Book of Common Prayer
For the director of music. A song. A psalm.
66 Shout to God for joy, everyone on earth!
2 Sing about the glory of his name!
Give him glorious praise!
3 Say to God, “What wonderful things you do!
Your power is so great
that your enemies bow down to you in fear.
4 Everyone on earth bows down to you.
They sing praise to you.
They sing the praises of your name.”
5 Come and see what God has done.
See what wonderful things he has done for people!
6 He turned the Red Sea into dry land.
The people of Israel passed through the waters on foot.
Come, let us be full of joy because of what he did.
7 He rules by his power forever.
His eyes watch the nations.
Let no one who refuses to obey him rise up against him.
8 Praise our God, all you nations.
Let the sound of the praise you give him be heard.
9 He has kept us alive.
He has kept our feet from slipping.
10 God, you have tested us.
You put us through fire to make us like silver.
11 You put us in prison.
You placed heavy loads on our backs.
12 You let our enemies ride their chariots over our heads.
We went through fire and water.
But you brought us to a place
where we have everything we need.
13 I will come to your temple with burnt offerings.
I will keep my promises to you.
14 I made them with my lips.
My mouth spoke them when I was in trouble.
15 I will sacrifice fat animals to you as burnt offerings.
I will offer rams, bulls and goats to you.
16 Come and hear, all you who have respect for God.
Let me tell you what he has done for me.
17 I cried out to him with my mouth.
I praised him with my tongue.
18 If I had enjoyed having sin in my heart,
the Lord would not have listened.
19 But God has surely listened.
He has heard my prayer.
20 Give praise to God.
He has accepted my prayer.
He has not held back his love from me.
The Lord Appoints Ezekiel to Speak for Him
2 He said to me, “Son of man, stand up on your feet. I will speak to you.” 2 As he spoke, the Spirit of the Lord came into me. He raised me to my feet. I heard him speaking to me.
3 He said, “Son of man, I am sending you to the people of Israel. That nation has refused to obey me. They have turned against me. They and their people of long ago have been against me to this day. 4 The people I am sending you to are very stubborn. Tell them, ‘Here is what the Lord and King says.’ 5 They might listen, or they might not. After all, they refuse to obey me. But whether they listen or not, they will know that a prophet was among them. 6 Son of man, do not be afraid of them or of what they say. Do not be afraid, even if thorns and bushes are all around you. Do not be afraid, even if you live among scorpions. Do not be afraid of what they say. Do not be terrified by them. They always refuse to obey me. 7 You must give them my message. They might listen, or they might not. After all, they refuse to obey me.
Peter Explains His Actions
11 The apostles and the believers all through Judea heard that Gentiles had also received God’s word. 2 Peter went up to Jerusalem. There the Jewish believers found fault with him. 3 They said, “You went into the house of Gentiles. You ate with them.”
4 Starting from the beginning, Peter told them the whole story. 5 “I was in the city of Joppa praying,” he said. “There I had a vision. I saw something that looked like a large sheet. It was being let down from heaven by its four corners. It came down to where I was. 6 I looked into it and saw four-footed animals of the earth. There were also wild animals, reptiles and birds. 7 Then I heard a voice speaking to me. ‘Get up, Peter,’ the voice said. ‘Kill and eat.’
8 “I replied, ‘No, Lord! I will not! Nothing that is not pure and “clean” has ever entered my mouth.’
9 “A second time the voice spoke from heaven. The voice said, ‘Do not say anything is not pure that God has made “clean.” ’ 10 This happened three times. Then the sheet was pulled up into heaven.
11 “Just then three men stopped at the house where I was staying. They had been sent to me from Caesarea. 12 The Holy Spirit told me not to let anything keep me from going with them. These six brothers here went with me. We entered the man’s house. 13 He told us how he had seen an angel appear in his house. The angel said, ‘Send to Joppa for Simon Peter. 14 He has a message to bring to you. You and your whole family will be saved through it.’
15 “As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit came on them. He came just as he had come on us at the beginning. 16 Then I remembered the Lord’s words. ‘John baptized with water,’ he had said. ‘But you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ 17 God gave them the same gift he gave those of us who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ. So who was I to think that I could stand in God’s way?”
18 When they heard this, they didn’t object anymore. They praised God. They said, “So then, God has allowed even Gentiles to turn away from their sins. He did this so that they could live.”
97 The Lord rules. Let the earth be glad.
Let countries that are far away be full of joy.
2 Clouds and thick darkness surround him.
His rule is built on what is right and fair.
3 The Lord sends fire ahead of him.
It burns up his enemies all around him.
4 His lightning lights up the world.
The earth sees it and trembles.
5 The mountains melt like wax when the Lord is near.
He is the Lord of the whole earth.
6 The heavens announce that what he does is right.
All people everywhere see his glory.
7 All who worship statues of gods or brag about them are put to shame.
All you gods, worship the Lord!
8 Zion hears about it and is filled with joy.
Lord, the villages of Judah are glad
because of how you judge.
9 Lord, you are the Most High God.
You rule over the whole earth.
You are honored much more than all gods.
10 Let those who love the Lord hate evil.
He guards the lives of those who are faithful to him.
He saves them from the power of sinful people.
11 Good things come to those who do what is right.
Joy comes to those whose hearts are honest.
12 You who are godly, be glad because of what the Lord has done.
Praise him, because his name is holy.
A psalm of David.
138 Lord, I will praise you with all my heart.
In front of those who think they are gods
I will sing praise to you.
2 I will bow down facing your holy temple.
I will praise your name,
because you are always loving and faithful.
You have honored your holy word
even more than your own fame.
3 When I called out to you, you answered me.
You made me strong and brave.
4 Lord, may all the kings on earth praise you
when they hear about what you have decided.
5 Lord, may they sing about what you have done,
because your glory is great.
6 Though the Lord is high above all, he cares for the lowly.
Though he is in heaven above, he sees them on earth below.
7 Trouble is all around me,
but you keep me alive.
You reach out your hand to put a stop to the anger of my enemies.
With your powerful right hand you save me.
8 Lord, you will show that I was right to trust you.
Lord, your faithful love continues forever.
You have done so much for us, so don’t stop now.
Paul Is Accepted by the Apostles
2 Then after fourteen years, I went up again to Jerusalem. This time I went with Barnabas. I took Titus along also. 2 I went because God showed me what he wanted me to do. I spoke in private to those who are respected as leaders. I told them the good news that I preach among the Gentiles. I wanted to be sure I wasn’t running my race for no purpose. And I wanted to know that I had not been running my race for no purpose. 3 Titus was with me. He was a Greek. But even he was not forced to be circumcised. 4 This matter came up because some people had slipped in among us. They had pretended to be believers. They wanted to find out about the freedom we have because we belong to Christ Jesus. They wanted to make us slaves again. 5 We didn’t give in to them for a moment. We did this so that the truth of the good news would be kept safe for you.
6 Some people in Jerusalem were thought to be important. But it makes no difference to me what they were. God does not treat people differently. Those people added nothing to my message. 7 In fact, it was just the opposite. They recognized the task I had been trusted with. It was the task of preaching the good news to the Gentiles. My task was like Peter’s task. He had been trusted with the task of preaching to the Jews. 8 God was working in Peter as an apostle to the Jews. God was also working in me as an apostle to the Gentiles. 9 James, Peter and John are respected as pillars in the church. They recognized the special grace given to me. So they shook my hand and the hand of Barnabas. They wanted to show they accepted us. They agreed that we should go to the Gentiles. They would go to the Jews.
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