Book of Common Prayer
To the Director: A song. A Psalm.
A Song of Praise
66 Shout praise to God all the earth!
2 Sing praise about the glory of his name.[a]
Make his praise glorious.
3 Say to God: “How awesome are your works!
Because of your great strength
your enemies cringe before you.”
4 The whole earth worships you.
They sing praise to you.
They sing praise to your name.
5 Come and see the awesome works of God
on behalf of human beings:
6 He turned the sea into dry land.
Israel[b] crossed the river on foot;
let us rejoice in him.
7 He rules by his power forever,
his eyes watching over the nations.
Do not let the rebellious exalt themselves.
8 Bless our God, people,
and let the sound of his praise be heard.
9 He gives us life
and does not permit our feet to slip.
10 For you, God, tested us,
to purify us like fine silver.
11 You have led us into a trap[c]
and set burdens on our backs.
12 You caused men to ride over us.[d]
You brought us through fire and water,
but you led us to abundance.
13 I will come to your house with burnt offerings.
I will fulfill my vows to you
14 that my lips uttered and that my mouth spoke
when I was in trouble.
15 I will offer to you burnt offerings of fat,
along with the smoke of the sacrifice of rams.
I will offer bulls along with goats.
16 Come and listen, all of you who fear God,
and I will tell you what he did for me.
17 I called aloud to him
and praised him with my tongue.
18 Were I to cherish iniquity in my heart,
the Lord would not listen to me.
19 Surely God has heard,
and he paid attention to my[e] prayers.
20 Blessed be God, who did not turn away my prayers
nor his gracious love from me.
To the Director of music: Accompanied by stringed instruments. A Psalm. A song.
A Call to Thanksgiving
67 May God show us favor and bless us;
may he truly show us his favor.[f]
2 Let your ways be known by all the nations of the earth,
along with your deliverance.
3 Let the people thank you, God.
Let all the people thank you.
4 Let the nations rejoice and sing for joy,
because you judge people with fairness
and you govern the people of the earth.
5 Let the people thank you, God;
let all the people thank you.
6 May the earth yield its produce.
May God, our God, bless us.
7 May God truly bless us
so that all the peoples[g] of the earth will fear him.
To the Director: A Davidic Psalm.
God’s Revelation in the Heavens
19 The heavens are declaring the glory of God,
and their expanse shows the work of his hands.
2 Day after day they pour forth speech,
night after night they reveal knowledge.
3 There is no speech nor are there words—
their voice is not heard—
4 yet their message[a] goes out into all the world,
and their words to the ends of the earth.
He has set up a tent for the sun in the heavens,[b]
5 which is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber,
or like a champion who rejoices at the beginning of a race.
6 Its circuit is from one end of the sky to the other,
and nothing is hidden from its heat.
God’s Revelation in the Law
7 The Law of the Lord is perfect,
restoring life.
The testimony of the Lord is steadfast,
making foolish people wise.
8 The precepts of the Lord are upright,
making the heart rejoice.
The commandment of the Lord is pure,
giving light to the eyes.
9 The fear of the Lord is clean,
standing forever.
The judgments of the Lord are true;
they are altogether righteous.
10 They are more desirable than gold,
even much fine gold.
They are sweeter than honey,
even the drippings from a honeycomb.
11 Moreover your servant is warned by them;
and there is great reward in keeping them.
12 Who can detect his own[c] mistake?
Cleanse me from hidden sin.
13 Preserve your servant from arrogant people;[d]
do not let them rule over me.
Then I will be upright[e]
and acquitted of great wickedness.
14 May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart
be acceptable in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.
To the Director: A song by the Sons of Korah, to the tune of[a] “The Maidens”.
God is the Refuge of His People
46 God is our refuge and strength,
a great help in times of distress.
2 Therefore we will not be frightened
when the earth roars,
when the mountains shake in the depths of the seas,
3 when its waters roar and rage,
when the mountains tremble despite their pride.[b]
4 Look! There is a river
whose streams make the city of God rejoice,
even the Holy Place of the Most High.
5 Since God is in her midst,
she will not be shaken.
God will help her
at the break of dawn.
6 The nations roared;
the kingdoms were shaken.
His voice boomed;
the earth melts.
7 The Lord of the heavenly armies is with us;
our refuge is the God of Jacob.
8 Come, observe the mighty works of the Lord,
who causes desolation in the earth.
9 He causes wars to cease all over[c] the earth,
he causes the bow to break, the spear to snap,
the chariots to ignite and burn.
10 Be in awe and know that I am God.
I will be exalted among the nations.
I will be exalted throughout the earth.
11 The Lord of the heavenly armies is with us;
the God of Jacob is our refuge.
20 Jacob served seven years for Rachel, but it seemed like only a few days because of his love for her.
21 Eventually, Jacob told Laban, “Bring me my wife, now that my time of service[a] has been completed, so I can go be with her.” 22 So Laban gathered all the men who lived in that place and held a wedding festival.
Laban Deceives Jacob
23 That night Laban took his daughter Leah and brought her to Jacob.[b] He had marital relations with her. 24 Laban also gave his servant woman Zilpah to Leah to be her maidservant. 25 The next morning, Jacob[c] realized that it was Leah! “What have you done to me?” he demanded of Laban. “Didn’t I serve you for seven years in order to marry Rachel? Why did you deceive me?”
26 But Laban responded, “It’s not the practice of our place to give the younger one in marriage[d] before the firstborn. 27 Fulfill the week for this daughter,[e] then we’ll give you the other one in exchange for serving me another seven years.”
28 So Jacob completed another seven years’ work, and then Laban[f] gave him his daughter Rachel to be his wife. 29 Laban also gave his woman servant Bilhah to his daughter Rachel to be her maidservant. 30 Jacob[g] also married Rachel, since he loved her. He served Laban another full seven years’ work for Rachel.
Leah’s Children
31 Later, the Lord noticed that Leah was being neglected,[h] so he made her fertile, while Rachel remained childless. 32 Leah conceived, bore a son, and named him Reuben,[i] because she was saying, “The Lord had looked on my torture, so now my husband will love me.”
33 Later, she conceived again, bore a son, and declared, “Because the Lord heard that I’m neglected, he gave me this one, too.” So she named him Simeon.[j]
34 Later, she conceived again and said, “This time my husband will become attached to me, now that I’ve borne him three sons.” So he named him Levi.[k]
35 Then she conceived yet again, bore a son, and said, “This time I’ll praise the Lord.” So she named him Judah.[l]
Then she stopped bearing children.
14 I hope to come to you soon. However, I’m writing this to you 15 in case I am delayed, so that you may know how to behave in God’s household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth. 16 By common confession, the secret of our godly worship is great:[a]
In flesh was he[b] revealed to sight,
vindicated by the Spirit’s might,
adored by angels singing.[c]
To nations was he manifest,
believing souls found peace and rest,[d]
our Lord in heaven reigning![e]
A Prophecy about the Future
4 Now the Spirit says clearly that in the last times some people will abandon the faith by following deceitful spirits, the teachings of demons, 2 and the hypocrisy of liars, whose consciences have been burned by a hot iron. 3 They will try to stop people from marrying and from eating certain foods, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. 4 For everything God created is good, and nothing should be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, 5 because it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.
How to be a Good Servant of the Messiah Jesus
6 If you continue to point these things out to the brothers, you will be a good servant of the Messiah[f] Jesus, nourished by the words of the faith and the healthy teaching that you have followed closely. 7 Do not have anything to do with godless myths and fables of old women. Instead, train yourself to be godly. 8 Physical exercise is of limited value, but
Godliness is very dear,
a pledge of life, both there and here.
9 This is a trustworthy saying that deserves complete acceptance.[g] 10 To this end we work hard and struggle,[h] because we have set our hope on the living God, who is the Savior of all people, that is, of those who believe.
Salvation and Reward(A)
23 Then Jesus looked around and told his disciples, “How hard it will be for those who are wealthy to enter the kingdom of God!” 24 The disciples were startled by these words, but Jesus told them again, “Children, how hard it is for those who trust in their wealth[a] to get into the kingdom of God! 25 It’s easier for a camel to squeeze through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to get into the kingdom of God.”
26 The disciples[b] were utterly amazed and asked one another,[c] “Then who can be saved?”
27 Jesus looked at them intently and said, “For humans it’s impossible, but not for God. All things are possible for God.”
28 Then Peter began to say to him, “See, we have left everything and followed you.” 29 Jesus said, “I tell all of you[d] with certainty, there is no one who has left his home, brothers, sisters, mother, father, children, or fields because of me and the gospel 30 who will not receive a hundred times as much here in this world—homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, and fields, along with persecution—as well as eternal life in the age to come. 31 But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.”
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