This Canticle has been an alternative to the Te Deum since the first Prayer Book.  In 1979 it was instead recommended to be used as the first Canticle in Evening Prayer on Wednesdays.  In that book it was also shortened, simplified, and partitioned, and this Prayer Book has largely retained those edits.  A notable wording change is in the doxology: “Father, Son, and Holy Spirit” is now “the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit” – providing a more robust, if subtle, trinitarian clarification. 

I N V O C A T I O N

Glorify the Lord, all you works of the Lord, * praise him and highly exalt him for ever.
In the firmament of his power, glorify the Lord, * praise him and highly exalt him for ever.

I.  T H E  C O S M I C  O R D E R

Glorify the Lord, you angels and all powers of the Lord, * O heavens and all waters above the heavens.
Sun and moon and stars of the sky, glorify the Lord, * praise him and highly exalt him for ever.
Glorify the Lord, every shower of rain and fall of dew, *   all winds and fire and heat,
Winter and summer, glorify the Lord, * praise him and highly exalt him for ever.
Glorify the Lord, O chill and cold, * drops of dew and flakes of snow.
Frost and cold, ice and sleet, glorify the Lord, * praise him and highly exalt him for ever.
Glorify the Lord, O nights and days, * O shining light and enfolding dark.
Storm clouds and thunderbolts, glorify the Lord, * praise him and highly exalt him for ever.

I I.  T H E  E A R T H  A N D  I T S  C R E A T U R E S

Let the earth glorify the Lord, * praise him and highly exalt him for ever.
Glorify the Lord, O mountains and hills, and all that grows upon the earth, * praise him and highly exalt him for ever.
Glorify the Lord, O springs of water, seas, and streams, * O whales and all that move in the waters.
All birds of the air, glorify the Lord, * praise him and highly exalt him for ever.
Glorify the Lord, O beasts of the wild, * and all you flocks and herds.
O men and women everywhere, glorify the Lord, * praise him and highly exalt him for ever.

I I I.  T H E  P E O P L E  O F  G O D

Let the people of God glorify the Lord, * praise him and highly exalt him for ever.
Glorify the Lord, O priests and servants of the Lord, * praise him and highly exalt him for ever.
Glorify the Lord, O spirits and souls of the righteous, * praise him and highly exalt him for ever.
You that are holy and humble of heart, glorify the Lord, * praise him and highly exalt him for ever.

D O X O L O G Y

Let us glorify the Lord: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit; * praise him and highly exalt him for ever.
In the firmament of his power, glorify the Lord, * praise him and highly exalt him for ever.

Due to its length, this Canticle is given sub-headers within its text.  In the 1979 Prayer Book the idea was that the worshiper could use any of its three parts, with the Invocation and Doxology.  No such indication of this use exists in the present edition, so the sub-headings serve instead as aids for the worshiper to follow the train of thought throughout the Canticle.  The organization is logical and similar to the order of creation in Genesis 1: the angels and the powers of nature are called upon first to “praise him and highly exalt him for ever.”  This is in accord with the biblical doctrine that all creation proclaims the goodness of God in its own particular ways (Ps. 19:1).  The land, sea, and their respective creatures follow, and then the human race: God’s people and clergy, the living and the dead, we “that are holy and humble of heart.”  The doxology is an addition to the original text, updating the pre-Christian text in light of the revelation of the Holy Trinity, similar to how the Gloria Patri is normally said at the end of each Psalm.