Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 66[a]
For the music director, a song, a psalm.
66 Shout out praise to God, all the earth!
2 Sing praises about the majesty of his reputation.[b]
Give him the honor he deserves![c]
3 Say to God:
“How awesome are your deeds!
Because of your great power your enemies cower in fear[d] before you.
4 All the earth worships[e] you
and sings praises to you.
They sing praises to your name.” (Selah)
5 Come and witness[f] God’s exploits![g]
His acts on behalf of people are awesome.[h]
6 He turned the sea into dry land;[i]
they passed through the river on foot.[j]
Let us rejoice in him there.[k]
7 He rules[l] by his power forever;
he watches[m] the nations.
Stubborn rebels should not exalt[n] themselves. (Selah)
8 Praise[o] our God, you nations.
Loudly proclaim his praise.[p]
9 He preserves our lives[q]
and does not allow our feet to slip.
10 For[r] you, O God, tested us;
you purified us like refined silver.
11 You led us into a trap;[s]
you caused us to suffer.[t]
12 You allowed men to ride over our heads;
we passed through fire and water,
but you brought us out into a wide open place.[u]
13 I will enter[v] your temple with burnt sacrifices;
I will fulfill the vows I made to you,
14 which my lips uttered
and my mouth spoke when I was in trouble.
15 I will offer up to you fattened animals as burnt sacrifices,
along with the smell of sacrificial rams.
I will offer cattle and goats. (Selah)
16 Come! Listen, all you who are loyal to God.[w]
I will declare what he has done for me.
17 I cried out to him for help[x]
and praised him with my tongue.[y]
18 If I had harbored sin in my heart,[z]
the Lord would not have listened.
19 However, God heard;
he listened to my prayer.
20 God deserves praise,[aa]
for[ab] he did not reject my prayer
or abandon his love for me.[ac]
Psalm 67[ad]
For the music director, to be accompanied by stringed instruments; a psalm, a song.
67 May God show us his favor[ae] and bless us.[af]
May he smile on us.[ag] (Selah)
2 Then those living on earth will know what you are like;
all nations will know how you deliver your people.[ah]
3 Let the nations thank you, O God.
Let all the nations thank you.[ai]
4 Let foreigners[aj] rejoice and celebrate.
For you execute justice among the nations,
and govern the people living on earth.[ak] (Selah)
5 Let the nations thank you, O God.
Let all the nations thank you.[al]
6 The earth yields its crops.
May God, our God, bless us.
7 May God bless us.[am]
Then all the ends of the earth will give him the honor he deserves.[an]
Psalm 19[a]
For the music director, a psalm of David.
19 The heavens declare the glory of God;[b]
the sky displays his handiwork.[c]
2 Day after day it speaks out;[d]
night after night it reveals his greatness.[e]
3 There is no actual speech or word,
nor is its[f] voice literally heard.
4 Yet its voice[g] echoes[h] throughout the earth;
its[i] words carry[j] to the distant horizon.[k]
In the sky[l] he has pitched a tent for the sun.[m]
5 Like a bridegroom it emerges[n] from its chamber;[o]
like a strong man it enjoys[p] running its course.[q]
6 It emerges from the distant horizon,[r]
and goes from one end of the sky to the other;[s]
nothing can escape[t] its heat.
7 The law of the Lord is perfect
and preserves one’s life.[u]
The rules set down by the Lord[v] are reliable[w]
and impart wisdom to the inexperienced.[x]
8 The Lord’s precepts are fair[y]
and make one joyful.[z]
The Lord’s commands[aa] are pure[ab]
and give insight for life.[ac]
9 The commands to fear the Lord are right[ad]
and endure forever.[ae]
The judgments given by the Lord are trustworthy
and absolutely just.[af]
10 They are of greater value[ag] than gold,
than even a great amount of pure gold;
they bring greater delight[ah] than honey,
than even the sweetest honey from a honeycomb.
11 Yes, your servant finds moral guidance there;[ai]
those who obey them receive a rich reward.[aj]
12 Who can know all his errors?[ak]
Please do not punish me for sins I am unaware of.[al]
13 Moreover, keep me from committing flagrant sins;[am]
do not allow such sins to control me.[an]
Then I will be blameless,
and innocent of blatant[ao] rebellion.
14 May my words and my thoughts
be acceptable in your sight,[ap]
O Lord, my sheltering rock[aq] and my redeemer.[ar]
Psalm 46[a]
For the music director, by the Korahites; according to the alamoth style;[b] a song.
46 God is our strong refuge;[c]
he is truly our helper in times of trouble.[d]
2 For this reason we do not fear[e] when the earth shakes,[f]
and the mountains tumble into the depths of the sea,[g]
3 when its waves[h] crash[i] and foam,
and the mountains shake[j] before the surging sea.[k] (Selah)
4 The river’s channels bring joy to the city of God,[l]
the special, holy dwelling place of[m] the Most High.[n]
5 God lives within it,[o] it cannot be moved.[p]
God rescues it[q] at the break of dawn.[r]
6 Nations are in uproar, kingdoms are overthrown.[s]
God[t] gives a shout,[u] the earth dissolves.[v]
7 The Lord of Heaven’s Armies is on our side.[w]
The God of Jacob[x] is our stronghold.[y] (Selah)
8 Come, Witness the exploits[z] of the Lord,
who brings devastation to the earth.[aa]
9 He brings an end to wars throughout the earth.[ab]
He shatters[ac] the bow and breaks[ad] the spear;
he burns[ae] the shields with fire.[af]
10 He says,[ag] “Stop your striving and recognize[ah] that I am God.
I will be exalted[ai] over[aj] the nations! I will be exalted over[ak] the earth!”
11 The Lord of Heaven’s Armies is on our side![al]
The God of Jacob[am] is our stronghold![an] (Selah)
A Lament over the Ravages of Drought[a]
14 This was[b] the Lord’s message to Jeremiah about the drought.[c]
2 “The people of Judah are in mourning.
The people in her cities are pining away.
They lie on the ground expressing their sorrow.[d]
Cries of distress come up to me[e] from Jerusalem.
3 The leading men of the cities send their servants for water.
They go to the cisterns,[f] but they do not find any water there.
They return with their containers[g] empty.
Disappointed and dismayed, they bury their faces in their hands.[h]
4 They are dismayed because the ground is cracked[i]
because there has been no rain in the land.
The farmers, too, are dismayed
and bury their faces in their hands.
5 Even the doe abandons her newborn fawn[j] in the field
because there is no grass.
6 Wild donkeys stand on the hilltops
and pant for breath like jackals.
Their eyes are strained looking for food,
because there is none to be found.”[k]
7 Then I said,[l]
“O Lord, intervene for the honor of your name[m]
even though our sins speak out against us.[n]
Indeed,[o] we have turned away from you many times.
We have sinned against you.
8 You have been the object of Israel’s hopes.
You have saved them when they were in trouble.
Why have you become like a resident foreigner[p] in the land?
Why have you become like a traveler who only stops in to spend the night?
9 Why should you be like someone who is helpless,[q]
like a champion[r] who cannot save anyone?
You are indeed with us,[s]
and we belong to you.[t]
Do not abandon us!”
Lament over Present Destruction and Threat of More to Come
17 “Tell these people this, Jeremiah:[a]
‘My eyes overflow with tears
day and night without ceasing.[b]
For my people, my dear children,[c] have suffered a crushing blow.
They have suffered a serious wound.[d]
18 If I go out into the countryside,
I see those who have been killed in battle.
If I go into the city,
I see those who are sick because of starvation.[e]
For both prophet and priest—
they go peddling in the land
but they are not humbled.’”[f]
19 Then I said,
“Lord,[g] have you completely rejected the nation of Judah?
Do you despise[h] the city of Zion?
Why have you struck us with such force
that we are beyond recovery?[i]
We hope for peace, but nothing good has come of it.
We hope for a time of relief from our troubles, but experience terror.[j]
20 Lord, we confess that we have been wicked.
We confess that our ancestors have done wrong.[k]
We have indeed[l] sinned against you.
21 For the honor of your name,[m] do not treat Jerusalem with contempt.
Do not treat with disdain the place where your glorious throne sits.[n]
Be mindful of your covenant with us. Do not break it.[o]
22 Do any of the worthless idols[p] of the nations cause rain to fall?
Do the skies themselves send showers?
Is it not you, O Lord our God, who does this?[q]
So we put our hopes in you[r]
because you alone do all this.”
An Appeal from Allegory
21 Tell me, you who want to be under the law, do you not understand the law?[a] 22 For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the[b] slave woman and the other by the free woman. 23 But one, the son by the slave woman, was born by natural descent,[c] while the other, the son by the free woman, was born through the promise. 24 These things may be treated as an allegory,[d] for these women represent two covenants. One is from Mount Sinai bearing children for slavery; this is Hagar. 25 Now Hagar represents Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children. 26 But the Jerusalem above is free,[e] and she is our mother. 27 For it is written:
“Rejoice, O barren woman who does not bear children;[f]
break forth and shout, you who have no birth pains,
because the children of the desolate woman are more numerous
than those of the woman who has a husband.”[g]
28 But you,[h] brothers and sisters,[i] are children of the promise like Isaac. 29 But just as at that time the one born by natural descent[j] persecuted the one born according to the Spirit,[k] so it is now. 30 But what does the scripture say? “Throw out the slave woman and her son, for the son of the slave woman will not share the inheritance with the son”[l] of the free woman. 31 Therefore, brothers and sisters,[m] we are not children of the slave woman but of the free woman.
Freedom of the Believer
5 For freedom[n] Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not be subject again to the yoke[o] of slavery.
The Demand for a Sign
11 Then the Pharisees[a] came and began to argue with Jesus, asking for[b] a sign from heaven[c] to test him. 12 Sighing deeply in his spirit he said, “Why does this generation look for a sign? I tell you the truth,[d] no sign will be given to this generation.” 13 Then[e] he left them, got back into the boat, and went to the other side.
The Yeast of the Pharisees and Herod
14 Now[f] they had forgotten to take bread, except for one loaf they had with them in the boat. 15 And Jesus[g] ordered them,[h] “Watch out! Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees[i] and the yeast of Herod!” 16 So they began to discuss with one another about having no bread.[j] 17 When he learned of this,[k] Jesus said to them, “Why are you arguing[l] about having no bread? Do you still not see or understand? Have your hearts been hardened? 18 Though you have eyes, don’t you see? And though you have ears, can’t you hear?[m] Don’t you remember? 19 When I broke the five loaves for the 5,000, how many baskets full of pieces did you pick up?” They replied, “Twelve.” 20 “When I broke the seven loaves for the 4,000, how many baskets full of pieces did you pick up?” They replied,[n] “Seven.” 21 Then[o] he said to them, “Do you still not understand?”[p]
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