Book of Common Prayer
Praise for God’s Mighty Deeds and for His Answer to Prayer.
For the choir 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 [a](E)give feigned obedience to You.
4 “(F)All the earth will worship You,
And will (G)sing praises to You;
They will sing praises to Your name.” [b]Selah.
5 (H)Come and see the works of God,
Who is (I)awesome in His deeds toward the sons of men.
6 He (J)turned the sea into dry land;
They passed through (K)the river on foot;
There let us (L)rejoice in Him!
7 He (M)rules by His might forever;
His (N)eyes keep watch on the nations;
Let not the rebellious (O)exalt themselves. Selah.
8 Bless our God, O peoples,
And [c](P)sound His praise abroad,
9 Who [d](Q)keeps us in life
And (R)does not allow our feet to [e]slip.
10 For You have (S)tried us, O God;
You have (T)refined us as silver is refined.
11 You (U)brought us into the net;
You laid an oppressive burden upon our loins.
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 beasts,
With the smoke of (AC)rams;
I shall make an offering of [f]bulls with male goats. Selah.
16 (AD)Come and hear, all who [g]fear God,
And I will (AE)tell of what He has done for my soul.
17 I cried to Him with my mouth,
And [h]He was (AF)extolled with my tongue.
18 If I [i](AG)regard wickedness in my heart,
The (AH)Lord [j]will not [k]hear;
19 But certainly (AI)God has heard;
He has given heed to the voice of my prayer.
20 (AJ)Blessed be God,
Who (AK)has not turned away my prayer
Nor His lovingkindness from me.
The Nations Exhorted to Praise God.
For the choir 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 [l]upon us— [m]Selah.
2 That (AN)Your way may be known on the earth,
(AO)Your salvation among all nations.
3 Let the (AP)peoples praise You, O God;
Let all the peoples praise You.
4 Let the (AQ)nations be glad and sing for joy;
For You will (AR)judge the peoples with uprightness
And (AS)guide the nations on the earth. Selah.
5 Let the (AT)peoples praise You, O God;
Let all the peoples praise You.
6 The (AU)earth has yielded its produce;
God, our God, (AV)blesses us.
7 God blesses us,
[n]That (AW)all the ends of the earth may fear Him.
4 Then He said to me, “Son of man, [a]go to the house of Israel and speak with My words to them. 5 For (A)you are not being sent to a people of [b](B)unintelligible speech or difficult language, but to the house of Israel, 6 nor to many peoples of [c]unintelligible speech or difficult language, whose words you cannot understand. [d]But I have sent you to them [e]who should listen to you; 7 yet the house of Israel will not be willing to listen to you, since they are (C)not willing to listen to Me. Surely the whole house of Israel is [f]stubborn and obstinate. 8 Behold, I have made your face as hard as their faces and your forehead as hard as their foreheads. 9 Like [g]emery harder than flint I have made your forehead. Do not be afraid of them or be dismayed before them, though they are a rebellious house.” 10 Moreover, He said to me, “Son of man, take into your heart all My (D)words which I will speak to you and listen [h]closely. 11 [i]Go to the exiles, to the sons of your people, and speak to them and tell them, whether they listen or [j]not, ‘Thus says the Lord [k]God.’”
Gentiles Hear Good News
34 (A)Opening his mouth, Peter said:
“I most certainly understand now that (B)God is not one to show partiality, 35 but (C)in every nation the man who [a](D)fears Him and [b]does what is right is welcome to Him. 36 The word which He sent to the sons of Israel, (E)preaching [c](F)peace through Jesus Christ (He is (G)Lord of all)— 37 you yourselves know the thing which took place throughout all Judea, starting from Galilee, after the baptism which John proclaimed. 38 [d]You know of (H)Jesus of Nazareth, how God (I)anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and with power, [e](J)and how He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for (K)God was with Him. 39 We are (L)witnesses of all the things He did both in the [f]land of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They also (M)put Him to death by hanging Him on a [g]cross. 40 (N)God raised Him up on the third day and granted that He become visible, 41 (O)not to all the people, but to (P)witnesses who were chosen beforehand by God, that is, to us (Q)who ate and drank with Him after He arose from the dead. 42 And He (R)ordered us to [h]preach to the people, and solemnly to (S)testify that this is the One who has been (T)appointed by God as (U)Judge of the living and the dead. 43 Of Him (V)all the prophets bear witness that through (W)His name everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins.”
44 While Peter was still speaking these words, (X)the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who were listening to the [i]message.
Thanksgiving for the Lord’s Saving Goodness.
118 (A)Give thanks to the Lord, for (B)He is good;
For His lovingkindness is everlasting.
2 Oh let (C)Israel say,
“His lovingkindness is everlasting.”
3 Oh let the (D)house of Aaron say,
“His lovingkindness is everlasting.”
4 Oh let those (E)who [a]fear the Lord say,
“His lovingkindness is everlasting.”
5 From my (F)distress I called upon [b]the Lord;
[c]The Lord answered me and (G)set me in a large place.
6 The Lord is (H)for me; I will (I)not fear;
(J)What can man do to me?
7 The Lord is for me (K)among those who help me;
Therefore I will (L)look with satisfaction on those who hate me.
8 It is (M)better to take refuge in the Lord
Than to trust in man.
9 It is (N)better to take refuge in the Lord
Than to trust in princes.
10 All nations (O)surrounded me;
In the name of the Lord I will surely (P)cut them off.
11 They (Q)surrounded me, yes, they surrounded me;
In the name of the Lord I will surely cut them off.
12 They surrounded me (R)like bees;
They were extinguished as a (S)fire of thorns;
In the name of the Lord I will surely cut them off.
13 You (T)pushed me violently so that I [d]was falling,
But the Lord (U)helped me.
14 [e](V)The Lord is my strength and song,
And He has become (W)my salvation.
15 The sound of (X)joyful shouting and salvation is in the tents of the righteous;
The (Y)right hand of the Lord does valiantly.
16 The (Z)right hand of the Lord is exalted;
The right hand of the Lord does valiantly.
17 I (AA)will not die, but live,
And (AB)tell of the works of [f]the Lord.
18 [g]The Lord has (AC)disciplined me severely,
But He has (AD)not given me over to death.
19 (AE)Open to me the gates of righteousness;
I shall enter through them, I shall give thanks to [h]the Lord.
20 This is the gate of the Lord;
The (AF)righteous will enter through it.
21 I shall give thanks to You, for You have (AG)answered me,
And You have (AH)become my salvation.
22 The (AI)stone which the builders rejected
Has become the chief corner stone.
23 This is [i]the Lord’s doing;
It is marvelous in our eyes.
24 This is the day which the Lord has made;
Let us (AJ)rejoice and be glad in it.
25 O Lord, (AK)do save, we beseech You;
O Lord, we beseech You, do send (AL)prosperity!
26 (AM)Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord;
We have (AN)blessed you from the house of the Lord.
27 (AO)The Lord is God, and He has given us (AP)light;
Bind the festival sacrifice with cords [j]to the (AQ)horns of the altar.
28 (AR)You are my God, and I give thanks to You;
You are my God, (AS)I extol You.
29 (AT)Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good;
For His lovingkindness is everlasting.
The Love Motivation
15 So when they had (A)finished breakfast, Jesus *said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you [a](B)love Me more than these?” He *said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I [b]love You.” He *said to him, “Tend (C)My lambs.” 16 He *said to him again a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you [c]love Me?” He *said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I [d]love You.” He *said to him, “(D)Shepherd My sheep.” 17 He *said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you [e]love Me?” Peter was grieved because He said to him (E)the third time, “Do you [f]love Me?” And he said to Him, “Lord, (F)You know all things; You know that I [g]love You.” Jesus *said to him, “(G)Tend My sheep.
Our Times Are in His Hand
18 Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were younger, you used to gird yourself and walk wherever you wished; but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands and someone else will gird you, and bring you where you do not wish to go.” 19 Now this He said, (H)signifying by (I)what kind of death he would glorify God. And when He had spoken this, He *said to him, “(J)Follow Me!”
20 Peter, turning around, *saw the (K)disciple whom Jesus loved following them; the one who also had (L)leaned back on His bosom at the supper and said, “Lord, who is the one who betrays You?” 21 So Peter seeing him *said to Jesus, “Lord, and what about this man?” 22 Jesus *said to him, “If I want him to remain (M)until I come, what is that to you? You (N)follow Me!”
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