Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 50
God as Judge
A psalm of Asaph.(A)
1 The Mighty One, God,[a] the Lord, speaks;
he summons the earth
from the rising of the sun to its setting.(B)
2 From Zion, the perfection of beauty,
God appears in radiance.[b](C)
3 Our God is coming; he will not be silent!
Devouring fire precedes him,
and a storm rages around him.(D)
4 On high, he summons heaven and earth
in order to judge his people:(E)
5 “Gather my faithful ones to me,
those who made a covenant with me by sacrifice.”(F)
6 The heavens proclaim his righteousness,(G)
for God is the Judge.(H)Selah
7 “Listen, my people, and I will speak;
I will testify against you, Israel.
I am God, your God.(I)
8 I do not rebuke you for your sacrifices
or for your burnt offerings,
which are continually before me.(J)
9 I will not take a bull from your household
or male goats from your pens,(K)
10 for every animal of the forest is mine,
the cattle on a thousand hills.
11 I know every bird of the mountains,
and the creatures of the field are mine.(L)
12 If I were hungry, I would not tell you,
for the world and everything in it is mine.(M)
13 Do I eat the flesh of bulls
or drink the blood of goats?(N)
14 Offer a thanksgiving sacrifice to God,(O)
and pay your vows to the Most High.(P)
15 Call on me in a day of trouble;
I will rescue you, and you will honor me.”(Q)
16 But God says to the wicked:
“What right do you have to recite my statutes
and to take my covenant on your lips?(R)
17 You hate instruction
and fling my words behind you.(S)
18 When you see a thief,
you make friends with him,
and you associate with adulterers.(T)
19 You unleash your mouth for evil
and harness your tongue for deceit.(U)
20 You sit, maligning your brother,
slandering your mother’s son.(V)
21 You have done these things, and I kept silent;
you thought I was just like you.(W)
But I will rebuke you
and lay out the case before you.[c](X)
Psalm 59
God Our Stronghold
For the choir director: “Do Not Destroy.” A Miktam of David. When Saul sent agents to watch the house and kill him.(A)
1 Rescue me from my enemies, my God;(B)
protect me from those who rise up against me.(C)
2 Rescue me from evildoers,
and save me from men of bloodshed.(D)
3 Because look, Lord, they set an ambush for me.(E)
Powerful men attack me,
but not because of any sin or rebellion of mine.(F)
4 For no fault of mine,
they run and take up a position.
Awake to help me, and take notice.(G)
5 Lord God of Armies, you are the God of Israel.
Rise up to punish all the nations;
do not show favor to any wicked traitors.(H)Selah
6 They return at evening, snarling like dogs
and prowling around the city.(I)
7 Look, they spew from their mouths—
sharp words from[a] their lips.(J)
“For who,” they say, “will hear?” (K)
8 But you laugh at them, Lord;
you ridicule all the nations.(L)
9 I will keep watch for you, my[b] strength,
because God is my stronghold.(M)
10 My faithful God[c] will come to meet me;
God will let me look down on my adversaries.(N)
11 Do not kill them; otherwise, my people will forget.
By your power, make them homeless wanderers(O)
and bring them down,
Lord, our shield.(P)
12 For the sin of their mouths and the words of their lips,
let them be caught in their pride.
They utter curses and lies.(Q)
13 Consume them in fury;
consume them until they are gone.(R)
Then people will know throughout[d] the earth
that God rules over Jacob.(S)Selah
14 And they return at evening, snarling like dogs
and prowling around the city.(T)
15 They scavenge for food;
they growl if they are not satisfied.(U)
16 But I will sing of your strength
and will joyfully proclaim
your faithful love in the morning.(V)
For you have been a stronghold for me,
a refuge in my day of trouble.(W)
17 To you, my strength, I sing praises,
because God is my stronghold—
my faithful God.(X)
Psalm 60
Prayer in Difficult Times
For the choir director: according to “The Lily of Testimony.”(Y) A Miktam of David for teaching. When he fought with Aram-naharaim and Aram-zobah, and Joab returned and struck Edom in Salt Valley, killing twelve thousand.(Z)
1 God, you have rejected us;
you have broken us down;
you have been angry. Restore us
2 You have shaken the land and split it open.
Heal its fissures, for it shudders.(AB)
3 You have made your people suffer hardship;
you have given us wine to drink
that made us stagger.(AC)
4 You have given a signal flag to those who fear you,
so that they can flee before the archers.[f](AD)Selah
5 Save with your right hand, and answer me,
so that those you love may be rescued.(AE)
6 God has spoken in his sanctuary:[g]
“I will celebrate!
I will divide up Shechem.(AF)
I will apportion the Valley of Succoth.(AG)
7 Gilead is mine, Manasseh is mine,
and Ephraim is my helmet;(AH)
Judah is my scepter.(AI)
8 Moab is my washbasin.(AJ)
I throw my sandal on Edom;(AK)
I shout in triumph over Philistia.”(AL)
Psalm 33
Praise to the Creator
1 Rejoice in the Lord, you righteous ones;
praise from the upright is beautiful.(A)
2 Praise the Lord with the lyre;
make music to him with a ten-stringed harp.(B)
3 Sing a new song to him;(C)
play skillfully on the strings, with a joyful shout.(D)
4 For the word of the Lord is right,
and all his work is trustworthy.(E)
5 He loves righteousness and justice;(F)
the earth is full of the Lord’s unfailing love.(G)
6 The heavens were made by the word of the Lord,(H)
and all the stars, by the breath of his mouth.(I)
7 He gathers the water of the sea into a heap;[a]
he puts the depths into storehouses.(J)
8 Let the whole earth fear the Lord;
let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him.(K)
9 For he spoke, and it came into being;
he commanded, and it came into existence.(L)
10 The Lord frustrates the counsel of the nations;
he thwarts the plans of the peoples.(M)
11 The counsel of the Lord stands forever,
the plans of his heart from generation to generation.(N)
12 Happy is the nation whose God is the Lord—
the people he has chosen to be his own possession!(O)
13 The Lord looks down from heaven;
he observes everyone.(P)
14 He gazes on all the inhabitants of the earth
from his dwelling place.(Q)
15 He forms the hearts of them all;
he considers all their works.(R)
16 A king is not saved by a large army;
a warrior will not be rescued by great strength.(S)
17 The horse is a false hope for safety;
it provides no escape by its great power.(T)
Fifth Vision: Gold Lampstand
4 The angel who was speaking with me then returned and roused me as one awakened out of sleep. 2 He asked me, “What do you see?”
I replied, “I see a solid gold lampstand with a bowl at the top. The lampstand also has seven lamps at the top with seven spouts for each of[a] the lamps. 3 There are also two olive trees beside it, one on the right of the bowl and the other on its left.”
4 Then I asked the angel who was speaking with me, “What are these, my lord?”
5 “Don’t you know what they are?” replied the angel who was speaking with me.
I said, “No, my lord.”
6 So he answered me, “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by strength or by might, but by my Spirit,’(A) says the Lord of Armies. 7 ‘What are you, great mountain?(B) Before Zerubbabel you will become a plain.(C) And he will bring out the capstone accompanied by shouts of: Grace, grace to it!’”
8 Then the word of the Lord came to me:(D) 9 “Zerubbabel’s hands have laid the foundation of this house,(E) and his hands will complete it. Then you will know that the Lord of Armies has sent me to you. 10 For who despises the day of small things?(F) These seven eyes of the Lord, which scan throughout the whole earth, will rejoice when they see the ceremonial stone[b] in Zerubbabel’s hand.”(G)
11 I asked him, “What are the two olive trees on the right and left of the lampstand?” 12 And I questioned him further, “What are the two streams[c] of the olive trees, from which the golden oil is pouring through the two golden conduits?”
13 Then he inquired of me, “Don’t you know what these are?”
“No, my lord,” I replied.
14 “These are the two anointed ones,”[d](H) he said, “who stand by the Lord of the whole earth.”(I)
9 Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor, and thanks to the one seated on the throne, the one who lives forever and ever,(A) 10 the twenty-four elders fall down before the one seated on the throne(B) and worship the one who lives forever and ever. They cast their crowns before the throne and say,
11 Our Lord and God,[a]
you are worthy(C) to receive
glory and honor and power,(D)
because you have created all things,(E)
and by your will
they exist and were created.
The Lamb Takes the Scroll
5 Then I saw in the right hand of the one seated on the throne a scroll with writing on both sides, sealed with seven seals.(F) 2 I also saw a mighty angel(G) proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?” 3 But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or even to look in it. 4 I wept and wept because no one was found worthy to open[b] the scroll or even to look in it. 5 Then one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep. Look, the Lion from the tribe of Judah,(H) the Root of David,(I) has conquered(J) so that he is able to open the scroll and[c] its seven seals.”
The Parable of the Ten Virgins
25 “At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins[a] who took their lamps[b] and went out to meet the groom.(A) 2 Five of them were foolish and five were wise.(B) 3 When the foolish took their lamps, they didn’t take oil with them; 4 but the wise ones took oil in their flasks with their lamps. 5 When the groom was delayed, they all became drowsy and fell asleep.
6 “In the middle of the night there was a shout: ‘Here’s the groom! Come out to meet him.’
7 “Then all the virgins got up and trimmed their lamps. 8 The foolish ones said to the wise ones, ‘Give us some of your oil, because our lamps are going out.’
9 “The wise ones answered, ‘No, there won’t be enough for us and for you. Go instead to those who sell oil, and buy some for yourselves.’
10 “When they had gone to buy some, the groom arrived, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet, and the door was shut.(C) 11 Later the rest of the virgins also came and said, ‘Master, master, open up for us!’
12 “He replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I don’t know you!’
13 “Therefore be alert, because you don’t know either the day or the hour.[c]
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