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.
Drought and a Prayer for Mercy
14 That which came as the word of the Lord to Jeremiah in regard to the (A)drought:
2 “Judah mourns
And (B)her gates languish;
They sit on the ground (C)in mourning,
And the (D)cry of Jerusalem has ascended.
3 “Their nobles have (E)sent their [a]servants for water;
They have come to the (F)cisterns and found no water.
They have returned with their vessels empty;
They have been (G)put to shame and humiliated,
And they (H)cover their heads.
4 “Because the (I)ground is [b]cracked,
For there has been (J)no rain on the land;
The (K)farmers have been put to shame,
They have covered their heads.
5 “For even the doe in the field has given birth only to abandon her young,
Because there is (L)no grass.
6 “The (M)wild donkeys stand on the bare heights;
They pant for air like jackals,
Their eyes fail
For there is (N)no vegetation.
7 “Although our (O)iniquities testify against us,
O Lord, act (P)for Your name’s sake!
Truly our (Q)apostasies have been many,
We have (R)sinned against You.
8 “O (S)Hope of Israel,
Its (T)Savior in (U)time of distress,
Why are You like a stranger in the land
Or like a traveler who has pitched his tent for the night?
9 “Why are You like a man dismayed,
Like a mighty man who (V)cannot save?
Yet (W)You are in our midst, O Lord,
And we are (X)called by Your name;
Do not forsake us!”
17 “You will say this word to them,
‘(A)Let my eyes flow down with tears night and day,
And let them not cease;
For the virgin (B)daughter of my people has been crushed with a mighty blow,
With a sorely (C)infected wound.
18 ‘If I (D)go out to the country,
Behold, those [a]slain with the sword!
Or if I enter the city,
Behold, diseases of famine!
For (E)both prophet and priest
Have [b]gone roving about in the land that they do not know.’”
19 Have You completely (F)rejected Judah?
Or have [c]You loathed Zion?
Why have You stricken us so that we (G)are beyond healing?
We (H)waited for peace, but nothing good came;
And for a time of healing, but behold, terror!
20 We (I)know our wickedness, O Lord,
The iniquity of our fathers, for (J)we have sinned against You.
21 Do not despise us, (K)for Your own name’s sake;
Do not disgrace the (L)throne of Your glory;
Remember and do not annul Your covenant with us.
22 Are there any among the [d](M)idols of the nations who (N)give rain?
Or can the heavens grant showers?
Is it not You, O Lord our God?
Therefore we [e](O)hope in You,
For You are the one who has done all these things.
Bond and Free
21 Tell me, you who want to be under law, do you not (A)listen to the law? 22 For it is written that Abraham had two sons, (B)one by the bondwoman and (C)one by the free woman. 23 But (D)the son by the bondwoman [a]was born according to the flesh, and (E)the son by the free woman through the promise. 24 [b](F)This is allegorically speaking, for these women are two covenants: one proceeding from (G)Mount Sinai bearing children [c]who are to be (H)slaves; [d]she is Hagar. 25 Now this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children. 26 But (I)the Jerusalem above is free; [e]she is our mother. 27 For it is written,
“(J)Rejoice, barren woman who does not bear;
Break forth and shout, you who are not in labor;
For more numerous are the children of the desolate
Than of the one who has a husband.”
28 And you brethren, (K)like Isaac, are (L)children of promise. 29 But as at that time (M)he who was born according to the flesh (N)persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, (O)so it is now also. 30 But what does the Scripture say?
“(P)Cast out the bondwoman and her son,
For (Q)the son of the bondwoman shall not be an heir with the son of the free woman.”
31 So then, brethren, we are not children of a bondwoman, [f]but of the free woman.
Walk by the Spirit
5 [g](R)It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore (S)keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a (T)yoke of slavery.
11 (A)The Pharisees came out and began to argue with Him, (B)seeking from Him a [a]sign from heaven, [b]to test Him. 12 (C)Sighing deeply [c]in His spirit, He *said, “Why does this generation seek for a [d]sign? Truly I say to you, [e](D)no [f]sign will be given to this generation.” 13 Leaving them, He again embarked and went away to the other side.
14 And they had forgotten to take bread, and did not have more than one loaf in the boat with them. 15 And He was giving orders to them, saying, “(E)Watch out! Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of (F)Herod.” 16 They began to discuss with one another the fact that they had no bread. 17 And Jesus, aware of this, *said to them, “Why do you discuss the fact that you have no bread? (G)Do you not yet see or understand? Do you have a [g]hardened heart? 18 (H)Having eyes, do you not see? And having ears, do you not hear? And do you not remember, 19 when I broke (I)the five loaves for the five thousand, how many (J)baskets full of broken pieces you picked up?” They *said to Him, “Twelve.” 20 “When I broke (K)the seven for the four thousand, how many large (L)baskets full of broken pieces did you pick up?” And they *said to Him, “Seven.” 21 And He was saying to them, “(M)Do you not yet understand?”
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