Book of Common Prayer
Thanksgiving for God’s Righteous Judgment
To the Chief Musician. Set to (A)“Do[a] Not Destroy.” A Psalm of Asaph. A Song.
75 We give thanks to You, O God, we give thanks!
For Your wondrous works declare that Your name is near.
2 “When I choose the [b]proper time,
I will judge uprightly.
3 The earth and all its inhabitants are dissolved;
I set up its pillars firmly. Selah
4 “I said to the boastful, ‘Do not deal boastfully,’
And to the wicked, (B)‘Do not [c]lift up the horn.
5 Do not lift up your horn on high;
Do not speak with [d]a stiff neck.’ ”
6 For exaltation comes neither from the east
Nor from the west nor from the south.
7 But (C)God is the Judge:
(D)He puts down one,
And exalts another.
8 For (E)in the hand of the Lord there is a cup,
And the wine is red;
It is fully mixed, and He pours it out;
Surely its dregs shall all the wicked of the earth
Drain and drink down.
9 But I will declare forever,
I will sing praises to the God of Jacob.
10 “All(F) the [e]horns of the wicked I will also cut off,
But (G)the horns of the righteous shall be (H)exalted.”
The Majesty of God in Judgment
To the Chief Musician. On [f]stringed instruments. A Psalm of Asaph. A Song.
76 In (I)Judah God is known;
His name is great in Israel.
2 In [g]Salem also is His tabernacle,
And His dwelling place in Zion.
3 There He broke the arrows of the bow,
The shield and sword of battle. Selah
4 You are more glorious and excellent
(J)Than the mountains of prey.
5 (K)The stouthearted were plundered;
(L)They [h]have sunk into their sleep;
And none of the mighty men have found the use of their hands.
6 (M)At Your rebuke, O God of Jacob,
Both the chariot and horse were cast into a dead sleep.
7 You, Yourself, are to be feared;
And (N)who may stand in Your presence
When once You are angry?
8 (O)You caused judgment to be heard from heaven;
(P)The earth feared and was still,
9 When God (Q)arose to judgment,
To deliver all the oppressed of the earth. Selah
10 (R)Surely the wrath of man shall praise You;
With the remainder of wrath You shall gird Yourself.
The Lord the Shepherd of His People
A Psalm of David.
23 The Lord is (A)my shepherd;
(B)I shall not [a]want.
2 (C)He makes me to lie down in [b]green pastures;
(D)He leads me beside the [c]still waters.
3 He restores my soul;
(E)He leads me in the paths of righteousness
For His name’s sake.
An Exuberant Declaration of Faith
A Psalm of David.
27 The Lord is my (A)light and my salvation;
Whom shall I fear?
The (B)Lord is the strength of my life;
Of whom shall I be afraid?
2 When the wicked came against me
To (C)eat[a] up my flesh,
My enemies and foes,
They stumbled and fell.
3 (D)Though an army may encamp against me,
My heart shall not fear;
Though war may rise against me,
In this I will be confident.
4 (E)One thing I have desired of the Lord,
That will I seek:
That I may (F)dwell in the house of the Lord
All the days of my life,
To behold the [b]beauty of the Lord,
And to inquire in His temple.
5 For (G)in the time of trouble
He shall hide me in His pavilion;
In the secret place of His tabernacle
He shall hide me;
He shall (H)set me high upon a rock.
6 And now (I)my head shall be [c]lifted up above my enemies all around me;
Therefore I will offer sacrifices of [d]joy in His tabernacle;
I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the Lord.
7 Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice!
Have mercy also upon me, and answer me.
8 When You said, “Seek My face,”
My heart said to You, “Your face, Lord, I will seek.”
9 (J)Do not hide Your face from me;
Do not turn Your servant away in anger;
You have been my help;
Do not leave me nor forsake me,
O God of my salvation.
10 (K)When my father and my mother forsake me,
Then the Lord will take care of me.
11 (L)Teach me Your way, O Lord,
And lead me in a smooth path, because of my enemies.
12 Do not deliver me to the will of my adversaries;
For (M)false witnesses have risen against me,
And such as breathe out violence.
13 I would have lost heart, unless I had believed
That I would see the goodness of the Lord
(N)In the land of the living.
16 When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the (A)steward of his house, “Take these men to my home, and slaughter [a]an animal and make ready; for these men will dine with me at noon.” 17 Then the man did as Joseph ordered, and the man brought the men into Joseph’s house.
18 Now the men were (B)afraid because they were brought into Joseph’s house; and they said, “It is because of the money, which was returned in our sacks the first time, that we are brought in, so that he may [b]make a case against us and seize us, to take us as slaves with our donkeys.”
19 When they drew near to the steward of Joseph’s house, they talked with him at the door of the house, 20 and said, “O sir, (C)we indeed came down the first time to buy food; 21 but (D)it happened, when we came to the encampment, that we opened our sacks, and there, each man’s money was in the mouth of his sack, our money in full weight; so we have brought it back in our hand. 22 And we have brought down other money in our hands to buy food. We do not know who put our money in our sacks.”
23 But he said, “Peace be with you, do not be afraid. Your God and the God of your father has given you treasure in your sacks; I had your money.” Then he brought (E)Simeon out to them.
24 So the man brought the men into Joseph’s house and (F)gave them water, and they washed their feet; and he gave their donkeys feed. 25 Then they made the present ready for Joseph’s coming at noon, for they heard that they would eat bread there.
26 And when Joseph came home, they brought him the present which was in their hand into the house, and (G)bowed down before him to the earth. 27 Then he asked them about their well-being, and said, “Is your father well, the old man (H)of whom you spoke? Is he still alive?”
28 And they answered, “Your servant our father is in good health; he is still alive.” (I)And they bowed their heads down and prostrated themselves.
29 Then he lifted his eyes and saw his brother Benjamin, (J)his mother’s son, and said, “Is this your younger brother (K)of whom you spoke to me?” And he said, “God be gracious to you, my son.” 30 Now (L)his heart yearned for his brother; so Joseph made haste and sought somewhere to weep. And he went into his chamber and (M)wept there. 31 Then he washed his face and came out; and he restrained himself, and said, “Serve the (N)bread.”
32 So they set him a place by himself, and them by themselves, and the Egyptians who ate with him by themselves; because the Egyptians could not eat food with the (O)Hebrews, for that is (P)an abomination to the Egyptians. 33 And they sat before him, the firstborn according to his (Q)birthright and the youngest according to his youth; and the men looked in astonishment at one another. 34 Then he took servings to them from before him, but Benjamin’s serving was (R)five times as much as any of theirs. So they drank and were merry with him.
Keep Your Marriage Vows
10 Now to the married I command, yet not I but the (A)Lord: (B)A wife is not to depart from her husband. 11 But even if she does depart, let her remain unmarried or be reconciled to her husband. And a husband is not to divorce his wife.
12 But to the rest I, not the Lord, say: If any brother has a wife who does not believe, and she is willing to live with him, let him not divorce her. 13 And a woman who has a husband who does not believe, if he is willing to live with her, let her not divorce him. 14 For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband; otherwise (C)your children would be unclean, but now they are holy. 15 But if the unbeliever departs, let him depart; a brother or a sister is not under bondage in such cases. But God has called us (D)to peace. 16 For how do you know, O wife, whether you will (E)save your husband? Or how do you know, O husband, whether you will save your wife?
Live as You Are Called
17 But as God has distributed to each one, as the Lord has called each one, so let him walk. And (F)so I [a]ordain in all the churches. 18 Was anyone called while circumcised? Let him not become uncircumcised. Was anyone called while uncircumcised? (G)Let him not be circumcised. 19 (H)Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing, but (I)keeping the commandments of God is what matters. 20 Let each one remain in the same calling in which he was called. 21 Were you called while a slave? Do not be concerned about it; but if you can be made free, rather use it. 22 For he who is called in the Lord while a slave is (J)the Lord’s freedman. Likewise he who is called while free is (K)Christ’s slave. 23 (L)You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of men. 24 Brethren, let each one remain with (M)God in that state in which he was called.
A Demon-Possessed Man Healed(A)
5 Then (B)they came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the [a]Gadarenes. 2 And when He had come out of the boat, immediately there met Him out of the tombs a man with an (C)unclean spirit, 3 who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no one could bind [b]him, not even with chains, 4 because he had often been bound with shackles and chains. And the chains had been pulled apart by him, and the shackles broken in pieces; neither could anyone tame him. 5 And always, night and day, he was in the mountains and in the tombs, crying out and cutting himself with stones.
6 When he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and worshiped Him. 7 And he cried out with a loud voice and said, “What have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I (D)implore[c] You by God that You do not torment me.”
8 For He said to him, (E)“Come out of the man, unclean spirit!” 9 Then He asked him, “What is your name?”
And he answered, saying, “My name is Legion; for we are many.” 10 Also he begged Him earnestly that He would not send them out of the country.
11 Now a large herd of (F)swine was feeding there near the mountains. 12 So all the demons begged Him, saying, “Send us to the swine, that we may enter them.” 13 And [d]at once Jesus gave them permission. Then the unclean spirits went out and entered the swine (there were about two thousand); and the herd ran violently down the steep place into the sea, and drowned in the sea.
14 So those who fed the swine fled, and they told it in the city and in the country. And they went out to see what it was that had happened. 15 Then they came to Jesus, and saw the one who had been (G)demon-possessed and had the legion, (H)sitting and (I)clothed and in his right mind. And they were afraid. 16 And those who saw it told them how it happened to him who had been demon-possessed, and about the swine. 17 Then (J)they began to plead with Him to depart from their region.
18 And when He got into the boat, (K)he who had been demon-possessed begged Him that he might be with Him. 19 However, Jesus did not permit him, but said to him, “Go home to your friends, and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He has had compassion on you.” 20 And he departed and began to (L)proclaim in [e]Decapolis all that Jesus had done for him; and all (M)marveled.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.