Book of Common Prayer
The Lord’s Greatness
For the director of music. On the gittith. A psalm of David.
8 Lord our Lord,
your name is the most wonderful name in all the earth!
It brings you praise in heaven above.
2 You have taught children and babies
to sing praises to you
because of your enemies.
And so you silence your enemies
and destroy those who try to get even.
3 I look at your heavens,
which you made with your fingers.
I see the moon and stars,
which you created.
4 But why are people even important to you?
Why do you take care of human beings?
5 You made them a little lower than the angels
and crowned them with glory and honor.
6 You put them in charge of everything you made.
You put all things under their control:
7 all the sheep, the cattle,
and the wild animals,
8 the birds in the sky,
the fish in the sea,
and everything that lives under water.
9 Lord our Lord,
your name is the most wonderful name in all the earth!
The World Should Praise the Lord
148 Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord from the skies.
Praise him high above the earth.
2 Praise him, all you angels.
Praise him, all you armies of heaven.
3 Praise him, sun and moon.
Praise him, all you shining stars.
4 Praise him, highest heavens
and you waters above the sky.
5 Let them praise the Lord,
because they were created by his command.
6 He put them in place forever and ever;
he made a law that will never change.
7 Praise the Lord from the earth,
you large sea animals and all the oceans,
8 lightning and hail, snow and mist,
and stormy winds that obey him,
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,
princes and all rulers of the earth,
12 young men and women,
old people and children.
13 Praise the Lord,
because he alone is great.
He is more wonderful than heaven and earth.
14 God has given his people a king.
He should be praised by all who belong to him;
he should be praised by the Israelites, the people closest to his heart.
Praise the Lord!
The Lord Questions Job
38 Then the Lord answered Job from the storm. He said:
2 “Who is this that makes my purpose unclear
by saying things that are not true?
3 Be strong like a man!
I will ask you questions,
and you must answer me.
4 Where were you when I made the earth’s foundation?
Tell me, if you understand.
5 Who marked off how big it should be? Surely you know!
Who stretched a ruler across it?
6 What were the earth’s foundations set on,
or who put its cornerstone in place
7 while the morning stars sang together
and all the angels shouted with joy?
God Spoke Through His Son
1 In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets many times and in many different ways. 2 But now in these last days God has spoken to us through his Son. God has chosen his Son to own all things, and through him he made the world. 3 The Son reflects the glory of God and shows exactly what God is like. He holds everything together with his powerful word. When the Son made people clean from their sins, he sat down at the right side of God, the Great One in heaven. 4 The Son became much greater than the angels, and God gave him a name that is much greater than theirs.
5 This is because God never said to any of the angels,
“You are my Son.
Today I have become your Father.” Psalm 2:7
Nor did God say of any angel,
“I will be his Father,
and he will be my Son.” 2 Samuel 7:14
6 And when God brings his firstborn Son into the world, he says,
“Let all God’s angels worship him.”[a] Psalm 97:7
7 This is what God said about the angels:
“God makes his angels become like winds.
He makes his servants become like flames of fire.” Psalm 104:4
8 But God said this about his Son:
“God, your throne will last forever and ever.
You will rule your kingdom with fairness.
9 You love right and hate evil,
so God has chosen you from among your friends;
he has set you apart with much joy.” Psalm 45:6–7
10 God also says,
“Lord, in the beginning you made the earth,
and your hands made the skies.
11 They will be destroyed, but you will remain.
They will all wear out like clothes.
12 You will fold them like a coat.
And, like clothes, you will change them.
But you never change,
and your life will never end.” Psalm 102:25–27
13 And God never said this to an angel:
“Sit by me at my right side
until I put your enemies under your control.”[b]Psalm 110:1
14 All the angels are spirits who serve God and are sent to help those who will receive salvation.
Praise God Who Judges and Saves
David’s song from the time he acted crazy so Abimelech would send him away, and David did leave.
34 I will praise the Lord at all times;
his praise is always on my lips.
2 My whole being praises the Lord.
The poor will hear and be glad.
3 Glorify the Lord with me,
and let us praise his name together.
4 I asked the Lord for help, and he answered me.
He saved me from all that I feared.
5 Those who go to him for help are happy,
and they are never disgraced.
6 This poor man called, and the Lord heard him
and saved him from all his troubles.
7 The angel of the Lord camps around those who fear God,
and he saves them.
8 Examine and see how good the Lord is.
Happy is the person who trusts him.
9 You who belong to the Lord, fear him!
Those who fear him will have everything they need.
10 Even lions may get weak and hungry,
but those who look to the Lord will have every good thing.
11 Children, come and listen to me.
I will teach you to worship the Lord.
12 You must do these things
to enjoy life and have many happy days.
13 You must not say evil things,
and you must not tell lies.
14 Stop doing evil and do good.
Look for peace and work for it.
15 The Lord sees the good people
and listens to their prayers.
16 But the Lord is against those who do evil;
he makes the world forget them.
17 The Lord hears good people when they cry out to him,
and he saves them from all their troubles.
18 The Lord is close to the brokenhearted,
and he saves those whose spirits have been crushed.
19 People who do what is right may have many problems,
but the Lord will solve them all.
20 He will protect their very bones;
not one of them will be broken.
21 Evil will kill the wicked;
those who hate good people will be judged guilty.
22 But the Lord saves his servants’ lives;
no one who trusts him will be judged guilty.
Praise the Lord with Music
150 Praise the Lord!
Praise God in his Temple;
praise him in his mighty heaven.
2 Praise him for his strength;
praise him for his 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!
Praise to God Who Made the World
104 My whole being, praise the Lord.
Lord my God, you are very great.
You are clothed with glory and majesty;
2 you wear light like a robe.
You stretch out the skies like a tent.
3 You build your room above the clouds.
You make the clouds your chariot,
and you ride on the wings of the wind.
4 You make the winds your messengers,
and flames of fire are your servants.
5 You built the earth on its foundations
so it can never be moved.
6 You covered the earth with oceans;
the water was above the mountains.
7 But at your command, the water rushed away.
When you thundered your orders, it hurried away.
8 The mountains rose; the valleys sank.
The water went to the places you made for it.
9 You set borders for the seas that they cannot cross,
so water will never cover the earth again.
10 You make springs pour into the ravines;
they flow between the mountains.
11 They water all the wild animals;
the wild donkeys come there to drink.
12 Wild birds make nests by the water;
they sing among the tree branches.
13 You water the mountains from above.
The earth is full of the things you made.
14 You make the grass for cattle
and vegetables for the people.
You make food grow from the earth.
15 You give us wine that makes happy hearts
and olive oil that makes our faces shine.
You give us bread that gives us strength.
16 The Lord’s trees have plenty of water;
they are the cedars of Lebanon, which he planted.
17 The birds make their nests there;
the stork’s home is in the fir trees.
18 The high mountains belong to the wild goats.
The rocks are hiding places for the badgers.
19 You made the moon to mark the seasons,
and the sun always knows when to set.
20 You make it dark, and it becomes night.
Then all the wild animals creep around.
21 The lions roar as they attack.
They look to God for food.
22 When the sun rises, they leave
and go back to their dens to lie down.
23 Then people go to work
and work until evening.
24 Lord, you have made many things;
with your wisdom you made them all.
The earth is full of your riches.
25 Look at the sea, so big and wide,
with creatures large and small that cannot be counted.
26 Ships travel over the ocean,
and there is the sea monster Leviathan,
which you made to play there.
27 All these things depend on you
to give them their food at the right time.
28 When you give it to them,
they gather it up.
When you open your hand,
they are filled with good food.
29 When you turn away from them,
they become frightened.
When you take away their breath,
they die and turn to dust.
30 When you breathe on them,
they are created,
and you make the land new again.
31 May the glory of the Lord be forever.
May the Lord enjoy what he has made.
32 He just looks at the earth, and it shakes.
He touches the mountains, and they smoke.
33 I will sing to the Lord all my life;
I will sing praises to my God as long as I live.
34 May my thoughts please him;
I am happy in the Lord.
35 Let sinners be destroyed from the earth,
and let the wicked live no longer.
My whole being, praise the Lord.
Praise the Lord.
21 At that time, someone might say to you, ‘Look, there is the Christ!’ Or another person might say, ‘There he is!’ But don’t believe them. 22 False Christs and false prophets will come and perform great wonders and miracles. They will try to fool even the people God has chosen, if that is possible. 23 So be careful. I have warned you about all this before it happens.
24 “During the days after this trouble comes,
‘the sun will grow dark,
and the moon will not give its light.
25 The stars will fall from the sky.
And the powers of the heavens will be shaken.’ Isaiah 13:10; 34:4
26 “Then people will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. 27 Then he will send his angels all around the earth to gather his chosen people from every part of the earth and from every part of heaven.
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.