Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 8[a]
Divine Majesty and Human Dignity
1 For the leader; “upon the gittith.”[b] A psalm of David.
2 O Lord, our Lord,
how awesome is your name through all the earth!
I will sing of your majesty above the heavens
3 with the mouths of babes(A) and infants.[c]
You have established a bulwark against your foes,
to silence enemy and avenger.
4 When I see your heavens, the work of your fingers,
the moon and stars that you set in place—
5 [d]What is man that you are mindful of him,(B)
and a son of man that you care for him?(C)
6 Yet you have made him little less than a god,[e]
crowned him with glory and honor.
7 You have given him rule over the works of your hands,(D)
put all things at his feet:
8 All sheep and oxen,
even the beasts of the field,
9 The birds of the air, the fish of the sea,
and whatever swims the paths of the seas.
10 O Lord, our Lord,
how awesome is your name through all the earth!
Psalm 148[a]
All Creation Summoned to Praise
1 Hallelujah!
I
Praise the Lord from the heavens;
praise him in the heights.
2 Praise him, all you his angels;
give praise, all you his hosts.(A)
3 Praise him, sun and moon;
praise him, all shining stars.
4 Praise him, highest heavens,[b]
you waters above the heavens.
5 Let them all praise the Lord’s name;
for he commanded and they were created,(B)
6 Assigned them their station forever,
set an order that will never change.
II
7 Praise the Lord from the earth,
you sea monsters and all the deeps of the sea;(C)
8 Lightning and hail, snow and thick clouds,
storm wind that fulfills his command;
9 Mountains and all hills,
fruit trees and all cedars;(D)
10 Animals wild and tame,
creatures that crawl and birds that fly;(E)
11 Kings of the earth and all peoples,
princes and all who govern on earth;
12 Young men and women too,
old and young alike.
13 Let them all praise the Lord’s name,
for his name alone is exalted,
His majesty above earth and heaven.(F)
14 [c]He has lifted high the horn of his people;
to the praise of all his faithful,
the Israelites, the people near to him.
Hallelujah!
VIII. The Lord and Job Meet
Chapter 38
1 Then the Lord[a] answered Job out of the storm and said:
2 Who is this who darkens counsel
with words of ignorance?
3 Gird up your loins[b] now, like a man;
I will question you, and you tell me the answers!(A)
4 Where were you when I founded the earth?
Tell me, if you have understanding.
5 Who determined its size? Surely you know?
Who stretched out the measuring line for it?
6 Into what were its pedestals sunk,
and who laid its cornerstone,
7 While the morning stars sang together
and all the sons of God[c] shouted for joy?
I. Introduction[a]
Chapter 1
1 In times past, God spoke in partial and various ways to our ancestors through the prophets; 2 in these last days, he spoke to us through a son, whom he made heir of all things and through whom he created the universe,(A)
3 who is the refulgence of his glory,
the very imprint of his being,
and who sustains all things by his mighty word.
When he had accomplished purification from sins,
he took his seat at the right hand of the Majesty on high,(B)
4 as far superior to the angels
as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.(C)
II. The Son Higher Than the Angels
Messianic Enthronement.[b] 5 For to which of the angels did God ever say:
“You are my son; this day I have begotten you”?(D)
Or again:
“I will be a father to him, and he shall be a son to me”?
6 And again, when he leads[c] the first-born into the world, he says:
“Let all the angels of God worship him.”(E)
7 Of the angels he says:
“He makes his angels winds
and his ministers a fiery flame”;(F)
8 but of the Son:
“Your throne, O God,[d] stands forever and ever;
and a righteous scepter is the scepter of your kingdom.(G)
9 You loved justice and hated wickedness;
therefore God, your God, anointed you
with the oil of gladness above your companions”;
10 and:
“At the beginning, O Lord, you established the earth,(H)
and the heavens are the works of your hands.
11 They will perish, but you remain;
and they will all grow old like a garment.
12 You will roll them up like a cloak,
and like a garment they will be changed.
But you are the same, and your years will have no end.”
13 But to which of the angels has he ever said:
“Sit at my right hand
until I make your enemies your footstool”?(I)
14 Are they not all ministering spirits sent to serve, for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation?(J)
Psalm 34[a]
Thanksgiving to God Who Delivers the Just
1 Of David, when he feigned madness before Abimelech,[b] who drove him out and he went away.
I
2 I will bless the Lord at all times;
his praise shall be always in my mouth.(A)
3 My soul will glory in the Lord;
let the poor hear and be glad.
4 Magnify the Lord with me;
and let us exalt his name together.
II
5 I sought the Lord, and he answered me,
delivered me from all my fears.
6 Look to him and be radiant,
and your faces may not blush for shame.
7 This poor one cried out and the Lord heard,
and from all his distress he saved him.
8 The angel of the Lord encamps
around those who fear him, and he saves them.(B)
9 Taste and see that the Lord is good;
blessed is the stalwart one who takes refuge in him.(C)
10 Fear the Lord, you his holy ones;
nothing is lacking to those who fear him.(D)
11 The rich grow poor and go hungry,
but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.
III
12 Come, children,[c] listen to me;(E)
I will teach you fear of the Lord.
13 Who is the man who delights in life,(F)
who loves to see the good days?
14 Keep your tongue from evil,
your lips from speaking lies.
15 Turn from evil and do good;(G)
seek peace and pursue it.
16 The eyes of the Lord are directed toward the righteous(H)
and his ears toward their cry.
17 The Lord’s face is against evildoers
to wipe out their memory from the earth.
18 The righteous cry out, the Lord hears
and he rescues them from all their afflictions.
19 The Lord is close to the brokenhearted,
saves those whose spirit is crushed.
20 Many are the troubles of the righteous,
but the Lord delivers him from them all.
21 He watches over all his bones;
not one of them shall be broken.(I)
22 Evil will slay the wicked;
those who hate the righteous are condemned.
23 The Lord is the redeemer of the souls of his servants;
and none are condemned who take refuge in him.
Psalm 150[a]
Final Doxology
1 Hallelujah!
Praise God in his holy sanctuary;[b](A)
give praise in the mighty dome of heaven.
2 Give praise for his mighty deeds,(B)
praise him for his great majesty.
3 Give praise with blasts upon the horn,(C)
praise him with harp and lyre.
4 Give praise with tambourines and dance,
praise him with strings and pipes.(D)
5 Give praise with crashing cymbals,
praise him with sounding cymbals.
6 Let everything that has breath
give praise to the Lord!(E)
Hallelujah!
Psalm 104[a]
Praise of God the Creator
I
1 Bless the Lord, my soul!
Lord, my God, you are great indeed!
You are clothed with majesty and splendor,
2 robed in light as with a cloak.
You spread out the heavens like a tent;(A)
3 setting the beams of your chambers upon the waters.[b]
You make the clouds your chariot;
traveling on the wings of the wind.
4 You make the winds your messengers;
flaming fire, your ministers.(B)
II
5 [c]You fixed the earth on its foundation,
so it can never be shaken.
6 The deeps covered it like a garment;
above the mountains stood the waters.
7 At your rebuke they took flight;
at the sound of your thunder they fled.(C)
8 They rushed up the mountains, down the valleys
to the place you had fixed for them.
9 You set a limit they cannot pass;
never again will they cover the earth.(D)
III
10 You made springs flow in wadies
that wind among the mountains.
11 They give drink to every beast of the field;(E)
here wild asses quench their thirst.
12 Beside them the birds of heaven nest;
among the branches they sing.
13 You water the mountains from your chambers;
from the fruit of your labor the earth abounds.
14 You make the grass grow for the cattle
and plants for people’s work
to bring forth food from the earth,
15 wine to gladden their hearts,
oil to make their faces shine,
and bread to sustain the human heart.
16 [d]The trees of the Lord drink their fill,
the cedars of Lebanon, which you planted.
17 There the birds build their nests;
the stork in the junipers, its home.(F)
18 The high mountains are for wild goats;
the rocky cliffs, a refuge for badgers.
IV
19 You made the moon to mark the seasons,(G)
the sun that knows the hour of its setting.
20 You bring darkness and night falls,
then all the animals of the forest wander about.
21 Young lions roar for prey;
they seek their food from God.(H)
22 When the sun rises, they steal away
and settle down in their dens.
23 People go out to their work,
to their labor till evening falls.
V
24 How varied are your works, Lord!
In wisdom you have made them all;
the earth is full of your creatures.(I)
25 There is the sea, great and wide!
It teems with countless beings,
living things both large and small.(J)
26 There ships ply their course
and Leviathan,[e] whom you formed to play with.(K)
VI
27 All of these look to you
to give them food in due time.(L)
28 When you give it to them, they gather;
when you open your hand, they are well filled.
29 [f]When you hide your face, they panic.
Take away their breath, they perish
and return to the dust.(M)
30 Send forth your spirit, they are created
and you renew the face of the earth.
VII
31 May the glory of the Lord endure forever;
may the Lord be glad in his works!
32 Who looks at the earth and it trembles,
touches the mountains and they smoke!(N)
33 I will sing to the Lord all my life;
I will sing praise to my God while I live.(O)
34 May my meditation be pleasing to him;
I will rejoice in the Lord.
35 May sinners vanish from the earth,
and the wicked be no more.
Bless the Lord, my soul! Hallelujah![g]
21 If anyone says to you then, ‘Look, here is the Messiah! Look, there he is!’ do not believe it. 22 False messiahs and false prophets will arise and will perform signs and wonders in order to mislead, if that were possible, the elect. 23 Be watchful! I have told it all to you beforehand.
The Coming of the Son of Man. 24 (A)“But in those days after that tribulation
the sun will be darkened,
and the moon will not give its light,(B)
25 and the stars will be falling from the sky,
and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.
26 [a](C)And then they will see ‘the Son of Man coming in the clouds’ with great power and glory, 27 and then he will send out the angels and gather [his] elect from the four winds, from the end of the earth to the end of the sky.
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.