Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 75
God Judges the Wicked
For the choir director: “Do Not Destroy.”[a] A psalm of Asaph.(A) A song.
1 We give thanks to You, God;
we give thanks to You, for Your name is near.
People tell about Your wonderful works.(B)
2 “When I choose a time,
I will judge fairly.(C)
3 When the earth and all its inhabitants shake,
I am the One who steadies its pillars.(D)
4 I say to the boastful, ‘Do not boast,’
and to the wicked, ‘Do not lift up your horn.(E)
5 Do not lift up your horn against heaven
or speak arrogantly.’”(F)
6 Exaltation does not come
from the east, the west, or the desert,
7 for God is the Judge:
He brings down one and exalts another.(G)
8 For there is a cup in the Lord’s hand,
full of wine blended with spices, and He pours from it.
All the wicked of the earth will drink,
draining it to the dregs.(H)
9 As for me, I will tell about Him forever;
I will sing praise to the God of Jacob.(I)
10 “I will cut off all the horns of the wicked,(J)
but the horns of the righteous will be lifted up.”(K)
Psalm 76
God, the Powerful Judge
For the choir director: with stringed instruments. A psalm of Asaph.(L) A song.
1 God is known in Judah;
His name is great in Israel.(M)
2 His tent is in Salem,[b]
His dwelling place in Zion.(N)
3 There He shatters the bow’s flaming arrows,
the shield, the sword, and the weapons of war.(O)
4 You are resplendent and majestic
coming down from the mountains of prey.(P)
5 The brave-hearted have been plundered;
they have slipped into their final sleep.
None of the warriors was able to lift a hand.(Q)
6 At Your rebuke, God of Jacob,
both chariot and horse lay still.(R)
7 And You—You are to be feared.[c]
When You are angry,
who can stand before You?(S)
8 From heaven You pronounced judgment.
The earth feared and grew quiet(T)
9 when God rose up to judge
and to save all the lowly of the earth.(U)
10 Even human wrath will praise You;
You will clothe Yourself
with their remaining wrath.[d](V)
Psalm 23
The Good Shepherd
A Davidic psalm.
1 The Lord is my shepherd;(A)
there is nothing I lack.(B)
2 He lets me lie down in green pastures;(C)
He leads me beside quiet waters.(D)
3 He renews my life;
He leads me along the right paths[a]
for His name’s sake.(E)
4 Even when I go through the darkest valley,[b]
I fear no danger,
for You are with me;(F)
Your rod and Your staff[c]—they comfort me.(G)
Psalm 27
My Stronghold
Davidic.
1 The Lord is my light and my salvation—
whom should I fear?(A)
The Lord is the stronghold of my life—
of whom should I be afraid?(B)
2 When evildoers came against me to devour my flesh,(C)
my foes and my enemies stumbled and fell.(D)
3 Though an army deploys against me,
my heart is not afraid;
though a war breaks out against me,
still I am confident.(E)
4 I have asked one thing from the Lord;
it is what I desire:
to dwell in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life,(F)
gazing on the beauty of the Lord(G)
and seeking Him in His temple.(H)
5 For He will conceal me in His shelter
in the day of adversity;
He will hide me under the cover of His tent;
He will set me high on a rock.(I)
6 Then my head will be high
above my enemies around me;(J)
I will offer sacrifices in His tent with shouts of joy.(K)
I will sing and make music to the Lord.(L)
7 Lord, hear my voice when I call;
be gracious to me and answer me.(M)
8 My heart says this about You,
“You[a] are to seek My face.”
Lord, I will seek Your face.(N)
9 Do not hide Your face from me;(O)
do not turn Your servant away in anger.(P)
You have been my helper;(Q)
do not leave me or abandon me,
God of my salvation.
10 Even if my father and mother abandon me,
the Lord cares for me.(R)
Aaron’s Sons and the Levites
3 These are the family records of Aaron and Moses at the time the Lord spoke with Moses on Mount Sinai.(A) 2 These are the names of Aaron’s sons: Nadab, the firstborn, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. 3 These are the names of Aaron’s sons, the anointed priests, who were ordained to serve as priests. 4 But Nadab and Abihu died in the Lord’s presence when they presented unauthorized fire(B) before the Lord in the Wilderness of Sinai, and they had no sons. So Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests under the direction of Aaron their father.(C)
5 The Lord spoke to Moses: 6 “Bring the tribe of Levi near and present them to Aaron the priest to assist him. 7 They are to perform duties for[a] him and the entire community before the tent of meeting by attending to the service of the tabernacle. 8 They are to take care of[b] all the furnishings of the tent of meeting(D) and perform duties for[c] the Israelites by attending to the service of the tabernacle. 9 Assign the Levites to Aaron and his sons; they have been assigned exclusively to him[d] from the Israelites.(E) 10 You are to appoint Aaron and his sons to carry out their priestly responsibilities, but any unauthorized person who comes near the sanctuary must be put to death.”(F)
11 The Lord spoke to Moses: 12 “See, I have taken the Levites from the Israelites in place of every firstborn Israelite from the womb.(G) The Levites belong to Me, 13 because every firstborn belongs to Me. At the time I struck down every firstborn in the land of Egypt,(H) I consecrated every firstborn in Israel to Myself, both man and animal. They are Mine; I am Yahweh.”(I)
Concluding Exhortation
11 Look at what large letters I use as I write to you in my own handwriting. 12 Those who want to make a good impression in the flesh(A) are the ones who would compel you to be circumcised(B)—but only to avoid being persecuted(C) for the cross(D) of Christ. 13 For even the circumcised don’t keep(E) the law themselves; however, they want you to be circumcised in order to boast about your flesh. 14 But as for me, I will never boast about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. The world has been crucified to me through the cross, and I to the world. 15 For[a] both circumcision and uncircumcision(F) mean nothing; what matters instead is a new creation.(G) 16 May peace come to all those who follow this standard, and mercy to the Israel(H) of God!
17 From now on, let no one cause me trouble, because I bear on my body scars for the cause of Jesus.(I) 18 Brothers, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.(J) Amen.
The Transfiguration
17 After six days(A) Jesus took Peter, James, and his brother John and led them up on a high mountain by themselves.(B) 2 He was transformed[a] in front of them, and His face shone like the sun. Even His clothes became as white as the light.(C) 3 Suddenly, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him.
4 Then Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it’s good for us to be here! If You want, I will make[b] three tabernacles here: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”(D)
5 While he was still speaking, suddenly a bright cloud covered[c] them, and a voice from the cloud said:
This is My beloved Son.
I take delight in Him.
Listen to Him!(E)
6 When the disciples(F) heard it, they fell facedown and were terrified.
7 Then Jesus came up, touched them, and said, “Get up; don’t be afraid.”(G) 8 When they looked up they saw no one except Him[d]—Jesus alone. 9 As they were coming down from the mountain, Jesus commanded them,(H) “Don’t tell anyone about the vision until the Son of Man is raised[e] from the dead.”
10 So the disciples questioned Him, “Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?”(I)
11 “Elijah is coming[f] and will restore everything,” He replied.[g](J) 12 “But I tell you: Elijah has already come, and they didn’t recognize him. On the contrary, they did whatever they pleased to him. In the same way the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands.”[h](K) 13 Then the disciples understood that He spoke to them about John the Baptist.
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