Book of Common Prayer
To the director: A song of praise.
66 Everything on earth, shout with joy to God!
2 Praise his glorious name!
Honor him with songs of praise!
3 Tell God, “Your works are wonderful!
Your great power makes your enemies bow down in fear before you.
4 Let the whole world worship you.
Let everyone sing praises to your name.” Selah
5 Look at what God has done!
These things amaze us.
6 He changed the sea to dry land,[a]
and his people went across the water[b] on foot.
So let’s celebrate because of what he has done!
7 He rules the world with his great power.
He watches people everywhere.
No one can rebel against him. Selah
8 People, praise our God.
Sing loud songs of praise to him.
9 He continues to give us life,
and he keeps us from falling.
10 God, you have tested us, as people test silver with fire.
11 You let us be trapped.
You put heavy burdens on us.
12 You let our enemies run over us.
We went through fire and water,
but you brought us to a safe place.
13-14 So I bring sacrifices to your Temple.
When I was in trouble, I asked for help
and made promises to you.
Now I am giving you what I promised.
15 I bring my best sheep as burnt offerings.
I offer the smoke from them up to you.
I give you sacrifices of bulls and goats. Selah
16 All you people who worship God,
come and I will tell you what he has done for me.
17-18 I cried out to him for help,
and I praised him.
If I had been hiding sin in my heart,
the Lord would not have listened to me.
19 But God did listen to me;
he heard my prayer.
20 Praise God!
He did not turn away from me—he listened to my prayer.
He continues to show his love to me!
The Lord Speaks to Ezekiel
2 The voice said, “Son of man,[a] stand up and I will speak with you.”
2 Then the Spirit came into me[b] and lifted me up on my feet, and I listened to the one who spoke to me. 3 He said, “Son of man, I am sending you to speak to the family of Israel. Those people and their ancestors turned against me many times. They have sinned against me many times—and they are still sinning against me today. 4 I am sending you to speak to them, but they are very stubborn. They are very hardheaded, but you must speak to them. You must say, ‘This is what the Lord God says.’ 5 They are people who refuse to obey, so they may not listen to you. But even if they don’t stop sinning, at least they will know that there is a prophet living among them.
6 “Son of man, don’t be afraid of the people or what they say. It is true: they will turn against you and try to hurt you. Their words will be sharp like thorns and will sting like scorpions. But don’t be afraid of what they say. They are people who refuse to obey, but don’t be afraid of them. 7 You must tell them what I say, whether they listen or not. They are people who usually refuse to listen!
Peter Returns to Jerusalem
11 The apostles and the believers in Judea heard that non-Jewish people had accepted God’s teaching too. 2 But when Peter came to Jerusalem, some Jewish believers[a] argued with him. 3 They said, “You went into the homes of people who are not Jews and are not circumcised, and you even ate with them!”
4 So Peter explained the whole story to them. 5 He said, “I was in the city of Joppa. While I was praying, I had a vision. I saw something coming down from heaven. It looked like a big sheet being lowered to the ground by its four corners. It came down close to me, 6 and I looked inside. I saw all kinds of animals, including wild ones, as well as reptiles and birds. 7 I heard a voice say to me, ‘Get up, Peter. Kill anything here and eat it!’
8 “But I said, ‘I can’t do that, Lord! I have never eaten anything that is not pure or fit to be used for food.’
9 “But the voice from heaven answered again, ‘God has made these things pure. Don’t say they are unfit to eat!’
10 “This happened three times. Then the whole thing was taken back into heaven. 11 Suddenly there were three men standing outside the house where I was staying. They had been sent from Caesarea to get me. 12 The Spirit told me to go with them without wondering if it was all right. These six brothers here also went with me, and we went to the house of Cornelius. 13 He told us about the angel he had seen standing in his house. The angel said, ‘Send some men to Joppa to get Simon, the one who is also called Peter. 14 He will speak to you, and what he tells you will save you and everyone living in your house.’
15 “After I began speaking, the Holy Spirit came on them just as he came on us at the beginning.[b] 16 Then I remembered the words of the Lord Jesus: ‘John baptized people in water, but you will be baptized in the Holy Spirit.’ 17 God gave these people the same gift he gave us who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ. So how could I object to what God wanted to do?”
18 When the Jewish believers heard this, they stopped arguing. They praised God and said, “So God is also allowing even those who are not Jews to change their hearts so that they can have the life he gives!”
97 The Lord rules, and the earth is happy.
All the faraway lands are happy.
2 Thick, dark clouds surround him.
Goodness and justice make his kingdom strong.
3 Fire goes before him
and destroys his enemies.
4 His lightning flashes in the sky.
The earth sees it and trembles with fear.
5 The mountains melt like wax before the Lord,
before the Lord of all the earth.
6 The skies tell about his goodness,
and the nations see his glory.
7 People worship their idols.
They brag about their “gods.”
But they will be embarrassed.
And all their “gods” will bow down before the Lord.
8 Zion, listen and be happy!
Cities of Judah, be glad!
Rejoice because the Lord’s decisions are fair.
9 Lord Most High, you really are the ruler of the earth.
You are much better than the “gods.”
10 Hate evil, you who love the Lord.
He protects his followers and saves them from evil people.
11 Light and happiness shine on those
who want to do right.
12 Good people, be happy in the Lord!
Praise his holy name!
A song of David.
138 Lord, I praise you with all my heart.
I sing songs of praise to you before the gods.
2 I bow down toward your holy Temple,
and I praise your name for your love and loyalty.
You are famous,
and doing what you promised will make you even more famous!
3 When I called to you for help,
you answered me and gave me strength.
4 Lord, all the kings on earth will praise you
when they hear what you say.
5 They will sing about what the Lord has done,
because the glory of the Lord is very great.
6 The Lord has the highest place above all others,
but he still cares for the humble.
Even from there, so high above,
he knows what the proud do.
7 If I am in trouble, you keep me alive.
If my enemies are angry, you save me from them.
8 Lord, I know you will do what you have promised.
Lord, your faithful love will last forever.
You are the one who made us, so don’t leave us!
The Other Apostles Accepted Paul
2 After 14 years I went back to Jerusalem with Barnabas and took Titus with me. 2 I went there because God showed me that I should go. I explained to them the message that I tell the non-Jewish people. I also met alone with those who were considered to be the leaders. I wanted to be sure we were in agreement so that my past work and the work I do now would not be wasted.
3 Titus, who was with me, is a Greek. But these leaders still did not force him to be circumcised. 4 We needed to talk about these problems, because some who pretended to be our brothers had come into our group secretly. They came in like spies to find out about the freedom we have in Christ Jesus. They wanted to make us slaves, 5 but we did not agree with anything those false brothers wanted. We wanted the truth of the Good News to continue for you.
6 Those men who were considered to be important did not change the Good News message I tell people. (It doesn’t matter to me if they were “important” or not. To God everyone is the same.) 7 But these leaders saw that God had given me a special work, the same as Peter. God gave Peter the work of telling the Good News to the Jews. But God gave me the work of telling the Good News to the non-Jewish people. 8 God gave Peter the power to work as an apostle for the Jewish people. God gave me the power to work as an apostle too, but for those who are not Jews. 9 James, Peter, and John seemed to be the leaders. And they saw that God had given me this special gift of ministry, so they accepted Barnabas and me. They said to us, “We agree that you should go to those who are not Jews, and we will go to the Jews.”
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International