Book of Common Prayer
148 Praise the Lord, O heavens! Praise him from the skies! 2 Praise him, all his angels, all the armies of heaven. 3 Praise him, sun and moon and all you twinkling stars. 4 Praise him, skies above. Praise him, vapors high above the clouds.
5 Let everything he has made give praise to him. For he issued his command, and they came into being; 6 he established them forever and forever. His orders will never be revoked.
7 And praise him down here on earth, you creatures of the ocean depths. 8 Let fire and hail, snow, rain, wind, and weather all obey. 9 Let the mountains and hills, the fruit trees and cedars, 10 the wild animals and cattle, the snakes and birds, 11 the kings and all the people with their rulers and their judges, 12 young men and maidens, old men and children— 13 all praise the Lord together. For he alone is worthy. His glory is far greater than all of earth and heaven. 14 He has made his people strong, honoring his godly ones—the people of Israel, the people closest to him.
Hallelujah! Yes, praise the Lord!
150 Hallelujah! Yes, praise the Lord!
Praise him in his Temple and in the heavens he made with mighty power.[a] 2 Praise him for his mighty works. Praise his unequaled greatness. 3 Praise him with the trumpet and with lute and harp. 4 Praise him with the drums and dancing. Praise him with stringed instruments and horns. 5 Praise him with the cymbals, yes, loud clanging cymbals.
6 Let everything alive give praises to the Lord! You praise him!
Hallelujah!
91 We live within the shadow of the Almighty, sheltered by the God who is above all gods.
2 This I declare, that he alone is my refuge, my place of safety; he is my God, and I am trusting him. 3 For he rescues you from every trap and protects you from the fatal plague. 4 He will shield you with his wings! They will shelter you. His faithful promises are your armor. 5 Now you don’t need to be afraid of the dark anymore, nor fear the dangers of the day; 6 nor dread the plagues of darkness, nor disasters in the morning.[a]
7 Though a thousand fall at my side, though ten thousand are dying around me, the evil will not touch me. 8 I will see how the wicked are punished, but I will not share it. 9 For Jehovah is my refuge! I choose the God above all gods to shelter me. 10 How then can evil overtake me or any plague come near? 11 For he orders his angels to protect you wherever you go. 12 They will steady you with their hands to keep you from stumbling against the rocks on the trail. 13 You can safely meet a lion or step on poisonous snakes, yes, even trample them beneath your feet!
14 For the Lord says, “Because he loves me, I will rescue him; I will make him great because he trusts in my name. 15 When he calls on me, I will answer; I will be with him in trouble and rescue him and honor him. 16 I will satisfy him with a full life[b] and give him my salvation.”
92 A song to sing on the Lord’s Day.[c]
It is good to say thank you to the Lord, to sing praises to the God who is above all gods.
2 Every morning tell him, “Thank you for your kindness,” and every evening rejoice in all his faithfulness. 3 Sing his praises, accompanied by music from the harp and lute and lyre. 4 You have done so much for me, O Lord. No wonder I am glad! I sing for joy.
5 O Lord, what miracles you do! And how deep are your thoughts! 6 Unthinking people do not understand them! No fool can comprehend this: 7 that although the wicked flourish like weeds, there is only eternal destruction ahead of them. 8 But the Lord continues forever, exalted in the heavens, 9 while his enemies—all evildoers—shall be scattered.
10 But you have made me as strong as a wild bull. How refreshed I am by your blessings![d] 11 I have heard the doom of my enemies announced and seen them destroyed. 12 But the godly shall flourish like palm trees and grow tall as the cedars of Lebanon. 13 For they are transplanted into the Lord’s own garden and are under his personal care. 14 Even in old age they will still produce fruit and be vital and green. 15 This honors the Lord and exhibits his faithful care. He is my shelter. There is nothing but goodness in him!
13 Therefore, the Lord God says: You shall starve, but my servants shall eat; you shall be thirsty while they drink; you shall be sad and ashamed, but they shall rejoice. 14 You shall cry in sorrow and vexation and despair, while they sing for joy. 15 Your name shall be a curse word among my people, for the Lord God will slay you and call his true servants by another name.[a]
16 And yet, the days will come[b] when all who invoke a blessing or take an oath shall swear by the God of Truth; for I will put aside my anger and forget the evil that you did.
7
“This message is sent to you by the one who is holy and true and has the key of David to open what no one can shut and to shut what no one can open.
8 “I know you well; you aren’t strong, but you have tried to obey[a] and have not denied my Name. Therefore I have opened a door to you that no one can shut.
9 “Note this: I will force those supporting the causes of Satan while claiming to be mine[b] (but they aren’t—they are lying) to fall at your feet and acknowledge that you are the ones I love.
10 “Because you have patiently obeyed me despite the persecution, therefore I will protect you from the time of Great Tribulation and temptation,[c] which will come upon the world to test everyone alive. 11 Look, I am coming soon![d] Hold tightly to the little strength you have—so that no one will take away your crown.
12 “As for the one who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God; he will be secure and will go out no more; and I will write my God’s Name on him, and he will be a citizen in the city of my God—the New Jerusalem, coming down from heaven from my God; and he will have my new Name inscribed upon him.
13 “Let all who can hear listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches.
15 Jesus saw that they were ready to take him by force and make him their king, so he went higher into the mountains alone.
16 That evening his disciples went down to the shore to wait for him. 17 But as darkness fell and Jesus still hadn’t come back, they got into the boat and headed out across the lake toward Capernaum. 18-19 But soon a gale swept down upon them as they rowed, and the sea grew very rough. They were three or four miles out when suddenly they saw Jesus walking toward the boat! They were terrified, 20 but he called out to them and told them not to be afraid. 21 Then they were willing to let him in, and immediately the boat was where they were going![a]
22-23 The next morning, back across the lake, crowds began gathering on the shore waiting to see Jesus.[b] For they knew that he and his disciples had come over together and that the disciples had gone off in their boat, leaving him behind. Several small boats from Tiberias were nearby, 24 so when the people saw that Jesus wasn’t there, nor his disciples, they got into the boats and went across to Capernaum to look for him.
25 When they arrived and found him, they said, “Sir, how did you get here?” 26 Jesus replied, “The truth of the matter is that you want to be with me because I fed you, not because you believe in me. 27 But you shouldn’t be so concerned about perishable things like food. No, spend your energy seeking the eternal life that I, the Messiah,[c] can give you. For God the Father has sent me for this very purpose.”
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.