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)
Final Warnings and Exhortations
13 This is the third time I am coming to you.(A) Every fact must be established by the testimony[a] of two or three witnesses.(B)[b] 2 I gave a warning when I was present the second time, and now I give a warning(C) while I am absent to those who sinned before and to all the rest: If I come again, I will not be lenient, 3 since you seek proof of Christ speaking in me.(D) He is not weak toward you, but powerful among you. 4 In fact, He was crucified(E) in weakness, but He lives(F) by God’s power. For we also are weak in Him,(G) yet toward you we will live(H) with Him by God’s power.
5 Test(I) yourselves to see if you are in the faith. Examine yourselves. Or do you yourselves not recognize that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless you fail the test.[c] 6 And I hope you will recognize that we do not fail the test. 7 Now we pray to God that you do nothing wrong—not that we may appear to pass the test, but that you may do what is right,(J) even though we may appear to fail. 8 For we are not able to do anything against the truth,(K) but only for the truth. 9 In fact, we rejoice when we are weak and you are strong.(L) We also pray that you become fully mature.[d] 10 This is why I am writing these things while absent, that when I am there I will not use severity, in keeping with the authority the Lord gave me for building up(M) and not for tearing down.(N)
11 Finally, brothers, rejoice. Become mature, be encouraged, be of the same mind,(O) be at peace,(P) and the God of love(Q) and peace will be with you. 12 Greet one another with a holy kiss.(R) All the saints greet you.
13 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love(S) of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with all of you.[e](T)
The Authority of Jesus Challenged
20 One(A) day[a] as He was teaching(B) the people in the temple complex and proclaiming the good news,(C) the chief priests and the scribes, with the elders,(D) came up 2 and said to Him: “Tell us, by what authority are You doing these things? Who is it who gave You this authority?”
3 He answered them, “I will also ask you a question. Tell Me, 4 was the baptism of John from heaven or from men?”
5 They discussed it among themselves: “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say, ‘Why didn’t you believe him?’ 6 But if we say, ‘From men,’ all the people(E) will stone us, because they are convinced that John was a prophet.”(F)
7 So they answered that they did not know its origin.[b]
8 And Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”
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