Book of Common Prayer
Praise for God’s mighty deeds and for his answer to prayer.
For the Chief Musician. A Song, a Psalm.
66 Make a joyful noise unto God, all the earth:
2 Sing forth the glory of his name:
Make his praise glorious.
3 Say unto God, How terrible are thy works!
Through the greatness of thy power shall thine enemies [a]submit themselves unto thee.
4 All the earth shall worship thee,
And shall sing unto thee;
They shall sing to thy name. Selah
5 Come, and see the works of God;
He is terrible in his doing toward the children of men.
6 He turned the sea into dry land;
They went through the river on foot:
There [b]did we rejoice in him.
7 He ruleth by his might for ever;
His eyes observe the nations:
Let not the rebellious exalt themselves. Selah
8 Oh bless our God, ye peoples,
And make the voice of his praise to be heard;
9 Who [c]holdeth our soul in life,
And suffereth not our feet to be moved.
10 For thou, O God, hast proved us:
Thou hast tried us, as silver is tried.
11 Thou broughtest us into the net;
Thou layedst a sore burden upon our loins.
12 Thou didst cause men to ride over our heads;
We went through fire and through water;
But thou broughtest us out into [d]a wealthy place.
13 I will come into thy house with burnt-offerings;
I will pay thee my vows,
14 Which my lips uttered,
And my mouth spake, when I was in distress.
15 I will offer unto thee burnt-offerings of fatlings,
With the incense of rams;
I will offer bullocks with goats. Selah
16 Come, and hear, all ye that fear God,
And I will declare what he hath done for my soul.
17 I cried unto him with my mouth,
And [e]he was extolled with my tongue.
18 If I [f]regard iniquity in my heart,
The Lord [g]will not hear:
19 But verily God hath heard;
He hath attended to the voice of my prayer.
20 Blessed be God,
Who hath not turned away my prayer,
Nor his lovingkindness from me.
The nations exhorted to praise God.
For the Chief Musician; on stringed instruments. A Psalm, a Song.
67 God be merciful unto us, and bless us,
And cause his face to shine [h]upon us; Selah
2 That thy way may be known upon earth,
Thy salvation among all nations.
3 Let the peoples [i]praise thee, O God;
Let all the peoples praise thee.
4 Oh let the nations be glad and sing for joy;
For thou wilt judge the peoples with equity,
And [j]govern the nations upon earth. Selah
5 Let the peoples praise thee, O God;
Let all the peoples praise thee.
6 The earth hath yielded its increase:
God, even our own God, will bless us.
7 God will bless us;
And all the ends of the earth shall fear him.
The works and the Word of God.
For the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.
19 The heavens declare the glory of God;
And the firmament showeth his handiwork.
2 Day unto day uttereth speech,
And night unto night showeth knowledge.
3 There is no speech nor language;
Their voice is not heard.
4 Their line is gone out through all the earth,
And their words to the end of the world.
In them hath he set a [a]tabernacle for the sun,
5 Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber,
And rejoiceth as a strong man to run his course.
6 His going forth is from the end of the heavens,
And his circuit unto the ends of it;
And there is nothing hid from the heat thereof.
7 The law of Jehovah is perfect, restoring the soul:
The testimony of Jehovah is sure, making wise the simple.
8 The precepts of Jehovah are right, rejoicing the heart:
The commandment of Jehovah is pure, enlightening the eyes.
9 The fear of Jehovah is clean, enduring for ever:
The ordinances of Jehovah are true, and righteous altogether.
10 More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold;
Sweeter also than honey and the droppings of the honeycomb.
11 Moreover by them is thy servant warned:
In keeping them there is great reward.
12 Who can discern his errors?
Clear thou me from hidden faults.
13 Keep back thy servant also [b]from presumptuous sins;
Let them not have dominion over me:
Then shall I be upright,
And I shall be clear from great transgression.
14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
Be acceptable in thy sight,
O Jehovah, my rock, and my redeemer.
God the refuge of his people.
For the Chief Musician. A Psalm of the sons of Korah; set to Alamoth. A Song.
46 God is our refuge and strength,
A very present help in trouble.
2 Therefore will we not fear, though the earth do change,
And though the mountains be shaken into the heart of the seas;
3 Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled,
Though the mountains tremble with the [a]swelling thereof. Selah
4 There is a river, the streams whereof make glad the city of God,
The holy place of the tabernacles of the Most High.
5 God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved:
God will help her, [b]and that right early.
6 The nations raged, the kingdoms were moved:
He uttered his voice, the earth melted.
7 Jehovah of hosts is with us;
The God of Jacob is our [c]refuge. Selah
8 Come, behold the works of Jehovah,
[d]What desolations he hath made in the earth.
9 He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth;
He breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spear in sunder;
He burneth the chariots in the fire.
10 [e]Be still, and know that I am God:
I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.
11 Jehovah of hosts is with us;
The God of Jacob is our [f]refuge. Selah
13 And it came to pass after this, that Absalom the son of David had a fair sister, whose name was Tamar; and Amnon the son of David loved her. 2 And Amnon was so vexed that he fell sick because of his sister Tamar; for she was a virgin; and it seemed hard to Amnon to do anything unto her. 3 But Amnon had a friend, whose name was Jonadab, the son of Shimeah, David’s brother: and Jonadab was a very subtle man. 4 And he said unto him, Why, O son of the king, art thou thus lean [a]from day to day? wilt thou not tell me? And Amnon said unto him, I love Tamar, my brother Absalom’s sister. 5 And Jonadab said unto him, Lay thee down on thy bed, and feign thyself sick: and when thy father cometh to see thee, say unto him, Let my sister Tamar come, I pray thee, and give me bread to eat, and dress the food in my sight, that I may see it, and eat it from her hand. 6 So Amnon lay down, and feigned himself sick: and when the king was come to see him, Amnon said unto the king, Let my sister Tamar come, I pray thee, and make me a couple of cakes in my sight, that I may eat from her hand.
7 Then David sent home to Tamar, saying, Go now to thy brother Amnon’s house, and dress him food. 8 So Tamar went to her brother Amnon’s house; and he was laid down. And she took dough, and kneaded it, and made cakes in his sight, and did bake the cakes. 9 And she took the pan, and poured them out before him; but he refused to eat. And Amnon said, Have out all men from me. And they went out every man from him. 10 And Amnon said unto Tamar, Bring the food into the chamber, that I may eat from thy hand. And Tamar took the cakes which she had made, and brought them into the chamber to Amnon her brother. 11 And when she had brought them near unto him to eat, he took hold of her, and said unto her, Come, lie with me, my sister. 12 And she answered him, Nay, my brother, do not [b]force me; for no such thing ought to be done in Israel: do not thou this folly. 13 And I, whither shall I carry my shame? and as for thee, thou wilt be as one of the fools in Israel. Now therefore, I pray thee, speak unto the king; for he will not withhold me from thee. 14 Howbeit he would not hearken unto her voice; but being stronger than she, he forced her, and lay with her.
15 Then Amnon hated her with exceeding great hatred; for the hatred wherewith he hated her was greater than the love wherewith he had loved her. And Amnon said unto her, Arise, be gone. 16 And she said unto him, [c]Not so, because this great wrong in putting me forth is worse than the other that thou didst unto me. But he would not hearken unto her. 17 Then he called his servant that ministered unto him, and said, Put now this woman out from me, and bolt the door after her. 18 And she had [d]a garment of divers colors upon her; for with such robes were the king’s daughters that were virgins apparelled. Then his servant brought her out, and bolted the door after her. 19 And Tamar put ashes on her head, and rent her garment of divers colors that was on her; and she laid her hand on her head, and went her way, crying aloud as she went.
20 And Absalom her brother said unto her, Hath [e]Amnon thy brother been with thee? but now hold thy peace, my sister: he is thy brother; take not this thing to heart. So Tamar remained desolate in her brother Absalom’s house. 21 But when king David heard of all these things, he was very wroth. 22 And Absalom spake unto Amnon neither good nor bad; for Absalom hated Amnon, because he had forced his sister Tamar.
15 Now we that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves. 2 Let each one of us please his neighbor for that which is good, unto edifying. 3 For Christ also pleased not himself; but, as it is written, [a]The reproaches of them that reproached thee fell upon me. 4 For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that through [b]patience and through comfort of the scriptures we might have hope. 5 Now the God of [c]patience and of comfort grant you to be of the same mind one with another according to Christ Jesus: 6 that with one accord ye may with one mouth glorify [d]the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. 7 Wherefore receive ye one another, even as Christ also received [e]you, to the glory of God. 8 For I say that Christ hath been made a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, that he might confirm the promises given unto the fathers, 9 and that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy; as it is written,
10 And again he saith,
11 And again,
12 And again, Isaiah saith,
[m]There shall be the root of Jesse,
And he that ariseth to rule over the [n]Gentiles;
On him shall the [o]Gentiles hope.
13 Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, in the power of the Holy Spirit.
22 After these things came Jesus and his disciples into the land of Judaea; and there he tarried with them, and baptized. 23 And John also was baptizing in Aenon near to Salim, because there [a]was much water there: and they came, and were baptized. 24 For John was not yet cast into prison. 25 There arose therefore a questioning on the part of John’s disciples with a Jew about purifying. 26 And they came unto John, and said to him, Rabbi, he that was with thee beyond the Jordan, to whom thou hast borne witness, behold, the same baptizeth, and all men come to him. 27 John answered and said, A man can receive nothing, except it have been given him from heaven. 28 Ye yourselves bear me witness, that I said, I am not the Christ, but, that I am sent before him. 29 He that hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom, that standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice: this my joy therefore is made full. 30 He must increase, but I must decrease.
31 He that cometh from above is above all: he that is of the earth is of the earth, and of the earth he speaketh: [b]he that cometh from heaven is above all. 32 What he hath seen and heard, of that he beareth witness; and no man receiveth his witness. 33 He that hath received his witness hath set his seal to this, that God is true. 34 For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: for he giveth not the Spirit by measure. 35 The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand. 36 He that believeth on the Son hath eternal life; but he that [c]obeyeth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him.
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