Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 50
The Folly of Formalistic Worship
Heading
A psalm by Asaph.[a]
The Summons
1 God, God the Lord, has spoken.
He calls to the earth from the rising of the sun to its setting.
2 From Zion, the perfection of beauty, God has shined.
3 Our God comes and he will not be silent.
Fire devours in front of him.
Around him a storm rages.
4 He calls to the heavens above and to the earth
to judge his people.
5 “Gather to me my favored ones,
who make a covenant with me by sacrifice.”
6 So the heavens proclaim his righteousness,
because God himself is judge. Interlude
The Lord’s Charges Against Them
7 Listen, my people, and let me speak, O Israel.
Then I will testify against you:
I am God, your God.
Hypocritical Sacrifices Are Useless
8 It is not because of your sacrifices that I rebuke you
or because of your burnt offerings that are always in front of me.
9 I do not need to take a bull from your barn
or goats from your pens,
10 because every animal in the forest is mine,
the cattle on a thousand mountains.
11 I know every bird in the mountains,
and everything that moves in the field is with me.
12 If I were hungry, I would not tell you,
because the world is mine, and all that fills it.
13 Do I eat the flesh of bulls,
or do I drink the blood of goats?
Sincere Sacrifices Bring Blessing
14 Sacrifice a thank offering to God,
and fulfill your vows to the Most High.
15 Call on me in the day of distress.
I will deliver you, and you will honor me.
Treacherous Deeds Bring Destruction
16 But to the wicked, God says:
What right do you have to recite my statutes
or to take up my covenant with your mouth?
17 As for you—you hate discipline,
and you throw my words behind your back.
18 If you see a thief, you approve of him,
and you cast your lot with adulterers.
19 You devote your mouth to evil,
and your tongue weaves deceit.
20 You sit and speak against your brother.
You slander your own mother’s son.
The Verdict
21 These things you have done, and I kept silent.
You thought I was just like you.
I will indict you and accuse you to your face.
22 Now consider this, you who forget God,
or I will tear you to pieces,
and there will be no one to rescue you.
The Way to Escape
23 The one who sacrifices a thank offering honors me,
and he sets up the way by which I will show him the salvation of God.
Psalm 59
They Lie in Wait
Heading
For the choir director. “Do Not Destroy.”[a] By David. A miktam.
When Saul had sent men, and they watched the house to kill David.[b]
Opening Plea
1 Deliver me from my enemies, my God.
You set me high above those who rise up against me.
2 Deliver me from evildoers.
Save me from bloodthirsty men.
The Viciousness of the Enemy
3 Yes, look how they lie in ambush to take my life!
Strong men gather against me,
but it is not because I have rebelled,
not because I have sinned, O Lord.
4 I am not guilty,
yet they run to take up their positions against me.
Rise up to meet me and see!
5 You, O Lord, God of Armies, the God of Israel,
wake up and confront all the nations. Interlude
Do not show mercy to all the wicked traitors.
6 They return at evening. They growl like dogs.
They prowl around the city.
7 Look, they gush from their mouths.
Their lips are swords,
so they say, “Who hears?”
Conclusion and Refrain
8 But you laugh at them, Lord.
You scoff at all those nations.
9 O my Strength, I watch for you,
because God is my high fortress.
Confidence
10 My merciful God will go ahead of me.
God will make me look down on those who slander me.
The Judgment on the Enemies
11 Do not kill them, or my people may forget.
In your might make them wander about.
Bring them down, O Lord, our shield.
12 The sin of their mouth is the words of their lips,
so let them be caught in their pride,
because of the curses and lies they proclaim.
13 Consume them in wrath.
Consume them till they are no more.
Then they will know to the ends of the earth Interlude
that God rules over Jacob.
14 They return at evening. They growl like dogs.
They prowl around the city.
15 They wander about for food.
If not satisfied, they howl.
Conclusion and Refrain
16 But I will sing about your strength.
In the morning I will shout about your mercy,
because you are a high fortress for me,
a refuge in the day of my distress.
17 O my Strength, to you I make music,
because God is my high fortress, my merciful God.
Psalm 60
You Have Rejected Us
(Psalm 60:5-12 parallels Psalm 108:6-13)
Heading
For the choir director. “The Lily of Testimony.”[c] A miktam by David.
For teaching. When he waged war against Aram Naharaim and against Aram Zobah, and Joab returned and struck down twelve thousand men of Edom in the Valley of Salt.[d]
David’s Prayer
1 God, you have rejected us.
You have broken us down.
You have been angry. Return to us!
2 You have shaken the earth. You have torn it open.
Heal its fractures, for it is about to collapse.
3 You have made your people suffer hardship.
You gave us wine to drink that makes us stagger.
4 You have set up a signal flag for those who fear you, Interlude
to be raised up against the bow.[e]
5 Save us with your right hand and answer us,
so that those you love may be delivered.
God’s Reply
6 God has spoken in his holiness:[f]
“I will triumph. I will distribute Shechem,
and I will measure off the Valley of Succoth.
7 Gilead is mine, and Manasseh is mine.
Ephraim is my helmet. Judah is my scepter.
8 Moab is my washbasin. On Edom I toss my sandal.
I shout aloud over Philistia.”[g][h]
David’s Prayer
9 Who will bring me into the fortified city?
Who will lead me to Edom?
10 God, is it not you, who have rejected us?
God, is it not you, who no longer go out with our armies?
11 Give us help against the foe,
for human help is worthless.
12 In God we will do mighty deeds.
He is the one who will trample our foes.
Psalm 93
The Lord Rules the World
1 The Lord reigns. He is clothed in majesty.
The Lord is clothed—he wears strength like a belt.
Yes, the world stands firm. It will not be moved.
2 Your throne was established long ago.
You are from eternity.
3 The waves[a] have lifted up, O Lord,
the waves have lifted up their voice.
The waves roar loudly.
4 Mightier than the thundering of the great waters,
mightier than the breakers of the sea,
the Lord on high is mighty.
5 Your testimonies stand very firm.
Holiness beautifies your house for endless days, O Lord.
Psalm 96
Sing to the Lord a New Song
Call to Worship
1 Sing to the Lord a new song.
Sing to the Lord, all the earth.
2 Sing to the Lord. Praise his name.
Proclaim the good news of his salvation from day to day.
3 Tell about his glory among the nations,
about his marvelous deeds among all peoples.
Praise Him Alone
4 For great is the Lord and worthy of great praise.
He is to be feared above all gods.
5 For all the gods of the peoples are “nothings,”[a]
but the Lord made the heavens.
6 Splendor and majesty are before him.
Power and beauty are in his sanctuary.
7 Ascribe to the Lord, families of peoples,
Ascribe to the Lord glory and power.
8 Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name.
Bring a gift and come into his courtyards.
9 Bow down to the Lord in the splendor of his holiness.[b]
Look away from his face,[c] all the earth.
10 Say among the nations, “The Lord reigns.”
The world is firmly established.
It will not be moved.
He will judge the peoples with fairness.
Let Nature Praise Him
11 Let the heavens rejoice.
Let the earth celebrate.
Let the sea roar,
and all that fills it.
12 Let the fields be overjoyed,
and everything that is in them.
Then all the trees of the forest will sing for joy
13 before the Lord, for he comes,
for he comes to judge the earth.
He will judge the world in righteousness
and the peoples in his faithfulness.
Job’s Soliloquy[a]
The Happiness of the Good Old Days
29 Job resumed his discourse. He said:
Job’s Morality
31 I have made a covenant with my eyes.
How then could I stare at a virgin with desire?
2 If I did, what reward would I receive from God above?
What inheritance from the Almighty on high?
3 Is not ruin the reward for the wicked,
and misfortune the reward for evildoers?
4 But doesn’t God see my ways?
Doesn’t he count my every step?
5 Have I walked with deceit and lies?
Has my foot hurried to pursue fraud?
6 If God weighs me on an honest scale,
he will know my integrity.
7 If my footsteps have slipped off the path,
if my heart has pursued things desired by my eyes,
if anything corrupt has stuck to my palms,
8 then let someone else eat what I have sown.
Let my crops be uprooted.
9 If my heart has been enticed by a woman,
if I have lurked at my neighbor’s doorway,
10 let my wife grind for another,
and let other men crouch down over her.
11 For that would have been shameful behavior,
a guilty deed worthy of judgment.
12 There is a fire that consumes all the way to hell,[a]
that would completely burn up all my harvest.
13 If I have denied justice to my male servants
or to my female servants in their disputes with me,
14 then what would I do when God arises,
when he comes to call me to account?
How could I respond to him?
15 Didn’t he who made me in the womb also make my servant?
Didn’t the same God fashion us both in the womb?
16 If I have withheld from the poor what they desired,
if I have darkened the eyes of the widow,
17 if I have eaten my food all by myself
and have not shared it with the fatherless—
18 no, from the time of my youth, the fatherless child grew up with me,
and I was like a father to him.
From the womb of my mother I guided the widow.
19 If I saw anyone perishing from lack of clothing,
if the needy had nothing to wear,
20 his very body blessed me,
as he was warmed by the wool from my sheep.
21 If I raised my hand against the fatherless child,
because I had influence in the court at the city gate,
22 then let my shoulder be knocked out of its socket,
and let my upper arm be broken.
23 Now doom from God terrifies me,
and I cannot endure his majesty.
The Council at Jerusalem
15 Some men came down from Judea and began to teach the brothers: “Unless you are circumcised according to the law handed down by Moses, you cannot be saved.” 2 Because this brought about a serious argument and debate between Paul and Barnabas and these men, they appointed Paul and Barnabas and some other men from the church to go up to Jerusalem, to see the apostles and the elders concerning this controversy.
3 After they were sent on their way by the church, and as they passed through both Phoenicia and Samaria, they described in detail the conversion of the Gentiles and brought great joy to all the brothers. 4 When they arrived at Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church, the apostles, and the elders, and they reported everything God had done through them.
5 But some of the believers from the party of the Pharisees stood up and said, “It is necessary to circumcise the Gentiles and to command them to keep the Law of Moses.”
6 The apostles and the elders gathered together to look into this matter. 7 After there had been much discussion, Peter stood up and said to them, “Gentlemen, brothers, you know that some time ago God made a choice among you, that through my mouth the Gentiles would hear the message of the gospel and believe. 8 God, who knows the heart, testified on their behalf by giving them the Holy Spirit, exactly as he gave him to us. 9 He also showed that there is no distinction between us and them, cleansing their hearts by faith. 10 Now then, why are you testing God by putting on the necks of the disciples a yoke, which neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear? 11 On the contrary! We believe that we are saved in the same way they are—through the grace of our Lord Jesus.”
17 When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days.
18 Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles away. 19 Many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them concerning their brother.
20 When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went to meet him, while Mary was sitting in the house.
21 Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.”
23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”
24 Martha replied, “I know that he will rise in the resurrection on the Last Day.”
25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me will live, even if he dies. 26 And whoever lives and believes in me will never perish.[a] Do you believe this?”
27 “Yes, Lord,” she told him. “I believe[b] that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who was to come into the world.”
28 After she said this, Martha went back to call her sister Mary. She whispered, “The Teacher is here and is calling for you.”
29 When Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to him.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.