Book of Common Prayer
God Himself Is Judge
A Psalm of [a]Asaph.
50 (A)The Mighty One, God, Yahweh, has spoken,
And called the earth (B)from the rising of the sun to its setting.
2 Out of Zion, (C)the perfection of beauty,
God (D)has shone forth.
3 May our God (E)come and not be silent;
(F)Fire devours before Him,
And (G)a storm whirls around Him.
4 He (H)calls the heavens above,
And the earth, to render justice to His people:
5 “Gather My (I)holy ones to Me,
Those who have cut a (J)covenant with Me by (K)sacrifice.”
6 And the (L)heavens declare His righteousness,
For (M)God Himself is judge. [b]Selah.
7 “(N)Hear, O My people, and I will speak;
O Israel, I will testify [c]against you;
I am God, (O)your God.
8 I do (P)not reprove you for your sacrifices,
And your burnt offerings are continually before Me.
9 I shall take no (Q)young bull out of your house
Nor male goats out of your folds.
10 For (R)every beast of the forest is Mine,
The cattle on a thousand hills.
11 I know every (S)bird of the mountains,
And everything that moves in the field is [d]Mine.
12 If I were hungry I would not tell you,
For the (T)world is Mine, as well as its fullness.
13 Shall I eat the flesh of [e](U)bulls
Or drink the blood of male goats?
14 Offer to God (V)a sacrifice of thanksgiving
And (W)pay your vows to the Most High;
15 (X)Call upon Me in the day of distress;
I shall (Y)rescue you, and you will (Z)glorify Me.”
16 But to the wicked God says,
“What right have you to recount My statutes
And to take (AA)My covenant in your mouth?
17 For you (AB)hate discipline,
And you (AC)cast My words behind you.
18 When you see a thief, you [f](AD)are pleased with him,
And [g]you (AE)associate with adulterers.
19 You [h](AF)let your mouth loose in evil
And you harness your (AG)tongue for deceit.
20 You sit and (AH)speak against your brother;
You slander your own mother’s son.
21 These things you have done and (AI)I kept silent;
You thought that I was just like you;
I will (AJ)reprove you and state the case in order before your eyes.
Deliver Me from My Enemies
For the choir director. [a]Al-tashheth. Of David. A [b]Mikhtam. [c]When Saul sent men and they watched the house in order to put him to death.
59 (A)Deliver me from my enemies, O my God;
[d](B)Set me securely on high away from those who rise up against me.
2 Deliver me from (C)workers of iniquity
And save me from (D)men of bloodshed.
3 For behold, they (E)have lain in wait for my soul;
[e]Fierce men [f](F)launch an attack against me,
(G)Not for my transgression nor for my sin, O Yahweh,
4 [g](H)For no guilt of mine, they run and set themselves against me.
(I)Arouse Yourself to meet me, and see!
5 You, (J)O Yahweh God of hosts, the God of Israel,
Awake to [h](K)punish all the nations;
(L)Do not be gracious to any who are treacherous in [i]iniquity. [j]Selah.
6 They (M)return at evening, they howl like a (N)dog,
And go around the city.
7 Behold, they (O)pour forth speech with their mouth;
(P)Swords are in their lips,
For, they say, “(Q)Who hears?”
8 But You, O Yahweh, (R)laugh at them;
You (S)mock all the nations.
9 Because of [k]his (T)strength I will watch for You,
For God is my (U)stronghold.
10 [l]My God (V)in His lovingkindness will approach me;
God will let me (W)look triumphantly upon [m]my foes.
11 Do not slay them, (X)or my people will forget;
(Y)Make them wander about by Your power, and bring them down,
O Lord, (Z)our shield.
12 [n]On account of the (AA)sin of their mouth and the word of their lips,
Let them even be (AB)caught in their pride,
And on account of (AC)curses and [o]lies which they utter.
13 [p](AD)Destroy them in wrath, [q]destroy them that they may be no more;
That men may (AE)know that God [r]rules in Jacob
To the ends of the earth. Selah.
14 They (AF)return at evening, they howl like a dog,
And go around the city.
15 They (AG)wander about [s]for food
And [t]growl if they are not satisfied.
16 But as for me, I shall (AH)sing of Your strength;
And I shall (AI)joyfully sing of Your lovingkindness in the (AJ)morning,
For You have been my (AK)stronghold
And a (AL)refuge in the day of my distress.
17 (AM)O my strength, I will sing praises to You;
For God is my (AN)stronghold, the [u]God who shows me lovingkindness.
Through God We Shall Do Valiantly
For the choir director. According to [v]Shushan Eduth. A [w]Mikhtam of David. For teaching. [x]When he struggled with Aram-naharaim and with Aram-zobah, and Joab returned, and smote twelve thousand of Edom in the Valley of Salt.
60 O God, (AO)You have rejected us. You have [y](AP)broken us;
You have been (AQ)angry; Oh, (AR)restore us.
2 You have made the [z](AS)land quake, You have split it open;
(AT)Heal its breaches, for it shakes.
3 You have (AU)caused Your people to see hardship;
You have given us [aa]wine to (AV)drink that causes reeling.
4 You have given a (AW)banner to those who fear You,
[ab]In order to flee to it from the bow. [ac]Selah.
5 (AX)That Your (AY)beloved may be rescued,
(AZ)Save with Your right hand, and answer [ad]us!
6 God has spoken in His [ae](BA)holiness:
“I will exult, I will portion out (BB)Shechem and measure out the valley of (BC)Succoth.
7 (BD)Gilead is Mine, and Manasseh is Mine;
(BE)Ephraim also is the [af]helmet of My head;
Judah is My [ag](BF)scepter.
8 (BG)Moab is My washbowl;
Over (BH)Edom I shall throw My shoe;
Make a loud shout, O (BI)Philistia, because of Me!”
9 Who will bring me into the fortified city?
Who [ah]will lead me to Edom?
10 Have You Yourself, O God, not (BJ)rejected us?
And (BK)will You, O God, not go forth with our armies?
11 Oh give us help against the adversary,
For (BL)salvation [ai]by man is worthless.
12 [aj]Through God we shall (BM)do valiantly,
And it is He who will (BN)tread down our adversaries.
How Majestic Is Your Name
For the choir director. According to the Gittith. A Psalm of David.
8 O Yahweh, our Lord,
How majestic is Your name in all the earth,
Who [a](A)displays Your splendor above the heavens!
2 (B)From the mouth of infants and nursing babies You have established [b](C)strength
Because of Your adversaries,
To make (D)the enemy and the revengeful cease.
3 When I (E)see (F)Your heavens, the work of Your fingers,
The (G)moon and the stars, which You have established;
4 (H)What is man that You remember him,
And the son of man that You care for him?
5 Yet You have made him a (I)little lower than the [c]angels,
And (J)You crown him with (K)glory and majesty!
6 You make him to (L)rule over the works of Your hands;
You have (M)put all things under his feet,
7 All sheep and oxen,
And also the animals of the field,
8 The birds of the heavens and the fish of the sea,
Whatever passes through the paths of the seas.
9 (N)O Yahweh, our Lord,
How majestic is Your name in all the earth!
Blessed Is the Man Who Trusts in You
For the choir director. According to the [a]Gittith. Of the sons of Korah. A Psalm.
84 How lovely are Your (A)dwelling places,
O Yahweh of hosts!
2 My (B)soul has longed and even [b]fainted for the courts of Yahweh;
My heart and my flesh sing for joy to the (C)living God.
3 Even the bird has found a home,
And the swallow a nest for herself, where she sets her young,
At Your (D)altars, O Yahweh of hosts,
(E)My King and my God.
4 How (F)blessed are those who dwell in Your house!
They are (G)ever praising You. [c]Selah.
5 How blessed is the man whose (H)strength is in You,
In [d]whose heart are the (I)highways to Zion!
6 Passing through the valley of [e]Baca they make it a [f]spring;
The (J)early rain also wraps it up with blessings.
7 They (K)go from strength to strength,
[g]Each one of them (L)appears before God in Zion.
8 O (M)Yahweh God of hosts, hear my prayer;
Give ear, O (N)God of Jacob! Selah.
9 See our (O)shield, O God,
And look upon the face of (P)Your anointed.
10 For (Q)better is a day in Your courts than a thousand elsewhere.
I would choose to stand at the threshold of the house of my God
Than dwell in the tents of wickedness.
11 For Yahweh God is (R)a sun and (S)shield;
Yahweh gives grace and (T)glory;
(U)No good thing does He withhold [h]from those who walk blamelessly.
12 O Yahweh of hosts,
How (V)blessed is the man who trusts in You!
16 Furthermore, I have seen under the sun that in the place of justice there is (A)wickedness, and in the place of righteousness there is wickedness. 17 I said in my heart, “(B)God will judge both the righteous man and the wicked man,” for a (C)time for every [a]matter and for every work is there. 18 I said in my heart concerning the sons of men, “God is testing them in order for them to see that they are but (D)beasts.” 19 (E)For the fate of the sons of men and the fate of beasts is the same fate for each of them. As one dies so dies the other, and they all have the same breath. So there is no advantage for man over beast, for all is [b]vanity. 20 All go to the same place. All came from the (F)dust, and all return to the dust. 21 Who knows that the (G)breath of man ascends upward and the breath of the beast descends downward to the earth? 22 I have seen that (H)nothing is better than that man should be glad in his works, for that is his portion. For who will bring him to see (I)what will occur after him?
The Tears of the Oppressed
4 Then I looked again at all the acts of (J)oppression which were being done under the sun. And behold, I saw the tears of the oppressed and that they had (K)no one to comfort them; and on the side of their oppressors was power, but they had no one to comfort them. 2 So (L)I lauded the dead who are already dead more than the living who are still living. 3 But (M)better off than both of them is the one who never has been, who has never seen the evil work that is done under the sun.
The Righteous Shall Live by Faith
3 O foolish (A)Galatians, who bewitched you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ (B)was publicly portrayed as crucified? 2 This is the only thing I want to learn from you: did you receive the Spirit by the works of [a]the Law, or by [b](C)hearing with faith? 3 Are you so foolish? Having begun [c]by the Spirit, are you now [d]being perfected by the flesh? 4 Did you [e]suffer so many things for nothing—(D)if indeed it was for nothing? 5 So then, does He who (E)provides you with the Spirit and (F)works [f]miracles among you, do it by the works of [g]the Law, or by [h](G)hearing with faith?
6 Just as (H)Abraham (I)believed God and it was counted to him as righteousness, 7 so know that (J)those who are of faith, those are (K)sons of Abraham. 8 And the Scripture, foreseeing that God [i]would justify the [j]Gentiles by faith, proclaimed the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “(L)All the nations will be blessed in you.” 9 So then (M)those who are of faith are blessed with [k]Abraham, the believer.
10 For as many as are of the works of [l]the Law are under a curse, for it is written, “(N)Cursed is everyone who does not abide by all things written in the book of the law, to do them.” 11 Now that (O)no one is justified [m]by [n]the Law before God is evident, [o]for “(P)The righteous shall live by faith.” 12 [p]However, the Law is not [q]of faith; rather, “(Q)He who does them shall live [r]by them.” 13 Christ (R)redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us—for it is written, “(S)Cursed is everyone who hangs on (T)a [s]tree”— 14 in order that (U)in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might [t]come to the Gentiles, so that we (V)would receive (W)the promise of the Spirit through faith.
Jesus Feeds Five Thousand
13 (A)Now when Jesus heard about John, He withdrew from there in a boat to a desolate place by Himself; and when the crowds heard of this, they followed Him on foot from the cities. 14 And when He went [a]ashore, He (B)saw a large crowd, and felt compassion for them and (C)healed their sick.
15 Now when it was evening, the disciples came to Him and said, “This place is desolate and the hour is already [b]late; so send the crowds away, that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves.” 16 But Jesus said to them, “They do not need to go away; you give them something to eat!” 17 But they *said to Him, “We have here only (D)five loaves and two fish.” 18 And He said, “Bring them here to Me.” 19 And ordering the crowds to [c]sit down on the grass, He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up toward heaven, He (E)blessed the food. And breaking the loaves, He gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds, 20 and they all ate and were satisfied. They picked up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve full (F)baskets. 21 And there were about five thousand men who ate, besides women and children.
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