Book of Common Prayer
Assurance of God’s Eternal Protection
To the Chief Musician. On [a]a stringed instrument. A Psalm of David.
61 Hear my cry, O God;
Attend to my prayer.
2 From the end of the earth I will cry to You,
When my heart is overwhelmed;
Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.
3 For You have been a shelter for me,
(A)A strong tower from the enemy.
4 I will abide in Your [b]tabernacle forever;
(B)I will trust in the shelter of Your wings. Selah
5 For You, O God, have heard my vows;
You have given me the heritage of those who fear Your name.
6 You will prolong the king’s life,
His years as many generations.
7 He shall abide before God forever.
Oh, prepare mercy (C)and truth, which may [c]preserve him!
8 So I will sing praise to Your name forever,
That I may daily perform my vows.
A Calm Resolve to Wait for the Salvation of God
To the Chief Musician. To (D)Jeduthun. A Psalm of David.
62 Truly (E)my soul silently waits for God;
From Him comes my salvation.
2 He only is my rock and my salvation;
He is my [d]defense;
I shall not be greatly (F)moved.[e]
3 How long will you attack a man?
You shall be slain, all of you,
(G)Like a leaning wall and a tottering fence.
4 They only consult to cast him down from his high position;
They (H)delight in lies;
They bless with their mouth,
But they curse inwardly. Selah
5 My soul, wait silently for God alone,
For my [f]expectation is from Him.
6 He only is my rock and my salvation;
He is my defense;
I shall not be [g]moved.
7 (I)In 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, you people;
(J)Pour out your heart before Him;
God is a refuge for us. Selah
The Glory of God in His Goodness to Israel
To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David. A Song.
68 Let (A)God arise,
Let His enemies be scattered;
Let those also who hate Him flee before Him.
2 (B)As smoke is driven away,
So drive them away;
(C)As wax melts before the fire,
So let the wicked perish at the presence of God.
3 But (D)let the righteous be glad;
Let them rejoice before God;
Yes, let them rejoice exceedingly.
4 Sing to God, sing praises to His name;
(E)Extol[a] Him who rides on the [b]clouds,
(F)By His name [c]Yah,
And rejoice before Him.
5 (G)A father of the fatherless, a defender of widows,
Is God in His holy habitation.
6 (H)God sets the solitary in families;
(I)He brings out those who are bound into prosperity;
But (J)the rebellious dwell in a dry land.
7 O God, (K)when You went out before Your people,
When You marched through the wilderness, Selah
8 The earth shook;
The heavens also dropped rain at the presence of God;
Sinai itself was moved at the presence of God, the God of Israel.
9 (L)You, O God, sent a plentiful rain,
Whereby You confirmed Your inheritance,
When it was weary.
10 Your congregation dwelt in it;
(M)You, O God, provided from Your goodness for the poor.
11 The Lord gave the word;
Great was the [d]company of those who proclaimed it:
12 “Kings(N) of armies flee, they flee,
And she who remains at home divides the [e]spoil.
13 (O)Though you lie down among the [f]sheepfolds,
(P)You will be like the wings of a dove covered with silver,
And her feathers with yellow gold.”
14 (Q)When the Almighty scattered kings in it,
It was white as snow in Zalmon.
15 A mountain of God is the mountain of Bashan;
A mountain of many peaks is the mountain of Bashan.
16 Why do you [g]fume with envy, you mountains of many peaks?
(R)This is the mountain which God desires to dwell in;
Yes, the Lord will dwell in it forever.
17 (S)The chariots of God are twenty thousand,
Even thousands of thousands;
The Lord is among them as in Sinai, in the Holy Place.
18 (T)You have ascended on high,
(U)You have led captivity captive;
(V)You have received gifts among men,
Even from (W)the rebellious,
(X)That the Lord God might dwell there.
19 Blessed be the Lord,
Who daily loads us with benefits,
The God of our salvation! Selah
20 Our God is the God of salvation;
And (Y)to God the Lord belong escapes from death.
21 But (Z)God will wound the head of His enemies,
(AA)The hairy scalp of the one who still goes on in his trespasses.
22 The Lord said, “I will bring (AB)back from Bashan,
I will bring them back (AC)from the depths of the sea,
23 (AD)That [h]your foot may crush them in blood,
(AE)And the tongues of your dogs may have their portion from your enemies.”
24 They have seen Your [i]procession, O God,
The procession of my God, my King, into the sanctuary.
25 (AF)The singers went before, the players on instruments followed after;
Among them were the maidens playing timbrels.
26 Bless God in the congregations,
The Lord, from (AG)the fountain of Israel.
27 (AH)There is little Benjamin, their leader,
The princes of Judah and their [j]company,
The princes of Zebulun and the princes of Naphtali.
28 [k]Your God has (AI)commanded your strength;
Strengthen, O God, what You have done for us.
29 Because of Your temple at Jerusalem,
(AJ)Kings will bring presents to You.
30 Rebuke the beasts of the reeds,
(AK)The herd of bulls with the calves of the peoples,
Till everyone (AL)submits himself with pieces of silver.
Scatter the peoples who delight in war.
31 (AM)Envoys will come out of Egypt;
(AN)Ethiopia will quickly (AO)stretch out her hands to God.
32 Sing to God, you (AP)kingdoms of the earth;
Oh, sing praises to the Lord, Selah
33 To Him (AQ)who rides on the heaven of heavens, which were of old!
Indeed, He sends out His voice, a (AR)mighty voice.
34 (AS)Ascribe strength to God;
His excellence is over Israel,
And His strength is in the clouds.
35 O God, (AT)You are more awesome than Your holy places.
The God of Israel is He who gives strength and power to His people.
Blessed be God!
Israel’s Disobedience
2 Then the Angel of the Lord came up from Gilgal to Bochim, and said: (A)“I led you up from Egypt and (B)brought you to the land of which I swore to your fathers; and (C)I said, ‘I will never break My covenant with you. 2 And (D)you shall make no [a]covenant with the inhabitants of this land; (E)you shall tear down their altars.’ (F)But you have not obeyed My voice. Why have you done this? 3 Therefore I also said, ‘I will not drive them out before you; but they shall be (G)thorns[b] in your side, and (H)their gods shall [c]be a (I)snare to you.’ ” 4 So it was, when the Angel of the Lord spoke these words to all the children of Israel, that the people lifted up their voices and wept.
5 Then they called the name of that place [d]Bochim; and they sacrificed there to the Lord.
Israel’s Unfaithfulness
11 Then the children of Israel did (A)evil in the sight of the Lord, and served the Baals; 12 and they (B)forsook the Lord God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt; and they followed (C)other gods from among the gods of the people who were all around them, and they (D)bowed down to them; and they provoked the Lord to anger. 13 They forsook the Lord (E)and served [a]Baal and the [b]Ashtoreths. 14 (F)And the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel. So He (G)delivered them into the hands of plunderers who despoiled them; and (H)He sold them into the hands of their enemies all around, so that they (I)could no longer stand before their enemies. 15 Wherever they went out, the hand of the Lord was against them for calamity, as the Lord had said, and as the Lord had (J)sworn to them. And they were greatly distressed.
16 Nevertheless, (K)the Lord raised up judges who delivered them out of the hand of those who plundered them. 17 Yet they would not listen to their judges, but they (L)played the harlot with other gods, and bowed down to them. They turned quickly from the way in which their fathers walked, in obeying the commandments of the Lord; they did not do so. 18 And when the Lord raised up judges for them, (M)the Lord was with the judge and delivered them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge; (N)for the Lord was moved to pity by their groaning because of those who oppressed them and harassed them. 19 And it came to pass, (O)when the judge was dead, that they reverted and behaved more corruptly than their fathers, by following other gods, to serve them and bow down to them. They did not cease from their own doings nor from their stubborn way.
20 Then the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel; and He said, “Because this nation has (P)transgressed My covenant which I commanded their fathers, and has not heeded My voice, 21 I also will no longer drive out before them any of the nations which Joshua (Q)left when he died, 22 so (R)that through them I may (S)test Israel, whether they will keep the ways of the Lord, to walk in them as their fathers kept them, or not.” 23 Therefore the Lord left those nations, without driving them out immediately; nor did He deliver them into the hand of Joshua.
Avoid Divisive Persons
17 Now I urge you, brethren, note those (A)who cause divisions and offenses, contrary to the doctrine which you learned, and (B)avoid them. 18 For those who are such do not serve our Lord [a]Jesus Christ, but (C)their own belly, and (D)by smooth words and flattering speech deceive the hearts of the simple. 19 For (E)your obedience has become known to all. Therefore I am glad on your behalf; but I want you to be (F)wise in what is good, and [b]simple concerning evil. 20 And (G)the God of peace (H)will crush Satan under your feet shortly.
(I)The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.
Greetings from Paul’s Friends
21 (J)Timothy, my fellow worker, and (K)Lucius, (L)Jason, and (M)Sosipater, my countrymen, greet you.
22 I, Tertius, who wrote this epistle, greet you in the Lord.
23 (N)Gaius, my host and the host of the whole church, greets you. (O)Erastus, the treasurer of the city, greets you, and Quartus, a brother. 24 (P)The[c] grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.
Benediction
25 [d]Now (Q)to Him who is able to establish you (R)according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, (S)according to the revelation of the mystery (T)kept secret since the world began 26 but (U)now made manifest, and by the prophetic Scriptures made known to all nations, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, for (V)obedience to the faith— 27 to (W)God, alone wise, be glory through Jesus Christ forever. Amen.
The King on a Cross(A)
32 (B)Now as they came out, (C)they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name. Him they compelled to bear His cross. 33 (D)And when they had come to a place called Golgotha, that is to say, Place of a Skull, 34 (E)they gave Him [a]sour wine mingled with gall to drink. But when He had tasted it, He would not drink.
35 (F)Then they crucified Him, and divided His garments, casting lots, [b]that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet:
(G)“They divided My garments among them,
And for My clothing they cast lots.”
36 (H)Sitting down, they kept watch over Him there. 37 And they (I)put up over His head the accusation written against Him:
THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS.
38 (J)Then two robbers were crucified with Him, one on the right and another on the left.
39 And (K)those who passed by blasphemed Him, wagging their heads 40 and saying, (L)“You who destroy the temple and build it in three days, save Yourself! (M)If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross.”
41 Likewise the chief priests also, mocking with the [c]scribes and elders, said, 42 “He (N)saved others; Himself He cannot save. [d]If He is the King of Israel, let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe [e]Him. 43 (O)He trusted in God; let Him deliver Him now if He will have Him; for He said, ‘I am the Son of God.’ ”
44 (P)Even the robbers who were crucified with Him reviled Him with the same thing.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.