Book of Common Prayer
Confidence in God’s protection.
For the Chief Musician; on a stringed instrument. A Psalm of David.
61 Hear my cry, O God;
Attend unto my prayer.
2 From the end of the earth will I call unto thee, when my heart [a]is overwhelmed:
Lead me to [b]the rock that is higher than I.
3 For thou hast been a refuge for me,
A strong tower from the enemy.
4 I will dwell in thy [c]tabernacle for ever:
I will take refuge in the covert of thy wings. Selah
5 For thou, O God, hast heard my vows:
Thou hast [d]given me the heritage of those that fear thy name.
6 Thou wilt prolong the king’s life;
His years shall be as many generations.
7 He shall abide before God for ever:
Oh prepare lovingkindness and truth, that they may preserve him.
8 So will I sing praise unto thy name for ever,
That I may daily perform my vows.
God alone a refuge from treachery and oppression.
For the Chief Musician; after the manner of Jeduthun. A Psalm of David.
62 My soul [e]waiteth in silence for God only:
From him cometh my salvation.
2 He only is my rock and my salvation:
He is my high tower; I shall not be greatly moved.
3 How long will ye set upon a man,
[f]That ye may slay him, all of you,
Like a leaning wall, like a tottering fence?
4 They only consult to thrust him down from his dignity;
They delight in lies;
They bless with their mouth, but they curse inwardly. Selah
5 My soul, [g]wait thou in silence for God only;
For my expectation is from him.
6 He only is my rock and my salvation:
He is my high tower; I shall not be moved.
7 With God is my salvation and my glory:
The rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God.
8 Trust in him at all times, ye people;
Pour out your heart before him:
God is a refuge for us. Selah
9 Surely men of low degree are [h]vanity, and men of high degree are a lie:
In the balances they will go up;
They are together lighter than vanity.
10 Trust not in oppression,
And become not vain in robbery:
If riches increase, set not your heart thereon.
11 God hath spoken once,
Twice have I heard this,
That power belongeth unto God.
12 Also unto thee, O Lord, belongeth lovingkindness;
For thou renderest to every man according to his work.
Jehovah the God of Sinai and of the sanctuary.
For the Chief Musician; A Psalm of David, a Song.
[a]68 Let God arise, let his enemies be scattered;
Let them also that hate him flee before him.
2 As smoke is driven away, so drive them away:
As wax melteth before the fire,
So let the wicked perish at the presence of God.
3 But let the righteous be glad; let them exult before God:
Yea, let them rejoice with gladness.
4 Sing unto God, sing praises to his name:
Cast up a highway for him that rideth through the deserts;
His name is [b]Jehovah; and exult ye before him.
5 A father of the fatherless, and a judge of the widows,
Is God in his holy habitation.
6 God [c]setteth the solitary in families:
He bringeth out the prisoners into prosperity;
But the rebellious dwell in a parched land.
7 O God, when thou wentest forth before thy people,
When thou didst march through the wilderness; Selah
8 The earth trembled,
The heavens also dropped rain at the presence of God:
Yon Sinai trembled at the presence of God, the God of Israel.
9 Thou, O God, didst send a plentiful rain,
Thou didst confirm thine inheritance, when it was weary.
10 Thy [d]congregation dwelt therein:
Thou, O God, didst prepare of thy goodness for the poor.
11 The Lord giveth the word:
The women that publish the tidings are a great host.
12 Kings of armies flee, they flee;
And she that tarrieth at home divideth the spoil.
13 [e]When ye lie among the sheepfolds,
It is as the wings of a dove covered with silver,
And her pinions with yellow gold.
14 When the Almighty scattered kings therein,
It [f]was as when it snoweth in Zalmon.
15 A mountain of God is the mountain of Bashan;
A [g]high mountain is the mountain of Bashan.
16 Why look ye askance, ye high mountains,
At the mountain which God hath desired for his abode?
Yea, Jehovah will dwell in it for ever.
17 The chariots of God are twenty thousand, even thousands upon thousands:
The Lord is among them, [h]as in Sinai, in the sanctuary.
18 Thou hast ascended on high, thou hast led away captives;
Thou hast received gifts among men,
Yea, among the rebellious also, that [i]Jehovah God might [j]dwell with them.
19 Blessed be [k]the Lord, who daily beareth our burden,
Even the God who is our salvation. Selah
20 God is unto us a God of deliverances;
And unto Jehovah the Lord belongeth escape from death.
21 But God will smite through the head of his enemies,
The hairy scalp of such a one as goeth on still in his guiltiness.
22 The Lord said, I will bring again from Bashan,
I will bring them again from the depths of the sea;
23 That thou mayest crush them, dipping thy foot in blood,
That the tongue of thy dogs may have its portion from thine enemies.
24 They have seen thy goings, O God,
Even the goings of my God, my King, [l]into the sanctuary.
25 The singers went before, the minstrels followed after,
In the midst of the damsels playing with timbrels.
26 Bless ye God in the congregations,
Even the Lord, ye that are of the fountain of Israel.
27 There is little Benjamin their ruler,
The princes of Judah and their [m]council,
The princes of Zebulun, the princes of Naphtali.
28 Thy God hath commanded thy strength:
[n]Strengthen, O God, that which thou [o]hast wrought for us.
29 Because of thy temple at Jerusalem
Kings shall bring presents unto thee.
30 Rebuke the wild beast of the reeds,
The multitude of the bulls, with the calves of the peoples,
[p]Trampling under foot the pieces of silver:
[q]He hath scattered the peoples that delight in war.
31 Princes shall come out of Egypt;
[r]Ethiopia shall haste to stretch out her hands unto God.
32 Sing unto God, ye kingdoms of the earth;
Oh sing praises unto the Lord; Selah
33 To him that rideth upon the heaven of heavens, which are of old;
Lo, he uttereth his voice, a mighty voice.
34 Ascribe ye strength unto God:
His excellency is over Israel,
And his strength is in the skies.
35 [s]O God, thou art terrible out of thy holy places:
The God of Israel, he giveth strength and power unto his people.
Blessed be God.
6 And it came to pass, while there was war between the house of Saul and the house of David, that Abner [a]made himself strong in the house of Saul. 7 Now Saul had a concubine, whose name was Rizpah, the daughter of Aiah: and Ish-bosheth said to Abner, Wherefore hast thou gone in unto my father’s concubine? 8 Then was Abner very wroth for the words of Ish-bosheth, and said, Am I a dog’s head that belongeth to Judah? This day do I show kindness unto the house of Saul thy father, to his brethren, and to his friends, and have not delivered thee into the hand of David; and yet thou chargest me this day with [b]a fault concerning this woman. 9 God do so to Abner, and more also, if, as Jehovah hath sworn to David, I do not even so to him; 10 to transfer the kingdom from the house of Saul, and to set up the throne of David over Israel and over Judah, from Dan even to Beer-sheba. 11 And he could not answer Abner another word, because he feared him.
12 And Abner sent messengers to David [c]on his behalf, saying, Whose is the land? saying also, Make thy league with me, and, behold, my hand shall be with thee, to bring about all Israel unto thee. 13 And he said, Well; I will make a league with thee; but one thing I require of thee: that is, thou shalt not see my face, except thou first bring Michal, Saul’s daughter, when thou comest to see my face. 14 And David sent messengers to Ish-bosheth, Saul’s son, saying, Deliver me my wife Michal, whom I betrothed to me for a hundred foreskins of the Philistines. 15 And Ish-bosheth sent, and took her from her husband, even from [d]Paltiel the son of Laish. 16 And her husband went with her, weeping as he went, and followed her to Bahurim. Then said Abner unto him, Go, return: and he returned.
17 And Abner had communication with the elders of Israel, saying, In times past ye sought for David to be king over you: 18 now then do it; for Jehovah hath spoken of David, saying, By the hand of my servant David I will save my people Israel out of the hand of the Philistines, and out of the hand of all their enemies. 19 And Abner also spake in the ears of Benjamin: and Abner went also to speak in the ears of David in Hebron all that seemed good to Israel, and to the whole house of Benjamin. 20 So Abner came to David to Hebron, and twenty men with him. And David made Abner and the men that were with him a feast. 21 And Abner said unto David, I will arise and go, and will gather all Israel unto my lord the king, that they may make a covenant with thee, and that thou mayest reign over all that thy soul desireth. And David sent Abner away; and he went in peace.
6 And they went through [a]the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden of the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia; 7 and when they were come over against Mysia, they assayed to go into Bithynia; and the Spirit of Jesus suffered them not; 8 and passing by Mysia, they came down to Troas. 9 And a vision appeared to Paul in the night: There was a man of Macedonia standing, beseeching him, and saying, Come over into Macedonia, and help us. 10 And when he had seen the vision, straightway we sought to go forth into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to [b]preach the gospel unto them.
11 Setting sail therefore from Troas, we made a straight course to Samothrace, and the day following to Neapolis; 12 and from thence to Philippi, which is a city of Macedonia, the first of the district, a Roman colony: and we were in this city tarrying certain days. 13 And on the sabbath day we went forth without the gate by a river side, [c]where we supposed there was a place of prayer; and we sat down, and spake unto the women that were come together. 14 And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, one that worshipped God, heard us: whose heart the Lord opened to give heed unto the things which were spoken by Paul. 15 And when she was baptized, and her household, she besought us, saying, If ye have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house, and abide there. And she constrained us.
30 And the apostles gather themselves together unto Jesus; and they told him all things, whatsoever they had done, and whatsoever they had taught. 31 And he saith unto them, Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while. For there were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat. 32 And they went away in the boat to a desert place apart. 33 And the people saw them going, and many knew them, and they ran together there [a]on foot from all the cities, and outwent them. 34 And he came forth and saw a great multitude, and he had compassion on them, because they were as sheep not having a shepherd: and he began to teach them many things. 35 And when the day was now far spent, his disciples came unto him, and said, The place is desert, and the day is now far spent; 36 send them away, that they may go into the country and villages round about, and buy themselves somewhat to eat. 37 But he answered and said unto them, Give ye them to eat. And they say unto him, Shall we go and buy two hundred [b]shillings’ worth of bread, and give them to eat? 38 And he saith unto them, How many loaves have ye? go and see. And when they knew, they say, Five, and two fishes. 39 And he commanded them that all should [c]sit down by companies upon the green grass. 40 And they sat down in ranks, by hundreds, and by fifties. 41 And he took the five loaves and the two fishes, and looking up to heaven, he blessed, and brake the loaves; and he gave to the disciples to set before them; and the two fishes divided he among them all. 42 And they all ate, and were filled. 43 And they took up broken pieces, twelve basketfuls, and also of the fishes. 44 And they that ate the loaves were five thousand men.
45 And straightway he constrained his disciples to enter into the boat, and to go before him unto the other side to Bethsaida, while he himself sendeth the multitude away. 46 And after he had taken leave of them, he departed into the mountain to pray.
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