Book of Common Prayer
Praise for God’s Mighty Deeds and for His Answer to Prayer.
For the music 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 (E)pretend to obey You.
4 (F)All the earth will worship You,
And will (G)sing praises to You;
They will sing praises to Your name.” Selah
5 (H)Come and see the works of God,
Who is (I)awesome in His deeds toward the sons of mankind.
6 He (J)turned the sea into dry land;
They passed through (K)the river on foot;
Let’s (L)rejoice there, in Him!
7 He (M)rules by His might forever;
His (N)eyes keep watch on the nations;
The rebellious shall not (O)exalt themselves! Selah
8 Bless our God, you peoples,
And [a](P)sound His praise abroad,
9 Who [b](Q)keeps us in life,
And (R)does not allow our feet to [c]slip.
10 For You have (S)put us to the test, God;
You have (T)refined us as silver is refined.
11 You (U)brought us into the net;
You laid an oppressive burden upon [d]us.
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 animals,
With the smoke of (AC)rams;
I shall make an offering of [e]bulls with male goats. Selah
16 (AD)Come and hear, all who [f]fear God,
And I will (AE)tell of what He has done for my soul.
17 I cried to Him with my mouth,
And [g]He was (AF)exalted with my tongue.
18 If I [h](AG)regard wickedness in my heart,
The (AH)Lord will not hear;
19 But (AI)God has heard;
He has given attention to the sound of my prayer.
20 (AJ)Blessed be God,
Who (AK)has not turned away my prayer
Nor His favor from me.
The Nations Exhorted to Praise God.
For the music 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 [i]upon us— Selah
2 That (AN)Your way may be known on the earth,
(AO)Your salvation among all nations.
3 May the (AP)peoples praise You, God;
May all the peoples praise You.
4 May the (AQ)nations be glad and sing for joy;
For You will (AR)judge the peoples with fairness
And (AS)guide the nations on the earth. Selah
5 May the (AT)peoples praise You, God;
May all the peoples praise You.
6 The (AU)earth has yielded its produce;
God, our God, (AV)blesses us.
7 God blesses us,
[j]So that (AW)all the ends of the earth may fear Him.
The Works and the Word of God.
For the music director. A Psalm of David.
19 The (A)heavens tell of the glory of God;
And their (B)expanse declares 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 into all the earth,
And their words to the end of the world.
In them He has (F)placed a tent for the sun,
5 Which is like a groom coming out of his chamber;
It rejoices like a strong person 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 pure gold;
(T)Sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb.
11 Moreover, (U)Your servant is warned by them;
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 Your servant back (Z)from presumptuous sins;
Let them not (AA)rule over me;
Then I will be (AB)innocent,
And I will be blameless of (AC)great wrongdoing.
14 May the words of my mouth and (AD)the meditation of my heart
Be acceptable in Your sight,
Lord, (AE)my rock and my (AF)Redeemer.
God, the Refuge of His People.
For the music director. A Psalm of the sons of Korah, [a]set to Alamoth. A Song.
46 God is our (A)refuge and strength,
A [b]very (B)ready help (C)in [c]trouble.
2 Therefore we will (D)not fear, though (E)the earth shakes
And (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. Selah
4 There is a (H)river whose streams make the (I)city of God happy,
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 [e]when morning dawns.
6 The [f]nations (M)made an uproar, the kingdoms tottered;
He [g](N)raised His voice, the earth (O)quaked.
7 The Lord of armies (P)is with us;
The God of Jacob is (Q)our stronghold. Selah
8 Come, (R)behold the works of the Lord,
[h]Who has inflicted (S)horrific events on 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 “[i]Stop striving and (W)know that I am God;
I will be (X)exalted among the [j]nations, I will be exalted on the earth.”
11 The Lord of armies is with us;
The God of Jacob is our stronghold. Selah
20 So Jacob served seven years for Rachel, and they seemed to him like only a few days (A)because of his love for her.
Laban’s Treachery
21 Then Jacob said to Laban, “Give me my wife, for my [a]time is completed, that I may (B)have relations with her.” 22 So Laban gathered all the people of the place and held a feast. 23 Now in the evening he took his daughter Leah and brought her to him; and Jacob had relations with her. 24 Laban also gave his female slave Zilpah to his daughter Leah as a slave. 25 So it came about in the morning that, behold, it was Leah! And he said to Laban, “(C)What is this that you have done to me? Was it not for Rachel that I served with you? Why then have you (D)deceived me?” 26 But Laban said, “It is not [b]the practice in our place to [c]marry off the younger before the firstborn. 27 Complete the week of this one, and we will give you the other also for the service which (E)you shall serve with me, for another seven years.” 28 Jacob did so and completed her week, and he gave him his daughter Rachel as his wife. 29 Laban also gave his female slave Bilhah to his daughter Rachel as her slave. 30 So Jacob had relations with Rachel also, and indeed (F)he loved Rachel more than Leah, and he served with [d]Laban for (G)another seven years.
31 Now the Lord saw that Leah was [e]unloved, and He opened her womb, but Rachel was unable to have children. 32 Leah conceived and gave birth to a son, and named him [f]Reuben, for she said, “Because the Lord has [g](H)seen my affliction; surely now my husband will love me.” 33 Then she conceived again and gave birth to a son, and said, “(I)Because the Lord has [h]heard that I am [i]unloved, He has therefore given me this son also.” So she named him Simeon. 34 And she conceived again and gave birth to a son, and said, “Now this time my husband will become [j]attached to me, because I have borne him three sons.” Therefore he was named (J)Levi. 35 And she conceived again and gave birth to a son, and said, “This time I will [k]praise the Lord.” Therefore she named him [l](K)Judah. Then she stopped having children.
14 I am writing these things to you, hoping to come to you before long; 15 but [a]in case I am delayed, I write so that you will know how one should act in (A)the household of God, which is the (B)church of (C)the living God, the (D)pillar and support of the truth. 16 Beyond question, great is (E)the mystery of godliness:
He who was (F)revealed in the flesh,
Was [b](G)vindicated [c]in the Spirit,
(H)Seen by angels,
(I)Proclaimed among the nations,
(J)Believed on in the world,
(K)Taken up in glory.
Abandonment of Faith
4 But (L)the Spirit explicitly says that (M)in later times some will [d]fall away from the faith, paying attention to (N)deceitful spirits and (O)teachings of demons, 2 by means of the hypocrisy of liars (P)seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron, 3 who (Q)forbid marriage and advocate (R)abstaining from foods which (S)God has created to be (T)gratefully shared in by those who believe and know the truth. 4 For (U)everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is (V)received with gratitude; 5 for it is sanctified by means of (W)the word of God and prayer.
A Good Minister’s Discipline
6 In pointing out these things to (X)the brothers and sisters, you will be a good (Y)servant of Christ Jesus, constantly nourished on the words of the faith and of the (Z)good doctrine which you (AA)have been following. 7 But [e]stay away from (AB)worthless (AC)stories that are typical of old women. Rather, [f]discipline yourself for the purpose of (AD)godliness; 8 for (AE)bodily training is just slightly beneficial, but (AF)godliness is beneficial for all things, since it (AG)holds promise for the (AH)present life and also for the life to come. 9 (AI)It is a trustworthy statement deserving full acceptance. 10 For it is for this we labor and strive, because we have set (AJ)our hope on (AK)the living God, who is (AL)the Savior of all mankind, especially of believers.
23 And Jesus, looking around, *said to His disciples, “(A)How hard it will be for those who are wealthy to enter the kingdom of God!” 24 And the disciples (B)were amazed at His words. But Jesus responded again and *said to them, “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! 25 (C)It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” 26 And they were even more astonished, and said to Him, “[a]Then who can be saved?” 27 Looking at them, Jesus *said, “(D)With people it is impossible, but not with God; for all things are possible with God.”
28 (E)Peter began to say to Him, “Behold, we have left everything and have followed You.” 29 Jesus said, “Truly I say to you, (F)there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or farms, for My sake and for the gospel’s sake, 30 [b]but that he will receive a hundred times as much now in [c]the present age, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and farms, along with persecutions; and in (G)the age to come, eternal life. 31 But (H)many who are first will be last, and the last, first.”
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