Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 24[a]
A psalm of David.
24 The Lord owns the earth and all it contains,
the world and all who live in it.
2 For he set its foundation upon the seas,
and established[b] it upon the ocean currents.[c]
3 Who is allowed to ascend[d] the mountain of the Lord?[e]
Who may go up to his holy dwelling place?
4 The one whose deeds are blameless
and whose motives are pure,[f]
who does not lie,[g]
or make promises with no intention of keeping them.[h]
5 Such godly people are rewarded by the Lord,[i]
and vindicated by the God who delivers them.[j]
6 Such purity characterizes the people who seek his favor,
Jacob’s descendants, who pray to him.[k] (Selah)
7 Look up,[l] you gates.
Rise up,[m] you eternal doors.
Then the majestic king[n] will enter.[o]
8 Who is this majestic king?[p]
The Lord who is strong and mighty.
The Lord who is mighty in battle.
9 Look up, you gates.
Rise up, you eternal doors.
Then the majestic king will enter.
10 Who is this majestic king?
The Lord of Heaven’s Armies.[q]
He is the majestic king. (Selah)
Psalm 29[a]
A psalm of David.
29 Acknowledge the Lord, you heavenly beings,[b]
acknowledge the Lord’s majesty and power.[c]
2 Acknowledge the majesty of the Lord’s reputation.[d]
Worship the Lord in holy attire.[e]
3 The Lord’s shout is heard over the water;[f]
the majestic God thunders,[g]
the Lord appears over the surging water.[h]
4 The Lord’s shout is powerful,[i]
the Lord’s shout is majestic.[j]
5 The Lord’s shout breaks[k] the cedars,
the Lord shatters[l] the cedars of Lebanon.[m]
6 He makes them skip like a calf,
Lebanon and Sirion[n] like a young ox.[o]
7 The Lord’s shout strikes[p] with flaming fire.[q]
8 The Lord’s shout shakes[r] the wilderness,
the Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.[s]
9 The Lord’s shout bends[t] the large trees[u]
and strips[v] the leaves from the forests.[w]
Everyone in his temple says, “Majestic!”[x]
10 The Lord sits enthroned over the engulfing waters,[y]
the Lord sits enthroned[z] as the eternal king.
11 The Lord gives[aa] his people strength;[ab]
the Lord grants his people security.[ac]
Psalm 8[a]
For the music director, according to the gittith style;[b] a psalm of David.
8 O Lord, our Lord,[c]
how magnificent[d] is your reputation[e] throughout the earth!
You reveal your majesty in the heavens above.[f]
2 From the mouths of children and nursing babies
you have ordained praise on account of your adversaries,[g]
so that you might put an end to the vindictive enemy.[h]
3 When I look up at the heavens, which your fingers made,
and see the moon and the stars, which you set in place,[i]
4 Of what importance is the human race,[j] that you should notice[k] them?
Of what importance is mankind,[l] that you should pay attention to them?[m]
5 You made them[n] a little less than[o] the heavenly beings.[p]
You crowned mankind[q] with honor and majesty.[r]
6 you appoint them to rule over your creation;[s]
you have placed[t] everything under their authority,[u]
7 including all the sheep and cattle,
as well as the wild animals,[v]
8 the birds in the sky, the fish in the sea,
and everything that moves through the currents[w] of the seas.
9 O Lord, our Lord,[x]
how magnificent[y] is your reputation[z] throughout the earth![aa]
Psalm 84[a]
For the music director, according to the gittith style;[b] written by the Korahites, a psalm.
84 How lovely is the place where you live,[c]
O Lord of Heaven’s Armies![d]
2 I desperately want to be[e]
in the courts of the Lord’s temple.[f]
My heart and my entire being[g] shout for joy
to the living God.
3 Even the birds find a home there,
and the swallow[h] builds a nest,
where she can protect her young[i]
near your altars, O Lord of Heaven’s Armies,
my King and my God.
4 How blessed[j] are those who live in your temple
and praise you continually. (Selah)
5 How blessed are those who[k] find their strength in you,
and long to travel the roads that lead to your temple.[l]
6 As they pass through the Baca Valley,[m]
he provides a spring for them.[n]
The rain[o] even covers it with pools of water.[p]
7 They are sustained as they travel along;[q]
each one appears[r] before God in Zion.
8 O Lord God of Heaven’s Armies,[s]
hear my prayer.
Listen, O God of Jacob. (Selah)
9 O God, take notice of our shield.[t]
Show concern for your chosen king.[u]
10 Certainly[v] spending just one day in your temple courts is better
than spending a thousand elsewhere.[w]
I would rather stand at the entrance[x] to the temple of my God
than live[y] in the tents of the wicked.
11 For the Lord God is our sovereign protector.[z]
The Lord bestows favor[aa] and honor;
he withholds no good thing from those who have integrity.[ab]
12 O Lord of Heaven’s Armies,[ac]
how blessed are those who trust in you.[ad]
18 Have you considered the vast expanses of the earth?
Tell me, if you know it all.
19 “In what direction[a] does light reside,
and darkness, where is its place,
20 that you may take them to their borders
and perceive the pathways to their homes?[b]
21 You know, for you were born before them;[c]
and the number of your days is great!
22 Have you entered the storehouse[d] of the snow,
or seen the armory[e] of the hail,
23 which I reserve for the time of trouble,
for the day of war and battle?[f]
24 In what direction is lightning[g] dispersed,
or the east winds scattered over the earth?
25 Who carves out a channel for the heavy rains,
and a path for the rumble of thunder,
26 to cause it to rain on an uninhabited land,[h]
a wilderness where there are no human beings,[i]
27 to satisfy a devastated and desolate land,
and to cause it to sprout with vegetation?[j]
28 Does the rain have a father,
or who has fathered the drops of the dew?
29 From whose womb does the ice emerge,
and the frost from the sky,[k] who gives birth to it,
30 when the waters become hard[l] like stone,
when the surface of the deep is frozen solid?
31 Can you tie the bands[m] of the Pleiades,
or release the cords of Orion?
32 Can you lead out
the constellations[n] in their seasons,
or guide the Bear with its cubs?[o]
33 Do you know the laws of the heavens,
or can you set up their rule over the earth?
34 Can you raise your voice to the clouds
so that a flood of water covers you?[p]
35 Can you send out lightning bolts, and they go?
Will they say to you, ‘Here we are’?
36 Who has put wisdom in the heart,[q]
or has imparted understanding to the mind?
37 Who by wisdom can count the clouds,
and who can tip over[r] the water jars of heaven,
38 when the dust hardens[s] into a mass,
and the clumps of earth stick together?
39 “Do you hunt prey for the lioness,
Babylon is Destroyed
18 After these things I saw another angel, who possessed great authority, coming down out of heaven, and the earth was lit up by his radiance.[a] 2 He[b] shouted with a powerful voice:
“Fallen, fallen, is Babylon the great!
She[c] has become a lair for demons,
a haunt[d] for every unclean spirit,
a haunt for every unclean bird,
a haunt for every unclean and detested beast.[e]
3 For all the nations[f] have fallen[g] from
the wine of her immoral passion,[h]
and the kings of the earth have committed sexual immorality with her,
and the merchants of the earth have gotten rich from the power of her sensual behavior.”[i]
4 Then[j] I heard another voice from heaven saying, “Come out of her, my people, so you will not take part in her sins and so you will not receive her plagues, 5 because her sins have piled[k] up all the way to heaven[l] and God has remembered[m] her crimes.[n] 6 Repay her the same way she repaid others;[o] pay her back double[p] corresponding to her deeds. In the cup she mixed, mix double the amount for her. 7 As much as[q] she exalted herself and lived in sensual luxury,[r] to this extent give her torment and grief because she said to herself,[s] ‘I rule as queen and am no widow; I will never experience grief!’ 8 For this reason, she will experience her plagues[t] in a single day: disease,[u] mourning,[v] and famine, and she will be burned down[w] with fire, because the Lord God who judges her is powerful!”
Anger and Murder
21 “You have heard that it was said to an older generation,[a] ‘Do not murder,’[b] and ‘whoever murders will be subjected to judgment.’[c] 22 But I say to you that anyone who is angry with a brother[d] will be subjected to judgment. And whoever insults[e] a brother will be brought before[f] the council,[g] and whoever says ‘Fool’[h] will be sent[i] to fiery hell.[j] 23 So then, if you bring your gift to the altar and there you remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother and then come and present your gift. 25 Reach agreement[k] quickly with your accuser while on the way to court,[l] or he[m] may hand you over to the judge, and the judge hand you over to the warden, and you will be thrown into prison. 26 I tell you the truth,[n] you will never get out of there until you have paid the last penny![o]
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