Book of Common Prayer
One of Asaph’s songs.
50 The Lord God Most Powerful has spoken.
He calls to everyone on earth, from where the sun rises to where it sets.
2 God appeared from Zion, the city of perfect beauty.[a]
3 Our God is coming and will not keep quiet.
Fire burns in front of him.
There is a great storm around him.
4 He tells the sky and the earth to be witnesses
as he judges his people.
5 He says, “My followers, gather around me.
Come, my worshipers, who made an agreement with me.”
6 God is the judge,
and the skies tell how fair he is. Selah
7 God says, “My people, listen to me!
People of Israel, I will show my evidence against you.
I am God, your God.
8 The problem I have with you is not your sacrifices
or the burnt offerings you bring to me everyday.
9 Why would I want more bulls from your barns
or goats from your pens?
10 I already own all the animals in the forest.
I own all the animals on a thousand hills.
11 I know every bird in the mountains.
Everything that moves in the fields is mine.
12 If I were hungry, I would not ask you for food.
I already own the world and everything in it.
13 I don’t eat the meat of bulls or drink the blood of goats.”
14 You made promises to God Most High, so give him what you promised.
Bring your sacrifices and thank offerings.
15 God says, “Call me when trouble comes.
I will help you, and you will honor me.”
16 But God says to the wicked,
“Stop quoting my laws!
Stop talking about my agreement!
17 You hate for me to tell you what to do.
You ignore what I say.
18 You see a thief and run to join him.
You jump into bed with those who commit adultery.
19 You say evil things and tell lies.
20 You sit around talking about people,
finding fault with your own brothers.
21 When you did these things, I said nothing.
So you thought that I[b] was just like you.
But I will not be quiet any longer.
I will correct you and make clear what I have against you.
22 You people who have forgotten God,
understand what I am telling you,
or I will tear you apart,
and no one will be able to save you!
23 Whoever gives a thank offering shows me honor.
And whoever decides to live right will see my power to save.”
To the director: To the tune “Don’t Destroy.” A miktam of David written when Saul sent people to watch David’s house to try to kill him.
59 God, save me from my enemies.
Protect me from those who stand against me.
2 Save me from those who do wrong.
Save me from those murderers.
3 Look, powerful men are waiting for me.
Lord, they are waiting to kill me,
even though I did not sin or commit a crime.
4 I have done nothing wrong, but they are rushing to attack me.
Come and see for yourself!
5 You are the Lord God All-Powerful, the God of Israel!
Get up and punish them.
Don’t show any mercy to those traitors. Selah
6 Those evil men are like dogs
that come into town in the evening,
growling and roaming the streets.
7 Listen to their threats and insults.
They say such cruel things,
and they don’t care who hears them.
8 Lord, laugh at them.
Make fun of them all.
9 God, my strength, I look to you for help.[a]
You are my place of safety, high in the mountains.
10 God loves me, and he will help me win.
He will help me defeat my enemies.
11 Don’t just kill them, or my people might forget.
My Lord and Protector, scatter and defeat them with your strength.
12 Those evil people curse and tell lies.
Punish them for what they said.
Let their pride trap them.
13 Destroy them in your anger.
Destroy them completely!
Then people all over the world will know
that God rules over the people of Jacob. Selah
14 Those evil men are like dogs
that come into town in the evening, growling and roaming the streets.
15 They roam around looking for food,
but even if they eat their fill, they still growl and complain.
16 But I will sing about your strength.
I will rejoice in your love every morning.
You have been my place of safety,
the place I can run to when troubles come.
17 I will sing praises to you, my source of strength.
You, God, are my place of safety.
You are the God who loves me!
To the director: To the tune “Lily of the Agreement.” A miktam of David for teaching. Written when David fought Aram Naharaim and Aram Zobah, and Joab came back and defeated 12,000 Edomite soldiers at Salt Valley.
60 God, you were angry with us.
You rejected us and destroyed our defenses.
Please make us strong again.
2 You shook the earth and split it open.
It is falling apart like a broken wall.
Please put it back together.
3 You have given your people many troubles.
We are dizzy and fall down like drunks.
4 But you have provided a flag to show your faithful followers
where to gather to escape the enemy’s attack. Selah
5 Use your great power and give us victory!
Answer our prayer and save the people you love.
6 God has spoken in his Temple[b]:
“I will win the war and rejoice in victory!
I will divide this land among my people.
I will give them Shechem.
I will give them Succoth Valley.
7 Gilead and Manasseh will be mine.
Ephraim will be my helmet.
Judah will be my royal scepter.
8 Moab will be the bowl for washing my feet.
Edom will be the slave who carries my sandals.
I will defeat the Philistines and shout in victory!”
9-10 But, God, it seems that you have left us!
You do not go out with our army.
So who will lead me into the strong, protected city?
Who will lead me into battle against Edom?
11 Help us defeat the enemy!
No one on earth can rescue us.
12 Only God can make us strong.
Only God can defeat our enemies!
33 Rejoice in the Lord, good people!
It is only right for good people to praise him.
2 Play the lyre and praise the Lord.
Play the ten-stringed harp for him.
3 Sing a new song[a] to him.
Play it well and sing it loud!
4 The Lord’s word is true,
and he is faithful in everything he does.
5 He loves goodness and justice.
The Lord’s faithful love fills the earth.
6 The Lord spoke the command, and the world was made.
The breath from his mouth created everything in the heavens.
7 He gathered together the water of the sea.
He put the ocean in its place.
8 Everyone on earth should fear and respect the Lord.
All the people in the world should fear him,
9 because when he speaks, things happen.
And if he says, “Stop!”—then it stops.[b]
10 The Lord can ruin every decision the nations make.
He can spoil all their plans.
11 But the Lord’s decisions are good forever.
His plans are good for generation after generation.
12 Great blessings belong to those who have the Lord as their God!
He chose them to be his own special people.
13 The Lord looked down from heaven
and saw all the people.
14 From his high throne he looked down
at all the people living on earth.
15 He created every person’s mind,
and he knows what each one is doing.
16 A king is not saved by the power of his army.
A soldier does not survive by his own great strength.
17 Horses don’t really bring victory in war.
Their strength cannot help you escape.
18 The Lord watches over his followers,
those who wait for him to show his faithful love.
19 He saves them from death.
He gives them strength when they are hungry.
20 So we will wait for the Lord.
He helps us and protects us.
21 He makes us happy.
We trust his holy name.
22 Lord, we worship you,
so show your great love for us.
The Lampstand and the Two Olive Trees
4 Then the angel who was talking to me returned and woke me up. I was like a person waking up from sleep. 2 Then the angel asked me, “What do you see?”
I said, “I see a solid gold lampstand. There are seven lamps[a] on the lampstand, and there is a bowl on top of it. There are seven tubes coming from the bowl. One tube goes to each lamp. The tubes bring the oil in the bowl to each of the lamps. 3 There are two olive trees by the bowl, one on the right side and one on the left side. These trees produce the oil for the lamps.” 4 Then I asked the angel who was speaking with me, “Sir, what do these things mean?”
5 The angel speaking with me said, “Don’t you know what these things are?”
“No sir,” I said.
6 He said, “This is the message from the Lord to Zerubbabel: ‘Your help will not come from your own strength and power. No, your help will come from my Spirit.’ This is what the Lord All-Powerful says. 7 That tall mountain will be like a flat place for Zerubbabel. He will build the Temple, and when the most important stone is put in place, the people will shout, ‘Beautiful! Beautiful!’”
8 The Lord’s message to me also said, 9 “Zerubbabel will lay the foundations for my Temple, and he will finish building it. Then you will know that the Lord All-Powerful sent me to you people. 10 People will not be ashamed of the small beginnings, and they will be very happy when they see Zerubbabel with the plumb line,[b] measuring and checking the finished building. Now the seven sides[c] of the stone you saw represent the eyes of the Lord looking in every direction. They see everything on earth.”
11 Then I said to him, “I saw one olive tree on the right side of the lampstand and one on the left side. What do those two olive trees mean?” 12 I also said to him, “I saw two olive branches by the gold tubes with gold colored oil flowing from them. What do these things mean?”
13 Then the angel said to me, “Don’t you know what these things mean?”
I said, “No, sir.”
14 So he said, “They represent the two men chosen[d] to serve the Lord of the whole world.”
9 These living beings were giving glory and honor and thanks to the one who sits on the throne, the one who lives forever and ever. And every time they did this, 10 the 24 elders bowed down before the one who sits on the throne. They worshiped him who lives forever and ever. They put their crowns down before the throne and said,
11 “Our Lord and God!
You are worthy to receive glory and honor and power.
You made all things.
Everything existed and was made because you wanted it.”
Who Can Open the Scroll?
5 Then I saw a scroll in the right hand of the one sitting on the throne. The scroll had writing on both sides and was kept closed with seven seals. 2 And I saw a powerful angel, who called in a loud voice, “Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?” 3 But there was no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth who could open the scroll or look inside it. 4 I cried and cried because there was no one who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside. 5 But one of the elders said to me, “Don’t cry! The Lion[a] from the tribe of Judah has won the victory. He is David’s descendant. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.”
A Story About Ten Girls
25 “At that time God’s kingdom will be like ten girls who went to wait for the bridegroom. They took their lamps with them. 2 Five of the girls were foolish, and five were wise. 3 The foolish girls took their lamps with them, but they did not take extra oil for the lamps. 4 The wise girls took their lamps and more oil in jars. 5 When the bridegroom was very late, the girls could not keep their eyes open, and they all fell asleep.
6 “At midnight someone announced, ‘The bridegroom is coming! Come and meet him!’
7 “Then all the girls woke up. They made their lamps ready. 8 But the foolish girls said to the wise girls, ‘Give us some of your oil. The oil in our lamps is all gone.’
9 “The wise girls answered, ‘No! The oil we have might not be enough for all of us. But go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.’
10 “So the foolish girls went to buy oil. While they were gone, the bridegroom came. The girls who were ready went in with the bridegroom to the wedding feast. Then the door was closed and locked.
11 “Later, the other girls came. They said, ‘Sir, sir! Open the door to let us in.’
12 “But the bridegroom answered, ‘Certainly not! I don’t even know you.’
13 “So always be ready. You don’t know the day or the time when the Son of Man will come.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International