Book of Common Prayer
God the Righteous Judge
A Psalm of Asaph.
50 The (A)Mighty One, God the Lord,
Has spoken and called the earth
From the rising of the sun to its going down.
2 Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty,
(B)God will shine forth.
3 Our God shall come, and shall not keep silent;
(C)A fire shall devour before Him,
And it shall be very tempestuous all around Him.
4 (D)He shall call to the heavens from above,
And to the earth, that He may judge His people:
5 “Gather (E)My saints together to Me,
(F)Those who have [a]made a covenant with Me by sacrifice.”
6 Let the (G)heavens declare His righteousness,
For (H)God Himself is Judge. Selah
7 “Hear, O My people, and I will speak,
O Israel, and I will testify against you;
(I)I am God, your God!
8 (J)I will not [b]rebuke you (K)for your sacrifices
Or your burnt offerings,
Which are continually before Me.
9 (L)I will not take a bull from your house,
Nor goats out of your folds.
10 For every beast of the forest is Mine,
And the cattle on a thousand hills.
11 I know all the birds of the mountains,
And the wild beasts of the field are Mine.
12 “If I were hungry, I would not tell you;
(M)For the world is Mine, and all its fullness.
13 (N)Will I eat the flesh of bulls,
Or drink the blood of goats?
14 (O)Offer to God thanksgiving,
And (P)pay your vows to the Most High.
15 (Q)Call upon Me in the day of trouble;
I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me.”
16 But to the wicked God says:
“What right have you to declare My statutes,
Or take My covenant in your mouth,
17 (R)Seeing you hate instruction
And cast My words behind you?
18 When you saw a thief, you (S)consented[c] with him,
And have been a (T)partaker with adulterers.
19 You give your mouth to evil,
And (U)your tongue frames deceit.
20 You sit and speak against your brother;
You slander your own mother’s son.
21 These things you have done, and I kept silent;
(V)You thought that I was altogether like you;
But I will rebuke you,
And (W)set them in order before your eyes.
The Assured Judgment of the Wicked
To the Chief Musician. Set to [a]“Do Not Destroy.” A Michtam of David (A)when Saul sent men, and they watched the house in order to kill him.
59 Deliver me from my enemies, O my God;
[b]Defend me from those who rise up against me.
2 Deliver me from the workers of iniquity,
And save me from bloodthirsty men.
3 For look, they lie in wait for my life;
(B)The mighty gather against me,
Not for my transgression nor for my sin, O Lord.
4 They run and prepare themselves through no fault of mine.
(C)Awake to help me, and behold!
5 You therefore, O Lord God of hosts, the God of Israel,
Awake to punish all the [c]nations;
Do not be merciful to any wicked transgressors. Selah
6 (D)At evening they return,
They growl like a dog,
And go all around the city.
7 Indeed, they belch with their mouth;
(E)Swords are in their lips;
For they say, (F)“Who hears?”
8 But (G)You, O Lord, shall laugh at them;
You shall have all the [d]nations in derision.
9 I will wait for You, O You [e]his Strength;
(H)For God is my [f]defense.
10 [g]My God of mercy shall (I)come to meet me;
God shall let (J)me see my desire on my enemies.
11 Do not slay them, lest my people forget;
Scatter them by Your power,
And bring them down,
O Lord our shield.
12 (K)For the sin of their mouth and the words of their lips,
Let them even be taken in their pride,
And for the cursing and lying which they speak.
13 (L)Consume them in wrath, consume them,
That they may not be;
And (M)let them know that God rules in Jacob
To the ends of the earth. Selah
14 And (N)at evening they return,
They growl like a dog,
And go all around the city.
15 They (O)wander up and down for food,
And [h]howl if they are not satisfied.
16 But I will sing of Your power;
Yes, I will sing aloud of Your mercy in the morning;
For You have been my defense
And refuge in the day of my trouble.
17 To You, (P)O my Strength, I will sing praises;
For God is my defense,
My God of mercy.
Urgent Prayer for the Restored Favor of God(Q)
To the Chief Musician. (R)Set to [i]“Lily of the Testimony.” A Michtam of David. For teaching. (S)When he fought against Mesopotamia and Syria of Zobah, and Joab returned and killed twelve thousand Edomites in the Valley of Salt.
60 O God, (T)You have cast us off;
You have broken us down;
You have been displeased;
Oh, restore us again!
2 You have made the earth tremble;
You have broken it;
(U)Heal its breaches, for it is shaking.
3 (V)You have shown Your people hard things;
(W)You have made us drink the wine of [j]confusion.
4 (X)You have given a banner to those who fear You,
That it may be displayed because of the truth. Selah
5 (Y)That Your beloved may be delivered,
Save with Your right hand, and hear me.
6 God has (Z)spoken in His holiness:
“I will rejoice;
I will (AA)divide (AB)Shechem
And measure out (AC)the Valley of Succoth.
7 Gilead is Mine, and Manasseh is Mine;
(AD)Ephraim also is the [k]helmet for My head;
(AE)Judah is My lawgiver.
8 (AF)Moab is My washpot;
(AG)Over Edom I will cast My shoe;
(AH)Philistia, shout in triumph because of Me.”
9 Who will bring me to the strong city?
Who will lead me to Edom?
10 Is it not You, O God, (AI)who cast us off?
And You, O God, who did (AJ)not go out with our armies?
11 Give us help from trouble,
(AK)For the help of man is useless.
12 Through God (AL)we will do valiantly,
For it is He who shall tread down our enemies.
Praise to God for His Awesome Works
To the Chief Musician. A Song. A Psalm.
66 Make (A)a joyful shout to God, all the earth!
2 Sing out the honor of His name;
Make His praise glorious.
3 Say to God,
“How (B)awesome are Your works!
(C)Through the greatness of Your power
Your enemies shall submit themselves to You.
4 (D)All the earth shall worship You
And sing praises to You;
They shall sing praises to Your name.” Selah
5 Come and see the works of God;
He is awesome in His doing toward the sons of men.
6 (E)He turned the sea into dry land;
(F)They went through the river on foot.
There we will rejoice in Him.
7 He rules by His power forever;
His eyes observe the nations;
Do not let the rebellious exalt themselves. Selah
8 Oh, bless our God, you peoples!
And make the voice of His praise to be heard,
9 Who keeps our soul among the living,
And does not allow our feet to [a]be moved.
10 For (G)You, O God, have tested us;
(H)You have refined us as silver is refined.
11 (I)You brought us into the net;
You laid affliction on our backs.
12 (J)You have caused men to ride over our heads;
(K)We went through fire and through water;
But You brought us out to [b]rich fulfillment.
13 (L)I will go into Your house with burnt offerings;
(M)I will pay You my [c]vows,
14 Which my lips have uttered
And my mouth has spoken when I was in trouble.
15 I will offer You burnt sacrifices of fat animals,
With the sweet aroma of rams;
I will offer bulls with goats. Selah
16 Come and hear, all you who fear God,
And I will declare what He has done for my soul.
17 I cried to Him with my mouth,
And He was [d]extolled with my tongue.
18 (N)If I regard iniquity in my heart,
The Lord will not hear.
19 But certainly God (O)has heard me;
He has attended to the voice of my prayer.
20 Blessed be God,
Who has not turned away my prayer,
Nor His mercy from me!
An Invocation and a Doxology
To the Chief Musician. On [e]stringed instruments. A Psalm. A Song.
67 God be merciful to us and bless us,
And (P)cause His face to shine upon us, Selah
2 That (Q)Your way may be known on earth,
(R)Your salvation among all nations.
3 Let the peoples praise You, O God;
Let all the peoples praise You.
4 Oh, let the nations be glad and sing for joy!
For (S)You shall judge the people righteously,
And govern the nations on earth. Selah
Saul Consults a Medium(A)
3 Now (B)Samuel had died, and all Israel had lamented for him and buried him in (C)Ramah, in his own city. And Saul had put (D)the mediums and the spiritists out of the land.
4 Then the Philistines gathered together, and came and encamped at (E)Shunem. So Saul gathered all Israel together, and they encamped at (F)Gilboa. 5 When Saul saw the army of the Philistines, he was (G)afraid, and his heart trembled greatly. 6 And when Saul inquired of the Lord, (H)the Lord did not answer him, either by (I)dreams or (J)by Urim or by the prophets.
7 Then Saul said to his servants, “Find me a woman who is a medium, (K)that I may go to her and inquire of her.”
And his servants said to him, “In fact, there is a woman who is a medium at En Dor.”
8 So Saul disguised himself and put on other clothes, and he went, and two men with him; and they came to the woman by night. And (L)he said, “Please conduct a séance for me, and bring up for me the one I shall name to you.”
9 Then the woman said to him, “Look, you know what Saul has done, how he has (M)cut off the mediums and the spiritists from the land. Why then do you lay a snare for my life, to cause me to die?”
10 And Saul swore to her by the Lord, saying, “As the Lord lives, no punishment shall come upon you for this thing.”
11 Then the woman said, “Whom shall I bring up for you?”
And he said, “Bring up Samuel for me.”
12 When the woman saw Samuel, she cried out with a loud voice. And the woman spoke to Saul, saying, “Why have you deceived me? For you are Saul!”
13 And the king said to her, “Do not be afraid. What did you see?”
And the woman said to Saul, “I saw (N)a[a] spirit ascending out of the earth.”
14 So he said to her, “What is his form?”
And she said, “An old man is coming up, and he is covered with (O)a mantle.” And Saul perceived that it was Samuel, and he stooped with his face to the ground and bowed down.
15 Now Samuel said to Saul, “Why have you (P)disturbed me by bringing me up?”
And Saul answered, “I am deeply distressed; for the Philistines make war against me, and (Q)God has departed from me and (R)does not answer me anymore, neither by prophets nor by dreams. Therefore I have called you, that you may reveal to me what I should do.”
16 Then Samuel said: “So why do you ask me, seeing the Lord has departed from you and has become your enemy? 17 And the Lord has done for [b]Himself (S)as He spoke by me. For the Lord has torn the kingdom out of your hand and given it to your neighbor, David. 18 (T)Because you did not obey the voice of the Lord nor execute His fierce wrath upon (U)Amalek, therefore the Lord has done this thing to you this day. 19 Moreover the Lord will also deliver Israel with you into the hand of the Philistines. And tomorrow you and your sons will be with (V)me. The Lord will also deliver the army of Israel into the hand of the Philistines.”
20 Immediately Saul fell full length on the ground, and was dreadfully afraid because of the words of Samuel. And there was no strength in him, for he had eaten no food all day or all night.
Conflict over Circumcision
15 And (A)certain men came down from Judea and taught the brethren, (B)“Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.” 2 Therefore, when Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and dispute with them, they determined that (C)Paul and Barnabas and certain others of them should go up to Jerusalem, to the apostles and elders, about this question.
3 So, (D)being sent on their way by the church, they passed through Phoenicia and Samaria, (E)describing the conversion of the Gentiles; and they caused great joy to all the brethren. 4 And when they had come to Jerusalem, they were received by the church and the apostles and the elders; and they reported all things that God had done with them. 5 But some of the sect of the Pharisees who believed rose up, saying, “It is necessary to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses.”
The Jerusalem Council
6 Now the apostles and elders came together to consider this matter. 7 And when there had been much dispute, Peter rose up and said to them: (F)“Men and brethren, you know that a good while ago God chose among us, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe. 8 So God, (G)who knows the heart, [a]acknowledged them by (H)giving them the Holy Spirit, just as He did to us, 9 (I)and made no distinction between us and them, (J)purifying their hearts by faith. 10 Now therefore, why do you test God (K)by putting a yoke on the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? 11 But (L)we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus [b]Christ we shall be saved in the same manner as they.”
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.