Book of Common Prayer
Praise to the Lord, and Warning against Unbelief.
95 O come, let us (A)sing for joy to the Lord,
Let us shout joyfully to (B)the rock of our salvation.
2 Let us (C)come before His presence (D)with [a]thanksgiving,
Let us shout joyfully to Him (E)with [b]psalms.
3 For the Lord is a (F)great God
And a great King (G)above all gods,
4 In whose hand are the (H)depths of the earth,
The peaks of the mountains are His also.
5 [c]The sea is His, for it was He (I)who made it,
And His hands formed the dry land.
6 Come, let us (J)worship and bow down,
Let us (K)kneel before the Lord our (L)Maker.
7 For He is our God,
And (M)we are the people of His [d](N)pasture and the sheep of His hand.
(O)Today, [e]if you would hear His voice,
8 Do not harden your hearts, as at [f](P)Meribah,
As in the day of [g](Q)Massah in the wilderness,
9 “When your fathers (R)tested Me,
They tried Me, though they had seen My work.
10 “For (S)forty years I loathed that generation,
And said they are a people who err in their heart,
And they do not know My ways.
11 “Therefore I (T)swore in My anger,
Truly they shall not enter into My (U)rest.”
A Cry of Distress and Imprecation on Adversaries.
For the choir director; according to [a]Shoshannim. A Psalm of David.
69 Save me, O God,
For the (A)waters have [b]threatened my life.
2 I have sunk in deep (B)mire, and there is no foothold;
I have come into deep waters, and a [c](C)flood overflows me.
3 I am (D)weary with my crying; my throat is parched;
My (E)eyes fail while I wait for my God.
4 Those (F)who hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of my head;
Those who would [d]destroy me (G)are powerful, being wrongfully my enemies;
(H)What I did not steal, I then have to restore.
5 O God, it is You who knows (I)my folly,
And (J)my wrongs are not hidden from You.
6 May those who wait for You not (K)be ashamed through me, O Lord [e]God of hosts;
May those who seek You not be dishonored through me, O God of Israel,
7 Because (L)for Your sake I have borne reproach;
(M)Dishonor has covered my face.
8 I have become (N)estranged [f]from my brothers
And an alien to my mother’s sons.
9 For (O)zeal for Your house has consumed me,
And (P)the reproaches of those who reproach You have fallen on me.
10 When I wept (Q)in my soul with fasting,
It became my reproach.
11 When I made (R)sackcloth my clothing,
I became (S)a byword to them.
12 Those who (T)sit in the gate talk about me,
And I am the [g](U)song of the drunkards.
13 But as for me, my prayer is to You, O Lord, (V)at an acceptable time;
O God, in the (W)greatness of Your lovingkindness,
Answer me with [h]Your saving truth.
14 Deliver me from the (X)mire and do not let me sink;
May I be (Y)delivered from [i]my foes and from the [j](Z)deep waters.
15 May the [k](AA)flood of water not overflow me
Nor the deep swallow me up,
Nor the (AB)pit shut its mouth on me.
16 Answer me, O Lord, for (AC)Your lovingkindness is good;
(AD)According to the greatness of Your compassion, (AE)turn to me,
17 And (AF)do not hide Your face from Your servant,
For I am (AG)in distress; answer me quickly.
18 Oh draw near to my soul and (AH)redeem it;
(AI)Ransom me because of my enemies!
19 You know my (AJ)reproach and my shame and my dishonor;
All my adversaries are [l]before You.
20 Reproach has (AK)broken my heart and I am so sick.
And (AL)I looked for sympathy, but there was none,
And for (AM)comforters, but I found none.
21 They also gave me [m](AN)gall [n]for my food
And for my thirst they (AO)gave me vinegar to drink.
22 May (AP)their table before them become a snare;
And [o](AQ)when they are in peace, may it become a trap.
23 May their (AR)eyes grow dim so that they cannot see,
And make their (AS)loins shake continually.
24 (AT)Pour out Your indignation on them,
And may Your burning anger overtake them.
25 May their [p](AU)camp be desolate;
May none dwell in their tents.
26 For they have (AV)persecuted him whom (AW)You Yourself have smitten,
And they tell of the pain of those whom (AX)You have [q]wounded.
27 Add (AY)iniquity to their iniquity,
And (AZ)may they not come into (BA)Your righteousness.
28 May they be (BB)blotted out of the (BC)book of life
And may they not be [r](BD)recorded with the righteous.
29 But I am (BE)afflicted and in pain;
[s]May Your salvation, O God, (BF)set me securely on high.
30 I will (BG)praise the name of God with song
And (BH)magnify Him with (BI)thanksgiving.
31 And it will (BJ)please the Lord better than an ox
Or a young bull with horns and hoofs.
32 The (BK)humble [t]have seen it and are glad;
You who seek God, (BL)let your heart [u]revive.
33 For (BM)the Lord hears the needy
And (BN)does not despise His who are prisoners.
34 Let (BO)heaven and earth praise Him,
The seas and (BP)everything that moves in them.
35 For God will (BQ)save Zion and (BR)build the cities of Judah,
That they may dwell there and (BS)possess it.
36 The [v](BT)descendants of His servants will inherit it,
And those who love His name (BU)will dwell in it.
BOOK 3
The End of the Wicked Contrasted with That of the Righteous.
A Psalm of Asaph.
73 Surely God is (A)good to Israel,
To those who are (B)pure in heart!
2 But as for me, (C)my feet came close to stumbling,
My steps [a]had almost slipped.
3 For I was (D)envious of the [b]arrogant
As I saw the (E)prosperity of the wicked.
4 For there are no pains in their death,
And their [c]body is fat.
5 They are (F)not [d]in trouble as other [e]men,
Nor are they (G)plagued [f]like mankind.
6 Therefore pride is (H)their necklace;
The (I)garment of violence covers them.
7 Their eye [g]bulges from (J)fatness;
The imaginations of their heart [h]run riot.
8 They (K)mock and [i]wickedly speak of oppression;
They (L)speak from on high.
9 They have (M)set their mouth [j]against the heavens,
And their tongue [k]parades through the earth.
10 Therefore [l]his people return to this place,
And waters of (N)abundance are [m]drunk by them.
11 They say, “(O)How does God know?
And is there knowledge [n]with the Most High?”
12 Behold, (P)these are the wicked;
And always (Q)at ease, they have increased in wealth.
13 Surely (R)in vain I have [o]kept my heart pure
And (S)washed my hands in innocence;
14 For I have been stricken (T)all day long
And [p](U)chastened every morning.
15 If I had said, “I will speak thus,”
Behold, I would have betrayed the (V)generation of Your children.
16 When I (W)pondered to understand this,
It was [q]troublesome in my sight
17 Until I came into the [r](X)sanctuary of God;
Then I perceived their (Y)end.
18 Surely You set them in (Z)slippery places;
You cast them down to [s](AA)destruction.
19 How they are [t](AB)destroyed in a moment!
They are utterly swept away by (AC)sudden terrors!
20 Like a (AD)dream when one awakes,
O Lord, when (AE)aroused, You will (AF)despise their [u]form.
21 When my (AG)heart was embittered
And I was (AH)pierced [v]within,
22 Then I was (AI)senseless and ignorant;
I was like [w]a (AJ)beast [x]before You.
23 Nevertheless (AK)I am continually with You;
You have taken hold of my right hand.
24 With Your counsel You will (AL)guide me,
And afterward (AM)receive me [y]to glory.
25 (AN)Whom have I in heaven but You?
And [z]besides You, I desire nothing on earth.
26 My (AO)flesh and my heart may fail,
But God is the [aa]strength of my heart and my (AP)portion forever.
27 For, behold, (AQ)those who are far from You will (AR)perish;
You have [ab]destroyed all those who [ac](AS)are unfaithful to You.
28 But as for me, (AT)the nearness of God is my good;
I have made the Lord [ad]God my (AU)refuge,
That I may (AV)tell of all Your works.
Jerusalem’s Godlessness
5 “(A)Roam to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem,
And look now and take note.
And seek in her open squares,
If you can (B)find a man,
(C)If there is one who does justice, who seeks [a]truth,
Then I will pardon her.
2 “And (D)although they say, ‘As the Lord lives,’
Surely they swear falsely.”
3 O Lord, do not (E)Your eyes look for [b]truth?
You have (F)smitten them,
But they did not [c]weaken;
You have consumed them,
But they (G)refused to take correction.
They have (H)made their faces harder than rock;
They have refused to repent.
4 Then I said, “They are only the poor,
They are foolish;
For they (I)do not know the way of the Lord
Or the ordinance of their God.
5 “I will go to the great
And will speak to them,
For (J)they know the way of the Lord
And the ordinance of their God.”
But they too, with one accord, have (K)broken the yoke
And burst the bonds.
6 Therefore (L)a lion from the forest will slay them,
A (M)wolf of the deserts will destroy them,
A (N)leopard is watching their cities.
Everyone who goes out of them will be torn in pieces,
Because their (O)transgressions are many,
Their apostasies are numerous.
7 “Why should I pardon you?
Your sons have forsaken Me
And (P)sworn by those who are (Q)not gods.
When I had fed them to the full,
They (R)committed adultery
And trooped to the harlot’s house.
8 “They were well-fed lusty horses,
Each one neighing after his (S)neighbor’s wife.
9 “Shall I not punish [d]these people,” declares the Lord,
“And on a nation such as this
(T)Shall I not avenge Myself?
25 For indeed circumcision is of value if you (A)practice [a]the Law; but if you are a transgressor [b]of the Law, (B)your circumcision has become uncircumcision. 26 (C)So if (D)the [c]uncircumcised man (E)keeps the requirements of the Law, will not his uncircumcision be regarded as circumcision? 27 And (F)he who is physically uncircumcised, if he keeps the Law, will he not (G)judge you who [d]though having the letter of the Law and circumcision are a transgressor [e]of the Law? 28 For (H)he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh. 29 But (I)he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and (J)circumcision is that which is of the heart, by the (K)Spirit, not by the letter; (L)and his praise is not from men, but from God.
All the World Guilty
3 Then what [f]advantage has the Jew? Or what is the benefit of circumcision? 2 Great in every respect. First of all, that (M)they were entrusted with the (N)oracles of God. 3 What then? If (O)some [g]did not believe, their [h]unbelief will not nullify the faithfulness of God, will it? 4 (P)May it never be! Rather, let God be found true, though every man be found (Q)a liar, as it is written,
5 But if our unrighteousness [j](S)demonstrates the righteousness of God, (T)what shall we say? The God who inflicts wrath is not unrighteous, is He? ((U)I am speaking in human terms.) 6 (V)May it never be! For otherwise, how will (W)God judge the world? 7 But if through my lie (X)the truth of God abounded to His glory, (Y)why am I also still being judged as a sinner? 8 And why not say (as we are slanderously reported and as some claim that we say), “(Z)Let us do evil that good may come”? [k]Their condemnation is just.
9 What then? [l](AA)Are we better than they? Not at all; for we have already charged that both (AB)Jews and (AC)Greeks are (AD)all under sin; 10 as it is written,
“(AE)There is none righteous, not even one;
11 There is none who understands,
There is none who seeks for God;
12 All have turned aside, together they have become useless;
There is none who does good,
There is not even one.”
13 “(AF)Their throat is an open grave,
With their tongues they keep deceiving,”
“(AG)The poison of asps is under their lips”;
14 “(AH)Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness”;
15 “(AI)Their feet are swift to shed blood,
16 Destruction and misery are in their paths,
17 And the path of peace they have not known.”
18 “(AJ)There is no fear of God before their eyes.”
30 “(A)I can do nothing on My own initiative. As I hear, I judge; and (B)My judgment is just, because I do not seek My own will, but (C)the will of Him who sent Me.
31 “(D)If I alone testify about Myself, My testimony is not [a]true. 32 There is (E)another who testifies of Me, and I know that the testimony which He gives about Me is true.
Witness of John
33 You have sent to John, and he (F)has testified to the truth. 34 But (G)the testimony which I receive is not from man, but I say these things so that you may be saved. 35 He was (H)the lamp that was burning and was shining and you (I)were willing to rejoice for [b]a while in his light.
Witness of Works
36 But the testimony which I have is greater than the testimony of John; for (J)the works which the Father has given Me (K)to accomplish—the very works that I do—testify about Me, that the Father (L)has sent Me.
Witness of the Father
37 And the Father who sent Me, (M)He has testified of Me. You have neither heard His voice at any time nor seen His form. 38 You do not have (N)His word abiding in you, for you do not believe Him whom He (O)sent.
Witness of the Scripture
39 [c](P)You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is (Q)these that testify about Me; 40 and you are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life. 41 (R)I do not receive glory from men; 42 but I know you, that you do not have the love of God in yourselves. 43 I have come in My Father’s name, and you do not receive Me; (S)if another comes in his own name, you will receive him. 44 How can you believe, when you (T)receive [d]glory from one another and you do not seek (U)the [e]glory that is from (V)the one and only God? 45 Do not think that I will accuse you before the Father; the one who accuses you is (W)Moses, in whom you have set your hope. 46 For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me, for (X)he wrote about Me. 47 But (Y)if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?”
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