Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 75[a]
God the Judge of the World
1 For the leader. Do not destroy! A psalm of Asaph; a song.
I
2 We thank you, God, we give thanks;
we call upon your name,
we declare your wonderful deeds.
[You said:][b]
3 “I will choose the time;
I will judge fairly.
4 Though the earth and all its inhabitants quake,
I make steady its pillars.”(A)
Selah
II
5 So I say to the boastful: “Do not boast!”(B)
to the wicked: “Do not raise your horns![c]
6 Do not raise your horns against heaven!
Do not speak with a stiff neck!”(C)
7 For judgment comes not from east or from west,
not from the wilderness or the mountains,(D)
8 But from God who decides,
who brings some low and raises others high.(E)
9 Yes, a cup[d] is in the Lord’s hand,
foaming wine, fully spiced.
When God pours it out,
they will drain it even to the dregs;
all the wicked of the earth will drink.(F)
10 But I will rejoice forever;
I will sing praise to the God of Jacob,
11 (G)[Who has said:]
“I will cut off all the horns of the wicked,
but the horns of the righteous will be exalted.”
Psalm 76[e]
God Defends Zion
1 For the leader; a psalm with stringed instruments. A song of Asaph.
I
2 Renowned in Judah is God,(H)
whose name is great in Israel.
3 On Salem[f] is God’s tent, his shelter on Zion.
4 There the flashing arrows were shattered,
shield, sword, and weapons of war.(I)
Selah
II
5 Terrible and awesome are you,
stronger than the ancient mountains.[g]
6 Despoiled are the stouthearted;
they sank into sleep;
the hands of all the men of valor have failed.(J)
7 At your roar, O God of Jacob,
chariot and steed lay still.
8 You, terrible are you;
who can stand before you and your great anger?(K)
9 From the heavens you pronounced sentence;
the earth was terrified and reduced to silence,
10 When you arose, O God, for judgment
to save the afflicted of the land.
Selah
11 Surely the wrath of man will give you thanks;
the remnant of your furor will keep your feast.
III
12 Make and keep vows to the Lord your God.(L)
May all around him bring gifts to the one to be feared,
13 Who checks the spirit of princes,
who is fearful to the kings of earth.
Psalm 23[a]
The Lord, Shepherd and Host
1 A psalm of David.
I
The Lord is my shepherd;[b]
there is nothing I lack.(A)
2 In green pastures he makes me lie down;
to still waters he leads me;
3 (B)he restores my soul.
He guides me along right paths[c]
for the sake of his name.
4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,(C)
I will fear no evil, for you are with me;
your rod and your staff comfort me.
II
Psalm 27[a]
Trust in God
1 (A)Of David.
A
I
The Lord is my light and my salvation;
whom should I fear?
The Lord is my life’s refuge;
of whom should I be afraid?
2 When evildoers come at me
to devour my flesh,[b](B)
These my enemies and foes
themselves stumble and fall.
3 Though an army encamp against me,
my heart does not fear;
Though war be waged against me,
even then do I trust.
II
4 One thing I ask of the Lord;
this I seek:
To dwell in the Lord’s house
all the days of my life,
To gaze on the Lord’s beauty,
to visit his temple.(C)
5 For God will hide me in his shelter
in time of trouble,(D)
He will conceal me in the cover of his tent;
and set me high upon a rock.
6 Even now my head is held high
above my enemies on every side!
I will offer in his tent
sacrifices with shouts of joy;
I will sing and chant praise to the Lord.
B
I
7 Hear my voice, Lord, when I call;
have mercy on me and answer me.
8 “Come,” says my heart, “seek his face”;[c]
your face, Lord, do I seek!(E)
9 Do not hide your face from me;
do not repel your servant in anger.
You are my salvation; do not cast me off;
do not forsake me, God my savior!
10 Even if my father and mother forsake me,
the Lord will take me in.(F)
II
11 Lord, show me your way;
lead me on a level path
because of my enemies.(G)
12 Do not abandon me to the desire of my foes;
malicious and lying witnesses have risen against me.
13 I believe I shall see the Lord’s goodness
in the land of the living.[d](H)
14 Wait for the Lord, take courage;
be stouthearted, wait for the Lord!
19 The kings came and fought;
then they fought, those kings of Canaan,
At Taanach by the waters of Megiddo;
no spoil of silver did they take.
20 From the heavens the stars[a] fought;
from their courses they fought against Sisera.(A)
21 The Wadi Kishon swept them away;
the wadi overwhelmed them, the Wadi Kishon.(B)
Trample down the strong![b]
22 Then the hoofs of the horses hammered,
the galloping, galloping of steeds.
23 “Curse Meroz,”[c] says the messenger of the Lord,
“curse, curse its inhabitants!
For they did not come when the Lord helped,
the help of the Lord against the warriors.”
24 Most blessed of women is Jael,(C)
the wife of Heber the Kenite,
blessed among tent-dwelling women!
25 He asked for water, she gave him milk,
in a princely bowl she brought him curds.(D)
26 (E)With her hand she reached for the peg,
with her right hand, the workman’s hammer.
She hammered Sisera, crushed his head;
she smashed, pierced his temple.
27 At her feet he sank down, fell, lay still;
down at her feet he sank and fell;
where he sank down, there he fell, slain.
28 [d]From the window she looked down,
the mother of Sisera peered through the lattice:
“Why is his chariot so long in coming?
why are the hoofbeats of his chariots delayed?”
29 The wisest of her princesses answers her;
she even replies to herself,
30 “They must be dividing the spoil they took:
a slave woman or two for each man,
Spoil of dyed cloth for Sisera,
spoil of ornate dyed cloth,
a pair of ornate dyed cloths for my neck in the spoil.”
31 So perish all your enemies, O Lord!(F)
But may those who love you be like the sun rising in its might!
And the land was at rest for forty years.(G)
22 You who are Israelites, hear these words. Jesus the Nazorean was a man commended to you by God with mighty deeds, wonders, and signs, which God worked through him in your midst, as you yourselves know.(A) 23 This man, delivered up by the set plan and foreknowledge of God, you killed, using lawless men to crucify him.(B) 24 But God raised him up, releasing him from the throes of death, because it was impossible for him to be held by it.(C) 25 For David says of him:
‘I saw the Lord ever before me,(D)
with him at my right hand I shall not be disturbed.
26 Therefore my heart has been glad and my tongue has exulted;
my flesh, too, will dwell in hope,
27 because you will not abandon my soul to the netherworld,
nor will you suffer your holy one to see corruption.(E)
28 You have made known to me the paths of life;
you will fill me with joy in your presence.’
29 My brothers, one can confidently say to you about the patriarch David that he died and was buried, and his tomb is in our midst to this day. 30 But since he was a prophet and knew that God had sworn an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants upon his throne,(F) 31 he foresaw and spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, that neither was he abandoned to the netherworld nor did his flesh see corruption.(G) 32 God raised this Jesus; of this we are all witnesses. 33 Exalted at the right hand of God,[a] he received the promise of the holy Spirit from the Father and poured it forth, as you [both] see and hear.(H) 34 For David did not go up into heaven, but he himself said:
‘The Lord said to my Lord,
“Sit at my right hand(I)
35 until I make your enemies your footstool.”’
36 Therefore let the whole house of Israel know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Messiah, this Jesus whom you crucified.”(J)
11 While they were going, some of the guard went into the city and told the chief priests all that had happened. 12 They assembled with the elders and took counsel; then they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers, 13 telling them, “You are to say, ‘His disciples came by night and stole him while we were asleep.’ 14 And if this gets to the ears of the governor, we will satisfy [him] and keep you out of trouble.” 15 The soldiers took the money and did as they were instructed. And this story has circulated among the Jews to the present [day].
The Commissioning of the Disciples.[a] 16 (A)The eleven[b] disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had ordered them. 17 [c]When they saw him, they worshiped, but they doubted. 18 [d](B)Then Jesus approached and said to them, “All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 (C)Go, therefore,[e] and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit, 20 (D)teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.[f] And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.”
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