Book of Common Prayer
Praise to the Lord from Creation
148 Praise[a] the Lord!
Praise the Lord from the heavens;
Praise Him in the heights!
2 Praise Him, all His angels;
Praise Him, all His hosts!
3 Praise Him, sun and moon;
Praise Him, all you stars of light!
4 Praise Him, (A)you heavens of heavens,
And (B)you waters above the heavens!
5 Let them praise the name of the Lord,
For (C)He commanded and they were created.
6 (D)He also established them forever and ever;
He made a decree which shall not pass away.
7 Praise the Lord from the earth,
(E)You great sea creatures and all the depths;
8 Fire and hail, snow and clouds;
Stormy wind, fulfilling His word;
9 (F)Mountains and all hills;
Fruitful trees and all cedars;
10 Beasts and all cattle;
Creeping things and flying fowl;
11 Kings of the earth and all peoples;
Princes and all judges of the earth;
12 Both young men and maidens;
Old men and children.
13 Let them praise the name of the Lord,
For His (G)name alone is exalted;
His glory is above the earth and heaven.
14 And He (H)has exalted the [b]horn of His people,
The praise of (I)all His saints—
Of the children of Israel,
(J)A people near to Him.
[c]Praise the Lord!
Praise to God for His Salvation and Judgment
149 Praise[d] the Lord!
(K)Sing to the Lord a new song,
And His praise in the assembly of saints.
2 Let Israel rejoice in their Maker;
Let the children of Zion be joyful in their (L)King.
3 (M)Let them praise His name with the dance;
Let them sing praises to Him with the timbrel and harp.
4 For (N)the Lord takes pleasure in His people;
(O)He will beautify the [e]humble with salvation.
5 Let the saints be joyful in glory;
Let them (P)sing aloud on their beds.
6 Let the high praises of God be in their mouth,
And (Q)a two-edged sword in their hand,
7 To execute vengeance on the nations,
And punishments on the peoples;
8 To bind their kings with chains,
And their nobles with fetters of iron;
9 (R)To execute on them the written judgment—
(S)This honor have all His saints.
[f]Praise the Lord!
Let All Things Praise the Lord
Praise God in His sanctuary;
Praise Him in His mighty [h]firmament!
2 Praise Him for His mighty acts;
Praise Him according to His excellent (U)greatness!
3 Praise Him with the sound of the [i]trumpet;
Praise Him with the lute and harp!
4 Praise Him with the timbrel and dance;
Praise Him with stringed instruments and flutes!
5 Praise Him with loud cymbals;
Praise Him with clashing cymbals!
6 Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.
[j]Praise the Lord!
The Power of God in His Deliverance of Israel(A)
114 When (B)Israel went out of Egypt,
The house of Jacob (C)from a people [a]of strange language,
2 (D)Judah became His sanctuary,
And Israel His dominion.
3 (E)The sea saw it and fled;
(F)Jordan turned back.
4 (G)The mountains skipped like rams,
The little hills like lambs.
5 (H)What ails you, O sea, that you fled?
O Jordan, that you turned back?
6 O mountains, that you skipped 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,
8 (I)Who turned the rock into a pool of water,
The flint into a fountain of waters.
The Futility of Idols and the Trustworthiness of God
115 Not (J)unto us, O Lord, not unto us,
But to Your name give glory,
Because of Your mercy,
Because of Your truth.
2 Why should the [b]Gentiles say,
(K)“So where is their God?”
3 (L)But our God is in heaven;
He does whatever He pleases.
4 (M)Their idols are silver and gold,
The work of men’s hands.
5 They have mouths, but they do not speak;
Eyes they have, but they do not see;
6 They have ears, but they do not hear;
Noses they have, but they do not smell;
7 They have hands, but they do not handle;
Feet they have, but they do not walk;
Nor do they mutter through their throat.
8 (N)Those who make them are like them;
So is everyone who trusts in them.
9 (O)O Israel, trust in the Lord;
(P)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 fear the Lord, trust in the Lord;
He is their help and their shield.
12 The Lord [c]has been mindful of us;
He will bless us;
He will bless the house of Israel;
He will bless the house of Aaron.
13 (Q)He will bless those who fear the Lord,
Both small and great.
14 May the Lord give you increase more and more,
You and your children.
15 May you be (R)blessed by the Lord,
(S)Who made heaven and earth.
16 The heaven, even the heavens, are the Lord’s;
But the earth He has given to the children of men.
17 (T)The dead do not praise the Lord,
Nor any who go down into silence.
18 (U)But we will bless the Lord
From this time forth and forevermore.
Praise the Lord!
God’s Commission to Joshua
1 After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, it came to pass that the Lord spoke to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ (A)assistant, saying: 2 (B)“Moses My servant is dead. Now therefore, arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, to the land which I am giving to them—the children of Israel. 3 (C)Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given you, as I said to Moses. 4 (D)From the wilderness and this Lebanon as far as the great river, the River Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and to the Great Sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your territory. 5 (E)No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life; (F)as I was with Moses, so (G)I will be with you. (H)I will not leave you nor forsake you. 6 (I)Be strong and of good courage, for to this people you shall [a]divide as an inheritance the land which I swore to their fathers to give them. 7 Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law (J)which Moses My servant commanded you; (K)do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may [b]prosper wherever you go. 8 (L)This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but (M)you[c] shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. 9 (N)Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; (O)do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
The Order to Cross the Jordan
10 Then Joshua commanded the officers of the people, saying, 11 “Pass through the camp and command the people, saying, ‘Prepare provisions for yourselves, for (P)within three days you will cross over this Jordan, to go in to possess the land which the Lord your God is giving you to possess.’ ”
12 And to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh Joshua spoke, saying, 13 “Remember (Q)the word which Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you, saying, ‘The Lord your God is giving you rest and is giving you this land.’ 14 Your wives, your little ones, and your livestock shall remain in the land which Moses gave you on this side of the Jordan. But you shall [d]pass before your brethren armed, all your mighty men of valor, and help them, 15 until the Lord has given your brethren rest, as He gave you, and they also have taken possession of the land which the Lord your God is giving them. (R)Then you shall return to the land of your possession and enjoy it, which Moses the Lord’s servant gave you on this side of the Jordan toward the sunrise.”
16 So they answered Joshua, saying, “All that you command us we will do, and wherever you send us we will go. 17 Just as we heeded Moses in all things, so we will heed you. Only the Lord your God (S)be with you, as He was with Moses. 18 Whoever rebels against your command and does not heed your words, in all that you command him, shall be put to death. Only be strong and of good courage.”
3 When we had sighted Cyprus, we passed it on the left, sailed to Syria, and landed at Tyre; for there the ship was to unload her cargo. 4 And finding [a]disciples, we stayed there seven days. (A)They told Paul through the Spirit not to go up to Jerusalem. 5 When we had come to the end of those days, we departed and went on our way; and they all accompanied us, with wives and children, till we were out of the city. And (B)we knelt down on the shore and prayed. 6 When we had taken our leave of one another, we boarded the ship, and they returned (C)home.
7 And when we had finished our voyage from Tyre, we came to Ptolemais, greeted the brethren, and stayed with them one day. 8 On the next day we [b]who were Paul’s companions departed and came to (D)Caesarea, and entered the house of Philip (E)the evangelist, (F)who was one of the seven, and stayed with him. 9 Now this man had four virgin daughters (G)who prophesied. 10 And as we stayed many days, a certain prophet named (H)Agabus came down from Judea. 11 When he had come to us, he took Paul’s belt, bound his own hands and feet, and said, “Thus says the Holy Spirit, (I)‘So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man who owns this belt, and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.’ ”
12 Now when we heard these things, both we and those from that place pleaded with him not to go up to Jerusalem. 13 Then Paul answered, (J)“What do you mean by weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.”
14 So when he would not be persuaded, we ceased, saying, (K)“The will of the Lord be done.”
Paul Urged to Make Peace
15 And after those days we [c]packed and went up to Jerusalem.
Jesus Casts Out an Unclean Spirit(A)
21 (B)Then they went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath He entered the (C)synagogue and taught. 22 (D)And they were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.
23 Now there was a man in their synagogue with an (E)unclean spirit. And he cried out, 24 saying, “Let us alone! (F)What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth? Did You come to destroy us? I (G)know who You are—the (H)Holy One of God!”
25 But Jesus (I)rebuked him, saying, [a]“Be quiet, and come out of him!” 26 And when the unclean spirit (J)had convulsed him and cried out with a loud voice, he came out of him. 27 Then they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, [b]“What is this? What new [c]doctrine is this? For with authority He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.