Book of Common Prayer
God, the Judge of the Righteous and the Wicked.
A Psalm of [a]Asaph.
50 (A)The Mighty One, God, the Lord, has spoken
And summoned the earth, (B)from [b]the rising of the sun to its setting.
2 Out of Zion, (C)the perfection of beauty,
God (D)has shone.
3 May our God (E)come and not keep silent;
(F)Fire devours before Him,
And a storm is violently (G)raging around Him.
4 He (H)summons the heavens above,
And the earth, to judge His people:
5 “Gather My (I)godly ones to Me,
Those who have made a (J)covenant with Me by (K)sacrifice.”
6 And the (L)heavens declare His righteousness,
For (M)God Himself is judge. Selah
7 “(N)Hear, My people, and I will speak;
Israel, I will testify [c]against you;
I am God, (O)your God.
8 I do (P)not rebuke you for your sacrifices,
And your burnt offerings are continually before Me.
9 I will not take a (Q)bull from your house,
Nor male goats from your folds.
10 For (R)every animal of the forest is Mine,
The cattle on a thousand hills.
11 I know every (S)bird of the mountains,
And everything that moves in the field is [d]Mine.
12 If I were hungry I would not tell you,
For the (T)world is Mine, and [e]everything it contains.
13 Shall I eat the flesh of [f](U)bulls
Or drink the blood of male goats?
14 Offer God (V)a sacrifice of thanksgiving
And (W)pay your vows to the Most High;
15 (X)Call upon Me on the day of trouble;
I will (Y)rescue you, and you will (Z)honor Me.”
16 But to the wicked God says,
“What right do you have to tell of My statutes
And to take (AA)My covenant in your mouth?
17 For you yourself (AB)hate discipline,
And you (AC)throw My words behind you.
18 When you see a thief, you (AD)become friends with him,
And [g]you (AE)associate with adulterers.
19 You [h](AF)let your mouth loose in evil,
And your (AG)tongue harnesses deceit.
20 You sit and (AH)speak against your brother;
You slander your own mother’s son.
21 These things you have done and (AI)I kept silent;
You thought that I was just like you;
I will (AJ)rebuke you and present the case before your eyes.
Prayer for Rescue from Enemies.
For the music director; set to [a]Al-tashheth. A [b]Mikhtam of David, [c]when Saul sent men and they watched the house in order to kill him.
59 (A)Rescue me from my enemies, my God;
[d](B)Set me securely on high away from those who rise up against me.
2 Rescue me from (C)those who practice injustice,
And save me from (D)men of bloodshed.
3 For behold, they (E)have [e]set an ambush for my [f]life;
[g]Fierce men (F)attack me,
(G)Not for my wrongdoing nor for my sin, Lord,
4 [h](H)For no guilt of mine, they run and take their stand against me.
(I)Stir Yourself to [i]help me, and see!
5 You, (J)Lord God of armies, the God of Israel,
Awake to [j](K)punish all the nations;
(L)Do not be gracious to any who deal treacherously in wrongdoing. Selah
6 They (M)return at evening, they howl like a (N)dog,
And prowl around the city.
7 Behold, they (O)gush forth with their mouths;
(P)Swords are in their lips,
For, they say, “(Q)Who hears?”
8 But You, Lord, (R)laugh at them;
You (S)scoff at all the nations.
9 Because of [k]his (T)strength I will watch for You,
For God is my (U)refuge.
10 [l]My God (V)in His faithfulness will meet me;
God will let me (W)look triumphantly upon my enemies.
11 Do not kill them, (X)or my people will forget;
[m](Y)Scatter them by Your power and bring them down,
Lord, (Z)our shield.
12 [n]On account of the (AA)sin of their mouths and the words of their lips,
May they even be (AB)caught in their pride,
And on account of (AC)curses and lies which they tell.
13 [o](AD)Destroy them in wrath, [p]destroy them so that they will no longer exist;
So that people may (AE)know that God [q]rules in Jacob,
To the ends of the earth. Selah
14 They (AF)return at evening, they howl like a dog,
And prowl around the city.
15 They (AG)wander about [r]for food
And [s]murmur if they are not satisfied.
16 But as for me, I will (AH)sing of Your strength;
Yes, I will (AI)joyfully sing of Your faithfulness in the (AJ)morning,
For You have been my (AK)refuge
And a (AL)place of refuge on the day of my distress.
17 (AM)My strength, I will sing praises to You;
For God is my (AN)refuge, the [t]God who shows me favor.
Grieving over Defeat in Battle, and Prayer for Help.
For the music director; according to [u]Shushan Eduth. A [v]Mikhtam of David, to teach; [w]when he fought with Aram-naharaim and Aram-zobah, and Joab returned, and killed twelve thousand of Edom in the Valley of Salt.
60 God, (AO)You have rejected us. You have [x](AP)broken us;
You have been (AQ)angry; (AR)restore us!
2 You have made the [y](AS)land quake, You have split it open;
(AT)Heal its cracks, for it sways.
3 You have [z](AU)made Your people experience hardship;
You have given us [aa]wine to (AV)drink that makes us stagger.
4 You have given a (AW)banner to those who fear You,
That it may be displayed because of the truth. Selah
5 (AX)That Your (AY)beloved may be rescued,
(AZ)Save us with Your right hand, and answer [ab]us!
6 God has spoken in His [ac](BA)holiness:
“I will triumph, I will divide up (BB)Shechem, and measure out the Valley of (BC)Succoth.
7 (BD)Gilead is Mine, and Manasseh is Mine;
(BE)Ephraim also is the [ad]helmet of My head;
Judah is My (BF)scepter.
8 (BG)Moab is My washbowl;
I will throw My sandal over (BH)Edom;
Shout loud, (BI)Philistia, because of Me!”
9 Who will bring me into the besieged city?
Who [ae]will lead me to Edom?
10 Have You Yourself not (BJ)rejected us, God?
And (BK)will You not go out with our armies, God?
11 Oh give us help against the enemy,
For (BL)rescue [af]by man is worthless.
12 [ag]Through God we will (BM)do valiantly,
And it is He who will (BN)trample down our enemies.
The Majesty of the Lord.
93 (A)The Lord [a]reigns, He is (B)clothed with majesty;
The Lord has (C)clothed and encircled Himself with strength.
Indeed, the (D)world is firmly established; it will not be moved.
2 Your (E)throne is established from of old;
You (F)are from eternity.
3 The (G)floods have lifted up, Lord,
The floods have lifted up their voice,
The floods lift up their pounding waves.
4 More than the sounds of many waters,
Than the mighty breakers of the sea,
The Lord (H)on high is mighty.
5 Your (I)testimonies are fully confirmed;
(J)Holiness is pleasing to Your house,
Lord, [b]forevermore.
A Call to Worship the Lord the Righteous Judge.
96 (A)Sing to the Lord a (B)new song;
Sing to the Lord, all the earth.
2 Sing to the Lord, bless His name;
(C)Proclaim the good news of His salvation from day to day.
3 Tell of (D)His glory among the nations,
His wonderful deeds among all the peoples.
4 For (E)great is the Lord, and (F)greatly to be praised;
He is to be (G)feared (H)above all gods.
5 For (I)all the gods of the peoples are [a]idols,
But (J)the Lord made the heavens.
6 (K)Splendor and majesty are before Him,
Strength and beauty are in His sanctuary.
7 [b]Ascribe to the Lord, you (L)families of the peoples,
[c](M)Ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
8 [d]Ascribe to the Lord the (N)glory of His name;
Bring an [e](O)offering and come into His courtyards.
9 (P)Worship the Lord in [f]holy attire;
(Q)Tremble before Him, all the earth.
10 Say among the nations, “(R)The Lord reigns;
Indeed, the (S)world is firmly established, it will not be moved;
He will (T)judge the peoples fairly.”
11 May the (U)heavens be joyful, and may the (V)earth rejoice;
May (W)the sea [g]roar, and [h]all it contains;
12 May the (X)field be jubilant, and all that is in it.
Then all the (Y)trees of the forest will sing for joy
13 Before the Lord, (Z)for He is coming,
For He is coming to judge the earth.
(AA)He will judge the world in righteousness,
And the peoples in His faithfulness.
Obadiah Meets Elijah
18 Now it happened (A)after many days that the word of the Lord came to Elijah in the third year, saying, “Go, present yourself to Ahab, and (B)I will provide rain on the face of the earth.” 2 So Elijah went to present himself to Ahab. Now the famine was severe in Samaria. 3 Ahab summoned Obadiah, (C)who was in charge of the household. (Now Obadiah [a](D)feared the Lord greatly; 4 for (E)when Jezebel killed the prophets of the Lord, Obadiah took a hundred prophets and hid them by fifties in a cave, and (F)provided them with bread and water.) 5 Then Ahab said to Obadiah, “Go through the land to all the springs of water and to all the river valleys; perhaps we will find grass and keep the horses and mules alive, and not have to kill some of the cattle.” 6 So they divided the land between them to [b]survey it; Ahab went one way by himself, and Obadiah went another way by himself.
7 Now as Obadiah was on the way, behold, Elijah met him, (G)and he recognized him and fell on his face and said, “Is it you, Elijah my master?” 8 And he said to him, “It is I. Go, say to your master, ‘Behold, Elijah is here.’” 9 But he said, “What [c]sin have I committed, that you are handing your servant over to Ahab, to put me to death? 10 (H)As surely as the Lord your God lives, there is no nation or kingdom to which my master has not sent word to search for you; and whenever they say, ‘He is not here,’ he makes the kingdom or nation swear that they could not find you. 11 Yet now you are saying, ‘Go, say to your master, “Behold, Elijah is here!”’ 12 And it will come about when I leave you (I)that the Spirit of the Lord will carry you to where I do not know; so when I come and inform Ahab and he cannot find you, he will kill me, though I, your servant, have [d]feared the Lord from my youth. 13 (J)Has it not been reported to my master what I did when Jezebel killed the prophets of the Lord, that I hid a hundred [e]prophets of the Lord by fifties in a cave, and provided them with bread and water? 14 Yet now you are saying, ‘Go, say to your master, “Behold, Elijah is here”’; he will then kill me!” 15 Then Elijah said, “(K)As surely as the Lord of armies lives, before whom I stand, I will certainly present myself to him today.” 16 So Obadiah went to meet Ahab and informed him; then Ahab went to meet Elijah.
17 When Ahab saw Elijah, (L)Ahab said to him, “Is this you, the cause of disaster to Israel?” 18 He said, “I have not brought disaster to Israel, but you and your father’s house have, because (M)you have abandoned the commandments of the Lord and (N)you have followed the Baals. 19 Now then, send orders and gather to me all Israel at (O)Mount Carmel, (P)together with 450 prophets of Baal and four hundred prophets of [f](Q)the Asherah, who eat at Jezebel’s table.”
12 So then, my beloved, (A)just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own (B)salvation with (C)fear and trembling; 13 for it is (D)God who is at work in you, both to [a]desire and to work (E)for His good pleasure.
14 Do all things without (F)complaining or arguments; 15 so that you will [b]prove yourselves to be (G)blameless and innocent, (H)children of God above reproach in the midst of a (I)crooked and perverse generation, among whom you [c](J)appear as [d]lights in the world, 16 holding firmly the word of life, so that on (K)the day of Christ I can take pride because I did not (L)run in vain nor (M)labor in vain. 17 But even if I am being (N)poured out as a drink offering upon (O)the sacrifice and service of your faith, I rejoice and share my joy with you all. 18 You too, I urge you, rejoice in the same way and share your joy with me.
Timothy and Epaphroditus
19 But I hope, [e]in the Lord Jesus, to (P)send (Q)Timothy to you shortly, so that I also may be encouraged when I learn of your condition. 20 For I have no one else (R)of kindred spirit who will genuinely be concerned for your welfare. 21 For they all (S)seek after their own interests, not those of Christ Jesus. 22 But you know (T)of his proven character, that (U)he served with me in the furtherance of the gospel (V)like a child serving his father. 23 (W)Therefore I hope to send him immediately, as soon as I see how things go with me; 24 and (X)I trust in the Lord that I myself will also be coming shortly. 25 But I thought it necessary to send to you (Y)Epaphroditus, my brother and (Z)fellow worker and (AA)fellow soldier, who is also your [f](AB)messenger and (AC)minister to my need, 26 because he was longing [g]for you all and was distressed because you had heard that he was sick. 27 For indeed he was sick to the point of death, but God had mercy on him, and not only on him but also on me, so that I would not have sorrow upon sorrow. 28 Therefore I have sent him all the more eagerly, so that when you see him again you may rejoice and I may be less concerned about you. 29 (AD)Receive him then in the Lord with all joy, and (AE)hold people like him in high regard, 30 because he came close to death [h](AF)for the work of Christ, risking his life to (AG)compensate [i]for your absence in your service to me.
The Escape to Egypt
13 Now when they had gone, behold, an (A)angel of the Lord *(B)appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up! Take the Child and His mother and flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you; for Herod is going to search for the Child to kill Him.”
14 So [a]Joseph got up and took the Child and His mother while it was still night, and left for Egypt. 15 He [b]stayed there until the death of Herod; this happened so that what had been spoken by the Lord through [c]the prophet would be fulfilled: “(C)Out of Egypt I called (D)My Son.”
Herod Slaughters Babies
16 Then when Herod saw that he had been tricked by (E)the magi, he became very enraged, and sent men and (F)killed all the boys who were in Bethlehem and all its vicinity [d]who were two years old or under, according to the time which he had determined from the magi. 17 Then what had been spoken through Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled:
18 “(G)A voice was heard in Ramah,
Weeping and great mourning,
Rachel weeping for her children;
And she refused to be comforted,
Because they were no more.”
19 But when Herod died, behold, an angel of the Lord *(H)appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, and said, 20 “Get up, take the Child and His mother, and go to the land of Israel; for those who sought the Child’s life are dead.” 21 So [e]Joseph got up, took the Child and His mother, and came into the land of Israel. 22 But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Then after being (I)warned by God in a dream, he left for the regions of Galilee, 23 and came and settled in a city called (J)Nazareth. This happened so that what was spoken through the prophets would be fulfilled: “He will be called a (K)Nazarene.”
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