Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 50
A psalm of Asaph.
50 From the rising of the sun to where it sets,
God, the Lord God, speaks,
calling out to the earth.
2 From Zion, perfect in beauty,
God shines brightly.
3 Our God is coming;
he won’t keep quiet.
A devouring fire is before him;
a storm rages all around him.
4 God calls out to the skies above
and to the earth in order to judge his people:
5 “Bring my faithful to me,
those who made a covenant with me by sacrifice.”
6 The skies proclaim his righteousness
because God himself is the judge. Selah
7 “Listen, my people, I will now speak;
Israel, I will now testify against you.
I am God—your God!
8 I’m not punishing you for your sacrifices
or for your entirely burned offerings,
which are always before me.
9 I won’t accept bulls from your house
or goats from your corrals
10 because every forest animal already belongs to me,
as do the cattle on a thousand hills.
11 I know every mountain bird;
even the insects in the fields are mine.
12 Even if I were hungry, I wouldn’t tell you
because the whole world and everything in it already belong to me.
13 Do I eat bulls’ meat?
Do I drink goats’ blood?
14 Offer God a sacrifice of thanksgiving!
Fulfill the promises you made to the Most High!
15 Cry out to me whenever you are in trouble;
I will deliver you, then you will honor me.”
16 But to the wicked God says,
“Why do you talk about my laws?
Why do you even mention my covenant?
17 You hate discipline, and
you toss my words behind your back.
18 You make friends with thieves whenever you see one;
you spend your time with adulterers.
19 You set your mouth free to do evil,
then harness your tongue to tell lies.
20 You sit around, talking about your own siblings;
you find fault with the children of your very own mother.
21 You’ve done these things and I’ve kept quiet.
You thought I was just like you!
But now I’m punishing you;
I’m laying it all out, right in front of your face.
22 So consider this carefully, all you who forget God,
or I’ll rip you to pieces with no one to deliver you:
23 The one who offers a sacrifice of thanksgiving is the one who honors me.
And it is to the one who charts the correct path that I will show divine salvation.”
Psalm 59
For the music leader. Do not destroy. A miktam[a] of David, when Saul sent men to watch the house in order to kill him.
59 Oh, my God, deliver me from my enemies;
put me out of reach from those who rise up against me.
2 Deliver me from evildoers;
save me from the bloodthirsty.
3 Look at how they lie in ambush for my life!
Powerful people are attacking me, Lord—
but not because of any error or sin of mine.
4 They run and take their stand—
but not because of any fault of mine.
Get up when I cry out to you!
Look at what’s happening!
5 You are the Lord God of heavenly forces,
the God of Israel!
Wake up and punish all the nations!
Grant no mercy to any wicked traitor! Selah
6 They come back every evening,
growling like dogs,
prowling around the city.
7 See what they belch out with their mouths:
swords are between their lips!
Who can listen to them?[b]
8 But you, Lord, laugh at them.
You mock all the nations.
9 I keep looking for you, my strength,
because God is my stronghold.
10 My loving God will come to meet me.
God will allow me to look down on my enemies.
11 Don’t kill them, or my people might forget;
instead, by your power
shake them up and bring them down,
you who are our shield and my Lord.
12 For the sin of their mouths,
the words that they speak,
let them be captured in their pride.
For the curses and lies they repeat,
13 finish them off in anger;
finish them off until they are gone!
Then let it be known to the ends of the earth
that God rules over Jacob. Selah
14 They come back every evening,
growling like dogs,
prowling around the city.
15 They roam about for food,
and if they don’t get their fill,
they stay all night.
16 But me? I will sing of your strength!
In the morning I will shout out loud
about your faithful love
because you have been my stronghold,
my shelter when I was distraught.
17 I will sing praises to you, my strength,
because God is my stronghold,
my loving God.
Psalm 60
For the music leader. According to “Lily.” A testimony. A miktam[c] of David. For instruction, when he went to war with Aram-naharaim and Aram-sobah, and when Joab returned and defeated Edom, killing twelve thousand in the Salt Valley.
60 God, you have rejected us—
shattered us.
You’ve been so angry.
Now restore us!
2 You’ve made the ground quake,
splitting it open.
Now repair its cracks
because it’s shaking apart!
3 You’ve made your people suffer hardship;
you’ve given us wine and we stagger.
4 Give a flag to those who honor you,
so they can rally around it,
safe from attack.[d] Selah
5 Save us by your power and answer us
so that the people you love might be rescued.
6 God has spoken in his sanctuary:
“I will celebrate as I divide up Shechem
and portion out the Succoth Valley.
7 Gilead is mine;
Manasseh is mine;
Ephraim is my helmet;
Judah is my scepter.
8 But Moab is my washbowl;
I’ll throw my shoe at Edom.
I shout in triumph over Philistia![e]
9 I wish someone would bring me to a fortified city!
I wish someone would lead me to Edom!”
10 But you have rejected us, God, haven’t you?
God, you no longer accompany our armies.
11 Give us help against the enemy;
human help is worthless.
12 With God we will triumph;
he’s the one who will trample our adversaries.
Psalm 66
For the music leader. A song. A psalm.
66 Shout joyfully to God, all the earth!
2 Sing praises to the glory of God’s name!
Make glorious his praise!
3 Say to God:
“How awesome are your works!
Because of your great strength,
your enemies cringe before you.
4 All the earth worships you,
sings praises to you,
sings praises to your name!” Selah
5 Come and see God’s deeds;
his works for human beings are awesome:
6 He turned the sea into dry land
so they could cross the river on foot.
Right there we rejoiced in him!
7 God rules with power forever;
keeps a good eye on the nations.
So don’t let the rebellious exalt themselves. Selah
8 All you nations, bless our God!
Let the sound of his praise be heard!
9 God preserved us among the living;
he didn’t let our feet slip a bit.
10 But you, God, have tested us—
you’ve refined us like silver,
11 trapped us in a net,
laid burdens on our backs,
12 let other people run right over our heads—
we’ve been through fire and water.
But you brought us out to freedom!
13 So I’ll enter your house
with entirely burned offerings.
I’ll keep the promises I made to you,
14 the ones my lips uttered,
the ones my mouth spoke when I was in deep trouble.
15 I will offer the best burned offerings to you
along with the smoke of sacrificed rams.
I will offer both bulls and goats. Selah
16 Come close and listen,
all you who honor God;
I will tell you what God has done for me:
17 My mouth cried out to him
with praise on my tongue.
18 If I had cherished evil in my heart,
my Lord would not have listened.
19 But God definitely listened.
He heard the sound of my prayer.
20 Bless God! He didn’t reject my prayer;
he didn’t withhold his faithful love from me.
Psalm 67
For the music leader, with stringed instruments. A psalm. A song.
67 Let God grant us grace and bless us;
let God make his face shine on us, Selah
2 so that your way becomes known on earth,
so that your salvation becomes known among all the nations.
3 Let the people thank you, God!
Let all the people thank you!
4 Let the people celebrate
and shout with joy
because you judge the nations fairly
and guide all nations on the earth. Selah
5 Let the people thank you, God!
Let all the people thank you!
6 The earth has yielded its harvest.
God blesses us—our God blesses us!
7 Let God continue to bless us;
let the far ends of the earth honor him.
3 In contrast, when the population of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai, 4 they acted cleverly. They set out pretending to be messengers.[a] They took worn-out sacks for their donkeys and worn-out wineskins that were split and mended. 5 They had worn-out, patched sandals on their feet and were wearing worn-out clothes. All the bread in their supplies was dry and crumbly.
6 They went to Joshua at the camp at Gilgal. They said to him and to Israel, “We have come from a distant country. So now, make a treaty with us.”
7 Israel said to the Hivites, “Perhaps you live among us. How then could we make a treaty with you?”
8 Then they said to Joshua, “We are your servants.”
Joshua said to them, “Who are you? Where have you come from?”
9 They said to him, “Your servants have come from a very distant country because of the reputation of the Lord your God. We have heard a report about him and everything he did in Egypt. 10 We heard about everything he did to the two kings of the Amorites on the east side of the Jordan, Heshbon’s King Sihon and Bashan’s King Og, who was in Ashtaroth. 11 Our elders and all the population of our land said to us, ‘Take along supplies for the journey. Go meet them and say to them, “We are your servants. So now make a treaty with us.”’ 12 This is our bread. On the day we left to come to you we took it warm from our houses as supplies. But now here it is, dried up and crumbly. 13 These wineskins were new when we filled them. But here they are, split open. These clothes and sandals of ours are worn out from the very long journey.” 14 The Israelites[b] took some of their supplies, but they didn’t ask for any decision from the Lord. 15 Joshua made peace with them. He made a treaty with them to protect their lives. The leaders of the community made a solemn pledge to them.
Israel discovers the trick
16 Three days after the Israelites made a treaty with the Gibeonites, the Israelites heard that they were actually their neighbors and were living among them. 17 So on the third day the Israelites marched out and came to their cities: Gibeon, Chephirah, Beeroth, and Kiriath-jearim. 18 But the Israelites didn’t strike at them. This was because the leaders of the community had made a solemn pledge to them by the Lord, the God of Israel. The entire community grumbled against the leaders. 19 Then all the leaders said to the whole community, “We have made a solemn pledge to them by the Lord, the God of Israel. So we can’t touch them now. 20 This is what we’ll do with them. We’ll let them live so that wrath won’t come down on us because of the solemn pledge that we made to them.” 21 The leaders went on to say to them, “Let them live.” So they became woodcutters and water haulers for the whole community, exactly as the leaders had intended for them.
15 We who are powerful need to be patient with the weakness of those who don’t have power, and not please ourselves. 2 Each of us should please our neighbors for their good in order to build them up. 3 Christ didn’t please himself, but, as it is written, The insults of those who insulted you fell on me.[a] 4 Whatever was written in the past was written for our instruction so that we could have hope through endurance and through the encouragement of the scriptures. 5 May the God of endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude toward each other, similar to Christ Jesus’ attitude. 6 That way you can glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ together with one voice.
7 So welcome each other, in the same way that Christ also welcomed you, for God’s glory. 8 I’m saying that Christ became a servant of those who are circumcised for the sake of God’s truth, in order to confirm the promises given to the ancestors, 9 and so that the Gentiles could glorify God for his mercy. As it is written,
Because of this I will confess you among the Gentiles,
and I will sing praises to your name.[b]
10 And again, it says,
Rejoice, Gentiles, with his people.[c]
11 And again,
Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles,
and all the people should sing his praises.[d]
12 And again, Isaiah says,
There will be a root of Jesse,
who will also rise to rule the Gentiles.
The Gentiles will place their hope in him.[e]
13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in faith so that you overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Peter’s denial
69 Meanwhile, Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard. A servant woman came and said to him, “You were also with Jesus the Galilean.”
70 But he denied it in front of all of them, saying, “I don’t know what you are talking about.”
71 When he went over to the gate, another woman saw him and said to those who were there, “This man was with Jesus, the man from Nazareth.”
72 With a solemn pledge, he denied it again, saying, “I don’t know the man.”
73 A short time later those standing there came and said to Peter, “You must be one of them. The way you talk gives you away.”
74 Then he cursed and swore, “I don’t know the man!” At that very moment the rooster crowed. 75 Peter remembered Jesus’ words, “Before the rooster crows you will deny me three times.”And Peter went out and cried uncontrollably.
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible