Book of Common Prayer
How Awesome Are Your Deeds
To the choirmaster. A Song. A Psalm.
66 (A)Shout for joy to God, all the earth;
2 sing the glory of his name;
(B)give to him glorious praise!
3 Say to God, (C)“How awesome are your deeds!
So great is your power that your enemies (D)come cringing to you.
4 (E)All the earth worships you
and sings praises to you;
they sing praises to your name.” Selah
5 (F)Come and see what God has done:
(G)he is awesome in his deeds toward the children of man.
6 He (H)turned the sea into dry land;
they (I)passed through the river on foot.
There did we rejoice in him,
7 who rules by his might forever,
whose (J)eyes keep watch on the nations—
let not the rebellious exalt themselves. Selah
8 Bless our God, O peoples;
let the sound of his praise be heard,
9 who has kept our soul among the living
and (K)has not let our feet slip.
10 For you, O God, have (L)tested us;
you have tried us as silver is tried.
11 You brought us into (M)the net;
you laid a crushing burden on our backs;
12 you let men (N)ride over our heads;
we went through fire and through (O)water;
yet you have brought us out to a place of abundance.
13 I will come into your house with burnt offerings;
I will (P)perform my vows to you,
14 that which my lips uttered
and my mouth promised (Q)when I was in trouble.
15 I will offer to you burnt offerings of fattened animals,
with the smoke of the sacrifice of rams;
I will make an offering of bulls and goats. Selah
16 (R)Come and hear, all you who fear God,
and I will tell what he has done for my soul.
17 I cried to him with my mouth,
and high praise was on[a] my tongue.[b]
18 If I had (S)cherished iniquity in my heart,
(T)the Lord would not have listened.
19 But truly (U)God has listened;
he has attended to the voice of my prayer.
20 Blessed be God,
because he has not rejected my prayer
or removed his steadfast love from me!
Make Your Face Shine upon Us
To the choirmaster: with (V)stringed instruments. A Psalm. A Song.
67 May God (W)be gracious to us and bless us
and make his face to (X)shine upon us, Selah
2 that (Y)your way may be known on earth,
your (Z)saving power among all nations.
3 (AA)Let the peoples praise you, O God;
let all the peoples praise you!
The Law of the Lord Is Perfect
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.
19 (A)The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the sky above[a] proclaims his handiwork.
2 Day to day pours out speech,
and night to night reveals knowledge.
3 There is no speech, nor are there words,
whose voice is not heard.
4 (B)Their (C)voice[b] goes out through all the earth,
and their words to the end of the world.
In them he has set a tent for (D)the sun,
5 (E)which comes out like (F)a bridegroom leaving his chamber,
and, like a strong man, runs its course with joy.
6 Its rising is from the end of the heavens,
and its circuit to the end of them,
and there is nothing hidden from its heat.
7 (G)The law of the Lord is perfect,[c]
(H)reviving the soul;
(I)the testimony of the Lord is (J)sure,
(K)making wise (L)the simple;
8 (M)the precepts of the Lord are right,
rejoicing the heart;
the commandment of the Lord is (N)pure,
(O)enlightening the eyes;
9 the fear of the Lord is clean,
enduring forever;
the rules[d] of the Lord are (P)true,
and righteous altogether.
10 More to be desired are they than (Q)gold,
even much (R)fine gold;
(S)sweeter also than honey
and drippings of (T)the honeycomb.
11 Moreover, by them is your servant warned;
(U)in keeping them there is great reward.
God Is Our Fortress
To the choirmaster. Of (A)the Sons of Korah. According to (B)Alamoth.[a] A Song.
46 God is our (C)refuge and strength,
a very (D)present[b] help in (E)trouble.
2 Therefore we will not fear (F)though the earth gives way,
though the mountains be moved into (G)the heart of the sea,
3 though (H)its waters roar and foam,
though the mountains tremble at its swelling. Selah
4 There is (I)a river whose streams make glad (J)the city of God,
the holy (K)habitation of the Most High.
5 (L)God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved;
God will help her when morning dawns.
6 (M)The nations rage, the kingdoms totter;
he (N)utters his voice, the earth (O)melts.
7 (P)The Lord of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah
8 (Q)Come, behold the works of the Lord,
how he has brought desolations on the earth.
9 (R)He makes wars cease to the end of the earth;
he (S)breaks the bow and shatters the spear;
(T)he burns the chariots with fire.
10 (U)“Be still, and know that I am God.
(V)I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth!”
11 (W)The Lord of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah
2 “Plead with your mother, plead—
for (A)she is not my wife,
and I am not her husband—
that she put away (B)her whoring from her face,
and her adultery from between her breasts;
3 lest (C)I strip her naked
and make her as (D)in the day she was born,
and (E)make her like a wilderness,
and make her like a parched land,
and kill her with thirst.
4 (F)Upon her children also I will have no mercy,
(G)because they are children of whoredom.
5 For (H)their mother has played the whore;
she who conceived them has acted shamefully.
For (I)she said, ‘I will go after my lovers,
who (J)give me my bread and my water,
my wool and my flax, my oil and my drink.’
6 Therefore (K)I will hedge up her[a] way with thorns,
and (L)I will build a wall against her,
so that she cannot find her paths.
7 She shall pursue her lovers
but not overtake them,
and she shall seek them
but shall not find them.
(M)Then she shall say,
‘I will go and return to (N)my first husband,
(O)for it was better for me then than now.’
8 And (P)she did not know
that it was (Q)I who gave her
(R)the grain, the wine, and the oil,
and who lavished on (S)her silver and gold,
(T)which they used for Baal.
9 Therefore (U)I will take back
my grain in its time,
and my wine in its season,
and (V)I will take away my wool and my flax,
which were to cover her nakedness.
10 Now (W)I will uncover her lewdness
in the sight of her lovers,
and no one shall rescue her out of my hand.
11 (X)And I will put an end to all her mirth,
her feasts, her (Y)new moons, her (Z)Sabbaths,
and all her (AA)appointed feasts.
12 And (AB)I will lay waste her vines and her fig trees,
(AC)of which she said,
‘These are (AD)my wages,
which my lovers have given me.’
I will make them a forest,
(AE)and the beasts of the field shall devour them.
13 And (AF)I will punish her for (AG)the feast days of the Baals
when she burned offerings to them
and (AH)adorned herself with her ring and jewelry,
and went after her lovers
and forgot me, declares the Lord.
The Lord's Mercy on Israel
Taming the Tongue
3 (A)Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. 2 For (B)we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, (C)he is a perfect man, (D)able also to bridle his whole body. 3 If we put (E)bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we guide their whole bodies as well. 4 Look at the ships also: though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. 5 So also the tongue is a small member, yet (F)it boasts of great things.
How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! 6 And (G)the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, (H)staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life,[a] and set on fire by hell.[b] 7 For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, 8 but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, (I)full of deadly poison. 9 With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people (J)who are made in the likeness of God. 10 From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers,[c] these things ought not to be so. 11 Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water? 12 Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water.
Wisdom from Above
13 Who is wise and understanding among you? (K)By his good conduct let him show his works (L)in the meekness of wisdom.
The Parable of the Hidden Treasure
44 “The kingdom of heaven (A)is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy (B)he goes and sells all that he has and (C)buys that field.
The Parable of the Pearl of Great Value
45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, 46 who, on finding (D)one pearl of great value, (E)went and sold all that he had and (F)bought it.
The Parable of the Net
47 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is (G)like a net that was thrown into the sea and (H)gathered fish of every kind. 48 When it was full, (I)men drew it ashore and sat down and sorted the good into containers but threw away the bad. 49 So it will be at (J)the end of the age. The angels will come out and (K)separate the evil from the righteous 50 (L)and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place (M)there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
New and Old Treasures
51 (N)“Have you understood all these things?” They said to him, “Yes.” 52 And he said to them, “Therefore every (O)scribe (P)who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house, who (Q)brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.”
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.