Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 75
God Judges the Wicked
For the choir director: “Do Not Destroy.”[a] A psalm of Asaph.(A) A song.
1 We give thanks to You, God;
we give thanks to You, for Your name is near.
People tell about Your wonderful works.(B)
2 “When I choose a time,
I will judge fairly.(C)
3 When the earth and all its inhabitants shake,
I am the One who steadies its pillars.(D)
4 I say to the boastful, ‘Do not boast,’
and to the wicked, ‘Do not lift up your horn.(E)
5 Do not lift up your horn against heaven
or speak arrogantly.’”(F)
6 Exaltation does not come
from the east, the west, or the desert,
7 for God is the Judge:
He brings down one and exalts another.(G)
8 For there is a cup in the Lord’s hand,
full of wine blended with spices, and He pours from it.
All the wicked of the earth will drink,
draining it to the dregs.(H)
9 As for me, I will tell about Him forever;
I will sing praise to the God of Jacob.(I)
10 “I will cut off all the horns of the wicked,(J)
but the horns of the righteous will be lifted up.”(K)
Psalm 76
God, the Powerful Judge
For the choir director: with stringed instruments. A psalm of Asaph.(L) A song.
1 God is known in Judah;
His name is great in Israel.(M)
2 His tent is in Salem,[b]
His dwelling place in Zion.(N)
3 There He shatters the bow’s flaming arrows,
the shield, the sword, and the weapons of war.(O)
4 You are resplendent and majestic
coming down from the mountains of prey.(P)
5 The brave-hearted have been plundered;
they have slipped into their final sleep.
None of the warriors was able to lift a hand.(Q)
6 At Your rebuke, God of Jacob,
both chariot and horse lay still.(R)
7 And You—You are to be feared.[c]
When You are angry,
who can stand before You?(S)
8 From heaven You pronounced judgment.
The earth feared and grew quiet(T)
9 when God rose up to judge
and to save all the lowly of the earth.(U)
10 Even human wrath will praise You;
You will clothe Yourself
with their remaining wrath.[d](V)
Psalm 23
The Good Shepherd
A Davidic psalm.
1 The Lord is my shepherd;(A)
there is nothing I lack.(B)
2 He lets me lie down in green pastures;(C)
He leads me beside quiet waters.(D)
3 He renews my life;
He leads me along the right paths[a]
for His name’s sake.(E)
4 Even when I go through the darkest valley,[b]
I fear no danger,
for You are with me;(F)
Your rod and Your staff[c]—they comfort me.(G)
Psalm 27
My Stronghold
Davidic.
1 The Lord is my light and my salvation—
whom should I fear?(A)
The Lord is the stronghold of my life—
of whom should I be afraid?(B)
2 When evildoers came against me to devour my flesh,(C)
my foes and my enemies stumbled and fell.(D)
3 Though an army deploys against me,
my heart is not afraid;
though a war breaks out against me,
still I am confident.(E)
4 I have asked one thing from the Lord;
it is what I desire:
to dwell in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life,(F)
gazing on the beauty of the Lord(G)
and seeking Him in His temple.(H)
5 For He will conceal me in His shelter
in the day of adversity;
He will hide me under the cover of His tent;
He will set me high on a rock.(I)
6 Then my head will be high
above my enemies around me;(J)
I will offer sacrifices in His tent with shouts of joy.(K)
I will sing and make music to the Lord.(L)
7 Lord, hear my voice when I call;
be gracious to me and answer me.(M)
8 My heart says this about You,
“You[a] are to seek My face.”
Lord, I will seek Your face.(N)
9 Do not hide Your face from me;(O)
do not turn Your servant away in anger.(P)
You have been my helper;(Q)
do not leave me or abandon me,
God of my salvation.
10 Even if my father and mother abandon me,
the Lord cares for me.(R)
Pleasing Others, Not Ourselves
15 Now we who are strong have an obligation to bear the weaknesses of those without strength,(A) and not to please ourselves. 2 Each one of us must please his neighbor for his good, to build him up.(B) 3 For even the Messiah did not please Himself.(C) On the contrary, as it is written, The insults of those who insult You have fallen on Me.(D)[a] 4 For whatever was written in the past was written for our instruction,(E) so that we may have hope through endurance and through the encouragement from the Scriptures. 5 Now may the God who gives[b] endurance and encouragement(F) allow you to live in harmony with one another,(G) according to the command of Christ Jesus, 6 so that you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ(H) with a united mind and voice.
Glorifying God Together
7 Therefore accept one another,(I) just as the Messiah also accepted you, to the glory of God. 8 For I say that the Messiah became a servant of the circumcised[c] on behalf of God’s truth,(J) to confirm the promises to the fathers,(K) 9 and so that Gentiles(L) may glorify God for His mercy.(M) As it is written:
10 Again it says: Rejoice, you Gentiles, with His people!(O)[e] 11 And again:
12 And again, Isaiah says:
The root of Jesse(Q) will appear,
the One who rises to rule the Gentiles;
the Gentiles will hope in Him.(R)[g]
13 Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you believe in Him(S) so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.(T)
Commissioning the Twelve
9 Summoning the Twelve,(A) He gave them power and authority over all the demons, and power to heal[a] diseases.(B) 2 Then He sent them to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.(C)
3 “Take nothing for the road,”(D) He told them, “no walking stick,(E) no traveling bag, no bread, no money; and don’t take an extra shirt. 4 Whatever house you enter, stay there and leave from there. 5 If they do not welcome you, when you leave that town, shake off the dust from your feet as a testimony against them.”(F) 6 So they went out and traveled from village to village, proclaiming the good news and healing everywhere.
Herod’s Desire to See Jesus
7 Herod the tetrarch(G) heard about everything that was going on.(H) He was perplexed, because some said that John had been raised from the dead, 8 some that Elijah had appeared,(I) and others that one of the ancient prophets had risen.(J) 9 “I beheaded John,” Herod said, “but who is this I hear such things about?” And he wanted to see Him.(K)
Feeding 5,000
10 When the apostles returned,(L) they reported to Jesus all that they had done.(M) He took them along and withdrew privately to a[b] town called Bethsaida.(N) 11 When the crowds found out, they followed Him. He welcomed them,(O) spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and cured[c] those who needed healing.
12 Late in the day,[d](P) the Twelve approached and said to Him, “Send the crowd away,(Q) so they can go into the surrounding villages and countryside to find food and lodging, because we are in a deserted place here.”
13 “You give them something to eat,” He told them.
“We have no more than five loaves(R) and two fish,” they said, “unless we go and buy food for all these people.” 14 (For about 5,000 men were there.)
Then He told His disciples, “Have them sit down[e] in groups of about 50 each.” 15 They did so, and had them all sit down. 16 Then He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven,(S) He blessed and broke them.(T) He kept giving them to the disciples to set before the crowd. 17 Everyone ate and was filled. Then they picked up[f] 12 baskets of leftover pieces.
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