Book of Common Prayer
God Himself Is Judge
A Psalm of (A)Asaph.
50 (B)The Mighty One, God the Lord,
speaks and summons the earth
(C)from the rising of the sun to its setting.
2 Out of Zion, (D)the perfection of beauty,
(E)God shines forth.
3 Our God comes; he (F)does not keep silence;[a]
before him is a devouring (G)fire,
around him a mighty tempest.
4 (H)He calls to the heavens above
and to the earth, that he may judge his people:
5 “Gather to me my faithful ones,
who made (I)a covenant with me by sacrifice!”
6 (J)The heavens declare his righteousness,
for (K)God himself is judge! Selah
7 (L)“Hear, O my people, and I will speak;
O Israel, I will testify against you.
(M)I am God, your God.
8 Not for your sacrifices (N)do I rebuke you;
your burnt offerings are continually before me.
9 I will not accept a bull from your house
or goats from your folds.
10 For every beast of the forest is mine,
the cattle on a thousand hills.
11 (O)I know all the birds of the hills,
and all that moves in the field is mine.
12 “If I were hungry, I would not tell you,
(P)for the world and its fullness are mine.
13 Do I eat the flesh of bulls
or drink the blood of goats?
14 (Q)Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving,[b]
and (R)perform your vows to the Most High,
15 and (S)call upon me in the day of trouble;
I will (T)deliver you, and you shall (U)glorify me.”
16 But to the wicked God says:
“What right have you to recite my statutes
or take my covenant on your lips?
17 (V)For you hate discipline,
(W)and you cast my words behind you.
18 If you see a thief, (X)you are pleased with him,
(Y)and you keep company with adulterers.
19 “You give your mouth free rein for evil,
(Z)and your tongue frames deceit.
20 You sit and speak against your brother;
you slander your own mother's son.
21 These things you have done, and I (AA)have been silent;
you thought that I[c] was one like yourself.
But now I (AB)rebuke you and (AC)lay the charge before you.
Deliver Me from My Enemies
To the choirmaster: according to (A)Do Not Destroy. A (B)Miktam[a] of David, (C)when Saul sent men to watch his house in order to kill him.
59 (D)Deliver me from my enemies, O my God;
(E)protect me from those who (F)rise up against me;
2 deliver me from (G)those who work evil,
and save me from (H)bloodthirsty men.
3 For behold, they (I)lie in wait for my life;
fierce men (J)stir up strife against me.
(K)For no transgression or sin of mine, O Lord,
4 for no fault of mine, they run and make ready.
(L)Awake, come to meet me, and see!
5 You, (M)Lord God of hosts, are God of Israel.
Rouse yourself to punish all the nations;
spare none of those who treacherously plot evil. Selah
6 Each evening they (N)come back,
howling like dogs
and prowling about the city.
7 There they are, (O)bellowing with their mouths
with (P)swords in their lips—
for (Q)“Who,” they think,[b] “will hear us?”
8 But you, O Lord, (R)laugh at them;
you hold all the nations in derision.
9 O my Strength, I will watch for you,
for you, O God, are (S)my fortress.
10 (T)My God in his steadfast love[c] (U)will meet me;
God will let me (V)look in triumph on my enemies.
11 Kill them not, lest my people forget;
make them totter[d] by your power and (W)bring them down,
O Lord, our (X)shield!
12 For (Y)the sin of their mouths, the words of their lips,
let them be trapped in their pride.
For the cursing and lies that they utter,
13 (Z)consume them in wrath;
consume them till they are no more,
that they may (AA)know that God rules over Jacob
to (AB)the ends of the earth. Selah
14 (AC)Each evening they come back,
howling like dogs
and prowling about the city.
15 They (AD)wander about for food
and growl if they do not get their fill.
16 But I will sing of your strength;
I will sing aloud of your steadfast love in the morning.
For you have been to me (AE)a fortress
and (AF)a refuge in (AG)the day of my distress.
17 O my Strength, I will sing praises to you,
for you, O God, (AH)are my fortress,
(AI)the God who shows me steadfast love.
He Will Tread Down Our Foes
To the choirmaster: according to (AJ)Shushan Eduth. A (AK)Miktam[e] of David; (AL)for instruction; when he (AM)strove with Aram-naharaim and with Aram-zobah, and when Joab on his return struck down twelve thousand of Edom in the Valley of Salt.
60 O God, (AN)you have rejected us, (AO)broken our defenses;
you have been angry; (AP)oh, restore us.
2 You have made the land to quake; you have torn it open;
(AQ)repair its breaches, for it totters.
3 (AR)You have made your people see hard things;
(AS)you have given us (AT)wine to drink that made us stagger.
4 You have set up (AU)a banner for those who fear you,
that they may flee to it (AV)from the bow.[f] Selah
5 (AW)That your (AX)beloved ones may be delivered,
give salvation by your right hand and answer us!
6 God has spoken (AY)in his holiness:[g]
“With exultation (AZ)I will divide up (BA)Shechem
and portion out the Vale of (BB)Succoth.
7 (BC)Gilead is mine; Manasseh is mine;
(BD)Ephraim is (BE)my helmet;
Judah is my (BF)scepter.
8 (BG)Moab is my washbasin;
upon Edom I (BH)cast my shoe;
over (BI)Philistia I shout in triumph.”[h]
9 Who will bring me to the fortified city?
(BJ)Who will lead me to Edom?
10 Have you not (BK)rejected us, O God?
You (BL)do not go forth, O God, with our armies.
11 Oh, grant us help against the foe,
for (BM)vain is the salvation of man!
12 With God we shall (BN)do valiantly;
it is he who will (BO)tread down our foes.
The Lord Reigns
93 (A)The Lord reigns; he is (B)robed in majesty;
the Lord is (C)robed; he has (D)put on strength as his belt.
(E)Yes, the world is established; (F)it shall never be moved.
2 (G)Your throne is established from of old;
(H)you are from everlasting.
Worship in the Splendor of Holiness
96 (A)Oh sing to the Lord (B)a new song;
sing to the Lord, all the earth!
2 Sing to the Lord, bless his name;
(C)tell of his salvation from day to day.
3 Declare his glory among the nations,
his marvelous works among all the peoples!
4 For (D)great is the Lord, and (E)greatly to be praised;
he is to be feared above (F)all gods.
5 For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols,
but the Lord (G)made the heavens.
6 Splendor and majesty are before him;
(H)strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.
7 Ascribe to the Lord, O (I)families of the peoples,
(J)ascribe to the Lord glory and strength!
8 Ascribe to the Lord (K)the glory due his name;
bring (L)an offering, and (M)come into his courts!
9 Worship the Lord in (N)the splendor of holiness;[a]
(O)tremble before him, all the earth!
10 Say among the nations, (P)“The Lord reigns!
Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved;
he will (Q)judge the peoples with equity.”
11 Let (R)the heavens be glad, and let (S)the earth rejoice;
let (T)the sea roar, and all that fills it;
12 let (U)the field exult, and everything in it!
Then shall all (V)the trees of the forest sing for joy
13 before the Lord, for he comes,
for he comes (W)to judge the earth.
He will judge the world in righteousness,
and the peoples in his faithfulness.
Job's Summary Defense
29 And Job again (A)took up his discourse, and said:
Job's Final Appeal
31 “I have made a covenant with my (A)eyes;
how then could I gaze at a virgin?
2 What would be (B)my portion from God above
and (C)my heritage from the Almighty on high?
3 Is not calamity for the unrighteous,
and disaster for the workers of iniquity?
4 (D)Does not he see my ways
and (E)number all my steps?
5 “If I have walked with falsehood
and my foot has hastened to deceit;
6 (Let me be (F)weighed in a just balance,
and let God know my integrity!)
7 if my step has turned aside from the way
and (G)my heart has gone after my eyes,
and if any (H)spot has stuck to my hands,
8 then let me (I)sow, and another eat,
and let what grows for me[a] be rooted out.
9 “If my heart has been enticed toward a woman,
and I have (J)lain in wait at my neighbor's door,
10 then let my wife (K)grind for another,
and let others (L)bow down on her.
11 For that would be a heinous crime;
that would be an iniquity (M)to be punished by the judges;
12 for that would be a fire (N)that consumes as far as Abaddon,
and it would burn to the root all my increase.
13 “If I have rejected the cause of my manservant or my maidservant,
when they brought a complaint against me,
14 what then shall I do when God rises up?
When he (O)makes inquiry, what shall I answer him?
15 Did (P)not he who made me in the womb make him?
And did not one fashion us in the womb?
16 “If I have (Q)withheld anything that the poor desired,
or have (R)caused the eyes of the widow to fail,
17 or have eaten my morsel alone,
and the fatherless has not eaten of it
18 (for from my youth the fatherless[b] grew up with me as with a father,
and from my mother's womb I guided the widow[c]),
19 if I have seen anyone (S)perish for (T)lack of clothing,
or the needy without (U)covering,
20 if his body has not (V)blessed me,[d]
and if he was not warmed with the fleece of my sheep,
21 if I have raised my hand against (W)the fatherless,
because I saw my help in (X)the gate,
22 then let my shoulder blade fall from my shoulder,
and let my arm be broken from its socket.
23 For I was (Y)in terror of calamity from God,
and I could not have faced his (Z)majesty.
The Jerusalem Council
15 (A)But some men came down from Judea and were teaching (B)the brothers, “Unless you are (C)circumcised (D)according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.” 2 And after Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and (E)debate with them, Paul and Barnabas and (F)some of the others were appointed to go up to Jerusalem to (G)the apostles and the elders about this question. 3 So, (H)being sent on their way by the church, they passed through both Phoenicia and Samaria, (I)describing in detail the conversion of the Gentiles, and (J)brought great joy to all (K)the brothers.[a] 4 (L)When they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and (M)the apostles and the elders, and (N)they declared all that God had done with them. 5 But some believers who belonged to (O)the party of the Pharisees rose up and said, (P)“It is necessary (Q)to circumcise them and to order them to keep the law of Moses.”
6 (R)The (S)apostles and the elders were gathered together to consider this matter. 7 And after there had been much (T)debate, Peter stood up and said to them, “Brothers, you know that in the early days God made a choice among you, (U)that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear (V)the word of (W)the gospel and believe. 8 And God, (X)who knows the heart, (Y)bore witness to them, (Z)by giving them the Holy Spirit just as he did to us, 9 and (AA)he made no distinction between us and them, (AB)having cleansed their hearts (AC)by faith. 10 Now, therefore, why (AD)are you putting God to the test (AE)by placing a yoke on the neck of the disciples (AF)that neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear? 11 But we (AG)believe that we will be (AH)saved through (AI)the grace of the Lord Jesus, (AJ)just as they will.”
I Am the Resurrection and the Life
17 Now when Jesus came, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb (A)four days. 18 Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles[a] off, 19 and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary (B)to console them concerning their brother. 20 (C)So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, but Mary remained seated in the house. 21 Martha said to (D)Jesus, “Lord, (E)if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, (F)God will give you.” 23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” 24 (G)Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in (H)the resurrection on the last day.” 25 Jesus said to her, (I)“I am the resurrection and (J)the life.[b] Whoever believes in me, (K)though he die, (L)yet shall he live, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in me (M)shall never die. Do you believe this?” 27 She said to him, “Yes, Lord; (N)I believe that (O)you are the Christ, the Son of God, (P)who is coming into the world.”
Jesus Weeps
28 When she had said this, she went and called her sister Mary, saying in private, (Q)“The Teacher is here and is calling for you.” 29 And when she heard it, she rose quickly and went to him.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.