Book of Common Prayer
Confidence in God’s Protection.
To the Chief Musician; on stringed instruments. A Psalm of David.
61 Hear my cry, O God;
Listen to my prayer.
2
From the end of the earth I call to You, when my heart is overwhelmed and weak;
Lead me to the rock that is higher than I [a rock that is too high to reach without Your help].
3
For You have been a shelter and a refuge for me,
A strong tower against the enemy.
4
Let me dwell in Your tent forever;
Let me take refuge in the shelter of Your wings. Selah.
5
For You have heard my vows, O God;
You have given me the inheritance of those who fear Your name [with reverence].
6
You will prolong the king’s life [adding days upon days];
His years will be like many generations.
7
He will sit enthroned forever before [the face of] God;
Appoint lovingkindness and truth to watch over and preserve him.
8
So I will sing praise to Your name forever,
Paying my vows day by day.
God Alone a Refuge from Treachery and Oppression.
To the Chief Musician; to Jeduthun [Ethan, the noted musician, founder of an official musical family]. A Psalm of David.
62 For God alone my soul waits in silence;
From Him comes my salvation.
2
He alone is my rock and my salvation,
My defense and my strong tower; I will not be shaken or disheartened.
3
How long will you attack a man
So that you may murder him, all of you,
Like a leaning wall, like a tottering fence?
4
They consult only to throw him down from his high position [to dishonor him];
They delight in lies.
They bless with [the words of] their mouths,
But inwardly they curse. Selah.
5
For God alone my soul waits in silence and quietly submits to Him,
For my hope is from Him.
6
He only is my rock and my salvation;
My fortress and my defense, I will not be shaken or discouraged.
7
On God my salvation and my glory rest;
He is my rock of [unyielding] strength, my refuge is in God.
8
Trust [confidently] in Him at all times, O people;
Pour out your heart before Him.
God is a refuge for us. Selah.
9
Men of low degree are only a breath (emptiness), and men of [high] rank are a lie (delusion).
In the balances they go up [because they have no measurable weight or value];
They are together lighter than a breath.
10
Do not trust in oppression,
And do not vainly hope in robbery;
If riches increase, do not set your heart on them.
11
God has spoken once,
Twice I have heard this:
That power belongs to God.
12
Also to You, O Lord, belong lovingkindness and compassion,
For You compensate every man according to [the value of] his work.(A)
The God of Sinai and of the Sanctuary.
To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David. A Song.
68 Let God arise, and His enemies be scattered;
Let those who hate Him flee before Him.
2
As smoke is driven away, so drive them away;
As wax melts before the fire,
So let the wicked and guilty perish before [the presence of] God.
3
But let the righteous be glad; let them be in good spirits before God,
Yes, let them rejoice with delight.
4
Sing to God, sing praises to His name;
Lift up a song for Him who rides through the desert—
His name is the Lord—be in good spirits before Him.
5
A father of the fatherless and a judge and protector of the widows,
Is God in His holy habitation.
6
God makes a home for the lonely;
He leads the prisoners into prosperity,
Only the stubborn and rebellious dwell in a parched land.
7
O God, when You went out before Your people,
When You marched through the wilderness, Selah.
8
The earth trembled;
The heavens also poured down rain at the presence of God;
Sinai itself trembled at the presence of God, the God of Israel.
9
You, O God, sent abroad plentiful rain;
You confirmed Your inheritance when it was parched and weary.
10
Your flock found a dwelling place in it;
O God, in Your goodness You provided for the poor.
11
The Lord gives the command [to take Canaan];
The women who proclaim the good news are a great host (army);
12
“The kings of the [enemies’] armies flee, they flee,
And the beautiful woman who remains at home divides the spoil [left behind].”
13
When you lie down [to rest] among the [a]sheepfolds,
You [Israel] are like the wings of a dove [of victory] overlaid with silver,
Its feathers glistening with gold [trophies taken from the enemy].
14
When the Almighty scattered [the Canaanite] kings in the land of Canaan,
It was snowing on [b]Zalmon.
15
A mountain of God is the mountain of Bashan;
A [high] mountain of many summits is Mount Bashan [rising east of the Jordan].
16
Why do you look with envy, mountains with many peaks,
At the mountain [of the city of Zion] which God has desired for His dwelling place?
Yes, the Lord will dwell there forever.
17
The chariots of God are [c]myriads, thousands upon thousands;
The Lord is among them as He was at Sinai, in holiness.
18
You have ascended on high, You have led away captive Your captives;
You have received gifts among men,
Even from the rebellious also, that the Lord God may dwell there.(A)
19
Blessed be the Lord, who bears our burden day by day,
The God who is our salvation! Selah.
20
God is to us a God of acts of salvation;
And to [d]God the Lord belong escapes from death [setting us free].
21
Surely God will shatter the head of His enemies,
The hairy scalp of one who goes on in his guilty ways.
22
The Lord said, “I will bring your enemies back from Bashan;
I will bring them back from the depths of the [Red] Sea,
23
That your foot may crush them in blood,
That the tongue of your dogs may have its share from your enemies.”
24
They have seen Your [solemn] [e]procession, O God,
The procession of my God, my King, into the sanctuary [in holiness].
25
The singers go in front, the players of instruments last;
Between them the maidens playing on tambourines.
26
Bless God in the congregations, [give thanks, gratefully praise Him],
The Lord, you who are from [Jacob] the fountain of Israel.
27
The youngest is there, Benjamin, ruling them,
The princes of Judah and their company [the southern tribes],
The princes of Zebulun and the princes of Naphtali [the northern tribes].
28
Your God has commanded your strength [your power in His service and your resistance to temptation];
Show Yourself strong, O God, who acted on our behalf.
29
Because of Your temple at Jerusalem
[Pagan] kings will bring gifts to You [out of respect].
30
Rebuke the beasts [living] among the reeds [in Egypt],
The herd of bulls (the leaders) with the calves of the peoples;
Trampling underfoot the pieces of silver;
He has scattered the peoples who delight in war.
31
Princes and envoys shall come from Egypt;
Ethiopia will quickly stretch out her hands [with the offerings of submission] to God.
32
Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth,
Sing praises to the Lord! Selah.
33
To Him who rides in the highest heavens, the ancient heavens,
Behold, He sends out His voice, a mighty and majestic voice.
34
Ascribe strength to God;
His majesty is over Israel
And His strength is in the skies.
35
O God, You are awesome and profoundly majestic from Your sanctuary;
The God of Israel gives strength and power to His people.
Blessed be God!
Israel Rebuked
2 Now the [a]Angel of the Lord came up from Gilgal to Bochim. And he said, “I brought you up from Egypt and led you to the land which I swore [to give] to your fathers; and I said, ‘I will never break My covenant with you,(A) 2 and as for you, you shall not make a covenant with the inhabitants of this land; you shall tear down their altars.’ But you have not [b]obeyed Me; what is this that you have done? 3 So I also said, ‘I will not drive your enemies out before you; but they will be like thorns in your sides and their gods will be a snare to you.’” 4 When the Angel of the Lord had spoken these words to all the Israelites, the people raised their voices and wept. 5 So they named that place Bochim (weepers); and there they offered sacrifices to the Lord.
Israel Serves Baals
11 Then the Israelites did evil in the sight of the Lord and worshiped and served the Baals, 12 and they abandoned the Lord, the God of their fathers, who brought them out of the land of Egypt. They followed other gods from the gods of the peoples who were around them, and they bowed down to them, and offended and provoked the Lord to anger. 13 So they abandoned the Lord and served Baal [the pagan god of the Canaanites] and the [a]Ashtaroth. 14 So the anger of the Lord burned against Israel, and He gave them into the hands (power) of plunderers who robbed them; and He sold them into the hands of their surrounding enemies, so that they could no longer stand [in opposition] before their enemies. 15 Wherever they went, the hand of the Lord was against them for evil (misfortune), as the Lord had spoken, and as the Lord had sworn to them, so that they were severely distressed.(A)
16 Then the Lord raised up [b]judges who rescued them from the hands of those who robbed them. 17 Yet they did not listen to their judges, for they played the prostitute after other gods and they bowed down to them. They quickly turned aside from the way in which their fathers had walked in obeying the commandments of the Lord; they did not do as their fathers. 18 When the Lord raised up judges for them, He was with the judge and He rescued them from the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge; for the Lord was moved to pity by their groaning because of those who oppressed and afflicted them. 19 But when the judge died, they turned back and behaved more corruptly than their fathers, in following and serving other gods, and bowing down to them. They did not [c]abandon their practices or their stubborn ways. 20 So the anger of the Lord burned against Israel, and He said, “Because this [d]nation has transgressed (violated) My covenant (binding agreement) which I commanded their fathers, and has not listened to My voice, 21 I also will no longer drive out before them any of the nations which Joshua left [to be conquered] when he died, 22 in order to test [the loyalty of] Israel by them, whether Israel will keep the way of the Lord to walk in it, as their fathers did, or not.” 23 So the Lord allowed those nations to remain, not driving them out at once; and He did not give them into the hand of Joshua.
17 I urge you, brothers and sisters, to keep your eyes on those who cause dissensions and create obstacles or introduce temptations [for others] to commit sin, [acting in ways] contrary to the doctrine which you have learned. Turn away from them. 18 For such people do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites and base desires. By smooth and flattering speech they deceive the hearts of the unsuspecting [the innocent and the naive]. 19 For the report of your obedience has reached everyone, so that I rejoice over you, but I want you to be wise in what is good and innocent in what is evil. 20 The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.
The [wonderful] grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.
21 Timothy, my fellow worker, sends his greetings to you, as do Lucius, Jason and Sosipater, my kinsmen.
22 I, [a]Tertius, the writer (scribe) of this letter, greet you in the Lord.
23 Gaius, who is host to me and to the whole church here, greets you. Erastus, the city treasurer, and our brother Quartus, greet you. 24 [b][The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.]
25 Now to Him who is able to establish and strengthen you [in the faith] according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery [of the plan of salvation] which has been kept secret for long ages past, 26 but now has been disclosed and through the prophetic Scriptures has been made known to all the nations, according to the commandment of the eternal God, leading them to obedience to the faith, 27 to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ, be the glory forevermore! Amen.
32 Now as they were coming out, they found a man of [a]Cyrene named [b]Simon, whom they forced into service [c]to carry the cross of Jesus.(A)
The Crucifixion
33 And when they came to a place called Golgotha, which means [d]Place of a Skull,(B) 34 they offered Him wine mixed with gall (myrrh, a bitter-tasting narcotic) to drink; but after tasting it, He refused to drink it.
35 And when they had crucified Him, they divided His clothes among them by casting [e]lots.(C) 36 Then sitting down there, they began to keep watch over Him [to guard against any rescue attempt]. 37 And above His head they put the accusation against Him which read, “[f]THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS.”
38 At the same time two robbers were crucified with Jesus, one on the right and one on the left. 39 Those who passed by were hurling abuse at Him and jeering at Him, wagging their heads [in scorn and ridicule],(D) 40 and they said [tauntingly], “You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save Yourself [from death]! If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross.” 41 In the same way the chief priests also, along with the scribes and elders, mocked Him, saying, 42 “He saved others [from death]; He cannot save Himself. He is the King of Israel; let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe in Him and acknowledge Him. 43 He trusts in God; let God rescue Him now, if He delights in Him; for He said, ‘I am the Son of God.’”(E) 44 The robbers who had been crucified with Him also began to insult Him in the same way.
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