Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 66
Praise for God’s Mighty Acts
For the choir director. A song. A psalm.
1 Let the whole earth shout joyfully to God!(A)
2 Sing about the glory of his name;
make his praise glorious.(B)
3 Say to God, “How awe-inspiring are your works!
Your enemies will cringe before you
because of your great strength.(C)
4 The whole earth will worship you
and sing praise to you.
They will sing praise to your name.”(D)Selah
5 Come and see the wonders of God;(E)
his acts for humanity[a] are awe-inspiring.
6 He turned the sea into dry land,
and they crossed the river on foot.(F)
There we rejoiced in him.(G)
7 He rules forever by his might;
he keeps his eye on the nations.(H)
The rebellious should not exalt themselves.(I)Selah
8 Bless our God, you peoples;
let the sound of his praise be heard.(J)
9 He keeps us alive[b]
and does not allow our feet to slip.(K)
10 For you, God, tested us;
you refined us as silver is refined.(L)
11 You lured us into a trap;
you placed burdens on our backs.(M)
12 You let men ride over our heads;
we went through fire and water,
but you brought us out to abundance.[c](N)
13 I will enter your house with burnt offerings;
I will pay you my vows(O)
14 that my lips promised
and my mouth spoke during my distress.(P)
15 I will offer you fattened sheep as burnt offerings,
with the fragrant smoke of rams;
I will sacrifice bulls with goats.(Q)Selah
16 Come and listen, all who fear God,
and I will tell what he has done for me.(R)
17 I cried out to him with my mouth,
and praise was on my tongue.(S)
18 If I had been aware of malice in my heart,
the Lord would not have listened.(T)
19 However, God has listened;
he has paid attention to the sound of my prayer.(U)
20 Blessed be God!
He has not turned away my prayer
or turned his faithful love from me.(V)
Psalm 67
All Will Praise God
For the choir director: with stringed instruments. A psalm. A song.
1 May God be gracious to us and bless us;
may he make his face shine upon us(W)Selah
2 so that your way may be known on earth,
your salvation among all nations.(X)
Psalm 19
The Witness of Creation and Scripture
For the choir director. A psalm of David.
1 The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the expanse(A) proclaims the work of his hands.(B)
2 Day after day they pour out speech;
night after night they communicate knowledge.[a]
3 There is no speech; there are no words;
their voice is not heard.
4 Their message[b] has gone out to the whole earth,
and their words to the ends of the world.(C)
In the heavens he has pitched a tent for the sun.(D)
5 It is like a bridegroom coming from his home;
it rejoices like an athlete running a course.
6 It rises from one end of the heavens
and circles to their other end;(E)
nothing is hidden from its heat.
7 The instruction of the Lord is perfect,
renewing one’s life;(F)
the testimony of the Lord is trustworthy,
making the inexperienced wise.(G)
8 The precepts of the Lord are right,
making the heart glad;(H)
the command of the Lord is radiant,
making the eyes light up.(I)
9 The fear of the Lord is pure,
enduring forever;(J)
the ordinances of the Lord are reliable
and altogether righteous.(K)
10 They are more desirable than gold—
than an abundance of pure gold;(L)
and sweeter than honey
dripping from a honeycomb.(M)
11 In addition, your servant is warned by them,
and in keeping them there is an abundant reward.(N)
12 Who perceives his unintentional sins?
Cleanse me from my hidden faults.(O)
13 Moreover, keep your servant from willful sins;(P)
do not let them rule me.(Q)
Then I will be blameless
and cleansed from blatant rebellion.(R)
14 May the words of my mouth
and the meditation of my heart
be acceptable to you,(S)
Lord, my rock and my Redeemer.(T)
Psalm 46
God Our Refuge
For the choir director. A song of the sons of Korah. According to Alamoth.(A)
1 God is our refuge and strength,
a helper who is always found
in times of trouble.(B)
2 Therefore we will not be afraid,
though the earth trembles
and the mountains topple
into the depths of the seas,(C)
3 though its water roars and foams
and the mountains quake with its turmoil.(D)Selah
4 There is a river—
its streams delight the city of God,
the holy dwelling place of the Most High.(E)
5 God is within her; she will not be toppled.
God will help her when the morning dawns.(F)
6 Nations rage, kingdoms topple;
the earth melts when he lifts his voice.(G)
7 The Lord of Armies is with us;
the God of Jacob is our stronghold.(H)Selah
8 Come, see the works of the Lord,
who brings devastation on the earth.(I)
9 He makes wars cease throughout the earth.
He shatters bows and cuts spears to pieces;
he sets wagons ablaze.(J)
10 “Stop fighting, and know that I am God,
exalted among the nations, exalted on the earth.”(K)
11 The Lord of Armies is with us;
the God of Jacob is our stronghold.(L)Selah
Israel’s King Hoshea
17 In the twelfth year of Judah’s King Ahaz, Hoshea(A) son of Elah became king over Israel in Samaria, and he reigned nine years. 2 He did what was evil in the Lord’s sight, but not like the kings of Israel who preceded him.(B)
3 King Shalmaneser(C) of Assyria attacked him,(D) and Hoshea became his vassal and paid him tribute. 4 But the king of Assyria caught Hoshea in a conspiracy: He had sent envoys to So king of Egypt(E) and had not paid tribute to the king of Assyria as in previous years.[a] Therefore the king of Assyria arrested him and put him in prison. 5 The king of Assyria invaded the whole land, marched up to Samaria, and besieged it for three years.(F)
The Fall of Samaria
6 In the ninth year of Hoshea,(G) the king of Assyria captured Samaria. He deported(H) the Israelites to Assyria and settled them in Halah, along the Habor (Gozan’s river), and in the cities of the Medes.(I)
Why Israel Fell
7 This disaster happened because the people of Israel sinned against the Lord their God who had brought them out of the land of Egypt from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt(J) and because they worshiped[b] other gods.(K) 8 They lived according to the customs of the nations that the Lord had dispossessed before the Israelites(L) and according to what the kings of Israel did.(M) 9 The Israelites secretly did things[c] against the Lord their God that were not right. They built high places in all their towns from watchtower(N) to fortified city. 10 They set up for themselves sacred pillars(O) and Asherah poles(P) on every high hill and under every green tree.(Q) 11 They burned incense there on all the high places just like the nations that the Lord had driven out before them had done. They did evil things, angering the Lord. 12 They served idols, although the Lord had told them, “You must not do this.”(R) 13 Still, the Lord warned(S) Israel and Judah through every prophet and every seer, saying, “Turn from your evil ways and keep my commands and statutes according to the whole law I commanded your ancestors and sent to you through my servants the prophets.”(T)
14 But they would not listen. Instead they became obstinate like[d] their ancestors who did not believe the Lord their God.(U) 15 They rejected his statutes and his covenant he had made with their ancestors(V) and the warnings he had given them. They followed worthless idols and became worthless themselves,(W) following the surrounding nations the Lord had commanded them not to imitate.(X)
16 They abandoned all the commands of the Lord their God. They made cast images(Y) for themselves, two calves, and an Asherah pole.(Z) They bowed in worship to all the stars in the sky(AA) and served Baal.(AB) 17 They sacrificed their sons and daughters in the fire[e](AC) and practiced divination and interpreted omens.(AD) They devoted themselves to do what was evil in the Lord’s sight and angered him.(AE)
18 Therefore, the Lord was very angry with Israel, and he removed them from his presence.(AF) Only the tribe of Judah remained.(AG)
Dorcas Restored to Life
36 In Joppa(A) there was a disciple named Tabitha (which is translated Dorcas). She was always doing good works(B) and acts of charity. 37 About that time she became sick and died. After washing her, they placed her in a room upstairs. 38 Since Lydda was near Joppa, the disciples heard that Peter was there and sent two men to him who urged him, “Don’t delay in coming with us.” 39 Peter got up and went with them. When he arrived, they led him to the room upstairs. And all the widows approached him, weeping and showing him the robes and clothes that Dorcas had made while she was with them. 40 Peter sent them all out of the room. He knelt down, prayed, and turning toward the body said, “Tabitha, get up.” She opened her eyes, saw Peter, and sat up.(C) 41 He gave her his hand and helped her stand up. He called the saints and widows and presented her alive. 42 This became known throughout Joppa, and many believed in the Lord. 43 Peter stayed for some time in Joppa with Simon,(D) a leather tanner.
The First Disciples
5 As the crowd was pressing in on Jesus to hear God’s word,(A) he was standing by Lake Gennesaret.[a](B) 2 He saw two boats at the edge of the lake; the fishermen had left them and were washing their nets. 3 He got into one of the boats,(C) which belonged to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from the land. Then he sat down and was teaching the crowds from the boat.
4 When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water and let down your nets for a catch.”(D)
5 “Master,”(E) Simon replied, “we’ve worked hard all night long and caught nothing. But if you say so, I’ll let down the nets.”[b]
6 When they did this, they caught a great number of fish, and their nets[c] began to tear. 7 So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them; they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink.
8 When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’s knees and said, “Go away from me, because I’m a sinful man, Lord!” (F) 9 For he and all those with him were amazed(G) at the catch of fish they had taken, 10 and so were James and John, Zebedee’s sons, who were Simon’s partners.
“Don’t be afraid,”(H) Jesus told Simon. “From now on you will be catching people.”(I) 11 Then they brought the boats to land, left everything, and followed him.(J)
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