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
14 We found some believers there, who asked us to stay with them a week. Finally, we came to Rome. 15 The brothers and sisters in Rome heard about us and came out to meet us at the Market of Appius[a] and at the Three Inns.[b] When Paul saw these believers, he thanked God and felt encouraged.
Paul in Rome
16 When we came to Rome, Paul was allowed to live alone. But a soldier stayed with him to guard him.
17 Three days later Paul sent for some of the most important Jews. When they came together, he said, “My brothers, I have done nothing against our people or against the customs of our fathers. But I was arrested in Jerusalem and handed over to the Romans. 18 They asked me many questions, but they could not find any reason why I should be put to death. So they wanted to let me go free. 19 But the Jews there did not want that. So I had to ask to come to Rome to have my trial before Caesar. That doesn’t mean I am accusing my people of doing anything wrong. 20 That is why I wanted to see you and talk with you. I am bound with this chain because I believe in the hope of Israel.”
21 The Jews answered Paul, “We have received no letters from Judea about you. None of our Jewish brothers who have traveled from there brought news about you or told us anything bad about you. 22 We want to hear your ideas. We know that people everywhere are speaking against this new group.”
23 Paul and the Jews chose a day for a meeting. On that day many more of these Jews met with Paul at his house. He spoke to them all day long, explaining God’s kingdom to them. He used the Law of Moses and the writings of the prophets to persuade them to believe in Jesus.
True Wealth
16 Jesus said to his followers, “Once there was a rich man. He hired a manager to take care of his business. Later, he learned that his manager was cheating him. 2 So he called the manager in and said to him, ‘I have heard bad things about you. Give me a report of what you have done with my money. You can’t be my manager anymore.’
3 “So, the manager thought to himself, ‘What will I do? My master is taking my job away from me. I am not strong enough to dig ditches. I am too proud to beg. 4 I know what I will do! I will do something to make friends, so that when I lose my job, they will welcome me into their homes.’
5 “So the manager called in each person who owed the master some money. He asked the first one, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ 6 He answered, ‘I owe him 100 jars[a] of olive oil.’ The manager said to him, ‘Here is your bill. Hurry! Sit down and make the bill less. Write 50 jars.’
7 “Then the manager asked another one, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ He answered, ‘I owe him 100 measures[b] of wheat.’ Then the manager said to him, ‘Here is your bill; you can make it less. Write 80 measures.’
8 “Later, the master told the dishonest manager that he had done a smart thing. Yes, worldly people are smarter in their business with each other than spiritual people are.
9 “I tell you, use the worldly things you have now to make ‘friends’ for later. Then, when those things are gone, you will be welcomed into a home that lasts forever. 10 Whoever can be trusted with small things can also be trusted with big things. Whoever is dishonest in little things will be dishonest in big things too. 11 If you cannot be trusted with worldly riches, you will not be trusted with the true riches. 12 And if you cannot be trusted with the things that belong to someone else, you will not be given anything of your own.
13 “You cannot serve two masters at the same time. You will hate one master and love the other. Or you will be loyal to one and not care about the other. You cannot serve God and Money[c] at the same time.”
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International