Book of Common Prayer
God the judge of the righteous and the wicked.
A Psalm of Asaph.
50 The Mighty One, God, Jehovah, hath spoken,
And called the earth from the rising of the sun unto the going down thereof.
2 Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty,
God hath shined forth.
3 Our God cometh, and doth not keep silence:
A fire devoureth before him,
And it is very tempestuous round about him.
4 He calleth to the heavens above,
And to the earth, that he may judge his people:
5 Gather my saints together unto me,
Those that have made a covenant with me by sacrifice.
6 And the heavens [a]shall declare his righteousness;
For God is judge himself. Selah
7 Hear, O my people, and I will speak;
O Israel, and I will testify [b]unto thee:
I am God, even thy God.
8 I will not reprove thee for thy sacrifices;
[c]And thy burnt-offerings are continually before me.
9 I will take no bullock out of thy house,
Nor he-goats out of thy folds.
10 For every beast of the forest is mine,
And the cattle [d]upon a thousand hills.
11 I know all the birds of the mountains;
And the wild beasts of the field are [e]mine.
12 If I were hungry, I would not tell thee;
For the world is mine, and the fulness thereof.
13 Will I eat the flesh of bulls,
Or drink the blood of goats?
14 Offer unto God the sacrifice of thanksgiving;
And pay thy vows unto the Most High;
15 And call upon me in the day of trouble:
I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.
16 But unto the wicked God saith,
What hast thou to do to declare my statutes,
And that thou hast taken my covenant in thy mouth,
17 Seeing that thou hatest [f]instruction,
And castest my words behind thee?
18 When thou sawest a thief, thou consentedst with him,
And [g]hast been partaker with adulterers.
19 Thou givest thy mouth to evil,
And thy tongue frameth deceit.
20 Thou sittest and speakest against thy brother;
Thou [h]slanderest thine own mother’s son.
21 These things hast thou done, and I kept silence;
Thou thoughtest that I was altogether such a one as thyself:
But I will reprove thee, and set them in order before thine eyes.
22 Now consider this, ye that forget God,
Lest I tear you in pieces, and there be none to deliver:
23 Whoso offereth the sacrifice of thanksgiving glorifieth me;
And [i]to him that ordereth his way aright
Will I show the salvation of God.
Prayer for deliverance from enemies.
For the Chief Musician; set to Al-tashheth. A Psalm of David. Michtam; when Saul sent, and they watched the house to kill him.
59 Deliver me from mine enemies, O my God:
Set me on high from them that rise up against me.
2 Deliver me from the workers of iniquity,
And save me from the bloodthirsty men.
3 For, lo, they lie in wait for my soul;
The mighty gather themselves together against me:
Not for my transgression, nor for my sin, O Jehovah.
4 They run and prepare themselves without my fault:
Awake thou to [a]help me, and behold.
5 Even thou, O Jehovah God of hosts, the God of Israel,
Arise to visit all the nations:
Be not merciful to any wicked transgressors. Selah
6 They return at evening, they howl like a dog,
And go round about the city.
7 Behold, they belch out with their mouth;
Swords are in their lips:
For who, say they, doth hear?
8 But thou, O Jehovah, wilt laugh at them;
Thou wilt have all the nations in derision.
9 [b]Because of his strength I will give heed unto thee;
For God is my high tower.
10 My God with his lovingkindness will meet me:
God will let me see my desire upon [c]mine enemies.
11 Slay them not, lest my people forget:
[d]Scatter them by thy power, and bring them down,
O Lord our shield.
12 For the sin of their mouth, and the words of their lips,
Let them even be taken in their pride,
And for cursing and lying which they speak.
13 Consume them in wrath, consume them, so that they shall be no more:
And let them know that God ruleth in Jacob,
Unto the ends of the earth. Selah
14 And at evening let them return, let them howl like a dog,
And go round about the city.
15 They shall wander up and down for food,
And tarry all night if they be not satisfied.
16 But I will sing of thy strength;
Yea, I will sing aloud of thy lovingkindness in the morning:
For thou hast been my high tower,
And a refuge in the day of my distress.
17 Unto thee, O my strength, will I sing praises:
For God is my high tower, the God of my mercy.
Lament over defeat in battle, and prayer for help.
For the Chief Musician; set to [e]Shushan Eduth. Michtam of David, to teach; when he strove with Aram-naharaim and with Aram-zobah, and Joab returned, and smote of Edom in the Valley of Salt twelve thousand.
60 O God thou hast cast us off, thou hast broken us down;
Thou hast been angry; oh restore us again.
2 Thou hast made the land to tremble; thou hast rent it:
Heal the breaches thereof; for it shaketh.
3 Thou hast showed thy people hard things:
Thou hast made us to drink the wine of staggering.
4 Thou hast given a banner to them that fear thee,
That it may be displayed because of the truth. Selah
5 That thy beloved may be delivered,
Save with thy right hand, and answer [f]us.
6 God hath spoken in his holiness: I will exult;
I will divide Shechem, and mete out the valley of Succoth.
7 Gilead is mine, and Manasseh is mine;
Ephraim also is the defence of my head;
Judah is my [g]sceptre.
8 Moab is my washpot;
[h]Upon Edom will I cast my shoe:
Philistia, shout thou because of me.
9 Who will bring me into the strong city?
[i]Who hath led me unto Edom?
10 [j]Hast not thou, O God, cast us off?
And thou goest not forth, O God, with our hosts.
11 Give us help against the adversary;
For vain is the [k]help of man.
12 Through God we shall do valiantly;
For he it is that will tread down our adversaries.
Thanksgiving for Jehovah’s saving goodness.
118 Oh give thanks unto Jehovah; for he is good;
For his lovingkindness endureth for ever.
2 Let Israel now say,
That his lovingkindness endureth for ever.
3 Let the house of Aaron now say,
That his lovingkindness endureth for ever.
4 Let them now that fear Jehovah say,
That his lovingkindness endureth for ever.
5 Out of my distress I called upon [a]Jehovah:
[b]Jehovah answered me and set me in a large place.
6 Jehovah is on my side; I will not fear:
What can man do unto me?
7 Jehovah is on my side among them that help me:
Therefore shall I see my desire upon them that hate me.
8 It is better to take refuge in Jehovah
Than to put confidence in man.
9 It is better to take refuge in Jehovah
Than to put confidence in princes.
10 All nations compassed me about:
In the name of Jehovah I will cut them off.
11 They compassed me about; yea, they compassed me about:
In the name of Jehovah I will cut them off.
12 They compassed me about like bees;
they are quenched as the fire of thorns:
In the name of Jehovah I will cut them off.
13 Thou didst thrust sore at me that I might fall;
But Jehovah helped me.
14 [c]Jehovah is my strength and song;
And he is become my salvation.
15 The voice of rejoicing and salvation is in the tents of the righteous:
The right hand of Jehovah doeth valiantly.
16 The right hand of Jehovah is exalted:
The right hand of Jehovah doeth valiantly.
17 I shall not die, but live,
And declare the works of [d]Jehovah.
18 [e]Jehovah hath chastened me sore;
But he hath not given me over unto death.
19 Open to me the gates of righteousness:
I will enter into them, I will give thanks unto [f]Jehovah.
20 This is the gate of Jehovah;
The righteous shall enter into it.
21 I will give thanks unto thee; for thou hast answered me,
And art become my salvation.
22 The stone which the builders rejected
Is become the head of the corner.
23 This is [g]Jehovah’s doing;
It is marvellous in our eyes.
24 This is the day which Jehovah hath made;
We will rejoice and be glad in it.
25 Save now, we beseech thee, O Jehovah:
O Jehovah, we beseech thee, send now prosperity.
26 Blessed be he that [h]cometh in the name of Jehovah:
We have blessed you out of the house of Jehovah.
27 Jehovah is God, and he hath given us light:
Bind the sacrifice with cords, even unto the horns of the altar.
28 Thou art my God, and I will give thanks unto thee:
Thou art my God, I will exalt thee.
29 Oh give thanks unto Jehovah; for he is good;
For his lovingkindness endureth for ever.
15 And Hagar bare Abram a son: and Abram called the name of his son, whom Hagar bare, Ishmael. 16 And Abram was fourscore and six years old, when Hagar bare Ishmael to Abram.
17 And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, Jehovah appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am [a]God Almighty; walk before me, and be thou perfect. 2 And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly. 3 And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying, 4 As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be the father of a multitude of nations. 5 Neither shall thy name any more be called [b]Abram, but thy name shall be [c]Abraham; for the father of a multitude of nations have I made thee. 6 And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee. 7 And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee and to thy seed after thee. 8 And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land of thy sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.
9 And God said unto Abraham, And as for thee, thou shalt keep my covenant, thou, and thy seed after thee throughout their generations. 10 This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee: every male among you shall be circumcised. 11 And ye shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of a covenant betwixt me and you. 12 And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every male throughout your generations, he that is born in the house, or bought with money of any foreigner that is not of thy seed. 13 He that is born in thy house, and he that is bought with thy money, must needs be circumcised: and my covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant. 14 And the uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, that soul shall be cut off from his people; he hath broken my covenant.
10 For the law having a shadow of the good things to come, not the very image of the things, [a]can never with the same sacrifices year by year, which they offer continually, make perfect them that draw nigh. 2 Else would they not have ceased to be offered? because the worshippers, having been once cleansed, would have had no more consciousness of sins. 3 But in those sacrifices there is a remembrance made of sins year by year. 4 For it is impossible that the blood of bulls and goats should take away sins. 5 Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith,
[b]Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not,
But a body didst thou prepare for me;
6 In whole burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hadst no pleasure:
7 Then said I, Lo, I am come (In the roll of the book it is written of me)
To do thy will, O God.
8 Saying above, Sacrifices and offerings and whole burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure therein (the which are offered according to the law), 9 then hath he said, Lo, I am come to do thy will. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second. 10 [c]By which will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
30 I can of myself do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is righteous; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. 31 If I bear witness of myself, my witness is not true. 32 It is another that beareth witness of me; and I know that the witness which he witnesseth of me is true. 33 Ye have sent unto John, and he hath borne witness unto the truth. 34 But the witness which I receive is not from man: howbeit I say these things, that ye may be saved. 35 He was the lamp that burneth and shineth; and ye were willing to rejoice for a season in his light. 36 But the witness which I have is greater than that of John; for the works which the Father hath given me to accomplish, the very works that I do, bear witness of me, that the Father hath sent me. 37 And the Father that sent me, he hath borne witness of me. Ye have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his form. 38 And ye have not his word abiding in you: for whom he sent, him ye believe not. 39 [a]Ye search the scriptures, because ye think that in them ye have eternal life; and these are they which bear witness of me; 40 and ye will not come to me, that ye may have life. 41 I receive not glory from men. 42 But I know you, that ye have not the love of God in yourselves. 43 I am come in my Father’s name, and ye receive me not: if another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive. 44 How can ye believe, who receive glory one of another, and the glory that cometh from [b]the only God ye seek not? 45 Think not that I will accuse you to the Father: there is one that accuseth you, even Moses, on whom ye have set your hope. 46 For if ye believed Moses, ye would believe me; for he wrote of me. 47 But if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe my words?
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