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
The Drought
14 This is the word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah concerning the drought.
2 Judah mourns.
Her city gates fall apart.
They mourn for the land,
and a cry of grief rises from Jerusalem.
3 The strong send the weak to get water.
They go to the cisterns but find no water.
They return with empty containers.
Ashamed and humiliated, they cover their heads.
4 The ground is cracked,
because there has been no rain in the land.
The farmers are distressed.
They cover their heads.
5 Even the doe in the field gives birth
and then abandons the fawn,
because there is no grass.
6 Wild donkeys stand on the barren heights.
They pant for air like jackals.
Their eyes grow dim,
because there are no plants to eat.
Jeremiah’s Prayers and the Lord’s Answers
7 Do something, Lord, for the sake of your name,
even though our guilt testifies against us.
We have rebelled many times,
and we have sinned against you.
8 You are Israel’s hope,
its Savior in times of trouble.
Why are you like a stranger in the land,
like a traveler who stays only for the night?
9 Why are you like a man taken by surprise,
like a strong warrior who cannot save?
You are among us, Lord,
and we are called by your name.
Do not forsake us!
17 You, Jeremiah, are to say this to them:
Let my eyes overflow with tears,
without stopping night or day,
because the virgin daughter of my people has been severely injured.
It is a very serious wound.
18 If I go out to the field,
I see those who have been run through by the sword.
If go into the city,
I see those diseased by famine.
Both prophet and priest have gone to a land they do not know.
The People’s Prayer
19 Lord, have you completely rejected Judah?
Do you despise Zion?
Why have you afflicted us,
so that we cannot be healed?
We looked for health,
but nothing good came.
We hoped for healing,
but there was only terror.
20 We acknowledge our wickedness
and the guilt of our fathers.
We have sinned against you.
21 For your name’s sake, do not despise us.
Do not dishonor your glorious throne.
Remember your covenant with us,
and do not break it.
22 Do the worthless idols of the nations send rain?
Do the skies provide the torrential showers?
Is it not rather you, who are the Lord our God?
Our hope is in you,
because you are the one who does all these things.
An Illustration: Hagar and Sarah
21 Tell me, you who want to be under the law, are you really listening to the law? 22 For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the slave woman, and one by the free woman. 23 However, the son by the slave woman was born according to the flesh, but the son by the free woman was born through a promise. 24 These things can be used as an illustration; namely, the women are two covenants. One is from Mount Sinai, bearing children into slavery. This is Hagar. 25 You see,[a] this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia, and she corresponds to present-day Jerusalem, because Jerusalem is in slavery along with her children. 26 But the Jerusalem that is above is free. She is our mother. 27 For it is written:
Rejoice, barren woman who does not give birth. Break forth and shout for joy, woman who does not suffer birth pains, because the barren woman has more children than does the woman who has a husband.[b]
28 Now you,[c] brothers, like Isaac, are children of the promise. 29 But just as back then the one who was born according to the flesh persecuted the one who was born according to the Spirit, so this is also the case now. 30 But what does the Scripture say? “Throw out the slave woman and her son, because the son of the slave woman will certainly not receive the inheritance with the son of the free woman.”[d] 31 For this same reason, brothers, we are not children of a slave woman, but of the free woman.
Christ Set Us Free
5 It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not allow anyone to put the yoke of slavery on you again.
A Sign From Heaven
11 The Pharisees came and began to argue with him. To test him, they asked him for a sign from heaven. 12 He sighed deeply in his spirit and said, “Why does this generation seek a sign? Amen I tell you: No such sign will be given to this generation.” 13 After he left them and got back into the boat, he crossed to the other side.
Watch Out for the Teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees
14 They had forgotten to take bread along except for one loaf that they had with them in the boat. 15 “Watch out,” Jesus warned them. “Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod.”
16 They began discussing with one another the fact that they had no bread.
17 Since Jesus knew this, he said to them, “Why are you discussing your lack of bread? Do you still not understand or comprehend? Do you have a hardened heart? 18 You have eyes—do you not see? You have ears—do you not hear? Do you not remember? 19 When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many basketfuls of broken pieces did you pick up?”
“Twelve,” they told him.
20 “And when I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many basketfuls of broken pieces did you pick up?”
“Seven,” they said.
21 He said to them, “Do you still not comprehend?”
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.