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 hosts!
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 Let them 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 which will not pass away.
7 Praise the Lord from the earth,
(J)Sea monsters and all (K)deeps;
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)Beasts and all cattle;
(T)Creeping things and winged fowl;
11 (U)Kings of the earth and all peoples;
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 (V)name alone is exalted;
His (W)glory is above earth and heaven.
14 And He has (X)lifted up a horn for His people,
(Y)Praise for all His godly ones;
Even 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 to the Lord a (AA)new song,
And His praise (AB)in the congregation of the godly ones.
2 Let Israel be glad in (AC)his Maker;
Let the sons of Zion rejoice in their (AD)King.
3 Let them praise His name with (AE)dancing;
Let them sing praises to Him with (AF)timbrel and lyre.
4 For the Lord (AG)takes pleasure in His people;
He will (AH)beautify the afflicted ones with salvation.
5 Let the (AI)godly ones exult in glory;
Let them (AJ)sing for joy on their beds.
6 Let the (AK)high praises of God be in their [h]mouth,
And a (AL)two-edged (AM)sword in their hand,
7 To (AN)execute vengeance on the nations
And punishment on the peoples,
8 To bind their kings (AO)with chains
And their (AP)nobles with fetters of iron,
9 To (AQ)execute on 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)timbrel and dancing;
Praise Him with (AZ)stringed instruments and (BA)pipe.
5 Praise Him with loud (BB)cymbals;
Praise Him with resounding cymbals.
6 Let (BC)everything that has breath praise [n]the Lord.
[o]Praise [p]the Lord!
God’s Deliverance of Israel from Egypt.
114 When Israel went forth (A)from Egypt,
The house of Jacob from a people of (B)strange 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, O sea, that you flee?
O Jordan, that you turn back?
6 O mountains, that you skip like rams?
O hills, like lambs?
7 (I)Tremble, O 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, O Lord, not to us,
But (N)to Your name give glory
Because of Your lovingkindness, because of Your [a]truth.
2 (O)Why should the nations say,
“(P)Where, now, 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 man’s 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 O (W)Israel, (X)trust in the Lord;
He is their (Y)help and their shield.
10 O 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)give you increase,
You and your children.
15 May you be blessed of the Lord,
(AF)Maker of heaven and earth.
Jethro, Moses’ Father-in-law
18 Now (A)Jethro, the priest of Midian, Moses’ father-in-law, heard of all that God had done for Moses and for Israel His people, how the Lord had brought Israel out of Egypt. 2 Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, took Moses’ wife (B)Zipporah, after he had sent her away, 3 and her (C)two sons, of whom [a]one was named Gershom, for Moses said, “I have been (D)a [b]sojourner in a foreign land.” 4 [c]The other was named [d](E)Eliezer, for he said, “(F)The God of my father was my help, and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh.”
5 Then Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, came with his sons and his wife to Moses [e]in the wilderness where he was camped, at (G)the mount of God. 6 He [f]sent word to Moses, “I, your father-in-law Jethro, am coming to you with your wife and her two sons with her.” 7 Then Moses went out to meet his father-in-law, and (H)he bowed down and (I)kissed him; and they (J)asked each other of their welfare and went into the tent. 8 Moses told his father-in-law all that the Lord had done to Pharaoh and to the Egyptians (K)for Israel’s sake, all the (L)hardship that had befallen them on the journey, and how (M)the Lord had delivered them. 9 Jethro rejoiced over all (N)the goodness which the Lord had done to Israel, [g]in delivering [h]them from the hand of the Egyptians. 10 So Jethro said, “(O)Blessed be the Lord who delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of Pharaoh, and who delivered the people from under the hand of the Egyptians. 11 Now I know that (P)the Lord is greater than all the gods; [i]indeed, (Q)it was proven when they dealt proudly against [j]the people.” 12 (R)Then Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, took a burnt offering and sacrifices for God, and Aaron came with all the elders of Israel to eat [k]a meal with Moses’ father-in-law before God.
7 (A)Beloved, I am (B)not writing a new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you have had (C)from the beginning; the old commandment is the word which you have heard. 8 [a]On the other hand, I am writing (D)a new commandment to you, which is true in Him and in you, because (E)the darkness is passing away and (F)the true Light is already shining. 9 The one who says he is in the Light and yet (G)hates his (H)brother is in the darkness until now. 10 (I)The one who loves his brother abides in the Light and there is no cause for stumbling in him. 11 But the one who (J)hates his brother is in the darkness and (K)walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going because the darkness has (L)blinded his eyes.
12 I am writing to you, (M)little children, because (N)your sins have been forgiven you for His name’s sake. 13 I am writing to you, fathers, because you know Him (O)who has been from the beginning. I am writing to you, young men, because (P)you have overcome (Q)the evil one. I have written to you, children, because (R)you know the Father. 14 I have written to you, fathers, because you know Him (S)who has been from the beginning. I have written to you, young men, because you are (T)strong, and the (U)word of God abides in you, and (V)you have overcome the evil one.
Do Not Love the World
15 Do not love (W)the world nor the things in the world. (X)If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world, (Y)the lust of the flesh and (Z)the lust of the eyes and (AA)the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. 17 (AB)The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who (AC)does the will of God lives forever.
9 [[a]Now after He had risen early on the first day of the week, He first appeared to (A)Mary Magdalene, from whom He had cast out seven demons. 10 (B)She went and reported to those who had been with Him, while they were mourning and weeping. 11 When they heard that He was alive and had been seen by her, (C)they refused to believe it.
12 After that, (D)He appeared in a different form (E)to two of them while they were walking along on their way to the country. 13 They went away and reported it to the others, but they (F)did not believe them either.
The Disciples Commissioned
14 Afterward (G)He appeared (H)to the eleven themselves as they were reclining at the table; and He reproached them for their (I)unbelief and hardness of heart, because they had not believed those who had seen Him after He had risen. 15 And He said to them, “(J)Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. 16 (K)He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned. 17 These [b]signs will accompany those who have believed: (L)in My name they will cast out demons, they will (M)speak with new tongues; 18 they will (N)pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will (O)lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”
19 So then, when the Lord Jesus had (P)spoken to them, He (Q)was received up into heaven and (R)sat down at the right hand of God. 20 And they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them, and confirmed the word by the [c]signs that followed.]
[[d]And they promptly reported all these instructions to Peter and his companions. And after that, Jesus Himself sent out through them from east to west the sacred and imperishable proclamation of eternal salvation.]
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.