Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 70[a](A)
For the director of music. Of David. A petition.
1 Hasten, O God, to save me;
come quickly, Lord, to help me.(B)
2 May those who want to take my life(C)
be put to shame and confusion;
may all who desire my ruin
be turned back in disgrace.(D)
3 May those who say to me, “Aha! Aha!”(E)
turn back because of their shame.
4 But may all who seek you(F)
rejoice and be glad(G) in you;
may those who long for your saving help always say,
“The Lord is great!”(H)
5 But as for me, I am poor and needy;(I)
come quickly to me,(J) O God.
You are my help(K) and my deliverer;(L)
Lord, do not delay.(M)
Psalm 71(N)
1 In you, Lord, I have taken refuge;(O)
let me never be put to shame.(P)
2 In your righteousness, rescue me and deliver me;
turn your ear(Q) to me and save me.
3 Be my rock of refuge,
to which I can always go;
give the command to save me,
for you are my rock and my fortress.(R)
4 Deliver(S) me, my God, from the hand of the wicked,(T)
from the grasp of those who are evil and cruel.(U)
5 For you have been my hope,(V) Sovereign Lord,
my confidence(W) since my youth.
6 From birth(X) I have relied on you;
you brought me forth from my mother’s womb.(Y)
I will ever praise(Z) you.
7 I have become a sign(AA) to many;
you are my strong refuge.(AB)
8 My mouth(AC) is filled with your praise,
declaring your splendor(AD) all day long.
9 Do not cast(AE) me away when I am old;(AF)
do not forsake(AG) me when my strength is gone.
10 For my enemies(AH) speak against me;
those who wait to kill(AI) me conspire(AJ) together.
11 They say, “God has forsaken(AK) him;
pursue him and seize him,
for no one will rescue(AL) him.”
12 Do not be far(AM) from me, my God;
come quickly, God, to help(AN) me.
13 May my accusers(AO) perish in shame;(AP)
may those who want to harm me
be covered with scorn and disgrace.(AQ)
14 As for me, I will always have hope;(AR)
I will praise you more and more.
15 My mouth will tell(AS) of your righteous deeds,(AT)
of your saving acts all day long—
though I know not how to relate them all.
16 I will come and proclaim your mighty acts,(AU) Sovereign Lord;
I will proclaim your righteous deeds, yours alone.
17 Since my youth, God, you have taught(AV) me,
and to this day I declare your marvelous deeds.(AW)
18 Even when I am old and gray,(AX)
do not forsake me, my God,
till I declare your power(AY) to the next generation,
your mighty acts to all who are to come.(AZ)
19 Your righteousness, God, reaches to the heavens,(BA)
you who have done great things.(BB)
Who is like you, God?(BC)
20 Though you have made me see troubles,(BD)
many and bitter,
you will restore(BE) my life again;
from the depths of the earth(BF)
you will again bring me up.
21 You will increase my honor(BG)
and comfort(BH) me once more.
22 I will praise you with the harp(BI)
for your faithfulness, my God;
I will sing praise to you with the lyre,(BJ)
Holy One of Israel.(BK)
23 My lips will shout for joy(BL)
when I sing praise to you—
I whom you have delivered.(BM)
24 My tongue will tell of your righteous acts
all day long,(BN)
for those who wanted to harm me(BO)
have been put to shame and confusion.(BP)
Psalm 74
A maskil[a] of Asaph.
1 O God, why have you rejected(A) us forever?(B)
Why does your anger smolder against the sheep of your pasture?(C)
2 Remember the nation you purchased(D) long ago,(E)
the people of your inheritance,(F) whom you redeemed(G)—
Mount Zion,(H) where you dwelt.(I)
3 Turn your steps toward these everlasting ruins,(J)
all this destruction the enemy has brought on the sanctuary.
4 Your foes roared(K) in the place where you met with us;
they set up their standards(L) as signs.
5 They behaved like men wielding axes
to cut through a thicket of trees.(M)
6 They smashed all the carved(N) paneling
with their axes and hatchets.
7 They burned your sanctuary to the ground;
they defiled(O) the dwelling place(P) of your Name.(Q)
8 They said in their hearts, “We will crush(R) them completely!”
They burned(S) every place where God was worshiped in the land.
9 We are given no signs from God;(T)
no prophets(U) are left,
and none of us knows how long this will be.
10 How long(V) will the enemy mock(W) you, God?
Will the foe revile(X) your name forever?
11 Why do you hold back your hand, your right hand?(Y)
Take it from the folds of your garment(Z) and destroy them!
13 It was you who split open the sea(AC) by your power;
you broke the heads of the monster(AD) in the waters.
14 It was you who crushed the heads of Leviathan(AE)
and gave it as food to the creatures of the desert.(AF)
15 It was you who opened up springs(AG) and streams;
you dried up(AH) the ever-flowing rivers.
16 The day is yours, and yours also the night;
you established the sun and moon.(AI)
17 It was you who set all the boundaries(AJ) of the earth;
you made both summer and winter.(AK)
18 Remember how the enemy has mocked you, Lord,
how foolish people(AL) have reviled your name.
19 Do not hand over the life of your dove(AM) to wild beasts;
do not forget the lives of your afflicted(AN) people forever.
20 Have regard for your covenant,(AO)
because haunts of violence fill the dark places(AP) of the land.
21 Do not let the oppressed(AQ) retreat in disgrace;
may the poor and needy(AR) praise your name.
22 Rise up,(AS) O God, and defend your cause;
remember how fools(AT) mock you all day long.
23 Do not ignore the clamor(AU) of your adversaries,(AV)
the uproar(AW) of your enemies,(AX) which rises continually.
9 “In that day,” declares the Lord,
“the king and the officials will lose heart,(A)
the priests will be horrified,
and the prophets will be appalled.”(B)
10 Then I said, “Alas, Sovereign Lord! How completely you have deceived(C) this people and Jerusalem by saying, ‘You will have peace,’(D) when the sword is at our throats!”
19 Oh, my anguish, my anguish!(A)
I writhe in pain.(B)
Oh, the agony of my heart!
My heart pounds(C) within me,
I cannot keep silent.(D)
For I have heard the sound of the trumpet;(E)
I have heard the battle cry.(F)
20 Disaster follows disaster;(G)
the whole land lies in ruins.(H)
In an instant my tents(I) are destroyed,
my shelter in a moment.
21 How long must I see the battle standard(J)
and hear the sound of the trumpet?(K)
22 “My people are fools;(L)
they do not know me.(M)
They are senseless children;
they have no understanding.(N)
They are skilled in doing evil;(O)
they know not how to do good.”(P)
23 I looked at the earth,
and it was formless and empty;(Q)
and at the heavens,
and their light(R) was gone.
24 I looked at the mountains,
and they were quaking;(S)
all the hills were swaying.
25 I looked, and there were no people;
every bird in the sky had flown away.(T)
26 I looked, and the fruitful land was a desert;(U)
all its towns lay in ruins(V)
before the Lord, before his fierce anger.(W)
27 This is what the Lord says:
12 All who sin apart from the law will also perish apart from the law, and all who sin under the law(A) will be judged by the law. 13 For it is not those who hear the law who are righteous in God’s sight, but it is those who obey(B) the law who will be declared righteous. 14 (Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the law,(C) they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law. 15 They show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts sometimes accusing them and at other times even defending them.) 16 This will take place on the day when God judges people’s secrets(D) through Jesus Christ,(E) as my gospel(F) declares.
The Jews and the Law
17 Now you, if you call yourself a Jew; if you rely on the law and boast in God;(G) 18 if you know his will and approve of what is superior because you are instructed by the law; 19 if you are convinced that you are a guide for the blind, a light for those who are in the dark, 20 an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of little children, because you have in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth— 21 you, then, who teach others, do you not teach yourself? You who preach against stealing, do you steal?(H) 22 You who say that people should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples?(I) 23 You who boast in the law,(J) do you dishonor God by breaking the law? 24 As it is written: “God’s name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.”[a](K)
19 Jesus gave them this answer: “Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself;(A) he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. 20 For the Father loves the Son(B) and shows him all he does. Yes, and he will show him even greater works than these,(C) so that you will be amazed. 21 For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life,(D) even so the Son gives life(E) to whom he is pleased to give it. 22 Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son,(F) 23 that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father, who sent him.(G)
24 “Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me(H) has eternal life(I) and will not be judged(J) but has crossed over from death to life.(K) 25 Very truly I tell you, a time is coming and has now come(L) when the dead will hear(M) the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live. 26 For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life(N) in himself. 27 And he has given him authority to judge(O) because he is the Son of Man.
28 “Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming(P) when all who are in their graves will hear his voice 29 and come out—those who have done what is good will rise to live, and those who have done what is evil will rise to be condemned.(Q)
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