Book of Common Prayer
Praise to God for His Awesome Works
To the Chief Musician. A Song. A Psalm.
66 Make (A)a joyful shout to God, all the earth!
2 Sing out the honor of His name;
Make His praise glorious.
3 Say to God,
“How (B)awesome are Your works!
(C)Through the greatness of Your power
Your enemies shall submit themselves to You.
4 (D)All the earth shall worship You
And sing praises to You;
They shall sing praises to Your name.” Selah
5 Come and see the works of God;
He is awesome in His doing toward the sons of men.
6 (E)He turned the sea into dry land;
(F)They went through the river on foot.
There we will rejoice in Him.
7 He rules by His power forever;
His eyes observe the nations;
Do not let the rebellious exalt themselves. Selah
8 Oh, bless our God, you peoples!
And make the voice of His praise to be heard,
9 Who keeps our soul among the living,
And does not allow our feet to [a]be moved.
10 For (G)You, O God, have tested us;
(H)You have refined us as silver is refined.
11 (I)You brought us into the net;
You laid affliction on our backs.
12 (J)You have caused men to ride over our heads;
(K)We went through fire and through water;
But You brought us out to [b]rich fulfillment.
13 (L)I will go into Your house with burnt offerings;
(M)I will pay You my [c]vows,
14 Which my lips have uttered
And my mouth has spoken when I was in trouble.
15 I will offer You burnt sacrifices of fat animals,
With the sweet aroma of rams;
I will offer bulls with goats. Selah
16 Come and hear, all you who fear God,
And I will declare what He has done for my soul.
17 I cried to Him with my mouth,
And He was [d]extolled with my tongue.
18 (N)If I regard iniquity in my heart,
The Lord will not hear.
19 But certainly God (O)has heard me;
He has attended to the voice of my prayer.
20 Blessed be God,
Who has not turned away my prayer,
Nor His mercy from me!
An Invocation and a Doxology
To the Chief Musician. On [e]stringed instruments. A Psalm. A Song.
67 God be merciful to us and bless us,
And (P)cause His face to shine upon us, Selah
2 That (Q)Your way may be known on earth,
(R)Your salvation among all nations.
3 Let the peoples praise You, O God;
Let all the peoples praise You.
4 Oh, let the nations be glad and sing for joy!
For (S)You shall judge the people righteously,
And govern the nations on earth. Selah
The Perfect Revelation of the Lord
To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.
19 The (A)heavens declare the glory of God;
And the (B)firmament[a] shows [b]His handiwork.
2 Day unto day utters speech,
And night unto night reveals knowledge.
3 There is no speech nor language
Where their voice is not heard.
4 (C)Their [c]line has gone out through all the earth,
And their words to the end of the world.
In them He has set a [d]tabernacle for the sun,
5 Which is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber,
(D)And rejoices like a strong man to run its race.
6 Its rising is from one end of heaven,
And its circuit to the other end;
And there is nothing hidden from its heat.
7 (E)The law of the Lord is perfect, [e]converting the soul;
The testimony of the Lord is sure, making (F)wise the simple;
8 The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart;
The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes;
9 The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever;
The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.
10 More to be desired are they than (G)gold,
Yea, than much fine gold;
Sweeter also than honey and the [f]honeycomb.
11 Moreover by them Your servant is warned,
And in keeping them there is great reward.
God the Refuge of His People and Conqueror of the Nations
To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of the sons of Korah. A Song (A)for Alamoth.
46 God is our (B)refuge and strength,
(C)A[a] very present help in trouble.
2 Therefore we will not fear,
Even though the earth be removed,
And though the mountains be carried into the [b]midst of the sea;
3 (D)Though its waters roar and be troubled,
Though the mountains shake with its swelling. Selah
4 There is a (E)river whose streams shall make glad the (F)city of God,
The holy place of the [c]tabernacle of the Most High.
5 God is (G)in the midst of her, she shall not be [d]moved;
God shall help her, just [e]at the break of dawn.
6 (H)The nations raged, the kingdoms were moved;
He uttered His voice, the earth melted.
7 The (I)Lord of hosts is with us;
The God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah
8 Come, behold the works of the Lord,
Who has made desolations in the earth.
9 (J)He makes wars cease to the end of the earth;
(K)He breaks the bow and cuts the spear in two;
(L)He burns the chariot in the fire.
10 Be still, and know that I am God;
(M)I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth!
11 The Lord of hosts is with us;
The God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah
6 (A)I have set watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem;
They shall [a]never hold their peace day or night.
You who [b]make mention of the Lord, do not keep silent,
7 And give Him no rest till He establishes
And till He makes Jerusalem (B)a praise in the earth.
8 The Lord has sworn by His right hand
And by the arm of His strength:
“Surely I will no longer (C)give your grain
As food for your enemies;
And the sons of the foreigner shall not drink your new wine,
For which you have labored.
9 But those who have gathered it shall eat it,
And praise the Lord;
Those who have brought it together shall drink it (D)in My holy courts.”
10 Go through,
Go through the gates!
(E)Prepare the way for the people;
Build up,
Build up the highway!
Take out the stones,
(F)Lift up a banner for the peoples!
11 Indeed the Lord has proclaimed
To the end of the world:
(G)“Say to the daughter of Zion,
‘Surely your salvation is coming;
Behold, His (H)reward is with Him,
And His [c]work before Him.’ ”
12 And they shall call them The Holy People,
The Redeemed of the Lord;
And you shall be called Sought Out,
A City Not Forsaken.
The Test of Knowing Him
3 Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. 4 He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a (A)liar, and the truth is not in him. 5 But (B)whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God [a]is perfected (C)in him. By this we know that we are in Him. 6 (D)He who says he abides in Him (E)ought himself also to walk just as He walked.
7 [b]Brethren, I write no new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you have had (F)from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which you heard [c]from the beginning. 8 Again, (G)a new commandment I write to you, which thing is true in Him and in you, (H)because the darkness is passing away, and (I)the true light is already shining.
9 (J)He who says he is in the light, and hates his brother, is in darkness until now. 10 (K)He who loves his brother abides in the light, and (L)there is no cause for stumbling in him. 11 But he who (M)hates his brother is in darkness and (N)walks in darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.
12 Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, (A)“I am the light of the world. He who (B)follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”
Jesus Defends His Self-Witness
13 The Pharisees therefore said to Him, (C)“You bear witness of Yourself; Your witness is not [a]true.”
14 Jesus answered and said to them, “Even if I bear witness of Myself, My witness is true, for I know where I came from and where I am going; but (D)you do not know where I come from and where I am going. 15 (E)You judge according to the flesh; (F)I judge no one. 16 And yet if I do judge, My judgment is true; for (G)I am not alone, but I am with the Father who sent Me. 17 (H)It is also written in your law that the testimony of two men is true. 18 I am One who bears witness of Myself, and (I)the Father who sent Me bears witness of Me.”
19 Then they said to Him, “Where is Your Father?”
Jesus answered, (J)“You know neither Me nor My Father. (K)If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.