Book of Common Prayer
A Call to Worship and Obedience
95 Oh come, let us sing to the Lord!
Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation.
2 Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving;
Let us shout joyfully to Him with (A)psalms.
3 For (B)the Lord is the great God,
And the great King above all gods.
4 [a]In His hand are the deep places of the earth;
The heights of the hills are His also.
5 (C)The sea is His, for He made it;
And His hands formed the dry land.
6 Oh come, let us worship and bow down;
Let (D)us kneel before the Lord our Maker.
7 For He is our God,
And (E)we are the people of His pasture,
And the sheep [b]of His hand.
(F)Today, if you will hear His voice:
8 “Do not harden your hearts, as in the [c]rebellion,
(G)As in the day of [d]trial in the wilderness,
9 When (H)your fathers tested Me;
They tried Me, though they (I)saw My work.
10 For (J)forty years I was [e]grieved with that generation,
And said, ‘It is a people who go astray in their hearts,
And they do not know My ways.’
11 So (K)I swore in My wrath,
‘They shall not enter My rest.’ ”
An Urgent Plea for Help in Trouble
To the Chief Musician. Set to [a]“The Lilies.” A Psalm of David.
69 Save me, O God!
For (A)the waters have come up to my [b]neck.
2 (B)I sink in deep mire,
Where there is no standing;
I have come into deep waters,
Where the floods overflow me.
3 (C)I am weary with my crying;
My throat is dry;
(D)My eyes fail while I wait for my God.
4 Those who (E)hate me without a cause
Are more than the hairs of my head;
They are mighty who would destroy me,
Being my enemies wrongfully;
Though I have stolen nothing,
I still must restore it.
5 O God, You know my foolishness;
And my sins are not hidden from You.
6 Let not those who [c]wait for You, O Lord God of hosts, be ashamed because of me;
Let not those who seek You be [d]confounded because of me, O God of Israel.
7 Because for Your sake I have borne reproach;
Shame has covered my face.
8 (F)I have become a stranger to my brothers,
And an alien to my mother’s children;
9 (G)Because zeal for Your house has eaten me up,
(H)And the reproaches of those who reproach You have fallen on me.
10 When I wept and chastened my soul with fasting,
That became my reproach.
11 I also [e]made sackcloth my garment;
I became a byword to them.
12 Those who [f]sit in the gate speak against me,
And I am the song of the (I)drunkards.
13 But as for me, my prayer is to You,
O Lord, in the acceptable time;
O God, in the multitude of Your mercy,
Hear me in the truth of Your salvation.
14 Deliver me out of the mire,
And let me not sink;
Let me be delivered from those who hate me,
And out of the deep waters.
15 Let not the floodwater overflow me,
Nor let the deep swallow me up;
And let not the pit shut its mouth on me.
16 Hear me, O Lord, for Your lovingkindness is good;
Turn to me according to the multitude of Your tender mercies.
17 And do not hide Your face from Your servant,
For I am in trouble;
Hear me speedily.
18 Draw near to my soul, and redeem it;
Deliver me because of my enemies.
19 You know (J)my reproach, my shame, and my dishonor;
My adversaries are all before You.
20 Reproach has broken my heart,
And I am full of [g]heaviness;
(K)I looked for someone to take pity, but there was none;
And for (L)comforters, but I found none.
21 They also gave me gall for my food,
(M)And for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.
22 (N)Let their table become a snare before them,
And their well-being a trap.
23 (O)Let their eyes be darkened, so that they do not see;
And make their loins shake continually.
24 (P)Pour out Your indignation upon them,
And let Your wrathful anger take hold of them.
25 (Q)Let their dwelling place be desolate;
Let no one live in their tents.
26 For they persecute the ones (R)You have struck,
And talk of the grief of those You have wounded.
27 (S)Add iniquity to their iniquity,
(T)And let them not come into Your righteousness.
28 Let them (U)be blotted out of the book of the living,
(V)And not be written with the righteous.
29 But I am poor and sorrowful;
Let Your salvation, O God, set me up on high.
30 (W)I will praise the name of God with a song,
And will magnify Him with thanksgiving.
31 (X)This also shall please the Lord better than an ox or bull,
Which has horns and hooves.
32 (Y)The humble shall see this and be glad;
And you who seek God, (Z)your hearts shall live.
33 For the Lord hears the poor,
And does not despise (AA)His prisoners.
BOOK THREE
Psalms 73–89
The Tragedy of the Wicked, and the Blessedness of Trust in God
A Psalm of (A)Asaph.
73 Truly God is good to Israel,
To such as are pure in heart.
2 But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled;
My steps had nearly (B)slipped.
3 (C)For I was envious of the boastful,
When I saw the prosperity of the (D)wicked.
4 For there are no [a]pangs in their death,
But their strength is firm.
5 (E)They are not in trouble as other men,
Nor are they plagued like other men.
6 Therefore pride serves as their necklace;
Violence covers them (F)like a garment.
7 (G)Their [b]eyes bulge with abundance;
They have more than heart could wish.
8 (H)They scoff and speak wickedly concerning oppression;
They (I)speak [c]loftily.
9 They set their mouth (J)against the heavens,
And their tongue walks through the earth.
10 Therefore his people return here,
(K)And waters of a full cup are drained by them.
11 And they say, (L)“How does God know?
And is there knowledge in the Most High?”
12 Behold, these are the ungodly,
Who are always at ease;
They increase in riches.
13 Surely I have [d]cleansed my heart in (M)vain,
And washed my hands in innocence.
14 For all day long I have been plagued,
And chastened every morning.
15 If I had said, “I will speak thus,”
Behold, I would have been untrue to the generation of Your children.
16 When I thought how to understand this,
It was [e]too painful for me—
17 Until I went into the sanctuary of God;
Then I understood their (N)end.
18 Surely (O)You set them in slippery places;
You cast them down to destruction.
19 Oh, how they are brought to desolation, as in a moment!
They are utterly consumed with terrors.
20 As a dream when one awakes,
So, Lord, when You awake,
You shall despise their image.
21 Thus my heart was grieved,
And I was [f]vexed in my mind.
22 (P)I was so foolish and ignorant;
I was like a beast before You.
23 Nevertheless I am continually with You;
You hold me by my right hand.
24 (Q)You will guide me with Your counsel,
And afterward receive me to glory.
The Justice of God’s Judgment
5 “Run to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem;
See now and know;
And seek in her open places
(A)If you can find a man,
(B)If there is anyone who executes [a]judgment,
Who seeks the truth,
(C)And I will pardon her.
2 (D)Though they say, ‘As (E)the Lord lives,’
Surely they (F)swear falsely.”
3 O Lord, are not (G)Your eyes on the truth?
You have (H)stricken them,
But they have not grieved;
You have consumed them,
But (I)they have refused to receive correction.
They have made their faces harder than rock;
They have refused to return.
4 Therefore I said, “Surely these are poor.
They are foolish;
For (J)they do not know the way of the Lord,
The judgment of their God.
5 I will go to the great men and speak to them,
For (K)they have known the way of the Lord,
The judgment of their God.”
But these have altogether (L)broken the yoke
And burst the bonds.
6 Therefore (M)a lion from the forest shall slay them,
(N)A wolf of the deserts shall destroy them;
(O)A leopard will watch over their cities.
Everyone who goes out from there shall be torn in pieces,
Because their transgressions are many;
Their backslidings have increased.
7 “How shall I pardon you for this?
Your children have forsaken Me
And (P)sworn by those (Q)that are not gods.
(R)When I had fed them to the full,
Then they committed adultery
And assembled themselves by troops in the harlots’ houses.
8 (S)They were like well-fed lusty stallions;
Every one neighed after his neighbor’s wife.
9 Shall I not punish them for these things?” says the Lord.
“And shall I not (T)avenge Myself on such a nation as this?
Circumcision of No Avail
25 (A)For circumcision is indeed profitable if you keep the law; but if you are a breaker of the law, your circumcision has become uncircumcision. 26 Therefore, (B)if an uncircumcised man keeps the righteous requirements of the law, will not his uncircumcision be counted as circumcision? 27 And will not the physically uncircumcised, if he fulfills the law, (C)judge you who, even with your [a]written code and circumcision, are a transgressor of the law? 28 For (D)he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh; 29 but he is a Jew (E)who is one inwardly; and (F)circumcision is that of the heart, (G)in the Spirit, not in the letter; (H)whose [b]praise is not from men but from God.
God’s Judgment Defended
3 What advantage then has the Jew, or what is the profit of circumcision? 2 Much in every way! Chiefly because (I)to them were committed the [c]oracles of God. 3 For what if (J)some did not believe? (K)Will their unbelief make the faithfulness of God without effect? 4 (L)Certainly not! Indeed, let (M)God be [d]true but (N)every man a liar. As it is written:
(O)“That You may be justified in Your words,
And may overcome when You are judged.”
5 But if our unrighteousness demonstrates the righteousness of God, what shall we say? Is God unjust who inflicts wrath? (P)(I speak as a man.) 6 Certainly not! For then (Q)how will God judge the world?
7 For if the truth of God has increased through my lie to His glory, why am I also still judged as a sinner? 8 And why not say, (R)“Let us do evil that good may come”?—as we are slanderously reported and as some affirm that we say. Their [e]condemnation is just.
All Have Sinned(S)
9 What then? Are we better than they? Not at all. For we have previously charged both Jews and Greeks that (T)they are all under sin.
10 As it is written:
(U)“There is none righteous, no, not one;
11 There is none who understands;
There is none who seeks after God.
12 They have all turned aside;
They have together become unprofitable;
There is none who does good, no, not one.”
13 “Their(V) throat is an open [f]tomb;
With their tongues they have practiced deceit”;
(W)“The poison of asps is under their lips”;
14 “Whose(X) mouth is full of cursing and bitterness.”
15 “Their(Y) feet are swift to shed blood;
16 Destruction and misery are in their ways;
17 And the way of peace they have not known.”
18 “There(Z) is no fear of God before their eyes.”
30 (A)I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because (B)I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me.
The Fourfold Witness
31 (C)“If I bear witness of Myself, My witness is not [a]true. 32 (D)There is another who bears witness of Me, and I know that the witness which He witnesses of Me is true. 33 You have sent to John, (E)and he has borne witness to the truth. 34 Yet I do not receive testimony from man, but I say these things that you may be saved. 35 He was the burning and (F)shining lamp, and (G)you were willing for a time to rejoice in his light. 36 But (H)I have a greater witness than John’s; for (I)the works which the Father has given Me to finish—the very (J)works that I do—bear witness of Me, that the Father has sent Me. 37 And the Father Himself, who sent Me, (K)has testified of Me. You have neither heard His voice at any time, (L)nor seen His form. 38 But you do not have His word abiding in you, because whom He sent, Him you do not believe. 39 (M)You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and (N)these are they which testify of Me. 40 (O)But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life.
41 (P)“I do not receive honor from men. 42 But I know you, that you do not have the love of God in you. 43 I have come in My Father’s name, and you do not receive Me; if another comes in his own name, him you will receive. 44 (Q)How can you believe, who receive honor from one another, and do not seek (R)the honor that comes from the only God? 45 Do not think that I shall accuse you to the Father; (S)there is one who accuses you—Moses, in whom you trust. 46 For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; (T)for he wrote about Me. 47 But if you (U)do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.