Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 66
Praise for God’s Mighty Acts
For the choir director. A song. A psalm.
1 Shout joyfully to God, all the earth!(A)
2 Sing about the glory of His name;
make His praise glorious.(B)
3 Say to God, “How awe-inspiring are Your works!
Your enemies will cringe before You
because of Your great strength.(C)
4 All the earth will worship You
and sing praise to You.
They will sing praise to Your name.”(D)
5 Come and see the wonders of God;(E)
His acts for humanity are awe-inspiring.
6 He turned the sea into dry land,
and they crossed the river on foot.(F)
There we rejoiced in Him.(G)
7 He rules forever by His might;
He keeps His eye on the nations.(H)
The rebellious should not exalt themselves.(I)
8 Praise our God, you peoples;
let the sound of His praise be heard.(J)
9 He keeps us alive[a]
and does not allow our feet to slip.(K)
10 For You, God, tested us;
You refined us as silver is refined.(L)
11 You lured us into a trap;
You placed burdens on our backs.(M)
12 You let men ride over our heads;
we went through fire and water,
but You brought us out to abundance.[b](N)
13 I will enter Your house with burnt offerings;
I will pay You my vows(O)
14 that my lips promised
and my mouth spoke during my distress.(P)
15 I will offer You fattened sheep as burnt offerings,
with the fragrant smoke of rams;
I will sacrifice oxen with goats.(Q)
16 Come and listen, all who fear God,
and I will tell what He has done for me.(R)
17 I cried out to Him with my mouth,
and praise was on my tongue.(S)
18 If I had been aware of malice in my heart,
the Lord would not have listened.(T)
19 However, God has listened;
He has paid attention to the sound of my prayer.(U)
20 May God be praised!
He has not turned away my prayer
or turned His faithful love from me.(V)
Psalm 67
All Will Praise God
For the choir director: with stringed instruments. A psalm. A song.
1 May God be gracious to us and bless us;
look on us with favor(W)
2 so that Your way may be known on earth,
Your salvation among all nations.(X)
Psalm 19
The Witness of Creation and Scripture
For the choir director. A Davidic psalm.
1 The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the sky[a] proclaims the work of His hands.(A)
2 Day after day they pour out speech;
night after night they communicate knowledge.[b]
3 There is no speech; there are no words;
their voice is not heard.
4 Their message[c] has gone out to all the earth,
and their words to the ends of the world.(B)
In the heavens[d] He has pitched a tent for the sun.(C)
5 It is like a groom coming from the[e] bridal chamber;
it rejoices like an athlete running a course.
6 It rises from one end of the heavens
and circles[f] to their other end;(D)
nothing is hidden from its heat.
7 The instruction of the Lord is perfect,
renewing one’s life;(E)
the testimony of the Lord is trustworthy,
making the inexperienced wise.(F)
8 The precepts of the Lord are right,
making the heart glad;(G)
the command of the Lord is radiant,
making the eyes light up.(H)
9 The fear of the Lord is pure,
enduring forever;(I)
the ordinances of the Lord are reliable
and altogether righteous.(J)
10 They are more desirable than gold—
than an abundance of pure gold;(K)
and sweeter than honey,
which comes from the honeycomb.(L)
11 In addition, Your servant is warned by them;
there is great reward in keeping them.(M)
12 Who perceives his unintentional sins?
Cleanse me from my hidden faults.(N)
13 Moreover, keep Your servant from willful sins;(O)
do not let them rule over me.(P)
Then I will be innocent
and cleansed from blatant rebellion.(Q)
14 May the words of my mouth
and the meditation of my heart
be acceptable to You,(R)
Lord, my rock and my Redeemer.(S)
Psalm 46
God Our Refuge
For the choir director. A song of the sons of Korah. According to Alamoth.[a](A)
1 God is our refuge and strength,
a helper who is always found
in times of trouble.(B)
2 Therefore we will not be afraid,
though the earth trembles
and the mountains topple
into the depths of the seas,(C)
3 though its waters roar and foam
and the mountains quake with its turmoil.(D)
4 There is a river—
its streams delight the city of God,
the holy dwelling place of the Most High.(E)
5 God is within her; she will not be toppled.
God will help her when the morning dawns.(F)
6 Nations rage, kingdoms topple;
the earth melts when He lifts His voice.(G)
7 The Lord of Hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our stronghold.(H)
8 Come, see the works of the Lord,
who brings devastation on the earth.(I)
9 He makes wars cease throughout the earth.
He shatters bows and cuts spears to pieces;
He burns up the chariots.[b](J)
10 “Stop your fighting—and know that I am God,
exalted among the nations, exalted on the earth.”(K)
11 Yahweh of Hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our stronghold.(L)
Israel’s Adultery Rebuked
2 Rebuke your mother; rebuke her.(A)
For she is not My wife and I am not her husband.(B)
Let her remove the promiscuous look from her face(C)
and her adultery from between her breasts.
3 Otherwise, I will strip her naked(D)
and expose her as she was on the day of her birth.
I will make her like a desert(E)
and like a parched land,
and I will let her die of thirst.(F)
4 I will have no compassion on her children(G)
because they are the children of promiscuity.
5 Yes, their mother is promiscuous;
she conceived them and acted shamefully.(H)
For she thought, “I will go after my lovers,(I)
the men who give me my food and water,
my wool and flax, my oil and drink.”(J)
6 Therefore, this is what I will do:
I will block her[a] way(K) with thorns;(L)
I will enclose her with a wall,
so that she cannot find her paths.(M)
7 She will pursue her lovers but not catch them;(N)
she will seek them but not find them.
Then she will think,
“I will go back to my former husband,(O)
for then it was better for me than now.”(P)
8 She does not recognize(Q)
that it is I who gave her the grain,(R)
the new wine, and the oil.
I lavished silver and gold on her,
which they used for Baal.
9 Therefore, I will take back My grain in its time(S)
and My new wine in its season;
I will take away My wool and linen,
which were to cover her nakedness.
10 Now I will expose her shame(T)
in the sight of her lovers,
and no one will rescue her from My hands.
11 I will put an end to all her celebrations:(U)
her feasts,(V) New Moons,(W) and Sabbaths—
all her festivals.
12 I will devastate her vines and fig trees.(X)
She thinks that these are her wages
that her lovers have given her.
I will turn them into a thicket,(Y)
and the wild animals will eat them.(Z)
13 And I will punish her for the days of the Baals(AA)
when she burned incense to them,(AB)
put on her rings and jewelry,(AC)
and went after her lovers,
but forgot Me.(AD)
This is the Lord’s declaration.
Israel’s Adultery Forgiven
Controlling the Tongue
3 Not many should become teachers, my brothers, knowing that we will receive a stricter judgment,(A) 2 for we all stumble in many ways.(B) If anyone does not stumble in what he says,[a] he is a mature man who is also able to control his whole body.[b](C)
3 Now when we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us,(D) we also guide the whole animal.[c] 4 And consider ships: Though very large and driven by fierce winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. 5 So too, though the tongue is a small part of the body, it boasts great things.(E) Consider how large a forest a small fire ignites. 6 And the tongue is a fire. The tongue, a world of unrighteousness, is placed among the parts of our bodies. It pollutes the whole body,(F) sets the course of life on fire, and is set on fire by hell.
7 Every sea creature, reptile, bird, or animal is tamed and has been tamed by man, 8 but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.(G) 9 We praise our[d] Lord and Father with it, and we curse men who are made in God’s likeness with it.(H) 10 Praising and cursing come out of the same mouth. My brothers, these things should not be this way. 11 Does a spring pour out sweet and bitter water from the same opening? 12 Can a fig tree produce olives, my brothers, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a saltwater spring yield fresh water.
The Wisdom from Above
13 Who is wise and has understanding among you? He should show his works by good conduct with wisdom’s gentleness.(I)
The Parables of the Hidden Treasure and of the Priceless Pearl
44 “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure, buried in a field, that a man found and reburied. Then in his joy he goes and sells everything he has and buys that field.(A)
45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls. 46 When he found one priceless[a] pearl, he went and sold everything he had, and bought it.(B)
The Parable of the Net
47 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a large net thrown into the sea. It collected every kind of fish,(C) 48 and when it was full, they dragged it ashore, sat down, and gathered the good fish into containers, but threw out the worthless ones. 49 So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will go out, separate the evil people from the righteous,(D) 50 and throw them into the blazing furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.(E)
The Storehouse of Truth
51 “Have you understood all these things?”[b]
“Yes,” they told Him.
52 “Therefore,” He said to them, “every student of Scripture[c] instructed in the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who brings out of his storeroom what is new and what is old.”(F)
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