Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 66[a]
Praise of God, Israel’s Deliverer
1 For the leader. A song; a psalm.
I
2 Shout joyfully to God, all the earth;
sing of his glorious name;
give him glorious praise.(A)
3 Say to God: “How awesome your deeds!
Before your great strength your enemies cringe.
4 All the earth falls in worship before you;(B)
they sing of you, sing of your name!”
Selah
II
5 [b]Come and see the works of God,
awesome in deeds before the children of Adam.
6 He changed the sea to dry land;
through the river they passed on foot.(C)
There we rejoiced in him,
7 who rules by his might forever,
His eyes are fixed upon the nations.
Let no rebel rise to challenge!
Selah
8 Bless our God, you peoples;
loudly sound his praise,
9 Who has kept us alive
and not allowed our feet to slip.(D)
10 You tested us, O God,
tried us as silver tried by fire.(E)
11 You led us into a snare;
you bound us at the waist as captives.
12 [c]You let captors set foot on our neck;
we went through fire and water;
then you led us out to freedom.(F)
III
13 I will bring burnt offerings[d] to your house;
to you I will fulfill my vows,
14 Which my lips pronounced
and my mouth spoke in my distress.
15 Burnt offerings of fatlings I will offer you
and sacrificial smoke of rams;
I will sacrifice oxen and goats.
Selah
16 Come and hear, all you who fear God,
while I recount what has been done for me.
17 I called to him with my mouth;
praise was upon my tongue.
18 Had I cherished evil in my heart,
the Lord would not have heard.
19 But God did hear
and listened to my voice in prayer.
20 Blessed be God, who did not reject my prayer
and refuse his mercy.
Psalm 67[e]
Harvest Thanks and Petition
1 For the leader; with stringed instruments. A psalm; a song.
I
2 May God be gracious to us[f] and bless us;
may his face shine upon us.(G)
Selah
3 So shall your way be known upon the earth,
your victory among all the nations.(H)
4 May the peoples praise you, God;
may all the peoples praise you!
II
5 May the nations be glad and rejoice;
for you judge the peoples with fairness,
you guide the nations upon the earth.(I)
Selah
6 May the peoples praise you, God;
may all the peoples praise you!
III
7 The earth has yielded its harvest;
God, our God, blesses us.(J)
8 May God bless us still;
that the ends of the earth may revere him.
Psalm 19[a]
God’s Glory in the Heavens and in the Law
1 For the leader. A psalm of David.
I
2 The heavens declare the glory of God;
the firmament proclaims the works of his hands.(A)
3 Day unto day pours forth speech;
night unto night whispers knowledge.
4 [b]There is no speech, no words;
their voice is not heard;
5 A report goes forth through all the earth,
their messages, to the ends of the world.
He has pitched in them a tent for the sun;[c]
6 it comes forth like a bridegroom from his canopy,
and like a hero joyfully runs its course.
7 From one end of the heavens it comes forth;
its course runs through to the other;
nothing escapes its heat.
II
8 The law of the Lord is perfect,
refreshing the soul.
The decree of the Lord is trustworthy,
giving wisdom to the simple.(B)
9 The precepts of the Lord are right,
rejoicing the heart.
The command of the Lord is clear,
enlightening the eye.
10 The fear of the Lord is pure,
enduring forever.
The statutes of the Lord are true,
all of them just;
11 More desirable than gold,
than a hoard of purest gold,
Sweeter also than honey
or drippings from the comb.(C)
12 By them your servant is warned;[d]
obeying them brings much reward.
III
13 Who can detect trespasses?
Cleanse me from my inadvertent sins.
14 Also from arrogant ones restrain your servant;
let them never control me.
Then shall I be blameless,
innocent of grave sin.
15 Let the words of my mouth be acceptable,
the thoughts of my heart before you,
Lord, my rock and my redeemer.
Psalm 46[a]
God, the Protector of Zion
1 For the leader. A song of the Korahites. According to alamoth.[b]
I
2 God is our refuge and our strength,
an ever-present help in distress.(A)
3 [c]Thus we do not fear, though earth be shaken
and mountains quake to the depths of the sea,
4 Though its waters rage and foam
and mountains totter at its surging.(B)
Selah
II
5 [d]Streams of the river gladden the city of God,
the holy dwelling of the Most High.(C)
6 God is in its midst; it shall not be shaken;
God will help it at break of day.(D)
7 Though nations rage and kingdoms totter,
he utters his voice and the earth melts.(E)
8 [e]The Lord of hosts is with us;
our stronghold is the God of Jacob.
Selah
III
9 Come and see the works of the Lord,
who has done fearsome deeds on earth;(F)
10 Who stops wars to the ends of the earth,
breaks the bow, splinters the spear,
and burns the shields with fire;(G)
11 (H)“Be still and know that I am God!
I am exalted among the nations,
exalted on the earth.”
12 The Lord of hosts is with us;
our stronghold is the God of Jacob.
Selah
Chapter 13
Amnon’s Rape of Tamar. 1 After this, the following occurred. David’s son Absalom had a beautiful sister named Tamar, and David’s son Amnon loved her.(A) 2 He was in such anguish over his sister Tamar that he became sick; she was a virgin, and Amnon thought it impossible to do anything to her. 3 Now Amnon had a friend named Jonadab, son of David’s brother Shimeah, who was very clever.[a](B) 4 He asked him, “Prince, why are you so dejected morning after morning? Why not tell me?” So Amnon said to him, “I am in love with Tamar, my brother Absalom’s sister.” 5 Then Jonadab replied, “Lie down on your bed and pretend to be sick. When your father comes to visit you, say to him, ‘Please let my sister Tamar come and encourage me to take food. If she prepares something in my presence, for me to see, I will eat it from her hand.’” 6 So Amnon lay down and pretended to be sick. When the king came to visit him, Amnon said to the king, “Please let my sister Tamar come and prepare some fried cakes before my eyes, that I may take food from her hand.”
7 David then sent home a message to Tamar, “Please go to the house of your brother Amnon and prepare some food for him.” 8 Tamar went to the house of her brother Amnon, who was in bed. Taking dough and kneading it, she twisted it into cakes before his eyes and fried the cakes. 9 Then she took the pan and set out the cakes before him. But Amnon would not eat; he said, “Have everyone leave me.” When they had all left him, 10 Amnon said to Tamar, “Bring the food into the bedroom, that I may have it from your hand.” So Tamar picked up the cakes she had prepared and brought them to her brother Amnon in the bedroom. 11 But when she brought them close to him so he could eat, he seized her and said to her, “Come! Lie with me, my sister!” 12 But she answered him, “No, my brother! Do not force me! This is not done in Israel. Do not commit this terrible crime.(C) 13 Where would I take my shame? And you would be labeled a fool in Israel.[b] So please, speak to the king; he will not keep me from you.”(D) 14 But he would not listen to her; he was too strong for her: he forced her down and raped her. 15 Then Amnon felt intense hatred for her; the hatred he felt for her far surpassed the love he had had for her. Amnon said to her, “Get up, leave.” 16 She replied, “No, brother, because sending me away would be far worse than this evil thing you have done to me.” He would not listen to her, 17 but called the youth who was his attendant and said, “Send this girl outside, away from me, and bar the door after her.” 18 Now she had on a long tunic, for that is how virgin princesses dressed in olden days. When his attendant put her out and barred the door after her, 19 Tamar put ashes on her head and tore the long tunic in which she was clothed. Then, putting her hands to her head, she went away crying loudly. 20 Her brother Absalom said to her: “Has your brother Amnon been with you? Keep still now, my sister; he is your brother. Do not take this so to heart.” So Tamar remained, devastated, in the house of her brother Absalom. 21 King David, when he heard of the whole affair, became very angry. He would not, however, antagonize Amnon, his high-spirited son; he loved him, because he was his firstborn. 22 And Absalom said nothing, good or bad, to Amnon; but Absalom hated Amnon for having humiliated his sister Tamar.
Chapter 15
Patience and Self-Denial. 1 We who are strong ought to put up with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves;(A) 2 let each of us please our neighbor for the good, for building up.(B) 3 For Christ did not please himself; but, as it is written,(C) “The insults of those who insult you fall upon me.”[a] 4 For whatever was written previously was written for our instruction, that by endurance and by the encouragement of the scriptures we might have hope.(D) 5 May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to think in harmony[b] with one another, in keeping with Christ Jesus,(E) 6 that with one accord you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
God’s Fidelity and Mercy.[c] 7 Welcome one another, then, as Christ welcomed you, for the glory of God.(F) 8 For I say that Christ became a minister of the circumcised to show God’s truthfulness, to confirm the promises to the patriarchs,(G) 9 but so that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written:
“Therefore, I will praise you among the Gentiles
and sing praises to your name.”(H)
10 And again it says:(I)
“Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people.”[d]
11 And again:
“Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles,
and let all the peoples praise him.”(J)
12 And again Isaiah says:
“The root of Jesse shall come,
raised up to rule the Gentiles;
in him shall the Gentiles hope.”(K)
13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the holy Spirit.(L)
Final Witness of the Baptist. 22 [a]After this, Jesus and his disciples went into the region of Judea, where he spent some time with them baptizing.(A) 23 John was also baptizing in Aenon near Salim,[b] because there was an abundance of water there, and people came to be baptized, 24 [c](B)for John had not yet been imprisoned. 25 Now a dispute arose between the disciples of John and a Jew[d] about ceremonial washings. 26 So they came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, the one who was with you across the Jordan, to whom you testified, here he is baptizing and everyone is coming to him.”(C) 27 John answered and said, “No one can receive anything except what has been given him from heaven.(D) 28 You yourselves can testify that I said [that] I am not the Messiah, but that I was sent before him.(E) 29 The one who has the bride is the bridegroom; the best man,[e] who stands and listens to him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice. So this joy of mine has been made complete.(F) 30 He must increase; I must decrease.”(G)
The One from Heaven.[f] 31 The one who comes from above is above all. The one who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of earthly things. But the one who comes from heaven [is above all].(H) 32 He testifies to what he has seen and heard, but no one accepts his testimony.(I) 33 Whoever does accept his testimony certifies that God is trustworthy.(J) 34 For the one whom God sent speaks the words of God. He does not ration his gift[g] of the Spirit. 35 The Father loves the Son and has given everything over to him.(K) 36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever disobeys the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God remains upon him.(L)
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.