Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 50
God as Judge
A psalm of Asaph.(A)
1 Yahweh, the God of gods[a] speaks;
He summons the earth from east to west.[b](B)
2 From Zion, the perfection of beauty,
God appears in radiance.[c](C)
3 Our God is coming; He will not be silent!
Devouring fire precedes Him,
and a storm rages around Him.(D)
4 On high, He summons heaven and earth
in order to judge His people.(E)
5 “Gather My faithful ones to Me,
those who made a covenant with Me by sacrifice.”(F)
6 The heavens proclaim His righteousness,(G)
for God is the Judge.(H)
7 “Listen, My people, and I will speak;
I will testify against you, Israel.
I am God, your God.(I)
8 I do not rebuke you for your sacrifices
or for your burnt offerings,
which are continually before Me.(J)
9 I will not accept a bull from your household
or male goats from your pens,(K)
10 for every animal of the forest is Mine,
the cattle on a thousand hills.
11 I know every bird of the mountains,[d]
and the creatures of the field are Mine.(L)
12 If I were hungry, I would not tell you,
for the world and everything in it is Mine.(M)
13 Do I eat the flesh of bulls
or drink the blood of goats?(N)
14 Sacrifice a thank offering to God,(O)
and pay your vows to the Most High.(P)
15 Call on Me in a day of trouble;
I will rescue you, and you will honor Me.”(Q)
16 But God says to the wicked:
“What right do you have to recite My statutes
and to take My covenant on your lips?(R)
17 You hate instruction
and turn your back on My words.[e](S)
18 When you see a thief,
you make friends with him,
and you associate with adulterers.(T)
19 You unleash your mouth for evil
and harness your tongue for deceit.(U)
20 You sit, maligning your brother,
slandering your mother’s son.(V)
21 You have done these things, and I kept silent;
you thought I was just like you.(W)
But I will rebuke you
and lay out the case before you.[f](X)
Psalm 59
God Our Stronghold
For the choir director: “Do Not Destroy.”[a] A Davidic Miktam. When Saul sent agents to watch the house and kill him.(A)
1 Deliver me from my enemies, my God;(B)
protect me from those who rise up against me.(C)
2 Deliver me from those who practice sin,
and save me from men of bloodshed.(D)
3 Lord, look! They set an ambush for me.(E)
Powerful men attack me,
but not because of any sin or rebellion of mine.(F)
4 For no fault of mine,
they run and take up a position.
Awake to help me, and take notice.(G)
5 Lord God of Hosts, You are the God of Israel,
rise up to punish all the nations;
do not show grace to any wicked traitors.(H)
6 They return at evening, snarling like dogs
and prowling around the city.(I)
7 Look, they spew from their mouths—
sharp words from[b] their lips.(J)
“For who,” they say, “will hear?”(K)
8 But You laugh at them, Lord;
You ridicule all the nations.(L)
9 I will keep watch for You, my[c] strength,
because God is my stronghold.(M)
10 My faithful God[d] will come to meet me;
God will let me look down on my adversaries.(N)
11 Do not kill them; otherwise, my people will forget.
By Your power, make them homeless wanderers(O)
and bring them down,
Lord, our shield.(P)
12 For the sin of their mouths and the words of their lips,
let them be caught in their pride.
They utter curses and lies.(Q)
13 Consume them in rage;
consume them until they are gone.(R)
Then people will know throughout[e] the earth
that God rules over Jacob.(S)
14 And they return at evening, snarling like dogs
and prowling around the city.(T)
15 They scavenge for food;
they growl if they are not satisfied.(U)
16 But I will sing of Your strength
and will joyfully proclaim
Your faithful love in the morning.(V)
For You have been a stronghold for me,
a refuge in my day of trouble.(W)
17 To You, my strength, I sing praises,
because God is my stronghold—
my faithful God.(X)
Psalm 60
Prayer in Difficult Times
For the choir director: according to “The Lily of Testimony.”[f] A Davidic Miktam for teaching. When he fought with Aram-naharaim and Aram-zobah, and Joab returned and struck Edom in the Valley of Salt, killing 12,000.(Y)
1 God, You have rejected us;
You have broken out[g] against us;
You have been angry. Restore us
2 You have shaken the land and split it open.
Heal its fissures, for it shudders.(AA)
3 You have made Your people suffer hardship;
You have given us wine to drink
that made us stagger.(AB)
4 You have given a signal flag to those who fear You,
so that they can flee before the archers.[i](AC)
5 Save with Your right hand, and answer me,
so that those You love may be rescued.(AD)
6 God has spoken in His sanctuary:[j]
“I will triumph! I will divide up Shechem.(AE)
I will apportion the Valley of Succoth.(AF)
7 Gilead is Mine, Manasseh is Mine,
and Ephraim is My helmet;(AG)
Judah is My scepter.(AH)
8 Moab is My washbasin.(AI)
I throw My sandal on Edom;(AJ)
I shout in triumph over Philistia.”(AK)
Psalm 8
God’s Glory, Man’s Dignity
For the choir director: on the Gittith.(A) A Davidic psalm.
1 Yahweh, our Lord,
how magnificent is Your name throughout the earth!(B)
You have covered the heavens with Your majesty.[a](C)
2 Because of Your adversaries,
You have established a stronghold[b]
from the mouths of children and nursing infants(D)
to silence the enemy and the avenger.
3 When I observe Your heavens,
the work of Your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
which You set in place,(E)
4 what is man that You remember him,
the son of man that You look after him?(F)
5 You made him little less than God[c][d]
and crowned him with glory and honor.
6 You made him lord over the works of Your hands;
You put everything under his feet:[e](G)
7 all the sheep and oxen,
as well as the animals in the wild,
8 the birds of the sky,
and the fish of the sea
that pass through the currents of the seas.(H)
9 Yahweh, our Lord,
how magnificent is Your name throughout the earth!
Psalm 84
Longing for God’s House
For the choir director: on the Gittith.(A) A psalm of the sons of Korah.
1 How lovely is Your dwelling place,
Lord of Hosts.(B)
2 I long and yearn
for the courts of the Lord;
my heart and flesh cry out for[a] the living God.(C)
3 Even a sparrow finds a home,
and a swallow, a nest for herself
where she places her young—
near Your altars, Lord of Hosts,
my King and my God.(D)
4 How happy are those who reside in Your house,
who praise You continually.(E)
5 Happy are the people whose strength is in You,
whose hearts are set on pilgrimage.(F)
6 As they pass through the Valley of Baca,[b]
they make it a source of springwater;
even the autumn rain will cover it with blessings.[c](G)
7 They go from strength to strength;
each appears before God in Zion.(H)
8 Lord God of Hosts, hear my prayer;
listen, God of Jacob.(I)
9 Consider our shield,[d] God;(J)
look on the face of Your anointed one.(K)
10 Better a day in Your courts
than a thousand anywhere else.
I would rather be at the door of the house of my God
than to live in the tents of wicked people.(L)
11 For the Lord God is a sun and shield.(M)
The Lord gives grace and glory;
He does not withhold the good
from those who live with integrity.(N)
12 Happy is the person who trusts in You,
Lord of Hosts!(O)
The Mystery of Injustice and Death
16 I also observed under the sun: there is wickedness at the place of judgment and there is wickedness at the place of righteousness.(A) 17 I said to myself, “God will judge the righteous and the wicked,(B) since there is a time for every activity and every work.”(C) 18 I said to myself, “This happens concerning people, so that God may test them and they may see for themselves that they are like animals.”(D) 19 For the fate of people and the fate of animals is the same.(E) As one dies, so dies the other; they all have the same breath. People have no advantage over animals since everything is futile. 20 All are going to the same place; all come from dust, and all return to dust.(F) 21 Who knows if the spirit of people rises upward and the spirit of animals goes downward to the earth? 22 I have seen that there is nothing better than for a person to enjoy his activities(G) because that is his reward. For who can enable him to see what will happen after he dies?[a](H)
4 Again, I observed all the acts of oppression being done under the sun.(I) Look at the tears of those who are oppressed; they have no one to comfort them. Power is with those who oppress them; they have no one to comfort them. 2 So I admired the dead,(J) who have already died, more than the living, who are still alive. 3 But better than either of them is the one who has not yet existed,(K) who has not seen the evil activity that is done under the sun.
Justification through Faith
3 You foolish(A) Galatians! Who has hypnotized you,[a] before whose eyes Jesus Christ was vividly portrayed[b] as crucified?(B) 2 I only want to learn this from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law or by hearing with faith?[c] 3 Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now going to be made complete by the flesh?[d] 4 Did you suffer(C) so much for nothing—if in fact it was for nothing? 5 So then, does God supply you with the Spirit and work miracles(D) among you by the works of the law or by hearing with faith?[e]
6 Just as Abraham believed God,(E) and it was credited to him for righteousness,(F)[f] 7 then understand that those who have faith are Abraham’s sons.(G) 8 Now the Scripture saw in advance that God would justify the Gentiles by faith and told the good news ahead of time to Abraham,(H) saying, All the nations will be blessed through you.(I)[g] 9 So those who have faith are blessed with Abraham,(J) who had faith.[h]
Law and Promise
10 For all who rely on the works of the law are under a curse,(K) because it is written:(L) Everyone who does not continue doing everything written in the book of the law is cursed.(M)[i] 11 Now it is clear that no one is justified before God by the law, because the righteous will live(N) by faith.(O)[j] 12 But the law is not based on faith; instead, the one who does these things will live by them.(P)[k] 13 Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us,(Q) because it is written: Everyone who is hung on a tree is cursed.(R)[l] 14 The purpose was that the blessing of Abraham would come to the Gentiles by Christ Jesus, so that we could receive the promised Spirit through faith.(S)
Feeding 5,000
13 When Jesus heard about it,(A) He withdrew from there by boat to a remote place to be alone. When the crowds heard this, they followed Him on foot from the towns. 14 As He stepped ashore,[a] He saw a huge crowd, felt compassion for them, and healed their sick.(B)
15 When evening came, the disciples(C) approached Him and said, “This place is a wilderness, and it is already late.[b] Send the crowds away so they can go into the villages and buy food for themselves.”
16 “They don’t need to go away,” Jesus told them. “You give them something to eat.”
17 “But we only have five loaves and two fish here,” they said to Him.
18 “Bring them here to Me,” He said. 19 Then He commanded the crowds to sit down[c] on the grass. He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed them. He broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds.(D) 20 Everyone ate and was filled. Then they picked up 12 baskets full of leftover pieces!(E) 21 Now those who ate were about 5,000 men, besides women and children.
Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville Tennessee. All rights reserved.