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.
2 “Contend with your mother, (A)contend,
For she is (B)not my wife, and I am not her husband;
And let her put away her (C)harlotry from her face
And her adultery from between her breasts,
3 Or I will strip her (D)naked
And expose her as on the (E)day when she was born.
I will also (F)make her like a wilderness,
Make her like desert land
And slay her with (G)thirst.
4 “Also, I will have no compassion on her children,
Because they are (H)children of harlotry.
5 “For their mother has (I)played the harlot;
She who conceived them has acted shamefully.
For she said, ‘(J)I will go after my lovers,
Who (K)give me my bread and my water,
My wool and my flax, my (L)oil and my drink.’
6 “Therefore, behold, I will (M)hedge up [a]her way with (N)thorns,
And I will build [b]a wall against her so that she cannot find her (O)paths.
7 “She will (P)pursue her lovers, but she will not overtake them;
And she will seek them, but will not find them.
Then she will say, ‘(Q)I will go back to my (R)first husband,
For it was (S)better for me then than now!’
8 “For she does (T)not know that it was (U)I who gave her the grain, the new wine and the oil,
And lavished on her silver and gold,
Which they [c]used for Baal.
9 “Therefore, I will (V)take back My grain at [d]harvest time
And My new wine in its season.
I will also take away My wool and My flax
Given to cover her nakedness.
10 “And then I will (W)uncover her lewdness
In the sight of her lovers,
And no one will rescue her out of My hand.
11 “I will also (X)put an end to all her gaiety,
Her (Y)feasts, her (Z)new moons, her sabbaths
And all her festal assemblies.
12 “I will (AA)destroy her vines and fig trees,
Of which she said, ‘These are my wages
Which my lovers have given me.’
And I will (AB)make them a forest,
And the (AC)beasts of the field will devour them.
13 “I will punish her for the (AD)days of the Baals
When she used to [e](AE)offer sacrifices to them
And (AF)adorn herself with her [f]earrings and jewelry,
And follow her lovers, so that she (AG)forgot Me,” declares the Lord.
Restoration of Israel
The Tongue Is a Fire
3 (A)Let not many of you become teachers, (B)my brethren, knowing that as such we will incur a [a]stricter judgment. 2 For we all (C)stumble in many ways. (D)If anyone does not stumble in [b]what he says, he is a (E)perfect man, able to (F)bridle the whole body as well. 3 Now (G)if we put the bits into the horses’ mouths so that they will obey us, we direct their entire body as well. 4 Look at the ships also, though they are so great and are driven by strong winds, are still directed by a very small rudder wherever the inclination of the pilot desires. 5 So also the tongue is a small part of the body, and yet it (H)boasts of great things.
(I)See how great a forest is set aflame by such a small fire! 6 And (J)the tongue is a fire, the very world of iniquity; the tongue is set among our members as that which (K)defiles the entire body, and sets on fire the course of our [c]life, and is set on fire by [d](L)hell. 7 For every [e]species of beasts and birds, of reptiles and creatures of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by the human [f]race. 8 But no one can tame the tongue; it is a restless evil and full of (M)deadly poison. 9 With it we bless (N)our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, (O)who have been made in the likeness of God; 10 from the same mouth come both blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be this way. 11 Does a fountain send out from the same opening both [g]fresh and bitter water? 12 (P)Can a fig tree, my brethren, produce olives, or a vine produce figs? Nor can salt water produce [h]fresh.
Wisdom from Above
13 Who among you is wise and understanding? (Q)Let him show by his (R)good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom.
Hidden Treasure
44 “(A)The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from joy over it he goes and (B)sells all that he has and buys that field.
A Costly Pearl
45 “Again, (C)the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls, 46 and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.
A Dragnet
47 “Again, (D)the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet cast into the sea, and gathering fish of every kind; 48 and when it was filled, they drew it up on the beach; and they sat down and gathered the good fish into containers, but the bad they threw away. 49 So it will be at (E)the [a]end of the age; the angels will come forth and [b]take out the wicked from among the righteous, 50 and (F)will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place (G)there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
51 “Have you understood all these things?” They *said to Him, “Yes.” 52 And [c]Jesus said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has become a disciple of the kingdom of heaven is like a head of a household, who brings out of his treasure things new and old.”
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.