Book of Common Prayer
Praise God for What He Has Done
For the director of music. A song. A psalm.
66 Everything on earth, shout with joy to God!
2 ·Sing [Make a psalm] about ·his glory [L the glory of his name]!
Make his praise glorious!
3 Say to God, “Your works are ·amazing [majestic]!
Because your power is great,
your enemies ·fall [cringe; cower] before you.
4 All the earth ·worships [bows down to] you
and ·sings praises to [makes a psalm for] you.
They ·sing praises to [make a psalm for] your name [Phil. 2:10–12].” ·
5 Come and see what God has done,
the ·amazing [majestic] things he has done for people.
6 He turned the sea into dry land [Ex. 14–15].
The people crossed the river on foot [Josh. 3].
So let us rejoice because of what he did.
7 He rules forever with his power.
·He keeps his eye [L His eyes keep watch] on the nations,
so ·people should not turn [the rebellious might not rise] against him. ·
8 You people, ·praise [bless] our God;
·loudly sing his praise [L let the sound of his praise be heard].
9 He ·protects our lives [L sets our lives among the living]
and does not let ·us be defeated [L our feet be moved].
10 God, you have ·tested [examined] us;
you have ·purified [refined] us like silver [C removing the dross].
11 You ·let us be trapped [brought us into the net]
and put ·a heavy load on us [L misery on our backs].
12 You let our enemies ·walk on [L ride over] our heads.
We went through fire and ·flood [L water],
but you brought us to a place with ·good things [abundance].
13 I will come to your ·Temple [L house] with burnt offerings [Lev. 1:1–17].
I will ·give you what I promised [repay my vows],
14 ·things I promised when I was in trouble [L which my lips poured out and my mouth said when I was in distress].
15 I will bring you burnt offerings [Lev. 1:1–17] of fat animals,
and ·I will offer sheep, bulls, and goats [L with the smoke of rams, I will offer bulls and goats]. ·
16 All of you who fear God [Prov. 1:7], come and listen,
and I will tell you what he has done for me.
17 I ·cried out [called] to him with my mouth
and ·praised [exalted] him with my tongue.
18 If I had ·known of [L seen] any sin in my heart,
the Lord would not have listened to me.
19 But God has listened;
he has ·heard [L paid attention to the sound of] my prayer.
20 ·Praise [Blessed be] God,
who did not ·ignore [turn aside from] my prayer
or hold back his ·love [loyalty] from me.
Everyone Should Praise God
For the director of music. With stringed instruments. A psalm. A song.
67 God, ·have mercy on [be gracious to] us and bless us
and ·show us your kindness [L make your face shine on us; Num. 6:24–26] ·
2 so the world will ·learn [know] your ways,
and all nations ·will learn that you can save [L your salvation/victory].
3 God, the people should ·praise [thank] you;
all people should ·praise [thank] you.
4 The ·nations [peoples] should be glad and sing
because you judge people fairly.
You ·guide [lead] all the ·nations [peoples] on earth. ·
5 God, the people should ·praise [thank] you;
all people should ·praise [thank] you.
6 The land has given its ·crops [bounty].
God, our God, blesses us.
7 God blesses us
so people all over the earth will fear him [Prov. 1:7].
God’s Works and Word
For the director of music. A psalm of David.
19 The heavens ·declare [recount; narrate] the glory [C the manifest presence] of God,
and the ·skies [firmament; dome; Gen. 1:6] ·announce [speak out] ·what his hands have made [L the works of his hands].
2 Day after day they ·tell the story [L bubble/pour forth speech];
night after night they ·tell it again [L declare knowledge].
3 They have no speech or words;
they have no voice to be heard.
4 But their ·message [L line] goes out through all the world;
their words go ·everywhere on [L to the ends of the] earth.
·The sky [Heaven; L In them] is like a ·home [L tent] for the sun.
5 The sun comes out like a bridegroom from his ·bedroom [L wedding chamber].
It rejoices like an ·athlete [strong man] eager to run a race.
6 The sun rises at one end of the ·sky [heavens]
and ·follows its path [L its circuit is] to the other end.
Nothing hides from its heat.
7 The ·teachings [laws; instructions] of the Lord are perfect;
they ·give new strength [T revive the soul].
The ·rules [testimonies] of the Lord ·can be trusted [are faithful/sure];
they make ·plain [simpleminded; immature] people wise [Prov. 1:4].
8 The orders of the Lord are ·right [virtuous];
·they make people happy [L rejoicing the heart].
The commands of the Lord are pure;
·they light up the way [L giving light to the eyes].
9 ·Respect [Fear] for the Lord [Prov. 1:7] is ·good [pure];
it will ·last [endure] forever.
The judgments of the Lord are true;
they are ·completely [altogether] ·right [righteous].
10 They are ·worth [desired; coveted] more than gold,
even ·the purest [fine] gold.
They are sweeter than honey,
even the ·finest honey [L droppings of the honeycomb].
11 By them your servant is warned.
·Keeping [Observing] them brings great reward.
12 ·People cannot [L Who can…?] ·see [detect; L understand] their own ·mistakes [errors].
·Forgive [Clear] me for my ·secret [hidden] sins.
13 ·Keep me [L Restrain your servant] from ·the sins of pride [proud thoughts];
don’t let them ·rule [dominate] me.
Then I can be pure
and innocent of the greatest of sins.
14 ·I hope my ·words [L The words of my mouth] and ·thoughts [meditations of my heart] ·please [L be before] you.
Lord, you are my Rock, ·the one who saves me [L and my redeemer].
God Protects His People
For the director of music. By ·alamoth [maidens; young women; C perhaps for soprano voices]. A psalm of the sons of Korah [C descendants of Kohath, son of Levi, who served as Temple musicians; 1 Chr. 6:22].
46 God is our ·protection [refuge] and our strength.
He ·always helps [is an ever present/timely help] in times of ·trouble [distress].
2 So we will not be afraid even if the earth ·shakes [quakes],
or the mountains ·fall [reel; totter] into the heart of the sea,
3 even if the ·oceans [L waters] roar and foam,
or the mountains ·shake [tremble] at ·the raging sea [L its surging]. ·
4 There is a river ·that [L whose channels/streams] brings joy to the city of God,
the holy place where God Most High lives.
5 God is in that city, and so it will not ·be shaken [reel; totter].
God will help her at dawn.
6 Nations ·tremble [roar] and kingdoms ·shake [reel; totter].
God ·shouts [L gives forth his voice] and the earth ·crumbles [melts].
7 The Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts] is with us;
the God of Jacob is our ·defender [refuge; fortress]. ·
8 Come and see what the Lord has done,
·the amazing things he has done [or the desolations he has brought] on the earth.
9 He stops wars ·everywhere on [L to the ends of] the earth.
He breaks all bows and shatters spears
and burns up the ·chariots [or shields] with fire.
10 God says, “Be still and know that I am God.
I will be ·praised [exalted] in all the nations;
I will be ·praised [exalted] throughout the earth.”
11 The Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts] is with us;
the God of Jacob is our ·defender [refuge; fortress]. ·
The Burning Bush
3 One day Moses was ·taking care of [shepherding; grazing] Jethro’s flock. (Jethro was the priest of Midian and also Moses’ father-in-law.) When Moses led the flock to the west side of the ·desert [wilderness], he came to ·Sinai [L Horeb; C another name for Mount Sinai], the mountain of God. 2 There the ·angel [messenger] of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire coming out of a bush. Moses saw that the bush was on fire, but it was not ·burning up [consumed]. 3 So Moses said, “I will ·go closer to [L turn aside to see] this ·strange [or marvelous; great] thing. ·How can a bush continue burning without burning up [Why does not the bush burn]?”
4 When the Lord saw Moses was ·coming [L turning aside] to look at it, God called to him from the bush, “Moses, Moses!”
And Moses said, “Here I am.”
5 Then God said, “Do not come any closer. Take off your sandals [L from your feet], because the place where you are standing is holy ground. 6 I am the God of your ·ancestors [fathers; L father]—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” Moses ·covered [hid] his face because he was afraid to look at God.
7 The Lord said, “I have seen the ·troubles [affliction; or humiliation] my people have suffered in Egypt, and I have heard their cries ·when the Egyptian slavemasters hurt them [L before their foremen/taskmasters]. I ·am concerned about [L know] their pain, 8 and I have come down to ·save [rescue; deliver] them from the Egyptians. I will bring them out of that land and lead them to a good land with lots of room—a ·fertile land [L land flowing with milk and honey; C an image of abundant fertility]. It is the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. 9 I have heard the cries of the people of Israel, and I have seen the way the Egyptians have ·made life hard for [oppressed] them. 10 So now I am sending you to ·the king of Egypt [L Pharaoh]. Go! Bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt!”
11 But Moses said to God, “·I am not a great man! How can I go to the king [L Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh] and ·lead [bring] the Israelites out of Egypt?”
12 God said, “I will be with you. This will be the ·proof [sign] that I am sending you: After you lead the people out of Egypt, all of you will ·worship me [L serve God] on this mountain.”
18 You have not come to ·a mountain [L something] that can be touched and that is burning with fire [C a description of Mount Sinai when Israel received the Law; Ex. 19:18; Deut. 4:11]. You have not come to darkness, gloom, and ·storms [a whirlwind]. 19 You have not come to the noise of a trumpet [Ex. 19:16, 19] or to the sound of ·a voice [L words] like the one the people of Israel heard and begged not to hear another word [C fearing God’s wrath, Israel asked Moses to mediate God’s message; Ex. 20:19; Deut. 5:5; 18:16]. 20 [L For] They ·did not want to hear [could not bear/endure] the command: “If anything, even an animal, touches the mountain, it must be put to death with stones [Ex. 19:12–13].” 21 [Indeed,] What they saw was so ·terrible [terrifying] that Moses said, “I am ·shaking [trembling] with fear [Deut. 9:19].”
22 But you have come to Mount Zion [C another name for Jerusalem, here meaning the spiritual city of God’s people; Gal. 4:26; Rev. 21:2], to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem [11:10]. You have come to ·thousands of [tens of thousands/myriads of; countless] angels ·gathered together with joy [in joyful assembly; Deut. 33:2]. 23 You have come to the ·meeting [assembly; congregation; or church] of God’s firstborn [C the first son in a Jewish family received special privileges and a greater share of the inheritance; all God’s people are “firstborn”] children ·whose names are written [who are registered as citizens; Luke 10:20; Rev. 21:27] in heaven. You have come to God, the judge of ·all people [everything; all], and to the spirits of ·good [righteous] people who have been made perfect. 24 You have come to Jesus, the ·One who brought [mediator of] the new ·agreement from God to his people [covenant; contract; 8:1–13; Jer. 31:31–34], and you have come to the sprinkled blood [C Jesus’ blood shed on the cross; Heb. 9:19–22] that ·has a better message [speaks of something better; or pleads more insistently] than the blood of Abel [C murdered by his brother Cain; Abel’s “blood cried out” to God for vengeance (Gen. 4:10), but Jesus’ blood cries out with a message of forgiveness and reconciliation].
25 So ·be careful and [see that you] do not refuse to listen when God speaks. If those who refused to listen to him when he warned them on earth did not escape, how much worse will it be for us if we refuse to listen to God who warns us from heaven? 26 When he spoke ·before [then], his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “Once again I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens [Hag. 2:6, 21].” 27 The words “once again” clearly show us that everything that was made—things that can be shaken—will be ·destroyed [removed]. [So that] Only the things that cannot be shaken will remain.
28 So let us be thankful, because we ·have [are receiving] a kingdom that cannot be shaken. [As a result; or In this way] We should worship God in a way that pleases him with ·respect [reverence; devotion] and ·fear [awe], 29 because our God is ·like a fire that burns things up [L a consuming/devouring fire; Deut. 4:24; 9:3].
Satan Falls
17 When the ·seventy-two[a] came back, they were very ·happy [joyful] and said, “Lord, even the demons ·obeyed [submit to] us ·when we used your name [L in your name]!”
18 Jesus said, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven [C symbolically in the exorcisms; Is. 14:12; Rev. 12:13]. 19 ·Listen [L Look; T Behold], I have given you ·power [authority] to ·walk on [trample] snakes and scorpions, ·power that is greater than the enemy has [L …and authority over all the power of the enemy]. So nothing will hurt you. 20 But you should not ·be happy [rejoice] because the spirits ·obey [submit to] you but because your names are ·written [recorded] in heaven.”
Jesus Prays to the Father(A)
21 ·Then [At that time; L In the same hour] Jesus ·rejoiced [was full of joy] in the Holy Spirit and said, “I ·praise [bless; thank; acknowledge] you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the people who are wise and ·smart [learned; intelligent]. But you have ·shown [revealed] them to ·those who are like little children [L little children; infants; C those with a childlike faith]. Yes, Father, [L because] this is what ·you really wanted [pleased you].
22 “My Father has ·given [entrusted/committed to] me all things. No one knows who the Son is, except the Father. And no one knows who the Father is, except the Son and those whom the Son ·chooses [desires; intends] to ·tell [L reveal it to].”
23 Then Jesus turned to his ·followers [disciples] and said privately, “·You are blessed to [L Blessed are the eyes that] see what you now see. 24 [L For] I tell you, many prophets and kings wanted to see what you now see, but they did not, and they wanted to hear what you now hear, but they did not.”
The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.