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.
Babylon Is Fallen
18 After these things I saw another (A)angel (B)coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth was (C)illumined with his glory. 2 And he cried out with a mighty voice, saying, “[a](D)Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! She (E)has become a dwelling place of demons and a [b]prison of every (F)unclean spirit, and a [c]prison of every unclean and hateful bird. 3 For all the nations [d]have drunk of the (G)wine of the [e]passion of her immorality, and (H)the kings of the earth have committed acts of immorality with her, and the (I)merchants of the earth have become rich by the [f]wealth of her [g](J)sensuality.”
4 I heard another voice from heaven, saying, “(K)Come out of her, my people, so that you will not participate in her sins and receive of her plagues; 5 for her sins have [h](L)piled up as high as heaven, and God has (M)remembered her iniquities. 6 (N)Pay her back even as she has paid, and [i]give back to her double according to her deeds; in the (O)cup which she has mixed, mix twice as much for her. 7 (P)To the degree that she glorified herself and (Q)lived [j]sensuously, to the same degree give her torment and mourning; for she says in her heart, ‘(R)I sit as a queen and I am not a widow, and will never see mourning.’ 8 For this reason (S)in one day her plagues will come, [k]pestilence and mourning and famine, and she will be (T)burned up with fire; for the Lord God who judges her (U)is strong.
Lament for Babylon
9 “And (V)the kings of the earth, who committed acts of immorality and (W)lived [l]sensuously with her, will (X)weep and lament over her when they (Y)see the smoke of her burning, 10 (Z)standing at a distance because of the fear of her torment, saying, ‘(AA)Woe, woe, (AB)the great city, Babylon, the strong city! For in (AC)one hour your judgment has come.’
11 “And the (AD)merchants of the earth (AE)weep and mourn over her, because no one buys their cargoes any more— 12 cargoes of (AF)gold and silver and precious [m]stones and pearls and fine linen and purple and silk and scarlet, and every kind of citron wood and every article of ivory and every article made from very costly wood and [n]bronze and iron and marble, 13 and cinnamon and [o]spice and incense and perfume and frankincense and wine and olive oil and fine flour and wheat and cattle and sheep, and cargoes of horses and chariots and [p]slaves and [q](AG)human lives. 14 The fruit [r]you long for has gone from you, and all things that were luxurious and splendid have passed away from you and men will no longer find them.
Jesus Heals on the Sabbath
14 It happened that when He went into the house of one of the [a]leaders of the Pharisees on the Sabbath to eat bread, (A)they were watching Him closely. 2 And [b]there in front of Him was a man suffering from dropsy. 3 And Jesus answered and spoke to the [c](B)lawyers and Pharisees, saying, “(C)Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath, or not?” 4 But they kept silent. And He took hold of him and healed him, and sent him away. 5 And He said to them, “[d](D)Which one of you will have a son or an ox fall into a well, and will not immediately pull him out on a Sabbath day?” 6 (E)And they could make no reply to this.
Parable of the Guests
7 And He began speaking a parable to the invited guests when He noticed how (F)they had been picking out the places of honor at the table, saying to them, 8 “When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, (G)do not [e]take the place of honor, for someone more distinguished than you may have been invited by him, 9 and he who invited you both will come and say to you, ‘Give your place to this man,’ and then (H)in disgrace you [f]proceed to occupy the last place. 10 But when you are invited, go and recline at the last place, so that when the one who has invited you comes, he may say to you, ‘Friend, (I)move up higher’; then you will have honor in the sight of all who [g]are at the table with you. 11 (J)For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
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