Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 50[a]
A psalm by Asaph.
50 El, God, the Lord[b] has spoken,
and summoned the earth to come from the east and west.[c]
2 From Zion, the most beautiful of all places,[d]
God has come in splendor.[e]
3 “May our God come
and not be silent.”
Consuming fire goes ahead of him,
and all around him a storm rages.[f]
4 He summons the heavens above,
as well as the earth, so that he might judge his people.[g]
5 He says:[h]
“Assemble my covenant people before me,[i]
those who ratified a covenant with me by sacrifice.”[j]
6 The heavens declare his fairness,[k]
for God is judge.[l] (Selah)
7 He says:[m]
“Listen, my people. I am speaking!
Listen, Israel. I am accusing you.[n]
I am God, your God!
8 I am not condemning[o] you because of your sacrifices,
or because of your burnt sacrifices that you continually offer me.[p]
9 I do not need to take[q] a bull from your household
or goats from your sheepfolds.
10 For every wild animal in the forest belongs to me,
as well as the cattle that graze on a thousand hills.[r]
11 I keep track of[s] every bird in the hills,
and the insects[t] of the field are mine.
12 Even if I were hungry, I would not tell you,
for the world and all it contains belong to me.
13 Do I eat the flesh of bulls?
Do I drink the blood of goats?[u]
14 Present to God a thank offering.
Repay your vows to the Most High.[v]
15 Pray to me when you are in trouble.[w]
I will deliver you, and you will honor me.”[x]
16 God says this to the evildoer:[y]
“How can you declare my commands,
and talk about my covenant?[z]
17 For you hate instruction
and reject my words.[aa]
18 When you see a thief, you join him;[ab]
you associate with men who are unfaithful to their wives.[ac]
19 You do damage with words,[ad]
and use your tongue to deceive.[ae]
20 You plot against your brother;[af]
you slander your own brother.[ag]
21 When you did these things, I was silent,[ah]
so you thought I was exactly like you.[ai]
But now I will condemn[aj] you
and state my case against you.[ak]
22 Carefully consider this, you who reject God.[al]
Otherwise I will rip you to shreds[am]
and no one will be able to rescue you.
23 Whoever presents a thank offering honors me.[an]
To whoever obeys my commands, I will reveal my power to deliver.”[ao]
Psalm 59[a]
For the music director, according to the al-tashcheth style;[b] a prayer[c] of David, written when Saul sent men to surround his house and murder him.[d]
59 Deliver me from my enemies, my God.
Protect me[e] from those who attack me.[f]
2 Deliver me from evildoers.[g]
Rescue me from violent men.[h]
3 For look, they wait to ambush me;[i]
powerful men stalk[j] me,
but not because I have rebelled or sinned, O Lord.[k]
4 Though I have done nothing wrong,[l] they are anxious to attack.[m]
Spring into action and help me. Take notice of me.[n]
5 You, O Lord God of Heaven’s Armies,[o] the God of Israel,
rouse yourself and punish[p] all the nations.
Have no mercy on any treacherous evildoers. (Selah)
6 They return in the evening;
they growl[q] like dogs
and prowl around outside[r] the city.
7 Look, they hurl insults at me
and openly threaten to kill me,[s]
for they say,[t]
“Who hears?”
8 But you, O Lord, laugh in disgust at them;[u]
you taunt[v] all the nations.
9 You are my source of strength. I will wait for you.[w]
For God is my refuge.[x]
10 The God who loves me will help me;[y]
God will enable me to triumph over[z] my enemies.[aa]
11 Do not strike them dead suddenly,
because then my people might forget the lesson.[ab]
Use your power to make them homeless vagabonds and then bring them down,
O Lord who shields us.[ac]
12 They speak sinful words.[ad]
So let them be trapped by their own pride
and by the curses and lies they speak.
13 Angrily wipe them out. Wipe them out so they vanish.
Let them know that God rules
over Jacob and to the ends of the earth. (Selah)
14 They return in the evening;
they growl[ae] like dogs
and prowl around outside[af] the city.
15 They wander around looking for something to eat;
they refuse to sleep until they are full.[ag]
16 As for me, I will sing about your strength;
I will praise your loyal love in the morning.
For you are my refuge[ah]
and my place of shelter when I face trouble.[ai]
17 You are my source of strength. I will sing praises to you.[aj]
For God is my refuge,[ak] the God who loves me.[al]
Psalm 60[am]
For the music director, according to the shushan-eduth style;[an] a prayer[ao] of David written to instruct others.[ap] It was written when he fought against Aram Naharaim and Aram Zobah. That was when Joab turned back and struck down[aq] 12,000 Edomites[ar] in the Valley of Salt.[as]
60 O God, you have rejected us.[at]
You suddenly turned on us in your anger.[au]
Please restore us![av]
2 You made the earth quake; you split it open.[aw]
Repair its breaches, for it is ready to fall.[ax]
3 You have made your people experience hard times;[ay]
you have made us drink intoxicating wine.[az]
4 You have given your loyal followers[ba] a rallying flag,
so that they might seek safety from the bow.[bb] (Selah)
5 Deliver by your power[bc] and answer me,[bd]
so that the ones you love may be safe.[be]
6 God has spoken in his sanctuary:[bf]
“I will triumph. I will parcel out Shechem;
the Valley of Sukkoth I will measure off.[bg]
7 Gilead belongs to me,
as does Manasseh.[bh]
Ephraim is my helmet,[bi]
Judah my royal scepter.[bj]
8 Moab is my washbasin.[bk]
I will make Edom serve me.[bl]
I will shout in triumph over Philistia.”[bm]
9 Who will lead me into the fortified city?
Who will bring me to Edom?[bn]
10 Have you not rejected us, O God?
O God, you do not go into battle with our armies.
11 Give us help against the enemy,
for any help men might offer is futile.[bo]
12 By God’s power we will conquer;[bp]
he will trample down[bq] our enemies.
Psalm 93[a]
93 The Lord reigns.
He is robed in majesty.
The Lord is robed;
he wears strength around his waist.[b]
Indeed, the world is established; it cannot be moved.
2 Your throne has been secure from ancient times;
you have always been king.[c]
3 The waves[d] roar, O Lord,
the waves roar,
the waves roar and crash.[e]
4 Above the sound of the surging water,[f]
and the mighty waves of the sea,
the Lord sits enthroned in majesty.[g]
5 The rules you set down[h] are completely reliable.[i]
Holiness[j] aptly adorns your house, O Lord, forever.[k]
Psalm 96[a]
96 Sing to the Lord a new song.[b]
Sing to the Lord, all the earth.
2 Sing to the Lord. Praise his name.
Announce every day how he delivers.[c]
3 Tell the nations about his splendor.
Tell[d] all the nations about his amazing deeds.
4 For the Lord is great and certainly worthy of praise;
he is more awesome than all gods.[e]
5 For all the gods of the nations are worthless,[f]
but the Lord made the sky.
6 Majestic splendor emanates from him;[g]
his sanctuary is firmly established and beautiful.[h]
7 Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the nations,
ascribe to the Lord splendor and strength.
8 Ascribe to the Lord the splendor he deserves.[i]
Bring an offering and enter his courts.
9 Worship the Lord in holy attire.[j]
Tremble before him, all the earth.
10 Say among the nations, “The Lord reigns!
The world is established; it cannot be moved.
He judges the nations fairly.”
11 Let the sky rejoice, and the earth be happy.
Let the sea and everything in it shout.
12 Let the fields and everything in them celebrate.
Then let the trees of the forest shout with joy
13 before the Lord, for he comes.
For he comes to judge the earth.
He judges the world fairly,[k]
and the nations in accordance with his justice.[l]
Elijah Meets the King’s Servant
18 Some time later, in the third year of the famine,[a] the Lord’s message came to Elijah, “Go, make an appearance before Ahab, so I may send rain on the surface of the ground.” 2 So Elijah went to make an appearance before Ahab.
Now the famine was severe in Samaria. 3 So Ahab summoned Obadiah, who supervised the palace. (Now Obadiah was a very loyal follower of the Lord.[b] 4 When Jezebel was killing[c] the Lord’s prophets, Obadiah took 100 prophets and hid them in two caves in two groups of fifty. He also brought them food and water.) 5 Ahab told Obadiah, “Go through the land to all the springs and valleys. Maybe we can find some grazing areas[d] so we can keep the horses and mules alive and not have to kill[e] some of the animals.” 6 They divided up the land between them to search it; Ahab went one way by himself and Obadiah went the other way by himself.
7 As Obadiah was traveling along, Elijah met him.[f] When he recognized him, he fell facedown to the ground and said, “Is it really you, my master, Elijah?” 8 He replied, “Yes,[g] go and say to your master, ‘Elijah is back.’”[h] 9 Obadiah[i] said, “What sin have I committed that you are ready to hand your servant over to Ahab for execution?[j] 10 As certainly as the Lord your God lives, my master has sent to every nation and kingdom in an effort to find you. When they say, ‘He’s not here,’ he makes them[k] swear an oath that they could not find you. 11 Now you say, ‘Go and say to your master, “Elijah is back.”’[l] 12 But when I leave you, the Lord’s Spirit will carry you away so I can’t find you.[m] If I go tell Ahab I’ve seen you, he won’t be able to find you and he will kill me.[n] That would not be fair,[o] because your servant has been a loyal follower of[p] the Lord from my youth. 13 Certainly my master is aware of what I did[q] when Jezebel was killing the Lord’s prophets. I hid 100 of the Lord’s prophets in two caves in two groups of fifty and I brought them food and water. 14 Now you say, ‘Go and say to your master, “Elijah is back,”’[r] but he will kill me.” 15 But Elijah said, “As certainly as the Lord of Heaven’s Armies[s] lives (whom I serve),[t] I will make an appearance before him today.”
Elijah Confronts Baal’s Prophets
16 When Obadiah went and informed Ahab, the king went to meet Elijah.[u] 17 When Ahab saw Elijah, he[v] said to him, “Is it really you, the one who brings disaster on[w] Israel?” 18 Elijah[x] replied, “I have not brought disaster on[y] Israel. But you and your father’s dynasty have, by abandoning the Lord’s commandments and following the Baals. 19 Now send out messengers[z] and assemble all Israel before me at Mount Carmel, as well as the 450 prophets of Baal and 400 prophets of Asherah whom Jezebel supports.”[aa]
Lights in the World
12 So then, my dear friends, just as you have always obeyed, not only in my presence but even more in my absence, continue working out your salvation with awe and reverence,[a] 13 for the one bringing forth in you both the desire and the effort—for the sake of his good pleasure—is God. 14 Do everything without grumbling or arguing, 15 so that you may be blameless and pure, children of God without blemish though you live in a crooked and perverse society, in which you shine as lights in the world[b] 16 by holding on to[c] the word of life so that on the day of Christ I will have a reason to boast that I did not run in vain nor labor in vain. 17 But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service of your faith, I am glad and rejoice together with all of you. 18 And in the same way you also should be glad and rejoice together with me.
Models for Ministry
19 Now I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, so that I too may be encouraged by hearing news about you. 20 For there is no one here like him who will readily demonstrate his deep concern for you.[d] 21 Others are busy with their own concerns, not those of Jesus Christ. 22 But you know his qualifications, that like a son working with his father, he served with me in advancing the gospel. 23 So I hope to send him as soon as I know more about my situation, 24 though I am confident in the Lord that I too will be coming to see you[e] soon.
25 But for now[f] I have considered it necessary to send Epaphroditus to you. For he is my brother,[g] coworker and fellow soldier, and your messenger[h] and minister[i] to me in my need.[j] 26 Indeed, he greatly missed all of you and was distressed because you heard that he had been ill. 27 In fact he became so ill that he nearly died.[k] But God showed mercy to him—and not to him only, but also to me—so that I would not have grief on top of grief. 28 Therefore I am all the more eager to send him,[l] so that when you see him again you can rejoice[m] and I can be free from anxiety. 29 So welcome him in the Lord with great joy, and honor people like him, 30 since it was because of the work of Christ that he almost died. He risked his life so that he could make up for your inability to serve me.[n]
The Escape to Egypt
13 After they had gone, an[a] angel of the Lord[b] appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother and flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you, for Herod[c] is going to look for the child to kill him.” 14 Then he got up, took the child and his mother during[d] the night, and went to Egypt. 15 He stayed there until Herod[e] died. In this way what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet was fulfilled: “I called my Son out of Egypt.”[f]
16 When Herod[g] saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, he became enraged. He sent men[h] to kill all the children in Bethlehem and throughout the surrounding region from the age of two and under, according to the time he had learned from the wise men. 17 Then what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled:
18 “A voice was heard in Ramah,
weeping and loud wailing,[i]
Rachel weeping for her children,
and she did not want to be comforted, because they were[j] gone.”[k]
The Return to Nazareth
19 After Herod[l] had died, an[m] angel of the Lord[n] appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt 20 saying, “Get up, take the child and his mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who were seeking the child’s life are dead.” 21 So[o] he got up and took the child and his mother and returned to the land of Israel. 22 But when he heard that Archelaus[p] was reigning over Judea in place of his father Herod,[q] he was afraid to go there. After being warned in a dream, he went to the regions of Galilee. 23 He came to a town called Nazareth[r] and lived there. Then what had been spoken by the prophets was fulfilled, that Jesus[s] would be called a Nazarene.[t]
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