Book of Common Prayer
Thanksgiving for God’s Righteous Judgment
To the Chief Musician. Set to (A)“Do[a] Not Destroy.” A Psalm of Asaph. A Song.
75 We give thanks to You, O God, we give thanks!
For Your wondrous works declare that Your name is near.
2 “When I choose the [b]proper time,
I will judge uprightly.
3 The earth and all its inhabitants are dissolved;
I set up its pillars firmly. Selah
4 “I said to the boastful, ‘Do not deal boastfully,’
And to the wicked, (B)‘Do not [c]lift up the horn.
5 Do not lift up your horn on high;
Do not speak with [d]a stiff neck.’ ”
6 For exaltation comes neither from the east
Nor from the west nor from the south.
7 But (C)God is the Judge:
(D)He puts down one,
And exalts another.
8 For (E)in the hand of the Lord there is a cup,
And the wine is red;
It is fully mixed, and He pours it out;
Surely its dregs shall all the wicked of the earth
Drain and drink down.
9 But I will declare forever,
I will sing praises to the God of Jacob.
10 “All(F) the [e]horns of the wicked I will also cut off,
But (G)the horns of the righteous shall be (H)exalted.”
The Majesty of God in Judgment
To the Chief Musician. On [f]stringed instruments. A Psalm of Asaph. A Song.
76 In (I)Judah God is known;
His name is great in Israel.
2 In [g]Salem also is His tabernacle,
And His dwelling place in Zion.
3 There He broke the arrows of the bow,
The shield and sword of battle. Selah
4 You are more glorious and excellent
(J)Than the mountains of prey.
5 (K)The stouthearted were plundered;
(L)They [h]have sunk into their sleep;
And none of the mighty men have found the use of their hands.
6 (M)At Your rebuke, O God of Jacob,
Both the chariot and horse were cast into a dead sleep.
7 You, Yourself, are to be feared;
And (N)who may stand in Your presence
When once You are angry?
8 (O)You caused judgment to be heard from heaven;
(P)The earth feared and was still,
9 When God (Q)arose to judgment,
To deliver all the oppressed of the earth. Selah
10 (R)Surely the wrath of man shall praise You;
With the remainder of wrath You shall gird Yourself.
The Lord the Shepherd of His People
A Psalm of David.
23 The Lord is (A)my shepherd;
(B)I shall not [a]want.
2 (C)He makes me to lie down in [b]green pastures;
(D)He leads me beside the [c]still waters.
3 He restores my soul;
(E)He leads me in the paths of righteousness
For His name’s sake.
An Exuberant Declaration of Faith
A Psalm of David.
27 The Lord is my (A)light and my salvation;
Whom shall I fear?
The (B)Lord is the strength of my life;
Of whom shall I be afraid?
2 When the wicked came against me
To (C)eat[a] up my flesh,
My enemies and foes,
They stumbled and fell.
3 (D)Though an army may encamp against me,
My heart shall not fear;
Though war may rise against me,
In this I will be confident.
4 (E)One thing I have desired of the Lord,
That will I seek:
That I may (F)dwell in the house of the Lord
All the days of my life,
To behold the [b]beauty of the Lord,
And to inquire in His temple.
5 For (G)in the time of trouble
He shall hide me in His pavilion;
In the secret place of His tabernacle
He shall hide me;
He shall (H)set me high upon a rock.
6 And now (I)my head shall be [c]lifted up above my enemies all around me;
Therefore I will offer sacrifices of [d]joy in His tabernacle;
I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the Lord.
7 Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice!
Have mercy also upon me, and answer me.
8 When You said, “Seek My face,”
My heart said to You, “Your face, Lord, I will seek.”
9 (J)Do not hide Your face from me;
Do not turn Your servant away in anger;
You have been my help;
Do not leave me nor forsake me,
O God of my salvation.
10 (K)When my father and my mother forsake me,
Then the Lord will take care of me.
11 (L)Teach me Your way, O Lord,
And lead me in a smooth path, because of my enemies.
12 Do not deliver me to the will of my adversaries;
For (M)false witnesses have risen against me,
And such as breathe out violence.
13 I would have lost heart, unless I had believed
That I would see the goodness of the Lord
(N)In the land of the living.
28 So the young woman ran and told her mother’s household these things.
29 Now Rebekah had a brother whose name was (A)Laban, and Laban ran out to the man by the well. 30 So it came to pass, when he saw the nose ring, and the bracelets on his sister’s wrists, and when he heard the words of his sister Rebekah, saying, “Thus the man spoke to me,” that he went to the man. And there he stood by the camels at the well. 31 And he said, “Come in, (B)O blessed of the Lord! Why do you stand outside? For I have prepared the house, and a place for the camels.”
32 Then the man came to the house. And he unloaded the camels, and (C)provided straw and feed for the camels, and water to (D)wash his feet and the feet of the men who were with him. 33 Food was set before him to eat, but he said, (E)“I will not eat until I have told about my errand.”
And he said, “Speak on.”
34 So he said, “I am Abraham’s servant. 35 The Lord (F)has blessed my master greatly, and he has become great; and He has given him flocks and herds, silver and gold, male and female servants, and camels and donkeys. 36 And Sarah my master’s wife (G)bore a son to my master when she was old; and (H)to him he has given all that he has. 37 Now my master (I)made me swear, saying, ‘You shall not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I dwell; 38 (J)but you shall go to my father’s house and to my family, and take a wife for my son.’
49 Now if you will (A)deal kindly and truly with my master, tell me. And if not, tell me, that I may turn to the right hand or to the left.”
50 Then Laban and Bethuel answered and said, (B)“The thing comes from the Lord; we cannot (C)speak to you either bad or good. 51 (D)Here is Rebekah before you; take her and go, and let her be your master’s son’s wife, as the Lord has spoken.”
Renew Your Spiritual Vitality(A)
12 Therefore (B)strengthen the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees, 13 and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be dislocated, but rather be healed.
14 (C)Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, (D)without which no one will see the Lord: 15 looking carefully lest anyone (E)fall short of the grace of God; lest any (F)root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled; 16 lest there be any (G)fornicator or [a]profane person like Esau, (H)who for one morsel of food sold his birthright. 17 For you know that afterward, when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was (I)rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought it diligently with tears.
The Glorious Company
18 For you have not come [b]to (J)the mountain that may be touched and that burned with fire, and to blackness and [c]darkness and tempest, 19 and the sound of a trumpet and the voice of words, so that those who heard it (K)begged that the word should not be spoken to them anymore. 20 (For they could not endure what was commanded: (L)“And if so much as a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned [d]or shot with an arrow.” 21 And so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, (M)“I am exceedingly afraid and trembling.”)
22 But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, 23 to the [e]general assembly and church of (N)the firstborn (O)who are registered in heaven, to God (P)the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men (Q)made perfect, 24 to Jesus (R)the Mediator of the new covenant, and to (S)the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things (T)than that of Abel.
Hear the Heavenly Voice
25 See that you do not refuse Him who speaks. For (U)if they did not escape who refused Him who spoke on earth, much more shall we not escape if we turn away from Him who speaks from heaven, 26 whose voice then shook the earth; but now He has promised, saying, (V)“Yet once more I [f]shake not only the earth, but also heaven.” 27 Now this, “Yet once more,” indicates the (W)removal of those things that are being shaken, as of things that are made, that the things which cannot be shaken may remain.
28 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we [g]may (X)serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. 29 For (Y)our God is a consuming fire.
14 Now about the middle of the feast Jesus went up into the temple and (A)taught. 15 (B)And the Jews marveled, saying, “How does this Man know letters, having never studied?”
16 [a]Jesus answered them and said, (C)“My doctrine is not Mine, but His who sent Me. 17 (D)If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority. 18 (E)He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He who (F)seeks the glory of the One who sent Him is true, and (G)no unrighteousness is in Him. 19 (H)Did not Moses give you the law, yet none of you keeps the law? (I)Why do you seek to kill Me?”
20 The people answered and said, (J)“You have a demon. Who is seeking to kill You?”
21 Jesus answered and said to them, “I did one work, and you all marvel. 22 (K)Moses therefore gave you circumcision (not that it is from Moses, (L)but from the fathers), and you circumcise a man on the Sabbath. 23 If a man receives circumcision on the Sabbath, so that the law of Moses should not be broken, are you angry with Me because (M)I made a man completely well on the Sabbath? 24 (N)Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment.”
Could This Be the Christ?
25 Now some of them from Jerusalem said, “Is this not He whom they seek to (O)kill? 26 But look! He speaks boldly, and they say nothing to Him. (P)Do the rulers know indeed that this is [b]truly the Christ? 27 (Q)However, we know where this Man is from; but when the Christ comes, no one knows where He is from.”
28 Then Jesus cried out, as He taught in the temple, saying, (R)“You both know Me, and you know where I am from; and (S)I have not come of Myself, but He who sent Me (T)is true, (U)whom you do not know. 29 [c]But (V)I know Him, for I am from Him, and He sent Me.”
30 Therefore (W)they sought to take Him; but (X)no one laid a hand on Him, because His hour had not yet come. 31 And (Y)many of the people believed in Him, and said, “When the Christ comes, will He do more signs than these which this Man has done?”
Jesus and the Religious Leaders
32 The Pharisees heard the crowd murmuring these things concerning Him, and the Pharisees and the chief priests sent officers to take Him. 33 Then Jesus said [d]to them, (Z)“I shall be with you a little while longer, and then I (AA)go to Him who sent Me. 34 You (AB)will seek Me and not find Me, and where I am you (AC)cannot come.”
35 Then the Jews said among themselves, “Where does He intend to go that we shall not find Him? Does He intend to go to (AD)the Dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks? 36 What is this thing that He said, ‘You will seek Me and not find Me, and where I am you cannot come’?”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.