Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 50
A psalm of Asaph.
1 The Mighty One, God, the Lord,(A)
speaks and summons the earth
from the rising of the sun to where it sets.(B)
2 From Zion,(C) perfect in beauty,(D)
God shines forth.(E)
3 Our God comes(F)
and will not be silent;(G)
a fire devours(H) before him,(I)
and around him a tempest(J) rages.
4 He summons the heavens above,
and the earth,(K) that he may judge his people:(L)
5 “Gather to me this consecrated people,(M)
who made a covenant(N) with me by sacrifice.”
6 And the heavens proclaim(O) his righteousness,
for he is a God of justice.[a][b](P)
7 “Listen, my people, and I will speak;
I will testify(Q) against you, Israel:
I am God, your God.(R)
8 I bring no charges(S) against you concerning your sacrifices
or concerning your burnt offerings,(T) which are ever before me.
9 I have no need of a bull(U) from your stall
or of goats(V) from your pens,(W)
10 for every animal of the forest(X) is mine,
and the cattle on a thousand hills.(Y)
11 I know every bird(Z) in the mountains,
and the insects in the fields(AA) are mine.
12 If I were hungry I would not tell you,
for the world(AB) is mine, and all that is in it.(AC)
13 Do I eat the flesh of bulls
or drink the blood of goats?
14 “Sacrifice thank offerings(AD) to God,
fulfill your vows(AE) to the Most High,(AF)
15 and call(AG) on me in the day of trouble;(AH)
I will deliver(AI) you, and you will honor(AJ) me.”
16 But to the wicked person, God says:
“What right have you to recite my laws
or take my covenant(AK) on your lips?(AL)
17 You hate(AM) my instruction
and cast my words behind(AN) you.
18 When you see a thief, you join(AO) with him;
you throw in your lot with adulterers.(AP)
19 You use your mouth for evil
and harness your tongue to deceit.(AQ)
20 You sit and testify against your brother(AR)
and slander your own mother’s son.
21 When you did these things and I kept silent,(AS)
you thought I was exactly[c] like you.
But I now arraign(AT) you
and set my accusations(AU) before you.
Psalm 59[a]
For the director of music. To the tune of “Do Not Destroy.” Of David. A miktam.[b] When Saul had sent men to watch David’s house(A) in order to kill him.
1 Deliver me from my enemies, O God;(B)
be my fortress against those who are attacking me.(C)
2 Deliver me from evildoers(D)
and save me from those who are after my blood.(E)
3 See how they lie in wait for me!
Fierce men conspire(F) against me
for no offense or sin of mine, Lord.
4 I have done no wrong,(G) yet they are ready to attack me.(H)
Arise to help me; look on my plight!(I)
5 You, Lord God Almighty,
you who are the God of Israel,(J)
rouse yourself(K) to punish all the nations;(L)
show no mercy to wicked traitors.[c](M)
6 They return at evening,
snarling like dogs,(N)
and prowl about the city.
7 See what they spew from their mouths(O)—
the words from their lips are sharp as swords,(P)
and they think, “Who can hear us?”(Q)
8 But you laugh at them, Lord;(R)
you scoff at all those nations.(S)
9 You are my strength,(T) I watch for you;
you, God, are my fortress,(U)
10 my God on whom I can rely.
God will go before me
and will let me gloat over those who slander me.
11 But do not kill them, Lord our shield,[d](V)
or my people will forget.(W)
In your might uproot them
and bring them down.(X)
12 For the sins of their mouths,(Y)
for the words of their lips,(Z)
let them be caught in their pride.(AA)
For the curses and lies they utter,
13 consume them in your wrath,
consume them till they are no more.(AB)
Then it will be known to the ends of the earth
that God rules over Jacob.(AC)
14 They return at evening,
snarling like dogs,
and prowl about the city.
15 They wander about for food(AD)
and howl if not satisfied.
16 But I will sing(AE) of your strength,(AF)
in the morning(AG) I will sing of your love;(AH)
for you are my fortress,(AI)
my refuge in times of trouble.(AJ)
17 You are my strength, I sing praise to you;
you, God, are my fortress,
my God on whom I can rely.(AK)
Psalm 60[e](AL)
For the director of music. To the tune of “The Lily of the Covenant.” A miktam[f] of David. For teaching. When he fought Aram Naharaim[g] and Aram Zobah,[h] and when Joab returned and struck down twelve thousand Edomites in the Valley of Salt.(AM)
1 You have rejected us,(AN) God, and burst upon us;
you have been angry(AO)—now restore us!(AP)
2 You have shaken the land(AQ) and torn it open;
mend its fractures,(AR) for it is quaking.
3 You have shown your people desperate times;(AS)
you have given us wine that makes us stagger.(AT)
4 But for those who fear you, you have raised a banner(AU)
to be unfurled against the bow.[i]
5 Save us and help us with your right hand,(AV)
that those you love(AW) may be delivered.
6 God has spoken from his sanctuary:
“In triumph I will parcel out Shechem(AX)
and measure off the Valley of Sukkoth.(AY)
7 Gilead(AZ) is mine, and Manasseh is mine;
Ephraim(BA) is my helmet,
Judah(BB) is my scepter.(BC)
8 Moab is my washbasin,
on Edom I toss my sandal;
over Philistia I shout in triumph.(BD)”
9 Who will bring me to the fortified city?
Who will lead me to Edom?
10 Is it not you, God, you who have now rejected us
and no longer go out with our armies?(BE)
11 Give us aid against the enemy,
for human help is worthless.(BF)
12 With God we will gain the victory,
and he will trample down our enemies.(BG)
Psalm 33
1 Sing joyfully(A) to the Lord, you righteous;
it is fitting(B) for the upright(C) to praise him.
2 Praise the Lord with the harp;(D)
make music to him on the ten-stringed lyre.(E)
3 Sing to him a new song;(F)
play skillfully, and shout for joy.(G)
4 For the word of the Lord is right(H) and true;(I)
he is faithful(J) in all he does.
5 The Lord loves righteousness and justice;(K)
the earth is full of his unfailing love.(L)
6 By the word(M) of the Lord the heavens were made,(N)
their starry host(O) by the breath of his mouth.
7 He gathers the waters(P) of the sea into jars[a];(Q)
he puts the deep into storehouses.
8 Let all the earth fear the Lord;(R)
let all the people of the world(S) revere him.(T)
9 For he spoke, and it came to be;
he commanded,(U) and it stood firm.
10 The Lord foils(V) the plans(W) of the nations;(X)
he thwarts the purposes of the peoples.
11 But the plans of the Lord stand firm(Y) forever,
the purposes(Z) of his heart through all generations.
12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord,(AA)
the people he chose(AB) for his inheritance.(AC)
13 From heaven the Lord looks down(AD)
and sees all mankind;(AE)
14 from his dwelling place(AF) he watches
all who live on earth—
15 he who forms(AG) the hearts of all,
who considers everything they do.(AH)
16 No king is saved by the size of his army;(AI)
no warrior escapes by his great strength.
17 A horse(AJ) is a vain hope for deliverance;
despite all its great strength it cannot save.
18 But the eyes(AK) of the Lord are on those who fear him,
on those whose hope is in his unfailing love,(AL)
19 to deliver them from death(AM)
and keep them alive in famine.(AN)
18 Surely wickedness burns like a fire;(A)
it consumes briers and thorns,(B)
it sets the forest thickets ablaze,(C)
so that it rolls upward in a column of smoke.
19 By the wrath(D) of the Lord Almighty
the land will be scorched(E)
and the people will be fuel for the fire;(F)
they will not spare one another.(G)
20 On the right they will devour,
but still be hungry;(H)
on the left they will eat,(I)
but not be satisfied.
Each will feed on the flesh of their own offspring[a]:
21 Manasseh will feed on Ephraim, and Ephraim on Manasseh;(J)
together they will turn against Judah.(K)
Yet for all this, his anger is not turned away,
his hand is still upraised.(L)
10 Woe(M) to those who make unjust laws,
to those who issue oppressive decrees,(N)
2 to deprive(O) the poor of their rights
and withhold justice from the oppressed of my people,(P)
making widows their prey
and robbing the fatherless.(Q)
3 What will you do on the day of reckoning,(R)
when disaster(S) comes from afar?
To whom will you run for help?(T)
Where will you leave your riches?
4 Nothing will remain but to cringe among the captives(U)
or fall among the slain.(V)
Yet for all this, his anger is not turned away,(W)
his hand is still upraised.
10 This is especially true of those who follow the corrupt desire(A) of the flesh[a] and despise authority.
Bold and arrogant, they are not afraid to heap abuse on celestial beings;(B) 11 yet even angels, although they are stronger and more powerful, do not heap abuse on such beings when bringing judgment on them from[b] the Lord.(C) 12 But these people blaspheme in matters they do not understand. They are like unreasoning animals, creatures of instinct, born only to be caught and destroyed, and like animals they too will perish.(D)
13 They will be paid back with harm for the harm they have done. Their idea of pleasure is to carouse in broad daylight.(E) They are blots and blemishes, reveling in their pleasures while they feast with you.[c](F) 14 With eyes full of adultery, they never stop sinning; they seduce(G) the unstable;(H) they are experts in greed(I)—an accursed brood!(J) 15 They have left the straight way and wandered off to follow the way of Balaam(K) son of Bezer,[d] who loved the wages of wickedness. 16 But he was rebuked for his wrongdoing by a donkey—an animal without speech—who spoke with a human voice and restrained the prophet’s madness.(L)
John the Baptist Prepares the Way(A)
3 In those days John the Baptist(B) came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea 2 and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven(C) has come near.” 3 This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah:
“A voice of one calling in the wilderness,
‘Prepare the way for the Lord,
make straight paths for him.’”[a](D)
4 John’s(E) clothes were made of camel’s hair, and he had a leather belt around his waist.(F) His food was locusts(G) and wild honey. 5 People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan. 6 Confessing their sins, they were baptized(H) by him in the Jordan River.
7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: “You brood of vipers!(I) Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?(J) 8 Produce fruit in keeping with repentance.(K) 9 And do not think you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’(L) I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. 10 The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.(M)
11 “I baptize you with[b] water for repentance.(N) But after me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with[c] the Holy Spirit(O) and fire.(P) 12 His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”(Q)
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