Book of Common Prayer
God Abases the Proud, but Exalts the Righteous.
To the Chief Musician; set to [the tune of] “Do Not Destroy.” A Psalm of Asaph. A Song.
75 We give thanks and praise to You, O God, we give thanks,
For Your [wonderful works declare that Your] [a]name is near;
People declare Your wonders.
2
“When I select an appointed time,
I will judge with equity,” [says the Lord].
3
“The earth and all the inhabitants of it melt [in tumultuous times].
It is I who will steady its pillars. Selah.
4
“I said to the arrogant, ‘Do not boast;’
And to the wicked, ‘Do not lift up the horn [of self-glorification].
5
‘Do not lift up your [defiant and aggressive] horn on high,
Do not speak with a stiff neck.’”
6
For not from the east, nor from the west,
Nor from the desert comes exaltation.(A)
7
But God is the Judge;
He puts down one and lifts up another.
8
For a cup [of His wrath] is in the hand of the Lord, and the wine foams;
It is well mixed and fully spiced, and He pours out from it;
And all the wicked of the earth must drain it and drink down to its dregs.(B)
9
But as for me, I will declare it and rejoice forever;
I will sing praises to the God of Jacob.
10
All the horns of the wicked He will cut off,
But the horns of the righteous will be lifted up.
The Victorious Power of the God of Jacob.
To the Chief Musician; on stringed instruments. A Psalm of Asaph. A Song.
76 God is known in Judah;
His name is great in Israel.
2
His tabernacle is in Salem (Jerusalem);
His dwelling place is in Zion.
3
There He broke the flaming arrows,
The shield, the sword, and the weapons of war. Selah.
4
You are glorious and resplendent,
More majestic than the mountains of prey.
5
The stouthearted have been stripped of their spoil,
They have slept the sleep [of death];
And none of the warriors could use his hands.
6
At Your rebuke, O God of Jacob,
Both rider and horse were cast into a dead sleep [of death].(C)
7
You, even You, are to be feared [with the submissive wonder of reverence];
Who may stand in Your presence when once You are angry?
8
You caused judgment to be heard from heaven;
The earth feared and was quiet
9
When God arose to [establish] judgment,
To save all the humble of the earth. Selah.
10
For the wrath of man shall praise You;
With a remnant of wrath You will clothe and arm Yourself.
11
Make vows to the Lord your God and fulfill them;
Let all who are around Him bring gifts to Him who is to be feared [with awe-inspired reverence].
12
He will cut off the spirit of princes;
He is awesome and feared by the kings of the earth.
The Lord, the Psalmist’s Shepherd.
A Psalm of David.
23 The Lord is my Shepherd [to feed, to guide and to shield me],(A)
I shall not want.
2
He lets me lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside the still and quiet waters.(B)
3
He refreshes and restores my soul (life);
He leads me in the paths of righteousness
for His name’s sake.
4
Even though I walk through the [sunless] [a]valley of the shadow of death,
I fear no evil, for You are with me;
Your rod [to protect] and Your staff [to guide], they comfort and console me.
5
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.
You have anointed and refreshed my head with [b]oil;
My cup overflows.
6
Surely goodness and mercy and unfailing love shall follow me all the days of my life,
And I shall dwell forever [throughout all my days] in the house and in the presence of the Lord.
A Psalm of Fearless Trust in God.
A Psalm of David.
27 The Lord is my light and my salvation—
Whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the refuge and fortress of my life—
Whom shall I dread?
2
When the wicked came against me to eat up my flesh,
My adversaries and my enemies, they stumbled and fell.
3
Though an army encamp against me,
My heart will not fear;
Though war arise against me,
Even in this I am confident.
4
One thing I have asked of the Lord, and that I will seek:
That I may dwell in the house of the Lord [in His presence] all the days of my life,
To gaze upon the beauty [the delightful loveliness and majestic grandeur] of the Lord
And to meditate in His temple.(A)
5
For in the day of trouble He will hide me in His shelter;
In the secret place of His tent He will hide me;
He will lift me up on a rock.
6
And now my head will be lifted up above my enemies around me,
In His tent I will offer sacrifices with shouts of joy;
I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the Lord.
7
Hear, O Lord, when I cry aloud;
Be gracious and compassionate to me and answer me.
8
When You said, “Seek My face [in prayer, require My presence as your greatest need],” my heart said to You,
“Your face, O Lord, I will seek [on the authority of Your word].”
9
Do not hide Your face from me,
Do not turn Your servant away in anger;
You have been my help;
Do not abandon me nor [a]leave me,
O God of my salvation!
10
Although my father and my mother have abandoned me,
Yet the Lord will take me up [adopt me as His child].(B)
11
Teach me Your way, O Lord,
And lead me on a level path
Because of my enemies [who lie in wait].
12
Do not give me up to the will of my adversaries,
For false witnesses have come against me;
They breathe out violence.
13
I would have despaired had I not believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord
In the land of the living.
14
Wait for and confidently expect the Lord;
Be strong and let your heart take courage;
Yes, wait for and confidently expect the Lord.
The Feast of Trumpets
23 Again the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 24 “Say to the children of Israel, ‘On the first day of the seventh month (almost October), you shall observe a day of solemn sabbatical rest, a memorial day announced by the blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation. 25 You shall not do any laborious work [on that day], but you shall present an offering by fire to the Lord.’”
The Day of Atonement
26 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 27 “Also the tenth day of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement; it shall be a holy convocation for you, and you shall [a]humble yourselves [by fasting] and present an offering by fire to the Lord. 28 You shall not do any work on this same day, for it is the Day of Atonement, to make atonement on your behalf before the Lord your God. 29 If there is any person who will not humble himself on this same day, he shall be cut off from his people [excluding him from the atonement made for them]. 30 If there is any person who does any work on this same day, I will destroy that person from among his people. 31 You shall do no work at all [on that day]. It is a permanent statute throughout your generations wherever you may be. 32 It is to be to you a Sabbath of complete rest, and you shall humble yourselves. On the ninth day of the month at evening, from evening to evening you shall keep your Sabbath.”
The Feast of Booths
33 Again the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 34 “Say to the children of Israel, ‘On the fifteenth day of this seventh month, and for seven days, is the Feast of Booths (Tabernacles) to the Lord. 35 The first day is a holy convocation (calling together); you shall not do any laborious work [on that day]. 36 For seven days you shall present an offering by fire to the Lord. On the eighth day you shall have a holy convocation and present an offering by fire to the Lord. It is a festive assembly; you shall not do any laborious work [on that day].
37 ‘These are the appointed times (established feasts) of the Lord, which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, to present an offering by fire to the Lord, a burnt offering and a grain offering, sacrifices and drink offerings, each on its own day. 38 This is in addition to the [weekly] Sabbaths of the Lord, and in addition to your gifts and all your vowed offerings and all your freewill offerings, which you give to the Lord.
39 ‘On exactly the fifteenth day of the seventh month (nearly October), when you have gathered in the crops of the land, you shall celebrate the feast of the Lord for seven days, with a Sabbath rest on the first day and a Sabbath rest on the eighth day. 40 Now on the first day you shall take for yourselves the foliage of beautiful trees, branches of palm trees, and boughs of thick (leafy) trees, and willows of the brook [and make booths of them]; and you shall rejoice before the Lord your God for seven days. 41 You shall celebrate it as a feast to the Lord for seven days in the year. It shall be a permanent statute throughout your generations; you shall celebrate it in the seventh month. 42 You shall live in booths (temporary shelters) for seven days; all native-born in Israel shall live in booths, 43 so that your generations may know that I had the sons of Israel live in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt. I am the Lord your God.’” 44 So Moses declared to the Israelites the appointed feasts of the Lord.
Exhortation
3 Finally, brothers and sisters, pray continually for us that the word of the Lord will spread rapidly and be honored [triumphantly celebrated and glorified], just as it was with you; 2 and [pray] that we will be rescued from perverse and evil men; for not everyone has the faith. 3 But the Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen you [setting you on a firm foundation] and will protect and guard you from the evil one. 4 We have confidence in the Lord concerning you, that you are doing and will continue to do the things [which] we command. 5 May the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God and into the steadfastness and patience of Christ.
6 Now we command you, believers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ and by His authority, that you withdraw and keep away from every brother or sister who leads an undisciplined life and does not live in accordance with the tradition and teaching that [a]you have received from us. 7 For you yourselves know how you ought to follow our example, because we did not act in an undisciplined or inappropriate manner when we were with you [we were never idle or lazy, nor did we avoid our duties], 8 nor did we eat anyone’s bread without paying for it, but with labor and hardship we worked night and day [to pay our own way] so that we would not be a financial burden on any of you [for our support]; 9 not because we do not have a right to such support, but [we provided our own financial support] to offer ourselves as a model for you, so that you would follow our example. 10 For even while we were with you, we used to give you this order: if anyone is not willing to work, then he is [b]not to eat, either. 11 Indeed, we hear that some among you are leading an undisciplined and inappropriate life, doing no work at all, but acting like busybodies [meddling in other people’s business]. 12 Now such people we command and exhort in the Lord Jesus Christ to settle down and work quietly and earn their own food and other necessities [supporting themselves instead of depending on the hospitality of others]. 13 And as for [the rest of] you, [c]believers, do not grow tired or lose heart in doing good [but continue doing what is right without weakening].
14 Now if anyone [in the church] does not obey what we say in this letter, take special note of that person and do not associate with him, so that he will be ashamed and repent. 15 Do not regard him as an enemy, but keep admonishing him as a [believing] brother.
16 Now may the Lord of peace Himself grant you His peace at all times and in every way [that peace and spiritual well-being that comes to those who walk with Him, regardless of life’s circumstances]. The Lord be with you all.(A)
17 I, Paul, write you this final greeting with my own hand. This is the distinguishing mark in every letter [of mine, that shows it is genuine]. It is the way I write [my handwriting and signature]. 18 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with all of you.
The Narrow and Wide Gates
13 “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad and easy to travel is the path that leads the way to destruction and eternal loss, and there are many who enter through it. 14 But small is the gate and narrow and difficult to travel is the path that leads the way to [everlasting] life, and there are few who find it.(A)
A Tree and Its Fruit
15 “Beware of the false prophets, [teachers] who come to you dressed as sheep [appearing gentle and innocent], but inwardly are ravenous wolves.(B) 16 By their fruit you will recognize them [that is, by their contrived doctrine and self-focus]. Do people pick grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles?(C) 17 Even so, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the unhealthy tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Therefore, by their fruit you will recognize them [as false prophets].
21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven.
Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA 90631. All rights reserved.