Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 66
How Awesome Are Your Deeds!
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For the choir director. A song. A psalm.
Introduction: The Praise of the World
1 Shout praise to God, all the earth!
2 Make music to the glory of his name!
Make his praise glorious!
3 Say to God, “How awesome[a] are your deeds!”
Because of your great power your enemies must cower before you.
4 All the earth bows down to you.
They make music to you.
They make music to your name. Interlude
God’s Awesome Deeds Deliver His People
5 Come and see the works of God.
How awesome his deeds for all people!
6 He turned the sea into dry land.
They crossed through the river on foot.
Let us rejoice in him there.
7 He rules by his power forever.
His eyes watch the nations. Interlude
Do not let the rebellious rise up against him.
8 Bless our God, you peoples.
Let the sound of his praise be heard.
9 He is the one who has preserved our lives.
He did not let our feet slip.
10 Indeed, you tested us, God.
You refined us as silver is refined.
11 You led us into a trap.
You laid a burden on our backs.
12 You let men ride over our heads.
We went through fire and through water,
but you brought us out to a well-watered place.
His People’s Praise
13 I will come to your house with whole burnt offerings.
I will fulfill my vows to you,
14 which my lips uttered,
which my mouth spoke during my trouble.
15 I will offer fat animals to you as whole burnt offerings,
along with the smoke from rams. Interlude
I will offer cattle with goats.
16 Come, listen, all you who fear God,
and let me tell what he has done to save my life.
17 To him I cried out with my mouth.
High praise was on my tongue.
18 If I had contemplated evil in my heart,
the Lord would not have listened,
19 but God has surely listened.
He has paid attention to the sound of my prayer.
20 Blessed be God, who has not turned aside my prayer
or turned aside his mercy from me!
Psalm 67
Your Kingdom Come
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For the choir director. With stringed instruments. A psalm. A song.
The Prayer
1 May God be gracious to us and bless us. Interlude
May his face shine on us—
2 so that your way may be known on earth,
your salvation among all nations.
3 May the peoples praise you, O God.
May the peoples praise you—all of them.
4 May the countries be glad and sing for joy,
because you rule the peoples with fairness, Interlude
and you guide the countries of the earth.
5 May the peoples praise you, O God.
May the peoples praise you—all of them.
6 The earth will yield its harvest.
God, our God, will bless us.
7 God will bless us,
and all the ends of the earth will fear him.
Psalm 19
The Glory of God Is Revealed
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For the choir director. A psalm by David.
The Glory of God Revealed by Creation
1 The heavens tell about the glory of God.
The expanse of the sky proclaims the work of his hands.
2 Day after day they pour out speech.
Night after night they display knowledge.
3 They do not speak. They say no words.
Their voice is not heard.[a]
4 Their voice[b] goes out into all the earth,
and their word reaches the end of the world.
God has pitched a tent for the sun in the heavens.
5 It comes out like a bridegroom from his wedding canopy.
It celebrates like a champion who has run his race.
6 It sets out from one end of the heavens.
It runs until it reaches the other end.
There is nowhere to hide from its heat.
The Glory of God Revealed in His Word
7 The law[c] of the Lord is perfect.
It revives the soul.
The testimony of the Lord is trustworthy.
It gives wisdom to the inexperienced.[d]
8 The precepts of the Lord are right.
They give joy to the heart.
The commandment of the Lord is bright.
It gives light to the eyes.
9 The fear of the Lord is pure.
It stands forever.
The just decrees of the Lord are truth.
They are altogether righteous.
10 They are more desirable than gold,
even better than much pure gold.
They are sweeter than honey,
even honey dripping from the honeycomb.
The Glory of God Revealed in the Believer’s Life
11 Yes, by them your servant is warned.
In keeping them there is great reward.
12 Who can recognize his own errors?
Declare me innocent of hidden sins.
13 Restrain your servant also from deliberate sins.
Do not let them rule over me.
Then I will be blameless.
Then I will be innocent of great rebellion.
14 May the speech from my mouth
and the thoughts in my heart be pleasing to you,
O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.
Psalm 46
The King’s Reign
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For the choir director. By the Sons of Korah.
According to alamoth.[a] A song.
The Earth Shaken
1 God is our refuge and strength,
a helper who can always be found in times of trouble.
2 That is why we will not fear when the earth dissolves
and when the mountains tumble into the heart of the sea.
3 Its waters roar and foam.
The mountains quake when it rises. Interlude
A City Unshaken
4 There is a river—its streams bring joy to the city of God,
to the holy dwelling of the Most High.
5 God is in her. She will not fall.
God will help her at daybreak.
6 Nations are in turmoil. Kingdoms fall.
God raises his voice. The earth melts.
7 The Lord of Armies is with us.
The God of Jacob is a fortress for us. Interlude
8 Come, look at the works of the Lord.
What a wasteland he has made of the earth!
9 He makes wars cease to the end of the earth.
He shatters the bow. He cuts up the spear.
He burns the carts[b] with fire.
10 “Be still, and know that I am God.
I will be exalted among the nations.
I will be exalted on the earth.”
11 The Lord of Armies is with us.
The God of Jacob is a fortress for us. Interlude
26 The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, 27 “How long will this wicked community grumble against me? I have heard the Israelites’ constant grumblings against me. 28 Tell them, ‘As surely as I live, declares the Lord, I will do to you just as I have heard you say. 29 In this wilderness your corpses will fall. All of you who were registered in the census, every one of you twenty years old and up who have grumbled against me, 30 I swear that none of you will go into the land where I promised to settle you, except for Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun. 31 But your children, whom you said would become plunder, I will bring in, and they will experience the land which you have rejected. 32 But as for you, your corpses will fall in this wilderness. 33 Your children will be shepherds in the wilderness for forty years. They will have to endure your prostitution until your corpses perish in the wilderness. 34 You will bear the consequences of your guilt for forty years, based on the number of days that you scouted the land, forty days, one year for every day. You will experience my opposition.’ 35 I, the Lord, have spoken. I swear that I will do this to this entire wicked community, who are gathered together against me. In this wilderness they will perish. There they will die.”
36 The men whom Moses had sent to scout the land, who returned and made the entire community grumble against him by giving a negative report about the land— 37 those men who brought the wicked, negative report about the land—died by the plague before the Lord. 38 Of those men who had gone to scout the land, only Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh remained alive.
Israel Defeated in Battle
39 Moses told these things to all the Israelites, and the people mourned bitterly. 40 They got up early in the morning and went up to the heights of the hill country. They said, “We are ready. We will go up to the place which the Lord spoke about. We admit we have sinned.”
41 Moses said, “What is this? Why are you going against the Lord’s command? This will not succeed. 42 Do not go up, because the Lord is not among you. You will be struck down before your enemies, 43 because the Amalekites and the Canaanites are there to oppose you. You will fall by the sword because you turned away from following the Lord. Therefore the Lord will not be with you.”
44 But they dared to go up to the heights of the hill country. Nevertheless, the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord and Moses did not leave the camp. 45 Then the Amalekites and the Canaanites, who lived in that hill country, came down, attacked them, and beat them down all the way to Hormah.
The Council at Jerusalem
15 Some men came down from Judea and began to teach the brothers: “Unless you are circumcised according to the law handed down by Moses, you cannot be saved.” 2 Because this brought about a serious argument and debate between Paul and Barnabas and these men, they appointed Paul and Barnabas and some other men from the church to go up to Jerusalem, to see the apostles and the elders concerning this controversy.
3 After they were sent on their way by the church, and as they passed through both Phoenicia and Samaria, they described in detail the conversion of the Gentiles and brought great joy to all the brothers. 4 When they arrived at Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church, the apostles, and the elders, and they reported everything God had done through them.
5 But some of the believers from the party of the Pharisees stood up and said, “It is necessary to circumcise the Gentiles and to command them to keep the Law of Moses.”
6 The apostles and the elders gathered together to look into this matter. 7 After there had been much discussion, Peter stood up and said to them, “Gentlemen, brothers, you know that some time ago God made a choice among you, that through my mouth the Gentiles would hear the message of the gospel and believe. 8 God, who knows the heart, testified on their behalf by giving them the Holy Spirit, exactly as he gave him to us. 9 He also showed that there is no distinction between us and them, cleansing their hearts by faith. 10 Now then, why are you testing God by putting on the necks of the disciples a yoke, which neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear? 11 On the contrary! We believe that we are saved in the same way they are—through the grace of our Lord Jesus.”
12 The whole assembly fell silent and listened to Barnabas and Paul, who reported all the signs and wonders God had done among the Gentiles through them.
Division
49 “I came to throw fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already ignited. 50 But I have a baptism to undergo, and how distressed I am until it is finished! 51 Do you think that I came to bring peace on the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division. 52 Yes, from now on there will be five divided in one household: three against two, and two against three. 53 They will be divided: father against son, and son against father; mother against daughter, and daughter against mother; mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law, and daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.”[a]
Interpret the Time
54 He also said to the crowds, “Whenever you see a cloud rising in the west, you immediately say that a rainstorm is coming, and so it happens. 55 And whenever a south wind blows, you say that it is going to be hot, and it happens. 56 Hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky, but how is it that you do not know how to interpret this present time?
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.