Book of Common Prayer
Praise for God’s Mighty Deeds and for His Answer to Prayer.
For the choir director. A Song. A Psalm.
66 (A)Shout joyfully to God, all the earth;
2 Sing the (B)glory of His name;
Make His (C)praise glorious.
3 Say to God, “How (D)awesome are Your works!
Because of the greatness of Your power Your enemies will [a](E)give feigned obedience to You.
4 “(F)All the earth will worship You,
And will (G)sing praises to You;
They will sing praises to Your name.” [b]Selah.
5 (H)Come and see the works of God,
Who is (I)awesome in His deeds toward the sons of men.
6 He (J)turned the sea into dry land;
They passed through (K)the river on foot;
There let us (L)rejoice in Him!
7 He (M)rules by His might forever;
His (N)eyes keep watch on the nations;
Let not the rebellious (O)exalt themselves. Selah.
8 Bless our God, O peoples,
And [c](P)sound His praise abroad,
9 Who [d](Q)keeps us in life
And (R)does not allow our feet to [e]slip.
10 For You have (S)tried us, O God;
You have (T)refined us as silver is refined.
11 You (U)brought us into the net;
You laid an oppressive burden upon our loins.
12 You made men (V)ride over our heads;
We went through (W)fire and through water,
Yet You (X)brought us out into a place of abundance.
13 I shall (Y)come into Your house with burnt offerings;
I shall (Z)pay You my vows,
14 Which my lips uttered
And my mouth spoke when I was (AA)in distress.
15 I shall (AB)offer to You burnt offerings of fat beasts,
With the smoke of (AC)rams;
I shall make an offering of [f]bulls with male goats. Selah.
16 (AD)Come and hear, all who [g]fear God,
And I will (AE)tell of what He has done for my soul.
17 I cried to Him with my mouth,
And [h]He was (AF)extolled with my tongue.
18 If I [i](AG)regard wickedness in my heart,
The (AH)Lord [j]will not [k]hear;
19 But certainly (AI)God has heard;
He has given heed to the voice of my prayer.
20 (AJ)Blessed be God,
Who (AK)has not turned away my prayer
Nor His lovingkindness from me.
The Nations Exhorted to Praise God.
For the choir director; with stringed instruments. A Psalm. A Song.
67 God be gracious to us and (AL)bless us,
And (AM)cause His face to shine [l]upon us— [m]Selah.
2 That (AN)Your way may be known on the earth,
(AO)Your salvation among all nations.
3 Let the (AP)peoples praise You, O God;
Let all the peoples praise You.
4 Let the (AQ)nations be glad and sing for joy;
For You will (AR)judge the peoples with uprightness
And (AS)guide the nations on the earth. Selah.
5 Let the (AT)peoples praise You, O God;
Let all the peoples praise You.
6 The (AU)earth has yielded its produce;
God, our God, (AV)blesses us.
7 God blesses us,
[n]That (AW)all the ends of the earth may fear Him.
The Works and the Word of God.
For the choir director. A Psalm of David.
19 The (A)heavens are telling of the glory of God;
And their (B)expanse is declaring the work of His hands.
2 Day to (C)day pours forth speech,
And (D)night to night reveals knowledge.
3 There is no speech, nor are there words;
Their voice is not heard.
4 Their [a](E)line has gone out through all the earth,
And their utterances to the end of the world.
In them He has (F)placed a tent for the sun,
5 Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber;
It rejoices as a strong man to run his course.
6 Its (G)rising is from [b]one end of the heavens,
And its circuit to the [c]other end of them;
And there is nothing hidden from its heat.
7 (H)The law of the Lord is [d](I)perfect, (J)restoring the soul;
The testimony of the Lord is (K)sure, making (L)wise the simple.
8 The precepts of the Lord are (M)right, (N)rejoicing the heart;
The commandment of the Lord is (O)pure, (P)enlightening the eyes.
9 The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever;
The judgments of the Lord are (Q)true; they are (R)righteous altogether.
10 They are more desirable than (S)gold, yes, than much fine gold;
(T)Sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb.
11 Moreover, by them (U)Your servant is warned;
In keeping them there is great (V)reward.
12 Who can (W)discern his errors? (X)Acquit me of (Y)hidden faults.
13 Also keep back Your servant (Z)from presumptuous sins;
Let them not (AA)rule over me;
Then I will be [e](AB)blameless,
And I shall be acquitted of (AC)great transgression.
14 Let the words of my mouth and (AD)the meditation of my heart
Be acceptable in Your sight,
O Lord, (AE)my rock and my (AF)Redeemer.
God the Refuge of His People.
For the choir director. A Psalm of the sons of Korah, [a]set to Alamoth. A Song.
46 God is our (A)refuge and strength,
[b]A very (B)present help (C)in [c]trouble.
2 Therefore we will (D)not fear, though (E)the earth should change
And though (F)the mountains slip into the heart of the [d]sea;
3 Though its (G)waters roar and foam,
Though the mountains quake at its swelling pride. [e]Selah.
4 There is a (H)river whose streams make glad the (I)city of God,
The holy (J)dwelling places of the Most High.
5 God is (K)in the midst of her, she will not be moved;
God will (L)help her [f]when morning dawns.
6 The [g]nations (M)made an uproar, the kingdoms tottered;
He [h](N)raised His voice, the earth (O)melted.
7 The Lord of hosts (P)is with us;
The God of Jacob is (Q)our stronghold. Selah.
8 Come, (R)behold the works of the Lord,
[i]Who has wrought (S)desolations in the earth.
9 He (T)makes wars to cease to the end of the earth;
He (U)breaks the bow and cuts the spear in two;
He (V)burns the chariots with fire.
10 “[j]Cease striving and (W)know that I am God;
I will be (X)exalted among the [k]nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”
11 The Lord of hosts is with us;
The God of Jacob is our stronghold. Selah.
20 So Jacob served seven years for Rachel and they seemed to him but a few days (A)because of his love for her.
Laban’s Treachery
21 Then Jacob said to Laban, “Give me my wife, for my [a]time is completed, that I may (B)go in to her.” 22 Laban gathered all the men of the place and made a feast. 23 Now in the evening he took his daughter Leah, and brought her to him; and Jacob went in to her. 24 Laban also gave his maid Zilpah to his daughter Leah as a maid. 25 So it came about in the morning that, behold, it was Leah! And he said to Laban, “(C)What is this you have done to me? Was it not for Rachel that I served with you? Why then have you (D)deceived me?” 26 But Laban said, “It is not [b]the practice in our place to [c]marry off the younger before the firstborn. 27 Complete the week of this one, and we will give you the other also for the service which (E)you shall serve with me for another seven years.” 28 Jacob did so and completed her week, and he gave him his daughter Rachel as his wife. 29 Laban also gave his maid Bilhah to his daughter Rachel as her maid. 30 So Jacob went in to Rachel also, and indeed (F)he loved Rachel more than Leah, and he served with [d]Laban for (G)another seven years.
31 Now the Lord saw that Leah was [e]unloved, and He opened her womb, but Rachel was barren. 32 Leah conceived and bore a son and named him [f]Reuben, for she said, “Because the Lord has [g](H)seen my affliction; surely now my husband will love me.” 33 Then she conceived again and bore a son and said, “(I)Because the Lord has [h]heard that I am [i]unloved, He has therefore given me this son also.” So she named him Simeon. 34 She conceived again and bore a son and said, “Now this time my husband will become [j]attached to me, because I have borne him three sons.” Therefore he was named (J)Levi. 35 And she conceived again and bore a son and said, “This time I will [k]praise the Lord.” Therefore she named him [l](K)Judah. Then she stopped bearing.
14 I am writing these things to you, hoping to come to you before long; 15 but [a]in case I am delayed, I write so that you will know how [b]one ought to conduct himself in (A)the household of God, which is the (B)church of (C)the living God, the (D)pillar and support of the truth. 16 By common confession, great is (E)the mystery of godliness:
He who was (F)revealed in the flesh,
Was [c](G)vindicated [d]in the Spirit,
(H)Seen by angels,
(I)Proclaimed among the nations,
(J)Believed on in the world,
(K)Taken up in glory.
Apostasy
4 But (L)the Spirit explicitly says that (M)in later times some will [e]fall away from the faith, paying attention to (N)deceitful spirits and (O)doctrines of demons, 2 by means of the hypocrisy of liars (P)seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron, 3 men who (Q)forbid marriage and advocate (R)abstaining from foods which (S)God has created to be (T)gratefully shared in by those who believe and know the truth. 4 For (U)everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is (V)received with gratitude; 5 for it is sanctified by means of (W)the word of God and prayer.
A Good Minister’s Discipline
6 In pointing out these things to (X)the brethren, you will be a good (Y)servant of Christ Jesus, constantly nourished on the words of the faith and of the [f](Z)sound doctrine which you (AA)have been following. 7 But [g]have nothing to do with (AB)worldly (AC)fables fit only for old women. On the other hand, discipline yourself for the purpose of (AD)godliness; 8 for (AE)bodily discipline is only of little profit, but (AF)godliness is profitable for all things, since it (AG)holds promise for the (AH)present life and also for the life to come. 9 (AI)It is a trustworthy statement deserving full acceptance. 10 For it is for this we labor and strive, because we have fixed (AJ)our hope on (AK)the living God, who is (AL)the Savior of all men, especially of believers.
23 And Jesus, looking around, *said to His disciples, “(A)How hard it will be for those who are wealthy to enter the kingdom of God!” 24 The disciples (B)were amazed at His words. But Jesus *answered again and *said to them, “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! 25 (C)It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” 26 They were even more astonished and said to Him, “[a]Then who can be saved?” 27 Looking at them, Jesus *said, “(D)With people it is impossible, but not with God; for all things are possible with God.”
28 (E)Peter began to say to Him, “Behold, we have left everything and followed You.” 29 Jesus said, “Truly I say to you, (F)there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or farms, for My sake and for the gospel’s sake, 30 [b]but that he will receive a hundred times as much now in [c]the present age, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and farms, along with persecutions; and in (G)the age to come, eternal life. 31 But (H)many who are first will be last, and the last, first.”
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.