Book of Common Prayer
The God of Sinai and of the Sanctuary.
For the choir director. A Psalm of David. A Song.
68 [a]Let (A)God arise, [b]let His enemies be scattered,
And [c]let those who hate Him flee before Him.
2 As (B)smoke is driven away, so drive them away;
As (C)wax melts before the fire,
So let the (D)wicked perish before God.
3 But let the (E)righteous be glad; let them exult before God;
Yes, let them rejoice with gladness.
4 Sing to God, (F)sing praises to His name;
[d](G)Lift up a song for Him who (H)rides through the deserts,
Whose (I)name is [e]the Lord, and exult before Him.
5 A (J)father of the fatherless and a (K)judge [f]for the widows,
Is God in His (L)holy habitation.
6 God [g](M)makes a home for the lonely;
He (N)leads out the prisoners into prosperity,
Only (O)the rebellious dwell in a parched land.
7 O God, when You (P)went forth before Your people,
When You (Q)marched through the wilderness, [h]Selah.
8 The (R)earth quaked;
The (S)heavens also dropped rain at the presence of God;
[i](T)Sinai itself quaked at the presence of God, the God of Israel.
9 You (U)shed abroad a plentiful rain, O God;
You confirmed Your inheritance when it was [j]parched.
10 Your creatures settled in it;
You (V)provided in Your goodness for the poor, O God.
11 The Lord gives the [k]command;
The (W)women who proclaim the good tidings are a great host:
12 “(X)Kings of armies flee, they flee,
And she who remains at home will (Y)divide the spoil!”
13 [l]When you lie down (Z)among the [m]sheepfolds,
You are like the wings of a dove covered with silver,
And its pinions with glistening gold.
14 When the Almighty (AA)scattered the kings [n]there,
It was snowing in (AB)Zalmon.
15 A [o](AC)mountain of God is the mountain of Bashan;
A mountain of many peaks is the mountain of Bashan.
16 Why do you look with envy, O mountains with many peaks,
At the mountain which God has (AD)desired for His abode?
Surely (AE)the Lord will dwell there forever.
17 The (AF)chariots of God are [p]myriads, (AG)thousands upon thousands;
[q]The Lord is among them as at Sinai, in holiness.
18 You have (AH)ascended on high, You have (AI)led captive Your captives;
You have received gifts among men,
Even among the rebellious also, that [r]the Lord God may dwell there.
19 Blessed be the Lord, who daily (AJ)bears our burden,
(AK)The God who is our salvation. Selah.
20 God is to us a (AL)God of deliverances;
And (AM)to [s]God the Lord belong escapes [t]from death.
21 Surely God will (AN)shatter the head of His enemies,
The hairy crown of him who goes on in his guilty deeds.
22 The Lord [u]said, “(AO)I will bring them back from Bashan.
I will bring them back from the depths of the sea;
23 That [v](AP)your foot may shatter them in blood,
The tongue of your (AQ)dogs may have its portion from your enemies.”
24 They have seen (AR)Your [w]procession, O God,
The [x]procession of my God, my King, [y](AS)into the sanctuary.
25 The (AT)singers went on, the musicians after them,
[z]In the midst of the (AU)maidens beating tambourines.
26 (AV)Bless God in the congregations,
Even the Lord, you who are of the (AW)fountain of Israel.
27 There is (AX)Benjamin, the [aa]youngest, [ab]ruling them,
The princes of Judah in their throng,
The princes of (AY)Zebulun, the princes of Naphtali.
28 [ac]Your God has (AZ)commanded your strength;
Show Yourself strong, O God, (BA)who have acted [ad]on our behalf.
29 [ae]Because of Your temple at Jerusalem
(BB)Kings will bring gifts to You.
30 Rebuke the (BC)beasts [af]in the reeds,
The herd of (BD)bulls with the calves of the peoples,
Trampling under foot the pieces of silver;
He has (BE)scattered the peoples who delight in war.
31 Envoys will come out of (BF)Egypt;
[ag](BG)Ethiopia will quickly stretch out her hands to God.
32 Sing to God, O (BH)kingdoms of the earth,
(BI)Sing praises to the Lord, Selah.
33 To Him who (BJ)rides upon the [ah](BK)highest heavens, which are from ancient times;
Behold, (BL)He [ai]speaks forth with His voice, a (BM)mighty voice.
34 (BN)Ascribe strength to God;
His majesty is over Israel
And (BO)His strength is in the [aj]skies.
35 [ak]O God, You are (BP)awesome from Your [al]sanctuary.
The God of Israel Himself (BQ)gives strength and power to the people.
(BR)Blessed be God!
The Reign of the Righteous King.
A Psalm of Solomon.
72 Give the king (A)Your judgments, O God,
And (B)Your righteousness to the king’s son.
2 [a]May [b]he (C)judge Your people with righteousness
And [c](D)Your afflicted with justice.
3 [d]Let the mountains bring [e](E)peace to the people,
And the hills, in righteousness.
4 [f]May he (F)vindicate the [g]afflicted of the people,
Save the children of the needy
And crush the oppressor.
5 [h]Let them fear You (G)while the sun endures,
And [i]as long as the moon, throughout all generations.
6 [j]May he come down (H)like rain upon the mown grass,
Like (I)showers that water the earth.
7 In his days [k]may the (J)righteous flourish,
And (K)abundance of peace till the moon is no more.
8 May he also rule (L)from sea to sea
And from the River to the ends of the earth.
9 [l]Let (M)the nomads of the desert (N)bow before him,
And his enemies (O)lick the dust.
10 [m]Let the kings of (P)Tarshish and of the [n](Q)islands bring presents;
The kings of (R)Sheba and (S)Seba (T)offer [o]gifts.
11 [p]And let all (U)kings bow down before him,
All (V)nations serve him.
12 For he will (W)deliver the needy when he cries for help,
The [q]afflicted also, and him who has no helper.
13 He will have (X)compassion on the poor and needy,
And the [r]lives of the needy he will save.
14 He will [s](Y)rescue their [t]life from oppression and violence,
And their blood will be (Z)precious in his sight;
15 So may he live, and may the (AA)gold of Sheba be given to him;
And let [u]them pray for him continually;
Let [v]them bless him all day long.
16 May there be abundance of grain in the earth on top of the mountains;
Its fruit will wave like the cedars of (AB)Lebanon;
And may those from the city flourish like (AC)vegetation of the earth.
17 May his (AD)name endure forever;
May his name [w]increase [x](AE)as long as the sun shines;
And let men (AF)bless themselves by him;
(AG)Let all nations call him blessed.
18 (AH)Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel,
Who alone (AI)works wonders.
19 And blessed be His (AJ)glorious name forever;
And may the whole (AK)earth be filled with His glory.
(AL)Amen, and Amen.
20 The prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended.
Jacob’s Dream
10 Then Jacob departed from (A)Beersheba and went toward (B)Haran. 11 He [a]came to [b]a (C)certain place and spent the night there, because the sun had set; and he took one of the stones of the place and put it [c]under his head, and lay down in that place. 12 (D)He had a dream, and behold, a ladder was set on the earth with its top reaching to heaven; and behold, (E)the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. 13 And behold, (F)the Lord stood [d]above it and said, “I am the Lord, (G)the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie, I will give it (H)to you and to (I)your [e]descendants. 14 Your [f]descendants will also be like (J)the dust of the earth, and you will [g]spread out (K)to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south; and (L)in you and in your [h]descendants shall all the families of the earth be blessed. 15 Behold, (M)I am with you and (N)will keep you wherever you go, and (O)will bring you back to this land; for (P)I will not leave you until I have done what I have [i]promised you.” 16 Then Jacob (Q)awoke from his sleep and said, “(R)Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it.” 17 He was afraid and said, “(S)How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.”
18 So Jacob rose early in the morning, and took (T)the stone that he had put [j]under his head and set it up as a pillar and poured oil on its top. 19 He called the name of that place [k](U)Bethel; however, [l]previously the name of the city had been (V)Luz. 20 Then Jacob (W)made a vow, saying, “(X)If God will be with me and will keep me on this journey that I [m]take, and will give me [n](Y)food to eat and garments to wear, 21 and (Z)I return to my father’s house in [o]safety, (AA)then the Lord will be my God. 22 This stone, which I have set up as a pillar, (AB)will be God’s house, and (AC)of all that You give me I will surely give a tenth to You.”
13 (A)All these died in faith, (B)without receiving the promises, but (C)having seen them and having welcomed them from a distance, and (D)having confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. 14 For those who say such things make it clear that they are seeking a country of their own. 15 And indeed if they had been [a]thinking of that country from which they went out, (E)they would have had opportunity to return. 16 But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a (F)heavenly one. Therefore (G)God is not [b]ashamed to be (H)called their God; for (I)He has prepared a city for them.
17 By faith (J)Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had (K)received the promises was offering up his only begotten son; 18 it was he to whom it was said, “(L)In Isaac your [c]descendants shall be called.” 19 [d]He considered that (M)God is able to raise people even from the dead, from which he also received him back [e]as a (N)type. 20 By faith (O)Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau, even regarding things to come. 21 By faith (P)Jacob, as he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, and (Q)worshiped, leaning on the top of his staff. 22 By faith (R)Joseph, when he was dying, made mention of the exodus of the sons of Israel, and gave orders concerning his bones.
7 So Jesus said to them again, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am (A)the door of the sheep. 8 All who came before Me are (B)thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. 9 (C)I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they (D)may have life, and [a]have it abundantly.
11 “(E)I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd (F)lays down His life for the sheep. 12 He who is a hired hand, and not a (G)shepherd, who is not the owner of the sheep, sees the wolf coming, and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. 13 He flees because he is a hired hand and is not concerned about the sheep. 14 (H)I am the good shepherd, and (I)I know My own and My own know Me, 15 even as (J)the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and (K)I lay down My life for the sheep. 16 I have (L)other sheep, which are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will hear My voice; and they will become (M)one flock with (N)one shepherd. 17 For this reason the Father loves Me, because I (O)lay down My life so that I may take it again.
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