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)
3 Now Moses[a] was shepherding the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the desert[b] and came to the mountain of God, to Horeb.[c] 2 The angel of the Lord[d] appeared[e] to him in[f] a flame of fire from within a bush.[g] He looked,[h] and[i] the bush was ablaze with fire, but it was not being consumed![j] 3 So Moses thought,[k] “I will turn aside to see[l] this amazing[m] sight. Why does the bush not burn up?”[n] 4 When the Lord[o] saw that[p] he had turned aside to look, God called to him from within the bush and said, “Moses, Moses!”[q] And Moses[r] said, “Here I am.” 5 God[s] said, “Do not approach any closer![t] Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy[u] ground.”[v] 6 He added, “I am the God of your father,[w] the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” Then Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look[x] at God.
7 The Lord said, “I have surely seen[y] the affliction of my people who are in Egypt. I have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows.[z] 8 I have come down[aa] to deliver them[ab] from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up from that land to a land that is both good and spacious,[ac] to a land flowing with milk and honey,[ad] to the region of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites.[ae] 9 And now indeed[af] the cry[ag] of the Israelites has come to me, and I have also seen how severely the Egyptians oppress them.[ah] 10 So now go, and I will send you[ai] to Pharaoh to bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt.”
11 Moses said[aj] to God,[ak] “Who am I that I should go[al] to Pharaoh, or that I should bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” 12 He replied,[am] “Surely I will be with you,[an] and this will be the sign[ao] to you that I have sent you: When you bring the people out of Egypt, you and they will serve[ap] God at[aq] this mountain.”
18 For you have not come to something that can be touched,[a] to a burning fire and darkness and gloom and a whirlwind 19 and the blast of a trumpet and a voice uttering words[b] such that those who heard begged to hear no more.[c] 20 For they could not bear what was commanded: “If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned.”[d] 21 In fact, the scene[e] was so terrifying that Moses said, “I shudder with fear.”[f] 22 But you have come to Mount Zion, the city[g] of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels, to the assembly 23 and congregation of the firstborn, who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous, who have been made perfect, 24 and to Jesus, the mediator[h] of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks of something better than Abel’s does.[i]
25 Take care not to refuse the one who is speaking! For if they did not escape when they refused the one who warned them on earth, how much less shall we, if we reject the one who warns from heaven? 26 Then his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “I will once more shake not only the earth but heaven too.”[j] 27 Now this phrase “once more” indicates the removal of what is shaken, that is, of created things, so that what is unshaken may remain. 28 So since we are receiving an unshakable kingdom, let us give thanks, and through this let us offer worship pleasing to God in devotion and awe. 29 For our God is indeed a devouring fire.[k]
17 Then[a] the seventy-two[b] returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons submit to[c] us in your name!”[d] 18 So[e] he said to them, “I saw[f] Satan fall[g] like lightning[h] from heaven. 19 Look, I have given you authority to tread[i] on snakes and scorpions[j] and on the full force of the enemy,[k] and nothing will[l] hurt you. 20 Nevertheless, do not rejoice that[m] the spirits submit to you, but rejoice[n] that your names stand written[o] in heaven.”
21 On that same occasion[p] Jesus[q] rejoiced[r] in the Holy Spirit and said, “I praise[s] you, Father, Lord[t] of heaven and earth, because[u] you have hidden these things from the wise[v] and intelligent, and revealed them to little children.[w] Yes, Father, for this was your gracious will.[x] 22 All things have been given to me by my Father.[y] No one knows who the Son is except the Father, or who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son decides[z] to reveal him.”
23 Then[aa] Jesus[ab] turned[ac] to his[ad] disciples and said privately, “Blessed[ae] are the eyes that see what you see! 24 For I tell you that many prophets and kings longed to see[af] what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.”
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