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Psalm 148

1  Alleluia.
      Praise the Lord from the heavens; ♦︎
   praise him in the heights.
2  Praise him, all you his angels; ♦︎
   praise him, all his host.
3  Praise him, sun and moon; ♦︎
   praise him, all you stars of light.
4  Praise him, heaven of heavens, ♦︎
   and you waters above the heavens.
5  Let them praise the name of the Lord, ♦︎
   for he commanded and they were created.
6  He made them fast for ever and ever; ♦︎
   he gave them a law which shall not pass away.
7  Praise the Lord from the earth, ♦︎
   you sea monsters and all deeps;
8  Fire and hail, snow and mist, ♦︎
   tempestuous wind, fulfilling his word;
9  Mountains and all hills, ♦︎
   fruit trees and all cedars;
10  Wild beasts and all cattle, ♦︎
   creeping things and birds on the wing;
11  Kings of the earth and all peoples, ♦︎
   princes and all rulers of the world;
12  Young men and women,
      old and young together; ♦︎
   let them praise the name of the Lord.
13  For his name only is exalted, ♦︎
   his splendour above earth and heaven.
14  He has raised up the horn of his people
      and praise for all his faithful servants, ♦︎
   the children of Israel, a people who are near him.
      Alleluia.

Psalm 150

1  Alleluia.
      O praise God in his holiness; ♦︎
   praise him in the firmament of his power.
2  Praise him for his mighty acts; ♦︎
   praise him according to his excellent greatness.
3  Praise him with the blast of the trumpet; ♦︎
   praise him upon the harp and lyre.
4  Praise him with timbrel and dances; ♦︎
   praise him upon the strings and pipe.
5  Praise him with ringing cymbals; ♦︎
   praise him upon the clashing cymbals.
6  Let everything that has breath ♦︎
   praise the Lord.
      Alleluia.

Hymn in Honour of Our Ancestors ^*

44Let us now sing the praises of famous men,
   our ancestors in their generations.
² The Lord apportioned to them^* great glory,
   his majesty from the beginning.
³ There were those who ruled in their kingdoms,
   and made a name for themselves by their valour;
those who gave counsel because they were intelligent;
   those who spoke in prophetic oracles;
⁴ those who led the people by their counsels
   and by their knowledge of the people’s lore;
   they were wise in their words of instruction;
⁵ those who composed musical tunes,
   or put verses in writing;
⁶ rich men endowed with resources,
   living peacefully in their homes—
⁷ all these were honoured in their generations,
   and were the pride of their times.
⁸ Some of them have left behind a name,
   so that others declare their praise.
⁹ But of others there is no memory;
   they have perished as though they had never existed;
they have become as though they had never been born,
   they and their children after them.
¹⁰ But these also were godly men,
   whose righteous deeds have not been forgotten;
¹¹ their wealth will remain with their descendants,
   and their inheritance with their children’s children.^*
12 Their descendants stand by the covenants;
   their children also, for their sake.
¹³ Their offspring will continue for ever,
   and their glory will never be blotted out.
¹⁴ Their bodies are buried in peace,
   but their name lives on generation after generation.
¹⁵ The assembly declares^* their wisdom,
   and the congregation proclaims their praise.

²⁷ Why do you say, O Jacob,
   and speak, O Israel,
‘My way is hidden from the Lord,
   and my right is disregarded by my God’?
²⁸ Have you not known? Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
   the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary;
   his understanding is unsearchable.
²⁹ He gives power to the faint,
   and strengthens the powerless.
³⁰ Even youths will faint and be weary,
   and the young will fall exhausted;
³¹ but those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength,
   they shall mount up with wings like eagles,
they shall run and not be weary,
   they shall walk and not faint.

32 And what more should I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets— ³³who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions, ³⁴quenched raging fire, escaped the edge of the sword, won strength out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. ³⁵Women received their dead by resurrection. Others were tortured, refusing to accept release, in order to obtain a better resurrection. ³⁶Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. ³⁷They were stoned to death, they were sawn in two,^* they were killed by the sword; they went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, persecuted, tormented— ³⁸of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground.

39 Yet all these, though they were commended for their faith, did not receive what was promised, ⁴⁰since God had provided something better so that they would not, without us, be made perfect.

The Example of Jesus

12Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely,^* and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, ²looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the sake of^* the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God.