Book of Common Prayer
God Will Judge with Equity
To the choirmaster: according to (A)Do Not Destroy. (B)A Psalm of Asaph. A Song.
75 We give thanks to you, O God;
we give thanks, for your name is (C)near.
We[a] recount your wondrous deeds.
2 “At (D)the set time that I appoint
I will judge (E)with equity.
3 When the earth (F)totters, and all its inhabitants,
it is I who keep steady its (G)pillars. Selah
4 I say to the boastful, ‘Do not boast,’
and to the wicked, (H)‘Do not lift up your horn;
5 do not lift up your horn on high,
or speak with haughty neck.’”
6 For not from the east or from the west
and not from the wilderness comes (I)lifting up,
7 but it is (J)God who executes judgment,
(K)putting down one and lifting up another.
8 (L)For in the hand of the Lord there is (M)a cup
with foaming wine, (N)well mixed,
and he pours out from it,
and all the wicked of the earth
shall (O)drain it down to the dregs.
9 But I will declare it forever;
I will sing praises to the God of Jacob.
10 (P)All the horns of the wicked I will cut off,
(Q)but the horns of the righteous shall be lifted up.
Who Can Stand Before You?
To the choirmaster: with (R)stringed instruments. A Psalm of (S)Asaph. A Song.
76 In Judah God is (T)known;
his name is great in Israel.
2 His (U)abode has been established in (V)Salem,
his (W)dwelling place in Zion.
3 There he (X)broke the flashing arrows,
the shield, the sword, and the weapons of war. Selah
4 Glorious are you, more majestic
(Y)than the mountains full of (Z)prey.
5 (AA)The stouthearted were stripped of their spoil;
(AB)they sank into sleep;
all the men of war
were unable to use their hands.
6 At your rebuke, O God of Jacob,
both (AC)rider and horse lay stunned.
7 (AD)But you, you are to be feared!
Who can (AE)stand before you
when once your anger is roused?
8 From the heavens you uttered judgment;
(AF)the earth feared and was still,
9 when God (AG)arose to establish judgment,
to save all the humble of the earth. Selah
10 Surely (AH)the wrath of man shall praise you;
the remnant[b] of wrath you will put on like a belt.
11 (AI)Make your vows to the Lord your God and perform them;
let all around him (AJ)bring gifts
to him who (AK)is to be feared,
12 who (AL)cuts off the spirit of princes,
who (AM)is to be feared by the kings of the earth.
The Lord Is My Shepherd
A Psalm of David.
23 The Lord is my (A)shepherd; I shall not (B)want.
2 He makes me lie down in green (C)pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.[a]
3 He (D)restores my soul.
He (E)leads me in (F)paths of righteousness[b]
for his (G)name's sake.
The Lord Is My Light and My Salvation
Of David.
27 The Lord is my (A)light and my (B)salvation;
(C)whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold[a] of my life;
of whom shall I be afraid?
2 When evildoers assail me
to (D)eat up my flesh,
my adversaries and foes,
it is they who stumble and fall.
3 (E)Though an army encamp against me,
my heart shall not fear;
though war arise against me,
yet[b] I will be confident.
4 (F)One thing have I asked of the Lord,
that will I seek after:
that I may (G)dwell in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life,
to gaze upon (H)the beauty of the Lord
and to inquire[c] in his temple.
5 For he will (I)hide me in his shelter
in the day of trouble;
he will conceal me under the cover of his tent;
he will (J)lift me high upon a rock.
6 And now my (K)head shall be lifted up
above my enemies all around me,
and I will offer in his tent
sacrifices with shouts of (L)joy;
(M)I will sing and make melody to the Lord.
7 (N)Hear, O Lord, when I cry aloud;
be gracious to me and answer me!
8 You have said, (O)“Seek[d] my face.”
My heart says to you,
“Your face, Lord, do I seek.”[e]
9 (P)Hide not your face from me.
Turn not your servant away in anger,
O you who have been my help.
Cast me not off; forsake me not,
(Q)O God of my salvation!
10 For (R)my father and my mother have forsaken me,
but the Lord will (S)take me in.
22 And the Philistines came up yet again (A)and spread out in the Valley of Rephaim. 23 (B)And when David inquired of the Lord, he said, “You shall not go up; go around to their rear, and come against them opposite the balsam trees. 24 And (C)when you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees, then rouse yourself, (D)for then the Lord has gone out before you to strike down the army of the Philistines.” 25 And David did as the Lord commanded him, and struck down the Philistines from Geba (E)to Gezer.
The Ark Brought to Jerusalem
6 (F)David again gathered all the chosen men of Israel, thirty thousand. 2 And David arose and went with all the people who were with him from (G)Baale-judah (H)to bring up from there the ark of God, which is called by the name of the Lord of hosts (I)who sits enthroned on the cherubim. 3 And they carried the ark of God (J)on a new cart and brought it (K)out of the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill. And Uzzah and Ahio,[a] the sons of Abinadab, were driving the new cart, 4 with the ark of God,[b] and Ahio went before the ark.
Uzzah and the Ark
5 And David and all the house of Israel were celebrating before the Lord, with (L)songs[c] and lyres and harps and tambourines and castanets and cymbals. 6 And when they came to the threshing floor of (M)Nacon, Uzzah (N)put out his hand to the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen stumbled. 7 And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Uzzah, and (O)God struck him down there because of his error, and he died there beside the ark of God. 8 And David was angry because the Lord had broken out against Uzzah. And that place is called Perez-uzzah[d] to this day. 9 And David was afraid of the Lord that day, and he said, “How can the ark of the Lord come to me?” 10 So David was not willing to take the ark of the Lord into the city of David. But David took it aside (P)to the house of Obed-edom the Gittite. 11 And the ark of the Lord remained in the house of Obed-edom the Gittite three months, (Q)and the Lord blessed Obed-edom and all his household.
Paul in Athens
16 Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was (A)provoked within him as he saw that the city was (B)full of idols. 17 So (C)he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the devout persons, and in the marketplace every day with those who happened to be there. 18 Some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers also conversed with him. And some said, (D)“What does this babbler wish to say?” Others said, “He seems to be a preacher of foreign divinities”—because (E)he was preaching (F)Jesus and the resurrection. 19 And they took him and brought him to (G)the Areopagus, saying, “May we know what this (H)new teaching is that you are presenting? 20 For you bring some (I)strange things to our ears. We wish to know therefore what these things mean.” 21 Now all the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there would spend their time in nothing except telling or hearing something new.
Paul Addresses the Areopagus
22 So Paul, standing in the midst of the Areopagus, said: “Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. 23 For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription: (J)‘To the unknown god.’ (K)What therefore you worship (L)as unknown, this I proclaim to you. 24 (M)The God who made the world and everything in it, being (N)Lord of heaven and earth, (O)does not live in temples made by man,[a] 25 nor is he served by human hands, (P)as though he needed anything, since he himself (Q)gives to all mankind (R)life and breath and everything. 26 And (S)he made from one man every nation of mankind to live (T)on all the face of the earth, (U)having determined allotted periods and (V)the boundaries of their dwelling place, 27 (W)that they should seek God, (X)and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. (Y)Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, 28 for
as even some of (AA)your own poets have said,
“‘For we are indeed his offspring.’[c]
29 (AB)Being then God's offspring, (AC)we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man. 30 (AD)The times of ignorance (AE)God overlooked, but (AF)now he (AG)commands all people everywhere to repent, 31 because he has fixed (AH)a day on which (AI)he will judge the world (AJ)in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and (AK)of this he has given assurance to all (AL)by raising him from the dead.”
32 Now when they heard of (AM)the resurrection of the dead, (AN)some mocked. But others said, (AO)“We will hear you again about this.” 33 So Paul went out from their midst. 34 But some men joined him and believed, among whom also were Dionysius (AP)the Areopagite and a woman named Damaris and others with them.
Jesus Feeds the Four Thousand
8 (A)In those days, when again a great crowd had gathered, and they had nothing to eat, he called his disciples to him and said to them, 2 (B)“I have compassion on the crowd, because they have been with me now three days and have nothing to eat. 3 And if I send them away hungry to their homes, they will faint on the way. And some of them have come from far away.” 4 And his disciples answered him, “How can one feed these people with bread here in this desolate place?” 5 And he asked them, “How many loaves do you have?” They said, (C)“Seven.” 6 And he directed the crowd to sit down on the ground. And he took the seven loaves, and (D)having given thanks, he broke them and gave them to his disciples to set before the people; and they set them before the crowd. 7 And they had a few small fish. And (E)having blessed them, he said that these also should be set before them. 8 And (F)they ate and were satisfied. And they took up the broken pieces left over, (G)seven baskets full. 9 And there were about four thousand people. And he sent them away. 10 And immediately he got into (H)the boat with his disciples and went to the district of (I)Dalmanutha.[a]
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.