Book of Common Prayer
God Will Judge with Equity
To the choirmaster: according to (A)Do Not Destroy. (B)A Psalm of Asaph. A Song.
75 We give thanks to you, O God;
we give thanks, for your name is (C)near.
We[a] recount your wondrous deeds.
2 “At (D)the set time that I appoint
I will judge (E)with equity.
3 When the earth (F)totters, and all its inhabitants,
it is I who keep steady its (G)pillars. Selah
4 I say to the boastful, ‘Do not boast,’
and to the wicked, (H)‘Do not lift up your horn;
5 do not lift up your horn on high,
or speak with haughty neck.’”
6 For not from the east or from the west
and not from the wilderness comes (I)lifting up,
7 but it is (J)God who executes judgment,
(K)putting down one and lifting up another.
8 (L)For in the hand of the Lord there is (M)a cup
with foaming wine, (N)well mixed,
and he pours out from it,
and all the wicked of the earth
shall (O)drain it down to the dregs.
9 But I will declare it forever;
I will sing praises to the God of Jacob.
10 (P)All the horns of the wicked I will cut off,
(Q)but the horns of the righteous shall be lifted up.
Who Can Stand Before You?
To the choirmaster: with (R)stringed instruments. A Psalm of (S)Asaph. A Song.
76 In Judah God is (T)known;
his name is great in Israel.
2 His (U)abode has been established in (V)Salem,
his (W)dwelling place in Zion.
3 There he (X)broke the flashing arrows,
the shield, the sword, and the weapons of war. Selah
4 Glorious are you, more majestic
(Y)than the mountains full of (Z)prey.
5 (AA)The stouthearted were stripped of their spoil;
(AB)they sank into sleep;
all the men of war
were unable to use their hands.
6 At your rebuke, O God of Jacob,
both (AC)rider and horse lay stunned.
7 (AD)But you, you are to be feared!
Who can (AE)stand before you
when once your anger is roused?
8 From the heavens you uttered judgment;
(AF)the earth feared and was still,
9 when God (AG)arose to establish judgment,
to save all the humble of the earth. Selah
10 Surely (AH)the wrath of man shall praise you;
the remnant[b] of wrath you will put on like a belt.
11 (AI)Make your vows to the Lord your God and perform them;
let all around him (AJ)bring gifts
to him who (AK)is to be feared,
12 who (AL)cuts off the spirit of princes,
who (AM)is to be feared by the kings of the earth.
The Lord Is My Shepherd
A Psalm of David.
23 The Lord is my (A)shepherd; I shall not (B)want.
2 He makes me lie down in green (C)pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.[a]
3 He (D)restores my soul.
He (E)leads me in (F)paths of righteousness[b]
for his (G)name's sake.
The Lord Is My Light and My Salvation
Of David.
27 The Lord is my (A)light and my (B)salvation;
(C)whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold[a] of my life;
of whom shall I be afraid?
2 When evildoers assail me
to (D)eat up my flesh,
my adversaries and foes,
it is they who stumble and fall.
3 (E)Though an army encamp against me,
my heart shall not fear;
though war arise against me,
yet[b] I will be confident.
4 (F)One thing have I asked of the Lord,
that will I seek after:
that I may (G)dwell in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life,
to gaze upon (H)the beauty of the Lord
and to inquire[c] in his temple.
5 For he will (I)hide me in his shelter
in the day of trouble;
he will conceal me under the cover of his tent;
he will (J)lift me high upon a rock.
6 And now my (K)head shall be lifted up
above my enemies all around me,
and I will offer in his tent
sacrifices with shouts of (L)joy;
(M)I will sing and make melody to the Lord.
7 (N)Hear, O Lord, when I cry aloud;
be gracious to me and answer me!
8 You have said, (O)“Seek[d] my face.”
My heart says to you,
“Your face, Lord, do I seek.”[e]
9 (P)Hide not your face from me.
Turn not your servant away in anger,
O you who have been my help.
Cast me not off; forsake me not,
(Q)O God of my salvation!
10 For (R)my father and my mother have forsaken me,
but the Lord will (S)take me in.
5 Now there was a Jew in Susa the citadel whose name was (A)Mordecai, the son of Jair, son of Shimei, son of Kish, a Benjaminite, 6 (B)who had been carried away from Jerusalem among the captives carried away with Jeconiah king of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had carried away. 7 He was bringing up Hadassah, that is Esther, (C)the daughter of his uncle, for she had neither father nor mother. The young woman had a beautiful figure and was lovely to look at, and when her father and her mother died, Mordecai took her as his own daughter. 8 So when the king's order and his edict were proclaimed, and (D)when many young women were gathered in Susa the citadel in custody of (E)Hegai, Esther also was taken into the king's palace and put in custody of Hegai, who had charge of the women.
15 When the turn came for Esther (A)the daughter of Abihail the uncle of Mordecai, who had taken her as his own daughter, to go in to the king, she asked for nothing except what (B)Hegai the king's eunuch, who had charge of the women, advised. Now Esther was winning favor in the eyes of all who saw her. 16 And when Esther was taken to King Ahasuerus, into his royal palace, in the tenth month, which is the month of Tebeth, in the seventh year of his reign, 17 the king loved Esther more than all the women, and she won grace and favor in his sight more than all the virgins, so that he set (C)the royal crown[a] on her head and made her queen instead of Vashti. 18 Then the king (D)gave a great feast for all his officials and servants; it was Esther's feast. He also granted a remission of taxes to the provinces and gave gifts with royal generosity.
Mordecai Discovers a Plot
19 Now when the virgins were gathered together (E)the second time, Mordecai was sitting (F)at the king's gate. 20 (G)Esther had not made known her kindred or her people, as Mordecai had commanded her, for Esther obeyed Mordecai just (H)as when she was brought up by him. 21 In those days, as Mordecai was sitting at the king's gate, (I)Bigthan and (J)Teresh, two of the king's eunuchs, who guarded the threshold, became angry and sought to lay hands on King Ahasuerus. 22 And this came to the knowledge of Mordecai, (K)and he told it to Queen Esther, and Esther told the king in the name of Mordecai. 23 When the affair was investigated and found to be so, the men were both hanged on the gallows.[b] And it was recorded in (L)the book of the chronicles in the presence of the king.
Paul in Athens
16 Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was (A)provoked within him as he saw that the city was (B)full of idols. 17 So (C)he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the devout persons, and in the marketplace every day with those who happened to be there. 18 Some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers also conversed with him. And some said, (D)“What does this babbler wish to say?” Others said, “He seems to be a preacher of foreign divinities”—because (E)he was preaching (F)Jesus and the resurrection. 19 And they took him and brought him to (G)the Areopagus, saying, “May we know what this (H)new teaching is that you are presenting? 20 For you bring some (I)strange things to our ears. We wish to know therefore what these things mean.” 21 Now all the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there would spend their time in nothing except telling or hearing something new.
Paul Addresses the Areopagus
22 So Paul, standing in the midst of the Areopagus, said: “Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. 23 For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription: (J)‘To the unknown god.’ (K)What therefore you worship (L)as unknown, this I proclaim to you. 24 (M)The God who made the world and everything in it, being (N)Lord of heaven and earth, (O)does not live in temples made by man,[a] 25 nor is he served by human hands, (P)as though he needed anything, since he himself (Q)gives to all mankind (R)life and breath and everything. 26 And (S)he made from one man every nation of mankind to live (T)on all the face of the earth, (U)having determined allotted periods and (V)the boundaries of their dwelling place, 27 (W)that they should seek God, (X)and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. (Y)Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, 28 for
as even some of (AA)your own poets have said,
“‘For we are indeed his offspring.’[c]
29 (AB)Being then God's offspring, (AC)we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man. 30 (AD)The times of ignorance (AE)God overlooked, but (AF)now he (AG)commands all people everywhere to repent, 31 because he has fixed (AH)a day on which (AI)he will judge the world (AJ)in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and (AK)of this he has given assurance to all (AL)by raising him from the dead.”
32 Now when they heard of (AM)the resurrection of the dead, (AN)some mocked. But others said, (AO)“We will hear you again about this.” 33 So Paul went out from their midst. 34 But some men joined him and believed, among whom also were Dionysius (AP)the Areopagite and a woman named Damaris and others with them.
Jesus Came to Save the World
44 And Jesus cried out and said, (A)“Whoever believes in me, believes not in me but (B)in him who sent me. 45 And (C)whoever (D)sees me sees him who sent me. 46 (E)I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness. 47 If anyone (F)hears my words and does not keep them, (G)I do not judge him; for (H)I did not come to judge the world but to save the world. 48 (I)The one who rejects me and does not receive my words has a judge; (J)the word that I have spoken will judge him (K)on the last day. 49 For (L)I have not spoken on my own authority, but the Father (M)who sent me has himself given me (N)a commandment—what to say and what to speak. 50 And I know that his commandment is eternal life. What I say, therefore, I say as the Father has told me.”
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.