase in numbers there, don’t decrease. 7 Seek the welfare of the city to which I’ve exiled you and pray to the Lord for it, for your welfare depends on its welfare.’[b] 8 For this is what the Lord of the Heavenly Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘Don’t let the prophets and diviners[c] who are among you deceive you, and don’t listen to them when they tell you their dreams.[d] 9 Indeed, they’re prophesying lies to you in my name. I didn’t send them,’ declares the Lord.
10 “For this is what the Lord says: ‘When Babylon’s seventy years are completed, I’ll take note of you and will fulfill my good promises to you by bringing you back to this place. 11 For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for well-being, and not for calamity, in order to give you a future and a hope. 12 When you call out to me and come and pray to me, I’ll hear you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you search for me with all your heart. 14 I’ll be found by you,’ declares the Lord, ‘and I’ll restore your security[e] and gather you from all the nations and all the places to which I’ve driven you,’ declares the Lord. ‘I’ll bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile.’
Paul Has a Vision
6 Because they had been prevented by the Holy Spirit from speaking the word in Asia, Paul and Timothy[a] went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia. 7 They went as far as Mysia and tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not permit them, 8 so they bypassed Mysia and went down to Troas. 9 During the night Paul had a vision. A man from Macedonia was standing there and pleading with him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us!” 10 As soon as he had seen the vision, we immediately looked for a way to go to Macedonia, because we were convinced that God had called us to tell the people there[b] the good news.
Paul and Silas in Philippi
11 Sailing from Troas, we went straight to Samothrace, the next day to Neapolis, 12 and from there to Philippi, an important city of the district[c] of Macedonia and a Roman[d] colony. We were in this city for several days. 13 On the Sabbath day, we went out the city gate and walked[e] along the river, where we thought there was a place of prayer. We sat down and began talking to the women who had gathered there. 14 A woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a dealer in purple goods, was listening to us. She was a worshiper of God, and the Lord opened her heart to listen carefully to what was being said by Paul. 15 When she and her family were baptized, she urged us, “If you are convinced that I am a believer in the Lord, come and stay at my home.” And she continued to insist that we do so.
The Mission of the Seventy
10 After this, the Lord appointed 70[a] other disciples[b] and was about to send them ahead of him in pairs to every town and place that he intended to go. 2 So he instructed them, “The harvest is vast, but the workers are few. So ask the Lord of the harvest to send workers out into his harvest. 3 Get going! See, I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. 4 Don’t carry a wallet, a traveling bag, or sandals, and don’t greet anyone on the way.
5 “Whatever house you go into, first say, ‘May there be peace in this house.’ 6 If a peaceful person lives there, your greeting of peace will remain with him. But if that’s not the case, your greeting[c] will come back to you. 7 Stay with the same family, eating and drinking whatever they provide, because the worker deserves his pay. Don’t move from house to house.
8 “Whenever you go into a town and the people[d] welcome you, eat whatever they serve you, 9 heal the sick that are there, and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God is near you!’ 10 But whenever you go into a town and people[e] don’t welcome you, go out into its streets and say, 11 ‘We’re wiping off your town’s dust that clings to our feet in protest against you! But realize this: the kingdom of God is near!’ 12 I tell you, on the last[f] day it will be easier for Sodom than for that town!”
The Return of the Seventy
17 The 70[a] disciples[b] came back and joyously reported, “Lord, even the demons are submitting to us in your name!”
18 He told them, “I watched Satan falling from heaven like lightning. 19 Look! I have given you the authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to destroy[c] all the enemy’s power, and nothing will ever hurt you. 20 However, stop rejoicing because the spirits are submitting to you. Instead, rejoice because your names are written in heaven.”
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