Book of Common Prayer
God Himself Is Judge
A Psalm of (A)Asaph.
50 (B)The Mighty One, God the Lord,
speaks and summons the earth
(C)from the rising of the sun to its setting.
2 Out of Zion, (D)the perfection of beauty,
(E)God shines forth.
3 Our God comes; he (F)does not keep silence;[a]
before him is a devouring (G)fire,
around him a mighty tempest.
4 (H)He calls to the heavens above
and to the earth, that he may judge his people:
5 “Gather to me my faithful ones,
who made (I)a covenant with me by sacrifice!”
6 (J)The heavens declare his righteousness,
for (K)God himself is judge! Selah
7 (L)“Hear, O my people, and I will speak;
O Israel, I will testify against you.
(M)I am God, your God.
8 Not for your sacrifices (N)do I rebuke you;
your burnt offerings are continually before me.
9 I will not accept a bull from your house
or goats from your folds.
10 For every beast of the forest is mine,
the cattle on a thousand hills.
11 (O)I know all the birds of the hills,
and all that moves in the field is mine.
12 “If I were hungry, I would not tell you,
(P)for the world and its fullness are mine.
13 Do I eat the flesh of bulls
or drink the blood of goats?
14 (Q)Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving,[b]
and (R)perform your vows to the Most High,
15 and (S)call upon me in the day of trouble;
I will (T)deliver you, and you shall (U)glorify me.”
16 But to the wicked God says:
“What right have you to recite my statutes
or take my covenant on your lips?
17 (V)For you hate discipline,
(W)and you cast my words behind you.
18 If you see a thief, (X)you are pleased with him,
(Y)and you keep company with adulterers.
19 “You give your mouth free rein for evil,
(Z)and 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 (AA)have been silent;
you thought that I[c] was one like yourself.
But now I (AB)rebuke you and (AC)lay the charge before you.
Deliver Me from My Enemies
To the choirmaster: according to (A)Do Not Destroy. A (B)Miktam[a] of David, (C)when Saul sent men to watch his house in order to kill him.
59 (D)Deliver me from my enemies, O my God;
(E)protect me from those who (F)rise up against me;
2 deliver me from (G)those who work evil,
and save me from (H)bloodthirsty men.
3 For behold, they (I)lie in wait for my life;
fierce men (J)stir up strife against me.
(K)For no transgression or sin of mine, O Lord,
4 for no fault of mine, they run and make ready.
(L)Awake, come to meet me, and see!
5 You, (M)Lord God of hosts, are God of Israel.
Rouse yourself to punish all the nations;
spare none of those who treacherously plot evil. Selah
6 Each evening they (N)come back,
howling like dogs
and prowling about the city.
7 There they are, (O)bellowing with their mouths
with (P)swords in their lips—
for (Q)“Who,” they think,[b] “will hear us?”
8 But you, O Lord, (R)laugh at them;
you hold all the nations in derision.
9 O my Strength, I will watch for you,
for you, O God, are (S)my fortress.
10 (T)My God in his steadfast love[c] (U)will meet me;
God will let me (V)look in triumph on my enemies.
11 Kill them not, lest my people forget;
make them totter[d] by your power and (W)bring them down,
O Lord, our (X)shield!
12 For (Y)the sin of their mouths, the words of their lips,
let them be trapped in their pride.
For the cursing and lies that they utter,
13 (Z)consume them in wrath;
consume them till they are no more,
that they may (AA)know that God rules over Jacob
to (AB)the ends of the earth. Selah
14 (AC)Each evening they come back,
howling like dogs
and prowling about the city.
15 They (AD)wander about for food
and growl if they do not get their fill.
16 But I will sing of your strength;
I will sing aloud of your steadfast love in the morning.
For you have been to me (AE)a fortress
and (AF)a refuge in (AG)the day of my distress.
17 O my Strength, I will sing praises to you,
for you, O God, (AH)are my fortress,
(AI)the God who shows me steadfast love.
He Will Tread Down Our Foes
To the choirmaster: according to (AJ)Shushan Eduth. A (AK)Miktam[e] of David; (AL)for instruction; when he (AM)strove with Aram-naharaim and with Aram-zobah, and when Joab on his return struck down twelve thousand of Edom in the Valley of Salt.
60 O God, (AN)you have rejected us, (AO)broken our defenses;
you have been angry; (AP)oh, restore us.
2 You have made the land to quake; you have torn it open;
(AQ)repair its breaches, for it totters.
3 (AR)You have made your people see hard things;
(AS)you have given us (AT)wine to drink that made us stagger.
4 You have set up (AU)a banner for those who fear you,
that they may flee to it (AV)from the bow.[f] Selah
5 (AW)That your (AX)beloved ones may be delivered,
give salvation by your right hand and answer us!
6 God has spoken (AY)in his holiness:[g]
“With exultation (AZ)I will divide up (BA)Shechem
and portion out the Vale of (BB)Succoth.
7 (BC)Gilead is mine; Manasseh is mine;
(BD)Ephraim is (BE)my helmet;
Judah is my (BF)scepter.
8 (BG)Moab is my washbasin;
upon Edom I (BH)cast my shoe;
over (BI)Philistia I shout in triumph.”[h]
9 Who will bring me to the fortified city?
(BJ)Who will lead me to Edom?
10 Have you not (BK)rejected us, O God?
You (BL)do not go forth, O God, with our armies.
11 Oh, grant us help against the foe,
for (BM)vain is the salvation of man!
12 With God we shall (BN)do valiantly;
it is he who will (BO)tread down our foes.
How Awesome Are Your Deeds
To the choirmaster. A Song. A Psalm.
66 (A)Shout for joy to God, all the earth;
2 sing the glory of his name;
(B)give to him glorious praise!
3 Say to God, (C)“How awesome are your deeds!
So great is your power that your enemies (D)come cringing to you.
4 (E)All the earth worships you
and sings praises to you;
they sing praises to your name.” Selah
5 (F)Come and see what God has done:
(G)he is awesome in his deeds toward the children of man.
6 He (H)turned the sea into dry land;
they (I)passed through the river on foot.
There did we rejoice in him,
7 who rules by his might forever,
whose (J)eyes keep watch on the nations—
let not the rebellious exalt themselves. Selah
8 Bless our God, O peoples;
let the sound of his praise be heard,
9 who has kept our soul among the living
and (K)has not let our feet slip.
10 For you, O God, have (L)tested us;
you have tried us as silver is tried.
11 You brought us into (M)the net;
you laid a crushing burden on our backs;
12 you let men (N)ride over our heads;
we went through fire and through (O)water;
yet you have brought us out to a place of abundance.
13 I will come into your house with burnt offerings;
I will (P)perform my vows to you,
14 that which my lips uttered
and my mouth promised (Q)when I was in trouble.
15 I will offer to you burnt offerings of fattened animals,
with the smoke of the sacrifice of rams;
I will make an offering of bulls and goats. Selah
16 (R)Come and hear, all you who fear God,
and I will tell what he has done for my soul.
17 I cried to him with my mouth,
and high praise was on[a] my tongue.[b]
18 If I had (S)cherished iniquity in my heart,
(T)the Lord would not have listened.
19 But truly (U)God has listened;
he has attended to the voice of my prayer.
20 Blessed be God,
because he has not rejected my prayer
or removed his steadfast love from me!
Make Your Face Shine upon Us
To the choirmaster: with (V)stringed instruments. A Psalm. A Song.
67 May God (W)be gracious to us and bless us
and make his face to (X)shine upon us, Selah
2 that (Y)your way may be known on earth,
your (Z)saving power among all nations.
3 (AA)Let the peoples praise you, O God;
let all the peoples praise you!
3 Now (A)Samuel had died, and all Israel had mourned for him and buried him (B)in Ramah, his own city. And Saul had put (C)the mediums and the necromancers out of the land. 4 The Philistines assembled and came and encamped (D)at Shunem. And Saul gathered all Israel, and they encamped (E)at Gilboa. 5 When Saul saw the army of the Philistines, he was afraid, and his heart trembled greatly. 6 And when Saul inquired of the Lord, (F)the Lord did not answer him, either (G)by dreams, or (H)by Urim, or by prophets. 7 Then Saul said to his servants, (I)“Seek out for me a woman who is a medium, that I may go to her and inquire of her.” And his servants said to him, “Behold, there is a medium at (J)En-dor.”
8 So Saul (K)disguised himself and put on other garments and went, he and two men with him. And they came to the woman by night. And he said, (L)“Divine for me by a spirit and bring up for me whomever I shall name to you.” 9 The woman said to him, “Surely you know what Saul has done, (M)how he has cut off the mediums and the necromancers from the land. Why then are you laying a trap for my life to bring about my death?” 10 But Saul swore to her by the Lord, (N)“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?” He said, “Bring up Samuel for me.” 12 When the woman saw Samuel, she cried out with a loud voice. And the woman said to Saul, “Why have you deceived me? You are Saul.” 13 The king said to her, “Do not be afraid. What do you see?” And the woman said to Saul, “I see a god coming up out of the earth.” 14 He said to her, “What is his appearance?” And she said, “An old man is coming up, and he is wrapped (O)in a robe.” And Saul knew that it was Samuel, and he bowed with his face to the ground and paid homage.
15 Then Samuel said to Saul, “Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?” Saul answered, “I am in great distress, for the Philistines are warring against me, and (P)God has turned away from me and (Q)answers me no more, either by prophets or by dreams. Therefore I have summoned you to tell me what I shall do.” 16 And Samuel said, “Why then do you ask me, since the Lord has turned from you and become your enemy? 17 The Lord has done to you as he spoke by me, for (R)the Lord has torn the kingdom out of your hand and given it to your neighbor, David. 18 (S)Because you did not obey the voice of the Lord and did not carry out his fierce wrath against Amalek, therefore the Lord has done this thing to you this day. 19 Moreover, the Lord will give Israel also with you into the hand of the Philistines, and tomorrow you (T)and your sons shall be with me. The Lord will give the army of Israel also into the hand of the Philistines.”
20 Then Saul fell at once full length on the ground, filled with fear because of the words of Samuel. And there was no strength in him, for he had eaten nothing all day and all night.
The Jerusalem Council
15 (A)But some men came down from Judea and were teaching (B)the brothers, “Unless you are (C)circumcised (D)according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.” 2 And after Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and (E)debate with them, Paul and Barnabas and (F)some of the others were appointed to go up to Jerusalem to (G)the apostles and the elders about this question. 3 So, (H)being sent on their way by the church, they passed through both Phoenicia and Samaria, (I)describing in detail the conversion of the Gentiles, and (J)brought great joy to all (K)the brothers.[a] 4 (L)When they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and (M)the apostles and the elders, and (N)they declared all that God had done with them. 5 But some believers who belonged to (O)the party of the Pharisees rose up and said, (P)“It is necessary (Q)to circumcise them and to order them to keep the law of Moses.”
6 (R)The (S)apostles and the elders were gathered together to consider this matter. 7 And after there had been much (T)debate, Peter stood up and said to them, “Brothers, you know that in the early days God made a choice among you, (U)that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear (V)the word of (W)the gospel and believe. 8 And God, (X)who knows the heart, (Y)bore witness to them, (Z)by giving them the Holy Spirit just as he did to us, 9 and (AA)he made no distinction between us and them, (AB)having cleansed their hearts (AC)by faith. 10 Now, therefore, why (AD)are you putting God to the test (AE)by placing a yoke on the neck of the disciples (AF)that neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear? 11 But we (AG)believe that we will be (AH)saved through (AI)the grace of the Lord Jesus, (AJ)just as they will.”
Jesus Heals a Man with a Demon
5 (A)They came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gerasenes.[a] 2 And when Jesus[b] had stepped out of the boat, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit. 3 (B)He lived among the tombs. And no one could bind him anymore, not even with a chain, 4 for he had often been bound with shackles and chains, but he wrenched the chains apart, and he broke the shackles in pieces. No one had the strength to subdue him. 5 Night and day among the tombs and on the mountains he was always crying out and cutting himself with stones. 6 And when he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and (C)fell down before him. 7 And (D)crying out with a loud voice, he said, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, (E)Son of (F)the Most High God? (G)I adjure you by God, do not torment me.” 8 For he was saying to him, “Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!” 9 And Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” He replied, “My name is (H)Legion, for we are many.” 10 And he begged him earnestly not to send them out of the country. 11 Now a great herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside, 12 and they begged him, saying, “Send us to the pigs; let us enter them.” 13 So he gave them permission. And the unclean spirits came out and entered the pigs; and the herd, numbering about two thousand, rushed down the steep bank into the sea and drowned in the sea.
14 The herdsmen fled and told it in the city and in the country. And people came to see what it was that had happened. 15 And they came to Jesus and saw the demon-possessed[c] man, the one who had had (I)the legion, sitting there, (J)clothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid. 16 And those who had seen it described to them what had happened to the demon-possessed man and to the pigs. 17 And (K)they began to beg Jesus[d] to depart from their region. 18 As he was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed with demons begged him that he might be with him. 19 And he did not permit him but said to him, “Go home to your friends and (L)tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” 20 And he went away and began to proclaim in (M)the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him, and everyone marveled.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.