Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 148
Praise Him, All Creation
Praise Him, All Creation
1 Praise the Lord.[a]
Praise From the Heavens
Praise the Lord from the heavens.
Praise him in the heights.
2 Praise him, all his angels.
Praise him, all his armies.
3 Praise him, sun and moon.
Praise him, all you bright stars.
4 Praise him, you highest heavens
and you waters which are above the heavens.
5 Let them praise the name of the Lord,
because he commanded, and they were created.
6 He caused them to stand forever and ever.
He gave a decree, and it will not pass away.
Praise From the Earth
7 Praise the Lord from the earth,
great sea creatures and all the depths,
8 fire and hail, snow and fog,
storm winds that obey his word,
9 mountains and all hills,
fruit trees and all cedars,
10 wild animals and all cattle,
crawling creatures and flying birds,
11 kings of the earth and all peoples,
officials and all judges on earth,
12 young men and also young women,
old people with young people.
13 Let them praise the name of the Lord,
for his name alone is exalted.
His splendor is above the earth and the heavens.
14 He has raised up a horn[b] for his people—
the praise of all his favored ones—
for the children of Israel, the people close to him.
Praise the Lord.
Psalm 149
Praise Him, All His People
Praise Him, All His People
1 Praise the Lord.[c]
The Church Triumphant
Sing to the Lord a new song.
Sing his praise in the congregation of his favored ones.
2 Let Israel rejoice in its Maker.
Let the people of Zion celebrate for their King.
3 Let them praise his name with dancing.
With hand drum and lyre let them make music to him.
4 For the Lord is pleased with his people.
He adorns the humble with salvation.
5 Let those he favors rejoice in honor.
Let them shout for joy on their beds.
The Church Militant
6 May high praise of God be in their throats,
and a two-edged sword in their hands,
7 to inflict vengeance on the nations
and punishments on the peoples,
8 to bind their kings with chains
and their nobles with iron shackles,
9 to carry out the judgment written against them.
This is the glory of all his favored people.
Praise the Lord.
Psalm 150
Praise the Lord!
1 Praise the Lord.[d]
Where?
Praise God in his sanctuary.
Praise him in the expanse that shows his might.
Why?
2 Praise him for his acts of power.
Praise him according to his abundant greatness.
How?
3 Praise him with a blast of the ram’s horn.
Praise him with the harp and the lyre.
4 Praise him with hand drums and dancing.
Praise him with the strings and the flute.
5 Praise him with the sounding cymbals.
Praise him with loud cymbals.
Who?
6 Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.
Praise the Lord.
Psalm 114
When Israel Came Out of Egypt
1 When Israel came out of Egypt
and the house of Jacob from a people with a strange language,
2 Judah became his sanctuary,
Israel became his kingdom.
3 The sea saw and fled.
The Jordan turned back.
4 The mountains skipped like rams,
the hills like lambs.
5 What happened, O sea, that you fled,
O Jordan, that you turned back,
6 O mountains, that you skipped like rams,
you hills, like lambs?
7 Tremble in the presence of the Lord, O earth.
Tremble in the presence of the God of Jacob.
8 He turned the rock into a pool of water.
He turned flint into springs of water.
Psalm 115
Not to Us
To God Alone Be Glory
1 Not to us, O Lord, not to us,
but to your name give glory,
because of your mercy,
because of your truth.
No Glory in Idols
2 Why should the nations say,
“So where is their God now?”
3 In fact, our God is in the heavens.
He does everything that pleases him.
4 Their idols are silver and gold, the work of human hands.
5 They have a mouth, but they do not speak.
They have eyes, but they do not see.
6 They have ears, but they do not hear.
They have a nose, but they do not smell.
7 Their hands—they do not even feel.
Their feet—they do not even walk around.
They do not even make a sound with their throats.
8 Those who make them will be like them,
and so will all who trust in them.
Trust in the Lord
9 Israel, trust in the Lord—
he is their help and their shield.
10 House of Aaron, trust in the Lord—
he is their help and their shield.
11 You who fear the Lord, trust in the Lord—
he is their help and their shield.
12 The Lord remembers 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 the Lord—
the small with the great.
14 May the Lord add blessings to you,
to you and to your children.
15 May you be blessed by the Lord,
the Maker of heaven and earth.
Serve the Lord
50 So David defeated the Philistine with a sling and a stone. He struck the Philistine and killed him, even though David did not have a sword in his hand. 51 So David ran, stood over the Philistine, took hold of his sword, drew it out of its sheath, killed him, and cut off his head with it.
When the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled. 52 The men of Israel and Judah got up, cheering loudly, and pursued the Philistines toward the entrance of the valley, all the way to the gates of Ekron. Fatally-wounded Philistines lined the road from Sha’araim all the way to Gath and Ekron. 53 When the Israelites returned from pursuing the Philistines, they plundered their camp. 54 David took the head of the Philistine and brought it to Jerusalem, but he put the Philistine’s armor and weapons into his tent.
David and Saul’s Family
55 When Saul saw David go out against the Philistine, he said to Abner, the commander of the army, “Abner, whose son is this young man?”
Abner said, “As your soul lives, my King, I do not know.”
56 The king said, “Inquire whose son the young man is!”
57 As David returned from striking down the Philistine, Abner took him and brought him before Saul, with the head of the Philistine in his hand. 58 Saul said to him, “Whose son are you, young man?”
David answered, “I am the son of your servant Jesse of Bethlehem.”
18 When David had finished speaking to Saul, the soul[a] of Jonathan became bound to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved David as he loved his own soul.[b] 2 Saul took David into his service that day and would not let him go back to his father’s house anymore. 3 Then Jonathan and David made a covenant, because Jonathan loved David as his own soul. 4 Jonathan took off the robe that he was wearing and gave it to David, as well as his other gear, including his sword, his bow, and his belt.
4 For to everyone who believes, Christ is the end of the law, resulting in righteousness.
5 Indeed, Moses writes this about the righteousness that comes by the law: “The one who does these things will live by them.”[a] 6 But the righteousness that comes by faith speaks like this: “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’”[b] (that is, to bring Christ down) 7 “or ‘Who will descend into the abyss?’”[c] (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). 8 But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart,”[d] that is, the word of faith that we are proclaiming. 9 Certainly, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and it is with the mouth that a person confesses, resulting in salvation. 11 For Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.”[e]
12 So there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, because the same Lord is Lord of all, who gives generously to all who call on him. 13 Yes, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”[f]
Israel Rejected the Message God Sent
14 So then, how can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one about whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without a preacher? 15 And how can they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news of peace,[g] who preach the gospel of good things!”[h]
16 But not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who believed our message?”[i] 17 So then, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message comes through the word of Christ.[j]
29 “Woe to you, experts in the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build the tombs of the prophets and decorate the monuments of the righteous, 30 and you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have joined with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ 31 By saying this you testify against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. 32 Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers. 33 You serpents, you offspring of vipers, how will you escape being condemned to hell?
34 “Look, this is why I am sending you prophets, wise men, and experts in the law. Some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will flog in your synagogues and persecute from town to town. 35 As a result, you will be held responsible for all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Berekiah, whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar. 36 Amen I tell you: All these things will come upon this generation.
37 “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those sent to her! How often I have wanted to gather your children together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing! 38 Look, your house is left to you desolate. 39 For I tell you, you will certainly not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!’”[a]
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.