Book of Common Prayer
God Humbles the Proud, but Exalts the Righteous.
For the music director; set to [a]Al-tashheth. A Psalm of Asaph, a Song.
75 We (A)give thanks to You, God, we give thanks,
For Your name is (B)near;
People declare (C)Your wondrous works.
2 “When I select an (D)appointed time,
It is I who (E)judge fairly.
3 The (F)earth and all who inhabit it [b]are unsteady;
It is I who have firmly set its (G)pillars. 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 [c]pride.’”
6 For not from the east, nor from the west,
Nor from the [d](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 [e](N)well mixed, and He pours out of this;
Certainly all the wicked of the earth must drain and (O)drink its dregs.
9 But as for me, I will (P)declare it forever;
I will sing praises to the God of Jacob.
10 And [f]He will cut off all the (Q)horns of the wicked,
But (R)the horns of the righteous will be lifted up.
The Victorious Power of the God of Jacob.
For the music 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 [g](U)tabernacle is in (V)Salem;
His (W)dwelling place also is in Zion.
3 There He (X)broke the [h]flaming arrows,
The shield, the sword, and the [i]weapons of war. Selah
4 You are resplendent,
[j]More majestic than the mountains of prey.
5 The (Y)stouthearted were plundered,
[k]They sank into sleep;
And none of the [l]warriors could use his hands.
6 At Your (Z)rebuke, God of Jacob,
Both [m](AA)rider and horse were cast into a dead sleep.
7 You, You indeed are (AB)to be feared,
And (AC)who may stand in Your presence, [n]once You are angry?
The Lord, the Psalmist’s Shepherd.
A Psalm of David.
23 The Lord is my (A)shepherd,
I will (B)not be in need.
2 He lets me lie down in (C)green pastures;
He (D)leads me beside [a](E)quiet waters.
3 He (F)restores my soul;
He (G)guides me in the [b](H)paths of righteousness
For the sake of His name.
4 Even though I (I)walk through the [c]valley of the shadow of death,
I (J)fear no [d]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 [e]have (N)anointed my head with oil;
My (O)cup overflows.
6 [f]Certainly (P)goodness and [g]faithfulness will follow me all the days of my life,
And my (Q)dwelling will be in the house of the Lord [h]forever.
A Psalm of Fearless Trust in God.
A Psalm of David.
27 The Lord is my (A)light and my (B)salvation;
Whom should I fear?
The Lord is the [a](C)defense of my life;
(D)Whom should I dread?
2 When evildoers came upon me to (E)devour my flesh,
My adversaries and my enemies, they (F)stumbled and fell.
3 If an (G)army encamps against me,
My heart will not fear;
If war arises against me,
In spite of this I am (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 [b]beauty of the Lord
And to [c](L)meditate in His temple.
5 For on the (M)day of trouble He will (N)conceal me in His [d]tabernacle;
He will (O)hide me in the secret place of His tent;
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 (R)sacrifices in His tent [e]with shouts of joy;
I will (S)sing, yes, I will sing praises to the Lord.
7 (T)Hear, 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,
“(W)I shall seek Your face, Lord.”
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,
God of my salvation!
10 [f]For my father and (AC)my mother have forsaken me,
But (AD)the Lord will take me up.
11 (AE)Teach me Your way, Lord,
And lead me on a (AF)level path
Because of my enemies.
12 Do not turn me over to the [g](AG)desire of my enemies,
For (AH)false witnesses have risen against me,
And the violent (AI)witness.
13 I certainly 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.
Examine Yourselves
13 (A)This is the third time that I am coming to you. (B)On the [a]testimony of two or three witnesses every matter shall be confirmed. 2 I have previously said when I was present the second time, and though now absent I say in advance to those who have (C)sinned in the past and to all the rest as well, that (D)if I come again I will not (E)spare anyone, 3 since you are (F)seeking proof of the (G)Christ who speaks in me, who is not weak toward you, but (H)mighty in you. 4 For indeed He was (I)crucified because of weakness, yet He lives (J)because of the power of God. For we too are (K)weak [b]in Him, yet (L)we will live with Him because of the power of God directed toward you.
5 (M)Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; (N)examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you—unless indeed you [c](O)fail the test? 6 But I expect that you will realize that we ourselves [d]do not fail the test. 7 Now we pray to God that you do nothing wrong; not so that we ourselves may appear approved, but that you may do what is right, though we may [e]appear unapproved. 8 For we cannot do anything against the truth, but only for the truth. 9 For we rejoice when we ourselves are (P)weak, but you are strong; this we also pray for, [f]that you (Q)become mature. 10 For this reason I am writing these things while absent, so that when present (R)I need not use (S)severity, in accordance with the (T)authority which the Lord gave me for building up and not for tearing down.
11 (U)Finally, brothers and sisters, [g]rejoice, (V)mend your ways, be comforted, (W)be like-minded, (X)live in peace; and (Y)the God of love and peace will be with you. 12 (Z)Greet one another with a holy kiss. 13 (AA)All the [h]saints greet you.
14 (AB)The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the (AC)love of God, and the (AD)fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all.
Jesus’ Authority Questioned
20 (A)On one of the days while (B)He was teaching the people in the temple and (C)preaching the gospel, the chief priests and the scribes with the elders (D)confronted Him, 2 and they declared, saying to Him, “Tell us by what authority You are doing these things, or who is the one who gave You this authority?” 3 But He replied to them, “I will also ask you a [a]question, and you tell Me: 4 Was the baptism of John from heaven or from men?” 5 They discussed among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say, ‘Why did you not believe him?’ 6 But if we say, ‘From men,’ all the people will stone us to death, since they are convinced that John was a (E)prophet.” 7 And so they answered that they did not know where it came from. 8 And Jesus said to them, “Neither am I telling you by what authority I do these things.”
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.