Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 148
Creation’s Praise of the Lord
1 Hallelujah!
Praise the Lord from the heavens;
praise Him in the heights.(A)
2 Praise Him, all His angels;
praise Him, all His hosts.(B)
3 Praise Him, sun and moon;
praise Him, all you shining stars.(C)
4 Praise Him, highest heavens,
and you waters above the heavens.(D)
5 Let them praise the name of Yahweh,
for He commanded, and they were created.(E)
6 He set them in position forever and ever;
He gave an order that will never pass away.(F)
7 Praise the Lord from the earth,
all sea monsters and ocean depths,(G)
8 lightning[a] and hail, snow and cloud,
powerful wind that executes His command,(H)
9 mountains and all hills,
fruit trees and all cedars,(I)
10 wild animals and all cattle,
creatures that crawl and flying birds,(J)
11 kings of the earth and all peoples,
princes and all judges of the earth,(K)
12 young men as well as young women,
old and young together.(L)
13 Let them praise the name of Yahweh,
for His name alone is exalted.
His majesty covers heaven and earth.(M)
14 He has raised up a horn for His people,
resulting in praise to all His godly ones,
to the Israelites, the people close to Him.(N)
Hallelujah!
Psalm 149
Praise for God’s Triumph
1 Hallelujah!
Sing to the Lord a new song,(O)
His praise in the assembly of the godly.(P)
2 Let Israel celebrate its Maker;
let the children of Zion rejoice in their King.(Q)
3 Let them praise His name with dancing
and make music to Him with tambourine and lyre.(R)
4 For Yahweh takes pleasure in His people;(S)
He adorns the humble with salvation.(T)
5 Let the godly celebrate in triumphal glory;
let them shout for joy on their beds.(U)
6 Let the exaltation of God be in their mouths[b]
and a double-edged sword in their hands,(V)
7 inflicting vengeance on the nations
and punishment on the peoples,(W)
8 binding their kings with chains
and their dignitaries with iron shackles,(X)
9 carrying out the judgment decreed against them.
This honor is for all His godly people.(Y)
Hallelujah!
Psalm 150
Praise the Lord
1 Hallelujah!
Praise God in His sanctuary.
Praise Him in His mighty heavens.(Z)
2 Praise Him for His powerful acts;(AA)
praise Him for His abundant greatness.(AB)
3 Praise Him with trumpet blast;(AC)
praise Him with harp and lyre.(AD)
4 Praise Him with tambourine and dance;(AE)
praise Him with flute and strings.(AF)
5 Praise Him with resounding cymbals;
praise Him with clashing cymbals.(AG)
6 Let everything that breathes praise the Lord.(AH)
Hallelujah!
Psalm 114
God’s Deliverance of Israel
1 When Israel came out of Egypt—
the house of Jacob from a people
who spoke a foreign language(A)—
2 Judah became His sanctuary,
Israel, His dominion.(B)
3 The sea looked and fled;(C)
the Jordan turned back.(D)
4 The mountains skipped like rams,
the hills, like lambs.(E)
5 Why was it, sea, that you fled?
Jordan, that you turned back?(F)
6 Mountains, that you skipped like rams?
Hills, like lambs?(G)
7 Tremble, earth, at the presence of the Lord,
at the presence of the God of Jacob,(H)
8 who turned the rock into a pool of water,
the flint into a spring of water.(I)
Psalm 115
Glory to God Alone
1 Not to us, Yahweh, not to us,
but to Your name give glory
because of Your faithful love, because of Your truth.(J)
2 Why should the nations say,
“Where is their God?”(K)
3 Our God is in heaven
and does whatever He pleases.(L)
4 Their idols are silver and gold,
made by human hands.(M)
5 They have mouths but cannot speak,
eyes, but cannot see.
6 They have ears but cannot hear,
noses, but cannot smell.(N)
7 They have hands but cannot feel,
feet, but cannot walk.(O)
They cannot make a sound with their throats.(P)
8 Those who make them are[a] just like them,
as are all who trust in them.(Q)
9 Israel,[b] trust in the Lord!(R)
He is their help and shield.(S)
10 House of Aaron, trust in the Lord!(T)
He is their help and shield.(U)
11 You who fear the Lord, trust in the Lord!(V)
He is their help and shield.
12 The Lord remembers us and will bless us.
He will bless the house of Israel;
He will bless the house of Aaron;(W)
13 He will bless those who fear the Lord—
small and great alike.(X)
14 May the Lord add to your numbers,
both yours and your children’s.(Y)
15 May you be blessed by the Lord,
the Maker of heaven and earth.(Z)
16 The heavens are the Lord’s,[c]
but the earth He has given to the human race.(AA)
17 It is not the dead who praise the Lord,
nor any of those descending into the silence of death.(AB)
18 But we will praise the Lord,
both now and forever.(AC)
Hallelujah!
Entering the Ark
7 Then the Lord said to Noah, “Enter the ark, you and all your household, for I have seen that you alone are righteous before Me in this generation.(A) 2 You are to take with you seven pairs, a male and its female, of all the clean animals,(B) and two of the animals that are not clean, a male and its female, 3 and seven pairs, male and female, of the birds of the sky—in order to keep offspring alive on the face of the whole earth. 4 Seven days from now I will make it rain on the earth 40 days and 40 nights, and I will wipe off from the face of the earth every living thing I have made.” 5 And Noah did everything that the Lord commanded him.(C)
6 Noah was 600 years old when the flood came and water covered the earth. 7 So Noah, his sons, his wife, and his sons’ wives entered the ark because of the waters of the flood. 8 From the clean animals, unclean animals, birds, and every creature that crawls on the ground, 9 two of each, male and female, entered the ark with Noah, just as God had commanded him. 10 Seven days later the waters of the flood came on the earth.
17 The flood continued for 40 days on the earth; the waters increased and lifted up the ark so that it rose above the earth. 18 The waters surged and increased greatly on the earth, and the ark floated on the surface of the water. 19 Then the waters surged even higher on the earth, and all the high mountains under the whole sky were covered. 20 The mountains were covered as the waters surged above them more than 20 feet.[a] 21 Every creature perished—those that crawl on the earth, birds, livestock, wildlife, and those that swarm[b] on the earth, as well as all mankind. 22 Everything with the breath of the spirit of life in its nostrils(A)—everything on dry land died. 23 He wiped out every living thing that was on the surface of the ground, from mankind to livestock, to creatures that crawl, to the birds of the sky, and they were wiped off the earth. Only Noah was left, and those that were with him in the ark.(B)
Unity and Diversity in the Body of Christ
4 Therefore I, the prisoner for the Lord,(A) urge you to walk worthy of the calling you have received, 2 with all humility(B) and gentleness, with patience,(C) accepting[a](D) one another in love,(E) 3 diligently keeping the unity(F) of the Spirit(G) with the peace(H) that binds us. 4 There is one body and one Spirit(I)—just as you were called to one hope[b](J) at your calling— 5 one Lord,(K) one faith,(L) one baptism, 6 one God(M) and Father(N) of all, who is above all and through all and in all.(O)
7 Now grace was given to each one of us(P) according to the measure of the Messiah’s gift. 8 For it says:
9 But what does “He ascended” mean except that He[e] descended to the lower parts of the earth?[f](S) 10 The One who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens,(T) that He might fill[g] all things.(U) 11 And He personally gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, 12 for the training of the saints in the work of ministry, to build up the body of Christ,(V) 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of God’s Son,(W) growing into a mature man with a stature(X) measured by Christ’s fullness. 14 Then we will no longer be little children, tossed by the waves and blown around by every wind of teaching,(Y) by human cunning with cleverness in the techniques of deceit. 15 But speaking the truth in love, let us grow in every way into Him who is the head(Z)—Christ. 16 From Him the whole body, fitted and knit together(AA) by every supporting ligament, promotes the growth(AB) of the body for building up itself in love by the proper working of each individual part.
Ministering to the Multitude
7 Jesus(A) departed with His disciples to the sea, and a large crowd followed from Galilee,(B) Judea,(C) 8 Jerusalem,(D) Idumea, beyond the Jordan,(E) and around Tyre(F) and Sidon.(G) The large crowd came to Him because they heard about everything He was doing. 9 Then He told His disciples to have a small boat(H) ready for Him, so the crowd would not crush Him. 10 Since He had healed(I) many, all who had diseases were pressing toward Him to touch(J) Him. 11 Whenever the unclean(K) spirits(L) saw Him, those possessed fell down(M) before Him and cried out, “You are the Son of God!”(N) 12 And He would strongly warn(O) them not to make Him known.(P)
The 12 Apostles
13 Then(Q) He went up the mountain(R) and summoned those He wanted, and they came to Him. 14 He also appointed 12—He also named them apostles[a](S)—to be with Him, to send them out to preach,(T) 15 and to have authority to[b] drive out demons.
16 He appointed the Twelve:[c](U)
To Simon,(V) He gave the name Peter;(W)
17 and to James(X) the son of Zebedee,(Y)
and to his brother John,(Z)
He gave the name “Boanerges”
(that is, “Sons of Thunder”(AA));
18 Andrew;(AB)
Philip(AC) and Bartholomew;
Matthew(AD) and Thomas;(AE)
James the son of Alphaeus,
and Thaddaeus;
Simon the Zealot,[d]
19 and Judas Iscariot,[e](AF)
who also betrayed Him.
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