Book of Common Prayer
A psalm of Asaph.
50 The Mighty One, God, the Lord, speaks.
He calls out to the earth
from the sunrise in the east
to the sunset in the west.
2 From Zion, perfect and beautiful,
God’s glory shines out.
3 Our God comes, and he won’t be silent.
A burning fire goes ahead of him.
A terrible storm is all around him.
4 He calls out to heaven and earth to be his witnesses.
Then he judges his people.
5 He says, “Gather this holy people around me.
They made a covenant with me by offering a sacrifice.”
6 The heavens announce that what God decides is right.
That’s because he is a God of justice.
7 God says, “Listen, my people, and I will speak.
I will be a witness against you, Israel.
I am God, your God.
8 I don’t bring charges against you because of your sacrifices.
I don’t bring charges because of the burnt offerings you always bring me.
9 I don’t need a bull from your barn.
I don’t need goats from your pens.
10 Every animal in the forest already belongs to me.
And so do the cattle on a thousand hills.
11 I own every bird in the mountains.
The insects in the fields belong to me.
12 If I were hungry, I wouldn’t tell you.
The world belongs to me. And so does everything in it.
13 Do I eat the meat of bulls?
Do I drink the blood of goats?
14 Bring me thank offerings, because I am your God.
Carry out the promises you made to me, because I am the Most High God.
15 Call out to me when trouble comes.
I will save you. And you will honor me.”
16 But here is what God says to a sinful person.
“What right do you have to speak the words of my laws?
How dare you speak the words of my covenant!
17 You hate my teaching.
You turn your back on what I say.
18 When you see a thief, you join him.
You make friends with those who commit adultery.
19 You use your mouth to speak evil.
You use your tongue to spread lies.
20 You are a witness against your brother.
You always tell lies about your own mother’s son.
21 When you did these things, I kept silent.
So you thought I was just like you.
But now I’m going to bring you to court.
I will bring charges against you.
22 “You who forget God, think about this.
If you don’t, I will tear you to pieces.
No one will be able to save you.
23 People who sacrifice thank offerings to me honor me.
To those who are without blame I will show my power to save.”
For the director of music. A miktam of David when Saul had sent men to watch David’s house. Saul sent the men to kill David. To the tune of “Do Not Destroy.”
59 God, save me from my enemies.
Keep me safe from people who are attacking me.
2 Save me from those who do evil.
Save me from people who want to kill me.
3 See how they hide and wait for me!
Lord, angry people plan to harm me,
even though I haven’t hurt them in any way or sinned against them.
4 I haven’t done anything wrong to them. But they are ready to attack me.
Rise up and help me! Look at what I’m up against!
5 Lord God who rules over all, rise up. God of Israel,
punish all the nations.
Don’t show any mercy to those sinful people
who have turned against me.
6 My enemies are like a pack of barking dogs
that come back to the city in the evening.
They prowl around the city.
7 Listen to what pours out of their mouths.
The words from their lips are like swords.
They think, “Who can hear us?”
8 But you laugh at them, Lord.
You make fun of all those nations.
9 You give me strength. I look to you.
God, you are like a fort to me. 10 You are my God, and I can depend on you.
God will march out in front of me.
He will let me look down on those who tell lies about me.
11 Lord, you are like a shield that keeps us safe.
Don’t kill my enemies all at once.
If you do, my people will forget about it.
Use your power to pull my enemies up by the roots like weeds.
Destroy them.
12 They have sinned with their mouths.
Their lips have spoken evil words.
They have cursed me and lied.
Let them be caught in their pride.
13 Burn them up in your anger.
Burn them up until there isn’t anything left of them.
Then everyone from one end of the earth to the other will know
that God rules over the people of Jacob.
14 My enemies are like a pack of barking dogs
that come back into the city in the evening.
They prowl around the city.
15 They wander around looking for food.
They groan if they don’t find something that will satisfy them.
16 But I will sing about your strength.
In the morning I will sing about your love.
You are like a fort to me.
You keep me safe in times of trouble.
17 You give me strength. I sing praise to you.
God, you are like a fort to me. You are my God, and I can depend on you.
For the director of music. For teaching. A miktam of David when he fought against Aram Naharaim and Aram Zobah. That was when Joab returned and struck down 12,000 people from Edom in the Valley of Salt. To the tune of “The Lily of the Covenant.”
60 God, you have turned away from us. You have attacked us.
You have been angry. Now turn back to us!
2 You have shaken the land and torn it open.
Fix its cracks, because it is falling apart.
3 You have shown your people hard times.
You have made us drink the wine of your anger.
Now we can’t even walk straight.
4 But you lead into battle those who have respect for you.
You give them a flag to wave against the enemy’s weapons.
5 Save us and help us by your power.
Do this so that those you love may be saved.
6 God has spoken from his temple.
He has said, “I will win the battle.
Then I will divide up the land around Shechem.
I will divide up the Valley of Sukkoth.
7 Gilead belongs to me.
So does the land of Manasseh.
Ephraim is the strongest tribe.
It is like a helmet for my head.
Judah is the royal tribe.
It is like a ruler’s scepter.
8 Moab serves me like one who washes my feet.
I toss my sandal on Edom to show that I own it.
I shout to Philistia that I have won the battle.”
9 Who will bring me to the city that has high walls around it?
Who will lead me to the land of Edom?
10 God, isn’t it you, even though you have now turned away from us?
Isn’t it you, even though you don’t lead our armies into battle anymore?
11 Help us against our enemies.
The help people give doesn’t amount to anything.
12 With your help we will win the battle.
You will walk all over our enemies.
33 You who are godly, sing with joy to the Lord.
It is right for honest people to praise him.
2 With the harp, praise the Lord.
With the lyre that has ten strings, make music to him.
3 Sing a new song to him.
Play with skill, and shout with joy.
4 What the Lord says is right and true.
He is faithful in everything he does.
5 The Lord loves what is right and fair.
The earth is full of his faithful love.
6 The heavens were made when the Lord commanded it to happen.
All the stars were created by the breath of his mouth.
7 He gathers together the waters of the sea.
He puts the oceans in their places.
8 Let the whole earth have respect for the Lord.
Let all the people in the world honor him.
9 He spoke, and the world came into being.
He commanded, and it stood firm.
10 The Lord blocks the sinful plans of the nations.
He keeps them from doing what they want to do.
11 But the plans of the Lord stand firm forever.
What he wants to do will last for all time.
12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord.
Blessed are the people he chose to be his own.
13 From heaven the Lord looks down
and sees everyone.
14 From his throne he watches
all those who live on the earth.
15 He creates the hearts of all people.
He is aware of everything they do.
16 A king isn’t saved just because his army is big.
A soldier doesn’t escape just because he is very strong.
17 People can’t trust a horse to save them either.
Though it is very strong, it can’t save them.
18 But the Lord looks with favor on those who respect him.
He watches over those who put their hope in his faithful love.
19 He watches over them to save them from death.
He wants to keep them alive when there is no food in the land.
20 We wait in hope for the Lord.
He helps us. He is like a shield that keeps us safe.
21 Our hearts are full of joy because of him.
We trust in him, because he is holy.
22 Lord, may your faithful love be with us.
We put our hope in you.
Nehemiah Prays to the Lord
1 These are the words of Nehemiah. He was the son of Hakaliah.
I was in the fort of Susa. I was there in the 20th year that Artaxerxes was king. It was in the month of Kislev. 2 At that time Hanani came from Judah with some other men. He was one of my brothers. I asked him and the other men about the Jews who were left alive in Judah. They had returned from Babylon. I also asked him about Jerusalem.
3 He and the men with him said to me, “Some of the people who returned are still alive. They are back in the land of Judah. But they are having a hard time. They are ashamed. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down. Its gates have been burned with fire.”
4 When I heard about these things, I sat down and wept. For several days I was very sad. I didn’t eat any food. And I prayed to the God of heaven. 5 I said,
“Lord, you are the God of heaven. You are a great and wonderful God. You keep the covenant you made with those who love you and obey your commandments. You show them your love. 6 Please pay careful attention to my prayer. See how your people are suffering. Please listen to me. I’m praying to you day and night. I’m praying for the people of Israel. We Israelites have committed sins against you. All of us admit it. I and my family have also sinned against you. 7 We’ve done some very evil things. We haven’t obeyed the commands, rules and laws you gave your servant Moses.
8 “Remember what you told him. You said, ‘If you people are not faithful, I will scatter you among the nations. 9 But if you return to me, I will bring you back. If you obey my commands, I will gather you together again. I will bring you back from the farthest places on earth. I will bring you to the special place where I have chosen to put my Name.’
10 “Lord, they are your people. They serve you. You used your great strength and mighty hand to set them free from Egypt. 11 Lord, please pay careful attention to my prayer. Listen to the prayers of all of us. We take delight in bringing honor to your name. Give me success today when I bring my request to King Artaxerxes.”
I was the king’s wine taster.
11 Then I looked and heard the voice of millions and millions of angels. They surrounded the throne. They surrounded the living creatures and the elders. 12 In a loud voice they were saying,
“The Lamb, who was put to death, is worthy!
He is worthy to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength!
He is worthy to receive honor and glory and praise!”
13 All creatures in heaven, on earth, under the earth, and on the sea were speaking. The whole creation was speaking. I heard all of them say,
“Praise and honor belong
to the one who sits on the throne and to the Lamb!
Glory and power belong to God for ever and ever!”
14 The four living creatures said, “Amen.” And the elders fell down and worshiped.
The Seals of the Scroll Are Broken
6 I watched as the Lamb broke open the first of the seven seals. Then I heard one of the four living creatures say in a voice that sounded like thunder, “Come!” 2 I looked, and there in front of me was a white horse! Its rider held a bow in his hands. He was given a crown. He rode out like a hero on his way to victory.
3 The Lamb broke open the second seal. Then I heard the second living creature say, “Come!” 4 Another horse came out. It was red like fire. Its rider was given power to take peace from the earth. He was given power to make people kill each other. He was given a large sword.
5 The Lamb broke open the third seal. Then I heard the third living creature say, “Come!” I looked, and there in front of me was a black horse! Its rider was holding a pair of scales in his hand. 6 Next, I heard what sounded like a voice coming from among the four living creatures. It said, “Two pounds of wheat for a day’s pay. And six pounds of barley for a day’s pay. And leave the olive oil and the wine alone!”
7 The Lamb broke open the fourth seal. Then I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, “Come!” 8 I looked, and there in front of me was a pale horse! Its rider’s name was Death. Following close behind him was Hell. They were given power over a fourth of the earth. They were given power to kill people by swords. They could also use hunger, sickness and the earth’s wild animals to kill.
9 The Lamb broke open the fifth seal. I saw souls under the altar. They were the souls of people who had been killed. They had been killed because of God’s word and their faithful witness. 10 They called out in a loud voice. “How long, Lord and King, holy and true?” they asked. “How long will you wait to judge those who live on the earth? How long will it be until you pay them back for killing us?” 11 Then each of them was given a white robe. “Wait a little longer,” they were told. “There are still more of your believing brothers and sisters who will be killed. They will be killed just as you were.”
18 “Listen! Here is the meaning of the story of the farmer. 19 People hear the message about the kingdom but do not understand it. Then the evil one comes. He steals what was planted in their hearts. Those people are like the seed planted on a path. 20 The seed that fell on rocky places is like other people. They hear the message and at once receive it with joy. 21 But they have no roots. So they last only a short time. They quickly fall away from the faith when trouble or suffering comes because of the message. 22 The seed that fell among the thorns is like others who hear the message. But then the worries of this life and the false promises of wealth crowd it out. They keep the message from producing fruit. 23 But the seed that fell on good soil is like those who hear the message and understand it. They produce a crop 100, 60 or 30 times more than the farmer planted.”
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