Book of Common Prayer
The World Should Praise the Lord
148 Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord from the ·skies [heavens].
Praise him ·high above the earth [in the heights].
2 Praise him, all you ·angels [messengers].
Praise him, all ·you armies of heaven [his hosts; C the angelic army].
3 Praise him, sun and moon.
Praise him, all you ·shining stars [L stars of light].
4 Praise him, ·highest heavens [L heaven of heavens]
and you waters above the ·sky [heavens].
5 Let them praise the name of the Lord,
because ·they were created by his command [L he commands and they were created; Gen. 1].
6 He ·put them in place [L made them stand] forever and ever;
he made a ·law [statute; requirement; ordinance] that will never ·change [pass].
7 Praise the Lord from the earth,
you large sea ·animals [monsters; C like Leviathan; 74:12–17; 104:26; Gen. 1:21; Job 3:8; 41; Is. 27:1] and all the ·oceans [deeps],
8 ·lightning [L fire] and hail, snow and ·mist [cloud; or smoke],
and stormy winds that ·obey him [L do his word],
9 mountains and all hills,
fruit trees and all cedars,
10 wild animals and all cattle,
crawling animals and birds,
11 kings of the earth and all ·nations [peoples],
princes and all ·rulers [judges] of the earth,
12 young men and women,
old people and ·children [youth].
13 Praise the name of the Lord,
because ·he [L his name] alone is ·great [exalted].
·He is more wonderful than [L His splendor is over] heaven and earth.
14 God has ·given his people a king [exalted/raised a horn over his people; C an animal’s horn symbolizes power].
He should be praised by all ·who belong to him [his saints/loyal ones];
he should be praised by the ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel], the people ·closest to his heart [L nearest to him].
Praise the Lord!
Praise the God of Israel
149 Praise the Lord!
Sing a new song [C celebrating victory; 33:3; 40:3; 96:1; 98:1; 144:9; Is. 42:10; Rev. 5:9; 14:3] to the Lord;
sing his praise in the ·meeting [assembly; congregation] of his ·people [saints; loyal ones].
2 Let the Israelites ·be happy [rejoice] because of God, [L in] their Maker.
Let the ·people of Jerusalem [L sons of Zion; C location of the Temple] rejoice ·because [L in] of their King.
3 They should praise him with dancing.
They should ·sing praises [make a psalm] to him with tambourines and harps.
4 The Lord is pleased with his people;
he ·saves [L endows with salvation/victory] the ·humble [needy].
5 Let ·those who worship him [the saints/loyal ones] rejoice in his glory [C God’s manifest presence].
Let them sing for joy even in bed!
6 Let them ·shout his praise [L exalt God with their throats]
with their two-edged swords in their hands.
7 They will ·punish [execute vengeance against] the nations
and ·defeat [punish] the people.
8 They will put those kings in chains
and ·those important men [honored men] in iron bands.
9 They will ·punish them as God has written [L accomplish a written judgment].
God is honored by ·all who worship him [his saints/loyal ones].
Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord with Music
150 Praise the Lord!
Praise God in his ·Temple [L holy place; or holiness];
praise him in his ·mighty heaven [L strong firmament; Gen. 1:7].
2 Praise him for his strength;
praise him for his [L abundant] greatness.
3 Praise him with trumpet blasts;
praise him with harps and lyres.
4 Praise him with tambourines and dancing;
praise him with stringed instruments and flutes.
5 Praise him with loud cymbals;
praise him with crashing cymbals.
6 Let everything that breathes praise the Lord.
Praise the Lord!
God Brought Israel from Egypt
114 When ·the Israelites [Israel] went out of Egypt,
the ·people [L house] of Jacob left ·that foreign country [L a people of incomprehensible language].
2 Then Judah became God’s holy place [Ex. 19:6];
Israel became ·the land he ruled [his dominion].
3 The Sea [C Red (or Reed) Sea; Ex. 14–15] looked and ·ran away [fled];
the Jordan River turned back [Josh. 3].
4 The mountains ·danced [skipped] like ·sheep [rams]
and the hills like little lambs.
5 Sea, why did you ·run away [flee]?
Jordan, why did you turn back?
6 Mountains, why did you ·dance [skip] like ·sheep [rams]?
Hills, why did you ·dance [skip] like little lambs?
7 Earth, ·shake with fear [writhe; tremble] before the Lord,
before the God of Jacob.
8 He turned a rock into a pool of water,
a hard ·rock [flint] into a spring of water [Ex. 17:1–7; Num. 20:1–13].
The One True God
115 ·It does not belong [L Not to us, not] to us, Lord.
The glory belongs to ·you [L your name]
because of your ·love [loyalty] and ·loyalty [faithfulness].
2 Why do the nations ask,
“Where is their God?”
3 Our God is in heaven.
He does what he pleases.
4 Their idols are made of silver and gold,
the work of human hands.
5 They have mouths, but they 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 They have hands, but they cannot feel.
They have feet, but they cannot walk.
No sounds come from their throats.
8 People who make ·idols [L them] ·will be [or are] like them,
and so will those who ·trust [have confidence in] them [135:15–18; Is. 44:9–20; 46:6–7; Jer. 10:1–9; Hab. 2:18–19].
9 ·Family of [L O] Israel, ·trust [have confidence in] the Lord;
he is your helper and your ·protection [L shield].
10 ·Family [L House] of Aaron [C the priests], ·trust [have confidence in] the Lord;
he is your helper and your ·protection [L shield].
11 You who ·respect [fear] the Lord [Prov. 1:7] should ·trust [have confidence in] him;
he is your helper and your ·protection [L shield].
12 The Lord remembers us and will bless us.
He will bless the ·family [L house] of Israel;
he will bless the ·family [L house] of Aaron [C the priests].
13 The Lord will bless those who ·respect [fear] him [Prov. 1:7],
from the ·smallest [or least] to the greatest.
14 May the Lord ·give you success [make you increase],
and may he give you and your children ·success [increase].
15 May you be blessed by the Lord,
who made heaven and earth [Gen. 1].
16 Heaven belongs to the Lord,
but he gave the earth to people.
17 Dead people do not praise the Lord;
those ·in the grave are silent [L who go down in silence].
18 But we will praise the Lord
now and forever.
Praise the Lord!
God’s Command to Joshua
1 After Moses, the servant of the ·Lord [or Yahweh; C “Lord” (capital letters) represents the divine name YHWH, usually pronounced “Yahweh”], died, the Lord spoke to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ ·assistant [aide; servant]. 2 The Lord said, “My servant Moses is dead. Now you and all these people ·go across [get ready to cross; L arise and cross] the Jordan River into the land I am giving to the ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel]. 3 I promised Moses I would give you this land [Deut. 11:24], so I will give you every place ·you go [L the sole of your foot walks/treads] in the land. 4 All the land from the ·desert in the south [L desert; wilderness] to ·Lebanon in the north [L Lebanon] will be yours. All the land from the great river, the ·Euphrates, in the east [L Euphrates], to the ·Mediterranean [L Great] Sea ·in the west [L toward the going down of the sun] will be yours, too, ·including [or which is all] the land of the Hittites [C Palestine was known as “Hatti-land” (or “Hittite country”) by the Egyptians and Babylonians]. 5 No one will be able to ·defeat [resist; stand against] you all your life. Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not ·leave [fail] you or ·forget [desert; forsake] you.
6 “Joshua, be strong and ·brave [courageous; resolute]! You must lead these people ·so they can take [to possess/inherit] the land that I promised their fathers I would give them. 7 Be strong and ·brave [courageous; resolute]. Be ·sure [careful] to obey all the ·teachings [law] my servant Moses ·gave [commanded] you. If you ·follow them exactly [L do not turn from it to the right or to the left], you will be successful in everything you do. 8 ·Always remember [L Do not let depart from your mouth] what is written in the Book of the ·Teachings [Law]. ·Study [Meditate on] it day and night to be ·sure [careful; diligent] to obey everything that is written there. If you do this, you will be ·wise [prudent; successful] and ·successful [prosperous] ·in everything [or along life’s path; along the way]. 9 ·Remember that I [L Have I not…?] commanded you to be strong and ·brave [courageous; resolute]. Don’t be afraid or ·discouraged [dismayed], because the Lord your God will be with you ·everywhere you go [or in all you do].”
Joshua’s Orders to the People
10 Then Joshua gave orders to the ·officers [leaders] of the people: 11 “Go through the camp and ·tell [command] the people, ‘Get your ·supplies [provisions] ready. ·Three days from now [or Within a few days] you will cross the Jordan River and take the land the Lord your God is ·giving you [L giving you to inherit/possess].’”
12 Then Joshua said to the people of Reuben, Gad, and ·East [L the half-tribe of] Manasseh, 13 “Remember what Moses, the servant of the Lord, told you [Deut. 3:18–20]. He said the Lord your God would give you ·rest [a place of rest/security] and would give you this land. 14 Now your wives, children, and animals may stay here in the land Moses has given you east of the Jordan River, but your fighting men must dress for war and cross the Jordan River ahead of your brothers to help them. 15 The Lord has given you a place ·to rest [of security] and will do the same for your brothers. But you must help them until they take the land the Lord their God is giving them. Then you may return to your own land east of the Jordan River, the land that Moses, the servant of the Lord, gave you [Deut. 3:18–20].”
16 Then the people answered Joshua, “Anything you command us to do, we will do. Any place you send us, we will go. 17 Just as we fully obeyed Moses, we will obey you. ·We ask only that [or And may] the Lord your God be with you just as he was with Moses. 18 Whoever ·refuses to obey [rebels against] your commands or ·turns against [refuses to obey] you will be put to death. Just be strong and ·brave [courageous; resolute]!”
3 We sailed near the island of Cyprus [11:19], ·seeing [L leaving] it to the ·north [L left], but we sailed on to Syria. We ·stopped [landed] at Tyre [12:20] because the ship needed to unload its cargo there. 4 We ·found [sought out] some ·followers [disciples] in Tyre and stayed with them for seven days. Through the ·Holy Spirit [L Spirit] they ·warned [or kept warning] Paul not to go to Jerusalem. 5 When ·we finished our visit [L our days there were finished], we left and continued our trip. All ·the followers [L of them], even the women and children, came outside the city with us. After we all knelt on the beach and prayed, 6 we said good-bye and got on the ship, and ·the followers [L they] went back home.
7 We ·continued [or finished] our trip from Tyre and arrived at Ptolemais [C a town on the Mediterranean coast about half way between Tyre and Caesarea, also known as Acco], where we greeted the ·believers [L brothers (and sisters)] and stayed with them for a day. 8 The next day we left Ptolemais and went to the city of Caesarea [10:1]. There we went into the home of Philip the ·preacher [or evangelist], one of the ·seven helpers [L Seven; 6:1–6; 8:4–40], and stayed with him. 9 He had four ·unmarried [L virgin] daughters who ·had the gift of prophesying [L prophesied]. 10 After we had been there for ·some time [L many days], a prophet named Agabus [11:27–28] ·arrived [L came down] from Judea. 11 He came to us and ·borrowed [took] Paul’s belt and used it to tie his own hands and feet. He said, “The Holy Spirit says, ‘This is how the Jews in Jerusalem will ·tie up [or bind (in chains)] the man ·who wears this belt [L whose belt this is]. Then they will ·give [deliver; hand over; betray] him to the Gentiles.’”
12 When we all heard this, we and the people there ·begged [encouraged; urged; pleaded with] Paul not to go to Jerusalem. 13 But he ·said [L responded], “Why are you crying and ·making me so sad [L breaking my heart]? I am not only ready to be ·tied up [or bound; imprisoned] in Jerusalem, I am ready to die for the [L name of the] Lord Jesus!”
14 We could not ·persuade him to stay away from Jerusalem [L persuade/convince him]. So we ·stopped begging him [L remained silent] and said, “·We pray that what the Lord wants will [L Let the Lord’s will] be done.”
15 After ·this [L these days], we ·got ready [made preparations; packed our bags] and ·started on our way [L went up] to Jerusalem.
Jesus Forces Out an Evil Spirit(A)
21 Jesus and his ·followers [disciples] went to Capernaum [C a town on the northwest shore of Lake Galilee; it became Jesus’ home base]. On the Sabbath day he went to the synagogue and began to teach. 22 The people were amazed at his teaching, because he taught ·like [as] a person who had authority, not ·like [as] ·their teachers of the law [the scribes; C experts in the law of Moses]. 23 Just then, a man was there in the synagogue who had an ·evil [defiling; L unclean] spirit in him. [C Demons were viewed as “unclean” or defiling spirit-beings.] He shouted, 24 “Jesus ·of Nazareth [the Nazarene]! ·What do you want with us? [Let us alone!; What business do we have with each other? L What to us and to you?] Did you come to destroy us? I know who you are—God’s Holy One!”
25 Jesus ·commanded [reprimanded; rebuked] the evil spirit, “Be quiet! Come out of the man!” 26 The ·evil [defiling; L unclean] spirit ·shook the man violently [threw him into convulsions], gave a ·loud cry [shriek], and then came out of him.
27 The people were [L all] so amazed they asked each other, “What is happening here? This man is teaching something new, and with authority. He even gives ·commands [orders] to ·evil [defiling; L unclean; v. 23] spirits, and they obey him.”
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