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.
The Flood
7 Then the Lord said to Noah, “Enter the ark, you and all your household, for you alone I have seen to be (A)righteous before Me in this [a]time. 2 You shall take [b]with you of every (B)clean animal [c]by sevens, a male and his female; and of the animals that are not clean two, a male and his female; 3 also of the birds of the [d]sky, [e]by sevens, male and female, to keep [f]offspring alive on the face of all the earth. 4 For after (C)seven more days, I will send rain on the earth (D)forty days and forty nights; and I will blot out from the face of the land (E)every living thing that I have made.” 5 (F)Noah did according to all that the Lord had commanded him.
6 Now Noah was (G)six hundred years old when the flood of water [g]came upon the earth. 7 Then (H)Noah and his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives with him entered the ark because of the water of the flood. 8 (I)Of clean animals and animals that are not clean and birds and everything that creeps on the ground, 9 there went into the ark to Noah [h]by twos, male and female, as God had commanded Noah. 10 It came about after (J)the seven days, that the water of the flood [i]came upon the earth.
17 Then the flood [a]came upon the earth for (A)forty days, and the water increased and lifted up the ark, so that it rose above the earth. 18 The water prevailed and increased greatly upon the earth, and the ark [b]floated on the [c]surface of the water. 19 The water prevailed more and more upon the earth, so that all the high mountains [d]everywhere under the heavens were covered. 20 The water prevailed fifteen [e]cubits higher, (B)and the mountains were covered. 21 (C)All flesh that [f]moved on the earth perished, birds and cattle and beasts and every swarming thing that swarms upon the earth, and all mankind; 22 of all that was on the dry land, all (D)in whose nostrils was the breath of the spirit of life, died. 23 Thus He blotted out [g]every living thing that was upon the face of the land, from man to animals to creeping things and to birds of the [h]sky, and they were blotted out from the earth; and only (E)Noah was left, together with those that were with him in the ark.
Unity of the Spirit
4 Therefore I, (A)the prisoner of the Lord, (B)implore you to (C)walk in a manner worthy of the (D)calling with which you have been (E)called, 2 with all (F)humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another (G)in love, 3 being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the (H)bond of peace. 4 There is (I)one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one (J)hope of your calling; 5 (K)one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all (L)who is over all and through all and in all.
7 But (M)to each one of us (N)grace was given (O)according to the measure of Christ’s gift. 8 Therefore [a]it says,
9 (Now this expression, “He (R)ascended,” what [b]does it mean except that He also [c]had descended into (S)the lower parts of the earth? 10 He who descended is Himself also He who ascended (T)far above all the heavens, so that He might (U)fill all things.) 11 And He (V)gave (W)some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as (X)evangelists, and some as pastors and (Y)teachers, 12 (Z)for the equipping of the [d]saints for the work of service, to the building up of (AA)the body of Christ; 13 until we all attain to (AB)the unity of the faith, and of the [e](AC)knowledge of the Son of God, to a (AD)mature man, to the measure of the stature [f]which belongs to the (AE)fullness of Christ. 14 [g]As a result, we are (AF)no longer to be children, (AG)tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by (AH)craftiness [h]in (AI)deceitful scheming; 15 but [i]speaking the truth (AJ)in love, [j]we are to (AK)grow up in all aspects into Him who is the (AL)head, even Christ, 16 from whom (AM)the whole body, being fitted and held together [k]by what every joint supplies, according to the [l]proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself (AN)in love.
7 (A)Jesus withdrew to the sea with His disciples; and (B)a great multitude from Galilee followed; and also from Judea, 8 and from Jerusalem, and from (C)Idumea, and beyond the Jordan, and the vicinity of (D)Tyre and Sidon, a great number of people heard of all that He was doing and came to Him. 9 (E)And He told His disciples that a boat should stand ready for Him because of the crowd, so that they would not crowd Him; 10 for He had (F)healed many, with the result that all those who had (G)afflictions pressed around Him in order to (H)touch Him. 11 Whenever the unclean spirits saw Him, they would fall down before Him and shout, “You are (I)the Son of God!” 12 And He (J)earnestly warned them not to [a]tell who He was.
The Twelve Are Chosen
13 And He *went up on (K)the mountain and *(L)summoned those whom He Himself wanted, and they came to Him. 14 And He appointed twelve, so that they would be with Him and that He could send them out to preach, 15 and to have authority to cast out the demons. 16 And He appointed the twelve: (M)Simon (to whom He gave the name Peter), 17 and [b]James, the son of Zebedee, and John the brother of [c]James (to them He gave the name Boanerges, which means, “Sons of Thunder”); 18 and Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and [d]James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the [e]Zealot; 19 and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Him.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.