Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 66
For the director of music. A song. A psalm.
1 Shout for joy to God, all the earth!(A)
2 Sing the glory of his name;(B)
make his praise glorious.(C)
3 Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds!(D)
So great is your power
that your enemies cringe(E) before you.
4 All the earth bows down(F) to you;
they sing praise(G) to you,
they sing the praises of your name.”[a]
5 Come and see what God has done,
his awesome deeds(H) for mankind!
6 He turned the sea into dry land,(I)
they passed through(J) the waters on foot—
come, let us rejoice(K) in him.
7 He rules forever(L) by his power,
his eyes watch(M) the nations—
let not the rebellious(N) rise up against him.
8 Praise(O) our God, all peoples,
let the sound of his praise be heard;
9 he has preserved our lives(P)
and kept our feet from slipping.(Q)
10 For you, God, tested(R) us;
you refined us like silver.(S)
11 You brought us into prison(T)
and laid burdens(U) on our backs.
12 You let people ride over our heads;(V)
we went through fire and water,
but you brought us to a place of abundance.(W)
13 I will come to your temple with burnt offerings(X)
and fulfill my vows(Y) to you—
14 vows my lips promised and my mouth spoke
when I was in trouble.
15 I will sacrifice fat animals to you
and an offering of rams;
I will offer bulls and goats.(Z)
16 Come and hear,(AA) all you who fear God;
let me tell(AB) you what he has done for me.
17 I cried out to him with my mouth;
his praise was on my tongue.
18 If I had cherished sin in my heart,
the Lord would not have listened;(AC)
19 but God has surely listened
and has heard(AD) my prayer.
20 Praise be to God,
who has not rejected(AE) my prayer
or withheld his love from me!
Psalm 67[b]
For the director of music. With stringed instruments. A psalm. A song.
1 May God be gracious to us and bless us
and make his face shine on us—[c](AF)
2 so that your ways may be known on earth,
your salvation(AG) among all nations.(AH)
Psalm 19[a]
For the director of music. A psalm of David.
1 The heavens(A) declare(B) the glory of God;(C)
the skies(D) proclaim the work of his hands.(E)
2 Day after day they pour forth speech;
night after night they reveal knowledge.(F)
3 They have no speech, they use no words;
no sound is heard from them.
4 Yet their voice[b] goes out into all the earth,
their words to the ends of the world.(G)
In the heavens God has pitched a tent(H) for the sun.(I)
5 It is like a bridegroom(J) coming out of his chamber,(K)
like a champion(L) rejoicing to run his course.
6 It rises at one end of the heavens(M)
and makes its circuit to the other;(N)
nothing is deprived of its warmth.
7 The law of the Lord(O) is perfect,(P)
refreshing the soul.(Q)
The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy,(R)
making wise the simple.(S)
8 The precepts of the Lord are right,(T)
giving joy(U) to the heart.
The commands of the Lord are radiant,
giving light to the eyes.(V)
9 The fear of the Lord(W) is pure,
enduring forever.
The decrees of the Lord are firm,
and all of them are righteous.(X)
10 They are more precious than gold,(Y)
than much pure gold;
they are sweeter than honey,(Z)
than honey from the honeycomb.(AA)
11 By them your servant is warned;
in keeping them there is great reward.
12 But who can discern their own errors?
Forgive my hidden faults.(AB)
13 Keep your servant also from willful sins;(AC)
may they not rule over me.(AD)
Then I will be blameless,(AE)
innocent of great transgression.
Psalm 46[a]
For the director of music. Of the Sons of Korah. According to alamoth.[b] A song.
1 God is our refuge(A) and strength,(B)
an ever-present(C) help(D) in trouble.(E)
2 Therefore we will not fear,(F) though the earth give way(G)
and the mountains fall(H) into the heart of the sea,(I)
3 though its waters roar(J) and foam(K)
and the mountains quake(L) with their surging.[c]
4 There is a river(M) whose streams(N) make glad the city of God,(O)
the holy place where the Most High(P) dwells.(Q)
5 God is within her,(R) she will not fall;(S)
God will help(T) her at break of day.
6 Nations(U) are in uproar,(V) kingdoms(W) fall;
he lifts his voice,(X) the earth melts.(Y)
8 Come and see what the Lord has done,(AD)
the desolations(AE) he has brought on the earth.
9 He makes wars(AF) cease
to the ends of the earth.
He breaks the bow(AG) and shatters the spear;
he burns the shields[d] with fire.(AH)
10 He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;(AI)
I will be exalted(AJ) among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth.”
26 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron: 27 “How long will this wicked community grumble against me? I have heard the complaints of these grumbling Israelites.(A) 28 So tell them, ‘As surely as I live,(B) declares the Lord, I will do to you(C) the very thing I heard you say: 29 In this wilderness your bodies will fall(D)—every one of you twenty years old or more(E) who was counted in the census(F) and who has grumbled against me. 30 Not one of you will enter the land(G) I swore with uplifted hand(H) to make your home, except Caleb son of Jephunneh(I) and Joshua son of Nun.(J) 31 As for your children that you said would be taken as plunder, I will bring them in to enjoy the land you have rejected.(K) 32 But as for you, your bodies will fall(L) in this wilderness. 33 Your children will be shepherds here for forty years,(M) suffering for your unfaithfulness, until the last of your bodies lies in the wilderness. 34 For forty years(N)—one year for each of the forty days you explored the land(O)—you will suffer for your sins and know what it is like to have me against you.’ 35 I, the Lord, have spoken, and I will surely do these things(P) to this whole wicked community, which has banded together against me. They will meet their end in this wilderness; here they will die.(Q)”
36 So the men Moses had sent(R) to explore the land, who returned and made the whole community grumble(S) against him by spreading a bad report(T) about it— 37 these men who were responsible for spreading the bad report(U) about the land were struck down and died of a plague(V) before the Lord. 38 Of the men who went to explore the land,(W) only Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh survived.(X)
39 When Moses reported this(Y) to all the Israelites, they mourned(Z) bitterly. 40 Early the next morning they set out for the highest point in the hill country,(AA) saying, “Now we are ready to go up to the land the Lord promised. Surely we have sinned!(AB)”
41 But Moses said, “Why are you disobeying the Lord’s command? This will not succeed!(AC) 42 Do not go up, because the Lord is not with you. You will be defeated by your enemies,(AD) 43 for the Amalekites(AE) and the Canaanites(AF) will face you there. Because you have turned away from the Lord, he will not be with you(AG) and you will fall by the sword.”
44 Nevertheless, in their presumption they went up(AH) toward the highest point in the hill country, though neither Moses nor the ark of the Lord’s covenant moved from the camp.(AI) 45 Then the Amalekites and the Canaanites(AJ) who lived in that hill country(AK) came down and attacked them and beat them down all the way to Hormah.(AL)
The Council at Jerusalem
15 Certain people(A) came down from Judea to Antioch and were teaching the believers:(B) “Unless you are circumcised,(C) according to the custom taught by Moses,(D) you cannot be saved.” 2 This brought Paul and Barnabas into sharp dispute and debate with them. So Paul and Barnabas were appointed, along with some other believers, to go up to Jerusalem(E) to see the apostles and elders(F) about this question. 3 The church sent them on their way, and as they traveled through Phoenicia(G) and Samaria, they told how the Gentiles had been converted.(H) This news made all the believers very glad. 4 When they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and the apostles and elders, to whom they reported everything God had done through them.(I)
5 Then some of the believers who belonged to the party(J) of the Pharisees(K) stood up and said, “The Gentiles must be circumcised and required to keep the law of Moses.”(L)
6 The apostles and elders met to consider this question. 7 After much discussion, Peter got up and addressed them: “Brothers, you know that some time ago God made a choice among you that the Gentiles might hear from my lips the message of the gospel and believe.(M) 8 God, who knows the heart,(N) showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them,(O) just as he did to us. 9 He did not discriminate between us and them,(P) for he purified their hearts by faith.(Q) 10 Now then, why do you try to test God(R) by putting on the necks of Gentiles a yoke(S) that neither we nor our ancestors have been able to bear? 11 No! We believe it is through the grace(T) of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are.”
12 The whole assembly became silent as they listened to Barnabas and Paul telling about the signs and wonders(U) God had done among the Gentiles through them.(V)
Not Peace but Division(A)
49 “I have come to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! 50 But I have a baptism(B) to undergo, and what constraint I am under until it is completed!(C) 51 Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division. 52 From now on there will be five in one family divided against each other, three against two and two against three. 53 They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”(D)
Interpreting the Times
54 He said to the crowd: “When you see a cloud rising in the west, immediately you say, ‘It’s going to rain,’ and it does.(E) 55 And when the south wind blows, you say, ‘It’s going to be hot,’ and it is. 56 Hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky. How is it that you don’t know how to interpret this present time?(F)
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