Book of Common Prayer
Thanksgiving for God’s Righteous Judgment
To the Chief Musician. Set to (A)“Do[a] Not Destroy.” A Psalm of Asaph. A Song.
75 We give thanks to You, O God, we give thanks!
For Your wondrous works declare that Your name is near.
2 “When I choose the [b]proper time,
I will judge uprightly.
3 The earth and all its inhabitants are dissolved;
I set up its pillars firmly. Selah
4 “I said to the boastful, ‘Do not deal boastfully,’
And to the wicked, (B)‘Do not [c]lift up the horn.
5 Do not lift up your horn on high;
Do not speak with [d]a stiff neck.’ ”
6 For exaltation comes neither from the east
Nor from the west nor from the south.
7 But (C)God is the Judge:
(D)He puts down one,
And exalts another.
8 For (E)in the hand of the Lord there is a cup,
And the wine is red;
It is fully mixed, and He pours it out;
Surely its dregs shall all the wicked of the earth
Drain and drink down.
9 But I will declare forever,
I will sing praises to the God of Jacob.
10 “All(F) the [e]horns of the wicked I will also cut off,
But (G)the horns of the righteous shall be (H)exalted.”
The Majesty of God in Judgment
To the Chief Musician. On [f]stringed instruments. A Psalm of Asaph. A Song.
76 In (I)Judah God is known;
His name is great in Israel.
2 In [g]Salem also is His tabernacle,
And His dwelling place in Zion.
3 There He broke the arrows of the bow,
The shield and sword of battle. Selah
4 You are more glorious and excellent
(J)Than the mountains of prey.
5 (K)The stouthearted were plundered;
(L)They [h]have sunk into their sleep;
And none of the mighty men have found the use of their hands.
6 (M)At Your rebuke, O God of Jacob,
Both the chariot and horse were cast into a dead sleep.
7 You, Yourself, are to be feared;
And (N)who may stand in Your presence
When once You are angry?
8 (O)You caused judgment to be heard from heaven;
(P)The earth feared and was still,
9 When God (Q)arose to judgment,
To deliver all the oppressed of the earth. Selah
10 (R)Surely the wrath of man shall praise You;
With the remainder of wrath You shall gird Yourself.
The Lord the Shepherd of His People
A Psalm of David.
23 The Lord is (A)my shepherd;
(B)I shall not [a]want.
2 (C)He makes me to lie down in [b]green pastures;
(D)He leads me beside the [c]still waters.
3 He restores my soul;
(E)He leads me in the paths of righteousness
For His name’s sake.
An Exuberant Declaration of Faith
A Psalm of David.
27 The Lord is my (A)light and my salvation;
Whom shall I fear?
The (B)Lord is the strength of my life;
Of whom shall I be afraid?
2 When the wicked came against me
To (C)eat[a] up my flesh,
My enemies and foes,
They stumbled and fell.
3 (D)Though an army may encamp against me,
My heart shall not fear;
Though war may rise against me,
In this I will be confident.
4 (E)One thing I have desired of the Lord,
That will I seek:
That I may (F)dwell in the house of the Lord
All the days of my life,
To behold the [b]beauty of the Lord,
And to inquire in His temple.
5 For (G)in the time of trouble
He shall hide me in His pavilion;
In the secret place of His tabernacle
He shall hide me;
He shall (H)set me high upon a rock.
6 And now (I)my head shall be [c]lifted up above my enemies all around me;
Therefore I will offer sacrifices of [d]joy in His tabernacle;
I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the Lord.
7 Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice!
Have mercy also upon me, and answer me.
8 When You said, “Seek My face,”
My heart said to You, “Your face, Lord, I will seek.”
9 (J)Do not hide Your face from me;
Do not turn Your servant away in anger;
You have been my help;
Do not leave me nor forsake me,
O God of my salvation.
10 (K)When my father and my mother forsake me,
Then the Lord will take care of me.
11 (L)Teach me Your way, O Lord,
And lead me in a smooth path, because of my enemies.
12 Do not deliver me to the will of my adversaries;
For (M)false witnesses have risen against me,
And such as breathe out violence.
13 I would have lost heart, unless I had believed
That I would see the goodness of the Lord
(N)In the land of the living.
Intermarriage with Pagans
9 When these things were done, the leaders came to me, saying, “The people of Israel and the priests and the Levites have not (A)separated themselves from the peoples of the lands, (B)with respect to the abominations of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites. 2 For they have (C)taken some of their daughters as wives for themselves and their sons, so that the (D)holy seed is (E)mixed with the peoples of those lands. Indeed, the hand of the leaders and rulers has been foremost in this [a]trespass.” 3 So when I heard this thing, (F)I tore my garment and my robe, and plucked out some of the hair of my head and beard, and sat down (G)astonished. 4 Then everyone who (H)trembled at the words of the God of Israel assembled to me, because of the transgression of those who had been carried away captive, and I sat astonished until the (I)evening sacrifice.
5 At the evening sacrifice I arose from my fasting; and having torn my garment and my robe, I fell on my knees and (J)spread out my hands to the Lord my God. 6 And I said: “O my God, I am too (K)ashamed and humiliated to lift up my face to You, my God; for (L)our iniquities have risen higher than our heads, and our guilt has (M)grown up to the heavens. 7 Since the days of our fathers to this day (N)we have been very guilty, and for our iniquities (O)we, our kings, and our priests have been delivered into the hand of the kings of the lands, to the (P)sword, to captivity, to plunder, and to (Q)humiliation,[b] as it is this day. 8 And now for a little while grace has been shown from the Lord our God, to leave us a remnant to escape, and to give us a peg in His holy place, that our God may (R)enlighten our eyes and give us a measure of revival in our bondage. 9 (S)For we were slaves. (T)Yet our God did not forsake us in our bondage; but (U)He extended mercy to us in the sight of the kings of Persia, to revive us, to repair the house of our God, to rebuild its ruins, and to give us (V)a wall in Judah and Jerusalem. 10 And now, O our God, what shall we say after this? For we have forsaken Your commandments, 11 which You commanded by Your servants the prophets, saying, ‘The land which you are entering to possess is an unclean land, with the (W)uncleanness of the peoples of the lands, with their abominations which have filled it from one end to another with their impurity. 12 Now therefore, (X)do not give your daughters as wives for their sons, nor take their daughters to your sons; and (Y)never seek their peace or prosperity, that you may be strong and eat the good of the land, and (Z)leave it as an inheritance to your children forever.’ 13 And after all that has come upon us for our evil deeds and for our great guilt, since You our God (AA)have punished us less than our iniquities deserve, and have given us such deliverance as this, 14 should we (AB)again break Your commandments, and (AC)join in marriage with the people committing these abominations? Would You not be (AD)angry with us until You had [c]consumed us, so that there would be no remnant or survivor? 15 O Lord God of Israel, (AE)You are righteous, for we are left as a remnant, as it is this day. (AF)Here we are before You, (AG)in our guilt, though no one can stand before You because of this!”
The Scarlet Woman and the Scarlet Beast
17 Then (A)one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and talked with me, saying [a]to me, “Come, (B)I will show you the judgment of (C)the great harlot (D)who sits on many waters, 2 (E)with whom the kings of the earth committed fornication, and (F)the inhabitants of the earth were made drunk with the wine of her fornication.”
3 So he carried me away in the Spirit (G)into the wilderness. And I saw a woman sitting (H)on a scarlet beast which was full of (I)names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. 4 The woman (J)was arrayed in purple and scarlet, (K)and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, (L)having in her hand a golden cup (M)full of abominations and the filthiness of [b]her fornication. 5 And on her forehead a name was written:
(N)MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT,
THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS
AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS
OF THE EARTH.
6 I saw (O)the woman, drunk (P)with the blood of the saints and with the blood of (Q)the martyrs of Jesus. And when I saw her, I marveled with great amazement.
The Meaning of the Woman and the Beast
7 But the angel said to me, “Why did you marvel? I will tell you the [c]mystery of the woman and of the beast that carries her, which has the seven heads and the ten horns. 8 The beast that you saw was, and is not, and (R)will ascend out of the bottomless pit and (S)go to [d]perdition. And those who (T)dwell on the earth (U)will marvel, (V)whose names are not written in the Book of Life from the foundation of the world, when they see the beast that was, and is not, and [e]yet is.
9 (W)“Here is the mind which has wisdom: (X)The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits. 10 There are also seven kings. Five have fallen, one is, and the other has not yet come. And when he comes, he must (Y)continue a short time. 11 The (Z)beast that was, and is not, is himself also the eighth, and is of the seven, and is going to [f]perdition.
12 (AA)“The ten horns which you saw are ten kings who have received no kingdom as yet, but they receive authority for one hour as kings with the beast. 13 These are of one mind, and they will give their power and authority to the beast. 14 (AB)These will make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will (AC)overcome them, (AD)for He is Lord of lords and King of kings; (AE)and those who are with Him are called, chosen, and faithful.”
Jesus Walks on the Sea(A)
22 Immediately Jesus [a]made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, while He sent the multitudes away. 23 (B)And when He had sent the multitudes away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. (C)Now when evening came, He was alone there. 24 But the boat was now [b]in the middle of the sea, tossed by the waves, for the wind was contrary.
25 Now in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them, walking on the sea. 26 And when the disciples saw Him (D)walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out for fear.
27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, [c]“Be of good (E)cheer! [d]It is I; do not be afraid.”
28 And Peter answered Him and said, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.”
29 So He said, “Come.” And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. 30 But when he saw [e]that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, “Lord, save me!”
31 And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, “O you of (F)little faith, why did you doubt?” 32 And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased.
33 Then those who were in the boat [f]came and worshiped Him, saying, “Truly (G)You are the Son of God.”
Many Touch Him and Are Made Well(H)
34 (I)When they had crossed over, they came [g]to the land of Gennesaret. 35 And when the men of that place recognized Him, they sent out into all that surrounding region, brought to Him all who were sick, 36 and begged Him that they might only (J)touch the hem of His garment. And (K)as many as touched it were made perfectly well.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.