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)
Israel Invoked to Praise the Lord.
149 Praise the Lord!
Sing to the Lord a new song,
And praise Him in the congregation of His godly ones (believers).
2
Let Israel rejoice in their Maker;
Let Zion’s children rejoice in their King.(B)
3
Let them praise His name with dancing;
Let them sing praises to Him with the tambourine and lyre.
4
For the Lord takes pleasure in His people;
He will beautify the humble with salvation.
5
Let the godly ones exult in glory;
Let them sing for joy on their beds.
6
Let the high praises of God be in their throats,
And a two-edged sword in their hands,(C)
7
To execute vengeance on the nations
And punishment on the peoples,
8
To bind their kings with chains
And their nobles with fetters of iron,
9
To execute on them the judgment written.
This is the honor for all His godly ones.
Praise the Lord! (Hallelujah!)
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.(D)
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!)
God’s Rescue of Israel from Egypt.
114 When Israel came out of Egypt,
The house of Jacob from a people of strange language,
2
Judah became His sanctuary,
And Israel His dominion.(A)
3
The [Red] Sea [a]looked and fled;
The Jordan turned back.(B)
4
The mountains leaped like rams,
The [little] hills, like lambs.
5
What ails you, O sea, that you flee?
O Jordan, that you turn back?
6
O mountains, that you leap like rams,
O [little] hills, like lambs?
7
Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord,
At the presence of the God of Jacob (Israel),
8
Who turned the rock into a pool of water,
The flint into a fountain of water.(C)
Pagan Idols Contrasted with the Lord.
115 Not to us, O Lord, not to us,
But to Your name give glory
Because of Your lovingkindness, because of Your truth and faithfulness.
2
Why should the nations say,
“Where, now, is their God?”
3
But our God is in heaven;
He does whatever He pleases.
4
The idols [of the nations] are silver and gold,
The work of man’s 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;
Nor can they make a sound with their throats.
8
Those who make them will become like them,
Everyone who trusts in them.(D)
9
O Israel, trust and take refuge in the Lord! [Be confident in Him, cling to Him, rely on His word!]
He is their help and their shield.
10
O house of Aaron, trust in the Lord;
He is their help and their shield.
11
You who [reverently] fear the Lord, trust in Lord;
He is their help and their shield.
12
The Lord has been mindful of us; He will bless,
He will bless the house of Israel;
He will bless the house of Aaron.
13
He will bless those who fear and worship the Lord [with awe-inspired reverence and submissive wonder],
Both the small and the great.(E)
14
May the Lord give you [great] increase,
You and your children.
15
May you be blessed of the Lord,
Who made heaven and earth.
16
The heavens are the heavens of the Lord,
But the earth He has given to the children of men.
17
The dead do not praise the Lord,
Nor do any who go down into silence;
18
But as for us, we will bless and affectionately and gratefully praise the Lord
From this time forth and forever.
Praise the Lord! (Hallelujah!)
The King Acknowledges God
4 Nebuchadnezzar the king, to all the peoples, nations, and speakers of every language that live in all the earth: “May your peace abound! 2 It has seemed good to me to declare the signs and wonders which the Most High God has done for me.
3
“How great are His signs
And how mighty are His wonders!
His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom
And His dominion is from generation to generation.(A)
The Vision of a Great Tree
4 “I, Nebuchadnezzar, was at rest in my house and prospering in my palace. 5 I saw a dream and it made me afraid; and the fantasies and thoughts and the visions [that appeared] in my mind as I lay on my bed kept alarming me. 6 So I gave orders to bring in before me all the wise men of Babylon, so that they might make known to me the interpretation of the dream. 7 Then the magicians, the enchanters (Magi), the Chaldeans [who were the master astrologers] and the diviners came in, and I told them the dream, but they could not interpret it and make known its meaning to me. 8 But at last Daniel came in before me, whose name is Belteshazzar, after the name of my god, and in whom is [a]a spirit of the holy gods; and I told the dream to him, saying, 9 ‘O Belteshazzar, chief of the magicians, because I know that a spirit of the holy gods is in you and no mystery baffles or troubles you, tell me the visions of my dream which I have seen, along with its interpretation.
10 ‘The visions that passed through my mind as I lay on my bed were these: I was looking, and behold, there was a tree in the middle of the earth, and its height was great.
11
‘The tree grew large and became strong
And its height reached to heaven,
And it was visible to the end of the earth.
12
‘Its leaves were beautiful and its fruit abundant,
And in it was food for all.
The beasts of the field found shade under it,
And the birds of the sky nested in its branches,
And all living creatures fed themselves from it.
13 ‘And behold, I saw in the visions of my mind as I lay on my bed, an angelic watcher, a holy one, descended from heaven.
14
‘He shouted aloud and said this:
“Cut down the tree and cut off its branches;
Shake off its leaves and scatter its fruit;
Let the living creatures run from under it
And the birds fly from its branches.
15
“Nevertheless leave the stump with its roots in the ground,
Bound with a band of iron and bronze
In the new grass of the field;
And let him be wet with the dew of heaven,
And let him feed with the animals in the grass of the earth.
16
“Let his mind and nature be changed from a man’s
And let an animal’s mind and nature be given to him,
And let seven periods of time pass over him.
17
“This sentence is by the decree of the angelic watchers
And the decision is a command of the holy ones,
So that the living may know [without any doubt]
That the Most High [God] rules over the kingdom of mankind
And He bestows it on whomever He desires
And sets over it the humblest and lowliest of men.”(B)
18 This is the dream which I, King Nebuchadnezzar, have seen. Now you, Belteshazzar, explain its meaning, since none of the wise men of my kingdom are able to reveal its interpretation to me; but you are able, for a spirit of the holy gods is in you.’
7 The end and culmination of all things is near. Therefore, be sound-minded and self-controlled for the purpose of prayer [staying balanced and focused on the things of God so that your communication will be clear, reasonable, specific and pleasing to Him.] 8 Above all, have [a]fervent and unfailing love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins [it overlooks unkindness and unselfishly seeks the best for others].(A) 9 Be [b]hospitable to one another without complaint. 10 Just as each one of you has received a special gift [a spiritual talent, an ability graciously given by God], employ it in serving one another as [is appropriate for] good stewards of God’s multi-faceted grace [faithfully using the diverse, varied gifts and abilities granted to Christians by God’s unmerited favor]. 11 Whoever speaks [to the congregation], is to do so as one who speaks the oracles (utterances, the very words) of God. Whoever serves [the congregation] is to do so as one who serves by the strength which God [abundantly] supplies, so that in all things God may be glorified [honored and magnified] through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
The Love Motivation
15 So when they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these [others do—with total commitment and devotion]?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I [a]love You [with a deep, personal affection, as for a close friend].” Jesus said to him, “Feed My lambs.” 16 Again He said to him a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me [with total commitment and devotion]?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You [with a deep, personal affection, as for a close friend].” Jesus said to him, “Shepherd My sheep.” 17 He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me [with a deep, personal affection for Me, as for a close friend]?” Peter was grieved that He asked him the third time, “Do you [really] [b]love Me [with a deep, personal affection, as for a close friend]?” And he said to Him, “Lord, You know everything; You know that I love You [with a deep, personal affection, as for a close friend].” Jesus said to him, “Feed My sheep.
Our Times Are in His Hand
18 I assure you and most solemnly say to you, when you were younger you dressed yourself and walked wherever you wished; but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands and arms, and someone else will dress you, and carry you where you do not wish to go.” 19 Now He said this to indicate the [c]kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. And after saying this, He said to him, “Follow Me [walk the same path of life that I have walked]!”
20 Peter turned and saw the [d]disciple whom Jesus loved following them; the one who also had leaned back on His chest at the supper and had said, “Lord, who is it that is going to betray You?” 21 So when Peter saw him, he asked Jesus, “Lord, and what about this [e]man [what is in his future]?” 22 Jesus said to him, “If I want him to stay alive until I come [again], what is that to you? You follow Me!” 23 So this word went out among the brothers that this disciple (John) was not going to die; yet Jesus did not say to him that he was not going to die, but only, “If I want him to stay alive until I come [again], what is that to you?”
24 This is the same [f]disciple who is testifying to these things and has recorded them; and we know [without any doubt] that his testimony is true.
25 And there are also many other things which Jesus did, which if they were recorded [g]one by one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.
Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA 90631. All rights reserved.