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)
20 So Jacob worked for seven years to acquire Rachel.[a] But they seemed like only a few days to him[b] because his love for her was so great.[c]
21 Finally Jacob said[d] to Laban, “Give me my wife, for my time of service is up.[e] And I want to sleep with her.”[f] 22 So Laban invited all the people[g] of that place and prepared a feast. 23 In the evening he brought his daughter Leah[h] to Jacob,[i] and he slept with her.[j] 24 (Laban gave his female servant Zilpah to his daughter Leah to be her servant.)[k]
25 In the morning Jacob discovered it was Leah![l] So Jacob[m] said to Laban, “What in the world have you done to me?[n] Didn’t I work for you in exchange for Rachel? Why have you tricked[o] me?” 26 “It is not our custom here,”[p] Laban replied, “to give the younger daughter in marriage[q] before the firstborn. 27 Complete my older daughter’s bridal week.[r] Then we will give you the younger one[s] too, in exchange for seven more years of work.”[t]
28 Jacob did as Laban said.[u] When Jacob[v] completed Leah’s bridal week,[w] Laban gave him his daughter Rachel to be his wife.[x] 29 (Laban gave his female servant Bilhah to his daughter Rachel to be her servant.)[y] 30 Jacob[z] slept with[aa] Rachel as well. He also loved Rachel more than Leah. Then he worked for Laban[ab] for seven more years.
The Family of Jacob
31 When the Lord saw that Leah was unloved,[ac] he enabled her to become pregnant[ad] while Rachel remained childless. 32 So Leah became pregnant[ae] and gave birth to a son. She named him Reuben,[af] for she said, “The Lord has looked with pity on my oppressed condition.[ag] Surely my husband will love me now.”
33 She became pregnant again and had another son. She said, “Because the Lord heard that I was unloved,[ah] he gave me this one too.” So she named him Simeon.[ai]
34 She became pregnant again and had another son. She said, “Now this time my husband will show me affection,[aj] because I have given birth to three sons for him.” That is why he was named Levi.[ak]
35 She became pregnant again and had another son. She said, “This time I will praise the Lord.” That is why she named him Judah.[al] Then she stopped having children.
Conduct in God’s Church
14 I hope to come to you soon, but I am writing these instructions[a] to you 15 in case I am delayed, to let you know how people ought to conduct themselves[b] in the household of God, because it is[c] the church of the living God, the support and bulwark of the truth. 16 And we all agree,[d] our religion contains amazing revelation:[e]
He[f] was revealed in the flesh,
vindicated by the Spirit,[g]
seen by angels,
proclaimed among Gentiles,
believed on in the world,
taken up in glory.
Timothy’s Ministry in the Later Times
4 Now the Spirit explicitly says that in the later times some will desert the faith and occupy themselves[h] with deceiving spirits and demonic teachings,[i] 2 influenced by the hypocrisy of liars[j] whose consciences are seared.[k] 3 They will prohibit marriage and require abstinence from foods that God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. 4 For every creation of God is good and no food[l] is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving. 5 For it is sanctified by God’s word and by prayer.
6 By pointing out such things to the brothers and sisters,[m] you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, having nourished yourself on the words of the faith and of the good teaching that you have followed.[n] 7 But reject those myths[o] fit only for the godless and gullible,[p] and train yourself for godliness. 8 For “physical exercise[q] has some value, but godliness is valuable in every way. It holds promise for the present life and for the life to come.” 9 This saying[r] is trustworthy and deserves full acceptance. 10 In fact this is why[s] we work hard and struggle,[t] because we have set our hope on the living God, who is the Savior of all people,[u] especially of believers.
23 Then[a] Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!”[b] 24 The disciples were astonished at these words. But again Jesus said to them,[c] “Children, how hard it is[d] to enter the kingdom of God! 25 It is easier for a camel[e] to go through the eye of a needle[f] than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” 26 They were even more astonished and said[g] to one another, “Then[h] who can be saved?”[i] 27 Jesus looked at them and replied, “This is impossible for mere humans,[j] but not for God; all things are possible for God.”
28 Peter began to speak to him, “Look,[k] we have left everything to follow you!”[l] 29 Jesus said, “I tell you the truth,[m] there is no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for my sake and for the sake of the gospel 30 who will not receive in this age[n] a hundred times as much—homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, fields, all with persecutions[o]—and in the age to come, eternal life.[p] 31 But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”
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