Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 50[a]
The Worship Acceptable to God
1 A psalm of Asaph.[b]
[c]The Lord, the God of gods,[d]
has spoken and summoned the earth
from the rising of the sun to its setting.
2 From Zion, perfect in beauty,
God shines forth.
3 Our God is coming, and he will not be silent;
he is preceded by a devouring fire,
and a raging tempest surrounds him.[e]
4 He summons the heavens above
and the earth to judge his people:
5 “Gather before me my faithful servants
who made a covenant with me by sacrifice.”[f]
6 The heavens proclaim his saving justice,
for God himself is the judge.[g] Selah
7 [h]“Listen, my people, and I will speak.
O Israel, I will testify against you.
I am God, your God.
8 I do not rebuke you for your sacrifices,
for your burnt offerings are constantly before me.
9 “I will not accept a young bull from your homes
or goats from your folds.
10 For all the living creatures of the forest are mine,
animals by the thousands on my hills.
11 I know every bird of the air,
and whatever moves in the fields belongs to me.
12 “If I were hungry, I would not tell you,
for the world is mine, and all that it holds.
13 Do I eat the flesh of bulls
or drink the blood of goats?
14 “Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving
and fulfill your vows to the Most High.
15 Then if you cry out to me in time of trouble,
I will rescue you, and you will honor me.”
16 [i]But to the wicked God says:
“How can you recite my statutes
or profess my covenant on your lips?
17 For you loathe my instruction
and cast my words behind you.
18 “When you meet a thief, you join him;
you revel in the company of adulterers.
19 You employ your mouth for evil,
and your tongue frames deceit.
20 “You willingly speak against your brother
and slander the child of your own mother.
21 When you do such things, can I remain silent?
Do you think that I am[j] like you?
I will correct you
and set the charge before your face.
22 “Remember this, you who forget God,[k]
lest I tear you to pieces
and there be no one to rescue you.
23 He who offers a sacrifice of thanksgiving honors me;
to him who follows my way
I will show the salvation of God.”
Psalm 59[a]
Against Wicked Enemies
1 For the director.[b] According to “Do not destroy.” A miktam of David. When Saul sent people to watch David’s house in order to kill him.
2 Rescue me, O my God, from my enemies;
defend me[c] against those who rise up against me.
3 Deliver me from those who do evil;
save me from the violence of the bloodthirsty.
4 They are lying in wait to take my life;
the powerful gather together against me.
For no offense or sin of mine, O Lord,
5 for no guilt of mine,
they stand ready to attack me.
Rise up to help me, and look on my plight;
6 you, Lord, God of hosts,[d] are the God of Israel.
Rouse yourself and punish all the nations;
show no mercy to these wicked deceivers. Selah
7 They return each evening,
snarling like dogs
as they prowl through the city.
8 [e]See what spews from their mouths—
they spew forth from their lips,
and they assert, “Who is there to hear us?”
9 However, you laugh at them, O Lord;
you show your disdain for all the nations.
10 [f]O my strength, I will keep watch for you,
for you, O God, are my fortress,
11 O God of mercy.
May God go before me
and allow me to have my way with my enemies.
12 Do not put them to death,
lest my people forget.[g]
Scatter them in your power
and bring them to their knees,
O Lord, our shield.[h]
13 For the sins of their mouths
and the words of their lips,
let them be trapped in their pride.
For the curses and lies they speak,
14 put an end to them in your wrath;
put an end to them until they are no more.
Then it will be known to the ends of the earth
that God is the ruler over Jacob.[i] Selah
15 [j]They return each evening,
snarling like dogs
as they prowl through the city.
16 They roam about searching for food,
and they growl if they do not have their fill.
17 But I will sing of your strength;
when morning dawns, I will proclaim your kindness.[k]
For you have been my fortress,
my refuge in times of trouble.
18 O my Strength, I will sing your praises,
for you, O God, are my fortress,
the God who shows me love.[l]
Psalm 60[m]
Prayer To End Wars
1 For the director.[n] According to “The Lily of. . . .” A miktam of David (for teaching), 2 when he fought against Aram-naharaim and Aram-zobah; and when Joab, coming back, slew twelve thousand Edomites in the Valley of Salt.
3 O God, you have turned away from us
and left us defenseless.
Although your anger was aroused,
now come to our aid.
4 You shook the earth[o] and split it apart;
repair its cracks, for it continues to shake.
5 You have inflicted hardships on your people;
you have given us wine that made us stagger.[p]
6 But for those who fear you,
you have raised up a banner
to unfurl against the bow.[q] Selah
7 [r]With your right hand come to our aid and answer us
so that those you love may be delivered.
8 [s]God has promised from his sanctuary,
“In triumph I will apportion Shechem
and measure out the Valley of Succoth.
9 Gilead is mine, and Manasseh is mine;
Ephraim is my helmet,[t]
Judah is my scepter.
10 Moab is my washbasin;[u]
upon Edom I will plant my sandal;
over Philistia I will shout in triumph.”
11 [v]Who will lead me into the fortified city?[w]
Who will guide me into Edom?
12 Is it not you, O God, who have rejected us
and no longer go forth with our armies?
13 Grant us your help against our enemies,
for any human assistance is worthless.
14 With God’s help we will be victorious,
for he will overwhelm our foes.
Psalm 114[a]
The Lord’s Wonders at the Exodus
1 [b]When Israel came out of Egypt,
the house of Jacob from a people of alien tongue,
2 Judah became God’s sanctuary
and Israel his domain.
3 [c]The sea fled at the sight;
the Jordan turned back.
4 The mountains skipped like rams,
the hills like lambs of the flock.
5 [d]What causes you to flee, O sea?
Why, O Jordan, do you turn back?
6 Why do you skip like rams, O mountains,
and like lambs of the flock, O hills?
7 [e]Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord,
at the presence of the God of Jacob,
8 who turns the rock into a pool of water,
and flint into a flowing spring.
Psalm 115[f]
Hymn to the Lord, the One God
1 [g]Not to us,[h] O Lord, not to us,
but to your name give glory
because of your kindness and faithfulness.
2 Why should the nations ask,
“Where is their God?”[i]
3 Our God is in heaven;
he does whatever he pleases.[j]
4 Their idols are merely silver and gold,
the work of human hands.[k]
5 They have mouths but they cannot speak;
they have eyes but they cannot see.
6 They have ears but they cannot hear;
they have noses but they cannot smell.
7 They have hands but they cannot feel;
they have feet but they cannot walk;
their throats can emit no sound.
8 Those who make them end up like them,
as do all who place their trust in them.
9 [l]The house of Israel trusts in the Lord;
he is their help and their shield.
10 The house of Aaron trusts in the Lord;
he is their help and their shield.
11 Those who fear the Lord trust in the Lord;
he is their help and their shield.
12 [m]The Lord will be mindful of us and bless us;
he will bless the house of Israel;
he will bless the house of Aaron.
13 He will bless those who fear the Lord,
the small no less than the great.[n]
14 [o]May the Lord cause you to increase,
both you and your children.
15 May you be blessed by the Lord,
the Maker of heaven and earth.
16 [p]The heavens belong to the Lord,
but he has given the earth to humanity.
17 It is not the dead who praise the Lord,
those who sink into silence.[q]
18 It is we who bless the Lord
from this time forward and forevermore.[r]
Alleluia.
9 “All these things have passed like a shadow,
much like a fleeting notice;
10 [a]like a ship that sails through the surging waters
of whose passage—once it has passed by—no trace can be found,
no wake from its keel in the waves;
11 or like a bird that flies through the air
and no sign of its passage is left,
for the light air, whipped by the beat of its pinions
and cleft by the force of its speed,
is traversed by the flapping wings,
and afterward there is no sign of its passage;
12 or as when an arrow is shot at a target,
the air is parted but immediately comes together again,
and no evidence remains of its passage;
13 so we also, as soon as we were born, ceased to be
and had not a trace of virtue to exhibit
but were consumed in our wickedness.”[b]
14 The hope of the godless is like chaff carried on the wind,
and like sea spray swept before a storm;
it is dissipated like smoke confronted by the wind,
and it passes away like the memory of a guest who stays but a single day.
15 But the righteous live forever,
and their recompense is with the Lord;[c]
the Most High provides for them.
16 Therefore, they will receive a glorious crown
and a splendid diadem from the hand of the Lord.
For he will shelter them with his right hand
and shield them with his arm.
17 He will take zeal as his armor
and arm all creation to repulse his foes.[d]
18 He will put on justice as a breastplate,
and wear an infallible judgment as a helmet.
19 He will take invincible holiness as a shield
20 and sharpen unrelenting wrath for a sword,[e]
and the whole world will unite with him to fight against the reckless.
21 Shafts of his lightning, accurately aimed, will fly forth,
hurtling from the clouds as from a well-drawn bow toward their target,
22 while the hailstones of his wrath will be hurled as from a sling.
The waters of the sea will rage against them,
and the rivers will relentlessly engulf them.
23 A mighty wind will rise against them
and will winnow them like a tempest.
Lawlessness will make the whole earth a wasteland,
and evildoing will overthrow the thrones of the mighty.
8 Make sure that no one leads you astray with an empty and deceitful philosophy that depends on human tradition[a] and worldly principles, and not on Christ.
God Has Given You Life in Christ. 9 For it is in him that the entire fullness of deity dwells in bodily form,[b] 10 and you share this fullness in him who is the head of every ruler and power. 11 In him also you were circumcised, not with a physical circumcision but with a spiritual stripping away of the old nature with the circumcision of Christ.
12 When you were buried with him in baptism, you were also raised with him through faith in the power of God who raised him from the dead. 13 And even when you were dead in your sins and your flesh was uncircumcised, God gave you new life along with him. He has forgiven us all our sins, 14 erasing the record against us[c] with its decrees that are hostile to us. He set this aside, nailing it to the cross. 15 Disarming the rulers and powers, he made a public spectacle of them, parading them in his triumphal procession.
16 The Reality Is Christ.[d] Therefore, do not allow anyone to pass judgment on you in regard to what you eat or drink, or about the observance of Festivals, New Moons, or Sabbaths.[e] 17 These are only a shadow of what is to come. The reality is Christ.
18 Do not allow yourself to be declared disqualified by those who revel in false humility and worship angels and visions, their vanity foolishly inflated by a human way of thinking. 19 They are not united with the head, from whom the whole body, supported and held together by its ligaments and sinews, achieves the growth that comes from God.
20 Since you died with Christ to the elemental principles of this world, why are you living in the world as if you were subject to it? 21 “Do not handle!” “Do not taste!” “Do not touch!” 22 All this refers to things that perish as they are used. They are simply human commands and teachings. 23 Rules of this type indeed appear to be wise in promoting self-imposed piety, false humility, and harsh treatment of the body, but they are of no value in combating the flesh.
39 Parable of the Blind Leading the Blind. He also told them a parable: “Can one blind man guide another who is also blind? Will not both of them fall into a pit? 40 No student is greater than his teacher, but a fully trained student will be like his teacher.
41 “Why do you take note of the splinter in your brother’s eye but do not notice the wooden plank in your own eye? 42 How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me remove the splinter that is in your eye,’ while all the time you do not notice the wooden plank that is in your own eye? You hypocrite! First remove the wooden plank from your own eye, and then you will be able to see clearly enough to remove the splinter that is in your brother’s eye.
43 A Tree Is Known by Its Fruit.[a]“No healthy tree can bear rotten fruit, nor does a rotting tree bear healthy fruit. 44 Every tree is known by its own fruit. For people do not pick figs from thornbushes or grapes from brambles. 45 A good man produces good from the store of goodness in his heart, whereas an evil man produces evil from the store of evil within him. For the mouth speaks from the abundance of the heart.
46 Parable of the Two Foundations.“Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ but fail to do what I tell you? 47 I will show you what everyone is like who comes to me and hears my words and acts in accordance with them. 48 He is like a man who in building a house dug deeply and laid its foundations on rock. When the flood rose, it burst against that house but could not shake it because it had been solidly constructed. 49 In contrast, the one who hears and does not act in accordance with my words is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. As soon as the river burst against it, the house collapsed and was completely destroyed.”
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