Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 75[a]
God Is Judge of the World
1 For the director.[b] According to “Do not destroy!” A psalm of Asaph. A song.
2 We give thanks[c] to you, O God,
we give thanks to you.
For your wondrous deeds
declare that your name is near.
3 [d]You say, “When I receive the assembly,
I will judge with equity.
4 When the earth quakes, with all its inhabitants,
it is I who will hold its pillars firm.[e] Selah
5 [f]“I say to the arrogant,[g] ‘Do not boast,’
and to the wicked, ‘Do not lift up your horns.
6 Do not rebel against heaven
or speak with arrogance against the Rock.’ ”[h]
7 [i]For judgment does not come from east or west,
nor from the wilderness or the mountains.[j]
8 Rather, it is God who judges rightly,
humbling one and exalting another.[k]
9 The Lord holds in his hand a cup
filled with foaming wine and richly spiced.
When he pours it out,
all the wicked[l] of the earth must drink;
they will drain it down to the dregs.
10 As for me, I will proclaim this forever;
I will sing praises[m] to the God of Jacob.
11 “I will cut off all the horns of the wicked,
but the horns of the righteous[n] will be exalted.”
Psalm 76[o]
God, Defender of Zion
1 For the director.[p] With stringed instruments. A psalm of Asaph. A song.
2 [q]God is renowned in Judah;
his name is great in Israel.
3 His tent has been established in Salem,
his dwelling place in Zion.
4 There he shattered the flashing arrows,
shields and swords and weapons of war. Selah
5 [r]You are awesome and resplendent,
more majestic than the everlasting mountains.
6 The bold warriors lie plundered
and sleeping their last sleep.[s]
And not one of the men of war
can lift up his hands.
7 At your rebuke, O God of Jacob,
both chariots and horses lie prostrate.
8 You indeed are awesome;
who can stand in your presence when your anger is aroused?
9 You thundered your verdicts from the heavens;
the earth in its terror was silent
10 when you arose, O God, to judge,
to rescue all the afflicted of the land.[t] Selah
11 Human wrath only serves to praise you;[u]
those who survive your anger will cling to you.
12 [v]Make vows to the Lord, your God, and keep them;
let all the lands nearby
bring gifts to the Awesome One,
13 who breaks the spirit of rulers
and inspires fear in the kings of the earth.
Psalm 23[a]
Prayer to the Good Shepherd
1 A psalm of David.
The Lord is my shepherd;
there is nothing I shall lack.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures;[b]
he leads me to tranquil streams.
3 He restores my soul,[c]
guiding me in paths of righteousness
so that his name may be glorified.
4 Even though I wander
through the valley of the shadow of death,[d]
I will fear no evil,
for you are at my side,
with your rod and your staff
that comfort me.
5 [e]You spread a table for me
in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;[f]
my cup overflows.
6 Only goodness and kindness[g] will follow me
all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord
forever and ever.
Psalm 27[a]
Trust in God, Our Light and Salvation
1 Of David.
The Lord is my light[b] and my salvation;
whom should I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life;
of whom should I be afraid?
2 When evildoers close in on me
to devour my flesh,[c]
it is they, my adversaries and enemies,
who stumble and fall.
3 Even if an army encamps against me,
my heart[d] will not succumb to fear;
even if war breaks out against me,
I will not have my trust shaken.
4 There is only one thing I ask of the Lord,
just one thing I seek:
to dwell in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life,
so that I may enjoy the beauty of the Lord[e]
and gaze on his temple.
5 For he will hide me in his shelter
in times of trouble.
He will conceal me under the cover of his tent[f]
and place me high upon a rock.
6 Even now my head is raised high
above my enemies who surround me.
In his tent I will offer sacrifices[g] with joyous shouts;
I will sing and chant praise to the Lord.
7 O Lord, hear my voice when I cry out;
be merciful to me and answer me.
8 My heart[h] says of you,
“Seek his face.”
It is your face, O Lord, that I seek;
9 do not hide your face[i] from me.
Do not turn away your servant in anger,
you who have been my help.
Do not reject or forsake me,
O God, my Savior.
10 Even if my father and mother abandon me,
the Lord will gather me up.[j]
11 Teach me your way,[k] O Lord,
and lead me along a level path
because of my enemies.
12 Do not abandon me to the will of my adversaries,
for lying witnesses have risen against me,
breathing forth violence in their malice.
13 I am confident that I will behold the goodness of the Lord[l]
in the land of the living.
14 Place your hope in the Lord:
be strong and courageous in your heart,
and place your hope in the Lord.
Chapter 9
Denunciation of Mixed Marriages. 1 After these matters had been concluded, the leaders approached me and said: “The people of Israel, including the priests and the Levites, have not kept themselves separated from the neighboring peoples with their abominable practices—the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites. 2 They have taken women of these nations as wives for themselves and their sons, and as a result, they have contaminated the holy race by such unions. In this regard the leaders and the magistrates have been the major offenders.”
Ezra’s Exhortation. 3 Upon hearing this news, I tore my tunic and cloak, after which I plucked hair from my beard and my head and sat down in a complete stupor until the evening sacrifice. 4 Then all those who trembled with fear at the words of the God of Israel gathered around me, while I sat there appalled until the evening sacrifice. 5 [a]However, at the time of the evening sacrifice, I arose from my stupor, with my cloak and my mantle torn, and I fell to my knees while stretching out my hands to the Lord.
6 Then I said: “O my God, I am too ashamed and embarrassed to lift my face to you, my God, because our iniquities have increased until they have risen higher than our heads, and our guilt has reached the heavens. 7 From the time of our fathers until now our guilt has been great, and because of our iniquities we and our kings and our priests have been handed over into the power of foreign rulers and subjected to the sword, to captivity, to pillage and disgrace, as is the case today.
8 “But now, for a brief moment, the Lord, our God has shown mercy to us by allowing a remnant of us to escape and given us a stable home in his sanctuary, thereby bringing light to our eyes and granting us some relief in our bondage. 9 For we are slaves, but God has not forgotten us in our state of slavery. He has extended his faithful love to us and turned the good will of the kings of Persia toward us, while granting us new life to rebuild the house of our God, restore its ruins, and provide us with a wall of protection in Judah and Jerusalem.
10 “But now, our God, what can we say after all this? For we have abandoned your commandments, 11 which you gave through your servants, the prophets, when you said: ‘The land that you are entering to possess is a land polluted by the abominations of the people of the country and their disgusting practices that have filled it with their filth from one end to the other. 12 Therefore, do not give your daughters in marriage to their sons or let their daughters marry your sons. Nor must you seek peace with them or enhance their prosperity. In this way you will grow strong, enjoy the produce of the land, and leave it as an inheritance to your children forever.’
13 “After all that has befallen us for our evil deeds and our great guilt, you, O Lord, have punished us less than our sins have deserved and have allowed us to survive. 14 Shall we once again disobey your commandments and intermarry with people who engage in these loathsome practices? Would you not be enraged with us to the point that you would destroy us, leaving us with neither remnant nor survivor? 15 O Lord, God of Israel, you are righteous. We survive only as a remnant. We come here before you in our guilt. Because of this, none of us can stand in your presence.”
Chapter 17
Babylon the Great, the Infamous Harlot.[a] 1 One of the seven angels who held the seven bowls approached me and said, “Come here and I will show you the judgment on the great harlot who is enthroned over many waters. 2 The kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the inhabitants of the earth have become drunk on the wine of her harlotry.”
3 Then he carried me away in the spirit[b] into the wilderness, and I saw a woman seated on a scarlet beast that had seven heads and ten horns and was covered with blasphemous names. 4 The woman was clothed in purple and scarlet and adorned with gold and jewels and pearls. In her hand she held a gold cup filled with accursed things and the impurities of her harlotry.
5 On her forehead was written a mysterious name: “Babylon the Great, the mother of harlots and of every abomination on the earth.” 6 And I noticed that the woman was drunk with the blood of the saints and the blood of those who had borne witness to Jesus.
When I saw her, I was utterly astounded. 7 But the angel said to me, “Why are you astounded? I will explain to you the mystery of the woman and of the beast with the seven heads and the ten horns that carries her. 8 The beast that you saw was once alive but is now alive no longer. It is about to ascend from the abyss and go to its destruction. All the inhabitants of the earth whose names have not been written in the book of life since the foundation of the world will be astonished when they see the beast, because it was once alive but is now alive no longer, and yet it is still to come.
9 “This calls for a mind with wisdom. The seven heads represent seven hills upon which the woman is seated. They also represent seven kings. 10 Five have already fallen, one is still living, and the other has not yet come. When he does come, he must remain only for a short while. 11 As for the beast that was alive but is now alive no longer, it is at the same time the eighth and one of the seven, and it is headed for destruction.
12 “The ten horns that you saw are ten kings who have not yet begun to reign. They will have royal authority for only a single hour together with the beast. 13 They are all of the same mind and will confer their power and authority on the beast. 14 They will wage war against the Lamb, but because the Lamb is Lord of lords and King of kings,[c] he will overcome them—he and those who are with him, the called, the chosen, and the faithful.”
22 Jesus Walks on the Water.[a] Then Jesus instructed the disciples to get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side while he dismissed the crowds. 23 After he sent them away, he went by himself up on the mountain to pray. When evening came, he was there alone. 24 Meanwhile, the boat was already some distance from the shore, battered by waves and a strong wind.
25 During the fourth watch[b] of the night, Jesus came toward them, walking on the water. 26 When the disciples saw him walking on the water they were terrified, and they cried out in their fright, “It is a ghost!” 27 But Jesus immediately spoke to them, saying, “Have courage! It is I. Do not be afraid.”
28 Peter answered, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you across the water.” 29 He said, “Come!” Then Peter got out of the boat and started walking on the water toward Jesus. 30 But when he realized the force of the wind, he became frightened. As he began to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!” 31 Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught hold of him, saying, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” 32 After they got into the boat, the wind died down. 33 Those in the boat fell to their knees in worship, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”[c]
34 Jesus Heals the Sick at Gennesaret. After they had completed the crossing, they landed at Gennesaret.[d] 35 When the people there recognized him, they sent word of his presence throughout the region. They also brought him all those who were sick 36 and begged him to let them touch only the edge of his cloak. All who touched it were completely healed.
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