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
Ezekiel as a Watchman
16 Now at the end of seven days the word of the Lord came to me:(A) 17 “Son of man, I have made you a watchman over the house of Israel.(B) When you hear a word from my mouth, give them a warning from me.(C) 18 If I say to the wicked person,(D) ‘You will surely die,’ but you do not warn him—you don’t speak out to warn him about his wicked way in order to save his life—that wicked person will die for his iniquity. Yet I will hold you responsible for his blood. 19 But if you warn a wicked person and he does not turn from his wickedness or his wicked way, he will die for his iniquity, but you will have rescued yourself.(E) 20 Now if a righteous person turns from his righteousness and acts unjustly,(F) and I put a stumbling block in front of him, he will die.(G) If you did not warn him, he will die because of his sin, and the righteous acts he did will not be remembered. Yet I will hold you responsible for his blood. 21 But if you warn the righteous person that he should not sin, and he does not sin, he will indeed live because he listened to your warning, and you will have rescued yourself.”
22 The hand of the Lord was on me there, and he said to me, “Get up, go out to the plain,(H) and I will speak with you there.”(I) 23 So I got up and went out to the plain. The Lord’s glory was present there,(J) like the glory I had seen by the Chebar Canal,(K) and I fell facedown. 24 The Spirit entered me and set me on my feet.(L) He spoke with me and said, “Go, shut yourself inside your house. 25 As for you, son of man, they will put ropes on you(M) and bind you with them so you cannot go out among them. 26 I will make your tongue stick to the roof of your mouth,(N) and you will be mute(O) and unable to be a mediator for[a] them, for they are a rebellious house. 27 But when I speak with you, I will open your mouth,(P) and you will say to them, ‘This is what the Lord God says.’ Let the one who listens, listen, and let the one who refuses, refuse—for they are a rebellious house.
From Death to Life
2 And you were dead(A) in your trespasses and sins 2 in which you previously walked according to the ways of this world,(B) according to the ruler of the power of the air,(C) the spirit(D) now working in the disobedient.[a] 3 We too all previously lived among them in our fleshly(E) desires, carrying out the inclinations(F) of our flesh and thoughts, and we were by nature children under wrath(G) as the others were also. 4 But God, who is rich in mercy,(H) because of his great love(I) that he had for us,[b] 5 made us alive(J) with Christ even though we were dead(K) in trespasses. You are saved by grace! 6 He also raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavens in Christ Jesus,(L) 7 so that in the coming ages(M) he might display the immeasurable riches(N) of his grace through his kindness(O) to us in Christ Jesus. 8 For you are saved by grace(P) through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift— 9 not from works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created(Q) in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time(R) for us to do.
24 A disciple[a] is not above his teacher, or a slave above his master.(A) 25 It is enough for a disciple to become like his teacher and a slave like his master. If they called the head of the house ‘Beelzebul,’ how much more the members of his household!(B)
Fear God
26 “Therefore,(C) don’t be afraid of them, since there is nothing covered that won’t be uncovered and nothing hidden that won’t be made known.(D) 27 What I tell you in the dark, speak in the light. What you hear in a whisper,[b] proclaim on the housetops.(E) 28 Don’t fear those who kill the body but are not able to kill the soul; (F) rather, fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.(G) 29 Aren’t two sparrows sold for a penny?[c] Yet not one of them falls to the ground without your Father’s(H) consent.[d] 30 But even the hairs of your head have all been counted.(I) 31 So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.(J)
Acknowledging Christ
32 “Therefore, everyone who will acknowledge me before others, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven.(K) 33 But whoever denies me before others,(L) I will also deny him before my Father in heaven.
A Cup of Cold Water
40 “The one who welcomes you welcomes me,(A) and the one who welcomes me welcomes him who sent me.(B) 41 Anyone who welcomes a prophet(C) because he is a prophet[a] will receive a prophet’s reward. And anyone who welcomes a righteous person because he’s righteous[b] will receive a righteous person’s reward. 42 And whoever gives(D) even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is a disciple,[c](E) truly I tell you, he will never lose his reward.”
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