Book of Common Prayer
Come and See the Works of God
For the choir director. A Song. A Psalm.
66 (A)Make a loud shout to God, all the earth;
2 Sing praise for the (B)glory of His name;
Establish His (C)praise as glorious.
3 Say to God, “How [a](D)fearsome are Your works!
Because of the abundance of Your strength Your enemies will [b](E)cower before You.
4 (F)All the earth will worship You,
And will (G)sing praises to You;
They will sing praises to Your name.” [c]Selah.
5 (H)Come and see the works of God,
Who is (I)fearsome 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)be glad 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 [d](P)make the sound of His praise heard,
9 Who [e](Q)establishes us among the living
And (R)does not allow our feet to stumble.
10 For You have (S)tested us, O God;
You have (T)refined us as silver is refined.
11 You (U)brought us into the net;
You established 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)recount what He has done for my soul.
17 I called out to Him with my mouth,
And [h]He was (AF)exalted with my tongue.
18 If I [i](AG)see 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.
Cause Your Face to Shine upon Us
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)lead 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.
The Law of Yahweh Is Perfect
For the choir director. A Psalm of David.
19 The (A)heavens are telling of the glory of God;
And the (B)expanse is declaring the work of His hands.
2 Day to (C)day pours forth [a]speech,
And (D)night to night reveals knowledge.
3 There is no [b]speech, nor are there words;
Their voice is not heard.
4 Their [c](E)line has gone out through all the earth,
And their utterances to the end of the world.
In them He has (F)placed a tent for the sun,
5 Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber;
It rejoices as a strong man to run his course.
6 Its (G)rising is from [d]one end of the heavens,
And its circuit to the [e]other end of them;
And there is nothing hidden from its heat.
7 (H)The law of Yahweh is [f](I)perfect, (J)restoring the soul;
The testimony of Yahweh is (K)sure, making (L)wise the simple.
8 The precepts of Yahweh are (M)right, (N)rejoicing the heart;
The commandment of Yahweh is (O)pure, (P)enlightening the eyes.
9 The fear of Yahweh is clean, enduring forever;
The judgments of Yahweh are (Q)true; they are (R)righteous altogether.
10 They are more desirable than (S)gold, even more than much fine gold;
(T)Sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb.
11 Moreover, by them (U)Your slave is warned;
In keeping them there is great (V)reward.
12 Who can (W)discern his errors? (X)Acquit me of (Y)hidden faults.
13 Also keep back Your slave (Z)from presumptuous sins;
Let them not (AA)rule over me;
Then I will be [g](AB)blameless,
And I shall be acquitted of (AC)great transgression.
14 Let the [h]words of my mouth and (AD)the meditation of my heart
Be acceptable in Your sight,
O Yahweh, (AE)my rock and my (AF)Redeemer.
God Is Our Refuge and Strength
For the choir director. Of the sons of Korah. [a]According to Alamoth. A Song.
46 God is our (A)refuge and strength,
[b]A very (B)present help (C)in [c]trouble.
2 Therefore we will (D)not fear, though (E)the earth should change
And though (F)the mountains shake into the heart of the [d]sea;
3 Though its (G)waters roar and foam,
Though the mountains quake at its lofty pride. [e]Selah.
4 There is a (H)river whose streams make glad the (I)city of God,
The holy (J)dwelling places of the Most High.
5 God is (K)in the midst of her, she will not be shaken;
God will (L)help her [f]when morning dawns.
6 The [g]nations (M)roar, the kingdoms shake;
He (N)gives His voice, the earth (O)melts.
7 Yahweh of hosts (P)is with us;
The God of Jacob is (Q)our stronghold. Selah.
8 Come, (R)behold the works of Yahweh,
[h]Who has appointed (S)desolations in the earth.
9 He (T)makes wars to cease to the end of the earth;
He (U)breaks the bow and cuts up the spear;
He (V)burns the chariots with fire.
10 “[i]Cease striving and (W)know that I am God;
I will be (X)exalted among the [j]nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”
11 Yahweh of hosts is with us;
The God of Jacob is our stronghold. Selah.
Amnon Violates Tamar
13 Now it happened afterwards that (A)Absalom the son of David had a beautiful sister whose name was (B)Tamar, and (C)Amnon the son of David loved her. 2 And Amnon was so distressed because of his sister Tamar that he made himself ill, for she was a virgin. So it was hard in Amnon’s sight to do anything to her. 3 But Amnon had a friend whose name was Jonadab, the son of [a](D)Shimeah, David’s brother; and Jonadab was a very [b]shrewd man. 4 And he said to him, “O son of the king, why are you so depressed morning after morning? Will you not tell me?” Then Amnon said to him, “I am in love with Tamar, the sister of my brother Absalom.” 5 Jonadab then said to him, “Lie down on your bed and pretend to be ill; and your father will come to see you, and you will say to him, ‘Please let my sister Tamar come and give me some food to eat, and let her prepare the food in my sight, that I may see it and eat from her hand.’” 6 So Amnon lay down and pretended to be ill; and the king came to see him, and Amnon said to the king, “Please let my sister Tamar come and (E)make me a couple of cakes in my sight, that I may eat from her hand.”
7 Then David sent to the house for Tamar, saying, “Go now to your brother Amnon’s house, and prepare food for him.” 8 So Tamar went to her brother Amnon’s house, and he was lying down. And she took dough, kneaded it, made cakes in his sight, and baked the cakes. 9 And she took the pan and [c]dished them out before him, but he refused to eat. And Amnon said, “(F)Have everyone go out from me.” So everyone went out from him. 10 Then Amnon said to Tamar, “Bring the food into the [d]bedroom, that I may eat from your hand.” So Tamar took the cakes which she had made and brought them into the bedroom to her brother Amnon. 11 Then she brought them near to him to eat, but he (G)took hold of her and said to her, “Come, lie with me, my sister.” 12 But she said to him, “No, my brother, do not violate me, for (H)such a thing is not done in Israel; do not do this (I)disgraceful thing! 13 As for me, where could I [e]get rid of my reproach? And as for you, you will be like one of the wicked fools in Israel. So now, please speak to the king, for (J)he will not withhold me from you.” 14 But he was not willing to listen to her voice. Now he was stronger than she, so he (K)violated her and lay with her.
15 Then Amnon hated her with a very great hatred; for the hatred with which he hated her was greater than the love with which he had loved her. And Amnon said to her, “Get up, go away!” 16 But she said to him, “No, because this wrong in sending me away is greater than the other that you have done to me!” But he was not willing to listen to her. 17 Then he called his young man who attended him and said, “Now cast this woman out of my presence, and lock the door behind her.” 18 Now she had on (L)a [f]long-sleeved garment; for in this manner the virgin daughters of the king dressed themselves in robes. Then his attendant took her out and locked the door behind her. 19 (M)Then Tamar put [g]ashes on her head and (N)tore her [h]long-sleeved garment which was on her; and (O)she put her hand on her head and went away, crying aloud as she went.
20 So Absalom her brother said to her, “Has Amnon your brother been with you? But now keep silent, my sister, he is your brother; do not take this matter to heart.” So Tamar remained and was desolate in her brother Absalom’s house. 21 Now when King David heard of all these matters, he was very angry. 22 But Absalom did not speak to Amnon (P)either good or bad; for (Q)Absalom hated Amnon because he had violated his sister Tamar.
Bearing the Weaknesses of Others
15 Now we who are strong ought to bear the weaknesses of (A)those without strength and not just please ourselves. 2 Each of us is to (B)please his neighbor [a]for his good, to his (C)building up. 3 For even (D)Christ did not please Himself; but as it is written, “(E)The reproaches of those who reproached You fell on Me.” 4 For (F)whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through the perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. 5 Now may the (G)God of perseverance and encouragement grant you (H)to be of the same mind with one another according to Christ Jesus, 6 so that with one accord you may with one [b]voice glorify (I)the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Christ, the Hope of Jews and Gentiles
7 Therefore, (J)accept one another, just as Christ also accepted [c]us to the glory of God. 8 For I say that Christ has become a servant to (K)the circumcision on behalf of the truth of God to confirm (L)the promises given to the fathers, 9 and for (M)the Gentiles to (N)glorify God for His mercy; as it is written,
10 And again he says,
“(P)Rejoice, O Gentiles, with His people.”
11 And again,
12 And again Isaiah says,
“(R)There shall come (S)the root of Jesse,
And He who arises to rule over the Gentiles,
(T)In Him shall the Gentiles hope.”
13 Now may the God of hope fill you with all (U)joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope (V)by the power of the Holy Spirit.
John the Baptist’s Last Witness
22 After these things Jesus and His (A)disciples came into the land of Judea, and there He was spending time with them and (B)baptizing. 23 And John also was baptizing in Aenon near Salim, because there was much water there; and people were coming and were being baptized— 24 for (C)John had not yet been thrown into prison.
25 Therefore there arose a debate between John’s disciples and a Jew about (D)purification. 26 And they came to John and said to him, “(E)Rabbi, He who was with you (F)beyond the Jordan, to whom you (G)have borne witness, behold, He is baptizing and all are coming to Him.” 27 John answered and said, “(H)A man can receive nothing unless it (I)has been given him from heaven. 28 You yourselves [a]are my witnesses that I said, ‘(J)I am not the [b]Christ,’ but, ‘I have been sent ahead of Him.’ 29 He who has the bride is (K)the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice. So this (L)joy of mine has been made full. 30 He must increase, but I must decrease.
31 “(M)He who comes from above is above all, (N)he who is of the earth is from the earth and speaks of the earth. (O)He who comes from heaven is above all. 32 What He has seen and heard, of that He (P)bears witness; and (Q)no one receives His witness. 33 He who has received His witness (R)has set his seal to this, that God is true. 34 For He whom God has (S)sent speaks the words of God; [c](T)for He gives the Spirit without measure. 35 (U)The Father loves the Son and (V)has given all things into His hand. 36 He who (W)believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who (X)does not [d]obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”
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