Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 50[a]
The Worship Acceptable to God
1 A psalm of Asaph.[b]
[c]The Lord, the God of gods,[d]
has spoken and summoned the earth
from the rising of the sun to its setting.
2 From Zion, perfect in beauty,
God shines forth.
3 Our God is coming, and he will not be silent;
he is preceded by a devouring fire,
and a raging tempest surrounds him.[e]
4 He summons the heavens above
and the earth to judge his people:
5 “Gather before me my faithful servants
who made a covenant with me by sacrifice.”[f]
6 The heavens proclaim his saving justice,
for God himself is the judge.[g] Selah
7 [h]“Listen, my people, and I will speak.
O Israel, I will testify against you.
I am God, your God.
8 I do not rebuke you for your sacrifices,
for your burnt offerings are constantly before me.
9 “I will not accept a young bull from your homes
or goats from your folds.
10 For all the living creatures of the forest are mine,
animals by the thousands on my hills.
11 I know every bird of the air,
and whatever moves in the fields belongs to me.
12 “If I were hungry, I would not tell you,
for the world is mine, and all that it holds.
13 Do I eat the flesh of bulls
or drink the blood of goats?
14 “Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving
and fulfill your vows to the Most High.
15 Then if you cry out to me in time of trouble,
I will rescue you, and you will honor me.”
16 [i]But to the wicked God says:
“How can you recite my statutes
or profess my covenant on your lips?
17 For you loathe my instruction
and cast my words behind you.
18 “When you meet a thief, you join him;
you revel in the company of adulterers.
19 You employ your mouth for evil,
and your tongue frames deceit.
20 “You willingly speak against your brother
and slander the child of your own mother.
21 When you do such things, can I remain silent?
Do you think that I am[j] like you?
I will correct you
and set the charge before your face.
22 “Remember this, you who forget God,[k]
lest I tear you to pieces
and there be no one to rescue you.
23 He who offers a sacrifice of thanksgiving honors me;
to him who follows my way
I will show the salvation of God.”
Psalm 59[a]
Against Wicked Enemies
1 For the director.[b] According to “Do not destroy.” A miktam of David. When Saul sent people to watch David’s house in order to kill him.
2 Rescue me, O my God, from my enemies;
defend me[c] against those who rise up against me.
3 Deliver me from those who do evil;
save me from the violence of the bloodthirsty.
4 They are lying in wait to take my life;
the powerful gather together against me.
For no offense or sin of mine, O Lord,
5 for no guilt of mine,
they stand ready to attack me.
Rise up to help me, and look on my plight;
6 you, Lord, God of hosts,[d] are the God of Israel.
Rouse yourself and punish all the nations;
show no mercy to these wicked deceivers. Selah
7 They return each evening,
snarling like dogs
as they prowl through the city.
8 [e]See what spews from their mouths—
they spew forth from their lips,
and they assert, “Who is there to hear us?”
9 However, you laugh at them, O Lord;
you show your disdain for all the nations.
10 [f]O my strength, I will keep watch for you,
for you, O God, are my fortress,
11 O God of mercy.
May God go before me
and allow me to have my way with my enemies.
12 Do not put them to death,
lest my people forget.[g]
Scatter them in your power
and bring them to their knees,
O Lord, our shield.[h]
13 For the sins of their mouths
and the words of their lips,
let them be trapped in their pride.
For the curses and lies they speak,
14 put an end to them in your wrath;
put an end to them until they are no more.
Then it will be known to the ends of the earth
that God is the ruler over Jacob.[i] Selah
15 [j]They return each evening,
snarling like dogs
as they prowl through the city.
16 They roam about searching for food,
and they growl if they do not have their fill.
17 But I will sing of your strength;
when morning dawns, I will proclaim your kindness.[k]
For you have been my fortress,
my refuge in times of trouble.
18 O my Strength, I will sing your praises,
for you, O God, are my fortress,
the God who shows me love.[l]
Psalm 60[m]
Prayer To End Wars
1 For the director.[n] According to “The Lily of. . . .” A miktam of David (for teaching), 2 when he fought against Aram-naharaim and Aram-zobah; and when Joab, coming back, slew twelve thousand Edomites in the Valley of Salt.
3 O God, you have turned away from us
and left us defenseless.
Although your anger was aroused,
now come to our aid.
4 You shook the earth[o] and split it apart;
repair its cracks, for it continues to shake.
5 You have inflicted hardships on your people;
you have given us wine that made us stagger.[p]
6 But for those who fear you,
you have raised up a banner
to unfurl against the bow.[q] Selah
7 [r]With your right hand come to our aid and answer us
so that those you love may be delivered.
8 [s]God has promised from his sanctuary,
“In triumph I will apportion Shechem
and measure out the Valley of Succoth.
9 Gilead is mine, and Manasseh is mine;
Ephraim is my helmet,[t]
Judah is my scepter.
10 Moab is my washbasin;[u]
upon Edom I will plant my sandal;
over Philistia I will shout in triumph.”
11 [v]Who will lead me into the fortified city?[w]
Who will guide me into Edom?
12 Is it not you, O God, who have rejected us
and no longer go forth with our armies?
13 Grant us your help against our enemies,
for any human assistance is worthless.
14 With God’s help we will be victorious,
for he will overwhelm our foes.
Psalm 118[a]
Thanksgiving for Salvation
1 [b]Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
his kindness[c] endures forever.
2 Let Israel say,
“His kindness endures forever.”
3 Let the house of Aaron say,
“His kindness endures forever.”
4 Let those who fear the Lord[d] say,
“His kindness endures forever.”
5 [e]In my distress I called out to the Lord;
he answered by setting me free.
6 With the Lord to protect me I am not afraid.
What can mortals do to me?
7 The Lord is at my side to offer me help;
I will look down upon my enemies.
8 [f]It is better to take refuge in the Lord
than to place your trust in mortals.
9 It is better to take refuge in the Lord
than to place your trust in princes.
10 [g]All the nations surrounded me;
in the name of the Lord I overcame them.
11 They surrounded me on every side;
in the name of the Lord I overcame them.
12 They swarmed around me like bees;
they blazed like a fire in the midst of thorns;
in the name of the Lord I overcame them.
13 I was hard pressed and close to falling,
but the Lord came to my aid.
14 The Lord is my strength and my song,
and he has become my salvation.[h]
15 Joyful shouts of triumph
ring out in the tents of the righteous:
“The right hand of the Lord has done wondrous deeds;
16 the right hand of the Lord is exalted;
the right hand of the Lord has done wondrous deeds.”
17 I shall not die; rather I shall live
and recount[i] the works of the Lord.
18 Even though the Lord punished me harshly,
he did not hand me over to death.
19 [j]Open to me the gates of righteousness
so that I may enter them and praise the Lord.
20 This is the gate of the Lord
through which the righteous enter.
21 I thank you for having answered me;
you have become my salvation.
22 [k]The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone.
23 This is the Lord’s doing,
and it is marvelous in our eyes.
24 This is the day that the Lord has made;[l]
let us exult and rejoice in it.
25 O Lord, grant us salvation.[m]
O Lord, grant us success.
26 Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.[n]
We bless you from the house of the Lord.
27 The Lord is God,
and he has given us light.
Holding leafy branches, join in the festal procession
up to the horns of the altar.[o]
28 [p]You are my God, and I will offer thanks to you;
you are my God, and I will extol you.
29 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
his kindness endures forever.
Psalm 119[q]
Praise of God’s Law
Aleph
15 Hagar gave birth to Abram’s son. Abram named the son whom Hagar had borne Ishmael. 16 Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar gave birth to Ishmael.
Chapter 17
The Covenant and Its Sign.[a] 1 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am God Almighty.[b] Walk before me and be blameless. 2 I will establish my covenant between me and you and I will multiply you greatly.”
3 Abram immediately fell down upon his face. God said to him, 4 “On my part, behold, my covenant with you: you will be the father of many nations. 5 You will no longer be called Abram, but Abraham, for I will make you the father of many nations.[c] 6 I will make you very, very fruitful. I will make nations come from you, and you shall give birth to kings. 7 I will establish my covenant with you for all generations. It will be an eternal covenant. I will be your God and the God of your descendants after you. 8 I will give you and your descendants after you this land where you are now an alien. All of the land of Canaan shall be your eternal possession. I will be your God.”
9 God said to Abraham, “On your part, you must observe my covenant, you and your descendants after you, for all time. 10 This is my covenant that you must observe, a covenant between me and your descendants after you: every male among you must be circumcised. 11 You shall circumcise the flesh of the male member. This shall be the sign of the covenant between me and you. 12 Whenever baby boys are eight days old, they will be circumcised, whether they are your own children or the children of those whom you bought and who are foreigners and not of your bloodline. 13 You must circumcise those who are born in your house and those who are bought by you. Thus, my covenant will be marked in your flesh as an eternal covenant. 14 The male who is not circumcised, the one whose flesh of his member is not circumcised, is to be cut off from his people. He will have violated my covenant.”
Chapter 10
A Unique Sacrifice[a]
The Law Was a Shadow. 1 The Law contains little more than a shadow of the good things to come and not the true image of them. These sacrifices that are offered year after year can never bring the worshipers to perfection. 2 If they could, those sacrifices would no longer be offered, for the worshipers would have been cleansed once for all and would no longer feel guilty for sins.
3 However, in these sacrifices sins are brought to mind year after year, 4 because sins cannot be taken away by the blood of bulls and goats.
One Sacrifice for Sins. 5 That is why, when Christ came into the world, he said,
“Sacrifice and offering you did not desire,
but a body you have prepared for me.
6 You took no delight
in holocausts and sin offerings.
7 Then I said, ‘As it is written of me in the scroll,
behold, I have come to do your will, O God.’ ”
8 First he says, “Sacrifices and offerings, holocausts and sin offerings, you neither desired nor delighted in,” even though they are offered according to the Law. 9 Then he adds, “Behold, I have come to do your will.” He thus abolishes the first to establish the second. 10 And it was by this “will” that we have been consecrated through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
30 “I can do nothing on my own.
As I hear, I judge,
and my judgment is just,
because I seek to do
not my own will
but the will of him who sent me.
A Witness to Jesus
31 [a]“If I were to testify about myself,
my testimony would not be true.
32 However, there is another who testifies about me,
and I know that his testimony is true,
the testimony he bore concerning me.
33 You sent messengers to John,
and he has testified to the truth.
34 Not that I accept such human testimony,
but I say these things
so that you may be saved.
35 “John was a burning and shining lamp,
and for a time you were willing
to exult in his light.
36 But I have testimony that is greater than John’s.
The works that my Father
has given me to accomplish,
the very works that I am doing,
testify about me,
that the Father has sent me.
37 “And the Father who sent me
has himself testified about me.
You have not heard his voice
or seen his form,
38 and you do not have his word
abiding in you,
because you do not believe
him whom he has sent.
39 “Search the Scriptures carefully
because you believe that through them
you will gain eternal life.
Even they testify on my behalf.
40 Yet you refuse to come to me
to receive that life.
Unbelief of Jesus’ Hearers
41 “I do not accept the praise of men.
42 Moreover, I know that you do not have
the love of God in your hearts.
43 I have come in the name of my Father,
yet you do not accept me.
But if another should come in his own name,
you will accept him.
44 How can you believe
when you accept praise from one another,
yet you do not seek
the praise that comes from
the only God?
45 “Do not think that I will accuse you
before the Father.
You have placed your hope in Moses,
and he is the one who will accuse you.
46 If you truly believed Moses,
you would have believed in me,
for it is about me that he wrote.
47 But since you do not believe what he wrote,
how will you believe what I say?”
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