Book of Common Prayer
An Oracle Concerning Sacrifices
A psalm of Asaph.[a]
50 The Supreme God, God, Yahweh, has spoken
and summoned the earth,
from the rising of the sun
to its setting.
2 From Zion, the perfection of beauty,
God shines forth.
3 Our God comes and he is not silent.
Before him fire devours,
and around him it is very tempestuous.
4 He summons the heavens above
and the earth that he might judge his people:
5 “Gather to me my loyal ones,
those who have made a covenant with me by sacrifice.”
6 And the heavens declare his righteousness,
because God himself is judge. Selah
7 “Hear, O my people, and I will speak,
O Israel, and I will testify against you.
I am God, your God.
8 It is not concerning a lack of your sacrifices that I rebuke you,
and your burnt offerings are before me continually.
9 I will not take from your house a bull
or from your stalls a he-goat,
10 because every animal of the forest is mine,
the cattle on a thousand hills.
11 I know every bird of the mountains,
and every moving creature in the field is mine.
12 If I were hungry I would not tell you,
because the world and its fullness are mine.
13 Do I eat the flesh of bulls
or drink the blood of goats?
14 Offer to God a thank offering
and pay your vows to the Most High.
15 And call me in the day of trouble;
I will deliver you, and you will glorify me.”
16 But to the wicked God says,
“What right have you to recite my statutes
and mention my covenant with your mouth,[b]
17 while you yourself hate discipline,
and cast my words behind you?
18 When you see a thief, then you are pleased with him,
and your association is with adulterers.
19 You give your mouth free rein for evil,
and you harness your tongue to deceit.
20 You sit and speak against your brother;
you slander your mother’s son.
21 These things you have done, and I have been silent;
You imagined that I was just like you.
I will rebuke you and present an argument before your eyes.
22 Now consider this, you who forget God,
lest I tear you apart, and there will be none to deliver.
23 He who sacrifices a thank offering honors me,
and he who orders his way;
I will show him the salvation of God.”
A Prayer for Protection
For the music director, according to Do Not Destroy.
Of David. A miktam.
When Saul dispatched men and they watched the house to kill him.[a]
59 Deliver me from my enemies, O my God.
Protect[b] me from those who rise up against me.
2 Deliver me from workers of iniquity,
and from men of bloodshed save me.
3 For look, they lie in wait for my life.[c]
The mighty attack[d] against me,
not because of my transgression or my sin, O Yahweh.
4 Without guilt on my part they run and ready themselves.
Awake to meet me and see.
5 And you, Yahweh, God of hosts, are the God of Israel.
Rouse yourself to punish all the nations.
Do not be gracious to any who treacherously plot evil. Selah
6 They return at evening; they howl like dogs[e]
while they prowl the city.
7 Look, they pour out talk with their mouth.
Swords are on their lips,
for they say, “Who hears?”
8 But you, O Yahweh, will laugh at them;
you will mock all the nations.
9 O my strength,[f] I will watch for you,
because you, O God, are my (high) stronghold.
10 My[g] God of loyal love will meet me;
God will cause me to look in triumph on my enemies.
11 Do not kill them, lest my people forget.
Make them to wander by your power,
and bring them down, O Lord, our shield.
12 By the sin of their mouth and the words of their lips,
even in their pride, let them be trapped,
and for the curses[h] and lies[i] they proclaim.
13 Destroy in anger; destroy so they are no more,
so that they may know that God is ruling in Jacob
to the ends of the earth. Selah
14 They return at evening; they howl like dogs[j]
while they prowl the city.
15 As for them, they wander for food.
If they are not satisfied, then they continue all night.[k]
16 But as for me, I will sing of your strength,
and I will hail your loyal love in the morning,
because you have been my high stronghold
and a refuge in my time[l] of trouble.
17 O my strength, to you I will give praise,
because God is my high stronghold,
my God of loyal love.
A Lament After a Defeat and a Prayer for Restoration
For the music director, according to Shushan Eduth.[m]
A miktam of David. To teach.
When he fought Mesopotamia and Aram Zobah, and Joab returned and struck Edom in the Valley of Salt, twelve thousand persons.[n]
60 O God, you have rejected us. You have broken us.
You have been angry. Restore us!
2 You have made the land quake. You have split it open.
Heal its fissures, because it totters.
3 You have shown your people hard things;
You have given us wine that staggers.
4 You have rallied those who fear you round a banner
out of bowshot,[o] Selah
5 so that your beloved ones may be rescued.
Save by your right hand and answer us.
6 God has spoken in his holiness,
“I will rejoice;
I will divide up Shechem,
and portion out the valley of Succoth.
7 Gilead is mine, and Manasseh is mine,
and Ephraim is the helmet for[p] my head;
Judah is my scepter.[q]
8 Moab is my washing pot;
over Edom, I will cast my sandal.
On account of me, O Philistia, raise a shout.”
9 Who will bring me to the fortified city?
Who will lead me to Edom?
10 Have not you yourself rejected us, O God,
and not gone out with our armies, O God?
11 Give us help against the adversary,
for the help of humankind is futile.
12 Through God we will do valiantly,[r]
and it is he who will tread down our enemies.
Thanksgiving to God for His Works
For the music director. A song. A psalm.[a]
66 Shout joyfully to God, all the earth.
2 Sing the glory of his name.
Set forth his glorious praise.[b]
3 Say to God, “How awesome are your works!
Because of the greatness of your strength,
your enemies will cringe before you.
4 All the earth will bow in worship to you,
and sing praise to you.
They will sing the praise of your name.” Selah
5 Come and consider[c] the works of God;
he is awesome in his dealings[d] with the children of humankind.
6 He turned the sea into dry ground;
they passed through the river on foot.
There we rejoiced in him.
7 He rules by his might forever;
his eyes keep watch on the nations.
Do not let the rebellious exalt themselves.[e] Selah
8 Bless our God, O peoples,
and cause the sound of his praise to be heard,
9 the one who has kept our soul among the living,
and has not allowed our foot to slip.
10 For you have tested us, O God;
you have tried us as silver is tried.
11 You brought us into the net;
you placed a heavy burden[f] on our backs.
12 You let men[g] ride over our heads.
We went through fire and through water,
but you have brought us out to the place of abundance.[h]
13 I will come into your house[i] with burnt offerings.
I will pay to you my vows
14 that my lips uttered,
and my mouth spoke in my distress.
15 Burnt offerings of fat animals I will offer to you,
with the smoke of rams.
I will do[j] cattle with rams. Selah
16 Come and hear, all you God-fearers, and I will tell
what he has done for me.[k]
17 I called to him with my mouth,
and he was extolled with my tongue.[l]
18 If I had considered evil in my heart,
the Lord would not have listened.
19 However, God has listened;
he has attended to the sound of my prayer.
20 Blessed be God,
who has not turned aside my prayer,
or his loyal love from me.
A Prayer of Blessing
For the music director, with stringed instruments. A psalm. A song.[m]
67 May God be gracious to us and bless us.
May he cause his face to shine toward us, Selah
2 that your way may be known on the earth,
your salvation among all nations.
3 Let the peoples praise you, O God;
let all of the peoples praise you.
4 Let the nations be glad and sing for joy,
because you judge the peoples with equity
and guide the nations on the earth. Selah
5 Let the peoples praise you, O God;
let all the peoples praise you.
6 The earth has yielded its produce.
God, our God, will bless us.
7 God will bless us,
and all the ends of the earth will fear him.
Saul Inquires of the Medium at Endor
3 (Now Samuel had died, and all Israel had mourned for him, and they had buried him in Ramah, his own city. And Saul had expelled the mediums[a] and the soothsayers from the land.) 4 Then the Philistines assembled and came and encamped at Shunem, so Saul assembled all Israel, and they encamped at Gilboa. 5 When Saul saw the army of the Philistines, he was afraid and his heart trembled greatly. 6 And Saul inquired of Yahweh, but Yahweh did not answer him, not by dreams or by the Urim[b] or by the prophets. 7 So Saul said to his servants, “Search for me a woman who is a medium[c] so that I may go to her and inquire of her.” His servants said to him, “Look there is a woman who is a medium in Endor.” 8 So Saul disguised himself and put on other clothes, and he went with two of his men.[d] And they came to the woman by night and he said, “Please consult a spirit for me through the ritual pit,[e] and bring up for me the one whom I tell you.” 9 But the woman said to him, “Look, you know what Saul did, how he exterminated the mediums[f] and the soothsayers from the land! Why are you setting a trap for my life to kill me?” 10 Then Saul swore to her by Yahweh, “As Yahweh lives,[g] you will not be punished[h] for this thing.” 11 So the woman asked, “Whom shall I bring up for you?” He said, “Bring up Samuel for me.” 12 When the woman saw Samuel, she cried out with a loud voice, and the woman said to Saul, “Why did you deceive me? You are Saul!” 13 The king said to her, “Do not be afraid! What do you see?” And the woman said to Saul, “I see a god[i] coming up from the ground!” 14 Then he said to her, “What is his appearance?” She said, “An old man is coming up, and he is wrapped in a robe.”[j] Then Saul realized that it was Samuel, and he knelt with his face to the ground and bowed down.
15 Then Samuel said to Saul, “Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?” And Saul said, “I am in distress![k] For the Philistines are about to make war against me, but God has turned away from me, and he does not answer me any more, not by the prophets[l] or by the dreams. So I called to you to let me know what I should do.” 16 Then Samuel said, “Why do you ask me, since Yahweh has turned away from you and has become your enemy? 17 Yahweh has done to you just as he spoke by my hand! Yahweh has torn the kingdom from your hand and has given it to your neighbor, to David. 18 Because you did not obey[m] Yahweh and did not carry out the fierce anger of his wrath[n] against Amalek, therefore Yahweh has done this thing to you today. 19 And Yahweh will also give Israel with you into the hands of the Philistines, and tomorrow you and your sons will be with me, and Yahweh will also give the army of Israel into the hand of the Philistines.” 20 Then Saul immediately fell prostrate[o] to the ground, and he was very afraid because of the words of Samuel; there was no more strength in him, for he had not eaten food all day and all night.
The Jerusalem Council
15 And some men came down from Judea and[a] began teaching[b] the brothers, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom prescribed by Moses, you cannot be saved.” 2 And after[c] there was no little strife and debate by Paul and Barnabas against them, they appointed Paul and Barnabas and some others from among them to go up to the apostles and elders in Jerusalem concerning this issue. 3 So they were sent on their way by the church, and[d] passed through both Phoenicia and Samaria, telling in detail the conversion of the Gentiles and bringing great joy to all the brothers. 4 And when they[e] arrived in Jerusalem, they were received by the church and the apostles and the elders, and reported all that God had done with them. 5 But some of those who had believed from the party of the Pharisees stood up, saying, “It is necessary to circumcise them and to command them[f] to observe the law of Moses!”
6 Both the apostles and the elders assembled to deliberate concerning this matter. 7 And after[g] there was much debate, Peter stood up and[h] said to them, “Men and brothers, you know that in the early days[i] God chose among you through my mouth that the Gentiles should hear the message of the gospel and believe. 8 And God, who knows the heart, testified to them by[j] giving them[k] the Holy Spirit, just as he also did to us. 9 And he made no distinction between us and them, cleansing their hearts by faith. 10 So now why are you putting God to the test by[l] placing on the neck of the disciples a yoke that neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear? 11 But we believe we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus in the same[m] way those also are.”
A Demon-possessed Gerasene Healed
5 And they came to the other side of the sea,[a] to the region of the Gerasenes.[b] 2 And as[c] he was getting out of the boat, immediately from the tombs a man with an unclean spirit went to meet him, 3 who lived[d] among the tombs. And no one was able to bind him any longer, not even with a chain, 4 because he had often been bound with shackles and chains, and the chains had been torn apart by him, and the shackles had been shattered. And no one was strong enough to subdue him. 5 And during every night and day among the tombs and on the mountains he was crying out and cutting himself with stones. 6 And when he[e] saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and knelt down before him. 7 And crying out with a loud voice he said, “What have I to do with you[f], Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I implore you by God, do not torment me!” 8 (For he was saying to him, “Come out of the man, unclean spirit!”) 9 And he was asking him “What is your name?”[g] And he said to him, “My name is Legion, because we are many.” 10 And he was imploring him many times that he would not send them out of the region. 11 Now a large herd of pigs was there at the hill feeding, 12 and they implored him, saying, “Send us to the pigs so that we may enter into them.” 13 And he permitted them. And the unclean spirits came out and[h] entered into the pigs, and the herd—about two thousand—rushed headlong down the steep slope into the sea and were drowned in the sea. 14 And their herdsmen fled and reported it[i] in the town and in the countryside, and they came to see what it was that had happened. 15 And they came to Jesus and saw the demon-possessed man sitting there clothed and in his right mind—the one who had had the legion—and they were afraid. 16 And those who had seen it[j] described to them what had happened to the demon-possessed man, and about the pigs. 17 And they began to urge him to depart from their region. 18 And as[k] he was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed began to implore[l] him that he could go with him. 19 And he did not permit him, but said to him, “Go to your home to your people and tell them all that the Lord has done for you, and that he has had mercy on you.” 20 And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis all that Jesus had done for him, and they were all astonished.
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