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 hosts!
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 Let them 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 which will not pass away.
7 Praise the Lord from the earth,
(J)Sea monsters and all (K)deeps;
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)Beasts and all cattle;
(T)Creeping things and winged fowl;
11 (U)Kings of the earth and all peoples;
Princes and all judges of the earth;
12 Both young men and virgins;
Old men and children.
13 Let them praise the name of the Lord,
For His (V)name alone is exalted;
His (W)glory is above earth and heaven.
14 And He has (X)lifted up a horn for His people,
(Y)Praise for all His godly ones;
Even 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 to the Lord a (AA)new song,
And His praise (AB)in the congregation of the godly ones.
2 Let Israel be glad in (AC)his Maker;
Let the sons of Zion rejoice in their (AD)King.
3 Let them praise His name with (AE)dancing;
Let them sing praises to Him with (AF)timbrel and lyre.
4 For the Lord (AG)takes pleasure in His people;
He will (AH)beautify the afflicted ones with salvation.
5 Let the (AI)godly ones exult in glory;
Let them (AJ)sing for joy on their beds.
6 Let the (AK)high praises of God be in their [h]mouth,
And a (AL)two-edged (AM)sword in their hand,
7 To (AN)execute vengeance on the nations
And punishment on the peoples,
8 To bind their kings (AO)with chains
And their (AP)nobles with fetters of iron,
9 To (AQ)execute on 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)timbrel and dancing;
Praise Him with (AZ)stringed instruments and (BA)pipe.
5 Praise Him with loud (BB)cymbals;
Praise Him with resounding cymbals.
6 Let (BC)everything that has breath praise [n]the Lord.
[o]Praise [p]the Lord!
God’s Deliverance of Israel from Egypt.
114 When Israel went forth (A)from Egypt,
The house of Jacob from a people of (B)strange 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, O sea, that you flee?
O Jordan, that you turn back?
6 O mountains, that you skip like rams?
O hills, like lambs?
7 (I)Tremble, O 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, O Lord, not to us,
But (N)to Your name give glory
Because of Your lovingkindness, because of Your [a]truth.
2 (O)Why should the nations say,
“(P)Where, now, 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 man’s 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 O (W)Israel, (X)trust in the Lord;
He is their (Y)help and their shield.
10 O 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)give you increase,
You and your children.
15 May you be blessed of the Lord,
(AF)Maker of heaven and earth.
“Those at Ease in Zion”
6 (A)Woe to those who are at ease in Zion
And to those who feel secure in the mountain of Samaria,
The (B)distinguished men of the foremost of nations,
To whom the house of Israel comes.
2 Go over to (C)Calneh and look,
And go from there to (D)Hamath the great,
Then go down to (E)Gath of the Philistines.
Are [a]they better than these kingdoms,
Or is their territory greater than yours?
3 Do you (F)put off the day of calamity,
And would you (G)bring near the seat of violence?
4 Those who recline on beds of ivory
And sprawl on their (H)couches,
And (I)eat lambs from the flock
And calves from the midst of the stall,
5 Who improvise to the sound of the harp,
And like David have [b]composed (J)songs for themselves,
6 Who (K)drink wine from [c]sacrificial bowls
While they anoint themselves with the finest of oils,
Yet they have not (L)grieved over the ruin of Joseph.
7 Therefore, they will now (M)go into exile at the head of the exiles,
And the (N)sprawlers’ [d]banqueting will [e]pass away.
8 The Lord [f]God has (O)sworn by Himself, the Lord God of hosts has declared:
“I (P)loathe the arrogance of Jacob,
And [g]detest his (Q)citadels;
Therefore I will (R)deliver up the city and [h]all it contains.”
9 And it will be, if (S)ten men are left in one house, they will die. 10 Then one’s [i]uncle, or his [j](T)undertaker, will lift him up to carry out his bones from the house, and he will say to the one who is in the innermost part of the house, “Is anyone else with you?” And that one will say, “No one.” Then he will [k]answer, “(U)Keep quiet. For [l]the name of the Lord is (V)not to be mentioned.” 11 For behold, the Lord is going to (W)command that the (X)great house be smashed to pieces and the small house to fragments.
12 Do horses run on rocks?
Or does one plow [m]them with oxen?
Yet you have turned (Y)justice into poison
And the fruit of righteousness into [n]wormwood,
13 You who rejoice in [o](Z)Lodebar,
[p]And say, “Have we not (AA)by our own strength taken [q]Karnaim for ourselves?”
14 “For behold, (AB)I am going to raise up a nation against you,
O house of Israel,” declares the Lord God of hosts,
“And they will afflict you from the (AC)entrance of Hamath
To the (AD)brook of the Arabah.”
5 This is a (A)plain indication of God’s righteous judgment so that you will be (B)considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which indeed you are suffering. 6 [a]For after all (C)it is only just [b]for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you, 7 and to give relief to you who are afflicted [c]and to us as well [d](D)when the Lord Jesus will be revealed (E)from heaven (F)with [e]His mighty angels (G)in flaming fire, 8 dealing out retribution to those who (H)do not know God and to those who (I)do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9 These will pay the penalty of (J)eternal destruction, (K)away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power, 10 when He comes to be (L)glorified [f]in His [g]saints on that (M)day, and to be marveled at among all who have believed—for our (N)testimony to you was believed. 11 To this end also we (O)pray for you always, that our God will [h](P)count you worthy of your (Q)calling, and fulfill every desire for (R)goodness and the (S)work of faith with power, 12 so that the (T)name of our Lord Jesus will be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.
John Is Born
57 Now the time [a]had come for Elizabeth to give birth, and she gave birth to a son. 58 Her neighbors and her relatives heard that the Lord had [b](A)displayed His great mercy toward her; and they were rejoicing with her.
59 And it happened that on (B)the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to call him Zacharias, [c]after his father. 60 But his mother answered and said, “No indeed; but (C)he shall be called John.” 61 And they said to her, “There is no one among your relatives who is called by that name.” 62 And they (D)made signs to his father, as to what he wanted him called. 63 And he asked for a tablet and wrote as follows, “(E)His name is John.” And they were all astonished. 64 (F)And at once his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he began to speak in praise of God. 65 Fear came on all those living around them; and all these matters were being talked about in all (G)the hill country of Judea. 66 All who heard them kept them in mind, saying, “What then will this child turn out to be?” For (H)the hand of the Lord was certainly with him.
Zacharias’s Prophecy
67 And his father Zacharias (I)was filled with the Holy Spirit, and (J)prophesied, saying:
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