Book of Common Prayer
The Whole Creation Invoked to Praise the Lord.
148 Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord from the heavens;
Praise Him in the heights!
2
Praise Him, all His angels;
Praise Him, all His hosts (armies)!
3
Praise Him, sun and moon:
Praise Him, all stars of light!
4
Praise Him, highest heavens,
And the waters above the heavens!
5
Let them praise the name of the Lord,
For He commanded and they were created.
6
He has also established them forever and ever;
He has made a decree which shall not pass away.
7
Praise the Lord from the earth,
Sea monsters and all deeps;
8
Lightning and hail, snow and fog;
Stormy wind, fulfilling His orders;
9
Mountains and all hills;
Fruitful trees and all cedars;
10
Beasts and all cattle;
Creeping things and winged birds;
11
Kings of the earth and all people;
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 name alone is exalted and supreme;
His glory and majesty are above earth and heaven.
14
He has lifted up a horn for His people [giving them strength, prosperity, dignity, and preeminence],
Praise for all His godly ones;
For the people of Israel, a people near to Him.
Praise the Lord! (Hallelujah!)(A)
A Psalm of Praise.
150 Praise the Lord!
Praise God in His sanctuary;
Praise Him in His mighty heavens.
2
Praise Him for His mighty acts;
Praise Him according to [the abundance of] His greatness.(A)
3
Praise Him with trumpet sound;
Praise Him with harp and lyre.
4
Praise Him with tambourine and dancing;
Praise Him with stringed instruments and flute.
5
Praise Him with resounding cymbals;
Praise Him with loud cymbals.
6
Let everything that has breath and every breath of life praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord! (Hallelujah!)
Security of the One Who Trusts in the Lord.
91 He who [a]dwells in the shelter of the Most High
Will remain secure and rest in the shadow of the Almighty [whose power no enemy can withstand].
2
I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress,
My God, in whom I trust [with great confidence, and on whom I rely]!”
3
For He will save you from the trap of the fowler,
And from the deadly pestilence.
4
He will cover you and completely protect you with His pinions,
And under His wings you will find refuge;
His faithfulness is a shield and a wall.
5
You will not be afraid of the terror of night,
Nor of the arrow that flies by day,
6
Nor of the pestilence that stalks in darkness,
Nor of the destruction (sudden death) that lays waste at noon.
7
A thousand may fall at your side
And ten thousand at your right hand,
But danger will not come near you.
8
You will only [be a spectator as you] look on with your eyes
And witness the [divine] repayment of the wicked [as you watch safely from the shelter of the Most High].
9
Because you have made the Lord, [who is] my refuge,
Even the Most High, your dwelling place,(A)
10
No evil will befall you,
Nor will any plague come near your tent.
11
For He will command His angels in regard to you,
To protect and defend and guard you in all your ways [of obedience and service].
12
They will lift you up in their hands,
So that you do not [even] strike your foot against a stone.(B)
13
You will tread upon the lion and cobra;
The young lion and the serpent you will trample underfoot.(C)
14
“Because he set his love on Me, therefore I will save him;
I will set him [securely] on high, because he knows My name [he confidently trusts and relies on Me, knowing I will never abandon him, no, never].
15
“He will call upon Me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble;
I will rescue him and honor him.
16
“With a long life I will satisfy him
And I will let him see My salvation.”
Praise for the Lord’s Goodness.
A Psalm. A Song for the Sabbath day.
92 It is a good and delightful thing to give thanks to the Lord,
To sing praises to Your name, O Most High,
2
To declare Your lovingkindness in the morning
And Your faithfulness by night,
3
With an instrument of ten strings and with the harp,
With a solemn sound on the lyre.
4
For You, O Lord, have made me glad by Your works;
At the works of Your hands I joyfully sing.
5
How great are Your works, O Lord!
Your thoughts are very deep [beyond man’s understanding].
6
A senseless man [in his crude and uncultivated state] knows nothing,
Nor does a [self-righteous] fool understand this:
7
That though the wicked sprout up like grass
And all evildoers flourish,
They will be destroyed forever.
8
But You, Lord, are on high forever.
9
For behold, Your enemies, O Lord,
For behold, Your enemies will perish;
All who do evil will be scattered.
10
But my horn [my emblem of strength and power] You have exalted like that of a wild ox;
I am anointed with fresh oil [for Your service].
11
My eye has looked on my foes;
My ears hear of the evildoers who rise up against me.
12
The righteous will flourish like the date palm [long-lived, upright and useful];
They will grow like a cedar in Lebanon [majestic and stable].
13
Planted in the house of the Lord,
They will flourish in the courts of our God.
14
[Growing in grace] they will still thrive and bear fruit and prosper in old age;
They will flourish and be [b]vital and fresh [rich in trust and love and contentment];
15
[They are living memorials] to declare that the Lord is upright and faithful [to His promises];
He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him.(D)
13 Therefore, the Lord God says this,
“Listen carefully, My servants will eat, but you will be hungry;
Indeed, My servants will drink, but you will be thirsty;
Indeed, My servants will rejoice, but you will be put to shame.
14
“Indeed, My servants will shout for joy from a happy heart,
But you will cry out with a heavy heart,
And you shall wail and howl from a broken spirit.
15
“And you will leave your name behind to My chosen ones [who will use it] as a curse,
And the Lord God will put you to death,
But He will call His servants by another name [a much greater name, just as the name Israel was greater than the name Jacob].(A)
16
“Because he who blesses himself on the earth
Will bless himself by the God of truth and faithfulness;
And he who swears [an oath] on the earth
Will swear by the God of truth and faithfulness;
Because the former troubles are forgotten,
And because they are hidden from My sight.(B)
Message to Philadelphia
7 “And to the angel (divine messenger) of the church in [a]Philadelphia write:
“These are the words of the Holy One, the True One, He who has the key [to the house] of David, He who opens and no one will [be able to] shut, and He who shuts and no one opens:(A)
8 ‘I know your deeds. See, I have set before you an open door which no one is able to shut, for you have a little power, and have kept My word, and have not renounced or denied My name.(B) 9 Take note, I will make those of the synagogue of Satan, who say that they are Jews and are not, but lie—I will make them come and bow down at your feet and make them know [without any doubt] that I have loved you.(C) 10 Because you have kept the word of My endurance [My command to persevere], I will keep you [safe] from the hour of trial, that hour which is about to come on the whole [inhabited] world, to test those who live on the earth.(D) 11 I am coming quickly. Hold tight what you have, so that no one will take your crown [by leading you to renounce the faith]. 12 He who overcomes [the world through believing that Jesus is the Son of God], I will make him a [b]pillar in the temple of My God; he will most certainly never be put out of it, and I will write on him the name of My God, and the name of the city of My God, the new Jerusalem, which descends out of heaven from My God, and My [own] new name.(E) 13 He who has an ear, let him hear and heed what the Spirit says to the churches.’
Jesus Walks on the Water
15 Then Jesus, knowing that they were going to come and take Him by force to make Him king, withdrew again to the mountainside by Himself.
16 When evening came, His disciples went down to the sea, 17 and they got into a boat and started to cross the sea to Capernaum. It was already dark, and Jesus had still not come [back] to them. 18 The sea was getting rough and rising high because a strong wind was blowing. 19 Then, when they had rowed [a]three or four miles [and were near the [b]center of the sea], they saw Jesus walking on the sea and approaching the boat; and they were [terribly] frightened. 20 But Jesus said to them, “It is I (I Am); do not be afraid.”(A) 21 Then they were willing to take Him on board the boat, and immediately the boat reached the [shore of the] land to which they were going.
22 The next day the crowd that stood on the other side of the sea realized that there had been only one small boat there, and that Jesus had not boarded the boat with His disciples, but that His disciples had gone away alone. 23 [Now some] other small boats from [c]Tiberias had come in near the place where they ate the bread after the Lord had given thanks. 24 So when the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor His disciples were there, they boarded the small boats themselves and came to Capernaum looking for Jesus. 25 And when they found Him on the other side of the sea, they asked Him, “Rabbi, when did You get here?”
Words to the People
26 Jesus answered, “I assure you and most solemnly say to you, you have been searching for Me, not because you saw the signs (attesting miracles), but because you ate the loaves and were filled. 27 Do not work for food that perishes, but for food that endures [and leads] to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you; for God the Father has authorized Him and put His seal on Him.”
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