Book of Common Prayer
Thanksgiving to God for His Works
For the music director. A song. A psalm.[a]
66 Shout joyfully to God, all the earth.
2 Sing the glory of his name.
Set forth his glorious praise.[b]
3 Say to God, “How awesome are your works!
Because of the greatness of your strength,
your enemies will cringe before you.
4 All the earth will bow in worship to you,
and sing praise to you.
They will sing the praise of your name.” Selah
5 Come and consider[c] the works of God;
he is awesome in his dealings[d] with the children of humankind.
6 He turned the sea into dry ground;
they passed through the river on foot.
There we rejoiced in him.
7 He rules by his might forever;
his eyes keep watch on the nations.
Do not let the rebellious exalt themselves.[e] Selah
8 Bless our God, O peoples,
and cause the sound of his praise to be heard,
9 the one who has kept our soul among the living,
and has not allowed our foot to slip.
10 For you have tested us, O God;
you have tried us as silver is tried.
11 You brought us into the net;
you placed a heavy burden[f] on our backs.
12 You let men[g] ride over our heads.
We went through fire and through water,
but you have brought us out to the place of abundance.[h]
13 I will come into your house[i] with burnt offerings.
I will pay to you my vows
14 that my lips uttered,
and my mouth spoke in my distress.
15 Burnt offerings of fat animals I will offer to you,
with the smoke of rams.
I will do[j] cattle with rams. Selah
16 Come and hear, all you God-fearers, and I will tell
what he has done for me.[k]
17 I called to him with my mouth,
and he was extolled with my tongue.[l]
18 If I had considered evil in my heart,
the Lord would not have listened.
19 However, God has listened;
he has attended to the sound of my prayer.
20 Blessed be God,
who has not turned aside my prayer,
or his loyal love from me.
The Call of Ezekiel to Speak God’s Words
2 And he said to me, “Son of man,[a] stand on your feet, so that I can speak with you.” 2 And the Spirit[b] came into me as he was speaking to me, and it set me on my feet, and I heard the one speaking to me. 3 And he said to me, “Son of man,[c] I am sending you to the Israelites,[d] to nations[e] who are rebelling, who rebelled against me, they and their ancestors,[f] they transgressed against me until this very day.[g] 4 And the children[h] are impudent[i] and stubborn,[j] and so I am sending you to them, and you must say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord Yahweh!’ 5 And they, whether they listen or whether they fail to listen, for they are a rebellious house, they will know that a prophet was in their midst. 6 And you, son of man,[k] you must not be afraid of them, and you must not be afraid of their words, because[l] briers and thorns are with you, and you are sitting among scorpions. You must not be afraid of their words, and you must not be dismayed because of their looks,[m] for they are a rebellious house. 7 And you must speak my words to them whether they listen or whether they fail to listen, for they are rebellious.
Peter’s Explanation to the Church in Jerusalem
11 Now the apostles and the brothers who were throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had accepted the word[a] of God. 2 So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, those of the circumcision took issue with him, 3 saying, “You went to men who were uncircumcised[b] and ate with them!” 4 But Peter began and[c] explained it[d] to them in an orderly sequence, saying, 5 “I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision—an object something like a large sheet coming down, being let down from heaven by its four corners, and it came to me. 6 As I[e] looked intently into it, I was considering it,[f] and I saw the four-footed animals of the earth and the wild animals and the reptiles and the birds of the sky. 7 And I also heard a voice saying to me, ‘Get up, Peter, slaughter and eat!’ 8 But I said, ‘Certainly not, Lord! For nothing common or unclean has ever entered into my mouth!’ 9 But the voice replied from heaven for the second time, ‘The things which God has made clean, you must not consider unclean!’ 10 And this happened three times, and everything was pulled up into heaven again. 11 And behold, at once three men who had been sent to me from Caesarea approached the house in which we were staying.[g] 12 And the Spirit told me to accompany them, not hesitating at all. So these six brothers also went with me, and we entered into the man’s house. 13 And he reported to us how he had seen the angel standing in his house and saying, ‘Send to Joppa and summon Simon, who is also called Peter, 14 who will speak words to you by which you will be saved, you and all your household.’ 15 And as I was beginning to speak, the Holy Spirit fell on them, just as also on us at the beginning. 16 And I remembered the word of the Lord, how he said, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’[h] 17 Therefore if God gave them the same gift as also to us when we[i] believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to be able to hinder God?” 18 And when they[j] heard these things, they became silent[k] and praised God, saying, “Then God has granted the repentance leading to life to the Gentiles also!”
Yahweh’s Glorious Reign
97 Yahweh is king! Let the earth rejoice;
let many coastlands be glad.
2 Cloud and thick darkness are surrounding him;
righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.
3 Fire goes before him,
and devours his enemies round about.
4 His lightnings light the world;
the earth sees and trembles.
5 The mountains melt like wax at the presence of Yahweh,
at the presence of the Lord of all the earth.
6 The heavens declare his righteousness,
and all the peoples see his glory.
7 Let all who serve an image be ashamed,
those who boast about idols.[a]
Worship him, all you gods.
8 Zion hears and is glad,
and the daughters of Judah rejoice
because of your judgments, O Yahweh.
9 For you, O Yahweh, are most high over all the earth.
You are highly[b] exalted above all gods.
10 You who love Yahweh, hate evil.
He protects the lives of his faithful;
he delivers them from the hand of the wicked.
11 Light is sown for the righteous,
and joy for the upright in heart.
12 Be glad in Yahweh, you righteous,
and give thanks to his holy name.[c]
Thanksgiving for Yahweh’s Goodness
Of David.[a]
138 I give you thanks with my whole heart;
before the gods I sing your praise.
2 I bow down toward your holy temple
and give thanks to your name,
because of your loyal love and faithfulness,
for you have magnified your word[b] according to all your name.[c]
3 When[d] I called and you answered me,
you emboldened me in my soul with strength.
4 All the kings of the earth
will praise you, O Yahweh,
when they have heard the words[e] of your mouth,
5 and they will sing of the ways of Yahweh,
because Yahweh’s glory is great.
6 Though Yahweh is high, yet he sees the lowly,
but the proud he perceives[f] at a distance.
7 Though I walk in the midst of trouble,
you preserve me alive.
You stretch out your hand against the anger of my enemies,
and you save me with your right hand.
8 Yahweh accomplishes things for my benefit.
O Yahweh, your loyal love endures forever;
do not abandon the works of your hands.
Paul’s Ministry Recognized by the Jerusalem Apostles
2 Then after fourteen years I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking along Titus also. 2 Now I went up there because of a revelation and laid out to them the gospel that I preach among the Gentiles, but in private to the influential people, lest somehow I was running, or had run, in vain. 3 But not even Titus who was with me, although[a] he was a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised. 4 Now this was because of the false brothers secretly brought in, who slipped in to spy out our freedom that we have in Christ Jesus, in order that they might enslave us, 5 to whom not even for an hour did we yield in subjection, in order that the truth of the gospel might remain continually with you. 6 But from those who were influential[b] (whatever they were, it makes no difference to me, God does not show partiality[c])—for those who were influential added nothing to me. 7 But these, when they[d] saw that I had been entrusted with the gospel to the uncircumcision, just as Peter to the circumcision 8 (for the one who was at work through Peter for his apostleship to the circumcision was at work also through me for the Gentiles), 9 and when James and Cephas and John—those thought to be pillars—acknowledged the grace given to me, they gave to me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship, in order that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcision.
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