Book of Common Prayer
Praise for God’s Mighty Deeds and for His Answer to Prayer.
For the music 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 (E)pretend to obey You.
4 (F)All the earth will worship You,
And will (G)sing praises to You;
They will sing praises to Your name.” Selah
5 (H)Come and see the works of God,
Who is (I)awesome in His deeds toward the sons of mankind.
6 He (J)turned the sea into dry land;
They passed through (K)the river on foot;
Let’s (L)rejoice there, in Him!
7 He (M)rules by His might forever;
His (N)eyes keep watch on the nations;
The rebellious shall not (O)exalt themselves! Selah
8 Bless our God, you peoples,
And [a](P)sound His praise abroad,
9 Who [b](Q)keeps us in life,
And (R)does not allow our feet to [c]slip.
10 For You have (S)put us to the test, God;
You have (T)refined us as silver is refined.
11 You (U)brought us into the net;
You laid an oppressive burden upon [d]us.
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 animals,
With the smoke of (AC)rams;
I shall make an offering of [e]bulls with male goats. Selah
16 (AD)Come and hear, all who [f]fear God,
And I will (AE)tell of what He has done for my soul.
17 I cried to Him with my mouth,
And [g]He was (AF)exalted with my tongue.
18 If I [h](AG)regard wickedness in my heart,
The (AH)Lord will not hear;
19 But (AI)God has heard;
He has given attention to the sound of my prayer.
20 (AJ)Blessed be God,
Who (AK)has not turned away my prayer
Nor His favor from me.
The Nations Exhorted to Praise God.
For the music 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 [i]upon us— Selah
2 That (AN)Your way may be known on the earth,
(AO)Your salvation among all nations.
3 May the (AP)peoples praise You, God;
May all the peoples praise You.
4 May the (AQ)nations be glad and sing for joy;
For You will (AR)judge the peoples with fairness
And (AS)guide the nations on the earth. Selah
5 May the (AT)peoples praise You, God;
May all the peoples praise You.
6 The (AU)earth has yielded its produce;
God, our God, (AV)blesses us.
7 God blesses us,
[j]So that (AW)all the ends of the earth may fear Him.
The Works and the Word of God.
For the music director. A Psalm of David.
19 The (A)heavens tell of the glory of God;
And their (B)expanse declares 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 into all the earth,
And their words to the end of the world.
In them He has (F)placed a tent for the sun,
5 Which is like a groom coming out of his chamber;
It rejoices like a strong person 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 pure gold;
(T)Sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb.
11 Moreover, (U)Your servant is warned by them;
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 Your servant back (Z)from presumptuous sins;
Let them not (AA)rule over me;
Then I will be (AB)innocent,
And I will be blameless of (AC)great wrongdoing.
14 May the words of my mouth and (AD)the meditation of my heart
Be acceptable in Your sight,
Lord, (AE)my rock and my (AF)Redeemer.
God, the Refuge of His People.
For the music director. A Psalm of the sons of Korah, [a]set to Alamoth. A Song.
46 God is our (A)refuge and strength,
A [b]very (B)ready help (C)in [c]trouble.
2 Therefore we will (D)not fear, though (E)the earth shakes
And (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. Selah
4 There is a (H)river whose streams make the (I)city of God happy,
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 [e]when morning dawns.
6 The [f]nations (M)made an uproar, the kingdoms tottered;
He [g](N)raised His voice, the earth (O)quaked.
7 The Lord of armies (P)is with us;
The God of Jacob is (Q)our stronghold. Selah
8 Come, (R)behold the works of the Lord,
[h]Who has inflicted (S)horrific events on 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 “[i]Stop striving and (W)know that I am God;
I will be (X)exalted among the [j]nations, I will be exalted on the earth.”
11 The Lord of armies is with us;
The God of Jacob is our stronghold. Selah
2 “Dispute with your mother, (A)dispute,
Because she is (B)not my wife, and I am not her husband;
But she must remove her (C)infidelity from her face
And her adultery from between her breasts,
3 Otherwise, I will strip her (D)naked
And expose her as on the (E)day she was born.
I will also (F)make her like a wilderness,
Make her like desert land,
And put her to death with (G)thirst.
4 Also, I will take no pity on her children,
Because they are (H)children of infidelity.
5 For their mother has (I)committed prostitution;
She who conceived them has acted shamefully.
For she said, ‘(J)I will go after my lovers,
Who (K)give me my bread and my water,
My wool and my flax, my (L)oil and my drink.’
6 Therefore, behold, I will (M)obstruct [a]her way with (N)thorns,
And I will build [b]a stone wall against her so that she cannot find her (O)paths.
7 And she will (P)pursue her lovers, but she will not reach them;
And she will seek them, but will not find them.
Then she will say, ‘(Q)I will go back to my (R)first husband,
Because it was (S)better for me then than now!’
8 “Yet she does (T)not know that it was (U)I myself who gave her the grain, the new wine, and the oil,
And lavished on her silver and gold,
Which they [c]used for Baal.
9 Therefore, I will [d](V)take back My grain at [e]harvest time
And My new wine in its season.
I will also take away My wool and My flax
That I gave to cover her nakedness.
10 So now I will (W)uncover her [f]lewdness
Before the eyes of her lovers,
And no one will rescue her from My hand.
11 I will also (X)put an end to all her joy,
Her (Y)feasts, her (Z)new moons, her Sabbaths,
And all her festivals.
12 And I will (AA)destroy her vines and fig trees,
Of which she said, ‘They are my wages for prostitution
Which my lovers have given me.’
And I will (AB)turn them into a forest,
And the (AC)animals of the field will devour them.
13 I will punish her for the (AD)days of the Baals
When she used to [g](AE)offer sacrifices to them
And (AF)adorn herself with her nose ring and jewelry,
And follow her lovers, so that she (AG)forgot Me,” declares the Lord.
Restoration of Israel
The Tongue Is a Fire
3 (A)Do not become teachers in large numbers, (B)my brothers, since you know that we who are teachers will incur a [a]stricter judgment. 2 For we all (C)stumble in many ways. (D)If anyone does not stumble in [b]what he says, he is a (E)perfect man, able to [c](F)rein in the whole body as well. 3 Now (G)if we put the bits into the horses’ mouths so that they will obey us, we direct their whole body as well. 4 Look at the ships too: though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are nevertheless directed by a very small rudder wherever the inclination of the pilot determines. 5 So also the tongue is a small part of the body, and yet it (H)boasts of great things.
(I)See how great a forest is set aflame by such a small fire! 6 And (J)the tongue is a fire, the very world of unrighteousness; the tongue is set among [d]our body’s parts as that which (K)defiles the whole body and sets on fire the course of our [e]life, and is set on fire by [f](L)hell. 7 For every [g]species of beasts and birds, of reptiles and creatures of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by the human [h]race. 8 But no one among mankind can tame the tongue; it is a restless evil, full of (M)deadly poison. 9 With it we bless (N)our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people, (O)who have been made in the likeness of God; 10 from the same mouth come both blessing and cursing. My brothers and sisters, these things should not be this way. 11 Does a spring send out from the same opening both [i]fresh and bitter water? 12 (P)Can a fig tree, my brothers and sisters, bear olives, or a vine bear figs? Nor can salt water produce [j]fresh.
Wisdom from Above
13 Who among you is wise and understanding? (Q)Let him show by his (R)good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom.
Hidden Treasure
44 “(A)The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from [a]joy over it he goes and (B)sells everything that he has, and buys that field.
A Costly Pearl
45 “Again, (C)the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls, 46 and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold everything that he had and bought it.
A Dragnet
47 “Again, (D)the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet that was cast into the sea and gathered fish of every kind; 48 and when it was filled, they pulled it up on the beach; and they sat down and gathered the good fish into containers, but the bad they threw away. 49 So it will be at (E)the [b]end of the age: the angels will come forth and remove the wicked from among the righteous, 50 and they (F)will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place (G)there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
51 “Have you understood all these things?” They *said to Him, “Yes.” 52 And [c]Jesus said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has become a disciple of the kingdom of heaven is like a head of a household, who brings out of his treasure new things and old.”
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