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]
Ezekiel’s Commission
2 He said to me, “Son of man,[a] stand on your feet and I will speak with you.” 2 As he spoke to me,[b] a wind[c] came into me and stood me on my feet, and I heard the one speaking to me.
3 He said to me, “Son of man, I am sending you to the house[d] of Israel, to rebellious nations[e] who have rebelled against me; both they and their fathers have revolted[f] against me to this very day. 4 The people[g] to whom I am sending you are obstinate and hard-hearted,[h] and you must say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says.’[i] 5 And as for them,[j] whether they listen[k] or not—for they are a rebellious[l] house[m]—they will know that a prophet has been among them. 6 But you, son of man, do not fear them, and do not fear their words. Even though briers[n] and thorns[o] surround you and you live among scorpions—do not fear their words and do not be terrified of the looks they give you,[p] for they are a rebellious house! 7 You must speak my words to them whether they listen or not, for they are rebellious.
Peter Defends His Actions to the Jerusalem Church
11 Now the apostles and the brothers who were throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles too had accepted[a] the word of God.[b] 2 So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers[c] took issue with[d] him, 3 saying, “You went to[e] uncircumcised men and shared a meal with[f] them.” 4 But Peter began and explained it to them point by point,[g] saying, 5 “I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision,[h] an object something like a large sheet descending,[i] being let down from heaven[j] by its four corners, and it came to me. 6 As I stared[k] I looked into it and saw four-footed animals of the earth, wild animals, reptiles,[l] and wild birds.[m] 7 I also heard a voice saying to me, ‘Get up, Peter; slaughter[n] and eat!’ 8 But I said, ‘Certainly not, Lord, for nothing defiled or ritually unclean[o] has ever entered my mouth!’ 9 But the voice replied a second time from heaven, ‘What God has made clean, you must not consider[p] ritually unclean!’ 10 This happened three times, and then everything was pulled up to heaven again. 11 At that very moment,[q] three men sent to me from Caesarea[r] approached[s] the house where we were staying.[t] 12 The Spirit told me to accompany them without hesitation. These six brothers[u] also went with me, and we entered the man’s house. 13 He informed us how he had seen an angel standing in his house and saying, ‘Send to Joppa and summon Simon, who is called Peter, 14 who will speak a message[v] to you by which you and your entire household will be saved.’ 15 Then as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell on[w] them just as he did[x] on us at the beginning.[y] 16 And I remembered the word of the Lord,[z] as he used to say,[aa] ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’[ab] 17 Therefore if God[ac] gave them the same gift[ad] as he also gave us after believing[ae] in the Lord Jesus Christ,[af] who was I to hinder[ag] God?” 18 When they heard this,[ah] they ceased their objections[ai] and praised[aj] God, saying, “So then, God has granted the repentance[ak] that leads to life even to the Gentiles.”[al]
Psalm 97[a]
97 The Lord reigns.
Let the earth be happy.
Let the many coastlands rejoice.
2 Dark clouds surround him;
equity and justice are the foundation of his throne.[b]
3 Fire goes before him;
on every side[c] it burns up his enemies.
4 His lightning bolts light up the world;
the earth sees and trembles.
5 The mountains melt like wax before the Lord,
before the Lord of the whole earth.
6 The sky declares his justice,
and all the nations see his splendor.
7 All who worship idols are ashamed,
those who boast about worthless idols.
All the gods bow down before him.[d]
8 Zion hears and rejoices,
the towns[e] of Judah are happy,
because of your judgments, O Lord.
9 For you, O Lord, are the Most High[f] over the whole earth;
you are elevated high above all gods.
10 You who love the Lord, hate evil!
He protects[g] the lives of his faithful followers;
he delivers them from the power[h] of the wicked.
11 The godly bask in the light;
the morally upright experience joy.[i]
12 You godly ones, rejoice in the Lord.
Give thanks to his holy name.[j]
Psalm 138[a]
By David.
138 I will give you thanks with all my heart;
before the heavenly assembly[b] I will sing praises to you.
2 I will bow down toward your holy temple,
and give thanks to your name,
because of your loyal love and faithfulness,
for you have exalted your promise above the entire sky.[c]
3 When[d] I cried out for help, you answered me.
You made me bold and energized me.[e]
4 Let all the kings of the earth give thanks[f] to you, O Lord,
when they hear the words you speak.[g]
5 Let them sing about the Lord’s deeds,[h]
for the Lord’s splendor is magnificent.[i]
6 Though the Lord is exalted, he looks after the lowly,
and from far away humbles[j] the proud.
7 Even when I must walk in the midst of danger,[k] you revive me.
You oppose my angry enemies,[l]
and your right hand delivers me.
8 The Lord avenges me.[m]
O Lord, your loyal love endures.
Do not abandon those whom you have made.[n]
Confirmation from the Jerusalem Apostles
2 Then after fourteen years I went up to Jerusalem again with Barnabas, taking Titus along too. 2 I went there[a] because of[b] a revelation and presented[c] to them the gospel that I preach among the Gentiles. But I did so[d] only in a private meeting with the influential people,[e] to make sure that I was not running—or had not run[f]—in vain. 3 Yet[g] not even Titus, who was with me, was compelled to be circumcised, although he was a Greek. 4 Now this matter arose[h] because of the false brothers with false pretenses[i] who slipped in unnoticed to spy on[j] our freedom that we have in Christ Jesus, to make us slaves.[k] 5 But[l] we did not surrender to them[m] even for a moment,[n] in order that the truth of the gospel would remain with you.[o]
6 But from those who were influential[p] (whatever they were makes no difference to me; God shows no favoritism between people[q])—those influential leaders[r] added[s] nothing to my message.[t] 7 On the contrary, when they saw[u] that I was entrusted with the gospel to the uncircumcised[v] just as Peter was entrusted with the gospel to the circumcised[w] 8 (for he who empowered[x] Peter for his apostleship[y] to the circumcised[z] also empowered me for my apostleship to the Gentiles)[aa] 9 and when James, Cephas,[ab] and John, who had a reputation as[ac] pillars,[ad] recognized[ae] the grace that had been given to me, they gave to Barnabas and me[af] the right hand of fellowship, agreeing[ag] that we would go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised.[ah]
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