Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 75[a]
God Is Judge of the World
1 For the director.[b] According to “Do not destroy!” A psalm of Asaph. A song.
2 We give thanks[c] to you, O God,
we give thanks to you.
For your wondrous deeds
declare that your name is near.
3 [d]You say, “When I receive the assembly,
I will judge with equity.
4 When the earth quakes, with all its inhabitants,
it is I who will hold its pillars firm.[e] Selah
5 [f]“I say to the arrogant,[g] ‘Do not boast,’
and to the wicked, ‘Do not lift up your horns.
6 Do not rebel against heaven
or speak with arrogance against the Rock.’ ”[h]
7 [i]For judgment does not come from east or west,
nor from the wilderness or the mountains.[j]
8 Rather, it is God who judges rightly,
humbling one and exalting another.[k]
9 The Lord holds in his hand a cup
filled with foaming wine and richly spiced.
When he pours it out,
all the wicked[l] of the earth must drink;
they will drain it down to the dregs.
10 As for me, I will proclaim this forever;
I will sing praises[m] to the God of Jacob.
11 “I will cut off all the horns of the wicked,
but the horns of the righteous[n] will be exalted.”
Psalm 76[o]
God, Defender of Zion
1 For the director.[p] With stringed instruments. A psalm of Asaph. A song.
2 [q]God is renowned in Judah;
his name is great in Israel.
3 His tent has been established in Salem,
his dwelling place in Zion.
4 There he shattered the flashing arrows,
shields and swords and weapons of war. Selah
5 [r]You are awesome and resplendent,
more majestic than the everlasting mountains.
6 The bold warriors lie plundered
and sleeping their last sleep.[s]
And not one of the men of war
can lift up his hands.
7 At your rebuke, O God of Jacob,
both chariots and horses lie prostrate.
8 You indeed are awesome;
who can stand in your presence when your anger is aroused?
9 You thundered your verdicts from the heavens;
the earth in its terror was silent
10 when you arose, O God, to judge,
to rescue all the afflicted of the land.[t] Selah
11 Human wrath only serves to praise you;[u]
those who survive your anger will cling to you.
12 [v]Make vows to the Lord, your God, and keep them;
let all the lands nearby
bring gifts to the Awesome One,
13 who breaks the spirit of rulers
and inspires fear in the kings of the earth.
Psalm 23[a]
Prayer to the Good Shepherd
1 A psalm of David.
The Lord is my shepherd;
there is nothing I shall lack.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures;[b]
he leads me to tranquil streams.
3 He restores my soul,[c]
guiding me in paths of righteousness
so that his name may be glorified.
4 Even though I wander
through the valley of the shadow of death,[d]
I will fear no evil,
for you are at my side,
with your rod and your staff
that comfort me.
5 [e]You spread a table for me
in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;[f]
my cup overflows.
6 Only goodness and kindness[g] will follow me
all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord
forever and ever.
Psalm 27[a]
Trust in God, Our Light and Salvation
1 Of David.
The Lord is my light[b] and my salvation;
whom should I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life;
of whom should I be afraid?
2 When evildoers close in on me
to devour my flesh,[c]
it is they, my adversaries and enemies,
who stumble and fall.
3 Even if an army encamps against me,
my heart[d] will not succumb to fear;
even if war breaks out against me,
I will not have my trust shaken.
4 There is only one thing I ask of the Lord,
just one thing I seek:
to dwell in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life,
so that I may enjoy the beauty of the Lord[e]
and gaze on his temple.
5 For he will hide me in his shelter
in times of trouble.
He will conceal me under the cover of his tent[f]
and place me high upon a rock.
6 Even now my head is raised high
above my enemies who surround me.
In his tent I will offer sacrifices[g] with joyous shouts;
I will sing and chant praise to the Lord.
7 O Lord, hear my voice when I cry out;
be merciful to me and answer me.
8 My heart[h] says of you,
“Seek his face.”
It is your face, O Lord, that I seek;
9 do not hide your face[i] from me.
Do not turn away your servant in anger,
you who have been my help.
Do not reject or forsake me,
O God, my Savior.
10 Even if my father and mother abandon me,
the Lord will gather me up.[j]
11 Teach me your way,[k] O Lord,
and lead me along a level path
because of my enemies.
12 Do not abandon me to the will of my adversaries,
for lying witnesses have risen against me,
breathing forth violence in their malice.
13 I am confident that I will behold the goodness of the Lord[l]
in the land of the living.
14 Place your hope in the Lord:
be strong and courageous in your heart,
and place your hope in the Lord.
5 Now there was in the citadel of Susa a Jew from the tribe of Benjamin, named Mordecai, son of Jair, the son of Shimei, the son of Kish. 6 He had been carted off into exile from Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, among those taken captive with Jeconiah, king of Judah. 7 Mordecai had a cousin named Hadassah,[a] whom he had brought up because she had lost her father and mother. She was also known as Esther and was a beautiful young woman. Mordecai had taken her as his own daughter after her father and mother had died.
8 When the king’s order and edict had been proclaimed, many young women were brought to the citadel of Susa and placed in the care of Hegai. Esther, too, was brought to the royal palace in the care of Hegai, who was in charge of the harem.
15 As for Esther, daughter of Abihail and adopted daughter of Mordecai, when it came time for her turn to visit the king, she asked nothing more than what the royal eunuch Hegai, who was in charge of the harem, suggested. Nevertheless, she won the admiration of all who saw her. 16 So, in the seventh year of his reign, in the tenth month, Tebeth,[a] Esther was brought to King Ahasuerus in the royal palace.
17 The king loved Esther more than any of the other women, and she won his favor and approval more than any of the other virgins. So he set a royal crown on her head and made her queen in place of Vashti. 18 Then the king gave a great banquet for all his nobles and administrators to honor Esther. He proclaimed a holiday[b] throughout the provinces and gave gifts with royal liberality.
19 [Mordecai Uncovers a Conspiracy.[c] To resume: When the virgins were assembled a second time, Mordecai was sitting at the king’s gate, 20 and Esther had still not revealed her family or nationality just as Mordecai had instructed her. For she was still following his advice as she had done when he was bringing her up.
21 During the time Mordecai spent at the king’s gate,[d] Bagathan and Thares, two of the king’s eunuchs who guarded the entrance, became angry and plotted to kill King Ahasuerus. 22 However, Mordecai became aware of the plot and told Queen Esther about it, and she informed the king for Mordecai. 23 When the matter was investigated and proved to be true, both men were hanged on a gibbet. All this was recorded in the book of the annals in the king’s presence.]
16 Paul in Athens.[a] While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was outraged to note that the city was full of idols. 17 Therefore, he debated in the synagogue with the Jews and God-fearing Gentiles, and also in the city square with whoever chanced to be there. 18 Even a few Epicurean and Stoic philosophers[b] argued with him. Some asked, “What is this man babbling about?” Others said, “Apparently, he is here to promote foreign deities,” because he was preaching about Jesus and the resurrection.
19 Therefore, they took him and brought him to the Areopagus[c] and asked him, “Can you explain to us what this new doctrine is that you are teaching? 20 You are presenting strange ideas to us, and we would like to find out what they all mean.” 21 The major pastime of the Athenians and the foreigners living there was to spend their time telling or listening to the latest ideas.
22 Paul’s Speech at the Areopagus.[d]Then Paul stood before them in the Areopagus and said: “Men of Athens, I have seen how religious you are. 23 For as I walked around, looking carefully at your shrines, I noticed among them an altar with the inscription, ‘To an Unknown God.’ What, therefore, you worship as unknown, I now proclaim to you.
24 “The God who made the world and everything in it, the Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in shrines made by human hands. 25 Nor is he served by human hands as though he were in need of anything. Rather, it is he who gives to everyone life and breath and all other things. 26 From one ancestor,[e] he created all peoples to occupy the entire earth, and he decreed their appointed times and the boundaries of where they would live.
27 “He did all this so that people might seek God in the hope that by groping for him they might find him, even though indeed he is not far from any one of us. 28 For ‘In him we live and move and have our being.’[f] As even your own poets have said, ‘We are all his offspring.’
29 “Since we are God’s offspring, we ought not to think that the deity is like an image of gold or silver or stone, fashioned by human art and imagination. 30 God has overlooked the times of human ignorance, but now he commands people everywhere to repent, 31 because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world with justice by a man whom he has appointed. He has given public confirmation of this to all by raising him from the dead.”
32 When they heard about the resurrection of the dead, some scoffed, but others said, “We should like to hear you speak further on this subject at another time.” 33 After that, Paul left them. 34 However, some of them joined him and became believers, including Dionysius[g] the Areopagite, and a woman named Damaris, as well as some others.
44 The Choice To Believe in Jesus.[a] Then Jesus cried out,
“Whoever believes in me
believes not only in me
but in him who sent me.
45 And whoever sees me
sees the one who sent me.
46 I have come into the world as light
so that everyone who believes in me
may not have to remain in darkness.
47 [b]“But if anyone listens to my words
and fails to observe them,
I will not pass judgment on him,
for I did not come to judge the world
but to save the world.
48 Anyone who rejects me
and does not accept my words
already has a judge.
On the last day,
the word that I have spoken
will serve as his judge.
49 “For I have not spoken on my own,
but the Father who sent me
has himself given me command
about what I am to say
and how I am to speak.
50 I know that his commandment
is eternal life.
Therefore, what I speak
is what the Father has told me to say.”
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