Book of Common Prayer
The 3rd Hallelujah Psalm[a]
148 Hallelujah! Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord from the sky above!
Praise him high in the heavens.
2 Praise him, all his angels.
Praise him all his armies in heaven.
3 Praise him, sun and moon.
Praise him, all bright stars.
4 Praise him, skies above,
and the water above the sky.
5 They should all praise the name of the Lord.
It was his command that created them.
6 He has fixed them in their places for all time.
Nothing can change the command that he has given.
7 Praise the Lord from the earth!
Praise him, sea monsters and all the deep seas.
8 Praise him, fire and hail, snow and clouds.
Praise him, wind and storm, as you obey his commands.
9 Praise him, mountains and all hills.
Praise him fruit trees and all trees in the forests.
10 Praise him, wild animals and farm animals.
Praise him, snakes and birds.
11 Praise him, kings all over the world,
and people of every nation.
Praise him, princes and all rulers on earth.
12 Praise him, young men and young women.
Praise him, old men, as well as children.
13 They should all praise the name of the Lord.
Only the Lord's name is great above all other names.
He is the king who rules over heaven and earth.
14 He has made his own people strong,
so that other nations respect them.
All the people who serve him should praise him.
They are the Israelite nation, who belong to him.
Hallelujah! Praise the Lord!
The 5th Hallelujah Psalm[a]
150 Hallelujah! Praise the Lord!
Praise God in his temple.
Praise him high in the sky,
where he shows his great strength.
2 Praise God for the great things that he has done.
Praise him because he is great and powerful.
3 Praise him with music!
Yes! Use trumpets, harps and lyres
to praise God![b]
4 Dance and hit drums to praise him!
Make music with harps and flutes
to praise him!
5 Make music with big cymbals and small cymbals
to praise him!
6 Everything that is alive should praise the Lord.
Hallelujah! Praise the Lord!
God is a safe place[a]
91 If anyone lives in Almighty God's safe place,
the Most High God protects that person.
2 I will say to the Lord,
‘You are the strong place where I will be safe.
You are my God,
and I trust in you.’
3 God will keep you safe,
so that no trap will catch you.[b]
He will not let any illness kill you.
4 He will keep you safe,
like a bird keeps its babies safe under its wings.
Because he keeps his promises,
he will keep you safe like a shield and armour.
5 Do not be afraid of troubles that come in the night,
or of your enemy's arrows during the day.
6 Do not be afraid of any illness that comes when it is dark,
or any trouble that comes in the middle of the day.
7 A thousand people may die near you.
Even ten thousand people may die at your side.
But nothing will hurt you.
8 Your own eyes will see this happen.
You will see wicked people
receive the punishment that they deserve.
9 You have come to the Lord to make you safe.
The Most High God has become your home.
10 No bad thing will happen to you.
No illness will come to your home.
11 For God will tell his angels to keep you safe.[c]
They will protect you wherever you go.
12 They will hold you safely in their hands,
so that you do not hurt your foot on a stone.[d]
13 You will win against lions and snakes.
You will walk over them!
14 The Lord says, ‘If someone loves me,
I will keep him safe.
Because he worships me,
I will protect him.
15 When he calls to me for help,
I will answer him.
When he has trouble,
I will be with him.
I will rescue him,
and people will respect him.
16 I will give to him a long life,
so that he is happy.
He will see that I have the power to save people.’
This psalm is a song to sing on Sabbath days.
A song to praise God
92 It is good to thank the Lord!
We sing to praise your name, Most High God.
2 We sing in the morning
to thank you for your faithful love.
We sing at night
to say that you are always faithful.
3 We make beautiful music
with lutes, harps and lyres.[e]
4 The things that you do, Lord,
make me very happy.
I sing with joy
because of the things that your hands have made!
5 Yes, Lord, you have done great things!
Your thoughts are more than we can understand!
6 Here is something that stupid people do not know.
Fools do not understand it.
7 Wicked people may continue to grow,
like green grass.
Evil people may grow like weeds.
But in the end you will destroy them
and they will never grow again.[f]
8 You, Lord, will rule as King for ever!
9 Yes, Lord, look at your enemies!
Your enemies will all die!
Those people who do evil things will all disappear!
10 You have made me as strong as a wild bull.
You have poured pure olive oil on me.[g]
11 With my own eyes,
I have seen my enemies fall.
With my own ears,
I have heard them cry out in pain.
12 Righteous people will do well,
like a palm tree that makes new leaves.
They will become strong,
like a tall cedar tree in Lebanon.
13 They are like trees that someone has planted in the Lord's house.
They grow well in the yard of our God's temple.
14 When they are old,
they will still give fruit!
They will always be strong,
with fresh, green leaves.
15 They will tell everyone,
‘The Lord always does what is right.
He is my strong, safe rock.
There is nothing bad in him.’
13 So the Almighty Lord says this:
‘Look! My servants will eat,
but you will be hungry.
Look! My servants will drink,
but you will be thirsty.
Look! My servants will be happy,
but you will be ashamed.
14 Yes, my servants will sing with joy
because they are so happy.
But you will cry aloud
because you are so sad.
You will weep
because you are very upset.
15 My own people will use your names when they curse others.
The Almighty Lord will kill you,
but he will give to his servants another name.
16 People in the land will use the name of the true God,
when they want to say a blessing.
People in the land who want to make a strong promise
will also use the name of the true God.
I will forget the troubles that happened in past years.
I will no longer even think about them.
Jesus' message to the believers at Philadelphia
7 ‘Write this to the angel of the church at Philadelphia:
“This is my message to you. I am the one who is completely good, the true God. I have King David's key in my hand.[a] When I open a door, nobody can shut it. And when I shut a door, nobody can open it.
8 I know everything that you do. Look! I have opened a door that is in front of you. Nobody can shut that door. I know that you are not very strong. But you have obeyed what I told you. You have continued to believe in me. 9 Some people there say that they are Jews. But that is not true. They are telling lies. Instead, they belong to a group of Satan's people. I will cause those people to bend down low in front of you to give you honour. Then they will understand that I love you. 10 I have told you to be patient in this difficult time. You have obeyed what I told you. Because of that, I will keep you safe from the time of great trouble that will come. This trouble will come to everyone who lives in the world. It will show me what each person is really like.
11 I will come soon.[b] Continue to obey my message that you already know. Then nobody can take away your crown which is God's gift to you.[c]
12 Everyone who wins against Satan will be safe in God's house. I will make them like a strong pillar in the temple of my God. They will never leave that place again. I will write on them the name of my God and the name of his city. The name of that city is the new Jerusalem.[d] It will come down from heaven. My God will send it down to the earth. I will also write my new name on those people. 13 God's Spirit is speaking to you in the churches. You should understand what the Spirit is saying to you. You have ears, so listen carefully!” ’
15 The people wanted to take hold of Jesus so that they could make him their king. But Jesus knew that they wanted to do this. So he went away to the hills again by himself.
Jesus walks on the water
16 When it was evening, Jesus' disciples went down to the lake. 17 They got into a boat and they started to sail towards Capernaum. It had become dark and Jesus still had not come to them. 18 A very strong wind was blowing and the waves became dangerous. 19 The disciples were trying to move the boat through the water. When they had gone about six kilometres they saw Jesus. He was walking on the water and coming near to the boat. They were very afraid. 20 But Jesus said to them, ‘It is I. Do not be afraid.’ 21 So the disciples were happy to let Jesus get into the boat. Immediately, the boat came to the shore where they wanted to be.
The crowd looks for Jesus
22 The crowd of people had stayed on the other side of the lake. The next day, they saw that the only boat had gone. They knew that Jesus' disciples had taken it. They also knew that Jesus had not gone with his disciples. 23 Other boats from Tiberias then arrived near to the place where all the people were. They had eaten the bread there after the Lord Jesus had thanked God for it. 24 The crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were still there. So they got into the boats and they went to Capernaum. They went there to look for Jesus.
Jesus is the bread that gives us life with God
25 The people found Jesus on the other side of the lake. They asked him, ‘Teacher, when did you arrive here?’ 26 Jesus answered, ‘I tell you this: You saw me do miracles that show God's power. But you are not looking for me because of that. No, you are looking for me because you ate the loaves. I gave you all the food that you needed. 27 Do not work only for that kind of food. It soon becomes spoiled. Instead, work to get the food that continues for ever. That kind of food gives you life with God. The Son of Man will give this food to you. God, the Father, has given the Son authority to do this.’
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