Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 66
For the Music Director. A Song. A Psalm.
1 Shout joyfully to God, all you lands!
2 Sing out the glory of His name;
make His praise glorious.
3 Say to God, “How awesome are Your works!
Through the greatness of Your power
Your enemies cringe before You.
4 All the earth will worship You
and will sing to You;
they will sing to Your name.” Selah
5 Come and see the works of God;
He is awesome in His doings toward mankind.
6 He turned the sea into dry land;
they crossed the river on foot;
there we rejoiced in Him.
7 He rules by His power forever;
His eyes keep watch on the nations;
do not let the rebellious exalt themselves. Selah
8 Oh, bless our God, you people,
and make the voice of His praise to be heard,
9 who keeps our soul among the living,
and does not allow our feet to slip.
10 For You, O God, have proved us;
You have refined us, as silver is refined.
11 You brought us into the net;
You placed distress on our backs.
12 You have allowed people to ride over our heads;
we went through fire and through water;
but You brought us out into a well-watered place.
13 I will go into Your house with burnt offerings;
I will fulfill my vows to You,
14 which my lips have uttered,
and my mouth spoke when I was in trouble.
15 I will offer You burnt sacrifices of fat animals,
with the incense of rams;
I will offer bulls with goats. Selah
16 Come and hear, all you who fear God,
and I will declare what He has done for my soul.
17 I cried to Him with my mouth,
and He was extolled with my tongue.
18 If I regard iniquity in my heart,
the Lord will not hear me;
19 but certainly God has heard me;
He has attended to the voice of my prayer.
20 Blessed be God,
who has not turned away my prayer,
nor His mercy from me.
Psalm 67
For the Music Director. With stringed instruments. A Psalm. A Song.
1 May God be gracious to us, and bless us,
and cause His face to shine on us; Selah
2 that Your way may be known on earth,
Your salvation among all nations.
3 Let the peoples praise You, O God;
let all the peoples praise You.
4 Oh, let the nations be glad and sing for joy;
for You will judge the people uprightly,
and lead the nations on earth. Selah
5 Let the peoples praise You, O God;
let all the peoples praise You.
6 Then will the earth yield its produce,
and God, our God, will bless us.
7 God will bless us,
and all the ends of the earth will fear Him.
Psalm 19
For the Music Director. A Psalm of David.
1 The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the firmament shows His handiwork.
2 Day unto day utters speech,
and night unto night declares knowledge.
3 There is no speech and there are no words;
their voice is not heard.
4 Their line has gone out through all the earth,
and their words to the end of the world.
In them has He set a tent for the sun,
5 which is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber;
it rejoices as a strong man to run a race.
6 Its going forth is from one end of the heavens,
and its circuit extends to the other end,
and there is nothing hidden from its heat.
7 The law of the Lord is perfect,
converting the soul;
the testimony of the Lord is sure,
making wise the simple;
8 the statutes of the Lord are right,
rejoicing the heart;
the commandment of the Lord is pure,
enlightening the eyes;
9 the fear of the Lord is clean,
enduring forever;
the judgments of the Lord are true
and righteous altogether.
10 More to be desired are they than gold,
yes, than much fine gold;
sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.
11 Moreover by them is Your servant warned,
and by keeping them comes great reward.
12 Who can understand his errors?
Cleanse me from secret faults.
13 Keep back Your servant also from presumptuous sins;
may they not rule over me.
Then I will be upright
and innocent from great transgression.
14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
be acceptable in Your sight,
O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer.
Psalm 46
For the Music Director. A Psalm of the sons of Korah. According to Alamoth. A Song.
1 God is our refuge and strength,
a well-proven help in trouble.
2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth be removed,
and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea;
3 though its waters roar and foam,
though the mountains shake with its swelling. Selah
4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy dwelling place of the Most High.
5 God is in the midst of her; she will not be moved;
God will help her in the early dawn.
6 The nations roared; the kingdoms were moved;
He uttered His voice; the earth melted.
7 The Lord of Hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah
8 Come, see the works of the Lord,
who makes desolations in the earth.
9 He makes wars cease to the end of the earth;
He breaks the bow and cuts off the spear;
He burns the chariot in the fire.
10 Be still and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth.
11 The Lord of Hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah
12 There ran a man of Benjamin from the battle line, and he came to Shiloh the same day with his clothes torn and with dust upon his head. 13 When he came, Eli was sitting on a seat by the wayside watching. For his heart feared for the ark of God. Now the man came to tell it in the city, and all the city cried out.
14 When Eli heard the noise of the crying, he said, “What does the noise of this tumult mean?”
And the man hurriedly came and told Eli. 15 Now Eli was ninety-eight years old, and his eyes were dim, so that he could not see. 16 The man said to Eli, “I am he that came out of the army, and I fled today out of the battle line.”
And he said, “What is the word, my son?”
17 The messenger answered and said, “Israel has fled before the Philistines, and there also has been a great slaughter among the people. Your two sons also, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead. And the ark of God is taken.”
18 When he mentioned the ark of God, Eli fell from off the seat backward by the side of the gate. And his neck broke and he died, for he was an old and heavy man. And he had judged Israel forty years.
19 His daughter-in-law, Phinehas’ wife, was pregnant, about to give birth. And when she heard the news that the ark of God was taken, and that her father-in-law and her husband were dead, she kneeled down and gave birth, for her pains came upon her. 20 About the time of her death the women that stood by her said to her, “Do not fear, for you have borne a son.” But she did not answer or regard it.
21 She named the child Ichabod, saying, “The glory is departed from Israel,” because the ark of God was taken, and because of her father-in-law and her husband. 22 She said, “The glory is departed from Israel, for the ark of God is taken.”
Salutation
1 James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ,
To the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad:
Greetings.
Faith and Wisdom
2 My brothers, count it all joy when you fall into diverse temptations, 3 knowing that the trying of your faith develops patience. 4 But let patience perfect its work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. 5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all men liberally and without criticism, and it will be given to him. 6 But let him ask in faith, without wavering. For he who wavers is like a wave of the sea, driven and tossed with the wind. 7 Let not that man think that he will receive anything from the Lord. 8 A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways.
Poverty and Riches
9 Let the brother of low degree rejoice in that he is exalted, 10 but the rich in that he is made low, because as the flower of the grass he will pass away. 11 For the sun rises with a burning heat and it withers the grass, and its flowers fall, and its beauty perishes. So will the rich man wither away in his ways.
Trial and Temptation
12 Blessed is the man who endures temptation, for when he is tried, he will receive the crown of life, which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.
13 Let no man say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil; neither does He tempt anyone. 14 But each man is tempted when he is drawn away by his own lust and enticed. 15 Then, when lust has conceived, it brings forth sin; and when sin is finished, it brings forth death.
16 Do not err, my beloved brothers. 17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom is no change or shadow of turning. 18 Of His own will He brought us forth with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of first fruits of His creatures.
23 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “Truly, I say to you that it will be hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. 24 And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”
25 When His disciples heard this, they were greatly amazed, saying, “Who then can be saved?”
26 But Jesus looked at them and said, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
27 Then Peter answered Him, “See, we have left everything and followed You. What then shall we have?”
28 Jesus said to them, “Truly I say to you, in the regeneration, when the Son of Man sits on His glorious throne, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 29 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or fields for My name’s sake shall receive a hundred times as much and inherit eternal life. 30 But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.