Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 50[a]
A psalm by Asaph.
50 El, God, the Lord[b] has spoken,
and summoned the earth to come from the east and west.[c]
2 From Zion, the most beautiful of all places,[d]
God has come in splendor.[e]
3 “May our God come
and not be silent.”
Consuming fire goes ahead of him,
and all around him a storm rages.[f]
4 He summons the heavens above,
as well as the earth, so that he might judge his people.[g]
5 He says:[h]
“Assemble my covenant people before me,[i]
those who ratified a covenant with me by sacrifice.”[j]
6 The heavens declare his fairness,[k]
for God is judge.[l] (Selah)
7 He says:[m]
“Listen, my people. I am speaking!
Listen, Israel. I am accusing you.[n]
I am God, your God!
8 I am not condemning[o] you because of your sacrifices,
or because of your burnt sacrifices that you continually offer me.[p]
9 I do not need to take[q] a bull from your household
or goats from your sheepfolds.
10 For every wild animal in the forest belongs to me,
as well as the cattle that graze on a thousand hills.[r]
11 I keep track of[s] every bird in the hills,
and the insects[t] of the field are mine.
12 Even if I were hungry, I would not tell you,
for the world and all it contains belong to me.
13 Do I eat the flesh of bulls?
Do I drink the blood of goats?[u]
14 Present to God a thank offering.
Repay your vows to the Most High.[v]
15 Pray to me when you are in trouble.[w]
I will deliver you, and you will honor me.”[x]
16 God says this to the evildoer:[y]
“How can you declare my commands,
and talk about my covenant?[z]
17 For you hate instruction
and reject my words.[aa]
18 When you see a thief, you join him;[ab]
you associate with men who are unfaithful to their wives.[ac]
19 You do damage with words,[ad]
and use your tongue to deceive.[ae]
20 You plot against your brother;[af]
you slander your own brother.[ag]
21 When you did these things, I was silent,[ah]
so you thought I was exactly like you.[ai]
But now I will condemn[aj] you
and state my case against you.[ak]
22 Carefully consider this, you who reject God.[al]
Otherwise I will rip you to shreds[am]
and no one will be able to rescue you.
23 Whoever presents a thank offering honors me.[an]
To whoever obeys my commands, I will reveal my power to deliver.”[ao]
Psalm 59[a]
For the music director, according to the al-tashcheth style;[b] a prayer[c] of David, written when Saul sent men to surround his house and murder him.[d]
59 Deliver me from my enemies, my God.
Protect me[e] from those who attack me.[f]
2 Deliver me from evildoers.[g]
Rescue me from violent men.[h]
3 For look, they wait to ambush me;[i]
powerful men stalk[j] me,
but not because I have rebelled or sinned, O Lord.[k]
4 Though I have done nothing wrong,[l] they are anxious to attack.[m]
Spring into action and help me. Take notice of me.[n]
5 You, O Lord God of Heaven’s Armies,[o] the God of Israel,
rouse yourself and punish[p] all the nations.
Have no mercy on any treacherous evildoers. (Selah)
6 They return in the evening;
they growl[q] like dogs
and prowl around outside[r] the city.
7 Look, they hurl insults at me
and openly threaten to kill me,[s]
for they say,[t]
“Who hears?”
8 But you, O Lord, laugh in disgust at them;[u]
you taunt[v] all the nations.
9 You are my source of strength. I will wait for you.[w]
For God is my refuge.[x]
10 The God who loves me will help me;[y]
God will enable me to triumph over[z] my enemies.[aa]
11 Do not strike them dead suddenly,
because then my people might forget the lesson.[ab]
Use your power to make them homeless vagabonds and then bring them down,
O Lord who shields us.[ac]
12 They speak sinful words.[ad]
So let them be trapped by their own pride
and by the curses and lies they speak.
13 Angrily wipe them out. Wipe them out so they vanish.
Let them know that God rules
over Jacob and to the ends of the earth. (Selah)
14 They return in the evening;
they growl[ae] like dogs
and prowl around outside[af] the city.
15 They wander around looking for something to eat;
they refuse to sleep until they are full.[ag]
16 As for me, I will sing about your strength;
I will praise your loyal love in the morning.
For you are my refuge[ah]
and my place of shelter when I face trouble.[ai]
17 You are my source of strength. I will sing praises to you.[aj]
For God is my refuge,[ak] the God who loves me.[al]
Psalm 60[am]
For the music director, according to the shushan-eduth style;[an] a prayer[ao] of David written to instruct others.[ap] It was written when he fought against Aram Naharaim and Aram Zobah. That was when Joab turned back and struck down[aq] 12,000 Edomites[ar] in the Valley of Salt.[as]
60 O God, you have rejected us.[at]
You suddenly turned on us in your anger.[au]
Please restore us![av]
2 You made the earth quake; you split it open.[aw]
Repair its breaches, for it is ready to fall.[ax]
3 You have made your people experience hard times;[ay]
you have made us drink intoxicating wine.[az]
4 You have given your loyal followers[ba] a rallying flag,
so that they might seek safety from the bow.[bb] (Selah)
5 Deliver by your power[bc] and answer me,[bd]
so that the ones you love may be safe.[be]
6 God has spoken in his sanctuary:[bf]
“I will triumph. I will parcel out Shechem;
the Valley of Sukkoth I will measure off.[bg]
7 Gilead belongs to me,
as does Manasseh.[bh]
Ephraim is my helmet,[bi]
Judah my royal scepter.[bj]
8 Moab is my washbasin.[bk]
I will make Edom serve me.[bl]
I will shout in triumph over Philistia.”[bm]
9 Who will lead me into the fortified city?
Who will bring me to Edom?[bn]
10 Have you not rejected us, O God?
O God, you do not go into battle with our armies.
11 Give us help against the enemy,
for any help men might offer is futile.[bo]
12 By God’s power we will conquer;[bp]
he will trample down[bq] our enemies.
Psalm 8[a]
For the music director, according to the gittith style;[b] a psalm of David.
8 O Lord, our Lord,[c]
how magnificent[d] is your reputation[e] throughout the earth!
You reveal your majesty in the heavens above.[f]
2 From the mouths of children and nursing babies
you have ordained praise on account of your adversaries,[g]
so that you might put an end to the vindictive enemy.[h]
3 When I look up at the heavens, which your fingers made,
and see the moon and the stars, which you set in place,[i]
4 Of what importance is the human race,[j] that you should notice[k] them?
Of what importance is mankind,[l] that you should pay attention to them?[m]
5 You made them[n] a little less than[o] the heavenly beings.[p]
You crowned mankind[q] with honor and majesty.[r]
6 you appoint them to rule over your creation;[s]
you have placed[t] everything under their authority,[u]
7 including all the sheep and cattle,
as well as the wild animals,[v]
8 the birds in the sky, the fish in the sea,
and everything that moves through the currents[w] of the seas.
9 O Lord, our Lord,[x]
how magnificent[y] is your reputation[z] throughout the earth![aa]
Psalm 84[a]
For the music director, according to the gittith style;[b] written by the Korahites, a psalm.
84 How lovely is the place where you live,[c]
O Lord of Heaven’s Armies![d]
2 I desperately want to be[e]
in the courts of the Lord’s temple.[f]
My heart and my entire being[g] shout for joy
to the living God.
3 Even the birds find a home there,
and the swallow[h] builds a nest,
where she can protect her young[i]
near your altars, O Lord of Heaven’s Armies,
my King and my God.
4 How blessed[j] are those who live in your temple
and praise you continually. (Selah)
5 How blessed are those who[k] find their strength in you,
and long to travel the roads that lead to your temple.[l]
6 As they pass through the Baca Valley,[m]
he provides a spring for them.[n]
The rain[o] even covers it with pools of water.[p]
7 They are sustained as they travel along;[q]
each one appears[r] before God in Zion.
8 O Lord God of Heaven’s Armies,[s]
hear my prayer.
Listen, O God of Jacob. (Selah)
9 O God, take notice of our shield.[t]
Show concern for your chosen king.[u]
10 Certainly[v] spending just one day in your temple courts is better
than spending a thousand elsewhere.[w]
I would rather stand at the entrance[x] to the temple of my God
than live[y] in the tents of the wicked.
11 For the Lord God is our sovereign protector.[z]
The Lord bestows favor[aa] and honor;
he withholds no good thing from those who have integrity.[ab]
12 O Lord of Heaven’s Armies,[ac]
how blessed are those who trust in you.[ad]
The Problem of Injustice and Oppression
16 I saw something else on earth:[a]
In the place of justice, there was wickedness,
and in the place of fairness,[b] there was wickedness.
17 I thought to myself, “God will judge both the righteous and the wicked;
for there is an appropriate time for every activity,
and there is a time of judgment[c] for every deed.”
18 I also thought to myself, “It is[d] for the sake of people,[e]
so God can clearly[f] show[g] them that they are like animals.
19 For the fate of humans[h] and the fate of animals are the same:
As one dies, so dies the other; both have the same breath.
There is no advantage for humans over animals,
for both are fleeting.
20 Both go to the same place,
both come from the dust,
and to dust both return.
21 Who really knows if the human spirit[i] ascends upward,
and the animal’s spirit descends into the earth?”
22 So I perceived there is nothing better than for people[j] to enjoy their work,[k]
because that is their[l] reward;
for who can show them what the future holds?[m]
Evil Oppression on Earth
4 So[n] I again considered[o] all the oppression[p] that continually occurs[q] on earth.[r]
This is what I saw:[s]
The oppressed[t] were in tears,[u] but no one was comforting them;
no one delivers[v] them from the power of their oppressors.[w]
2 So I considered[x] those who are dead and gone[y]
more fortunate than those who are still alive.[z]
3 But better than both is the one who has not been born[aa]
and has not seen the evil things that are done on earth.[ab]
Justification by Law or by Faith?
3 You[a] foolish Galatians! Who has cast a spell[b] on you? Before your eyes Jesus Christ was vividly portrayed[c] as crucified! 2 The only thing I want to learn from you is this: Did you receive the Spirit by doing the works of the law[d] or by believing what you heard?[e] 3 Are you so foolish? Although you began[f] with[g] the Spirit, are you now trying to finish[h] by human effort?[i] 4 Have you suffered so many things for nothing?—if indeed it was for nothing. 5 Does God then give[j] you the Spirit and work miracles among you by your doing the works of the law[k] or by your believing what you heard?[l]
6 Just as Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,[m] 7 so then, understand[n] that those who believe are the sons of Abraham.[o] 8 And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, proclaimed the gospel to Abraham ahead of time,[p] saying, “All the nations[q] will be blessed in you.”[r] 9 So then those who believe[s] are blessed along with Abraham the believer. 10 For all who[t] rely on doing the works of the law are under a curse, because it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not keep on doing everything written in the book of the law.”[u] 11 Now it is clear no one is justified before God by the law, because the righteous one will live by faith.[v] 12 But the law is not based on faith,[w] but the one who does the works of the law[x] will live by them.[y] 13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming[z] a curse for us (because it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”)[aa] 14 in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham would come to the Gentiles,[ab] so that we could receive the promise of the Spirit by faith.
The Feeding of the Five Thousand
13 Now when Jesus heard this he went away from there privately in a boat[a] to an isolated place. But when the crowd heard about it,[b] they followed him on foot from the towns.[c] 14 As he got out he saw the large crowd, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick. 15 When evening arrived, his disciples came to him saying, “This is an isolated place[d] and the hour is already late. Send the crowds away so that they can go into the villages and buy food for themselves.” 16 But he[e] replied, “They don’t need to go. You[f] give them something to eat.” 17 They[g] said to him, “We have here only five loaves and two fish.” 18 “Bring them here to me,” he replied. 19 Then[h] he instructed the crowds to sit down on the grass. He took the five loaves and two fish, and looking up to heaven he gave thanks and broke the loaves. He gave them to the disciples,[i] who in turn gave them to the crowds.[j] 20 They all ate and were satisfied, and they picked up the broken pieces left over, twelve baskets full. 21 Not counting women and children, there were about 5,000 men who ate.
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