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)
20 “Declare this in the house of Jacob; proclaim it in Judah, saying:
21 Hear this,
you foolish and senseless[a] people.(A)
They have eyes, but they don’t see.
They have ears, but they don’t hear.(B)
22 Do you not fear Me?
This is the Lord’s declaration.
Do you not tremble before Me,
the One who set the sand as the boundary of the sea,
an enduring barrier that it cannot cross?(C)
The waves surge, but they cannot prevail.
They roar but cannot pass over it.
23 But these people have stubborn and rebellious hearts.(D)
They have turned aside and have gone away.
24 They have not said to themselves,
‘Let’s fear the Lord our God,(E)
who gives the rain,(F) both early and late,(G) in its season,(H)
who guarantees to us the fixed weeks of the harvest.’
25 Your guilty acts have diverted these things from you.
Your sins have withheld My bounty from you,(I)
26 for wicked men live among My people.
They watch like fowlers lying in wait.[b](J)
They set a trap;(K)
they catch men.
27 Like a cage full of birds,
so their houses are full of deceit.(L)
Therefore they have grown powerful and rich.
28 They have become fat(M) and sleek.
They have also excelled in evil matters.
They have not taken up cases,
such as the case of the fatherless, so they might prosper,
and they have not defended the rights of the needy.(N)
29 Should I not punish them for these things?
This is the Lord’s declaration.
Should I not avenge Myself(O)
on such a nation as this?
19 Now we know that whatever the law says(A) speaks to those who are subject to the law,[a](B) so that every mouth may be shut and the whole world may become subject to God’s judgment.[b](C) 20 For no one will be justified[c] in His sight by the works of the law,(D) because the knowledge of sin comes through the law.(E)
God’s Righteousness through Faith
21 But now, apart from the law, God’s righteousness has been revealed(F)—attested by the Law and the Prophets[d](G) 22 —that is, God’s righteousness through faith(H) in Jesus Christ,[e](I) to all who believe,(J) since there is no distinction.(K) 23 For all have sinned(L) and fall short of the[f] glory of God. 24 They are justified freely by His grace(M) through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.(N) 25 God presented Him as a propitiation[g](O) through faith in His blood,(P) to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His restraint God(Q) passed over the sins previously committed.(R) 26 God presented Him to demonstrate His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be righteous and declare righteous[h] the one who has faith in Jesus.
Boasting Excluded
27 Where then is boasting?(S) It is excluded. By what kind of law?[i](T) By one of works? No, on the contrary, by a law[j] of faith. 28 For we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the works of the law.(U) 29 Or is God for Jews only?(V) Is He not also for Gentiles? Yes, for Gentiles too, 30 since there is one God(W) who will justify the circumcised by faith(X) and the uncircumcised through faith. 31 Do we then cancel the law through faith? Absolutely not!(Y) On the contrary, we uphold the law.(Z)
The Unbelief of Jesus’ Brothers
7 After this, Jesus traveled in Galilee,(A) since He did not want to travel in Judea(B) because the Jews(C) were trying to kill Him.(D) 2 The Jewish Festival of Tabernacles[a][b](E) was near, 3 so His brothers(F) said to Him, “Leave here and go to Judea so Your disciples can see Your works(G) that You are doing. 4 For no one does anything in secret while he’s seeking public recognition. If You do these things, show Yourself to the world.” 5 (For not even His brothers believed in Him.)
6 Jesus told them, “My time(H) has not yet arrived, but your time is always at hand. 7 The world cannot hate(I) you, but it does hate Me because I testify about it—that its deeds are evil. 8 Go up to the festival yourselves. I’m not going up to the festival yet,[c] because My time has not yet fully come.” 9 After He had said these things, He stayed in Galilee.
Jesus at the Festival of Tabernacles
10 After His brothers had gone up to the festival, then He also went up, not openly but secretly. 11 The Jews were looking for Him at the festival and saying, “Where is He?” 12 And there was a lot of discussion about Him among the crowds. Some were saying, “He’s a good(J) man.” Others were saying, “No, on the contrary, He’s deceiving(K) the people.” 13 Still, nobody was talking publicly about Him because they feared the Jews.
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