Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 75
God Judges the Wicked
For the choir director: “Do Not Destroy.”[a] A psalm of Asaph.(A) A song.
1 We give thanks to You, God;
we give thanks to You, for Your name is near.
People tell about Your wonderful works.(B)
2 “When I choose a time,
I will judge fairly.(C)
3 When the earth and all its inhabitants shake,
I am the One who steadies its pillars.(D)
4 I say to the boastful, ‘Do not boast,’
and to the wicked, ‘Do not lift up your horn.(E)
5 Do not lift up your horn against heaven
or speak arrogantly.’”(F)
6 Exaltation does not come
from the east, the west, or the desert,
7 for God is the Judge:
He brings down one and exalts another.(G)
8 For there is a cup in the Lord’s hand,
full of wine blended with spices, and He pours from it.
All the wicked of the earth will drink,
draining it to the dregs.(H)
9 As for me, I will tell about Him forever;
I will sing praise to the God of Jacob.(I)
10 “I will cut off all the horns of the wicked,(J)
but the horns of the righteous will be lifted up.”(K)
Psalm 76
God, the Powerful Judge
For the choir director: with stringed instruments. A psalm of Asaph.(L) A song.
1 God is known in Judah;
His name is great in Israel.(M)
2 His tent is in Salem,[b]
His dwelling place in Zion.(N)
3 There He shatters the bow’s flaming arrows,
the shield, the sword, and the weapons of war.(O)
4 You are resplendent and majestic
coming down from the mountains of prey.(P)
5 The brave-hearted have been plundered;
they have slipped into their final sleep.
None of the warriors was able to lift a hand.(Q)
6 At Your rebuke, God of Jacob,
both chariot and horse lay still.(R)
7 And You—You are to be feared.[c]
When You are angry,
who can stand before You?(S)
8 From heaven You pronounced judgment.
The earth feared and grew quiet(T)
9 when God rose up to judge
and to save all the lowly of the earth.(U)
10 Even human wrath will praise You;
You will clothe Yourself
with their remaining wrath.[d](V)
Psalm 23
The Good Shepherd
A Davidic psalm.
1 The Lord is my shepherd;(A)
there is nothing I lack.(B)
2 He lets me lie down in green pastures;(C)
He leads me beside quiet waters.(D)
3 He renews my life;
He leads me along the right paths[a]
for His name’s sake.(E)
4 Even when I go through the darkest valley,[b]
I fear no danger,
for You are with me;(F)
Your rod and Your staff[c]—they comfort me.(G)
Psalm 27
My Stronghold
Davidic.
1 The Lord is my light and my salvation—
whom should I fear?(A)
The Lord is the stronghold of my life—
of whom should I be afraid?(B)
2 When evildoers came against me to devour my flesh,(C)
my foes and my enemies stumbled and fell.(D)
3 Though an army deploys against me,
my heart is not afraid;
though a war breaks out against me,
still I am confident.(E)
4 I have asked one thing from the Lord;
it is what I desire:
to dwell in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life,(F)
gazing on the beauty of the Lord(G)
and seeking Him in His temple.(H)
5 For He will conceal me in His shelter
in the day of adversity;
He will hide me under the cover of His tent;
He will set me high on a rock.(I)
6 Then my head will be high
above my enemies around me;(J)
I will offer sacrifices in His tent with shouts of joy.(K)
I will sing and make music to the Lord.(L)
7 Lord, hear my voice when I call;
be gracious to me and answer me.(M)
8 My heart says this about You,
“You[a] are to seek My face.”
Lord, I will seek Your face.(N)
9 Do not hide Your face from me;(O)
do not turn Your servant away in anger.(P)
You have been my helper;(Q)
do not leave me or abandon me,
God of my salvation.
10 Even if my father and mother abandon me,
the Lord cares for me.(R)
Elijah in the Whirlwind
2 The time had come for the Lord to take Elijah up to heaven(A) in a whirlwind.(B) Elijah and Elisha(C) were traveling from Gilgal,(D) 2 and Elijah said to Elisha,(E) “Stay here;(F) the Lord is sending me on to Bethel.”(G)
But Elisha replied, “As the Lord lives and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.”(H) So they went down to Bethel.
3 Then the sons of the prophets(I) who were at Bethel came out to Elisha and said, “Do you know that the Lord will take your master away from you today?”(J)
He said, “Yes, I know. Be quiet.”
4 Elijah said to him, “Elisha, stay here; the Lord is sending me to Jericho.”(K)
But Elisha said, “As the Lord lives and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So they went to Jericho.
5 Then the sons of the prophets who were in Jericho came up to Elisha and said, “Do you know that the Lord will take your master away from you today?”
He said, “Yes, I know. Be quiet.”
6 Elijah said to him, “Stay here; the Lord is sending me to the Jordan.”(L)
But Elisha said, “As the Lord lives and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So the two of them went on.
7 Fifty men from the sons of the prophets came and stood facing them from a distance while the two of them stood by the Jordan. 8 Elijah took his mantle,(M) rolled it up, and struck the waters, which parted to the right and left. Then the two of them crossed over on dry ground.(N) 9 After they had crossed over, Elijah said to Elisha, “Tell me what I can do for you before I am taken from you.”
So Elisha answered, “Please, let me inherit two shares[a] of your spirit.”(O)
10 Elijah replied, “You have asked for something difficult. If you see me being taken from you,(P) you will have it. If not, you won’t.”
11 As they continued walking and talking, a chariot of fire with horses of fire(Q) suddenly appeared and separated the two of them. Then Elijah went up into heaven in the whirlwind.(R) 12 As Elisha watched, he kept crying out, “My father, my father, the chariots and horsemen of Israel!”(S) Then he never saw Elijah again. He took hold of his own clothes and tore them into two pieces.(T)
Elisha Succeeds Elijah
13 Elisha picked up the mantle(U) that had fallen off Elijah and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan. 14 Then he took the mantle Elijah had dropped and struck the waters. “Where is the Lord God of Elijah?” he asked. He struck the waters himself, and they parted to the right and the left, and Elisha crossed over.
15 When the sons of the prophets from Jericho who were facing him saw him, they said, “The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha.” They came to meet him and bowed down to the ground in front of him.
16 Then the sons of the prophets said to Elisha, “Since there are 50 strong men here with your servants, please let them go and search for your master. Maybe the Spirit of the Lord has carried him away and put him on one of the mountains or into one of the valleys.”(V)
He answered, “Don’t send them.”
17 However, they urged him to the point of embarrassment,(W) so he said, “Send them.” They sent 50 men, who looked for three days but did not find him. 18 When they returned to him in Jericho(X) where he was staying, he said to them, “Didn’t I tell you not to go?”
The Faithful Manager
4 A person should consider us in this way: as servants(A) of Christ and managers(B) of God’s mysteries.(C) 2 In this regard, it is expected of managers that each one of them be found faithful.(D) 3 It is of little(E) importance to me that I should be evaluated(F) by you or by any human court.[a] In fact, I don’t even evaluate myself. 4 For I am not conscious of anything against myself, but I am not justified(G) by this. The One who evaluates me is the Lord. 5 Therefore don’t judge(H) anything prematurely, before the Lord comes,(I) who will both bring to light what is hidden in darkness and reveal the intentions of the hearts. And then praise will come to each one from God.(J)
The Apostles’ Example of Humility
6 Now, brothers,(K) I have applied these things to myself and Apollos(L) for your benefit, so that you may learn from us the saying: “Nothing beyond what is written.”[b] The purpose is that none of you will be inflated with pride in favor of one person over another. 7 For who makes you so superior? What do you have that you didn’t receive? If, in fact, you did receive it, why do you boast as if you hadn’t received it?
Christ Fulfills the Law
17 “Don’t assume that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.(A) 18 For I assure you: Until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter[a] or one stroke of a letter will pass from the law until all things are accomplished. 19 Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commands and teaches people to do so will be called least in the kingdom of heaven. But whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.(B) 20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
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