Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 66
To the Chief Musician. A song. A Psalm.
1 Make a joyful noise unto God, all the earth;
2 Sing forth the honor and glory of His name; make His praise glorious!
3 Say to God, How awesome and fearfully glorious are Your works! Through the greatness of Your power shall Your enemies submit themselves to You [with feigned and reluctant obedience].
4 All the earth shall bow down to You and sing [praises] to You; they shall praise Your name in song. Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]!
5 Come and see the works of God; see how [to save His people He smites their foes; He is] terrible in His doings toward the children of men.
6 He turned the sea into dry land, they crossed through the river on foot; there did we rejoice in Him.
7 He rules by His might forever, His eyes observe and keep watch over the nations; let not the rebellious exalt themselves. Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]!
8 Bless our God, O peoples, give Him grateful thanks and make the voice of His praise be heard,
9 Who put and kept us among the living, and has not allowed our feet to slip.
10 For You, O God, have proved us; You have tried us as silver is tried, refined, and purified.
11 You brought us into the net (the prison fortress, the dungeon); You laid a heavy burden upon our loins.
12 You caused men to ride over our heads [when we were prostrate]; we went through fire and through water, but You brought us out into a broad, moist place [to abundance and refreshment and the open air].
13 I will come into Your house with burnt offerings [of entire consecration]; I will pay You my vows,
14 Which my lips uttered and my mouth promised when I was in distress.
15 I will offer to You burnt offerings of fat lambs, with rams consumed in sweet-smelling smoke; I will offer bullocks and he-goats. Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]!
16 Come and hear, all you who reverently and worshipfully fear God, and I will declare what He has done for me!
17 I cried aloud to Him; He was extolled and high praise was under my tongue.
18 If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me;(A)
19 But certainly God has heard me; He has given heed to the voice of my prayer.
20 Blessed be God, Who has not rejected my prayer nor removed His mercy and loving-kindness from being [as it always is] with me.
Psalm 67
To the Chief Musician; on stringed instruments. A Psalm. A song.
1 God be merciful and gracious to us and bless us and cause His face to shine upon us and among us—Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]!—
2 That Your way may be known upon earth, Your saving power (Your deliverances and Your salvation) among all nations.
3 Let the peoples praise You [turn away from their idols] and give thanks to You, O God; let all the peoples praise and give thanks to You.
4 O let the nations be glad and sing for joy, for You will judge the peoples fairly and guide, lead, or drive the nations upon earth. Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]!
5 Let the peoples praise You [turn away from their idols] and give thanks to You, O God; let all the peoples praise and give thanks to You!
6 The earth has yielded its harvest [in evidence of God’s approval]; God, even our own God, will bless us.
7 God will bless us, and all the ends of the earth shall reverently fear Him.
Psalm 19
To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.
1 The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows and proclaims His handiwork.(A)
2 Day after day pours forth speech, and night after night shows forth knowledge.
3 There is no speech nor spoken word [from the stars]; their voice is not heard.
4 Yet their voice [in evidence] goes out through all the earth, their sayings to the end of the world. Of the heavens has God made a tent for the sun,(B)
5 Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber; and it rejoices as a strong man to run his course.
6 Its going forth is from the end of the heavens, and its circuit to the ends of it; and nothing [yes, no one] is hidden from the heat of it.
7 The law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the [whole] person; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.
8 The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure and bright, enlightening the eyes.
9 The [reverent] fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; the ordinances of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.
10 More to be desired are they than gold, even than much fine gold; they are sweeter also than honey and drippings from the honeycomb.
11 Moreover, by them is Your servant warned (reminded, illuminated, and instructed); and in keeping them there is great reward.
12 Who can discern his lapses and errors? Clear me from hidden [and unconscious] faults.
13 Keep back Your servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me! Then shall I be blameless, and I shall be innocent and clear of great transgression.
14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my [firm, impenetrable] Rock and my Redeemer.
Psalm 46
To the Chief Musician. [A Psalm] of the sons of Korah, set to treble voices. A song.
1 God is our Refuge and Strength [mighty and impenetrable to temptation], a very present and well-proved help in trouble.
2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change and though the mountains be shaken into the midst of the seas,
3 Though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling and tumult. Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]!
4 There is a river whose streams shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the Most High.
5 God is in the midst of her, she shall not be moved; God will help her right early [at the dawn of the morning].
6 The nations raged, the kingdoms tottered and were moved; He uttered His voice, the earth melted.
7 The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our Refuge (our Fortress and High Tower). Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]!
8 Come, behold the works of the Lord, Who has wrought desolations and wonders in the earth.
9 He makes wars to cease to the end of the earth; He breaks the bow into pieces and snaps the spear in two; He burns the chariots in the fire.
10 Let be and be still, and know (recognize and understand) that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations! I will be exalted in the earth!
11 The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our Refuge (our High Tower and Stronghold). Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]!
12 Now a man of Benjamin ran from the battle line and came to Shiloh that day, with his clothes torn and earth on his head.
13 When he arrived, Eli was sitting by the road watching, for his heart trembled for the ark of God. When the man told the news in the city, all the city [people] cried out.
14 When Eli heard the noise of the crying, he said, What is this uproar? And the man came hastily and told Eli.
15 Now Eli was 98 years old; his eyes were dim so that he could not see.
16 The man said to Eli, I have come from the battle; I fled from the battle today. Eli said, How did it go, my son?
17 The messenger replied, Israel fled before the Philistines, and there has been a great slaughter among the people. Also your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and the ark of God is captured.
18 And when he mentioned the ark of God, Eli fell off the seat backward by the side of the gate. His neck was broken and he died, for he was an old man and heavy. He had judged Israel forty years.
19 Now his daughter-in-law, Phinehas’ wife, was with child, about to be delivered. And when she heard that the ark of God was captured and that her father-in-law and her husband were dead, she bowed herself and gave birth, for her pains came upon her.
20 And about the time of her death the women attending her said to her, Fear not, for you have borne a son. But she did not answer or notice.
21 And she named the child Ichabod, saying, The glory is departed from Israel!—because the ark of God had been captured and because of her father-in-law and her husband.
22 She said, The glory is gone from Israel, for the ark of God has been taken.
1 James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes scattered abroad [among the Gentiles in the dispersion]: Greetings ([a]rejoice)!
2 Consider it wholly joyful, my brethren, whenever you are enveloped in or encounter trials of any sort or fall into various temptations.
3 Be assured and understand that the trial and proving of your faith bring out endurance and steadfastness and patience.
4 But let endurance and steadfastness and patience have full play and do a thorough work, so that you may be [people] perfectly and fully developed [with no defects], lacking in nothing.
5 If any of you is deficient in wisdom, let him ask of [b]the giving God [Who gives] to everyone liberally and ungrudgingly, without reproaching or faultfinding, and it will be given him.
6 Only it must be in faith that he asks with no wavering (no hesitating, no doubting). For the one who wavers (hesitates, doubts) is like the billowing surge out at sea that is blown hither and thither and tossed by the wind.
7 For truly, let not such a person imagine that he will receive anything [he asks for] from the Lord,
8 [For being as he is] a man of two minds (hesitating, dubious, irresolute), [he is] unstable and unreliable and uncertain about everything [he thinks, feels, decides].
9 Let the brother in humble circumstances glory in his elevation [as a Christian, called to the true riches and to be an heir of God],
10 And the rich [person ought to glory] in being humbled [by being shown his human frailty], because like the flower of the grass he will pass away.
11 For the sun comes up with a scorching heat and parches the grass; its flower falls off and its beauty fades away. Even so will the rich man wither and die in the midst of his pursuits.(A)
12 Blessed (happy, [c]to be envied) is the man who is patient under trial and stands up under temptation, for when he has stood the test and been approved, he will receive [the victor’s] crown of life which God has promised to those who love Him.
13 Let no one say when he is tempted, I am tempted from God; for God is incapable of being tempted by [what is] evil and He Himself tempts no one.
14 But every person is tempted when he is drawn away, enticed and baited by his own evil desire (lust, passions).
15 Then the evil desire, when it has conceived, gives birth to sin, and sin, when it is fully matured, brings forth death.
16 Do not be misled, my beloved brethren.
17 Every good gift and every perfect ([d]free, large, full) gift is from above; it comes down from the Father of all [that gives] light, in [the shining of] Whom there can be no variation [rising or setting] or shadow cast by His turning [as in an eclipse].
18 And it was of His own [free] will that He gave us birth [as sons] by [His] Word of Truth, so that we should be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures [a sample of what He created to be consecrated to Himself].
23 And Jesus said to His disciples, Truly I say to you, it will be difficult for a rich man to get into the kingdom of heaven.
24 Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to go into the kingdom of heaven.
25 When the disciples heard this, they were utterly puzzled (astonished, bewildered), saying, Who then can be saved [[a]from eternal death]?
26 But Jesus looked at them and said, With men this is impossible, but all things are possible with God.(A)
27 Then Peter answered Him, saying, Behold, we have left [our] all and have become [b]Your disciples [sided with Your party and followed You]. What then shall we receive?
28 Jesus said to them, Truly I say to you, in the new age [the [c]Messianic rebirth of the world], when the Son of Man shall sit down on the throne of His glory, you who have [become My disciples, sided with My party and] followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones and judge the twelve tribes of Israel.
29 And anyone and everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands for My name’s sake will receive [d]many [even a hundred] times more and will inherit eternal life.
30 But many who [now] are first will be last [then], and many who [now] are last will be first [then].
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