Book of Common Prayer
Praise for God’s Mighty Deeds and for His Answer to Prayer.
For the choir director. A Song. A Psalm.
66 (A)Shout joyfully to God, all the earth;
2 Sing the (B)glory of His name;
Make His (C)praise glorious.
3 Say to God, “How (D)awesome are Your works!
Because of the greatness of Your power Your enemies will [a](E)give feigned obedience to You.
4 “(F)All the earth will worship You,
And will (G)sing praises to You;
They will sing praises to Your name.” [b]Selah.
5 (H)Come and see the works of God,
Who is (I)awesome in His deeds toward the sons of men.
6 He (J)turned the sea into dry land;
They passed through (K)the river on foot;
There let us (L)rejoice in Him!
7 He (M)rules by His might forever;
His (N)eyes keep watch on the nations;
Let not the rebellious (O)exalt themselves. Selah.
8 Bless our God, O peoples,
And [c](P)sound His praise abroad,
9 Who [d](Q)keeps us in life
And (R)does not allow our feet to [e]slip.
10 For You have (S)tried us, O God;
You have (T)refined us as silver is refined.
11 You (U)brought us into the net;
You laid an oppressive burden upon our loins.
12 You made men (V)ride over our heads;
We went through (W)fire and through water,
Yet You (X)brought us out into a place of abundance.
13 I shall (Y)come into Your house with burnt offerings;
I shall (Z)pay You my vows,
14 Which my lips uttered
And my mouth spoke when I was (AA)in distress.
15 I shall (AB)offer to You burnt offerings of fat beasts,
With the smoke of (AC)rams;
I shall make an offering of [f]bulls with male goats. Selah.
16 (AD)Come and hear, all who [g]fear God,
And I will (AE)tell of what He has done for my soul.
17 I cried to Him with my mouth,
And [h]He was (AF)extolled with my tongue.
18 If I [i](AG)regard wickedness in my heart,
The (AH)Lord [j]will not [k]hear;
19 But certainly (AI)God has heard;
He has given heed to the voice of my prayer.
20 (AJ)Blessed be God,
Who (AK)has not turned away my prayer
Nor His lovingkindness from me.
The Nations Exhorted to Praise God.
For the choir director; with stringed instruments. A Psalm. A Song.
67 God be gracious to us and (AL)bless us,
And (AM)cause His face to shine [l]upon us— [m]Selah.
2 That (AN)Your way may be known on the earth,
(AO)Your salvation among all nations.
3 Let the (AP)peoples praise You, O God;
Let all the peoples praise You.
4 Let the (AQ)nations be glad and sing for joy;
For You will (AR)judge the peoples with uprightness
And (AS)guide the nations on the earth. Selah.
5 Let the (AT)peoples praise You, O God;
Let all the peoples praise You.
6 The (AU)earth has yielded its produce;
God, our God, (AV)blesses us.
7 God blesses us,
[n]That (AW)all the ends of the earth may fear Him.
The Works and the Word of God.
For the choir director. A Psalm of David.
19 The (A)heavens are telling of the glory of God;
And their (B)expanse is declaring the work of His hands.
2 Day to (C)day pours forth speech,
And (D)night to night reveals knowledge.
3 There is no speech, nor are there words;
Their voice is not heard.
4 Their [a](E)line has gone out through all the earth,
And their utterances to the end of the world.
In them He has (F)placed a tent for the sun,
5 Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber;
It rejoices as a strong man to run his course.
6 Its (G)rising is from [b]one end of the heavens,
And its circuit to the [c]other end of them;
And there is nothing hidden from its heat.
7 (H)The law of the Lord is [d](I)perfect, (J)restoring the soul;
The testimony of the Lord is (K)sure, making (L)wise the simple.
8 The precepts of the Lord are (M)right, (N)rejoicing the heart;
The commandment of the Lord is (O)pure, (P)enlightening the eyes.
9 The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever;
The judgments of the Lord are (Q)true; they are (R)righteous altogether.
10 They are more desirable than (S)gold, yes, than much fine gold;
(T)Sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb.
11 Moreover, by them (U)Your servant is warned;
In keeping them there is great (V)reward.
12 Who can (W)discern his errors? (X)Acquit me of (Y)hidden faults.
13 Also keep back Your servant (Z)from presumptuous sins;
Let them not (AA)rule over me;
Then I will be [e](AB)blameless,
And I shall be acquitted of (AC)great transgression.
14 Let the words of my mouth and (AD)the meditation of my heart
Be acceptable in Your sight,
O Lord, (AE)my rock and my (AF)Redeemer.
God the Refuge of His People.
For the choir director. A Psalm of the sons of Korah, [a]set to Alamoth. A Song.
46 God is our (A)refuge and strength,
[b]A very (B)present help (C)in [c]trouble.
2 Therefore we will (D)not fear, though (E)the earth should change
And though (F)the mountains slip into the heart of the [d]sea;
3 Though its (G)waters roar and foam,
Though the mountains quake at its swelling pride. [e]Selah.
4 There is a (H)river whose streams make glad the (I)city of God,
The holy (J)dwelling places of the Most High.
5 God is (K)in the midst of her, she will not be moved;
God will (L)help her [f]when morning dawns.
6 The [g]nations (M)made an uproar, the kingdoms tottered;
He [h](N)raised His voice, the earth (O)melted.
7 The Lord of hosts (P)is with us;
The God of Jacob is (Q)our stronghold. Selah.
8 Come, (R)behold the works of the Lord,
[i]Who has wrought (S)desolations in the earth.
9 He (T)makes wars to cease to the end of the earth;
He (U)breaks the bow and cuts the spear in two;
He (V)burns the chariots with fire.
10 “[j]Cease striving and (W)know that I am God;
I will be (X)exalted among the [k]nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”
11 The Lord of hosts is with us;
The God of Jacob is our stronghold. Selah.
16 (A)At the end of seven days the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 17 “Son of man, I have appointed you a (B)watchman to the house of Israel; whenever you hear a word from My mouth, (C)warn them from Me. 18 When I say to the wicked, ‘You will surely die,’ and you do not warn him or speak out to warn the wicked from his wicked way that he may live, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity, but his (D)blood I will require at your hand. 19 Yet if you have (E)warned the wicked and he does not turn from his wickedness or from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but you have (F)delivered yourself. 20 Again, (G)when a righteous man turns away from his righteousness and commits iniquity, and I place an (H)obstacle before him, he will die; since you have not warned him, he shall die in his sin, and his righteous deeds which he has done shall not be remembered; but his blood I will require at your hand. 21 However, if you have (I)warned [a]the righteous man that the righteous should not sin and he does not sin, he shall surely live because he took warning; and you have delivered yourself.”
22 The hand of the Lord was on me there, and He said to me, “Get up, go out to the plain, and there I will (J)speak to you.” 23 So I got up and went out to the plain; and behold, the (K)glory of the Lord was standing there, like the glory which (L)I saw by the river Chebar, and I fell on my face. 24 The (M)Spirit then entered me and made me stand on my feet, and He spoke with me and said to me, “Go, shut yourself up in your house. 25 As for you, son of man, they will (N)put ropes on you and bind you with them so that you cannot go out among them. 26 Moreover, (O)I will make your tongue stick to [b]the roof of your mouth so that you will be mute and cannot be a man who rebukes them, for they are a rebellious house. 27 But (P)when I speak to you, I will open your mouth and you will say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord [c]God.’ He who hears, let him hear; and he who refuses, let him refuse; (Q)for they are a rebellious house.
Made Alive in Christ
2 And you [a]were (A)dead [b]in your trespasses and sins, 2 in which you (B)formerly walked according to the [c]course of (C)this world, according to (D)the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in (E)the sons of disobedience. 3 Among them we too all (F)formerly lived in (G)the lusts of our flesh, [d]indulging the desires of the flesh and of the [e]mind, and were (H)by nature (I)children of wrath, (J)even as the rest. 4 But God, being (K)rich in mercy, because of (L)His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were (M)dead [f]in our transgressions, made us alive together [g]with Christ ((N)by grace you have been saved), 6 and (O)raised us up with Him, and (P)seated us with Him in (Q)the heavenly places in (R)Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing (S)riches of His grace in (T)kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For (U)by grace you have been saved (V)through faith; and [h]that not of yourselves, it is (W)the gift of God; 9 (X)not as a result of works, so that (Y)no one may boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, (Z)created in (AA)Christ Jesus for (AB)good works, which God (AC)prepared beforehand so that we would (AD)walk in them.
The Meaning of Discipleship
24 “(A)A [a]disciple is not above his teacher, nor a slave above his master. 25 It is enough for the disciple that he become like his teacher, and the slave like his master. (B)If they have called the head of the house [b](C)Beelzebul, how much more will they malign the members of his household!
26 “Therefore do not (D)fear them, (E)for there is nothing concealed that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. 27 (F)What I tell you in the darkness, speak in the light; and what you hear whispered in your ear, proclaim (G)upon the housetops. 28 Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather (H)fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in [c](I)hell. 29 (J)Are not two sparrows sold for a [d]cent? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. 30 But (K)the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 So do not fear; (L)you are more valuable than many sparrows.
32 “Therefore (M)everyone who [e]confesses Me before men, I will also confess [f]him before My Father who is in heaven. 33 But (N)whoever [g]denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven.
The Reward of Service
40 “(A)He who receives you receives Me, and (B)he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me. 41 (C)He who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward; and he who receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man’s reward. 42 And (D)whoever in the name of a disciple gives to one of these [a]little ones even a cup of cold water to drink, truly I say to you, he shall not lose his reward.”
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.