Book of Common Prayer
Praise for God’s Mighty Deeds and for His Answer to Prayer.
For the choir 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 [a](E)give feigned obedience to You.
4 “(F)All the earth will worship You,
And will (G)sing praises to You;
They will sing praises to Your name.” [b]Selah.
5 (H)Come and see the works of God,
Who is (I)awesome in His deeds toward the sons of men.
6 He (J)turned the sea into dry land;
They passed through (K)the river on foot;
There let us (L)rejoice in Him!
7 He (M)rules by His might forever;
His (N)eyes keep watch on the nations;
Let not the rebellious (O)exalt themselves. Selah.
8 Bless our God, O peoples,
And [c](P)sound His praise abroad,
9 Who [d](Q)keeps us in life
And (R)does not allow our feet to [e]slip.
10 For You have (S)tried us, O God;
You have (T)refined us as silver is refined.
11 You (U)brought us into the net;
You laid an oppressive burden upon our loins.
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 beasts,
With the smoke of (AC)rams;
I shall make an offering of [f]bulls with male goats. Selah.
16 (AD)Come and hear, all who [g]fear God,
And I will (AE)tell of what He has done for my soul.
17 I cried to Him with my mouth,
And [h]He was (AF)extolled with my tongue.
18 If I [i](AG)regard wickedness in my heart,
The (AH)Lord [j]will not [k]hear;
19 But certainly (AI)God has heard;
He has given heed to the voice of my prayer.
20 (AJ)Blessed be God,
Who (AK)has not turned away my prayer
Nor His lovingkindness from me.
9 “To (A)whom would He teach knowledge,
And to whom would He interpret the message?
Those just (B)weaned from milk?
Those just taken from the breast?
10 “For He says,
‘[a](C)Order on order, order on order,
Line on line, line on line,
A little here, a little there.’”
11 Indeed, He will speak to this people
Through (D)stammering lips and a foreign tongue,
12 He who said to them, “Here is (E)rest, give rest to the weary,”
And, “Here is repose,” but they would not listen.
13 So the word of the Lord to them will be,
“[b]Order on order, order on order,
Line on line, line on line,
A little here, a little there,”
That they may go and (F)stumble backward, be broken, snared and taken captive.
Judah Is Warned
14 Therefore, (G)hear the word of the Lord, O (H)scoffers,
Who rule this people who are in Jerusalem,
15 Because you have said, “We have made a (I)covenant with death,
And with [c]Sheol we have made a [d]pact.
(J)The overwhelming [e]scourge will not reach us when it passes by,
For we have made (K)falsehood our refuge and we have (L)concealed ourselves with deception.”
16 Therefore thus says the Lord [f]God,
Unity of the Spirit
4 Therefore I, (A)the prisoner of the Lord, (B)implore you to (C)walk in a manner worthy of the (D)calling with which you have been (E)called, 2 with all (F)humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another (G)in love, 3 being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the (H)bond of peace. 4 There is (I)one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one (J)hope of your calling; 5 (K)one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all (L)who is over all and through all and in all.
7 But (M)to each one of us (N)grace was given (O)according to the measure of Christ’s gift. 8 Therefore [a]it says,
9 (Now this expression, “He (R)ascended,” what [b]does it mean except that He also [c]had descended into (S)the lower parts of the earth? 10 He who descended is Himself also He who ascended (T)far above all the heavens, so that He might (U)fill all things.) 11 And He (V)gave (W)some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as (X)evangelists, and some as pastors and (Y)teachers, 12 (Z)for the equipping of the [d]saints for the work of service, to the building up of (AA)the body of Christ; 13 until we all attain to (AB)the unity of the faith, and of the [e](AC)knowledge of the Son of God, to a (AD)mature man, to the measure of the stature [f]which belongs to the (AE)fullness of Christ. 14 [g]As a result, we are (AF)no longer to be children, (AG)tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by (AH)craftiness [h]in (AI)deceitful scheming; 15 but [i]speaking the truth (AJ)in love, [j]we are to (AK)grow up in all aspects into Him who is the (AL)head, even Christ, 16 from whom (AM)the whole body, being fitted and held together [k]by what every joint supplies, according to the [l]proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself (AN)in love.
Thanksgiving for Deliverance from Death.
116 (A)I love the Lord, because He (B)hears
My voice and my supplications.
2 Because He has (C)inclined His ear to me,
Therefore I shall call upon Him as long as I live.
3 The (D)cords of death encompassed me
And the [a]terrors of [b]Sheol [c]came upon me;
I found distress and sorrow.
4 Then (E)I called upon the name of the Lord:
“O Lord, I beseech You, [d](F)save my life!”
5 (G)Gracious is the Lord, and (H)righteous;
Yes, our God is (I)compassionate.
6 The Lord preserves (J)the simple;
I was (K)brought low, and He saved me.
7 Return to your (L)rest, O my soul,
For the Lord has (M)dealt bountifully with you.
8 For You have (N)rescued my soul from death,
My eyes from tears,
My feet from stumbling.
9 I shall walk before the Lord
In the [e](O)land of the living.
10 I (P)believed when I said,
“I am (Q)greatly afflicted.”
11 I (R)said in my alarm,
“(S)All men are liars.”
12 What shall I (T)render to the Lord
For all His (U)benefits [f]toward me?
13 I shall lift up the (V)cup of salvation
And (W)call upon the name of the Lord.
14 I shall (X)pay my vows to the Lord,
Oh may it be (Y)in the presence of all His people.
15 (Z)Precious in the sight of the Lord
Is the death of His godly ones.
16 O Lord, [g]surely I am (AA)Your servant,
I am Your servant, the (AB)son of Your handmaid,
You have (AC)loosed my bonds.
17 To You I shall offer (AD)a sacrifice of thanksgiving,
And (AE)call upon the name of the Lord.
18 I shall (AF)pay my vows to the Lord,
Oh may it be in the presence of all His people,
19 In the (AG)courts of the Lord’s house,
In the midst of you, O (AH)Jerusalem.
[h]Praise [i]the Lord!
A Psalm of Praise.
15 “(A)If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.
Role of the Spirit
16 I will ask the Father, and He will give you another [a](B)Helper, that He may be with you forever; 17 that is (C)the Spirit of truth, (D)whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you.
18 “I will not leave you as orphans; (E)I will come to you. 19 [b](F)After a little while (G)the world will no longer see Me, but you will see Me; (H)because I live, you will live also. 20 (I)In that day you will know that (J)I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you. 21 (K)He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and (L)he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will (M)disclose Myself to him.” 22 (N)Judas (not Iscariot) *said to Him, “Lord, what then has happened (O)that You are going to disclose Yourself to us and not to the world?” 23 Jesus answered and said to him, “(P)If anyone loves Me, he will (Q)keep My word; and (R)My Father will love him, and We (S)will come to him and make Our abode with him. 24 He who does not love Me (T)does not keep My words; and (U)the word which you hear is not Mine, but the Father’s who sent Me.
25 “These things I have spoken to you while abiding with you. 26 But the (V)Helper, the Holy Spirit, (W)whom the Father will send in My name, (X)He will teach you all things, and (Y)bring to your remembrance all that I said to you. 27 (Z)Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. (AA)Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful. 28 (AB)You heard that I said to you, ‘I go away, and (AC)I will come to you.’ If you loved Me, you would have rejoiced because (AD)I go to the Father, for (AE)the Father is greater than I. 29 Now (AF)I have told you before it happens, so that when it happens, you may believe. 30 I will not speak much more with you, for (AG)the ruler of the world is coming, and he has nothing in Me; 31 but so that the world may know that I love the Father, [c]I do exactly as (AH)the Father commanded Me. Get up, (AI)let us go from here.
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