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
Moses and the Burning Bush
3 Meanwhile, Moses was shepherding the flock of his father-in-law Jethro,[a] the priest of Midian. He led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb,[b] the mountain of God.(A) 2 Then the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire within a bush.(B) As Moses looked, he saw that the bush was on fire but was not consumed. 3 So Moses thought, “I must go over and look at this remarkable sight. Why isn’t the bush burning up?”
4 When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called out to him from the bush, “Moses, Moses!”
“Here I am,” he answered.
5 “Do not come closer,” he said. “Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.”(C) 6 Then he continued, “I am the God of your father,[c] the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.”(D) Moses hid his face because he was afraid to look at God.
7 Then the Lord said, “I have observed the misery of my people in Egypt, and have heard them crying out(E) because of their oppressors. I know about their sufferings, 8 and I have come down to rescue them from the power of the Egyptians and to bring them from that land to a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey(F)—the territory of the Canaanites, Hethites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites.(G) 9 So because the Israelites’ cry for help has come to me, and I have also seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing(H) them, 10 therefore, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh so that you may lead my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt.”
11 But Moses asked God, “Who am I(I) that I should go to Pharaoh and that I should bring the Israelites out of Egypt?”
12 He answered, “I will certainly be with you,(J) and this will be the sign to you that I am the one who sent you: when you bring the people out of Egypt, you will all worship[d] God at this mountain.”
18 For you have not come to what could be touched, to a blazing fire, to darkness, gloom, and storm, 19 to the blast of a trumpet, and the sound of words. Those who heard it begged that not another word be spoken to them, 20 for they could not bear what was commanded: If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned.[a](A) 21 The appearance was so terrifying that Moses said, I am trembling with fear.[b](B) 22 Instead, you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God (the heavenly Jerusalem), to myriads of angels, a festive gathering,(C) 23 to the assembly of the firstborn whose names have been written[c] in heaven, to a Judge, who is God of all, to the spirits of righteous people made perfect,(D) 24 and to Jesus, the mediator(E) of a new covenant,(F) and to the sprinkled blood, which says better things than the blood of Abel.(G)
25 See to it that you do not reject the one who speaks. For if they did not escape when they rejected him who warned them on earth, even less will we if we turn away from him who warns us from heaven.(H) 26 His voice shook the earth at that time, but now he has promised, Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.[d](I) 27 This expression, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal of what can be shaken(J)—that is, created things—so that what is not shaken might remain. 28 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful. By it, we may serve God acceptably, with reverence and awe,(K) 29 for our God is a consuming fire.(L)
The Return of the Seventy-Two
17 The seventy-two[a](A) returned with joy, saying,(B) “Lord, even the demons(C) submit to us in your name.”(D)
18 He said to them, “I watched Satan(E) fall from heaven like lightning.(F) 19 Look, I have given you the authority(G) to trample(H) on snakes(I) and scorpions(J) and over all the power of the enemy; (K) nothing at all will harm you.(L) 20 However, don’t rejoice that[b] the spirits (M) submit to you,(N) but rejoice that your names are written(O) in heaven.”
The Son Reveals the Father
21 At that time(P) he[c] rejoiced in the Holy[d] Spirit(Q) and said, “I praise[e] you, Father,(R) Lord of heaven and earth,(S) because you have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent(T) and revealed them to infants.(U) Yes, Father, because this was your good pleasure.[f](V) 22 All things have[g] been entrusted to me by my Father. No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son desires[h] to reveal him.”(W)
23 Then turning to his disciples he said privately, “Blessed are the eyes that see the things you see! 24 For I tell you that many prophets and kings wanted to see the things you see but didn’t see them; to hear the things you hear but didn’t hear them.”(X)
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