Book of Common Prayer
God Himself Is Judge
A Psalm of [a]Asaph.
50 (A)The Mighty One, God, Yahweh, has spoken,
And called the earth (B)from the rising of the sun to its setting.
2 Out of Zion, (C)the perfection of beauty,
God (D)has shone forth.
3 May our God (E)come and not be silent;
(F)Fire devours before Him,
And (G)a storm whirls around Him.
4 He (H)calls the heavens above,
And the earth, to render justice to His people:
5 “Gather My (I)holy ones to Me,
Those who have cut a (J)covenant with Me by (K)sacrifice.”
6 And the (L)heavens declare His righteousness,
For (M)God Himself is judge. [b]Selah.
7 “(N)Hear, O My people, and I will speak;
O Israel, I will testify [c]against you;
I am God, (O)your God.
8 I do (P)not reprove you for your sacrifices,
And your burnt offerings are continually before Me.
9 I shall take no (Q)young bull out of your house
Nor male goats out of your folds.
10 For (R)every beast 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, as well as its fullness.
13 Shall I eat the flesh of [e](U)bulls
Or drink the blood of male goats?
14 Offer to God (V)a sacrifice of thanksgiving
And (W)pay your vows to the Most High;
15 (X)Call upon Me in the day of distress;
I shall (Y)rescue you, and you will (Z)glorify Me.”
16 But to the wicked God says,
“What right have you to recount My statutes
And to take (AA)My covenant in your mouth?
17 For you (AB)hate discipline,
And you (AC)cast My words behind you.
18 When you see a thief, you [f](AD)are pleased with him,
And [g]you (AE)associate with adulterers.
19 You [h](AF)let your mouth loose in evil
And you harness your (AG)tongue for 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)reprove you and state the case in order before your eyes.
Deliver Me from My Enemies
For the choir director. [a]Al-tashheth. Of David. A [b]Mikhtam. [c]When Saul sent men and they watched the house in order to put him to death.
59 (A)Deliver me from my enemies, O my God;
[d](B)Set me securely on high away from those who rise up against me.
2 Deliver me from (C)workers of iniquity
And save me from (D)men of bloodshed.
3 For behold, they (E)have lain in wait for my soul;
[e]Fierce men [f](F)launch an attack against me,
(G)Not for my transgression nor for my sin, O Yahweh,
4 [g](H)For no guilt of mine, they run and set themselves against me.
(I)Arouse Yourself to meet me, and see!
5 You, (J)O Yahweh God of hosts, the God of Israel,
Awake to [h](K)punish all the nations;
(L)Do not be gracious to any who are treacherous in [i]iniquity. [j]Selah.
6 They (M)return at evening, they howl like a (N)dog,
And go around the city.
7 Behold, they (O)pour forth speech with their mouth;
(P)Swords are in their lips,
For, they say, “(Q)Who hears?”
8 But You, O Yahweh, (R)laugh at them;
You (S)mock all the nations.
9 Because of [k]his (T)strength I will watch for You,
For God is my (U)stronghold.
10 [l]My God (V)in His lovingkindness will approach me;
God will let me (W)look triumphantly upon [m]my foes.
11 Do not slay them, (X)or my people will forget;
(Y)Make them wander about by Your power, and bring them down,
O Lord, (Z)our shield.
12 [n]On account of the (AA)sin of their mouth and the word of their lips,
Let them even be (AB)caught in their pride,
And on account of (AC)curses and [o]lies which they utter.
13 [p](AD)Destroy them in wrath, [q]destroy them that they may be no more;
That men may (AE)know that God [r]rules in Jacob
To the ends of the earth. Selah.
14 They (AF)return at evening, they howl like a dog,
And go around the city.
15 They (AG)wander about [s]for food
And [t]growl if they are not satisfied.
16 But as for me, I shall (AH)sing of Your strength;
And I shall (AI)joyfully sing of Your lovingkindness in the (AJ)morning,
For You have been my (AK)stronghold
And a (AL)refuge in the day of my distress.
17 (AM)O my strength, I will sing praises to You;
For God is my (AN)stronghold, the [u]God who shows me lovingkindness.
Through God We Shall Do Valiantly
For the choir director. According to [v]Shushan Eduth. A [w]Mikhtam of David. For teaching. [x]When he struggled with Aram-naharaim and with Aram-zobah, and Joab returned, and smote twelve thousand of Edom in the Valley of Salt.
60 O God, (AO)You have rejected us. You have [y](AP)broken us;
You have been (AQ)angry; Oh, (AR)restore us.
2 You have made the [z](AS)land quake, You have split it open;
(AT)Heal its breaches, for it shakes.
3 You have (AU)caused Your people to see hardship;
You have given us [aa]wine to (AV)drink that causes reeling.
4 You have given a (AW)banner to those who fear You,
[ab]In order to flee to it from the bow. [ac]Selah.
5 (AX)That Your (AY)beloved may be rescued,
(AZ)Save with Your right hand, and answer [ad]us!
6 God has spoken in His [ae](BA)holiness:
“I will exult, I will portion out (BB)Shechem and measure out the valley of (BC)Succoth.
7 (BD)Gilead is Mine, and Manasseh is Mine;
(BE)Ephraim also is the [af]helmet of My head;
Judah is My [ag](BF)scepter.
8 (BG)Moab is My washbowl;
Over (BH)Edom I shall throw My shoe;
Make a loud shout, O (BI)Philistia, because of Me!”
9 Who will bring me into the fortified city?
Who [ah]will lead me to Edom?
10 Have You Yourself, O God, not (BJ)rejected us?
And (BK)will You, O God, not go forth with our armies?
11 Oh give us help against the adversary,
For (BL)salvation [ai]by man is worthless.
12 [aj]Through God we shall (BM)do valiantly,
And it is He who will (BN)tread down our adversaries.
Yahweh Is Our Help and Our Shield
33 (A)Sing for joy in Yahweh, O righteous ones;
Praise is (B)becoming to the upright.
2 Give thanks to Yahweh with the (C)lyre;
Sing praises to Him with a (D)harp of ten strings.
3 Sing to Him a (E)new song;
Play skillfully with (F)a loud shout.
4 For the word of Yahweh (G)is upright,
And all His work is done (H)in faithfulness.
5 He (I)loves righteousness and justice;
The (J)earth is full of the lovingkindness of Yahweh.
6 By the (K)word of Yahweh the heavens were made,
And (L)by the breath of His mouth (M)all their host.
7 He gathers the (N)waters of the sea [a]as a heap;
He lays up the deeps in storehouses.
8 Let (O)all the earth fear Yahweh;
Let all the inhabitants of the world (P)stand in awe of Him.
9 For (Q)He spoke, and it was;
He commanded, and it [b]stood.
10 Yahweh (R)nullifies the counsel of the nations;
He frustrates the thoughts of the peoples.
11 The (S)counsel of Yahweh stands forever,
The (T)thoughts of His heart from generation to generation.
12 Blessed is the (U)nation whose God is Yahweh,
The people whom He has (V)chosen for His own inheritance.
13 Yahweh (W)looks from heaven;
He (X)sees all the sons of men;
14 From (Y)the place of His habitation He gazes
On all the inhabitants of the earth,
15 He who (Z)forms [c]the hearts of them all,
He who (AA)understands all their works.
16 (AB)The king is not saved by a mighty army;
A warrior is not delivered by great strength.
17 A (AC)horse is a false hope for salvation;
Nor does it provide escape to anyone by its great strength.
18 Behold, (AD)the eye of Yahweh is on those who fear Him,
On those who (AE)wait for His lovingkindness,
19 To (AF)deliver their soul from death
And to keep them alive (AG)in famine.
20 Our soul (AH)is patient for Yahweh;
He is our (AI)help and our shield.
21 For our (AJ)heart is glad in Him,
Because we trust in His holy name.
22 Let Your lovingkindness, O Yahweh, be upon us,
As we wait for You.
The Golden Lampstand
4 Then (A)the angel who was speaking with me returned and (B)roused me, as a man who is roused from his sleep. 2 And he said to me, “(C)What do you see?” And I said, “I see, and behold, a (D)lampstand all of gold with its bowl on the top of it, and its (E)seven lamps on it with seven spouts belonging to each of the lamps which are on the top of it, 3 also (F)two olive trees by it, one on the right side of the bowl and the other on its left side.” 4 Then I answered and said to the angel who was speaking with me saying, “What are these, (G)my lord?” 5 So (H)the angel who was speaking with me answered and said to me, “(I)Do you not know what these are?” And I said, “No, my lord.” 6 Then he answered and spoke to me, saying, “This is the word of Yahweh to (J)Zerubbabel, saying, ‘(K)Not by [a]might nor by power, but by My (L)Spirit,’ says Yahweh of hosts. 7 ‘What are you, O great (M)mountain? Before Zerubbabel you will become a plain; and he will bring forth the top stone with (N)shouts of “Grace, grace to it!”’”
8 Also the word of Yahweh came to me, saying, 9 “The hands of Zerubbabel have (O)laid the foundation of this house, and his hands will (P)finish it. Then you will know that Yahweh of hosts has sent me to [b]you. 10 For who has despised the day of (Q)small things? [c]But these (R)seven will be glad when they see the [d](S)plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel—these are the (T)eyes of Yahweh which (U)roam to and fro throughout the earth.”
11 Then I answered and said to him, “What are these (V)two olive trees on the right of the lampstand and on its left?” 12 And I answered the second time and said to him, “What are the two olive [e]branches which are beside the two golden pipes, which empty the golden oil from themselves?” 13 So he spoke to me, saying, “(W)Do you not know what these are?” And I said, “No, (X)my lord.” 14 Then he said, “These are the two [f](Y)anointed ones who are (Z)standing by the (AA)Lord of all the earth.”
9 And when the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who (A)sits on the throne, to (B)Him who lives forever and ever, 10 the (C)twenty-four elders will (D)fall down before Him who (E)sits on the throne, and will worship (F)Him who lives forever and ever, and will cast their (G)crowns before the throne, saying,
11 “(H)Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power, for You (I)created all things, and because of Your will they [a]existed, and were created.”
The Scroll and the Lamb
5 Then I saw [b]in the right hand of Him who (J)sits on the throne a (K)scroll written inside and on the back, (L)sealed up with seven seals. 2 Then I saw a (M)strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and to break its seals?” 3 And no one (N)in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it. 4 Then I was crying greatly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it. 5 And one of the elders *said to me, “Stop crying! Behold, the (O)Lion that is (P)from the tribe of Judah, the (Q)Root of David, has overcome so as to open the scroll and its seven seals.”
Parable of Ten Virgins
25 “Then (A)the kingdom of heaven may be compared to ten virgins, who took their (B)lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 2 Now five of them were foolish, and five were (C)prudent. 3 For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, 4 but the (D)prudent took oil in flasks along with their lamps. 5 Now while the bridegroom was delaying, they all got drowsy and began to sleep. 6 But at midnight there was a shout, ‘Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ 7 Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. 8 And the foolish said to the prudent, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ 9 But the (E)prudent answered, saying, ‘No, there will not be enough for us and you too; go instead to the dealers and buy some for yourselves.’ 10 And while they were going away to make the purchase, the bridegroom came, and those who were (F)ready went in with him to (G)the wedding feast; and (H)the door was shut. 11 And later the other virgins also *came, saying, ‘(I)Lord, lord, open up for us.’ 12 But he answered and said, ‘Truly I say to you, I do not know you.’ 13 (J)Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know the day nor the hour.
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