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
Amnon and Tamar
13 Now it was after this that (A)Absalom the son of David had a beautiful sister whose name was (B)Tamar, and (C)Amnon the son of David was in love with her. 2 But Amnon was so frustrated on account of his sister Tamar that he made himself ill, for she was a virgin, and it [a]seemed too difficult to Amnon to do anything to her. 3 But Amnon had a friend whose name was Jonadab, the son of [b](D)Shimeah, David’s brother; and Jonadab was a very clever man. 4 And he said to him, “Why are you, the king’s son, so depressed morning after morning? Will you not tell me?” So Amnon said to him, “I am in love with Tamar, the sister of my brother Absalom.” 5 Jonadab then said to him, “Lie down on your bed and pretend to be ill; when your father comes to see you, say to him, ‘Please have my sister Tamar come and give me food to eat, and have her prepare the [c]food in my sight, so that I may see it and eat from her hand.’” 6 So Amnon lay down and pretended to be ill; when the king came to see him, Amnon said to the king, “Please have my sister Tamar come and (E)make me a couple of pastries in my sight, so that I may eat from her hand.”
7 Then David sent a messenger to the house for Tamar, saying, “Go now to your brother Amnon’s house, and prepare [d]food for him.” 8 So Tamar went to her brother Amnon’s house, and he was lying in bed. And she took dough, kneaded it, made pastries in his sight, and baked the pastries. 9 Then she took the tray and served them to him, but he refused to eat. And Amnon said, “(F)Have everyone leave me.” So everyone left him. 10 Then Amnon said to Tamar, “Bring the food into the [e]bedroom, so that I may eat from your hand.” So Tamar took the pastries which she had made and brought them into the bedroom to her brother Amnon. 11 When she brought them to him to eat, he (G)took hold of her and said to her, “Come, sleep with me, my sister.” 12 But she said to him, “No, my brother, do not violate me, for (H)such a thing is not done in Israel; do not do this (I)disgraceful sin! 13 As for me, where could I [f]get rid of my shame? And as for you, you will be like one of the [g]fools in Israel. Now then, please speak to the king, for (J)he will not [h]withhold me from you.” 14 However, he would not listen to [i]her; since he was stronger than she, he (K)violated her and slept with her.
15 Then Amnon hated her with a very great hatred; indeed, the hatred with which he hated her was greater than the love with which he had loved her. And Amnon said to her, “Get up, go away!” 16 But she said to him, “No, because this wrong in sending me away is greater than the other that you have done to me!” Yet he would not listen to her. 17 Then he called his young man who attended him and said, “Now throw this woman out of my presence, and lock the door behind her!” 18 Now she had on (L)a [j]long-sleeved garment; for this is how the virgin daughters of the king dressed themselves in robes. Then his attendant took her out and locked the door behind her. 19 (M)Tamar took ashes and put them on her head, and (N)tore her [k]long-sleeved garment which was on her; and (O)she put her hand on her head and went on her way, crying out as she went.
20 Then Absalom her brother said to her, “Has Amnon your brother been with you? But now keep silent, my sister, he is your brother; do not take this matter to heart.” So Tamar remained and was isolated in her brother Absalom’s house. 21 Now when King David heard about all these matters, he became very angry. 22 But Absalom did not speak with Amnon (P)either good or bad; for (Q)Absalom hated Amnon because he had violated his sister Tamar.
Self-denial in behalf of Others
15 Now we who are strong ought to bear the weaknesses of (A)those without strength, and not just please ourselves. 2 Each of us is to (B)please his neighbor [a]for his good, to his (C)edification. 3 For even (D)Christ did not please Himself, but as it is written: “(E)The taunts of those who taunt You have fallen on Me.” 4 For (F)whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. 5 Now may the (G)God [b]who gives perseverance and encouragement grant you (H)to be of the same mind with one another, according to Christ Jesus, 6 so that with one purpose and one [c]voice you may glorify (I)the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
7 Therefore, [d](J)accept one another, just as Christ also accepted [e]us, for the glory of God. 8 For I say that Christ has become a servant to (K)the circumcision in behalf of the truth of God, to confirm (L)the promises given to the fathers, 9 and for (M)the Gentiles to (N)glorify God for His mercy; as it is written:
“(O)Therefore I will [f]give praise to You among the Gentiles,
And I will sing praises to Your name.”
10 Again he says,
“(P)Rejoice, you Gentiles, with His people.”
11 And again,
“(Q)Praise the Lord all you Gentiles,
And let all the peoples praise Him.”
12 Again Isaiah says,
“(R)There shall come (S)the root of Jesse,
And He who arises to rule over the Gentiles,
(T)In Him will the Gentiles hope.”
13 Now may the God of hope fill you with all (U)joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope (V)by the power of the Holy Spirit.
John the Baptist’s Last Testimony
22 After these things Jesus and His (A)disciples came into the land of Judea; and there He was spending time with them and (B)baptizing. 23 Now John also was baptizing in Aenon, near Salim, because there was an abundance of water there; and people were coming and being baptized— 24 for (C)John had not yet been thrown into prison.
25 Then a matter of dispute developed on the part of John’s disciples with a Jew about [a](D)purification. 26 And they came to John and said to him, “(E)Rabbi, He who was with you (F)beyond the Jordan, to whom you (G)have testified—behold, He is baptizing and all the people are coming to Him.” 27 John replied, “(H)A person can receive not even one thing unless it (I)has been given to him from heaven. 28 You yourselves [b]are my witnesses that I said, ‘(J)I am not the [c]Christ,’ but, ‘I have been sent ahead of Him.’ 29 He who has the bride is (K)the groom; but the friend of the groom, who stands and listens to him, rejoices greatly because of the groom’s voice. So this (L)joy of mine has been made full. 30 He must [d]increase, but I must [e]decrease.
31 “(M)He who comes from above is above all; (N)the one who is only from the earth is of the earth and speaks of the earth. (O)He who comes from heaven is above all. 32 What He has seen and heard, of this He (P)testifies; and (Q)no one accepts His testimony. 33 The one who has accepted His testimony (R)has certified that God is true. 34 For He whom God (S)sent speaks the words of God; (T)for He does not give the Spirit [f]sparingly. 35 (U)The Father loves the Son and (V)has entrusted all things to His hand. 36 The one who (W)believes in the Son has eternal life; but the one who (X)does not [g]obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.”
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