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!
Mourning for the House of Israel
6 “Woe to those who are at ease in Zion,
to those who rest on the mountain of Samaria—
the famous men of the nations
to whom the house of Israel came!
2 Cross over to Calneh[a] and look around,
then go on to that great city of[b] Hamath,
and from there go down to Gath of the Philistines.
Are you better than these kingdoms?
Or is their territory more extensive than yours?
3 “Disbelieving that a day of evil will come,[c]
embracing opportunities to commit violence,[d]
4 lying on ivory beds,
stretching out on your couches,
eating lambs from the flock,
and fattened calves from the stall,
5 chanting to the sound of stringed instruments as if they were David,
composing songs to themselves as if they were musicians,
6 drinking wine from bowls,
anointing themselves with the choicest of oils,
but not grieving on the occasion of Joseph’s ruin—
7 therefore you will be the first to go into exile,
and the celebrations of those who are lounging will end.”
The Lord Swears an Oath
8 “The Lord God has sworn by himself,”
declares the Lord, the God of the Heavenly Armies,
“I utterly detest the arrogance of Jacob;
I hate his fortresses;
and I will deliver up the city,
along with everyone in it.
9 “And if there are ten men remaining in one house,
they will die.
10 One’s relative will pick up the corpse[e]
to carry them from the house for burning,[f]
saying to whomever remains inside the house,
‘Is there anyone still with you?’
And he will say, ‘No.’
He will respond, ‘Be quiet,
because we do not mention the name “Lord”.’
11 For indeed, the Lord is giving the command—
and he will smash the large house to rubble
and the small house into bits.
12 “Horses don’t run over bare rock, do they?
One doesn’t plow rock[g] with oxen, does he?
But you have turned justice to gall,
and the fruit of righteousness into bitterness.[h]
13 You rejoice in nothing worth mentioning—
that is, you keep on saying,
‘We captured Karnaim by our own strength of will
and by our own effort, didn’t we?’
14 “So look, house of Israel! I will raise up a nation against you,”
declares the Lord, the God of the Heavenly Armies,
“and they will harass you from the entrance of Hamath
to the wadi[i] of the wilderness.”
5 This is evidence of God’s righteous judgment and is intended to make you worthy of God’s kingdom, for which you are suffering. 6 Certainly it is right for God to pay back those who afflict you with affliction, 7 and to give us who are afflicted relief when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels 8 in blazing fire. He will take revenge on those who do not know God and on those who refuse to obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9 Such people will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction by being separated from the Lord’s presence and from his glorious power 10 when he comes to be glorified by his saints and to be regarded with wonder on that day by all who have believed—including you, because you believed our testimony.
11 With this in mind, we always pray for you, asking[a] that our God might make you worthy of his calling and that through his power he might help you accomplish every good desire and faithful action. 12 That way the name of our Lord Jesus will be glorified by you, and you by him, according to the grace of our God and Lord, Jesus, the Messiah.[b]
The Birth of John the Baptist
57 When the time came for Elizabeth to have her child, she gave birth to a son. 58 Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown his great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her.
59 On the eighth day they went to circumcise the child. They were going to name him Zechariah after his father, 60 but his mother said, “Absolutely not! He must be named John.”
61 Their friends[a] told her, “None of your relatives has that name.”
62 So they motioned to the baby’s[b] father to see what he wanted to name him. 63 He asked for a writing tablet and wrote, “His name is John.” And everyone was amazed.
64 Suddenly, Zechariah could open his mouth,[c] his tongue was set free, and he began to speak and to praise God. 65 Fear came over all their neighbors, and throughout the hill country of Judea all these things were being discussed. 66 Everyone who heard about it kept thinking what had happened and asked, “What will this child become?” because it was obvious that the hand of the Lord was with him.
The Prophecy of Zechariah
67 Then his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied:
68 “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel!
He has taken care of his people and has set them free.
Copyright © 1995-2014 by ISV Foundation. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. Used by permission of Davidson Press, LLC.