Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 66
For the director of music. A song. A psalm.
1 Shout for joy to God, all the earth!(A)
2 Sing the glory of his name;(B)
make his praise glorious.(C)
3 Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds!(D)
So great is your power
that your enemies cringe(E) before you.
4 All the earth bows down(F) to you;
they sing praise(G) to you,
they sing the praises of your name.”[a]
5 Come and see what God has done,
his awesome deeds(H) for mankind!
6 He turned the sea into dry land,(I)
they passed through(J) the waters on foot—
come, let us rejoice(K) in him.
7 He rules forever(L) by his power,
his eyes watch(M) the nations—
let not the rebellious(N) rise up against him.
8 Praise(O) our God, all peoples,
let the sound of his praise be heard;
9 he has preserved our lives(P)
and kept our feet from slipping.(Q)
10 For you, God, tested(R) us;
you refined us like silver.(S)
11 You brought us into prison(T)
and laid burdens(U) on our backs.
12 You let people ride over our heads;(V)
we went through fire and water,
but you brought us to a place of abundance.(W)
13 I will come to your temple with burnt offerings(X)
and fulfill my vows(Y) to you—
14 vows my lips promised and my mouth spoke
when I was in trouble.
15 I will sacrifice fat animals to you
and an offering of rams;
I will offer bulls and goats.(Z)
16 Come and hear,(AA) all you who fear God;
let me tell(AB) you what he has done for me.
17 I cried out to him with my mouth;
his praise was on my tongue.
18 If I had cherished sin in my heart,
the Lord would not have listened;(AC)
19 but God has surely listened
and has heard(AD) my prayer.
20 Praise be to God,
who has not rejected(AE) my prayer
or withheld his love from me!
Ezekiel’s Call to Be a Prophet
2 He said to me, “Son of man,[a](A) stand(B) up on your feet and I will speak to you.(C)” 2 As he spoke, the Spirit came into me and raised me(D) to my feet, and I heard him speaking to me.
3 He said: “Son of man, I am sending you to the Israelites, to a rebellious nation that has rebelled against me; they and their ancestors have been in revolt against me to this very day.(E) 4 The people to whom I am sending you are obstinate and stubborn.(F) Say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says.’(G) 5 And whether they listen or fail to listen(H)—for they are a rebellious people(I)—they will know that a prophet has been among them.(J) 6 And you, son of man, do not be afraid(K) of them or their words. Do not be afraid, though briers and thorns(L) are all around you and you live among scorpions. Do not be afraid of what they say or be terrified by them, though they are a rebellious people.(M) 7 You must speak(N) my words to them, whether they listen or fail to listen, for they are rebellious.(O)
Peter Explains His Actions
11 The apostles and the believers(A) throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God.(B) 2 So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers(C) criticized him 3 and said, “You went into the house of uncircumcised men and ate with them.”(D)
4 Starting from the beginning, Peter told them the whole story: 5 “I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision.(E) I saw something like a large sheet being let down from heaven by its four corners, and it came down to where I was. 6 I looked into it and saw four-footed animals of the earth, wild beasts, reptiles and birds. 7 Then I heard a voice telling me, ‘Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.’
8 “I replied, ‘Surely not, Lord! Nothing impure or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’
9 “The voice spoke from heaven a second time, ‘Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.’(F) 10 This happened three times, and then it was all pulled up to heaven again.
11 “Right then three men who had been sent to me from Caesarea(G) stopped at the house where I was staying. 12 The Spirit told(H) me to have no hesitation about going with them.(I) These six brothers(J) also went with me, and we entered the man’s house. 13 He told us how he had seen an angel(K) appear in his house and say, ‘Send to Joppa for Simon who is called Peter. 14 He will bring you a message(L) through which you and all your household(M) will be saved.’
15 “As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit came on(N) them as he had come on us at the beginning.(O) 16 Then I remembered what the Lord had said: ‘John baptized with[a] water,(P) but you will be baptized with[b] the Holy Spirit.’(Q) 17 So if God gave them the same gift(R) he gave us(S) who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to think that I could stand in God’s way?”
18 When they heard this, they had no further objections and praised God, saying, “So then, even to Gentiles God has granted repentance that leads to life.”(T)
Psalm 97
1 The Lord reigns,(A) let the earth be glad;(B)
let the distant shores(C) rejoice.
2 Clouds(D) and thick darkness(E) surround him;
righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.(F)
3 Fire(G) goes before(H) him
and consumes(I) his foes on every side.
4 His lightning(J) lights up the world;
the earth(K) sees and trembles.(L)
5 The mountains melt(M) like wax(N) before the Lord,
before the Lord of all the earth.(O)
6 The heavens proclaim his righteousness,(P)
and all peoples see his glory.(Q)
7 All who worship images(R) are put to shame,(S)
those who boast in idols(T)—
worship him,(U) all you gods!(V)
8 Zion hears and rejoices
and the villages of Judah are glad(W)
because of your judgments,(X) Lord.
9 For you, Lord, are the Most High(Y) over all the earth;(Z)
you are exalted(AA) far above all gods.
10 Let those who love the Lord hate evil,(AB)
for he guards(AC) the lives of his faithful ones(AD)
and delivers(AE) them from the hand of the wicked.(AF)
11 Light shines[a](AG) on the righteous(AH)
and joy on the upright in heart.(AI)
12 Rejoice in the Lord,(AJ) you who are righteous,
and praise his holy name.(AK)
Psalm 138
Of David.
1 I will praise you, Lord, with all my heart;
before the “gods”(A) I will sing(B) your praise.
2 I will bow down toward your holy temple(C)
and will praise your name(D)
for your unfailing love and your faithfulness,(E)
for you have so exalted your solemn decree
that it surpasses your fame.(F)
3 When I called,(G) you answered me;(H)
you greatly emboldened(I) me.
4 May all the kings of the earth(J) praise you, Lord,
when they hear what you have decreed.
5 May they sing(K) of the ways of the Lord,
for the glory of the Lord(L) is great.
6 Though the Lord is exalted, he looks kindly on the lowly;(M)
though lofty, he sees them(N) from afar.
7 Though I walk(O) in the midst of trouble,
you preserve my life.(P)
You stretch out your hand(Q) against the anger of my foes;(R)
with your right hand(S) you save me.(T)
8 The Lord will vindicate(U) me;
your love, Lord, endures forever(V)—
do not abandon(W) the works of your hands.(X)
Paul Accepted by the Apostles
2 Then after fourteen years, I went up again to Jerusalem,(A) this time with Barnabas.(B) I took Titus(C) along also. 2 I went in response to a revelation(D) and, meeting privately with those esteemed as leaders, I presented to them the gospel that I preach among the Gentiles.(E) I wanted to be sure I was not running and had not been running my race(F) in vain. 3 Yet not even Titus,(G) who was with me, was compelled to be circumcised, even though he was a Greek.(H) 4 This matter arose because some false believers(I) had infiltrated our ranks to spy on(J) the freedom(K) we have in Christ Jesus and to make us slaves. 5 We did not give in to them for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel(L) might be preserved for you.
6 As for those who were held in high esteem(M)—whatever they were makes no difference to me; God does not show favoritism(N)—they added nothing to my message.(O) 7 On the contrary, they recognized that I had been entrusted with the task(P) of preaching the gospel to the uncircumcised,[a](Q) just as Peter(R) had been to the circumcised.[b] 8 For God, who was at work in Peter as an apostle(S) to the circumcised, was also at work in me as an apostle(T) to the Gentiles. 9 James,(U) Cephas[c](V) and John, those esteemed as pillars,(W) gave me and Barnabas(X) the right hand of fellowship when they recognized the grace given to me.(Y) They agreed that we should go to the Gentiles,(Z) and they to the circumcised.
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