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.
Babylon Is Destroyed
18 After the vision of these things, I saw another angel coming down from heaven. This angel had great power, and his glory made the earth bright. 2 He shouted in a powerful voice:
“Ruined, ruined is the great city of Babylon!
She has become a home for demons
and a prison for every evil spirit,
and a prison for every unclean bird and unclean beast.
3 She has been ruined, because all the peoples of the earth
have drunk the wine of the desire of her sexual sin.
She has been ruined also because the kings of the earth
have sinned sexually with her,
and the merchants of the earth
have grown rich from the great wealth of her luxury.”
4 Then I heard another voice from heaven saying:
“Come out of that city, my people,
so that you will not share in her sins,
so that you will not receive the disasters that will come to her.
5 Her sins have piled up as high as the sky,
and God has not forgotten the wrongs she has done.
6 Give that city the same as she gave to others.
Pay her back twice as much as she did.
Prepare wine for her that is twice as strong
as the wine she prepared for others.
7 She gave herself much glory and rich living.
Give her that much suffering and sadness.
She says to herself, ‘I am a queen sitting on my throne.
I am not a widow; I will never be sad.’
8 So these disasters will come to her in one day:
death, and crying, and great hunger,
and she will be destroyed by fire,
because the Lord God who judges her is powerful.”
9 The kings of the earth who sinned sexually with her and shared her wealth will see the smoke from her burning. Then they will cry and be sad because of her death. 10 They will be afraid of her suffering and stand far away and say:
“Terrible! How terrible for you, great city,
powerful city of Babylon,
because your punishment has come in one hour!”
11 And the merchants of the earth will cry and be sad about her, because now there is no one to buy their cargoes— 12 cargoes of gold, silver, jewels, pearls, fine linen, purple cloth, silk, red cloth; all kinds of citron wood and all kinds of things made from ivory, expensive wood, bronze, iron, and marble; 13 cinnamon, spice, incense, myrrh, frankincense, wine, olive oil, fine flour, wheat, cattle, sheep, horses, carriages, slaves, and human lives.
14 The merchants will say,
“Babylon, the good things you wanted are gone from you.
All your rich and fancy things have disappeared.
You will never have them again.”
Healing on the Sabbath
14 On a Sabbath day, when Jesus went to eat at the home of a leading Pharisee, the people were watching Jesus very closely. 2 And in front of him was a man with dropsy.[a] 3 Jesus said to the Pharisees and experts on the law, “Is it right or wrong to heal on the Sabbath day?” 4 But they would not answer his question. So Jesus took the man, healed him, and sent him away. 5 Jesus said to the Pharisees and teachers of the law, “If your child[b] or ox falls into a well on the Sabbath day, will you not pull him out quickly?” 6 And they could not answer him.
Don’t Make Yourself Important
7 When Jesus noticed that some of the guests were choosing the best places to sit, he told this story: 8 “When someone invites you to a wedding feast, don’t take the most important seat, because someone more important than you may have been invited. 9 The host, who invited both of you, will come to you and say, ‘Give this person your seat.’ Then you will be embarrassed and will have to move to the last place. 10 So when you are invited, go sit in a seat that is not important. When the host comes to you, he may say, ‘Friend, move up here to a more important place.’ Then all the other guests will respect you. 11 All who make themselves great will be made humble, but those who make themselves humble will be made great.”
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.