Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 50
God as Judge
A psalm of Asaph.(A)
1 Yahweh, the God of gods[a] speaks;
He summons the earth from east to west.[b](B)
2 From Zion, the perfection of beauty,
God appears in radiance.[c](C)
3 Our God is coming; He will not be silent!
Devouring fire precedes Him,
and a storm rages around Him.(D)
4 On high, He summons heaven and earth
in order to judge His people.(E)
5 “Gather My faithful ones to Me,
those who made a covenant with Me by sacrifice.”(F)
6 The heavens proclaim His righteousness,(G)
for God is the Judge.(H)
7 “Listen, My people, and I will speak;
I will testify against you, Israel.
I am God, your God.(I)
8 I do not rebuke you for your sacrifices
or for your burnt offerings,
which are continually before Me.(J)
9 I will not accept a bull from your household
or male goats from your pens,(K)
10 for every animal of the forest is Mine,
the cattle on a thousand hills.
11 I know every bird of the mountains,[d]
and the creatures of the field are Mine.(L)
12 If I were hungry, I would not tell you,
for the world and everything in it is Mine.(M)
13 Do I eat the flesh of bulls
or drink the blood of goats?(N)
14 Sacrifice a thank offering to God,(O)
and pay your vows to the Most High.(P)
15 Call on Me in a day of trouble;
I will rescue you, and you will honor Me.”(Q)
16 But God says to the wicked:
“What right do you have to recite My statutes
and to take My covenant on your lips?(R)
17 You hate instruction
and turn your back on My words.[e](S)
18 When you see a thief,
you make friends with him,
and you associate with adulterers.(T)
19 You unleash your mouth for evil
and harness your tongue for deceit.(U)
20 You sit, maligning your brother,
slandering your mother’s son.(V)
21 You have done these things, and I kept silent;
you thought I was just like you.(W)
But I will rebuke you
and lay out the case before you.[f](X)
Psalm 59
God Our Stronghold
For the choir director: “Do Not Destroy.”[a] A Davidic Miktam. When Saul sent agents to watch the house and kill him.(A)
1 Deliver me from my enemies, my God;(B)
protect me from those who rise up against me.(C)
2 Deliver me from those who practice sin,
and save me from men of bloodshed.(D)
3 Lord, look! They set an ambush for me.(E)
Powerful men attack me,
but not because of any sin or rebellion of mine.(F)
4 For no fault of mine,
they run and take up a position.
Awake to help me, and take notice.(G)
5 Lord God of Hosts, You are the God of Israel,
rise up to punish all the nations;
do not show grace to any wicked traitors.(H)
6 They return at evening, snarling like dogs
and prowling around the city.(I)
7 Look, they spew from their mouths—
sharp words from[b] their lips.(J)
“For who,” they say, “will hear?”(K)
8 But You laugh at them, Lord;
You ridicule all the nations.(L)
9 I will keep watch for You, my[c] strength,
because God is my stronghold.(M)
10 My faithful God[d] will come to meet me;
God will let me look down on my adversaries.(N)
11 Do not kill them; otherwise, my people will forget.
By Your power, make them homeless wanderers(O)
and bring them down,
Lord, our shield.(P)
12 For the sin of their mouths and the words of their lips,
let them be caught in their pride.
They utter curses and lies.(Q)
13 Consume them in rage;
consume them until they are gone.(R)
Then people will know throughout[e] the earth
that God rules over Jacob.(S)
14 And they return at evening, snarling like dogs
and prowling around the city.(T)
15 They scavenge for food;
they growl if they are not satisfied.(U)
16 But I will sing of Your strength
and will joyfully proclaim
Your faithful love in the morning.(V)
For You have been a stronghold for me,
a refuge in my day of trouble.(W)
17 To You, my strength, I sing praises,
because God is my stronghold—
my faithful God.(X)
Psalm 60
Prayer in Difficult Times
For the choir director: according to “The Lily of Testimony.”[f] A Davidic Miktam for teaching. When he fought with Aram-naharaim and Aram-zobah, and Joab returned and struck Edom in the Valley of Salt, killing 12,000.(Y)
1 God, You have rejected us;
You have broken out[g] against us;
You have been angry. Restore us
2 You have shaken the land and split it open.
Heal its fissures, for it shudders.(AA)
3 You have made Your people suffer hardship;
You have given us wine to drink
that made us stagger.(AB)
4 You have given a signal flag to those who fear You,
so that they can flee before the archers.[i](AC)
5 Save with Your right hand, and answer me,
so that those You love may be rescued.(AD)
6 God has spoken in His sanctuary:[j]
“I will triumph! I will divide up Shechem.(AE)
I will apportion the Valley of Succoth.(AF)
7 Gilead is Mine, Manasseh is Mine,
and Ephraim is My helmet;(AG)
Judah is My scepter.(AH)
8 Moab is My washbasin.(AI)
I throw My sandal on Edom;(AJ)
I shout in triumph over Philistia.”(AK)
Psalm 19
The Witness of Creation and Scripture
For the choir director. A Davidic psalm.
1 The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the sky[a] proclaims the work of His hands.(A)
2 Day after day they pour out speech;
night after night they communicate knowledge.[b]
3 There is no speech; there are no words;
their voice is not heard.
4 Their message[c] has gone out to all the earth,
and their words to the ends of the world.(B)
In the heavens[d] He has pitched a tent for the sun.(C)
5 It is like a groom coming from the[e] bridal chamber;
it rejoices like an athlete running a course.
6 It rises from one end of the heavens
and circles[f] to their other end;(D)
nothing is hidden from its heat.
7 The instruction of the Lord is perfect,
renewing one’s life;(E)
the testimony of the Lord is trustworthy,
making the inexperienced wise.(F)
8 The precepts of the Lord are right,
making the heart glad;(G)
the command of the Lord is radiant,
making the eyes light up.(H)
9 The fear of the Lord is pure,
enduring forever;(I)
the ordinances of the Lord are reliable
and altogether righteous.(J)
10 They are more desirable than gold—
than an abundance of pure gold;(K)
and sweeter than honey,
which comes from the honeycomb.(L)
11 In addition, Your servant is warned by them;
there is great reward in keeping them.(M)
12 Who perceives his unintentional sins?
Cleanse me from my hidden faults.(N)
13 Moreover, keep Your servant from willful sins;(O)
do not let them rule over me.(P)
Then I will be innocent
and cleansed from blatant rebellion.(Q)
14 May the words of my mouth
and the meditation of my heart
be acceptable to You,(R)
Lord, my rock and my Redeemer.(S)
Psalm 46
God Our Refuge
For the choir director. A song of the sons of Korah. According to Alamoth.[a](A)
1 God is our refuge and strength,
a helper who is always found
in times of trouble.(B)
2 Therefore we will not be afraid,
though the earth trembles
and the mountains topple
into the depths of the seas,(C)
3 though its waters roar and foam
and the mountains quake with its turmoil.(D)
4 There is a river—
its streams delight the city of God,
the holy dwelling place of the Most High.(E)
5 God is within her; she will not be toppled.
God will help her when the morning dawns.(F)
6 Nations rage, kingdoms topple;
the earth melts when He lifts His voice.(G)
7 The Lord of Hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our stronghold.(H)
8 Come, see the works of the Lord,
who brings devastation on the earth.(I)
9 He makes wars cease throughout the earth.
He shatters bows and cuts spears to pieces;
He burns up the chariots.[b](J)
10 “Stop your fighting—and know that I am God,
exalted among the nations, exalted on the earth.”(K)
11 Yahweh of Hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our stronghold.(L)
23 When the Lord sent you from Kadesh-barnea, He said, ‘Go up and possess the land I have given you’; you rebelled against the command of the Lord your God. You did not believe or obey Him.(A) 24 You have been rebelling against the Lord ever since I have[a] known you.(B)
25 “I fell down in the presence of the Lord 40 days and 40 nights because the Lord had threatened to destroy you. 26 I prayed to the Lord:
Lord God, do not annihilate Your people, Your inheritance, whom You redeemed(C) through Your greatness and brought out of Egypt with a strong hand. 27 Remember Your servants Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Disregard this people’s stubbornness, and their wickedness and sin. 28 Otherwise, those in the land you brought us from will say, ‘Because the Lord wasn’t able to bring them into the land He had promised them, and because He hated them, He brought them out to kill them in the wilderness.’(D) 29 But they are Your people, Your inheritance, whom You brought out by Your great power and outstretched arm.(E)
The Covenant Renewed
10 “The Lord said to me at that time, ‘Cut two stone tablets like the first ones and come to Me on the mountain and make a wooden ark. 2 I will write on the tablets the words that were on the first tablets you broke, and you are to place them in the ark.’ 3 So I made an ark of acacia wood, cut two stone tablets like the first ones, and climbed the mountain with the two tablets in my hand. 4 Then on the day of the assembly, the Lord wrote on the tablets what had been written previously, the Ten Commandments that He had spoken to you on the mountain from the fire. The Lord gave them to me, 5 and I went back down the mountain and placed the tablets in the ark I had made. And they have remained there, as the Lord commanded me.”
The Promised Rest
4 Therefore, while the promise to enter His rest remains, let us fear that none of you should miss it.[a] 2 For we also have received the good news just as they did; but the message they heard did not benefit them, since they were not united with those who heard it in faith[b](A) 3 (for we who have believed enter the rest), in keeping with what[c] He has said:
And yet His works have been finished since the foundation of the world, 4 for somewhere He has spoken about the seventh day in this way:
5 Again, in that passage He says, They will never enter My rest.[f] 6 Since it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly received the good news did not enter because of disobedience,(D) 7 again, He specifies a certain day—today—speaking through David after such a long time, as previously stated:
8 For if Joshua(F) had given them rest, God would not have spoken later about another day. 9 Therefore, a Sabbath rest remains for God’s people. 10 For the person who has entered His rest has rested from his own works, just as God did from His.(G)
16 “For God loved(A) the world in this way:[a] He gave His One and Only(B) Son,(C) so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.(D) 17 For God did not send His Son into the world that He might condemn(E) the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. 18 Anyone who believes in Him is not condemned, but anyone who does not believe is already condemned,(F) because he has not believed in the name(G) of the One and Only Son(H) of God.
19 “This, then, is the judgment: The light(I) has come into the world,(J) and people loved darkness rather than the light because their deeds were evil. 20 For everyone who practices wicked things hates(K) the light and avoids it,[b] so that his deeds(L) may not be exposed. 21 But anyone who lives by[c] the truth comes to the light, so that his works(M) may be shown to be accomplished by God.”[d]
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