Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 66
Praise for God’s Mighty Acts
For the choir director. A song. A psalm.
1 Shout joyfully to God, all the earth!(A)
2 Sing about the glory of His name;
make His praise glorious.(B)
3 Say to God, “How awe-inspiring are Your works!
Your enemies will cringe before You
because of Your great strength.(C)
4 All the earth will worship You
and sing praise to You.
They will sing praise to Your name.”(D)
5 Come and see the wonders of God;(E)
His acts for humanity are awe-inspiring.
6 He turned the sea into dry land,
and they crossed the river on foot.(F)
There we rejoiced in Him.(G)
7 He rules forever by His might;
He keeps His eye on the nations.(H)
The rebellious should not exalt themselves.(I)
8 Praise our God, you peoples;
let the sound of His praise be heard.(J)
9 He keeps us alive[a]
and does not allow our feet to slip.(K)
10 For You, God, tested us;
You refined us as silver is refined.(L)
11 You lured us into a trap;
You placed burdens on our backs.(M)
12 You let men ride over our heads;
we went through fire and water,
but You brought us out to abundance.[b](N)
13 I will enter Your house with burnt offerings;
I will pay You my vows(O)
14 that my lips promised
and my mouth spoke during my distress.(P)
15 I will offer You fattened sheep as burnt offerings,
with the fragrant smoke of rams;
I will sacrifice oxen with goats.(Q)
16 Come and listen, all who fear God,
and I will tell what He has done for me.(R)
17 I cried out to Him with my mouth,
and praise was on my tongue.(S)
18 If I had been aware of malice in my heart,
the Lord would not have listened.(T)
19 However, God has listened;
He has paid attention to the sound of my prayer.(U)
20 May God be praised!
He has not turned away my prayer
or turned His faithful love from me.(V)
Psalm 67
All Will Praise God
For the choir director: with stringed instruments. A psalm. A song.
1 May God be gracious to us and bless us;
look on us with favor(W)
2 so that Your way may be known on earth,
Your salvation among all nations.(X)
Psalm 19
The Witness of Creation and Scripture
For the choir director. A Davidic psalm.
1 The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the sky[a] proclaims the work of His hands.(A)
2 Day after day they pour out speech;
night after night they communicate knowledge.[b]
3 There is no speech; there are no words;
their voice is not heard.
4 Their message[c] has gone out to all the earth,
and their words to the ends of the world.(B)
In the heavens[d] He has pitched a tent for the sun.(C)
5 It is like a groom coming from the[e] bridal chamber;
it rejoices like an athlete running a course.
6 It rises from one end of the heavens
and circles[f] to their other end;(D)
nothing is hidden from its heat.
7 The instruction of the Lord is perfect,
renewing one’s life;(E)
the testimony of the Lord is trustworthy,
making the inexperienced wise.(F)
8 The precepts of the Lord are right,
making the heart glad;(G)
the command of the Lord is radiant,
making the eyes light up.(H)
9 The fear of the Lord is pure,
enduring forever;(I)
the ordinances of the Lord are reliable
and altogether righteous.(J)
10 They are more desirable than gold—
than an abundance of pure gold;(K)
and sweeter than honey,
which comes from the honeycomb.(L)
11 In addition, Your servant is warned by them;
there is great reward in keeping them.(M)
12 Who perceives his unintentional sins?
Cleanse me from my hidden faults.(N)
13 Moreover, keep Your servant from willful sins;(O)
do not let them rule over me.(P)
Then I will be innocent
and cleansed from blatant rebellion.(Q)
14 May the words of my mouth
and the meditation of my heart
be acceptable to You,(R)
Lord, my rock and my Redeemer.(S)
Psalm 46
God Our Refuge
For the choir director. A song of the sons of Korah. According to Alamoth.[a](A)
1 God is our refuge and strength,
a helper who is always found
in times of trouble.(B)
2 Therefore we will not be afraid,
though the earth trembles
and the mountains topple
into the depths of the seas,(C)
3 though its waters roar and foam
and the mountains quake with its turmoil.(D)
4 There is a river—
its streams delight the city of God,
the holy dwelling place of the Most High.(E)
5 God is within her; she will not be toppled.
God will help her when the morning dawns.(F)
6 Nations rage, kingdoms topple;
the earth melts when He lifts His voice.(G)
7 The Lord of Hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our stronghold.(H)
8 Come, see the works of the Lord,
who brings devastation on the earth.(I)
9 He makes wars cease throughout the earth.
He shatters bows and cuts spears to pieces;
He burns up the chariots.[b](J)
10 “Stop your fighting—and know that I am God,
exalted among the nations, exalted on the earth.”(K)
11 Yahweh of Hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our stronghold.(L)
20 So Jacob worked seven years for Rachel, and they seemed like only a few days to him because of his love for her.
21 Then Jacob said to Laban, “Give me my wife, for my time is completed. I want to sleep with[a] her.” 22 So Laban invited all the men of the place to a feast. 23 That evening, Laban took his daughter Leah and gave her to Jacob, and he slept with her. 24 And Laban gave his slave Zilpah to his daughter Leah as her slave.
25 When morning came, there was Leah! So he said to Laban, “What is this you have done to me? Wasn’t it for Rachel that I worked for you? Why have you deceived me?”
26 Laban answered, “It is not the custom in this place to give the younger daughter in marriage before the firstborn. 27 Complete this week of wedding celebration, and we will also give you this younger one in return for working yet another seven years for me.”
28 And Jacob did just that. He finished the week of celebration, and Laban gave him his daughter Rachel as his wife. 29 And Laban gave his slave Bilhah to his daughter Rachel as her slave. 30 Jacob slept with Rachel also, and indeed, he loved Rachel more than Leah. And he worked for Laban another seven years.(A)
Jacob’s Sons
31 When the Lord saw that Leah was unloved,(B) He opened her womb;(C) but Rachel was unable to conceive.(D) 32 Leah conceived, gave birth to a son, and named him Reuben,[b] for she said, “The Lord has seen my affliction;(E) surely my husband will love me now.”
33 She conceived again, gave birth to a son, and said, “The Lord heard that I am unloved and has given me this son also.” So she named him Simeon.[c]
34 She conceived again, gave birth to a son, and said, “At last, my husband will become attached to me because I have borne three sons for him.” Therefore he was named Levi.[d]
35 And she conceived again, gave birth to a son, and said, “This time I will praise the Lord.” Therefore she named him Judah.[e](F) Then Leah stopped having children.
The Mystery of Godliness
14 I write these things to you, hoping to come(A) to you soon. 15 But if I should be delayed, I have written so that you will know how people ought to act in God’s household,(B) which is the church of the living God,(C) the pillar and foundation of the truth.(D) 16 And most certainly, the mystery of godliness(E) is great:
He[a] was manifested in the flesh,(F)
vindicated in the Spirit,(G)
seen by angels,
preached among the nations,
believed(H) on in the world,
taken up in glory.(I)
Demonic Influence
4 Now the Spirit(J) explicitly says that in later times(K) some will depart from the faith,(L) paying attention to deceitful spirits(M) and the teachings of demons,(N) 2 through the hypocrisy(O) of liars whose consciences(P) are seared. 3 They forbid marriage(Q) and demand abstinence(R) from foods that God created(S) to be received with gratitude by those who believe and know the truth. 4 For everything created by God is good,(T) and nothing should be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving,(U) 5 since it is sanctified by the word of God(V) and by prayer.
A Good Servant of Jesus Christ
6 If you point these things out to the brothers, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, nourished by the words of the faith(W) and the good teaching that you have followed.(X) 7 But have nothing to do with irreverent and silly myths.(Y) Rather, train yourself in godliness,(Z) 8 for
the training of the body has a limited benefit,(AA)
but godliness is beneficial in every way,
since it holds promise for the present life
and also for the life to come.(AB)
9 This saying is trustworthy and deserves full acceptance.(AC) 10 In fact, we labor and strive[b] for this, because we have put our hope in the living God,(AD) who is the Savior(AE) of everyone,(AF) especially of those who believe.
Possessions and the Kingdom
23 Jesus looked around and said to His disciples, “How hard it is for those who have wealth(A) to enter the kingdom of God!”(B) 24 But the disciples were astonished at His words. Again Jesus said to them, “Children,(C) how hard it is[a] to enter the kingdom of God! 25 It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich(D) person to enter the kingdom of God.”
26 So they were even more astonished, saying to one another, “Then who can be saved?”(E)
27 Looking at them, Jesus said, “With men it is impossible,(F) but not with God, because all things are possible with God.”
28 Peter(G) began to tell Him, “Look, we have left everything and followed You.”
29 “I assure you,”(H) Jesus said, “there is no one who has left house, brothers or sisters, mother or father,[b] children, or fields because of Me and the gospel,(I) 30 who will not receive 100 times(J) more, now at this time(K)—houses, brothers and sisters, mothers and children, and fields, with persecutions(L)—and eternal life(M) in the age to come.(N) 31 But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”(O)
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