Book of Common Prayer
God the Judge
For the director of music. To the tune of “Do Not Destroy.” A psalm of Asaph. A song.
75 God, we thank you;
we thank you because you are near.
We tell about the miracles you do.
2 You say, “I set the time for trial,
and I will judge fairly.
3 The earth with all its people may shake,
but I am the one who holds it steady. Selah
4 I say to those who are proud, ‘Don’t brag,’
and to the wicked, ‘Don’t show your power.
5 Don’t try to use your power against heaven.
Don’t be stubborn.’”
6 No one from the east or the west
or the desert can judge you.
7 God is the judge;
he judges one person as guilty and another as innocent.
8 The Lord holds a cup of anger in his hand;
it is full of wine mixed with spices.
He pours it out even to the last drop,
and the wicked drink it all.
9 I will tell about this forever;
I will sing praise to the God of Jacob.
10 He will take all power away from the wicked,
but the power of good people will grow.
The God Who Always Wins
For the director of music. With stringed instruments. A psalm of Asaph. A song.
76 People in Judah know God;
his fame is great in Israel.
2 His Tent is in Jerusalem;
his home is on Mount Zion.
3 There God broke the flaming arrows,
the shields, the swords, and the weapons of war. Selah
4 God, how wonderful you are!
You are more splendid than the hills full of animals.
5 The brave soldiers were stripped
as they lay asleep in death.
Not one warrior
had the strength to stop it.
6 God of Jacob, when you spoke strongly,
horses and riders fell dead.
7 You are feared;
no one can stand against you when you are angry.
8 From heaven you gave the decision,
and the earth was afraid and silent.
9 God, you stood up to judge
and to save the needy people of the earth. Selah
10 People praise you for your anger against evil.
Those who live through your anger are stopped from doing more evil.
11 Make and keep your promises to the Lord your God.
From all around, gifts should come to the God we worship.
12 God breaks the spirits of great leaders;
the kings on earth fear him.
The Lord the Shepherd
A psalm of David.
23 The Lord is my shepherd;
I have everything I need.
2 He lets me rest in green pastures.
He leads me to calm water.
3 He gives me new strength.
He leads me on paths that are right
for the good of his name.
4 Even if I walk through a very dark valley,
I will not be afraid,
because you are with me.
Your rod and your shepherd’s staff comfort me.
5 You prepare a meal for me
in front of my enemies.
You pour oil of blessing on my head;[a]
you fill my cup to overflowing.
6 Surely your goodness and love will be with me
all my life,
and I will live in the house of the Lord forever.
A Song of Trust in God
Of David.
27 The Lord is my light and the one who saves me.
So why should I fear anyone?
The Lord protects my life.
So why should I be afraid?
2 Evil people may try to destroy my body.
My enemies and those who hate me attack me,
but they are overwhelmed and defeated.
3 If an army surrounds me,
I will not be afraid.
If war breaks out,
I will trust the Lord.
4 I ask only one thing from the Lord.
This is what I want:
Let me live in the Lord’s house
all my life.
Let me see the Lord’s beauty
and look with my own eyes at his Temple.
5 During danger he will keep me safe in his shelter.
He will hide me in his Holy Tent,
or he will keep me safe on a high mountain.
6 My head is higher than my enemies around me.
I will offer joyful sacrifices in his Holy Tent.
I will sing and praise the Lord.
7 Lord, hear me when I call;
have mercy and answer me.
8 My heart said of you, “Go, worship him.”
So I come to worship you, Lord.
9 Do not turn away from me.
Do not turn your servant away in anger;
you have helped me.
Do not push me away or leave me alone,
God, my Savior.
10 If my father and mother leave me,
the Lord will take me in.
11 Lord, teach me your ways,
and guide me to do what is right
because I have enemies.
12 Do not hand me over to my enemies,
because they tell lies about me
and say they will hurt me.
13 I truly believe
I will live to see the Lord’s goodness.
14 Wait for the Lord’s help.
Be strong and brave,
and wait for the Lord’s help.
20 “Announce this message to the family of Jacob,
and tell it to the nation of Judah:
21 Hear this message, you foolish people who have no sense.
They have eyes, but they don’t really see.
They have ears, but they don’t really listen.
22 Surely you are afraid of me,” says the Lord.
“You should shake with fear in my presence.
I am the one who made the beaches to be a border for the sea,
a border the water can never go past.
The waves may pound the beach, but they can’t win over it.
They may roar, but they cannot go beyond it.
23 But the people of Judah are stubborn and have turned against me.
They have turned aside and gone away from me.
24 They do not say to themselves,
‘We should fear the Lord our God,
who gives us autumn and spring rains in their seasons,
who makes sure we have the harvest at the right time.’
25 But your evil has kept away both rain and harvest.
Your sins have kept you from enjoying good things.
26 There are wicked men among my people.
Like those who make nets for catching birds,
they set their traps to catch people.
27 Like cages full of birds,
their houses are full of lies.
They have become rich and powerful.
28 They have grown big and fat.
There is no end to the evil things they do.
They won’t plead the case of the orphan
or help the poor be judged fairly.
29 Shouldn’t I punish the people of Judah for doing these things?” says the Lord.
“Shouldn’t I give a nation such as this the punishment it deserves?
30 “A terrible and shocking thing
has happened in the land of Judah:
31 The prophets speak lies,
and the priests take power into their own hands,
and my people love it this way.
But what will you do when the end comes?
19 We know that the law’s commands are for those who have the law. This stops all excuses and brings the whole world under God’s judgment, 20 because no one can be made right with God by following the law. The law only shows us our sin.
How God Makes People Right
21 But God has a way to make people right with him without the law, and he has now shown us that way which the law and the prophets told us about. 22 God makes people right with himself through their faith in Jesus Christ. This is true for all who believe in Christ, because all people are the same: 23 Everyone has sinned and fallen short of God’s glorious standard, 24 and all need to be made right with God by his grace, which is a free gift. They need to be made free from sin through Jesus Christ. 25 God sent him to die in our place to take away our sins. We receive forgiveness through faith in the blood of Jesus’ death. This showed that God always does what is right and fair, as in the past when he was patient and did not punish people for their sins. 26 And God gave Jesus to show today that he does what is right. God did this so he could judge rightly and so he could make right any person who has faith in Jesus.
27 So do we have a reason to brag about ourselves? No! And why not? It is the way of faith that stops all bragging, not the way of trying to obey the law. 28 A person is made right with God through faith, not through obeying the law. 29 Is God only the God of the Jews? Is he not also the God of those who are not Jews? 30 Of course he is, because there is only one God. He will make Jews right with him by their faith, and he will also make those who are not Jews right with him through their faith. 31 So do we destroy the law by following the way of faith? No! Faith causes us to be what the law truly wants.
Jesus’ Brothers Don’t Believe
7 After this, Jesus traveled around Galilee. He did not want to travel in Judea, because some evil people there wanted to kill him. 2 It was time for the Feast of Shelters. 3 So Jesus’ brothers said to him, “You should leave here and go to Judea so your followers there can see the miracles you do. 4 Anyone who wants to be well known does not hide what he does. If you are doing these things, show yourself to the world.” 5 (Even Jesus’ brothers did not believe in him.)
6 Jesus said to his brothers, “The right time for me has not yet come, but any time is right for you. 7 The world cannot hate you, but it hates me, because I tell it the evil things it does. 8 So you go to the feast. I will not go yet[a] to this feast, because the right time for me has not yet come.” 9 After saying this, Jesus stayed in Galilee.
10 But after Jesus’ brothers had gone to the feast, Jesus went also. But he did not let people see him. 11 At the feast some people were looking for him and saying, “Where is that man?”
12 Within the large crowd there, many people were whispering to each other about Jesus. Some said, “He is a good man.”
Others said, “No, he fools the people.” 13 But no one was brave enough to talk about Jesus openly, because they were afraid of the elders.
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.