Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 148[a]
148 Praise the Lord.
Praise the Lord from the sky.
Praise him in the heavens.
2 Praise him, all his angels.[b]
Praise him, all his heavenly assembly.[c]
3 Praise him, O sun and moon.
Praise him, all you shiny stars.[d]
4 Praise him, O highest heaven,
and you waters above the sky.[e]
5 Let them praise the name of the Lord,
for he gave the command and they came into existence.
6 He established them so they would endure;[f]
he issued a decree that will not be revoked.[g]
7 Praise the Lord from the earth,
you sea creatures and all you ocean depths,
8 O fire and hail, snow and clouds,[h]
O stormy wind that carries out his orders,[i]
9 you mountains and all you hills,
you fruit trees and all you cedars,
10 you animals and all you cattle,
you creeping things and birds,
11 you kings of the earth and all you nations,
you princes and all you leaders[j] on the earth,
12 you young men and young women,
you elderly, along with you children.
13 Let them praise the name of the Lord,
for his name alone is exalted;
his majesty extends over the earth and sky.
14 He has made his people victorious,[k]
and given all his loyal followers reason to praise—
the Israelites, the people who are close to him.[l]
Praise the Lord!
Psalm 149[m]
149 Praise the Lord.
Sing to the Lord a new song.
Praise him in the assembly of the godly.[n]
2 Let Israel rejoice in their Creator.
Let the people[o] of Zion delight in their King.[p]
3 Let them praise his name with dancing.
Let them sing praises to him to the accompaniment of the tambourine and harp.
4 For the Lord takes delight in his people;
he exalts the oppressed by delivering them.[q]
5 Let the godly rejoice because of their vindication.[r]
Let them shout for joy upon their beds.[s]
6 May the praises of God be in their mouths
and a two-edged sword in their hands,
7 in order to take[t] revenge on the nations,
and punish foreigners.
8 The godly bind[u] their enemies’ kings in chains,
and their nobles in iron shackles,
9 and execute the judgment to which their enemies[v] have been sentenced.[w]
All his loyal followers will be vindicated.[x]
Praise the Lord.
Psalm 150[y]
150 Praise the Lord!
Praise God in his sanctuary;
praise him in the sky, which testifies to his strength![z]
2 Praise him for his mighty acts;
praise him for his surpassing greatness!
3 Praise him with the blast of the horn;
praise him with the lyre and the harp!
4 Praise him with the tambourine and with dancing;
praise him with stringed instruments and the flute!
5 Praise him with loud cymbals;
praise him with clanging cymbals!
6 Let everything that has breath praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord!
Psalm 114[a]
114 When Israel left Egypt,
when the family of Jacob left a foreign nation behind,[b]
2 Judah became his sanctuary,
Israel his kingdom.
3 The sea looked and fled;[c]
the Jordan River[d] turned back.[e]
4 The mountains skipped like rams,
the hills like lambs.[f]
5 Why do you flee, O sea?
Why do you turn back, O Jordan River?
6 Why do you skip like rams, O mountains,
like lambs, O hills?
7 Tremble, O earth, before the Lord—
before the God of Jacob,
8 who turned a rock into a pool of water,
a hard rock into springs of water.[g]
Psalm 115[h]
115 Not to us, O Lord, not to us,
but to your name bring honor,[i]
for the sake of your loyal love and faithfulness.[j]
2 Why should the nations say,
“Where is their God?”
3 Our God is in heaven.
He does whatever he pleases.[k]
4 Their[l] idols are made of silver and gold—
they are man-made.[m]
5 They have mouths, but cannot speak,
eyes, but cannot see,
6 ears, but cannot hear,
noses, but cannot smell,
7 hands, but cannot touch,
feet, but cannot walk.
They cannot even clear their throats.[n]
8 Those who make them will end up[o] like them,
as will everyone who trusts in them.
9 O Israel, trust in the Lord.
He is their deliverer[p] and protector.[q]
10 O family[r] of Aaron, trust in the Lord.
He is their deliverer[s] and protector.[t]
11 You loyal followers of the Lord,[u] trust in the Lord.
He is their deliverer[v] and protector.[w]
12 The Lord takes notice of us;[x] he will bless[y]—
he will bless the family[z] of Israel,
he will bless the family of Aaron.
13 He will bless his loyal followers,[aa]
both young and old.[ab]
14 May he increase your numbers,
yours and your children’s.[ac]
15 May you be blessed by the Lord,
the Creator[ad] of heaven and earth.
16 The heavens belong to the Lord,[ae]
but the earth he has given to mankind.[af]
17 The dead do not praise the Lord,
nor do any of those who descend into the silence of death.[ag]
18 But we will praise the Lord
now and forevermore.
Praise the Lord!
Jeremiah’s Letter to the Exiles
29 The prophet Jeremiah sent a letter to the exiles Nebuchadnezzar had carried off from Jerusalem to Babylon. It was addressed to the elders who were left among the exiles, to the priests, to the prophets, and to all the other people who were exiled in Babylon.[a]
4 “The Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel,[a] says to all those he sent into exile[b] to Babylon from Jerusalem, 5 ‘Build houses and settle down. Plant gardens and eat what they produce. 6 Marry and have sons and daughters. Find wives for your sons and allow your daughters to get married so that they too can have sons and daughters. Grow in number; do not dwindle away. 7 Work to see that the city where I sent you as exiles enjoys peace and prosperity. Pray to the Lord for it. For as it prospers you will prosper.’
8 “For the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel,[c] says, ‘Do not let the prophets among you or those who claim to be able to predict the future by divination[d] deceive you. And do not pay any attention to the dreams that you are encouraging them to dream. 9 They are prophesying lies to you and claiming my authority to do so.[e] But I did not send them. I, the Lord, affirm it!’[f]
10 “For the Lord says, ‘Only when the seventy years of Babylonian rule[g] are over will I again take up consideration for you.[h] Then I will fulfill my gracious promise to you and restore[i] you to your homeland.[j] 11 For I know what I have planned for you,’ says the Lord.[k] ‘I have plans to prosper you, not to harm you. I have plans to give you[l] a future filled with hope.[m] 12 When you call out to me and come to me in prayer,[n] I will hear your prayers.[o] 13 When you seek me in prayer and worship, you will find me available to you. If you seek me with all your heart and soul,[p] 14 I will make myself available to you,’[q] says the Lord.[r] ‘Then I will reverse your plight[s] and will regather you from all the nations and all the places where I have exiled you,’ says the Lord.[t] ‘I will bring you back to the place from which I exiled you.’
Paul’s Vision of the Macedonian Man
6 They went through the region of Phrygia[a] and Galatia,[b] having been prevented[c] by the Holy Spirit from speaking the message[d] in the province of Asia.[e] 7 When they came to[f] Mysia,[g] they attempted to go into Bithynia,[h] but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow[i] them to do this,[j] 8 so they passed through[k] Mysia[l] and went down to Troas.[m] 9 A[n] vision appeared to Paul during the night: A Macedonian man was standing there[o] urging him,[p] “Come over[q] to Macedonia[r] and help us!” 10 After Paul[s] saw the vision, we[t] attempted[u] immediately to go over to Macedonia,[v] concluding that God had called[w] us to proclaim the good news to them.
Arrival at Philippi
11 We put out to sea[x] from Troas[y] and sailed a straight course[z] to Samothrace,[aa] the next day to Neapolis,[ab] 12 and from there to Philippi, which is a leading city of that district[ac] of Macedonia,[ad] a Roman colony.[ae] We stayed in this city for some days. 13 On the Sabbath day we went outside the city gate to the side of the river, where we thought there would be a place of prayer, and we sat down[af] and began to speak[ag] to the women[ah] who had assembled there.[ai] 14 A[aj] woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth[ak] from the city of Thyatira,[al] a God-fearing woman, listened to us.[am] The Lord opened her heart to respond[an] to what Paul was saying. 15 After she and her household were baptized, she urged us,[ao] “If[ap] you consider me to be a believer in the Lord,[aq] come and stay in my house.” And she persuaded[ar] us.
The Mission of the Seventy-Two
10 After this[a] the Lord appointed seventy-two[b] others and sent them on ahead of him two by two into every town[c] and place where he himself was about to go. 2 He[d] said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Therefore ask the Lord of the harvest[e] to send out[f] workers into his harvest. 3 Go! I[g] am sending you out like lambs[h] surrounded by wolves.[i] 4 Do not carry[j] a money bag,[k] a traveler’s bag,[l] or sandals, and greet no one on the road.[m] 5 Whenever[n] you enter a house,[o] first say, ‘May peace[p] be on this house!’ 6 And if a peace-loving person[q] is there, your peace will remain on him, but if not, it will return to you.[r] 7 Stay[s] in that same house, eating and drinking what they give you,[t] for the worker deserves his pay.[u] Do not move around from house to house. 8 Whenever[v] you enter a town[w] and the people[x] welcome you, eat what is set before you. 9 Heal[y] the sick in that town[z] and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God[aa] has come upon[ab] you!’ 10 But whenever[ac] you enter a town[ad] and the people[ae] do not welcome[af] you, go into its streets[ag] and say, 11 ‘Even the dust of your town[ah] that clings to our feet we wipe off[ai] against you.[aj] Nevertheless know this: The kingdom of God has come.’[ak] 12 I tell you, it will be more bearable on that day for Sodom[al] than for that town![am]
17 Then[a] the seventy-two[b] returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons submit to[c] us in your name!”[d] 18 So[e] he said to them, “I saw[f] Satan fall[g] like lightning[h] from heaven. 19 Look, I have given you authority to tread[i] on snakes and scorpions[j] and on the full force of the enemy,[k] and nothing will[l] hurt you. 20 Nevertheless, do not rejoice that[m] the spirits submit to you, but rejoice[n] that your names stand written[o] in heaven.”
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