Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 66
For the choir director; a song; a psalm.
1 Shout happily to Elohim, all the earth!
2 Make music to praise the glory of his name.
Make his praise glorious.
3 Say to Elohim,
“How awe-inspiring are your deeds!
Your power is so great that your enemies will cringe in front of you.
4 The whole earth will worship you.
It will make music to praise you.
It will make music to praise your name.” Selah
5 Come and see what Elohim has done—
his awe-inspiring deeds for Adam’s descendants.
6 He turned the sea into dry land.
They crossed the river on foot.
We rejoiced because of what he did there.
7 He rules forever with his might.
His eyes watch the nations.
Rebels will not be able to oppose him. Selah
8 Thank our Elohim, you nations.
Make the sound of his praise heard.
9 He has kept us alive
and has not allowed us to fall.
10 You have tested us, O Elohim.
You have refined us in the same way silver is refined.
11 You have trapped us in a net.
You have laid burdens on our backs.
12 You let people ride over our heads.
We went through fire and water,
but then you brought us out and refreshed us.
13 I will come into your temple with burnt offerings.
I will keep my vows to you,
14 the vows made by my lips and spoken by my own mouth
when I was in trouble.
15 I will offer you a sacrifice of fattened livestock for burnt offerings
with the smoke from rams.
I will offer cattle and goats. Selah
16 Come and listen, all who fear Elohim,
and I will tell you what he has done for me.
17 With my mouth I cried out to him.
High praise was on my tongue.
18 If I had thought about doing anything sinful,
Adonay would not have listened to me.
19 But Elohim has heard me.
He has paid attention to my prayer.
20 Thanks be to Elohim,
who has not rejected my prayer
or taken away his mercy from me.
Ezekiel’s Vision of a Scroll
2 He said to me, “Son of man, stand up, and I will speak to you.” 2 As he spoke to me, the Ruach entered me, stood me on my feet, and I heard him speaking to me.
3 He said to me, “Son of man, I am sending you to the people of Israel. They are people from a nation that has rebelled against me. They and their ancestors have rebelled against me to this day. 4 I am sending you to these defiant and stubborn children. Tell them, ‘This is what Adonay Yahweh says.’ 5 Whether these rebellious people listen or not, they will realize that a prophet has been among them. 6 Son of man, don’t be afraid of them or the things they say. Don’t be afraid, even though thorns and thistles are around you and you live among scorpions. Don’t let the things they say frighten you. Don’t be terrified in their presence, even though they are rebellious people. 7 Speak my words to them whether they listen or not, because they are rebellious.
Peter Reports That Non-Jewish People Can Belong to the Church
11 The apostles and the believers throughout Judea heard that people who were not Jewish had accepted God’s word. 2 However, when Peter went to Jerusalem, the believers who insisted on circumcision began to argue with him. 3 They said, “You went to visit men who were uncircumcised, and you even ate with them.”
4 Then Peter began to explain to them point by point what had happened. He said, 5 “I was praying in the city of Joppa when I fell into a trance. I saw something like a large linen sheet being lowered by its four corners from the sky. The sheet came near me. 6 I looked into the sheet very closely and saw tame animals, wild animals, reptiles, and birds. 7 I also heard a voice telling me, ‘Get up, Peter! Kill these animals, and eat them.’
8 “But I answered, ‘I can’t do that, Lord! I’ve never put anything impure or unclean[a] into my mouth.’
9 “A voice spoke from heaven a second time, ‘Don’t say that the things which God has made clean[b] are impure.’ 10 This happened three times. Then everything was pulled back into the sky again.
11 “At that moment three men arrived at the house where we were staying. They had been sent from Caesarea to find me. 12 The Spirit told me to go with them without any hesitation. Six believers from Joppa went with me, and we visited Cornelius’ home.
13 “He told us that he had seen an angel standing in his home. The angel told him, ‘Send messengers to Joppa, and summon a man whose name is Simon Peter. 14 He will give you a message that will save you and everyone in your home.’
15 “When I began to speak, the Holy Spirit came to these people. This was the same thing that happened to us in the beginning. 16 I remembered that the Lord had said, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized by the Holy Spirit.’ 17 When they believed, God gave them the same gift that he gave us when we believed in the Lord Yeshua Christ. So who was I to interfere with God?”
18 When the others heard this, they had no further objections. They praised God by saying, “Then God has also led people who are not Jewish to turn to him so that they can change the way they think and act and have eternal life.”
Psalm 97
1 Yahweh rules as king.
Let the earth rejoice.
Let all the islands be joyful.
2 Clouds and darkness surround him.
Righteousness and justice are the foundations of his throne.
3 Fire spreads ahead of him.
It burns his enemies who surround him.
4 His flashes of lightning light up the world.
The earth sees them and trembles.
5 The mountains melt like wax in the presence of Yahweh,
in the presence of the Adonay of the whole earth.
6 The heavens tell about his righteousness,
and all the people of the world see his glory.
7 Everyone who worships idols
and brags about false gods will be put to shame.
All the gods will bow to him.
8 Zion hears about this and rejoices.
The people of Judah are delighted with your judgments, O Yahweh.
9 You, O Yahweh Elyon, are above the whole earth.
You are highest. You are above all the gods.
10 Let those who love Yahweh hate evil.
The one who guards the lives of his godly ones
will rescue them from the power of wicked people.
11 Light dawns for righteous people[a]
and joy for those whose motives are decent.
12 Find joy in Yahweh, you righteous people.
Give thanks to him as you remember how holy he is.
Psalm 138
By David.
1 I will give thanks to you with all my heart.
I will make music to praise you in front of the false gods.
2 I will bow toward your holy temple.
I will give thanks to your name because of your mercy and truth.
You have made your name and your promise greater than everything.
3 When I called, you answered me.
You made me bold by strengthening my soul.[a]
4 All the kings of the earth will give thanks to you, O Yahweh,
because they have heard the promises you spoke.
5 They will sing this about the ways of Yahweh:
“Yahweh’s honor is great!”
6 Even though Yahweh is high above, he sees humble people close up,
and he recognizes arrogant people from a distance.
7 Even though I walk into the middle of trouble,
you guard my life against the anger of my enemies.
You stretch out your hand,
and your right hand saves me.
8 Yahweh will do everything for me.
O Yahweh, your mercy endures forever.
Do not let go of what your hands have made.
Paul Was Accepted as an Apostle by the Leaders in Jerusalem
2 Then 14 years later I went to Jerusalem again with Barnabas. I also took Titus along. 2 I went in response to a revelation from God. I showed them the way I spread the Good News among people who are not Jewish. I did this in a private meeting with those recognized as important people to see whether all my efforts had been wasted.
3 Titus was with me, and although he is Greek, no one forced him to be circumcised.
4 False Christians were brought in. They slipped in as spies to learn about the freedom Christ Yeshua gives us. They hoped to find a way to control us. 5 But we did not give in to them for a moment, so that the truth of the Good News would always be yours.
6 Those who were recognized as important people didn’t add a single thing to my message. (What sort of people they were makes no difference to me, since God doesn’t play favorites.) 7 In fact, they saw that I had been entrusted with telling the Good News to people who are not circumcised as Peter had been entrusted to tell it to those who are circumcised. 8 The one who made Peter an apostle to Jewish people also made me an apostle to people who are not Jewish. 9 James, Cephas, and John (who were recognized as the most important people) acknowledged that God had given me this special gift.[a] So they shook hands with Barnabas and me, agreeing to be our partners. It was understood that we would work among the people who are not Jewish and they would work among Jewish people.
The Names of God Bible (without notes) © 2011 by Baker Publishing Group.