Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 66[a]
Thanksgiving for God’s Deliverance
1 For the director.[b] A song. A psalm.
Shout joyfully to God, all the earth;[c]
2 sing to the glory of his name;[d]
offer to him glorious praise.
3 Say to God: “How awesome are your deeds!
Because of your great power,
your enemies grovel before you.
4 The whole earth bows down in worship before you,
singing praises to you,
singing praises to your name.” Selah
5 Come and behold[e] the works of God,
the awesome deeds he has done for people.
6 He changed the sea into dry land;
they crossed the river[f] on foot.
There we rejoiced in him,
7 for he rules forever by his power.
His eyes keep watch over the nations
so that the rebellious not exalt themselves. Selah
8 [g]Bless our God, all you peoples;
let the sound of his praise be heard.
9 For he has preserved our lives[h]
and has kept our feet from stumbling.
10 For you, O God, have put us to the test;
you have purified us as silver is refined.
11 [i]You allowed us to be snared in the net
and placed heavy burdens on our backs.
12 You let our captors ride over our heads,[j]
and we went through fire and water,
but now you have afforded us relief.
13 [k]I will enter your house with burnt offerings
and carry out my vows to you,
14 the vows that my lips pronounced
and my mouth promised when I was in distress.
15 I will offer burnt offerings of fat animals
with the smoke of burning rams;
I will sacrifice to you bulls and goats. Selah
16 Come and listen, all you who fear God,
while I relate what he has done for me.
17 [l]I lifted up my voice in prayer to him;
his praise[m] was on my tongue.
18 [n]If I had harbored evil in my heart,
the Lord would not have listened.
19 But God truly did listen,
and he was attentive to the words of my prayer.
20 Blessed[o] be God,
because he did not reject my prayer
or withhold his kindness from me.
Psalm 67[p]
Prayer That All May Worship God
1 For the director.[q] With stringed instruments. A psalm. A song.
2 O God, be gracious to us and bless us
and let your face shine upon us.[r] Selah
3 [s]Then your ways will be known on earth
and your salvation among all nations.
4 Let the peoples praise you, O God;
let all the peoples praise you.
5 Let the nations rejoice and exult,
for you judge the peoples fairly
and guide the nations upon the earth.[t] Selah
6 Let the peoples praise you, O God;
let all the peoples praise you.
7 The earth has yielded its harvest;
God, our God, has blessed us.
8 May God continue to bless us
and be revered to the ends of the earth.
Psalm 19[a]
God’s Glory in Creation
1 For the director.[b] A psalm of David.
2 [c]The heavens proclaim the glory of God;
the firmament shows forth the work of his hands.
3 One day imparts that message to the next,
and night conveys that knowledge to night.
4 All this occurs without speech or utterance;
no voice can be heard.
5 [d]Yet their message goes forth throughout the earth,
and their words to the ends of the world.
[e]In the heavens he has placed a tent for the sun,
6 which comes forth like a bridegroom from his wedding chamber,
rejoicing like an athlete who runs his course.
7 It rises from one end of the heavens,
and its circuit is completed at the other;
nothing can be hidden from its heat.
8 The law of the Lord is perfect,
affording refreshment to the soul.
The decree of the Lord is worthy of trust,
imparting wisdom to the simple.[f]
9 The precepts of the Lord are right,
causing the heart[g] to rejoice.
The commands of the Lord are clear,
giving light to the eyes.
10 The fear of the Lord[h] is pure,
destined to endure forever.
The ordinances of the Lord are true,
and all of them are just.
11 They are even more precious than gold,
than an abundance of the purest gold;
they are also sweeter than honey
that drips from the comb.[i]
12 [j]By these your servant is instructed;
obedience in following them will ensure a great reward.
13 But who can fully recognize his shortcomings?
Cleanse me of my hidden faults.
14 From willful sins preserve your servant;
never let them gain power over me.
Then I will be blameless
and innocent of serious sin.
15 Let the words of my mouth and the thoughts of my heart[k]
find favor in your sight,
O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.
Psalm 46[a]
God, Refuge of His People
1 For the director.[b] A song of the sons of Korah. According to alamoth.
2 [c]God is our refuge and our strength,
a well-proved help in times of trouble.[d]
3 Therefore, we will not be afraid, though the earth be shaken
and the mountains tumble into the depths of the sea,
4 though its waters rage and seethe
and the mountains tremble at the upheaval.
The Lord of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.[e] Selah
5 There is a river[f] whose streams bring joy to the city of God,
the holy place where the Most High dwells.
6 God is in her midst; she will not be overcome;
God will help her at break of dawn.[g]
7 The nations are in tumult and kingdoms fall;
when he raises his voice,[h] the earth melts away.
8 The Lord of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah
9 Come and behold the works of the Lord,
the astonishing deeds he has wrought on the earth.
10 He puts an end to wars all over the earth;
he breaks the bow and snaps the spear,
and he burns the shields with flames.[i]
11 “Be still and acknowledge that I am God,
exalted among the nations,
exalted on the earth.”[j]
12 The Lord of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah
2 The people of Judah and of Israel
shall be gathered together.
They will choose one person to be their leader,
and they shall enlarge their boundaries,
for great will be the day of Jezreel.
3 Say to your brothers, “You are my people,”
and to your sisters, “You are beloved.”
Repudiation and Return to First Love[a]
I Shall Strip Her Bare[b]
4 Insist that your mother repent,[c]
for she is no longer my wife,
and I am not her husband.
If she does not cease her harlotry
and the use of her breasts in adulterous acts,
5 I shall strip her bare,[d]
leaving her as naked as the day she was born.
I shall make her as barren as the wilderness
and as parched as the desert,
leaving her to die of thirst.
6 Nor will I feel any pity for her children,
since they are the offspring of adultery.
7 Yes, their mother has been a whore;
she who conceived them has acted shamefully.
For she said, “I will go after my lovers;
they will supply me with my bread and my water,
my wool and my flax, my oil and my drink.”
8 That is why I will block her path with thornbushes
and erect a wall to hinder her,
so that she cannot proceed on her journey.
9 Although she pursues her lovers,[e]
she will not be able to overtake them.
If she looks for them,
she will not find them.
Finally she will say,
“I will return to my first husband,
since I was far better off then than I am now.”
10 She has never realized
that I was the one who gave her
the grain, the wine, and the oil,
and who lavished upon her the silver and gold
that they used for Baal.
11 For this reason I intend to take back
my grain when it is ready for the harvest
and my new wine during the time of vintage.
And I will retrieve the wool and the flax
with which her nakedness was to be covered.
12 Now I will reveal her lewdness
before the eyes of her lovers,
and no one shall rescue her from my hands.
13 I will put an end to all her merrymaking,
her festivals, her new moons, and her sabbaths,
and all of her solemn festivals.
14 I will lay waste her vines and her fig trees,
about which she said,
“These are the payment
I have received from my lovers.”
I shall allow them to grow wild,
and ferocious beasts will devour them.
Exhortation To Practice Christian Living
Chapter 3
Avoid Faults of the Tongue.[a] 1 My brethren, not many of you should become teachers, for you know that we will face a more severe judgment. 2 For all of us fall short in many ways. Anyone who never makes a mistake in speech has reached perfection[b] and is able to control every part of his body.
3 When we put a bit into a horse’s mouth to make it obey us, we also guide its entire body. 4 Or think of ships. Even though they are large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder on whatever course the helmsman chooses. 5 In the same way, the tongue is a small member but its pretensions are great.
Consider how a small fire can set ablaze a great forest. 6 And the tongue is also a fire, a world of evil that infects the entire body. It sets afire the entire course of our existence and is itself set on fire by Gehenna.
7 For every species of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by man, 8 but no one can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. 9 With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God.[c]
10 Out of the same mouth flow blessings and curses. This should not be so, my brethren. 11 Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water? 12 Can a fig tree, my brethren, produce olives or can a grapevine produce figs? Neither can salt water yield fresh water.
13 True Wisdom and Its Opposite.[d] Who among you is wise and understanding? Prove by your good life that your works are done with the humility that comes from wisdom.
44 The Parables of the Hidden Treasure and the Pearl.[a]“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure buried in a field, which a man found and buried again. Then in his joy he went off and sold everything he had and bought that field.
45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant searching for fine pearls. 46 When he found one of great value, he went off and sold everything he had and bought it.
47 The Parable of the Net.[b]“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net cast into the sea where it caught fish of every kind. 48 When it was full, they hauled it ashore. Then they sat down and collected the good fish into baskets but discarded those that were worthless. 49 Thus will it be at the end of the world. The angels will go forth and separate the wicked from the righteous 50 and throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
51 Conclusion.[c]“Have you understood all this?” he asked. They answered, “Yes.” 52 Then he said to them, “Therefore, every teacher of the law who has been instructed about the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings forth from his storeroom new treasures as well as old.”
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