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
The Burning Bush
3 Now Moses was pasturing the flock of his father-in-law (A)Jethro, the priest of Midian; and he led the flock to the [a]west side of the wilderness and came to (B)Horeb, the (C)mountain of God. 2 Then (D)the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a blazing fire from the midst of [b]a (E)bush; and he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, yet the bush was not being consumed. 3 So Moses said, “(F)I must turn aside and see this [c]marvelous sight, why the bush is not burning up!” 4 When the Lord saw that he turned aside to look, (G)God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” 5 Then He said, “Do not come near here; (H)remove your sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” 6 And He said, “(I)I am the God of your father—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” (J)Then Moses hid his face, for he was (K)afraid to look at God.
7 And the Lord said, “I have certainly (L)seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt, and have heard their outcry because of their taskmasters, for I am aware of their sufferings. 8 So I have come down (M)to rescue them from the [d]power of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land to a (N)good and spacious land, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of (O)the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite. 9 And now, behold, (P)the cry of the sons of Israel has come to Me; furthermore, I have seen the oppression with which the Egyptians are oppressing them.
The Mission of Moses
10 And now come, and I will send you to Pharaoh, (Q)so that you may bring My people, the sons of Israel, out of Egypt.” 11 But Moses said to God, “(R)Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the sons of Israel out of Egypt?” 12 And He said, “Assuredly (S)I will be with you, and this shall be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: (T)when you have brought the people out of Egypt, (U)you shall [e]worship God at this mountain.”
Contrast of Sinai and Zion
18 (A)For you have not come to (B)a mountain that can be touched and to a blazing fire, and to darkness and gloom and whirlwind, 19 and to the (C)blast of a trumpet and the (D)sound of words, which sound was such that those who heard (E)begged that no further word be spoken to them. 20 For they could not [a]cope with the command, “(F)If even an animal touches the mountain, it shall be stoned.” 21 And so terrible was the sight, that Moses said, “(G)I am terrified and trembling.” 22 But (H)you have come to Mount Zion and to (I)the city of (J)the living God, (K)the heavenly Jerusalem, and to (L)myriads of [b]angels, 23 to the general assembly and (M)church of the firstborn who (N)are enrolled in heaven, and to God, (O)the Judge of all, and to the (P)spirits of the righteous made perfect, 24 and to Jesus, the (Q)mediator of a new covenant, and to the (R)sprinkled blood, which speaks better than (S)the blood of Abel.
The Unshaken Kingdom
25 (T)See to it that you do not refuse Him who is (U)speaking. For (V)if those did not escape when they (W)refused him who (X)warned them on earth, [c]much less will we escape who turn away from Him who (Y)warns us from heaven. 26 And (Z)His voice shook the earth then, but now He has promised, saying, “(AA)Yet once more I will shake not only the earth, but also the heaven.” 27 This expression, “Yet once more,” denotes (AB)the removing of those things which can be shaken, as of created things, so that those things which cannot be shaken may remain. 28 Therefore, since we receive a (AC)kingdom which cannot be shaken, let’s [d]show gratitude, by which we may (AD)offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe; 29 for (AE)our God is a consuming fire.
The Joyful Results
17 Now the [a]seventy-two returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even (A)the demons are subject to us [b]in Your name!” 18 And He said to them, “I watched (B)Satan fall from heaven like lightning. 19 Behold, I have given you authority to (C)walk on snakes and scorpions, and authority over all the power of the enemy, and nothing will injure you. 20 Nevertheless, do not [c]rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that (D)your names are recorded in heaven.”
21 (E)At that very [d]time He rejoiced greatly in the Holy Spirit, and said, “I [e]praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to infants. Yes, Father, for doing so was well pleasing in Your sight. 22 (F)All things have been handed over to Me by My Father, and (G)no one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son determines to reveal Him.”
23 (H)Turning to the disciples, He said privately, “Blessed are the eyes that see the things you see; 24 for I tell you that many prophets and kings wanted to see the things that you see, and did not see them, and to hear the things that you hear, and did not hear them.”
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