Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 50
God as Judge
A psalm of Asaph.(A)
1 The Mighty One, God,[a] the Lord, speaks;
he summons the earth
from the rising of the sun to its setting.(B)
2 From Zion, the perfection of beauty,
God appears in radiance.[b](C)
3 Our God is coming; he will not be silent!
Devouring fire precedes him,
and a storm rages around him.(D)
4 On high, he summons heaven and earth
in order to judge his people:(E)
5 “Gather my faithful ones to me,
those who made a covenant with me by sacrifice.”(F)
6 The heavens proclaim his righteousness,(G)
for God is the Judge.(H)Selah
7 “Listen, my people, and I will speak;
I will testify against you, Israel.
I am God, your God.(I)
8 I do not rebuke you for your sacrifices
or for your burnt offerings,
which are continually before me.(J)
9 I will not take a bull from your household
or male goats from your pens,(K)
10 for every animal of the forest is mine,
the cattle on a thousand hills.
11 I know every bird of the mountains,
and the creatures of the field are mine.(L)
12 If I were hungry, I would not tell you,
for the world and everything in it is mine.(M)
13 Do I eat the flesh of bulls
or drink the blood of goats?(N)
14 Offer a thanksgiving sacrifice to God,(O)
and pay your vows to the Most High.(P)
15 Call on me in a day of trouble;
I will rescue you, and you will honor me.”(Q)
16 But God says to the wicked:
“What right do you have to recite my statutes
and to take my covenant on your lips?(R)
17 You hate instruction
and fling my words behind you.(S)
18 When you see a thief,
you make friends with him,
and you associate with adulterers.(T)
19 You unleash your mouth for evil
and harness your tongue for deceit.(U)
20 You sit, maligning your brother,
slandering your mother’s son.(V)
21 You have done these things, and I kept silent;
you thought I was just like you.(W)
But I will rebuke you
and lay out the case before you.[c](X)
Psalm 59
God Our Stronghold
For the choir director: “Do Not Destroy.” A Miktam of David. When Saul sent agents to watch the house and kill him.(A)
1 Rescue me from my enemies, my God;(B)
protect me from those who rise up against me.(C)
2 Rescue me from evildoers,
and save me from men of bloodshed.(D)
3 Because look, Lord, they set an ambush for me.(E)
Powerful men attack me,
but not because of any sin or rebellion of mine.(F)
4 For no fault of mine,
they run and take up a position.
Awake to help me, and take notice.(G)
5 Lord God of Armies, you are the God of Israel.
Rise up to punish all the nations;
do not show favor to any wicked traitors.(H)Selah
6 They return at evening, snarling like dogs
and prowling around the city.(I)
7 Look, they spew from their mouths—
sharp words from[a] their lips.(J)
“For who,” they say, “will hear?” (K)
8 But you laugh at them, Lord;
you ridicule all the nations.(L)
9 I will keep watch for you, my[b] strength,
because God is my stronghold.(M)
10 My faithful God[c] will come to meet me;
God will let me look down on my adversaries.(N)
11 Do not kill them; otherwise, my people will forget.
By your power, make them homeless wanderers(O)
and bring them down,
Lord, our shield.(P)
12 For the sin of their mouths and the words of their lips,
let them be caught in their pride.
They utter curses and lies.(Q)
13 Consume them in fury;
consume them until they are gone.(R)
Then people will know throughout[d] the earth
that God rules over Jacob.(S)Selah
14 And they return at evening, snarling like dogs
and prowling around the city.(T)
15 They scavenge for food;
they growl if they are not satisfied.(U)
16 But I will sing of your strength
and will joyfully proclaim
your faithful love in the morning.(V)
For you have been a stronghold for me,
a refuge in my day of trouble.(W)
17 To you, my strength, I sing praises,
because God is my stronghold—
my faithful God.(X)
Psalm 60
Prayer in Difficult Times
For the choir director: according to “The Lily of Testimony.”(Y) A Miktam of David for teaching. When he fought with Aram-naharaim and Aram-zobah, and Joab returned and struck Edom in Salt Valley, killing twelve thousand.(Z)
1 God, you have rejected us;
you have broken us down;
you have been angry. Restore us
2 You have shaken the land and split it open.
Heal its fissures, for it shudders.(AB)
3 You have made your people suffer hardship;
you have given us wine to drink
that made us stagger.(AC)
4 You have given a signal flag to those who fear you,
so that they can flee before the archers.[f](AD)Selah
5 Save with your right hand, and answer me,
so that those you love may be rescued.(AE)
6 God has spoken in his sanctuary:[g]
“I will celebrate!
I will divide up Shechem.(AF)
I will apportion the Valley of Succoth.(AG)
7 Gilead is mine, Manasseh is mine,
and Ephraim is my helmet;(AH)
Judah is my scepter.(AI)
8 Moab is my washbasin.(AJ)
I throw my sandal on Edom;(AK)
I shout in triumph over Philistia.”(AL)
Psalm 33
Praise to the Creator
1 Rejoice in the Lord, you righteous ones;
praise from the upright is beautiful.(A)
2 Praise the Lord with the lyre;
make music to him with a ten-stringed harp.(B)
3 Sing a new song to him;(C)
play skillfully on the strings, with a joyful shout.(D)
4 For the word of the Lord is right,
and all his work is trustworthy.(E)
5 He loves righteousness and justice;(F)
the earth is full of the Lord’s unfailing love.(G)
6 The heavens were made by the word of the Lord,(H)
and all the stars, by the breath of his mouth.(I)
7 He gathers the water of the sea into a heap;[a]
he puts the depths into storehouses.(J)
8 Let the whole earth fear the Lord;
let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him.(K)
9 For he spoke, and it came into being;
he commanded, and it came into existence.(L)
10 The Lord frustrates the counsel of the nations;
he thwarts the plans of the peoples.(M)
11 The counsel of the Lord stands forever,
the plans of his heart from generation to generation.(N)
12 Happy is the nation whose God is the Lord—
the people he has chosen to be his own possession!(O)
13 The Lord looks down from heaven;
he observes everyone.(P)
14 He gazes on all the inhabitants of the earth
from his dwelling place.(Q)
15 He forms the hearts of them all;
he considers all their works.(R)
16 A king is not saved by a large army;
a warrior will not be rescued by great strength.(S)
17 The horse is a false hope for safety;
it provides no escape by its great power.(T)
1 The words of Nehemiah(A) son of Hacaliah:
News from Jerusalem
During the month of Chislev(B) in the twentieth year,(C) when I was in the fortress city of Susa,(D) 2 Hanani,(E) one of my brothers, arrived with men from Judah, and I questioned them about Jerusalem and the Jewish remnant(F) that had survived the exile.(G) 3 They said to me, “The remnant in the province,(H) who survived the exile, are in great trouble and disgrace. Jerusalem’s wall has been broken down, and its gates have been burned.”(I)
Nehemiah’s Prayer
4 When I heard these words, I sat down and wept. I mourned for a number of days, fasting and praying(J) before the God of the heavens.(K) 5 I said,(L)
Lord, the God of the heavens, the great and awe-inspiring God who keeps his gracious covenant with those who love him(M) and keep his commands,(N) 6 let your eyes be open and your ears be attentive(O) to hear your servant’s prayer that I now pray to you day and night(P) for your servants, the Israelites. I confess the sins[a] we have committed against you. Both I and my father’s family have sinned.(Q) 7 We have acted corruptly toward you and have not kept the commands, statutes, and ordinances you gave your servant Moses.(R) 8 Please remember what you commanded your servant Moses: “If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the peoples.(S) 9 But if you return to me and carefully observe my commands, even though your exiles were banished to the farthest horizon,[b] I will gather them from there and bring them to the place where I chose to have my name dwell.”(T) 10 They are your servants and your people. You redeemed them by your great power and strong hand.(U) 11 Please, Lord, let your ear be attentive(V) to the prayer of your servant and to that of your servants who delight to revere your name. Give your servant success today,(W) and grant him compassion in the presence of this man.[c](X)
At the time, I was the king’s cupbearer.(Y)
11 Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels around the throne, and also of the living creatures and of the elders. Their number was countless thousands, plus thousands of thousands.(A) 12 They said with a loud voice,
Worthy is the Lamb who was slaughtered
to receive power and riches
and wisdom and strength
and honor and glory and blessing!
13 I heard every creature in heaven, on earth, under the earth,(B) on the sea, and everything in them say,(C)
Blessing and honor and glory and power
be to the one seated on the throne,
and to the Lamb, forever and ever!
14 The four living creatures said, “Amen,” and the elders fell down and worshiped.
The First Seal on the Scroll
6 Then I saw the Lamb open one of the seven[a] seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures say with a voice like thunder,(D) “Come!” 2 I looked, and there was a white horse.(E) Its rider held a bow;(F) a crown(G) was given to him, and he went out as a conqueror in order to conquer.[b]
The Second Seal
3 When he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!” 4 Then another horse went out, a fiery red one,(H) and its rider was allowed to take peace from the earth, so that people would slaughter one another. And a large sword was given to him.(I)
The Third Seal
5 When he opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come!” And I looked, and there was a black horse.(J) Its rider held a set of scales in his hand.(K) 6 Then I heard something like a voice among the four living creatures say, “A quart of wheat for a denarius,[c] and three quarts of barley for a denarius,(L) but do not harm the oil and the wine.”(M)
The Fourth Seal
7 When he opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, “Come!” 8 And I looked, and there was a pale green[d] horse. Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following after him.(N) They were[e] given authority(O) over a fourth of the earth, to kill by the sword, by famine, by plague, and by the wild animals of the earth.(P)
The Fifth Seal
9 When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slaughtered because of the word of God and the testimony they had given.[f](Q) 10 They cried out with a loud voice, “Lord,[g] the one who is holy and true,(R) how long until you judge those who live on the earth and avenge our blood?(S)” 11 So they were each given a white robe, and they were told to rest a little while longer until the number would be completed of their fellow servants and their brothers and sisters, who were going to be killed just as they had been.
The Parable of the Sower Explained
18 “So listen to the parable of the sower: (A) 19 When anyone hears the word about the kingdom and doesn’t understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the one sown along the path.(B) 20 And the one sown on rocky ground—this is one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy.(C) 21 But he has no root and is short-lived. When distress or persecution(D) comes because of the word, immediately he falls away. 22 Now the one sown among the thorns—this is one who hears the word, but the worries of this age(E) and the deceitfulness[a] of wealth(F) choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. 23 But the one sown on the good ground—this is one who hears and understands the word, who does produce fruit and yields: some a hundred, some sixty, some thirty times what was sown.”
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