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.
22 Now (A)the Philistines came up once again and overran the Valley of Rephaim. 23 So (B)David inquired of the Lord, but He said, “You shall not go directly up; circle around behind them and come at them in front of the baka-shrubs. 24 And it shall be, when (C)you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the baka-shrubs, then you shall [a]act promptly, for then (D)the Lord will have gone out before you to strike the army of the Philistines.” 25 Then David did so, just as the Lord had commanded him; he struck and killed the Philistines from [b](E)Geba [c]as far as (F)Gezer.
Peril in Moving the Ark
6 (G)Now David again gathered all the chosen men of Israel, thirty thousand. 2 And David [d]departed from [e](H)Baale-judah, with all the people who were with him, to bring up from there the ark of God which is called by the (I)Name, the very name of the Lord of armies who (J)is [f]enthroned above the cherubim. 3 They had mounted the ark of God on (K)a new cart and moved it from the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill; and Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, were leading the new cart. 4 So (L)they brought it with the ark of God from the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill; and Ahio was walking ahead of the ark. 5 Meanwhile, David and all the house of Israel (M)were celebrating before the Lord (N)with all kinds of instruments made of juniper wood, and with [g]lyres, harps, tambourines, castanets, and cymbals.
6 But when they came to the (O)threshing floor of Nacon, Uzzah (P)reached out toward the ark of God and took hold of it, because the oxen nearly overturned it. 7 And the anger of the Lord burned against Uzzah, and (Q)God struck him down there for [h]his irreverence; and he died there by the ark of God. 8 Then David became angry because [i]of the Lord’s outburst against Uzzah; and that place has been called [j]Perez-uzzah to this day. 9 So (R)David was afraid of the Lord that day; and he said, “How can the ark of the Lord come to me?” 10 And David was unwilling to move the ark of the Lord into the city of David with him; but David took it aside to the house of (S)Obed-edom, the Gittite. 11 The ark of the Lord remained in the house of Obed-edom the Gittite for three months, and the Lord (T)blessed Obed-edom and all his household.
Paul in Athens
16 Now while Paul was waiting for them in (A)Athens, his spirit was being provoked within him as he observed that the city was full of idols. 17 So he was reasoning (B)in the synagogue with the Jews and (C)the God-fearing Gentiles, and in the marketplace every day with those who happened to be present. 18 And some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers as well were [a]conversing with him. Some were saying, “What could (D)this [b]scavenger of tidbits want to say?” Others, “He seems to be a proclaimer of strange deities,”—because he was preaching (E)Jesus and the resurrection. 19 And they (F)took him and brought him [c]to the [d](G)Areopagus, saying, “May we know what (H)this new teaching is [e]which you are proclaiming? 20 For you are bringing some strange things to our ears; so we want to know what these things mean.” 21 (Now all the Athenians and the strangers (I)visiting there used to spend their time in nothing other than telling or hearing something new.)
Sermon on Mars Hill
22 So Paul stood in the midst of the [f]Areopagus and said, “Men of (J)Athens, I see that you are very (K)religious in all respects. 23 For while I was passing through and examining the (L)objects of your worship, I also found an altar with this inscription, ‘TO AN UNKNOWN GOD.’ Therefore, what (M)you worship in ignorance, this I proclaim to you. 24 (N)The God who made the world and everything that is in it, since He is (O)Lord of heaven and earth, does not (P)dwell in temples made by hands; 25 nor is He served by human hands, (Q)as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things; 26 and (R)He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having (S)determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation, 27 that they would seek God, if perhaps they might feel around for Him and find Him, (T)though He is not far from each one of us; 28 for (U)in Him we live and move and [g]exist, as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we also are His descendants.’ 29 Therefore, since we are the descendants of God, we (V)ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by human skill and thought. 30 So having (W)overlooked (X)the times of ignorance, God is (Y)now proclaiming to mankind that all people everywhere are to repent, 31 because He has set (Z)a day on which (AA)He will judge [h](AB)the world in righteousness [i]through a Man whom He has (AC)appointed, having furnished proof to all people [j]by (AD)raising Him from the dead.”
32 Now when they heard of (AE)the resurrection of the dead, some began to scoff, but others said, “We shall hear from you [k]again concerning this.” 33 So Paul went out from among them. 34 But some men joined him and believed, among whom also were Dionysius the (AF)Areopagite and a woman named Damaris, and others with them.
Four Thousand Men Fed
8 In those days, (A)when there was again a large crowd and they had nothing to eat, Jesus summoned His disciples and *said to them, 2 “(B)I feel compassion for the [a]people because they have remained with Me for three days already and have nothing to eat. 3 And if I send them away hungry to their homes, they will faint on the way; and some of them have come from a great distance.” 4 And His disciples replied to Him, “Where will anyone be able to find enough [b]bread here in this desolate place to satisfy these people?” 5 And He was asking them, “How many loaves do you have?” And they said, “Seven.” 6 And He *directed the [c]people to recline on the ground; and taking the seven loaves, He gave thanks and broke them, and started giving them to His disciples to serve, and they served them to the [d]people. 7 They also had a few small fish; and (C)after He had blessed them, He told the disciples to serve these as well. 8 And they ate and were satisfied; and they picked up seven large (D)baskets full of what was left over of the broken pieces. 9 About four thousand [e]men were there; and He dismissed them. 10 And immediately He got into the boat with His disciples and came to the region of (E)Dalmanutha.
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