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!)
50 So David triumphed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone, and he struck down the Philistine and killed him; but there was no sword in David’s hand. 51 So he ran and stood over the Philistine, grasped his sword and drew it out of its sheath and killed him, and cut off his head with it. When the Philistines saw that their [mighty] champion was dead, they fled. 52 The men of Israel and Judah stood with a shout and pursued the Philistines as far as the entrance to the valley and the gates of Ekron. And the [fatally] wounded Philistines fell along the way to Shaaraim, even as far as Gath and Ekron. 53 The sons of Israel returned from their pursuit of the Philistines and plundered their camp. 54 Then David took the head of the Philistine and brought it to Jerusalem, but he put his weapons in his tent.
55 When Saul saw David going out against the Philistine, he said to Abner the captain of the army, “Abner, whose son is this young man?” And Abner answered, “By your life, O king, I do not know.” 56 The king said, “Ask whose son the young man is.” 57 When David returned from killing [Goliath] the Philistine, Abner took him and brought him before Saul with the head of the Philistine in his hand. 58 Saul asked him, “Whose son are you, young man?” And David answered, “I am the son of your servant Jesse of Bethlehem.”
Jonathan and David
18 When David had finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan was bonded to the soul of David, and [a]Jonathan loved him as himself. 2 Saul took David that day and did not let him return to his father’s house. 3 Then Jonathan made a covenant with David because he loved him as himself. 4 Jonathan stripped himself of the outer robe that he was wearing and gave it to David, with his armor, including his sword, his bow, and his belt.
4 For Christ is the end of the law [it leads to Him and its purpose is fulfilled in Him], for [granting] righteousness to everyone who believes [in Him as Savior].
5 For Moses writes that the man who practices the righteousness which is based on law [with all its intricate demands] shall live by it.(A) 6 But the righteousness based on faith [which produces a right relationship with Him] says the following: “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into Heaven?’ that is, to bring Christ down; 7 or, ‘Who will descend into the abyss?’ that is, to bring Christ up from the dead [as if we had to be saved by our own efforts, doing the impossible].”(B) 8 But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart”—that is, the word [the message, the basis] of faith which we preach—(C) 9 because if you acknowledge and confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord [recognizing His power, authority, and majesty as God], and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart a person believes [in Christ as Savior] resulting in his justification [that is, being made righteous—being freed of the guilt of sin and made acceptable to God]; and with the mouth he acknowledges and confesses [his faith openly], resulting in and confirming [his] salvation. 11 For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes in Him [whoever adheres to, trusts in, and relies on Him] will not be disappointed [in his expectations].”(D) 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Gentile; for the same Lord is Lord over all [of us], and [He is] abounding in riches (blessings) for all who call on Him [in faith and prayer]. 13 For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord [in prayer] will be saved.”(E)
14 But how will people call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how will they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher (messenger)? 15 And how will they preach unless they are commissioned and sent [for that purpose]? Just as it is written and forever remains written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news of good things!”(F)
16 But they did not all pay attention to the good news [of salvation]; for Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our report?”(G) 17 So faith comes from hearing [what is told], and what is heard comes by the [preaching of the] message concerning Christ.
29 “Woe to you, [self-righteous] scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build tombs for the prophets and decorate and adorn the monuments of the righteous, 30 and you say, ‘If we had been living in the days of our fathers, we would not have joined them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ 31 So you testify against yourselves that you are the descendants of those who murdered the prophets. 32 Fill up, then, the [allotted] measure of the guilt of your fathers’ sins. 33 You [a]serpents, you spawn of vipers, how can you escape the penalty of hell?
34 “Therefore, take notice, I am sending you prophets and wise men [interpreters, teachers] and scribes [men educated in the Mosaic Law and the writings of the prophets]; some of them you will kill and even crucify, and some you will flog in your synagogues, and pursue and persecute from city to city, 35 so that on you will come the guilt of all the blood of the righteous shed on earth, from the blood of righteous [b]Abel to the blood of Zechariah [the priest], the son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.(A) 36 I assure you and most solemnly say to you, [the judgment for] all these things [these vile and murderous deeds] will come on this generation.(B)
Lament over Jerusalem
37 “[c]O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who murders the prophets and stones [to death] those [messengers] who are sent to her [by God]! How often I wanted to gather your children together [around Me], as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling.(C) 38 Listen carefully: your house is being left to you desolate [completely abandoned by God and destitute of His protection]!(D) 39 For I say to you, you will not see Me again [ministering to you publicly] until you say, ‘Blessed [to be celebrated with praise] is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’”(E)
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