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
Eli’s Death and Ichabod’s Birth
12 That same day, a Benjaminite man ran(A) from the battle and came to Shiloh. His clothes were torn,(B) and there was dirt on his head. 13 When he arrived, there was Eli sitting on his chair beside the road waiting,(C) because he was anxious about the ark of God. When the man entered the city to give a report, the entire city cried out.
14 Eli heard the outcry and asked, “Why this commotion?” The man quickly came and reported to Eli. 15 At that time Eli was ninety-eight years old, and his eyes didn’t move[a] because he couldn’t see.(D)
16 The man said to Eli, “I’m the one who came from the battle.[b] I fled from there today.”
“What happened, my son?” (E) Eli asked.
17 The messenger answered, “Israel has fled from the Philistines, and also there was a great slaughter among the people. Your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, are both dead, and the ark of God has been captured.” 18 When he mentioned the ark of God, Eli fell backward off the chair by the city gate,(F) and since he was old and heavy, his neck broke and he died. Eli had judged Israel forty years.
19 Eli’s daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinehas, was pregnant and about to give birth. When she heard the news about the capture of God’s ark and the deaths of her father-in-law and her husband, she collapsed and gave birth because her labor pains came on her. 20 As she was dying,[c] the women taking care of her said, “Don’t be afraid. You’ve given birth to a son!” (G) But she did not respond or pay attention. 21 She named the boy Ichabod,[d] saying, “The glory has departed from Israel,”(H) referring to the capture of the ark of God(I) and to the deaths of her father-in-law and her husband. 22 “The glory has departed from Israel,” she said, “because the ark of God has been captured.”
Greeting
1 James,(A) a servant of God(B) and of the Lord Jesus Christ:
To the twelve tribes(C) dispersed abroad.[a](D)
Greetings.(E)
Trials and Maturity
2 Consider it a great joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you experience various trials,(F) 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance. 4 And let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing.
5 Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God—who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly—and it will be given to him.(G) 6 But let him ask in faith without doubting.[b] For the doubter is like the surging sea, driven and tossed by the wind. 7 That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord, 8 being double-minded and unstable in all his ways.[c](H)
9 Let the brother of humble circumstances boast in his exaltation, 10 but let the rich boast in his humiliation because he will pass away like a flower of the field.(I) 11 For the sun rises and, together with the scorching wind, dries up the grass; its flower falls off, and its beautiful appearance perishes. In the same way, the rich person will wither away while pursuing his activities.(J)
12 Blessed is the one who endures trials, because when he has stood the test he will receive the crown(K) of life that God[d] has promised to those who love him.(L)
13 No one undergoing a trial should say, “I am being tempted by God,” since God is not tempted by evil, and he himself doesn’t tempt anyone. 14 But each person is tempted when he is drawn away and enticed by his own evil desire.(M) 15 Then after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and when sin is fully grown, it gives birth to death.(N)
16 Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters.(O) 17 Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.(P) 18 By his own choice, he gave us birth by the word of truth so that we would be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.(Q)
Possessions and the Kingdom
23 Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly I tell you, it will be hard for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven.(A) 24 Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.”(B)
25 When the disciples heard this, they were utterly astonished and asked, “Then who can be saved?”
26 Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”(C)
27 Then Peter responded to him, “See, we have left everything and followed you. So what will there be for us?”
28 Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, in the renewal of all things,(D) when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne,(E) you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 29 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother[a] or children or fields because of my name will receive a hundred times more and will inherit eternal life.(F) 30 But many who are first will be last, and the last first.(G)
The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.