Book of Common Prayer
To the director: A song of praise.
66 Everything on earth, shout with joy to God!
2 Praise his glorious name!
Honor him with songs of praise!
3 Tell God, “Your works are wonderful!
Your great power makes your enemies bow down in fear before you.
4 Let the whole world worship you.
Let everyone sing praises to your name.” Selah
5 Look at what God has done!
These things amaze us.
6 He changed the sea to dry land,[a]
and his people went across the water[b] on foot.
So let’s celebrate because of what he has done!
7 He rules the world with his great power.
He watches people everywhere.
No one can rebel against him. Selah
8 People, praise our God.
Sing loud songs of praise to him.
9 He continues to give us life,
and he keeps us from falling.
10 God, you have tested us, as people test silver with fire.
11 You let us be trapped.
You put heavy burdens on us.
12 You let our enemies run over us.
We went through fire and water,
but you brought us to a safe place.
13-14 So I bring sacrifices to your Temple.
When I was in trouble, I asked for help
and made promises to you.
Now I am giving you what I promised.
15 I bring my best sheep as burnt offerings.
I offer the smoke from them up to you.
I give you sacrifices of bulls and goats. Selah
16 All you people who worship God,
come and I will tell you what he has done for me.
17-18 I cried out to him for help,
and I praised him.
If I had been hiding sin in my heart,
the Lord would not have listened to me.
19 But God did listen to me;
he heard my prayer.
20 Praise God!
He did not turn away from me—he listened to my prayer.
He continues to show his love to me!
To the director: With instruments. A song of praise.
67 God, show mercy to us and bless us.
Please accept us! Selah
2 Let everyone on earth learn about you.
Let every nation see how you save people.
3 May people praise you, God!
May all people praise you.
4 May all nations rejoice and be happy
because you judge people fairly.
You rule over every nation.
5 May the people praise you, God!
May all people praise you.
6 God, our God, bless us.
Let our land give us a great harvest.
7 May God bless us,
and may all people on earth fear and respect him.
To the director: A song of David.
19 The heavens tell about the glory of God.
The skies announce what his hands have made.
2 Each new day tells more of the story,
and each night reveals more and more about God’s power.[a]
3 You cannot hear them say anything.
They don’t make any sound we can hear.
4 But their message goes throughout the world.
Their teaching reaches the ends of the earth.
The sun’s tent is set up in the heavens.
5 It comes out like a happy bridegroom from his bedroom.
It begins its path across the sky
like an athlete eager to run a race.
6 It starts at one end of the sky
and runs all the way to the other end.
Nothing can hide from its heat.
7 The Lord’s teachings are perfect.
They give strength to his people.
The Lord’s rules can be trusted.
They help even the foolish become wise.
8 The Lord’s laws are right.
They make people happy.
The Lord’s commands are good.
They show people the right way to live.
9 Learning respect for the Lord is good.
It will last forever.
The Lord’s judgments are right.
They are completely fair.
10 His teachings are worth more than pure gold.
They are sweeter than the best honey dripping from the honeycomb.
11 His teachings warn his servants,
and good things come to those who obey them.
12 People cannot see their own mistakes,
so don’t let me commit secret sins.
13 Don’t let me do what I know is wrong.
Don’t let sin control me.
If you help me, I can be pure
and free from sin.
14 May my words and thoughts please you.
Lord, you are my Rock—the one who rescues me.
To the director: A song from the Korah family. Use the alamoth.[a] A song.
46 God is our protection and source of strength.
He is always ready to help us in times of trouble.
2 So we are not afraid when the earth quakes
and the mountains fall into the sea.
3 We are not afraid when the seas become rough and dark
and the mountains tremble. Selah
4 There is a river whose streams bring happiness to God’s city,
to the holy city of God Most High.
5 God is in that city, so it will never be destroyed.
He is there to help even before sunrise.
6 Nations will shake with fear and kingdoms will fall
when God shouts and makes the earth move.
7 The Lord All-Powerful is with us.
The God of Jacob is our place of safety. Selah
8 Look at the powerful things the Lord has done.
See the awesome things he has done on earth.
9 He stops wars all over the world.
He breaks the soldiers’ bows, shatters their spears, and burns their shields.[b]
10 God says, “Stop fighting and know that I am God!
I am the one who defeats the nations;
I am the one who controls the world.”
11 The Lord All-Powerful is with us.
The God of Jacob is our place of safety. Selah
Hoshea Begins His Rule Over Israel
17 Hoshea son of Elah began to rule in Samaria over Israel. This was during the 12th year that Ahaz was king of Judah. Hoshea ruled nine years. 2 He did what the Lord said was wrong, but he was not as bad as the kings of Israel who had ruled before him.
3 King Shalmaneser of Assyria came to fight against Hoshea and defeated him. So Hoshea paid tribute to Shalmaneser.
4 Later, Hoshea sent messengers to the king of Egypt to ask for help. That king’s name was So. That year Hoshea did not pay tribute to the king of Assyria as he did every other year. The king of Assyria learned that Hoshea had made plans against him. So he arrested Hoshea and put him in jail.
5 The king of Assyria attacked many places in Israel. Then he came to Samaria and fought against it for three years. 6 The king of Assyria took Samaria during the ninth year that Hoshea was king of Israel. He captured many Israelites and took them as prisoners to Assyria. He made them live in Halah by the Habor River at Gozan and in other cities of the Medes.
7 These things happened because the Israelites had sinned against the Lord their God. And it was the Lord who brought the Israelites out of the land of Egypt! He saved them from the power of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. But the Israelites began worshiping other gods. 8 They began doing the same things that other people did. And the Lord had forced those people to leave their land when the Israelites came. The Israelites also chose to be ruled by kings. 9 The Israelites secretly did things against the Lord their God, and those things were wrong!
The Israelites built high places in all their cities—from the smallest town to the largest city. 10 They put up memorial stones and Asherah poles on every high hill and under every green tree. 11 They burned incense there in all those places for worship.[a] They did these things like the nations that the Lord forced out of the land before them. The Israelites did evil things that made the Lord angry. 12 They served idols, and the Lord had said to them, “You must not do this.”
13 The Lord used every prophet and every seer to warn Israel and Judah. He said, “Turn away from the evil things you do. Obey my commands and laws. Follow all the law that I gave to your ancestors. I used my servants the prophets to give this law to you.”
14 But the people would not listen. They were very stubborn like their ancestors. Their ancestors did not believe the Lord their God. 15 They refused to follow his laws and the agreement he made with their ancestors. They would not listen to his warnings. They worshiped idols that were worth nothing and they themselves became worth nothing. The Lord had warned them not to do the evil things that the people in the nations around them did. But they lived the same way those people lived.
16 The people stopped following the commands of the Lord their God. They made two gold statues of calves. They made Asherah poles. They worshiped all the stars of heaven and served Baal. 17 They sacrificed their sons and daughters in the fire. They used magic and witchcraft to try to learn the future. They sold themselves to do what the Lord said was evil. They did this to make him angry. 18 So the Lord became very angry with Israel and removed them from his sight. There were no Israelites left, except the tribe of Judah.
36 In the city of Joppa there was a follower of Jesus named Tabitha. Her Greek name, Dorcas, means “a deer.” She was always doing good things for people and giving money to those in need. 37 While Peter was in Lydda, Tabitha became sick and died. They washed her body and put it in an upstairs room. 38 The followers in Joppa heard that Peter was in Lydda, which was not far away. So they sent two men, who begged him, “Hurry, please come quickly!”
39 Peter got ready and went with them. When he arrived, they took him to the upstairs room. All the widows stood around him. They were crying and showing him the coats and other clothes that Tabitha had made during her time with them. 40 Peter sent all the people out of the room. He knelt down and prayed. Then he turned to Tabitha’s body and said, “Tabitha, stand up!” She opened her eyes. When she saw Peter, she sat up. 41 He gave her his hand and helped her stand up. Then he called the believers and the widows into the room. He showed them Tabitha; she was alive!
42 People everywhere in Joppa learned about this, and many believed in the Lord. 43 Peter stayed in Joppa for many days at the home of a man named Simon, who was a leatherworker.
Jesus Chooses Some Followers(A)
5 As Jesus stood beside Lake Galilee,[a] a crowd of people pushed to get closer to him and to hear the teachings of God. 2 Jesus saw two boats at the shore of the lake. The fishermen were washing their nets. 3 Jesus got into the boat that belonged to Simon. He asked Simon to push off a little from the shore. Then he sat down in the boat and taught the people on the shore.
4 When Jesus finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Take the boat into the deep water. If all of you will put your nets into the water, you will catch some fish.”
5 Simon answered, “Master, we worked hard all night trying to catch fish and caught nothing. But you say I should put the nets into the water, so I will.” 6 The fishermen put their nets into the water. Their nets were filled with so many fish that they began to break. 7 They called to their friends in the other boat to come and help them. The friends came, and both boats were filled so full of fish that they were almost sinking.
8-9 The fishermen were all amazed at the many fish they caught. When Simon Peter saw this, he bowed down before Jesus and said, “Go away from me, Lord. I am a sinful man!” 10 James and John, the sons of Zebedee, were amazed too. (James and John worked together with Simon.)
Jesus said to Simon, “Don’t be afraid. From now on your work will be to bring in people, not fish!”
11 The men brought their boats to the shore. They left everything and followed Jesus.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International