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.
Thanksgiving for the Lord’s Saving Goodness.
118 (A)Give thanks to the Lord, for (B)He is good;
For His mercy is everlasting.
2 Let (C)Israel say,
“His mercy is everlasting.”
3 Oh let the (D)house of Aaron say,
“His mercy is everlasting.”
4 Let those (E)who [a]fear the Lord say,
“His mercy is everlasting.”
5 From my (F)distress I called upon [b]the Lord;
[c]The Lord answered me and (G)put me in an open space.
6 The Lord is (H)for me; I will (I)not fear;
(J)What can man do to me?
7 The Lord is for me (K)among those who help me;
Therefore I will (L)look with satisfaction on those who hate me.
8 It is (M)better to take refuge in the Lord
Than to trust in people.
9 It is (N)better to take refuge in the Lord
Than to trust in noblemen.
10 All nations (O)surrounded me;
In the name of the Lord I will certainly (P)fend them off.
11 They (Q)surrounded me, yes, they surrounded me;
In the name of the Lord I will certainly fend them off.
12 They surrounded me (R)like bees;
They were extinguished like a (S)fire of thorn bushes;
In the name of the Lord I will certainly fend them off.
13 You (T)pushed me violently so that I [d]was falling,
But the Lord (U)helped me.
14 [e](V)The Lord is my strength and song,
And He has become (W)my salvation.
15 The sound of (X)joyful shouting and salvation is in the tents of the righteous;
The (Y)right hand of the Lord performs valiantly.
16 The (Z)right hand of the Lord is exalted;
The right hand of the Lord performs valiantly.
17 I (AA)will not die, but live,
And (AB)tell of the works of [f]the Lord.
18 [g]The Lord has (AC)disciplined me severely,
But He has (AD)not turned me over to death.
19 (AE)Open the gates of righteousness to me;
I will enter through them, I will give thanks to [h]the Lord.
20 This is the gate of the Lord;
The (AF)righteous will enter through it.
21 I will give thanks to You, for You have (AG)answered me,
And You have (AH)become my salvation.
22 A (AI)stone which the builders rejected
Has become the [i]chief cornerstone.
23 This came about from the Lord;
It is marvelous in our eyes.
24 This is the day which the Lord has made;
Let’s (AJ)rejoice and be glad in it.
25 Please, O Lord, (AK)do save us;
Please, O Lord, do send (AL)prosperity!
26 (AM)Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord;
We have (AN)blessed you from the house of the Lord.
27 (AO)The Lord is God, and He has given us (AP)light;
Bind the festival sacrifice [j]to the (AQ)horns of the altar with cords.
28 (AR)You are my God, and I give thanks to You;
You are my God, (AS)I exalt You.
29 (AT)Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good;
For His mercy is everlasting.
15 So Hagar bore a son to Abram; and Abram named his son, to whom Hagar gave birth, Ishmael. 16 Abram was (A)eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to [a]him.
Abraham and the Covenant of Circumcision
17 Now when Abram was ninety-nine years old, (B)the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him,
“I am [b]God (C)Almighty;
Walk before Me, and be [c](D)blameless.
2 I will [d]make My (E)covenant between Me and you,
And I will (F)multiply you exceedingly.”
3 Abram (G)fell on his face, and God talked with him, saying,
4 “As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you,
And you will be the father of a (H)multitude of nations.
5 No longer shall you be named [e]Abram,
But (I)your name shall be [f]Abraham;
For (J)I have made you the father of a multitude of nations.
6 I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make nations of you, and (K)kings will come from you. 7 I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your [g]descendants after you throughout their generations as an (L)everlasting covenant, (M)to be God to you and (N)to your [h]descendants after you. 8 And (O)I will give to you and to your [i]descendants after you the land where you live as a stranger, all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting possession; and (P)I will be their God.”
9 God said further to Abraham, “Now as for you, (Q)you shall keep My covenant, you and your [j]descendants after you throughout their generations. 10 (R)This is My covenant, which you shall keep, between Me and you and your [k]descendants after you: every male among you shall be circumcised. 11 And (S)you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskin, and it shall be the sign of the covenant between Me and you. 12 And every male among you who is (T)eight days old shall be circumcised throughout your generations, including a slave who is born in the house or who is bought with money from any foreigner, who is not of your [l]descendants. 13 A slave who is born in your house or (U)who is bought with your money shall certainly be circumcised; so My covenant shall be in your flesh as an everlasting covenant. 14 But as for an uncircumcised male, one who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, that person shall be (V)cut off from his people; he has broken My covenant.”
One Sacrifice of Christ Is Sufficient
10 For the Law, since it has only (A)a shadow of (B)the good things to come and not the [a]form of those things itself, [b]can (C)never, by the same sacrifices which they offer continually every year, (D)make those who approach perfect. 2 Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, because the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have had (E)consciousness of sins? 3 But (F)in [c]those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year. 4 For it is (G)impossible for the (H)blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. 5 Therefore, (I)when He comes into the world, He says,
“(J)You have not desired sacrifice and offering,
But (K)You have prepared a body for Me;
6 (L)You have not taken pleasure in whole burnt offerings and offerings for sin.
7 (M)Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come
(It is written of Me in (N)the scroll of the book)
To do Your will, O God.’”
8 After saying above, “(O)Sacrifices and offerings and (P)whole burnt offerings and offerings (Q)for sin You have not desired, nor have You taken pleasure in them” (which are offered according to the Law), 9 then He [d]said, “(R)Behold, I have come to do Your will.” He takes away the first in order to establish the second. 10 By [e]this will, we have been (S)sanctified through (T)the offering of (U)the body of Jesus Christ (V)once for all time.
30 “(A)I can do nothing [a]on My own. As I hear, I judge; and (B)My judgment is [b]righteous, because I do not seek My own will but (C)the will of Him who sent Me.
31 “(D)If I alone testify about Myself, My testimony is not [c]true. 32 There is (E)another who testifies about Me, and I know that the testimony which He gives about Me is true.
Testimony of John the Baptist
33 You have sent messengers to John, and he (F)has testified to the truth. 34 But (G)the testimony I receive is not from man, but I say these things so that you may be saved. 35 He was (H)the lamp that was burning and shining, and you (I)were willing to rejoice for [d]a while in his light.
Testimony of Works
36 But the testimony I have is greater than the testimony of John; for (J)the works which the Father has given Me (K)to accomplish—the very works that I do—testify about Me, that the Father (L)has sent Me.
Testimony of the Father
37 And the Father who sent Me, (M)He has testified about Me. You have neither heard His voice at any time, nor seen His form. 38 Also you do not have (N)His word remaining in you, because you do not believe Him whom He (O)sent.
Testimony of the Scripture
39 [e](P)You examine the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is (Q)those very Scriptures that testify about Me; 40 and yet you are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life. 41 (R)I do not receive glory from people; 42 but I know you, that you do not have the love of God in yourselves. 43 I have come in My Father’s name, and you do not [f]receive Me; (S)if another comes in his own name, you will [g]receive him. 44 How can you believe, when you [h](T)accept [i]glory from one another and you do not seek (U)the [j]glory that is from (V)the one and only God? 45 Do not think that I will accuse you before the Father; the one who accuses you is (W)Moses, in whom you have put your hope. 46 For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for (X)he wrote about Me. 47 But (Y)if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?”
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