Book of Common Prayer
For the choir director; a psalm by David; a song.
68 God will arise.
His enemies will be scattered.
Those who hate him will flee from him.
2 Blow them away like smoke.
Let wicked people melt in God’s presence like wax next to a fire.
3 But let righteous people rejoice.
Let them celebrate in God’s presence.
Let them overflow with joy.
4 Sing to God; make music to praise his name.
Make a highway for him to ride through the deserts.[a]
The Lord is his name.
Celebrate in his presence.
5 The God who is in his holy dwelling place
is the father of the fatherless and the defender of widows.
6 God places lonely people in families.
He leads prisoners out of prison into productive lives,
but rebellious people must live in an unproductive land.
7 O God, when you went in front of your people,
when you marched through the desert, Selah
8 the earth quaked and the sky poured
in the presence of the God of Sinai,
in the presence of the God of Israel.
9 You watered the land with plenty of rain, O God.
You refreshed it when your land was exhausted.
10 Your flock settled there.
Out of your goodness, O God,
you provided for oppressed people.
11 The Lord gives instructions.
The women who announce the good news are a large army.
12 ⌞They say,⌟ “The kings of the armies flee; they run away.
The women who remained at home will divide the goods.
13 Though you stayed among the sheep pens,
⌞you will be like⌟ the wings of a dove covered with silver, its feathers with yellow gold.
14 Meanwhile, the Almighty was still scattering kings there
like snow falling on Mount Zalmon.”
15 The mountain of Bashan is the mountain of God.
The mountain of Bashan is the mountain with many peaks.
16 Why do you look with envy, you mountains with many peaks,
at the mountain where God has chosen to live?
Certainly, the Lord will live there forever.
17 The chariots of God are twenty thousand in number,
thousands upon thousands.
The Lord is among them.
⌞The God of⌟ Sinai is in his holy place.
18 You went to the highest place.
You took prisoners captive.
You received gifts from people,
even from rebellious people, so that the Lord God may live there.
19 Thanks be to the Lord,
who daily carries our burdens for us.
God is our salvation. Selah
20 Our God is the God of victories.
The Almighty Lord is our escape from death.
21 Certainly, God will crush the heads of his enemies
⌞and destroy even⌟ the hair on the heads
of those who continue to be guilty.
22 The Lord said, “I will bring them back from Bashan.
I will bring them back from the depths of the sea
23 so that you, ⌞my people,⌟ may bathe [b] your feet in blood
and the tongues of your dogs
may lick the blood of your enemies.”
24 Your festival processions, O God, can be seen by everyone.
They are the processions for my God, my king, into the holy place.
25 The singers are in front.
The musicians are behind them.
The young women beating tambourines are between them.
26 Thank God, the Lord, the source of Israel, with the choirs.
27 Benjamin, the youngest, is leading them,
⌞next⌟ the leaders of Judah with their noisy crowds,
⌞then⌟ the leaders of Zebulun,
⌞then⌟ the leaders of Naphtali.
28 Your God has decided you will be strong.
Display your strength, O God,
as you have for us before.
29 Kings will bring you gifts
because of your temple high above Jerusalem.
30 Threaten the beast who is among the cattails,
the herd of bulls with the calves of the nations,
until it humbles itself with pieces of silver.
Scatter the people who find joy in war.
31 Ambassadors will come from Egypt.
Sudan will stretch out its hands to God ⌞in prayer⌟.
32 You kingdoms of the world, sing to God.
Make music to praise the Lord. Selah
33 God rides through the ancient heaven, the highest heaven.
Listen! He makes his voice heard, his powerful voice.
34 Acknowledge the power of God.
His majesty is over Israel, and his power is in the skies.
35 God, the God of Israel, is awe-inspiring in his holy place.
He gives strength and power to his people.
Thanks be to God!
By Solomon.
72 O God, give the king your justice
and the king’s son [a] your righteousness
2 so that he may judge your people with righteousness
and your oppressed ⌞people⌟ with justice.
3 May the mountains bring peace to the people
and the hills bring righteousness.
4 May he grant justice to the people who are oppressed.
May he save the children of needy people
and crush their oppressor.
5 May they fear you as long as the sun and moon ⌞shine⌟—
throughout every generation.
6 May he be like rain that falls on ⌞freshly⌟ cut grass,
like showers that water the land.
7 May righteous people blossom in his day.
May there be unlimited peace until the moon no longer ⌞shines⌟.
8 May he rule from sea to sea,
from the Euphrates River to the ends of the earth.
9 May the people of the desert kneel in front of him.
May his enemies lick the dust.
10 May the kings from Tarshish and the islands bring presents.
May the kings from Sheba and Seba bring gifts.
11 May all kings worship him.
May all nations serve him.
12 He will rescue the needy person who cries for help
and the oppressed person who has no one’s help.
13 He will have pity on the poor and needy
and will save the lives of the needy.
14 He will rescue them from oppression and violence.
Their blood will be precious in his sight.
15 May he live long.
May the gold from Sheba be given to him.
May ⌞the people⌟ pray for him continually.
May ⌞they⌟ praise him all day long.
16 May there be plenty of grain in the land.
May it wave ⌞in the breeze⌟ on the mountaintops,
its fruit like ⌞the treetops of⌟ Lebanon.
May those from the city flourish like the grass on the ground.
17 May his name endure forever.
May his name continue as long as the sun ⌞shines⌟.
May all nations be blessed through him and call him blessed.
18 Thank the Lord God, the God of Israel,
who alone does miracles.
19 Thanks be to his glorious name forever.
May the whole earth be filled with his glory.
Amen and amen!
20 The prayers by David, son of Jesse, end here.
Jacob’s First Encounter with God
10 Jacob left Beersheba and traveled toward Haran. 11 When he came to a certain place, he stopped for the night because the sun had gone down. He took one of the stones from that place, put it under his head, and lay down there. 12 He had a dream in which he saw a stairway set up on the earth with its top reaching up to heaven. He saw the angels of God going up and coming down on it. 13 The Lord was standing above it, saying, “I am the Lord, the God of your grandfather Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give the land on which you are lying to you and your descendants. 14 Your descendants will be like the dust on the earth. You will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. Through you and through your descendant every family on earth will be blessed. 15 Remember, I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go. I will also bring you back to this land because I will not leave you until I do what I’ve promised you.”
16 Then Jacob woke up from his sleep and exclaimed, “Certainly, the Lord is in this place, and I didn’t know it!” 17 Filled with awe, he said, “How awe-inspiring this place is! Certainly, this is the house of God and the gateway to heaven!”
18 Early the next morning Jacob took the stone he had put under his head. He set it up as a marker and poured olive oil on top of it. 19 He named that place Bethel [House of God]. Previously, the name of the city was Luz.
20 Then Jacob made a vow: “If God will be with me and will watch over me on my trip and give me food to eat and clothes to wear, 21 and if I return safely to my father’s home, then the Lord will be my God. 22 This stone that I have set up as a marker will be the house of God, and I will surely give you a tenth of everything you give me.”
13 All these people died having faith. They didn’t receive the things that God had promised them, but they saw these things coming in the distant future and rejoiced. They acknowledged that they were living as strangers with no permanent home on earth. 14 Those who say such things make it clear that they are looking for their own country. 15 If they had been thinking about the country that they had left, they could have found a way to go back. 16 Instead, these men were longing for a better country—a heavenly country. That is why God is not ashamed to be called their God. He has prepared a city for them.
17 When God tested Abraham, faith led him to offer his son Isaac. Abraham, the one who received the promises from God, was willing to offer his only son as a sacrifice. 18 God had said to him, “Through Isaac your descendants will carry on your name.” 19 Abraham believed that God could bring Isaac back from the dead. Abraham did receive Isaac back from the dead in a figurative sense.
20 Faith led Isaac to bless Jacob and Esau.
21 While Jacob was dying, faith led him to bless each of Joseph’s sons. He leaned on the top of his staff and worshiped God.
22 While Joseph was dying, faith led him to speak about the Israelites leaving Egypt and give them instructions about burying his bones.
7 Jesus emphasized, “I can guarantee this truth: I am the gate for the sheep. 8 All who came before I did were thieves or robbers. However, the sheep didn’t respond to them. 9 I am the gate. Those who enter the sheep pen through me will be saved. They will go in and out of the sheep pen and find food. 10 A thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy. But I came so that my sheep will have life and so that they will have everything they need.
11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives his life for the sheep. 12 A hired hand isn’t a shepherd and doesn’t own the sheep. When he sees a wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and quickly runs away. So the wolf drags the sheep away and scatters the flock. 13 The hired hand is concerned about what he’s going to get paid and not about the sheep.
14 “I am the good shepherd. I know my sheep as the Father knows me.[a] My sheep know me as I know the Father. 15 So I give my life for my sheep. 16 I also have other sheep that are not from this pen. I must lead them. They, too, will respond to my voice. So they will be one flock with one shepherd. 17 The Father loves me because I give my life in order to take it back again.
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