Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 148
148 Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord from heaven!
Praise God on the heights!
2 Praise God, all of you who are his messengers!
Praise God, all of you who comprise his heavenly forces!
3 Sun and moon, praise God!
All of you bright stars, praise God!
4 You highest heaven, praise God!
Do the same, you waters that are above the sky!
5 Let all of these praise the Lord’s name
because God gave the command and they were created!
6 God set them in place always and forever.
God made a law that will not be broken.
7 Praise the Lord from the earth,
you sea monsters and all you ocean depths!
8 Do the same, fire and hail, snow and smoke,
stormy wind that does what God says!
9 Do the same, you mountains, every single hill,
fruit trees, and every single cedar!
10 Do the same, you animals—wild or tame—
you creatures that creep along and you birds that fly!
11 Do the same, you kings of the earth and every single person,
you princes and every single ruler on earth!
12 Do the same, you young men—young women too!—
you who are old together with you who are young!
13 Let all of these praise the Lord’s name
because only God’s name is high over all.
Only God’s majesty is over earth and heaven.
14 God raised the strength[a] of his people,
the praise of all his faithful ones—
that’s the Israelites,
the people who are close to him.
Praise the Lord!
Psalm 149
149 Praise the Lord!
Sing to the Lord a new song;
sing God’s praise in the assembly of the faithful!
2 Let Israel celebrate its maker;
let Zion’s children rejoice in their king!
3 Let them praise God’s name with dance;
let them sing God’s praise with the drum and lyre!
4 Because the Lord is pleased with his people,
God will beautify the poor with saving help.
5 Let the faithful celebrate with glory;
let them shout for joy on their beds.[b]
6 Let the high praises of God be in their mouths
and a double-edged sword in their hands,
7 to get revenge against the nations
and punishment on the peoples,
8 binding their rulers in chains
and their officials in iron shackles,
9 achieving the justice
written against them.
That will be an honor for all God’s faithful people.
Praise the Lord!
Psalm 150
150 Praise the Lord!
Praise God in his sanctuary!
Praise God in his fortress, the sky!
2 Praise God in his mighty acts!
Praise God as suits his incredible greatness!
3 Praise God with the blast of the ram’s horn!
Praise God with lute and lyre!
4 Praise God with drum and dance!
Praise God with strings and pipe!
5 Praise God with loud cymbals!
Praise God with clashing cymbals!
6 Let every living thing praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord!
Psalm 114
114 When Israel came out of Egypt—
when the house of Jacob came out
from a people who spoke a different language—
2 Judah was God’s sanctuary;
Israel was God’s territory.
3 The sea saw it happen and ran away;
the Jordan River retreated!
4 The mountains leaped away like rams;
the hills leaped away like lambs!
5 Sea, why did you run away?
Jordan, why did you retreat?
6 Mountains, why did you leap away like rams?
Hills, why did you leap away like lambs?
7 Earth: Tremble before the Lord!
Tremble before the God of Jacob,
8 the one who turned that rock into a pool of water,
that flint stone into a spring of water!
Psalm 115
115 Not to us, Lord, not to us—
no, but to your own name give glory
because of your loyal love and faithfulness!
2 Why do the nations say,
“Where’s their God now?”
3 Our God is in heaven—
he can do whatever he wants!
4 Their idols are just silver and gold—
things made by human hands.
5 They have mouths, but they can’t speak.
They have eyes, but they can’t see.
6 They have ears, but they can’t hear.
They have noses, but they can’t smell.
7 They have hands, but they can’t feel.
They have feet, but they can’t walk.
They can’t even make a noise in their throats!
8 Let the people who made these idols
and all who trust in them
become just like them!
9 But you, Israel, trust in the Lord!
God is their help and shield.
10 Trust in the Lord, house of Aaron!
God is their help and shield.
11 You who honor the Lord, trust in the Lord!
God is their help and shield.
12 The Lord remembers us and will bless us:
God will bless the house of Israel;
God will bless the house of Aaron;
13 God will bless those who honor the Lord—
from the smallest to the greatest.
14 May the Lord add to your numbers—
both you and your children.
15 May you be blessed by the Lord,
the maker of heaven and earth!
16 The highest heaven belongs to the Lord,
but he gave the earth to all people.
17 The dead don’t praise the Lord,
nor do those who go down to silence.
18 But us? We will bless the Lord
from now until forever from now!
Praise the Lord!
4 Don’t deprive a poor person’s life,
and don’t avoid looking
the needy in the eyes.
2 Don’t grieve a hungry person,
and don’t make a person
in dire straits angry.
3 Don’t trouble an angry person,
and don’t put off giving to the needy.
4 Don’t keep rejecting the plea
of someone in distress,
and don’t turn your face
away from the poor.
5 Don’t turn your
eyes away from someone begging,
and don’t give anyone an opportunity
to curse you.
6 If some curse you
in their bitter circumstances,
the one who made them
will hear their prayer.
7 Behave yourself pleasantly in the assembly,
and bow your head
to an influential person.
8 Listen to the poor,
and reply with peaceful
and gentle speech.
9 Set the wronged free
from the hand of the wrongdoer,
and don’t be timid
when you give judgment.
10 Be like a parent to orphans,
and take care of their mothers
as you would your own wife or husband.
Do this, and you will be like a child
of the Most High,
and God will love you
more than your own mother does.
Warning from the wilderness generation
10 Brothers and sisters, I want you to be sure of the fact that our ancestors were all under the cloud and they all went through the sea. 2 All were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. 3 All ate the same spiritual food, 4 and all drank the same spiritual drink. They drank from a spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was Christ. 5 However, God was unhappy with most of them, and they were struck down in the wilderness. 6 These things were examples for us, so we won’t crave evil things like they did. 7 Don’t worship false gods like some of them did, as it is written, The people sat down to eat and drink and they got up to play.[a] 8 Let’s not practice sexual immorality, like some of them did, and twenty-three thousand died in one day. 9 Let’s not test Christ, like some of them did, and were killed by the snakes. 10 Let’s not grumble, like some of them did, and were killed by the destroyer. 11 These things happened to them as an example and were written as a warning for us to whom the end of time has come. 12 So those who think they are standing need to watch out or else they may fall. 13 No temptation has seized you that isn’t common for people. But God is faithful. He won’t allow you to be tempted beyond your abilities. Instead, with the temptation, God will also supply a way out so that you will be able to endure it.
Peter’s declaration about Jesus
13 Now when Jesus came to the area of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Human One[a] is?”
14 They replied, “Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, and still others Jeremiah or one of the other prophets.”
15 He said, “And what about you? Who do you say that I am?”
16 Simon Peter said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
17 Then Jesus replied, “Happy are you, Simon son of Jonah, because no human has shown this to you. Rather my Father who is in heaven has shown you. 18 I tell you that you are Peter.[b] And I’ll build my church on this rock. The gates of the underworld won’t be able to stand against it. 19 I’ll give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Anything you fasten on earth will be fastened in heaven. Anything you loosen on earth will be loosened in heaven.” 20 Then he ordered the disciples not to tell anybody that he was the Christ.
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible