Book of Common Prayer
The Whole Creation Invoked to Praise the Lord.
148 [a]Praise [b]the Lord!
Praise the Lord (A)from the heavens;
Praise Him (B)in the heights!
2 Praise Him, (C)all His angels;
Praise Him, (D)all His heavenly armies!
3 Praise Him, sun and moon;
Praise Him, all stars of light!
4 Praise Him, [c](E)highest heavens,
And the (F)waters that are above the heavens!
5 They are to praise the name of the Lord,
For (G)He commanded and they were created.
6 He has also (H)established them forever and ever;
He has made a (I)decree, and it will not pass away.
7 Praise the Lord from the earth,
(J)Sea monsters, and all the ocean (K)depths;
8 (L)Fire and hail, (M)snow and (N)clouds;
(O)Stormy wind, (P)fulfilling His word;
9 (Q)Mountains and all hills;
Fruit (R)trees and all cedars;
10 (S)Animals and all cattle;
(T)Crawling things and winged fowl;
11 (U)Kings of the earth and all peoples;
Rulers and all judges of the earth;
12 Both young men and virgins;
Old men and children.
13 They are to praise the name of the Lord,
For His (V)name alone is exalted;
His (W)majesty is above earth and heaven.
14 And He has (X)lifted up a horn for His people,
(Y)Praise for all His godly ones,
For the sons of Israel, a people (Z)near to Him.
[d]Praise [e]the Lord!
Israel Invoked to Praise the Lord.
149 [f]Praise [g]the Lord!
Sing a (AA)new song to the Lord,
And His praise (AB)in the congregation of the godly ones.
2 Israel shall be joyful in (AC)his Maker;
The sons of Zion shall rejoice in their (AD)King.
3 They shall praise His name with (AE)dancing;
They shall sing praises to Him with (AF)tambourine and lyre.
4 For the Lord (AG)takes pleasure in His people;
He will (AH)glorify the lowly with salvation.
5 The (AI)godly ones shall be jubilant in glory;
They shall (AJ)sing for joy on their beds.
6 The (AK)high praises of God shall be in their [h]mouths,
And a (AL)two-edged (AM)sword in their hands,
7 To (AN)execute vengeance on the nations,
And punishment on the peoples,
8 To bind their kings (AO)with chains,
And their (AP)dignitaries with shackles of iron,
9 To (AQ)execute against them the judgment written.
This is an (AR)honor for all His godly ones.
[i]Praise [j]the Lord!
A Psalm of Praise.
150 [k]Praise [l]the Lord!
Praise God in His (AS)sanctuary;
Praise Him in His mighty [m](AT)expanse.
2 Praise Him for His (AU)mighty deeds;
Praise Him according to His excellent (AV)greatness.
3 Praise Him with (AW)trumpet sound;
Praise Him with (AX)harp and lyre.
4 Praise Him with (AY)tambourine and dancing;
Praise Him with (AZ)stringed instruments and (BA)flute.
5 Praise Him with loud (BB)cymbals;
Praise Him with resounding cymbals.
6 (BC)Everything that has breath shall praise [n]the Lord.
[o]Praise [p]the Lord!
God’s Rescue of Israel from Egypt.
114 When Israel went forth (A)from Egypt,
The house of Jacob from a people of a (B)foreign language,
2 Judah became (C)His sanctuary;
Israel, (D)His dominion.
3 The (E)sea looked and fled;
The (F)Jordan turned back.
4 The mountains (G)skipped like rams,
The hills, like lambs.
5 What (H)ails you, sea, that you flee?
Jordan, that you turn back?
6 Mountains, that you skip like rams?
Hills, like lambs?
7 (I)Tremble, earth, before the Lord,
Before the God of Jacob,
8 Who (J)turned the rock into a (K)pool of water,
The (L)flint into a fountain of water.
Heathen Idols Contrasted with the Lord.
115 (M)Not to us, Lord, not to us,
But (N)to Your name give glory,
Because of Your mercy, because of Your [a]truth.
2 (O)Why should the nations say,
“(P)Where, then, is their God?”
3 But our (Q)God is in the heavens;
He (R)does whatever He pleases.
4 Their (S)idols are silver and gold,
The (T)work of human hands.
5 They have mouths, but they (U)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 [b]They have hands, but they cannot feel;
[c]They have feet, but they cannot walk;
They cannot make a sound with their throat.
8 (V)Those who make them [d]will become like them,
Everyone who trusts in them.
9 (W)Israel, (X)trust in the Lord;
He is their (Y)help and their shield.
10 House of (Z)Aaron, trust in the Lord;
He is their help and their shield.
11 You who [e](AA)fear the Lord, trust in the Lord;
He is their help and their shield.
12 The Lord (AB)has been mindful of us; He will bless us.
He will bless the house of Israel;
He will bless the house of Aaron.
13 He will (AC)bless those who [f]fear the Lord,
(AD)The small together with the great.
14 May the Lord (AE)increase you,
You and your children.
15 May you be blessed of the Lord,
(AF)Maker of heaven and earth.
Babylon to Be Destroyed
14 This is what the Lord your (A)Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel says:
“For your sake I have sent to Babylon,
And will bring them all down as fugitives,
[a]Even the (B)Chaldeans, into the (C)ships [b]over which they rejoice.
15 I am the Lord, your Holy One,
(D)The Creator of Israel, your (E)King.”
16 This is what the Lord says,
He who (F)makes a way through the sea
And a path through the mighty waters,
17 Who brings out the (G)chariot and the horse,
The army and the mighty man
(They will lie down together and not rise again;
They have been (H)extinguished, and have gone out like a wick):
18 “(I)Do not call to mind the former things,
Or consider things of the past.
19 Behold, I am going to do something (J)new,
Now it will spring up;
Will you not be aware of it?
I will even (K)make a roadway in the wilderness,
Rivers in the desert.
20 The animals of the field will glorify Me,
The (L)jackals and the ostriches,
Because I have (M)given waters in the wilderness
And rivers in the desert,
To give drink to My chosen people.
21 The people whom (N)I formed for Myself
(O)Will declare My praise.
The Shortcomings of Israel
22 “Yet you have not called on Me, Jacob;
But you have become (P)weary of Me, Israel.
23 You have (Q)not brought to Me the sheep of your burnt offerings,
Nor have you (R)honored Me with your sacrifices.
I have not (S)burdened you with [c]offerings,
Nor wearied you with (T)incense.
24 You have not bought Me [d](U)sweet cane with money,
Nor have you satisfied Me with the fat of your sacrifices;
Rather, you have burdened Me with your sins,
You have (V)wearied Me with your wrongdoings.
25 “I, I alone, am the one who (W)wipes out your wrongdoings (X)for My own sake,
And I will (Y)not remember your sins.
26 [e]Meet Me in court, (Z)let’s argue our case together;
State your cause, (AA)so that you may be proved right.
27 Your (AB)first [f]forefather sinned,
And your [g](AC)spokesmen have rebelled against Me.
28 So I will profane the [h]officials of the sanctuary,
And I will turn Jacob over to (AD)destruction and Israel to (AE)abuse.
The Blessings of Israel
44 “But now listen, Jacob, My (AF)servant,
And Israel, whom I have chosen:
2 This is what the Lord says, He who made you
And (AG)formed you from the womb, who (AH)will help you:
‘(AI)Do not fear, Jacob My servant,
And [i](AJ)Jeshurun, whom I have chosen.
3 For (AK)I will pour water on [j]the thirsty land
And streams on the dry ground;
I will (AL)pour out My Spirit on your (AM)offspring,
And My blessing on your descendants;
4 And they will spring up [k]among the grass
Like (AN)poplars by streams of water.’
5 This one will say, ‘I am the Lord’s’;
And that one [l]will call on the name of Jacob;
And another will (AO)write [m]on his hand, ‘Belonging to the Lord,’
And will give himself Israel’s name with honor.
17 [a]In the same way God, desiring even more to demonstrate to (A)the heirs of the promise [b](B)the fact that His purpose is unchangeable, [c]confirmed it with an oath, 18 so that by two unchangeable things in which (C)it is impossible for God to lie, we who have taken refuge would have strong encouragement to hold firmly to (D)the hope set before us. 19 [d]This (E)hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and reliable and one which (F)enters [e]within the veil, 20 (G)where Jesus has entered as a forerunner for us, having become a (H)high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.
Melchizedek’s Priesthood like Christ’s
7 For this (I)Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the (J)Most High God, who met Abraham as he was returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, 2 to whom also Abraham apportioned a tenth of all the spoils, was first of all, by the translation of his name, king of righteousness, and then also king of Salem, which is king of peace. 3 Without father, without mother, (K)without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like (L)the Son of God, he remains a priest perpetually.
4 Now observe how great this man was to whom Abraham, the (M)patriarch, (N)gave a tenth of the choicest spoils. 5 And those indeed of (O)the sons of Levi who receive the priest’s office have a commandment [f]in the Law to collect [g]a tenth from the people, that is, from their countrymen, although they [h]are descended from Abraham. 6 But the one (P)whose genealogy is not traced from them (Q)collected [i]a tenth from Abraham and [j](R)blessed the one who (S)had the promises. 7 But without any dispute the lesser person is blessed by the greater. 8 In this case mortal men receive tithes, but in that case one receives them, (T)of whom it is witnessed that he lives on. 9 And, so to speak, through Abraham even Levi, who received tithes, has paid tithes, 10 for he was still in the loins of his [k]forefather when Melchizedek met him.
27 And at this point His (A)disciples came, and they were amazed that He had been speaking with a woman, yet no one said, “What are You seeking?” or, “Why are You speaking with her?” 28 So the woman left her waterpot and went into the city, and *said to the people, 29 “Come, see a Man (B)who told me all the things that I have done; (C)this is not the [a]Christ, is He?” 30 They left the city and were coming to Him.
31 Meanwhile the disciples were urging Him, saying, “(D)Rabbi, eat something.” 32 But He said to them, “I have food to eat that you do not know about.” 33 So the (E)disciples were saying to one another, “No one brought Him anything to eat, did he?” 34 Jesus *said to them, “My food is to (F)do the will of Him who sent Me, and to (G)accomplish His work. 35 Do you not say, ‘There are still four months, and then comes the harvest’? Behold, I tell you, raise your eyes and observe the fields, that they are white (H)for harvest. 36 Already the one who reaps is receiving (I)wages and is gathering (J)fruit for (K)eternal life, so that the one who sows and the one who reaps may rejoice together. 37 For in this case the saying is true: ‘(L)One sows and another reaps.’ 38 I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored, and you have [b]come into their labor.”
The Samaritans
39 Now from (M)that city many of the Samaritans believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, “(N)He told me all the things that I have done.” 40 So when the Samaritans came to [c]Jesus, they were asking Him to stay with them; and He stayed there two days. 41 Many more believed because of His word; 42 and they were saying to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves and know that this One truly is (O)the Savior of the world.”
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