Book of Common Prayer
God Himself Is Judge
A Psalm of (A)Asaph.
50 (B)The Mighty One, God the Lord,
speaks and summons the earth
(C)from the rising of the sun to its setting.
2 Out of Zion, (D)the perfection of beauty,
(E)God shines forth.
3 Our God comes; he (F)does not keep silence;[a]
before him is a devouring (G)fire,
around him a mighty tempest.
4 (H)He calls to the heavens above
and to the earth, that he may judge his people:
5 “Gather to me my faithful ones,
who made (I)a covenant with me by sacrifice!”
6 (J)The heavens declare his righteousness,
for (K)God himself is judge! Selah
7 (L)“Hear, O my people, and I will speak;
O Israel, I will testify against you.
(M)I am God, your God.
8 Not for your sacrifices (N)do I rebuke you;
your burnt offerings are continually before me.
9 I will not accept a bull from your house
or goats from your folds.
10 For every beast of the forest is mine,
the cattle on a thousand hills.
11 (O)I know all the birds of the hills,
and all that moves in the field is mine.
12 “If I were hungry, I would not tell you,
(P)for the world and its fullness are mine.
13 Do I eat the flesh of bulls
or drink the blood of goats?
14 (Q)Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving,[b]
and (R)perform your vows to the Most High,
15 and (S)call upon me in the day of trouble;
I will (T)deliver you, and you shall (U)glorify me.”
16 But to the wicked God says:
“What right have you to recite my statutes
or take my covenant on your lips?
17 (V)For you hate discipline,
(W)and you cast my words behind you.
18 If you see a thief, (X)you are pleased with him,
(Y)and you keep company with adulterers.
19 “You give your mouth free rein for evil,
(Z)and your tongue frames deceit.
20 You sit and speak against your brother;
you slander your own mother's son.
21 These things you have done, and I (AA)have been silent;
you thought that I[c] was one like yourself.
But now I (AB)rebuke you and (AC)lay the charge before you.
Deliver Me from My Enemies
To the choirmaster: according to (A)Do Not Destroy. A (B)Miktam[a] of David, (C)when Saul sent men to watch his house in order to kill him.
59 (D)Deliver me from my enemies, O my God;
(E)protect me from those who (F)rise up against me;
2 deliver me from (G)those who work evil,
and save me from (H)bloodthirsty men.
3 For behold, they (I)lie in wait for my life;
fierce men (J)stir up strife against me.
(K)For no transgression or sin of mine, O Lord,
4 for no fault of mine, they run and make ready.
(L)Awake, come to meet me, and see!
5 You, (M)Lord God of hosts, are God of Israel.
Rouse yourself to punish all the nations;
spare none of those who treacherously plot evil. Selah
6 Each evening they (N)come back,
howling like dogs
and prowling about the city.
7 There they are, (O)bellowing with their mouths
with (P)swords in their lips—
for (Q)“Who,” they think,[b] “will hear us?”
8 But you, O Lord, (R)laugh at them;
you hold all the nations in derision.
9 O my Strength, I will watch for you,
for you, O God, are (S)my fortress.
10 (T)My God in his steadfast love[c] (U)will meet me;
God will let me (V)look in triumph on my enemies.
11 Kill them not, lest my people forget;
make them totter[d] by your power and (W)bring them down,
O Lord, our (X)shield!
12 For (Y)the sin of their mouths, the words of their lips,
let them be trapped in their pride.
For the cursing and lies that they utter,
13 (Z)consume them in wrath;
consume them till they are no more,
that they may (AA)know that God rules over Jacob
to (AB)the ends of the earth. Selah
14 (AC)Each evening they come back,
howling like dogs
and prowling about the city.
15 They (AD)wander about for food
and growl if they do not get their fill.
16 But I will sing of your strength;
I will sing aloud of your steadfast love in the morning.
For you have been to me (AE)a fortress
and (AF)a refuge in (AG)the day of my distress.
17 O my Strength, I will sing praises to you,
for you, O God, (AH)are my fortress,
(AI)the God who shows me steadfast love.
He Will Tread Down Our Foes
To the choirmaster: according to (AJ)Shushan Eduth. A (AK)Miktam[e] of David; (AL)for instruction; when he (AM)strove with Aram-naharaim and with Aram-zobah, and when Joab on his return struck down twelve thousand of Edom in the Valley of Salt.
60 O God, (AN)you have rejected us, (AO)broken our defenses;
you have been angry; (AP)oh, restore us.
2 You have made the land to quake; you have torn it open;
(AQ)repair its breaches, for it totters.
3 (AR)You have made your people see hard things;
(AS)you have given us (AT)wine to drink that made us stagger.
4 You have set up (AU)a banner for those who fear you,
that they may flee to it (AV)from the bow.[f] Selah
5 (AW)That your (AX)beloved ones may be delivered,
give salvation by your right hand and answer us!
6 God has spoken (AY)in his holiness:[g]
“With exultation (AZ)I will divide up (BA)Shechem
and portion out the Vale of (BB)Succoth.
7 (BC)Gilead is mine; Manasseh is mine;
(BD)Ephraim is (BE)my helmet;
Judah is my (BF)scepter.
8 (BG)Moab is my washbasin;
upon Edom I (BH)cast my shoe;
over (BI)Philistia I shout in triumph.”[h]
9 Who will bring me to the fortified city?
(BJ)Who will lead me to Edom?
10 Have you not (BK)rejected us, O God?
You (BL)do not go forth, O God, with our armies.
11 Oh, grant us help against the foe,
for (BM)vain is the salvation of man!
12 With God we shall (BN)do valiantly;
it is he who will (BO)tread down our foes.
How Awesome Are Your Deeds
To the choirmaster. A Song. A Psalm.
66 (A)Shout for joy to God, all the earth;
2 sing the glory of his name;
(B)give to him glorious praise!
3 Say to God, (C)“How awesome are your deeds!
So great is your power that your enemies (D)come cringing to you.
4 (E)All the earth worships you
and sings praises to you;
they sing praises to your name.” Selah
5 (F)Come and see what God has done:
(G)he is awesome in his deeds toward the children of man.
6 He (H)turned the sea into dry land;
they (I)passed through the river on foot.
There did we rejoice in him,
7 who rules by his might forever,
whose (J)eyes keep watch on the nations—
let not the rebellious exalt themselves. Selah
8 Bless our God, O peoples;
let the sound of his praise be heard,
9 who has kept our soul among the living
and (K)has not let our feet slip.
10 For you, O God, have (L)tested us;
you have tried us as silver is tried.
11 You brought us into (M)the net;
you laid a crushing burden on our backs;
12 you let men (N)ride over our heads;
we went through fire and through (O)water;
yet you have brought us out to a place of abundance.
13 I will come into your house with burnt offerings;
I will (P)perform my vows to you,
14 that which my lips uttered
and my mouth promised (Q)when I was in trouble.
15 I will offer to you burnt offerings of fattened animals,
with the smoke of the sacrifice of rams;
I will make an offering of bulls and goats. Selah
16 (R)Come and hear, all you who fear God,
and I will tell what he has done for my soul.
17 I cried to him with my mouth,
and high praise was on[a] my tongue.[b]
18 If I had (S)cherished iniquity in my heart,
(T)the Lord would not have listened.
19 But truly (U)God has listened;
he has attended to the voice of my prayer.
20 Blessed be God,
because he has not rejected my prayer
or removed his steadfast love from me!
Make Your Face Shine upon Us
To the choirmaster: with (V)stringed instruments. A Psalm. A Song.
67 May God (W)be gracious to us and bless us
and make his face to (X)shine upon us, Selah
2 that (Y)your way may be known on earth,
your (Z)saving power among all nations.
3 (AA)Let the peoples praise you, O God;
let all the peoples praise you!
3 But when the inhabitants of (A)Gibeon heard what Joshua had done (B)to Jericho and (C)to Ai, 4 they on their part acted with cunning and went and made ready provisions and took worn-out sacks for their donkeys, and wineskins, worn-out and torn and mended, 5 with worn-out, patched sandals on their feet, and worn-out clothes. And all their provisions were dry and crumbly. 6 And they went to Joshua in (D)the camp at Gilgal and said to him and to the men of Israel, “We have come from a distant country, so now make a covenant with us.” 7 But the men of Israel said to (E)the Hivites, “Perhaps you live among us; then (F)how can we make a covenant with you?” 8 They said to Joshua, (G)“We are your servants.” And Joshua said to them, “Who are you? And where do you come from?” 9 They said to him, (H)“From a very distant country your servants have come, because of the name of the Lord your God. (I)For we have heard a report of him, and all that he did in Egypt, 10 (J)and all that he did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon the king of Heshbon, and to Og king of Bashan, who lived in (K)Ashtaroth. 11 So our elders and all the inhabitants of our country said to us, ‘Take provisions in your hand for the journey and go to meet them and say to them, “We are your servants. Come now, make a covenant with us.”’ 12 Here is our bread. It was still warm when we took it from our houses as our food for the journey on the day we set out to come to you, but now, behold, it is dry and crumbly. 13 These wineskins were new when we filled them, and behold, they have burst. And these garments and sandals of ours are worn out from the very long journey.” 14 So the men took some of their provisions, but (L)did not ask counsel from the Lord. 15 And Joshua (M)made peace with them and made a covenant with them, to let them live, and the leaders of the congregation swore to them.
16 At the end of three days after they had made a covenant with them, they heard that they were their neighbors (N)and that they lived among them. 17 And the people of Israel set out and reached their cities on the third day. (O)Now their cities were Gibeon, Chephirah, Beeroth, and Kiriath-jearim. 18 But the people of Israel did not attack them, because the leaders of the congregation had sworn to them by the Lord, the God of Israel. Then all the congregation murmured against the leaders. 19 But all the leaders said to all the congregation, “We have sworn to them by the Lord, the God of Israel, and now we may not touch them. 20 This we will do to them: let them live, lest (P)wrath be upon us, (Q)because of the oath that we swore to them.” 21 And the leaders said to them, “Let them live.” So they became (R)cutters of wood and drawers of water for all the congregation, just as the leaders (S)had said of them.
The Example of Christ
15 (A)We who are strong (B)have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. 2 (C)Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. 3 For (D)Christ did not please himself, but as it is written, (E)“The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me.” 4 For (F)whatever was written in former days was written for our (G)instruction, that through endurance and through (H)the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. 5 May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you (I)to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, 6 that together you may with one voice glorify (J)the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. 7 Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.
Christ the Hope of Jews and Gentiles
8 For I tell you that Christ (K)became a servant to the circumcised to show God's truthfulness, in order (L)to confirm the promises given to the patriarchs, 9 and in order (M)that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written,
(N)“Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles,
and sing to your name.”
10 And again it is said,
(O)“Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people.”
11 And again,
(P)“Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles,
and let all the peoples extol him.”
12 And again Isaiah says,
(Q)(R)“The root of Jesse will come,
even he who arises to rule the Gentiles;
(S)in him will the Gentiles hope.”
13 May the God of hope fill you with all (T)joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.
Peter Denies Jesus
69 (A)Now Peter was sitting outside (B)in the courtyard. And a servant girl came up to him and said, “You also were with Jesus the Galilean.” 70 But he denied it before them all, saying, “I do not know what you mean.” 71 And when he went out to the entrance, another servant girl saw him, and she said to the bystanders, “This man was with Jesus (C)of Nazareth.” 72 And again he denied it with an oath: “I do not know the man.” 73 After a little while the bystanders came up and said to Peter, “Certainly you too are one of them, for (D)your accent betrays you.” 74 Then he began to invoke a curse on himself and to swear, “I do not know the man.” And immediately the rooster crowed. 75 And Peter remembered the saying of Jesus, (E)“Before the rooster crows, you will (F)deny me three times.” And he went out and wept bitterly.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.