Book of Common Prayer
God Abases the Proud, but Exalts the Righteous.
For the choir director; set to [a]Al-tashheth. A Psalm of Asaph, a Song.
75 We (A)give thanks to You, O God, we give thanks,
For Your name is (B)near;
Men declare (C)Your wondrous works.
2 “When I select an (D)appointed time,
It is I who (E)judge with equity.
3 “The (F)earth and all who dwell in it [b]melt;
It is I who have firmly set its (G)pillars. [c]Selah.
4 “I said to the boastful, ‘Do not boast,’
And to the wicked, ‘(H)Do not lift up the horn;
5 Do not lift up your horn on high,
(I)Do not speak with insolent [d]pride.’”
6 For not from the east, nor from the west,
Nor from the [e](J)desert comes exaltation;
7 But (K)God is the Judge;
He (L)puts down one and exalts another.
8 For a (M)cup is in the hand of the Lord, and the wine foams;
It is [f](N)well mixed, and He pours out of this;
Surely all the wicked of the earth must drain and (O)drink down its dregs.
9 But as for me, I will (P)declare it forever;
I will sing praises to the God of Jacob.
10 And all the (Q)horns of the wicked [g]He will cut off,
But (R)the horns of the righteous will be lifted up.
The Victorious Power of the God of Jacob.
For the choir director; on stringed instruments. A Psalm of Asaph, a Song.
76 God is (S)known in Judah;
His name is (T)great in Israel.
2 His [h](U)tabernacle is in (V)Salem;
His (W)dwelling place also is in Zion.
3 There He (X)broke the [i]flaming arrows,
The shield and the sword and the [j]weapons of war. [k]Selah.
4 You are resplendent,
[l]More majestic than the mountains of prey.
5 The (Y)stouthearted were plundered,
[m]They sank into sleep;
And none of the [n]warriors could use his hands.
6 At Your (Z)rebuke, O God of Jacob,
Both [o](AA)rider and horse were cast into a dead sleep.
7 You, even You, are (AB)to be feared;
And (AC)who may stand in Your presence when once [p]You are angry?
The Lord, the Psalmist’s Shepherd.
A Psalm of David.
23 The Lord is my (A)shepherd,
I [a]shall (B)not want.
2 He makes me lie down in (C)green pastures;
He (D)leads me beside [b](E)quiet waters.
3 He (F)restores my soul;
He (G)guides me in the [c](H)paths of righteousness
For His name’s sake.
4 Even though I (I)walk through the [d]valley of the shadow of death,
I (J)fear no [e]evil, for (K)You are with me;
Your (L)rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
5 You (M)prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You [f]have (N)anointed my head with oil;
My (O)cup overflows.
6 [g]Surely (P)goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life,
And I will [h](Q)dwell in the house of the Lord [i]forever.
A Psalm of Fearless Trust in God.
A Psalm of David.
27 The Lord is my (A)light and my (B)salvation;
Whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the [a](C)defense of my life;
(D)Whom shall I dread?
2 When evildoers came upon me to (E)devour my flesh,
My adversaries and my enemies, they (F)stumbled and fell.
3 Though a (G)host encamp against me,
My heart will not fear;
Though war arise against me,
In spite of this I [b]shall be (H)confident.
4 (I)One thing I have asked from the Lord, that I shall seek:
That I may (J)dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,
To behold (K)the [c]beauty of the Lord
And to [d](L)meditate in His temple.
5 For in the (M)day of trouble He will (N)conceal me in His [e]tabernacle;
In the secret place of His tent He will (O)hide me;
He will (P)lift me up on a rock.
6 And now (Q)my head will be lifted up above my enemies around me,
And I will offer in His tent (R)sacrifices [f]with shouts of joy;
I will (S)sing, yes, I will sing praises to the Lord.
7 (T)Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice,
And be gracious to me and (U)answer me.
8 When You said, “(V)Seek My face,” my heart said to You,
“Your face, O Lord, (W)I shall seek.”
9 (X)Do not hide Your face from me,
Do not turn Your servant away in (Y)anger;
You have been (Z)my help;
(AA)Do not abandon me nor (AB)forsake me,
O God of my salvation!
10 [g]For my father and (AC)my mother have forsaken me,
But (AD)the Lord will take me up.
11 (AE)Teach me Your way, O Lord,
And lead me in a (AF)level path
Because of [h]my foes.
12 Do not deliver me over to the [i](AG)desire of my adversaries,
For (AH)false witnesses have risen against me,
And such as (AI)breathe out violence.
13 [j]I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the (AJ)goodness of the Lord
In the (AK)land of the living.
14 (AL)Wait for the Lord;
Be (AM)strong and let your heart take courage;
Yes, wait for the Lord.
Examine Yourselves
13 (A)This is the third time I am coming to you. (B)Every [a]fact [b]is to be confirmed by the [c]testimony of two or three witnesses. 2 I have previously said when present the second time, and though now absent I say in advance to those who have (C)sinned in the past and to all the rest as well, that (D)if I come again I will not (E)spare anyone, 3 since you are (F)seeking for proof of the (G)Christ who speaks in me, and who is not weak toward you, but (H)mighty in you. 4 For indeed He was (I)crucified because of weakness, yet He lives (J)because of the power of God. For we also are (K)weak [d]in Him, yet (L)we will live with Him because of the power of God directed toward you.
5 (M)Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; (N)examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you—unless indeed you [e](O)fail the test? 6 But I trust that you will realize that we ourselves [f]do not fail the test. 7 Now we pray to God that you do no wrong; not that we ourselves may appear approved, but that you may do what is right, even though we may [g]appear unapproved. 8 For we can do nothing against the truth, but only for the truth. 9 For we rejoice when we ourselves are (P)weak but you are strong; this we also pray for, [h]that you be (Q)made complete. 10 For this reason I am writing these things while absent, so that when present (R)I need not use (S)severity, in accordance with the (T)authority which the Lord gave me for building up and not for tearing down.
11 (U)Finally, brethren, [i]rejoice, [j](V)be made complete, be comforted, (W)be like-minded, (X)live in peace; and (Y)the God of love and peace will be with you. 12 (Z)Greet one another with a holy kiss. 13 (AA)All the [k]saints greet you.
14 (AB)The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the (AC)love of God, and the (AD)fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all.
Jesus’ Authority Questioned
20 (A)On one of the days while (B)He was teaching the people in the temple and (C)preaching the gospel, the chief priests and the scribes with the elders (D)confronted Him, 2 and they spoke, saying to Him, “Tell us by what authority You are doing these things, or who is the one who gave You this authority?” 3 Jesus answered and said to them, “I will also ask you a [a]question, and you tell Me: 4 Was the baptism of John from heaven or from men?” 5 They reasoned among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say, ‘Why did you not believe him?’ 6 But if we say, ‘From men,’ all the people will stone us to death, for they are convinced that John was a (E)prophet.” 7 So they answered that they did not know where it came from. 8 And Jesus said to them, “Nor [b]will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”
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