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.
Tremble at the Presence of the Lord
114 When (A)Israel went out from Egypt,
the house of Jacob from (B)a people of strange language,
2 Judah became his (C)sanctuary,
Israel his dominion.
3 (D)The sea looked and fled;
(E)Jordan turned back.
4 (F)The mountains skipped like rams,
the hills like lambs.
5 What (G)ails you, O sea, that you flee?
O Jordan, that you turn back?
6 O mountains, that you skip like rams?
O hills, like lambs?
7 (H)Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord,
at the presence of the God of Jacob,
8 who turns (I)the rock into (J)a pool of water,
(K)the flint into a spring of water.
To Your Name Give Glory
115 (L)Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory,
(M)for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness!
2 Why should the nations say,
(N)“Where is their God?”
3 (O)Our God is in the heavens;
(P)he does all that he pleases.
4 (Q)Their idols are silver and gold,
(R)the work of human hands.
5 They have mouths, (S)but do not speak;
eyes, but do not see.
6 They have ears, but do not hear;
noses, but do not smell.
7 They have hands, but do not feel;
feet, but do not walk;
and they do not make a sound in their throat.
8 (T)Those who make them become like them;
so do all who trust in them.
9 O (U)Israel,[a] (V)trust in the Lord!
He is their (W)help and their shield.
10 O (X)house of Aaron, trust in the Lord!
He is their help and (Y)their shield.
11 You (Z)who fear the Lord, trust in the Lord!
He is their help and their shield.
12 The Lord has remembered us; he will bless us;
he will bless (AA)the house of Israel;
he will bless (AB)the house of Aaron;
13 he will (AC)bless those who fear the Lord,
(AD)both the small and the great.
8 See to it that no one takes you captive by (A)philosophy and (B)empty deceit, according to (C)human tradition, according to the (D)elemental spirits[a] of the world, and not according to Christ. 9 For (E)in him the whole fullness of deity dwells (F)bodily, 10 and (G)you have been filled in him, who is (H)the head of all rule and authority. 11 In him also (I)you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by (J)putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, 12 (K)having been buried with him in baptism, in which (L)you were also raised with him through faith in (M)the powerful working of God, (N)who raised him from the dead. 13 (O)And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God (P)made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, 14 by (Q)canceling (R)the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. 15 (S)He disarmed the rulers and authorities[b] and (T)put them to open shame, by (U)triumphing over them in him.[c]
Let No One Disqualify You
16 Therefore let no one (V)pass judgment on you (W)in questions of food and drink, or with regard to (X)a festival or (Y)a new moon or a Sabbath. 17 (Z)These are a shadow of the things to come, but (AA)the substance belongs to Christ. 18 Let no one (AB)disqualify you, (AC)insisting on asceticism and worship of angels, (AD)going on in detail about visions,[d] (AE)puffed up without reason by (AF)his sensuous mind, 19 and (AG)not (AH)holding fast to the Head, from whom the whole body, nourished and knit together through its joints and ligaments, grows with a growth that is from God.
20 If with Christ (AI)you died to the (AJ)elemental spirits of the world, (AK)why, as if you were still alive in the world, do you submit to regulations— 21 (AL)“Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch” 22 ((AM)referring to things that all perish as they are used)—according to (AN)human precepts and teachings? 23 These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in (AO)promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are (AP)of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh.
39 He also told them a parable: (A)“Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit? 40 (B)A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone when he is (C)fully trained will be like his teacher. 41 (D)Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but (E)do not notice the log that is in your own eye? 42 How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take out the speck that is in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the log that is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your brother's eye.
A Tree and Its Fruit
43 “For (F)no good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit, 44 for (G)each tree is known by its own fruit. For figs are not gathered from thornbushes, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush. 45 (H)The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces (I)evil, (J)for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.
Build Your House on the Rock
46 (K)“Why (L)do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you? 47 (M)Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like: 48 he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built.[a] 49 (N)But the one who hears and does not do them is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the stream broke against it, immediately it fell, and (O)the ruin of that house was great.”
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.