Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 75[a]
For the music director, according to the al-tashcheth style;[b] a psalm of Asaph, a song.
75 We give thanks to you, O God. We give thanks.
You reveal your presence;[c]
people tell about your amazing deeds.
2 God says,[d]
“At the appointed times,[e]
I judge[f] fairly.
3 When the earth and all its inhabitants dissolve in fear,[g]
I make its pillars secure.”[h] (Selah)
4 [i] I say to the proud, “Do not be proud,”
and to the wicked, “Do not be so confident of victory.[j]
5 Do not be so certain you have won.[k]
Do not speak with your head held so high.[l]
6 For victory does not come from the east or west,
or from the wilderness.[m]
7 For God is the judge.[n]
He brings one down and exalts another.[o]
8 For the Lord holds in his hand a cup
full of foaming wine mixed with spices,[p]
and pours it out.[q]
Surely all the wicked of the earth
will slurp it up and drink it to its very last drop.”[r]
9 As for me, I will continually tell what you have done;[s]
I will sing praises to the God of Jacob.
10 God says,[t]
“I will bring down all the power of the wicked;
the godly will be victorious.”[u]
Psalm 76[v]
For the music director, to be accompanied by stringed instruments; a psalm of Asaph, a song.
76 God has revealed himself in Judah;[w]
in Israel his reputation[x] is great.
2 He lives in Salem;[y]
he dwells in Zion.[z]
3 There he shattered the arrows,[aa]
the shield, the sword, and the rest of the weapons of war.[ab] (Selah)
4 You shine brightly and reveal your majesty,
as you descend from the hills where you killed your prey.[ac]
5 The bravehearted[ad] were plundered;[ae]
they “fell asleep.”[af]
All the warriors were helpless.[ag]
6 At the sound of your battle cry,[ah] O God of Jacob,
both rider[ai] and horse “fell asleep.”[aj]
7 You are awesome! Yes, you!
Who can withstand your intense anger?[ak]
8 From heaven you announced what their punishment would be.[al]
The earth[am] was afraid and silent
9 when God arose to execute judgment,
and to deliver all the oppressed of the earth. (Selah)
10 Certainly[an] your angry judgment upon men will bring you praise;[ao]
you reveal your anger in full measure.[ap]
11 Make vows to the Lord your God and repay them.
Let all those who surround him[aq] bring tribute to the awesome one.
12 He humbles princes;[ar]
the kings of the earth regard him as awesome.[as]
Psalm 23[a]
A psalm of David.
23 The Lord is my shepherd,[b]
I lack nothing.[c]
2 He takes me to lush pastures,[d]
he leads me to refreshing water.[e]
3 He restores my strength.[f]
He leads me down[g] the right paths[h]
for the sake of his reputation.[i]
4 Even when I must walk through the darkest valley,[j]
I fear[k] no danger,[l]
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff reassure me.[m]
5 You prepare a feast before me[n]
in plain sight of my enemies.
You refresh[o] my head with oil;
my cup is completely full.[p]
6 Surely your goodness and faithfulness[q] will pursue[r] me all my days,[s]
and I will live in[t] the Lord’s house[u] for the rest of my life.[v]
Psalm 27[a]
By David.
27 The Lord is my light[b] and my salvation.
I fear no one.[c]
The Lord protects my life.
I am afraid of no one.[d]
2 When evil men attack me[e]
to devour my flesh,[f]
when my adversaries and enemies attack me,[g]
they stumble and fall.[h]
3 Even when an army is deployed against me,
I do not fear.[i]
Even when war is imminent,[j]
I remain confident.[k]
4 I have asked the Lord for one thing—
this is what I desire!
I want to live[l] in the Lord’s house[m] all the days of my life,
so I can gaze at the splendor[n] of the Lord
and contemplate in his temple.
5 He will surely[o] give me shelter[p] in the day of danger;[q]
he will hide me in his home.[r]
He will place me[s] on an inaccessible rocky summit.[t]
6 Now I will triumph
over my enemies who surround me.[u]
I will offer sacrifices in his dwelling place and shout for joy.[v]
I will sing praises to the Lord.
7 Hear me,[w] O Lord, when I cry out.
Have mercy on me and answer me.
8 My heart tells me to pray to you,[x]
and I do pray to you, O Lord.[y]
9 Do not reject me.[z]
Do not push your servant away in anger.
You are my deliverer.[aa]
Do not forsake or abandon me,
O God who vindicates me.
10 Even if my father and mother abandoned me,[ab]
the Lord would take me in.[ac]
11 Teach me how you want me to live,[ad] Lord;
lead me along a level path[ae] because of those who wait to ambush me.[af]
12 Do not turn me over to my enemies,[ag]
for false witnesses who want to destroy me testify against me.[ah]
13 Where would I be if I did not believe I would experience
the Lord’s favor in the land of the living?[ai]
14 Rely[aj] on the Lord!
Be strong and confident![ak]
Rely on the Lord!
The Sons of Aaron
3 [a] Now these are the records[b] of Aaron and Moses when[c] the Lord spoke with Moses on Mount Sinai. 2 These are the names of the sons of Aaron: Nadab the firstborn, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. 3 These are the names of the sons of Aaron, the anointed[d] priests, whom he consecrated[e] to minister as priests.[f]
4 Nadab and Abihu died[g] before the Lord[h] when they offered[i] strange[j] fire[k] before the Lord in the desert of Sinai, and they had no children.[l] So Eleazar and Ithamar ministered as priests[m] in the presence of[n] Aaron their father.
The Assignment of the Levites
5 The Lord spoke to Moses: 6 “Bring the tribe of Levi near,[o] and present[p] them before Aaron the priest, that they may serve him.[q] 7 They are responsible for his needs[r] and the needs of the whole community before the tent of meeting, by attending to[s] the service of the tabernacle. 8 And they are responsible for all the furnishings of the tent of meeting, and for the needs of the Israelites, as they serve[t] in the tabernacle. 9 You are to assign[u] the Levites to Aaron and his sons; they will be assigned exclusively[v] to him out of all[w] the Israelites. 10 So you are to appoint Aaron and his sons, and they will be responsible for their priesthood,[x] but the unauthorized person[y] who comes near must be put to death.”
11 Then the Lord spoke to Moses: 12 “Look,[z] I myself have taken the Levites from among the Israelites instead of[aa] every firstborn who opens the womb among the Israelites. So the Levites belong to me, 13 because all the firstborn are mine. When I destroyed[ab] all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I set apart for myself all the firstborn in Israel, both man and beast. They belong to me. I am the Lord.”[ac]
Final Instructions and Benediction
11 See what big letters I make as I write to you with my own hand!
12 Those who want to make a good showing in external matters[a] are trying to force you to be circumcised. They do so[b] only to avoid being persecuted[c] for the cross of Christ. 13 For those who are circumcised do not obey the law themselves, but they want you to be circumcised so that they can boast about your flesh.[d] 14 But may I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which[e] the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. 15 For[f] neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for[g] anything; the only thing that matters is a new creation![h] 16 And all who will behave[i] in accordance with this rule, peace and mercy be on them, and on the Israel of God.[j]
17 From now on let no one cause me trouble, for I bear the marks of Jesus on my body.[k]
18 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be[l] with your spirit, brothers and sisters.[m] Amen.
The Transfiguration
17 Six days later[a] Jesus took with him Peter, James, and John the brother of James,[b] and led them privately up a high mountain. 2 And he was transfigured before them.[c] His[d] face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light. 3 Then Moses[e] and Elijah[f] also appeared before them, talking with him. 4 So[g] Peter said[h] to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you want, I will make[i] three shelters[j]—one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” 5 While he was still speaking, a[k] bright cloud[l] overshadowed[m] them, and a voice from the cloud said,[n] “This is my one dear Son,[o] in whom I take great delight. Listen to him!”[p] 6 When the disciples heard this, they were overwhelmed with fear and threw themselves down with their faces to the ground.[q] 7 But Jesus came and touched them. “Get up,” he said. “Do not be afraid.” 8 When[r] they looked up, all they saw was Jesus alone.
9 As they were coming down from the mountain, Jesus commanded them,[s] “Do not tell anyone about the vision until the Son of Man is raised from the dead.” 10 The disciples asked him,[t] “Why then do the experts in the law[u] say that Elijah must come first?” 11 He[v] answered, “Elijah does indeed come first and will restore all things. 12 And I tell you that Elijah has already come. Yet they did not recognize him, but did to him whatever they wanted. In[w] the same way, the Son of Man will suffer at their hands.” 13 Then the disciples understood that he was speaking to them about John the Baptist.
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