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 33
Praise to the Creator
1 Rejoice in the Lord, you righteous ones;
praise from the upright is beautiful.(A)
2 Praise the Lord with the lyre;
make music to Him with a ten-stringed harp.(B)
3 Sing a new song to Him;(C)
play skillfully on the strings, with a joyful shout.(D)
4 For the word of the Lord is right,
and all His work is trustworthy.(E)
5 He loves righteousness and justice;(F)
the earth is full of the Lord’s unfailing love.(G)
6 The heavens were made by the word of the Lord,(H)
and all the stars, by the breath of His mouth.(I)
7 He gathers the waters of the sea into a heap;[a]
He puts the depths into storehouses.(J)
8 Let the whole earth tremble before the Lord;
let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him.(K)
9 For He spoke, and it came into being;
He commanded, and it came into existence.(L)
10 The Lord frustrates the counsel of the nations;
He thwarts the plans of the peoples.(M)
11 The counsel of the Lord stands forever,
the plans of His heart from generation to generation.(N)
12 Happy is the nation whose God is Yahweh—
the people He has chosen to be His own possession!(O)
13 The Lord looks down from heaven;
He observes everyone.(P)
14 He gazes on all the inhabitants of the earth
from His dwelling place.(Q)
15 He alone shapes their hearts;
He considers all their works.(R)
16 A king is not saved by a large army;
a warrior will not be delivered by great strength.(S)
17 The horse is a false hope for safety;
it provides no escape by its great power.(T)
The Dragon Thrown Out of Heaven
7 Then war broke out in heaven: Michael(A) and his angels fought against the dragon. The dragon and his angels also fought, 8 but he could not prevail, and there was no place for them in heaven any longer. 9 So the great dragon was thrown out—the ancient serpent,(B) who is called the Devil[a] and Satan,[b](C) the one who deceives the whole world.(D) He was thrown to earth, and his angels with him.
10 Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say:
The salvation and the power
and the kingdom of our God
and the authority of His Messiah
have now come,
because the accuser(E) of our brothers
has been thrown out:
the one who accuses them
before our God day and night.
11 They conquered him
by the blood of the Lamb
and by the word of their testimony,
for they did not love their lives
in the face of death.(F)
12 Therefore rejoice, you heavens,
and you who dwell in them!
Woe to the earth and the sea,
for the Devil has come down to you
with great fury,
because he knows he has a short time.
The Woman Persecuted
13 When the dragon saw that he had been thrown to earth, he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male child. 14 The woman was given two wings of a great eagle, so that she could fly from the serpent’s presence to her place in the wilderness, where she was fed for a time, times, and half a time.[c](G) 15 From his mouth the serpent spewed water like a river flowing after the woman, to sweep her away in a torrent. 16 But the earth helped the woman. The earth opened its mouth and swallowed up the river that the dragon had spewed from his mouth. 17 So the dragon was furious with the woman and left to wage war(H) against the rest of her offspring[d]—those who keep God’s commands and have the testimony about Jesus.(I)
53 When He left there,[a] the scribes and the Pharisees began to oppose(A) Him fiercely and to cross-examine Him about many things; 54 they were lying in wait(B) for Him to trap Him in something He said.[b](C)
Beware of Religious Hypocrisy
12 In these circumstances,[c] a crowd of many thousands came together, so that they were trampling(D) on one another. He began to say to His disciples first:(E) “Be on your guard(F) against the yeast[d](G) of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.(H) 2 There is nothing covered that won’t be uncovered,(I) nothing hidden that won’t be made known.(J) 3 Therefore, whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in an ear in private rooms(K) will be proclaimed on the housetops.(L)
Fear God
4 “And I say to you, My friends,(M) don’t fear(N) those who kill the body, and after that can do nothing more. 5 But I will show you the One to fear: Fear(O) Him who has authority to throw people into hell(P) after death. Yes, I say to you, this is the One to fear! 6 Aren’t five sparrows sold for two pennies?[e] Yet not one of them is forgotten in God’s sight.(Q) 7 Indeed, the hairs of your head are all counted. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows!
Acknowledging Christ
8 “And I say to you, anyone who acknowledges(R) Me before men, the Son of Man(S) will also acknowledge him before the angels of God,(T) 9 but whoever denies Me before men will be denied before the angels of God.(U) 10 Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven,(V) but the one who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit(W) will not be forgiven. 11 Whenever(X) they bring you before synagogues and rulers and authorities,(Y) don’t worry(Z) about how you should defend(AA) yourselves or what you should say. 12 For the Holy Spirit will teach you at that very hour what must be said.”(AB)
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