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 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 keep silence;
(F)Fire devours before Him,
And it is very (G)tempestuous 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. [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, and [e]all it contains.
13 “Shall I eat the flesh of [f](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 trouble;
I shall (Y)rescue you, and you will (Z)honor Me.”
16 But to the wicked God says,
“What right have you to tell of 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 [g](AD)are pleased with him,
And [h]you (AE)associate with adulterers.
19 “You [i](AF)let your mouth loose in evil
And your (AG)tongue frames 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 silence;
You thought that I was just like you;
I will (AJ)reprove you and state the case in order before your eyes.
Prayer for Deliverance from Enemies.
For the choir 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)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)those who do iniquity
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 [h](F)launch an attack against me,
(G)Not for my transgression nor for my sin, O Lord,
4 [i](H)For no guilt of mine, they run and set themselves against me.
(I)Arouse Yourself to [j]help me, and see!
5 You, (J)O Lord God of hosts, the God of Israel,
Awake to [k](K)punish all the nations;
(L)Do not be gracious to any who are treacherous in iniquity. [l]Selah.
6 They (M)return at evening, they howl like a (N)dog,
And go around the city.
7 Behold, they (O)belch forth with their mouth;
(P)Swords are in their lips,
For, they say, “(Q)Who hears?”
8 But You, O Lord, (R)laugh at them;
You (S)scoff at all the nations.
9 Because of [m]his (T)strength I will watch for You,
For God is my (U)stronghold.
10 [n]My God (V)in His lovingkindness will meet me;
God will let me (W)look triumphantly upon [o]my foes.
11 Do not slay them, (X)or my people will forget;
[p](Y)Scatter them by Your power, and bring them down,
O Lord, (Z)our shield.
12 [q]On account of the (AA)sin of their mouth and the words of their lips,
Let them even be (AB)caught in their pride,
And on account of (AC)curses and [r]lies which they utter.
13 [s](AD)Destroy them in wrath, [t]destroy them that they may be no more;
That men may (AE)know that God [u]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 [v]for food
And [w]growl if they are not satisfied.
16 But as for me, I shall (AH)sing of Your strength;
Yes, 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 [x]God who shows me lovingkindness.
Lament over Defeat in Battle, and Prayer for Help.
For the choir director; according to [y]Shushan Eduth. A [z]Mikhtam of David, to teach; [aa]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 [ab](AP)broken us;
You have been (AQ)angry; O, (AR)restore us.
2 You have made the [ac](AS)land quake, You have split it open;
(AT)Heal its breaches, for it totters.
3 You have [ad](AU)made Your people experience hardship;
You have given us [ae]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. [af]Selah.
5 (AX)That Your (AY)beloved may be delivered,
(AZ)Save with Your right hand, and answer [ag]us!
6 God has spoken in His [ah](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 [ai]helmet of My head;
Judah is My [aj](BF)scepter.
8 “(BG)Moab is My washbowl;
Over (BH)Edom I shall throw My shoe;
Shout loud, O (BI)Philistia, because of Me!”
9 Who will bring me into the besieged city?
Who [ak]will lead me to Edom?
10 Have not You Yourself, O God, (BJ)rejected us?
And (BK)will You not go forth with our armies, O God?
11 O give us help against the adversary,
For (BL)deliverance [al]by man is in vain.
12 [am]Through God we shall (BM)do valiantly,
And it is He who will (BN)tread down our adversaries.
God’s Deliverance of Israel from Egypt.
114 When Israel went forth (A)from Egypt,
The house of Jacob from a people of (B)strange language,
2 Judah became (C)His sanctuary,
Israel, (D)His dominion.
3 The (E)sea looked and fled;
The (F)Jordan turned back.
4 The mountains (G)skipped like rams,
The hills, like lambs.
5 What (H)ails you, O sea, that you flee?
O Jordan, that you turn back?
6 O mountains, that you skip like rams?
O hills, like lambs?
7 (I)Tremble, O earth, before the Lord,
Before the God of Jacob,
8 Who (J)turned the rock into a (K)pool of water,
The (L)flint into a fountain of water.
Heathen Idols Contrasted with the Lord.
115 (M)Not to us, O Lord, not to us,
But (N)to Your name give glory
Because of Your lovingkindness, because of Your [a]truth.
2 (O)Why should the nations say,
“(P)Where, now, is their God?”
3 But our (Q)God is in the heavens;
He (R)does whatever He pleases.
4 Their (S)idols are silver and gold,
The (T)work of man’s hands.
5 They have mouths, but they (U)cannot speak;
They have eyes, but they cannot see;
6 They have ears, but they cannot hear;
They have noses, but they cannot smell;
7 [b]They have hands, but they cannot feel;
[c]They have feet, but they cannot walk;
They cannot make a sound with their throat.
8 (V)Those who make them [d]will become like them,
Everyone who trusts in them.
9 O (W)Israel, (X)trust in the Lord;
He is their (Y)help and their shield.
10 O house of (Z)Aaron, trust in the Lord;
He is their help and their shield.
11 You who [e](AA)fear the Lord, trust in the Lord;
He is their help and their shield.
12 The Lord (AB)has been mindful of us; He will bless us;
He will bless the house of Israel;
He will bless the house of Aaron.
13 He will (AC)bless those who [f]fear the Lord,
(AD)The small together with the great.
14 May the Lord (AE)give you increase,
You and your children.
15 May you be blessed of the Lord,
(AF)Maker of heaven and earth.
8 (A)See to it that no one takes you captive through (B)philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the (C)elementary principles of the world, [a]rather than according to Christ. 9 For in Him all the (D)fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form, 10 and in Him you have been (E)made [b]complete, and (F)He is the head [c]over all (G)rule and authority; 11 and in Him (H)you were also circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, in the removal of (I)the body of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ; 12 having been (J)buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also (K)raised up with Him through faith in the working of God, who (L)raised Him from the dead. 13 When you were (M)dead [d]in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He (N)made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, 14 having canceled out (O)the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and (P)He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. 15 When He had [e](Q)disarmed the (R)rulers and authorities, He (S)made a public display of them, having (T)triumphed over them through [f]Him.
16 Therefore no one is to [g](U)act as your judge in regard to (V)food or (W)drink or in respect to a (X)festival or a (Y)new moon or a (Z)Sabbath [h]day— 17 things which are (AA)a mere shadow of what is to come; but the [i]substance [j]belongs to Christ. 18 Let no one keep [k](AB)defrauding you of your prize by (AC)delighting in [l]self-abasement and the worship of the angels, [m]taking his stand on visions he has seen, [n](AD)inflated without cause by his (AE)fleshly mind, 19 and not holding fast to (AF)the head, from whom (AG)the entire body, being supplied and held together by the joints and [o]ligaments, grows with a growth [p]which is from God.
20 (AH)If you have died with Christ [q]to the (AI)elementary principles of the world, (AJ)why, as if you were living in the world, do you submit yourself to (AK)decrees, such as, 21 “Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch!” 22 (which all refer (AL)to things destined to perish [r]with use)—in accordance with the (AM)commandments and teachings of men? 23 These are matters which have, to be sure, the [s]appearance of wisdom in [t](AN)self-made religion and self-abasement and (AO)severe treatment of the body, but are of no value against (AP)fleshly indulgence.
39 And He also spoke a parable to them: “(A)A blind man cannot guide a blind man, can he? Will they not both fall into a pit? 40 (B)A [a]pupil is not above his teacher; but everyone, after he has been fully trained, will [b]be like his teacher. 41 Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? 42 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take out the speck that is in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the log that is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your brother’s eye. 43 (C)For there is no good tree which produces bad fruit, nor, [c]on the other hand, a bad tree which produces good fruit. 44 (D)For each tree is known by its own fruit. For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they pick grapes from a briar bush. 45 (E)The good man out of the good [d]treasure of his heart brings forth what is good; and the evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil; (F)for his mouth speaks from [e]that which fills his heart.
Builders and Foundations
46 “(G)Why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say? 47 (H)Everyone who comes to Me and hears My words and [f]acts on them, I will show you whom he is like: 48 he is like a man building a house, who [g]dug deep and laid a foundation on the rock; and when a flood occurred, the [h]torrent burst against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built. 49 But the one who has heard and has not acted accordingly, is like a man who built a house on the ground without any foundation; and the [i]torrent burst against it and immediately it collapsed, and the ruin of that house was great.”
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.