Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 61
Security in God
For the choir director: on stringed instruments. Davidic.
1 God, hear my cry;
pay attention to my prayer.(A)
2 I call to You from the ends of the earth
when my heart is without strength.(B)
Lead me to a rock that is high above me,(C)
3 for You have been a refuge for me,
a strong tower(D) in the face of the enemy.
4 I will live in Your tent forever
and take refuge under the shelter of Your wings.(E)
5 God, You have heard my vows;(F)
You have given a heritage
to those who fear Your name.(G)
6 Add days to the king’s life;
may his years span many generations.(H)
7 May he sit enthroned before God forever;(I)
appoint faithful love and truth to guard him.(J)
8 Then I will continually sing of Your name,(K)
fulfilling my vows day by day.(L)
Psalm 62
Trust in God Alone
For the choir director: according to Jeduthun.(M) A Davidic psalm.
1 I am at rest in God alone;
my salvation comes from Him.(N)
2 He alone is my rock and my salvation,(O)
my stronghold; I will never be shaken.(P)
3 How long will you threaten a man?
Will all of you attack[a]
as if he were a leaning wall
or a tottering stone fence?(Q)
4 They only plan to bring him down
from his high position.
They take pleasure in lying;
they bless with their mouths,
but they curse inwardly.(R)
5 Rest in God alone, my soul,
for my hope comes from Him.(S)
6 He alone is my rock and my salvation,(T)
my stronghold; I will not be shaken.(U)
7 My salvation and glory depend on God, my strong rock.
My refuge is in God.(V)
8 Trust in Him at all times, you people;
pour out your hearts before Him.
God is our refuge.(W)
Psalm 68
God’s Majestic Power
For the choir director. A Davidic psalm. A song.
1 God arises. His enemies scatter,
and those who hate Him flee from His presence.(A)
2 As smoke is blown away,
so You blow them away.
As wax melts before the fire,
so the wicked are destroyed before God.(B)
3 But the righteous are glad;
they rejoice before God and celebrate with joy.(C)
4 Sing to God! Sing praises to His name.
Exalt Him who rides on the clouds[a] —
His name is Yahweh[b]—and rejoice before Him.(D)
5 God in His holy dwelling is
a father of the fatherless
and a champion of widows.(E)
6 God provides homes for those who are deserted.
He leads out the prisoners to prosperity,[c]
but the rebellious live in a scorched land.(F)
7 God, when You went out before Your people,
when You marched through the desert,
8 the earth trembled and the skies poured down rain
before God, the God of Sinai,[d]
before God, the God of Israel.(G)
9 You, God, showered abundant rain;
You revived Your inheritance when it languished.(H)
10 Your people settled in it;
God, You provided for the poor by Your goodness.(I)
11 The Lord gave the command;
a great company of women brought the good news:(J)
12 “The kings of the armies flee—they flee!”
She who stays at home divides the spoil.(K)
13 While[e] you lie among the sheepfolds,[f]
the wings of a dove are covered with silver,
and its feathers with glistening gold.(L)
14 When the Almighty scattered kings in the land,
it snowed on Zalmon.[g](M)
15 Mount Bashan is God’s towering mountain;
Mount Bashan is a mountain of many peaks.(N)
16 Why gaze with envy, you mountain peaks,
at the mountain[h] God desired for His dwelling?
The Lord will live there forever!(O)
17 God’s chariots are tens of thousands,
thousands and thousands;(P)
the Lord is among them in the sanctuary[i]
as He was at Sinai.(Q)
18 You ascended to the heights, taking away captives;
You received gifts from[j] people,
even from the rebellious,
so that the Lord God might live there.[k](R)
19 May the Lord be praised!
Day after day He bears our burdens;
God is our salvation.(S)
20 Our God is a God of salvation,
and escape from death belongs to the Lord God.(T)
21 Surely God crushes the heads of His enemies,
the hairy head of one who goes on in his guilty acts.(U)
22 The Lord said, “I will bring them back from Bashan;
I will bring them back from the depths of the sea(V)
23 so that your foot may wade[l] in blood
and your dogs’ tongues may have their share
from the enemies.”(W)
24 People have seen Your procession, God,
the procession of my God,
my King, in the sanctuary.[m](X)
25 Singers[n] lead the way,
with musicians following;
among them are young women
playing tambourines.(Y)
26 Praise God in the assemblies;
praise the Lord from the fountain of Israel.(Z)
27 There is Benjamin, the youngest, leading them,
the rulers of Judah in their assembly,[o]
the rulers of Zebulun, the rulers of Naphtali.(AA)
28 Your God has decreed your strength.
Show Your strength, God,
You who have acted on our behalf.(AB)
29 Because of Your temple at Jerusalem,
kings will bring tribute to You.(AC)
30 Rebuke the beast[p] in the reeds,
the herd of bulls with the calves of the peoples.(AD)
Trample underfoot those with bars of silver.[q]
Scatter the peoples who take pleasure in war.(AE)
31 Ambassadors will come[r] from Egypt;
Cush will stretch out its hands[s] to God.(AF)
32 Sing to God, you kingdoms of the earth;
sing praise to the Lord,(AG)
33 to Him who rides in the ancient, highest heavens.(AH)
Look, He thunders with His powerful voice!(AI)
34 Ascribe power to God.
His majesty is over Israel,
His power among the clouds.(AJ)
35 God, You are awe-inspiring in Your sanctuaries.
The God of Israel gives power and strength to His people.
May God be praised!(AK)
52 “Wake up, wake up;
put on your strength, Zion!
Put on your beautiful garments,(A)
Jerusalem, the Holy City!(B)
For the uncircumcised and the unclean
will no longer enter you.(C)
2 Stand up, shake the dust off yourself!
Take your seat, Jerusalem.
Remove the bonds[a] from your neck,
captive Daughter Zion.”
3 For this is what the Lord says:
“You were sold for nothing,
and you will be redeemed without silver.”(D)
4 For this is what the Lord God says:
“At first My people went down to Egypt to live there,(E)
then Assyria oppressed them without cause.[b]
5 So now what have I here”—
this is the Lord’s declaration—
“that My people are taken away for nothing?
Its rulers wail”—
this is the Lord’s declaration—
“and My name is continually blasphemed all day long.(F)
6 Therefore My people will know My name;(G)
therefore they will know on that day
that I am He who says:
Here I am.”
7 How beautiful on the mountains
are the feet of the herald,
who proclaims peace,
who brings news of good things,(H)
who proclaims salvation,
who says to Zion, “Your God reigns!”(I)
8 The voices of your watchmen(J)—
they lift up their voices,
shouting for joy together;
for every eye will see
when the Lord returns to Zion.
9 Be joyful, rejoice together,
you ruins of Jerusalem!(K)
For the Lord has comforted His people;(L)
He has redeemed Jerusalem.
10 The Lord has displayed His holy arm
in the sight of all the nations;(M)
all the ends of the earth will see
the salvation of our God.(N)
11 Leave, leave, go out from there!(O)
Do not touch anything unclean;
go out from her, purify yourselves,(P)
you who carry the vessels of the Lord.
12 For you will not leave in a hurry,(Q)
and you will not have to take flight;
because the Lord is going before you,(R)
and the God of Israel is your rear guard.(S)
12 I beg you, brothers: Become like me, for I also became like you. You have not wronged me; 13 you know that previously I preached the gospel to you because of a physical illness. 14 You did not despise or reject me though my physical condition was a trial for you.[a] On the contrary, you received me as an angel of God, as Christ Jesus Himself.
15 What happened to this sense of being blessed you had? For I testify to you that, if possible, you would have torn out your eyes and given them to me. 16 Have I now become your enemy by telling you the truth?(A) 17 They[b] are enthusiastic about you, but not for any good. Instead, they want to isolate you so you will be enthusiastic about them. 18 Now it is always good to be enthusiastic about good—and not just when I am with you. 19 My children,(B) I am again suffering labor pains(C) for you until Christ is formed in you. 20 I would like to be with you right now and change my tone of voice, because I don’t know what to do about you.
Feeding 4,000
8 In(A) those days there was again a large crowd, and they had nothing to eat. He summoned(B) the disciples(C) and said to them, 2 “I have compassion(D) on the crowd, because they’ve already stayed with Me three days and have nothing to eat. 3 If I send them home hungry,[a] they will collapse on the way,(E) and some of them have come a long distance.”
4 His disciples answered Him, “Where can anyone get enough bread here in this desolate place to fill(F) these people?”
5 “How many loaves do you have?” He asked them.
“Seven,” they said. 6 Then He commanded the crowd to sit down on the ground. Taking the seven loaves, He gave thanks, broke(G) the loaves, and kept on giving them to His disciples to set before the people. So they served the loaves to the crowd. 7 They also had a few small fish, and when He had blessed them, He said these were to be served as well. 8 They ate and were filled. Then they collected seven large baskets of leftover pieces. 9 About 4,000 men were there. He dismissed them 10 and immediately got into the boat with His disciples and went to the district of Dalmanutha.[b]
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