Book of Common Prayer
Thanksgiving to God for His Works
For the music director. A song. A psalm.[a]
66 Shout joyfully to God, all the earth.
2 Sing the glory of his name.
Set forth his glorious praise.[b]
3 Say to God, “How awesome are your works!
Because of the greatness of your strength,
your enemies will cringe before you.
4 All the earth will bow in worship to you,
and sing praise to you.
They will sing the praise of your name.” Selah
5 Come and consider[c] the works of God;
he is awesome in his dealings[d] with the children of humankind.
6 He turned the sea into dry ground;
they passed through the river on foot.
There we rejoiced in him.
7 He rules by his might forever;
his eyes keep watch on the nations.
Do not let the rebellious exalt themselves.[e] Selah
8 Bless our God, O peoples,
and cause the sound of his praise to be heard,
9 the one who has kept our soul among the living,
and has not allowed our foot to slip.
10 For you have tested us, O God;
you have tried us as silver is tried.
11 You brought us into the net;
you placed a heavy burden[f] on our backs.
12 You let men[g] ride over our heads.
We went through fire and through water,
but you have brought us out to the place of abundance.[h]
13 I will come into your house[i] with burnt offerings.
I will pay to you my vows
14 that my lips uttered,
and my mouth spoke in my distress.
15 Burnt offerings of fat animals I will offer to you,
with the smoke of rams.
I will do[j] cattle with rams. Selah
16 Come and hear, all you God-fearers, and I will tell
what he has done for me.[k]
17 I called to him with my mouth,
and he was extolled with my tongue.[l]
18 If I had considered evil in my heart,
the Lord would not have listened.
19 However, God has listened;
he has attended to the sound of my prayer.
20 Blessed be God,
who has not turned aside my prayer,
or his loyal love from me.
A Prayer of Blessing
For the music director, with stringed instruments. A psalm. A song.[m]
67 May God be gracious to us and bless us.
May he cause his face to shine toward us, Selah
2 that your way may be known on the earth,
your salvation among all nations.
3 Let the peoples praise you, O God;
let all of the peoples praise you.
4 Let the nations be glad and sing for joy,
because you judge the peoples with equity
and guide the nations on the earth. Selah
5 Let the peoples praise you, O God;
let all the peoples praise you.
6 The earth has yielded its produce.
God, our God, will bless us.
7 God will bless us,
and all the ends of the earth will fear him.
Yahweh’s Creation and Law
For the music director. A psalm of David.[a]
19 The heavens are telling the glory of God,
and the firmament proclaims the work of his hands.
2 Every day[b] they pour forth speech,
and every night[c] they tell knowledge.
3 There is no speech and there are no words;
their sound is inaudible.
4 Yet in all the world their line[d] goes out,
and their words to the end of the world.
In them[e] he has pitched a tent for the sun,
5 and it is like a bridegroom
who comes out of his bridal chamber.
It is glad like a strong man
to run its course.
6 Its rising is from one[f] end of the heavens
and its circuit to the other end[g] of them;
and nothing is hidden from its heat.
7 The law of Yahweh is perfect, reviving life.[h]
The testimony of Yahweh is firm, making wise the simple.
8 The precepts of Yahweh are right, making the heart rejoice.
The command of Yahweh is pure, enlightening the eyes.
9 The fear of Yahweh is pure, enduring forever.
The ordinances of Yahweh are true; they are righteous altogether,
10 more desirable than gold, even much fine gold;
and sweeter than honey, even honey in the comb.
11 Moreover, your servant is warned[i] by them;
in keeping them is great reward.
12 Who can perceive his errors?
Acquit me from hidden faults.
13 Also, keep back your servant from arrogant sins;[j]
let them not rule over me.
Then I shall be blameless,
and I shall be innocent of great transgression.
14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
be acceptable in your presence,
O Yahweh, my rock and my redeemer.
God Provides for and Protects His People
For the music director. Of the sons of Korah.
According to Alamoth. A song.[a]
46 God is our refuge and strength,
a very sufficient help in troubles.
2 Therefore we will not fear though the earth change,
and though the mountains totter into the midst[b] of the sea,
3 though its waters roar and foam,
though mountains shake with its surging water. Selah
4 There is a river whose streams gladden the city of God,
the holiest of the dwellings of the Most High.
5 God is in the midst of her;
she will not be made to totter.
God will help her at daybreak.[c]
6 Nations roar, kingdoms shake;
he utters his voice, the earth melts.
7 Yahweh of hosts is with us;
our high stronghold is the God of Jacob. Selah
8 Come, see the works of Yahweh,
who has placed desolations on the earth.
9 He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth;
he breaks the bow and cuts off the spear.
The wagons of war he burns with 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 Yahweh of Hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our high stronghold.
Hoshea Reigns in Israel
17 In the twelfth year of Ahaz the king of Judah, Hoshea the son of Elah began to reign over Israel in Samaria, reigning nine years. 2 He did evil in the eyes of Yahweh, only not as the kings of Israel who were before him. 3 Shalmaneser the king of Assyria[a] came up against him, and Hoshea became his vassal and paid tribute to him. 4 But the king of Assyria found treachery in Hoshea, for he had sent messengers to So king of Egypt, and he did not offer tribute to the king of Assyria as he had year after year; so the king of Assyria arrested him, and confined him in a house of imprisonment. 5 So the king of Assyria went up in all the land, then he went up to Samaria and besieged it for three years.
Israel Deported to Assyria and the Reasons It Fell
6 In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria captured Samaria and deported Israel to Assyria. He placed them in Halah, in Habor, in the river regions of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes. 7 Now this happened because the Israelites[b] had sinned against Yahweh their God when he brought them up from the land of Egypt from under the hand of Pharaoh the king of Egypt and they feared other gods. 8 They walked in the statutes of the nations whom Yahweh had driven out from before the Israelites,[c] which the kings of Israel had introduced. 9 The Israelites[d] secretly did things which were not right, against Yahweh their God; they built high places for themselves in all their towns, from the watchtower up to the fortified city. 10 They set up for themselves stone pillars and poles of Asherah worship on every high hill and under every green tree. 11 They burned incense there on all the high places, like the nations which Yahweh deported before them, and they did evil things to provoke Yahweh. 12 They served idols which Yahweh had said to them, “You shall not do this thing!” 13 Yahweh warned Israel and Judah by the hand of his every prophet, with every seer saying, “Turn from all of your evil ways, and keep my commandments and my ordinances, according to all the law which I commanded your ancestors,[e] which I sent to you by the hand of my servants the prophets.” 14 But they did not listen and they stiffened their necks, like the necks of their ancestors[f] who did not believe in Yahweh their God. 15 They rejected his statutes, his covenant which he made[g] with their ancestors,[h] and his warnings which he gave to them; and they went after the idols, became vain, and went after all the nations which were all around them, which Yahweh had commanded them not to do as they did. 16 They abandoned all the commands of Yahweh their God and made for themselves two molten calf-shaped idols; they made a pole of Asherah worship and bowed down to the army of the heavens and served Baal. 17 They made their sons and their daughters pass through the fire, they practiced divination and read omens, and they sold themselves to do evil in the eyes of Yahweh to provoke him. 18 So Yahweh was very angry with Israel and he removed them from his presence; none remained except the tribe of Judah alone.
Dorcas Raised
36 Now in Joppa there was a certain female disciple named[a] Tabitha (which translated means “Dorcas”).[b] She was full of good deeds and charitable giving which she was constantly doing.[c] 37 Now it happened that in those days after[d] becoming sick, she died. And after[e] washing her,[f] they placed her in an upstairs room. 38 And because[g] Lydda was near Joppa, the disciples, when they[h] heard that Peter was in Lydda,[i] sent two men to him, urging, “Do not delay to come to us!” 39 So Peter got up and[j] accompanied them. When he[k] arrived, they brought him[l] up to the upstairs room, and all the widows came to him, weeping and showing him[m] tunics and other clothing that Dorcas used to make while she[n] was with them. 40 But Peter sent them all outside, and, falling to his[o] knees, he prayed. And turning toward the body, he said, “Tabitha, get up!” And she opened her eyes, and when she[p] saw Peter, she sat up. 41 And he gave her his hand and[q] raised her up. And he called the saints and the widows and[r] presented her alive. 42 And it became known throughout all Joppa, and many believed in the Lord. 43 And it happened that he stayed many days in Joppa with a certain Simon, a tanner.[s]
Jesus Calls His First Disciples
5 Now it happened that while the crowd was pressing around him and hearing the word of God, he was standing beside the lake of Gennesaret,[a] 2 and he saw two boats there beside the lake, but the fishermen had gotten out of them and[b] were washing their nets. 3 And he got into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, and[c] asked him to put out from the land a little. And he sat down and[d] began to teach[e] the crowds from the boat. 4 And when he stopped speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.” 5 And Simon answered and[f] said, “Master, although we[g] worked hard through the whole night, we caught nothing. But at your word I will let down the nets.” 6 And when they[h] did this, they caught a very large number of fish, and their nets began to tear.[i] 7 And they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and[j] help them, and they came and filled both the boats so that they began to sink. 8 And when he[k] saw it,[l] Simon Peter fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, Lord, because I am a sinful man!”[m] 9 For amazement had seized him and all those who were with him at the catch of fish that they had caught, 10 and so also were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were business partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid! From now on you will be catching people!” 11 And after they[n] brought their[o] boats to the land, they left everything and[p] followed him.
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