Book of Common Prayer
Praise to God for His Awesome Works
To the Chief Musician. A Song. A Psalm.
66 Make (A)a joyful shout to God, all the earth!
2 Sing out the honor of His name;
Make His praise glorious.
3 Say to God,
“How (B)awesome are Your works!
(C)Through the greatness of Your power
Your enemies shall submit themselves to You.
4 (D)All the earth shall worship You
And sing praises to You;
They shall sing praises to Your name.” Selah
5 Come and see the works of God;
He is awesome in His doing toward the sons of men.
6 (E)He turned the sea into dry land;
(F)They went through the river on foot.
There we will rejoice in Him.
7 He rules by His power forever;
His eyes observe the nations;
Do not let the rebellious exalt themselves. Selah
8 Oh, bless our God, you peoples!
And make the voice of His praise to be heard,
9 Who keeps our soul among the living,
And does not allow our feet to [a]be moved.
10 For (G)You, O God, have tested us;
(H)You have refined us as silver is refined.
11 (I)You brought us into the net;
You laid affliction on our backs.
12 (J)You have caused men to ride over our heads;
(K)We went through fire and through water;
But You brought us out to [b]rich fulfillment.
13 (L)I will go into Your house with burnt offerings;
(M)I will pay You my [c]vows,
14 Which my lips have uttered
And my mouth has spoken when I was in trouble.
15 I will offer You burnt sacrifices of fat animals,
With the sweet aroma of rams;
I will offer bulls with goats. Selah
16 Come and hear, all you who fear God,
And I will declare what He has done for my soul.
17 I cried to Him with my mouth,
And He was [d]extolled with my tongue.
18 (N)If I regard iniquity in my heart,
The Lord will not hear.
19 But certainly God (O)has heard me;
He has attended to the voice of my prayer.
20 Blessed be God,
Who has not turned away my prayer,
Nor His mercy from me!
An Invocation and a Doxology
To the Chief Musician. On [e]stringed instruments. A Psalm. A Song.
67 God be merciful to us and bless us,
And (P)cause His face to shine upon us, Selah
2 That (Q)Your way may be known on earth,
(R)Your salvation among all nations.
3 Let the peoples praise You, O God;
Let all the peoples praise You.
4 Oh, let the nations be glad and sing for joy!
For (S)You shall judge the people righteously,
And govern the nations on earth. Selah
The Perfect Revelation of the Lord
To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.
19 The (A)heavens declare the glory of God;
And the (B)firmament[a] shows [b]His handiwork.
2 Day unto day utters speech,
And night unto night reveals knowledge.
3 There is no speech nor language
Where their voice is not heard.
4 (C)Their [c]line has gone out through all the earth,
And their words to the end of the world.
In them He has set a [d]tabernacle for the sun,
5 Which is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber,
(D)And rejoices like a strong man to run its race.
6 Its rising is from one end of heaven,
And its circuit to the other end;
And there is nothing hidden from its heat.
7 (E)The law of the Lord is perfect, [e]converting the soul;
The testimony of the Lord is sure, making (F)wise the simple;
8 The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart;
The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes;
9 The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever;
The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.
10 More to be desired are they than (G)gold,
Yea, than much fine gold;
Sweeter also than honey and the [f]honeycomb.
11 Moreover by them Your servant is warned,
And in keeping them there is great reward.
God the Refuge of His People and Conqueror of the Nations
To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of the sons of Korah. A Song (A)for Alamoth.
46 God is our (B)refuge and strength,
(C)A[a] very present help in trouble.
2 Therefore we will not fear,
Even though the earth be removed,
And though the mountains be carried into the [b]midst of the sea;
3 (D)Though its waters roar and be troubled,
Though the mountains shake with its swelling. Selah
4 There is a (E)river whose streams shall make glad the (F)city of God,
The holy place of the [c]tabernacle of the Most High.
5 God is (G)in the midst of her, she shall not be [d]moved;
God shall help her, just [e]at the break of dawn.
6 (H)The nations raged, the kingdoms were moved;
He uttered His voice, the earth melted.
7 The (I)Lord of hosts is with us;
The God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah
8 Come, behold the works of the Lord,
Who has made desolations in the earth.
9 (J)He makes wars cease to the end of the earth;
(K)He breaks the bow and cuts the spear in two;
(L)He burns the chariot in the fire.
10 Be still, and know that I am God;
(M)I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth!
11 The Lord of hosts is with us;
The God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah
8 Then Israel saw Joseph’s sons, and said, “Who are these?”
9 Joseph said to his father, “They are my sons, whom God has given me in this place.”
And he said, “Please bring them to me, and (A)I will bless them.” 10 Now (B)the eyes of Israel were dim with age, so that he could not see. Then Joseph brought them near him, and he (C)kissed them and embraced them. 11 And Israel said to Joseph, (D)“I had not thought to see your face; but in fact, God has also shown me your offspring!”
12 So Joseph brought them from beside his knees, and he bowed down with his face to the earth. 13 And Joseph took them both, Ephraim with his right hand toward Israel’s left hand, and Manasseh with his left hand toward Israel’s right hand, and brought them near him. 14 Then Israel stretched out his right hand and (E)laid it on Ephraim’s head, who was the younger, and his left hand on Manasseh’s head, (F)guiding his hands knowingly, for Manasseh was the (G)firstborn. 15 And (H)he blessed Joseph, and said:
“God, (I)before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked,
The God who has fed me all my life long to this day,
16 The Angel (J)who has redeemed me from all evil,
Bless the lads;
Let (K)my name be named upon them,
And the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac;
And let them (L)grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.”
17 Now when Joseph saw that his father (M)laid his right hand on the head of Ephraim, it displeased him; so he took hold of his father’s hand to remove it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head. 18 And Joseph said to his father, “Not so, my father, for this one is the firstborn; put your right hand on his head.”
19 But his father refused and said, (N)“I know, my son, I know. He also shall become a people, and he also shall be great; but truly (O)his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his descendants shall become a multitude of nations.”
20 So he blessed them that day, saying, (P)“By you Israel will bless, saying, ‘May God make you as Ephraim and as Manasseh!’ ” And thus he set Ephraim before Manasseh.
21 Then Israel said to Joseph, “Behold, I am dying, but (Q)God will be with you and bring you back to the land of your fathers. 22 Moreover (R)I have given to you one [a]portion above your brothers, which I took from the hand (S)of the Amorite with my sword and my bow.”
11 But if the Spirit of (A)Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, (B)He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies [a]through His Spirit who dwells in you.
Sonship Through the Spirit
12 (C)Therefore, brethren, we are debtors—not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. 13 For (D)if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you (E)put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 14 For (F)as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. 15 For (G)you did not receive the spirit of bondage again (H)to fear, but you received the (I)Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, (J)“Abba,[b] Father.” 16 (K)The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then (L)heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, (M)if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.
From Suffering to Glory
18 For I consider that (N)the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. 19 For (O)the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. 20 For (P)the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; 21 because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of [c]corruption into the glorious (Q)liberty of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation (R)groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. 23 Not only that, but we also who have (S)the firstfruits of the Spirit, (T)even we ourselves groan (U)within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the (V)redemption of our body. 24 For we were saved in this hope, but (W)hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance.
27 (A)Do not labor for the food which perishes, but (B)for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, (C)because God the Father has set His seal on Him.”
28 Then they said to Him, “What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?”
29 Jesus answered and said to them, (D)“This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.”
30 Therefore they said to Him, (E)“What sign will You perform then, that we may see it and believe You? What work will You do? 31 (F)Our fathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written, (G)‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’ ”
32 Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but (H)My Father gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”
34 (I)Then they said to Him, “Lord, give us this bread always.”
35 And Jesus said to them, (J)“I am the bread of life. (K)He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never (L)thirst. 36 (M)But I said to you that you have seen Me and yet (N)do not believe. 37 (O)All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and (P)the one who comes to Me I will [a]by no means cast out. 38 For I have come down from heaven, (Q)not to do My own will, (R)but the will of Him who sent Me. 39 This is the will of the Father who sent Me, (S)that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day. 40 And this is the will of Him who sent Me, (T)that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.