Book of Common Prayer
Assurance of God’s Protection
To the choirmaster: with 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 thee,
when my heart is faint.
Lead thou me
to the rock that is higher than I;
3 for thou art my refuge,
a strong tower against the enemy.
4 Let me dwell in thy tent for ever!
Oh to be safe under the shelter of thy wings!Selah
5 For thou, O God, hast heard my vows,
thou hast given me the heritage of those who fear thy name.
6 Prolong the life of the king;
may his years endure to all generations!
7 May he be enthroned for ever before God;
bid steadfast love and faithfulness watch over him!
8 So will I ever sing praises to thy name,
as I pay my vows day after day.
Song of Trust in God Alone
To the choirmaster: according to Jeduthun. A Psalm of David.
62 For God alone my soul waits in silence;
from him comes my salvation.
2 He only is my rock and my salvation,
my fortress; I shall not be greatly moved.
3 How long will you set upon a man
to shatter him, all of you,
like a leaning wall, a tottering fence?
4 They only plan to thrust him down from his eminence.
They take pleasure in falsehood.
They bless with their mouths,
but inwardly they curse.Selah
5 For God alone my soul waits in silence,
for my hope is from him.
6 He only is my rock and my salvation,
my fortress; I shall not be shaken.
7 On God rests my deliverance and my honor;
my mighty rock, my refuge is God.
8 Trust in him at all times, O people;
pour out your heart before him;
God is a refuge for us.Selah
9 Men of low estate are but a breath,
men of high estate are a delusion;
in the balances they go up;
they are together lighter than a breath.
10 Put no confidence in extortion,
set no vain hopes on robbery;
if riches increase, set not your heart on them.
11 Once God has spoken;
twice have I heard this:
that power belongs to God;
12 and that to thee, O Lord, belongs steadfast love.
For thou dost requite a man
according to his work.
Praise and Thanksgiving
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. A Song.
68 [a]Let God arise, let 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 fire,
let the wicked perish before God!
3 But let the righteous be joyful;
let them exult before God;
let them be jubilant with joy!
4 Sing to God, sing praises to his name;
lift up a song to him who rides upon the clouds;[b]
his name is the Lord, exult before him!
5 Father of the fatherless and protector of widows
is God in his holy habitation.
6 God gives the desolate a home to dwell in;
he leads out the prisoners to prosperity;
but the rebellious dwell in a parched land.
7 O God, when thou didst go forth before thy people,
when thou didst march through the wilderness,Selah
8 the earth quaked, the heavens poured down rain,
at the presence of God;
yon Sinai quaked at the presence of God,
the God of Israel.
9 Rain in abundance, O God, thou didst shed abroad;
thou didst restore thy heritage as it languished;
10 thy flock found a dwelling in it;
in thy goodness, O God, thou didst provide for the needy.
11 The Lord gives the command;
great is the host of those who bore the tidings:
12 “The kings of the armies, they flee, they flee!”
The women at home divide the spoil,
13 though they stay among the sheepfolds—
the wings of a dove covered with silver,
its pinions with green gold.
14 When the Almighty scattered kings there,
snow fell on Zalmon.
15 O mighty mountain, mountain of Bashan;
O many-peaked mountain, mountain of Bashan!
16 Why look you with envy, O many-peaked mountain,
at the mount which God desired for his abode,
yea, where the Lord will dwell for ever?
17 With mighty chariotry, twice ten thousand,
thousands upon thousands,
the Lord came from Sinai into the holy place.[c]
18 Thou didst ascend the high mount,
leading captives in thy train,
and receiving gifts among men,
even among the rebellious, that the Lord God may dwell there.
19 Blessed be the Lord,
who daily bears us up;
God is our salvation.Selah
20 Our God is a God of salvation;
and to God, the Lord, belongs escape from death.
21 But God will shatter the heads of his enemies,
the hairy crown of him who walks in his guilty ways.
22 The Lord said,
“I will bring them back from Bashan,
I will bring them back from the depths of the sea,
23 that you may bathe[d] your feet in blood,
that the tongues of your dogs may have their portion from the foe.”
24 Thy solemn processions are seen,[e] O God,
the processions of my God, my King, into the sanctuary—
25 the singers in front, the minstrels last,
between them maidens playing timbrels:
26 “Bless God in the great congregation,
the Lord, O you who are of Israel’s fountain!”
27 There is Benjamin, the least of them, in the lead,
the princes of Judah in their throng,
the princes of Zeb′ulun, the princes of Naph′tali.
28 Summon thy might, O God;
show thy strength, O God, thou who hast wrought for us.
29 Because of thy temple at Jerusalem
kings bear gifts to thee.
30 Rebuke the beasts that dwell among the reeds,
the herd of bulls with the calves of the peoples.
Trample[f] under foot those who lust after tribute;
scatter the peoples who delight in war.[g]
31 Let bronze be brought from Egypt;
let Ethiopia hasten to stretch out her hands to God.
32 Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth;
sing praises to the Lord,Selah
33 to him who rides in the heavens, the ancient heavens;
lo, he sends forth his voice, his mighty voice.
34 Ascribe power to God,
whose majesty is over Israel,
and his power is in the skies.
35 Terrible is God in his[h] sanctuary,
the God of Israel,
he gives power and strength to his people.
Blessed be God!
6 While there was war between the house of Saul and the house of David, Abner was making himself strong in the house of Saul. 7 Now Saul had a concubine, whose name was Rizpah, the daughter of Ai′ah; and Ish-bo′sheth said to Abner, “Why have you gone in to my father’s concubine?” 8 Then Abner was very angry over the words of Ish-bo′sheth, and said, “Am I a dog’s head of Judah? This day I keep showing loyalty to the house of Saul your father, to his brothers, and to his friends, and have not given you into the hand of David; and yet you charge me today with a fault concerning a woman. 9 God do so to Abner and more also, if I do not accomplish for David what the Lord has sworn to him, 10 to transfer the kingdom from the house of Saul, and set up the throne of David over Israel and over Judah, from Dan to Beer-sheba.” 11 And Ish-bo′sheth could not answer Abner another word, because he feared him.
12 And Abner sent messengers to David at Hebron,[a] saying, “To whom does the land belong? Make your covenant with me, and behold, my hand shall be with you to bring over all Israel to you.” 13 And he said, “Good; I will make a covenant with you; but one thing I require of you; that is, you shall not see my face, unless you first bring Michal, Saul’s daughter, when you come to see my face.” 14 Then David sent messengers to Ish-bo′sheth Saul’s son, saying, “Give me my wife Michal, whom I betrothed at the price of a hundred foreskins of the Philistines.” 15 And Ish-bo′sheth sent, and took her from her husband Pal′ti-el the son of La′ish. 16 But her husband went with her, weeping after her all the way to Bahu′rim. Then Abner said to him, “Go, return”; and he returned.
17 And Abner conferred with the elders of Israel, saying, “For some time past you have been seeking David as king over you. 18 Now then bring it about; for the Lord has promised David, saying, ‘By the hand of my servant David I will save my people Israel from the hand of the Philistines, and from the hand of all their enemies.’” 19 Abner also spoke to Benjamin; and then Abner went to tell David at Hebron all that Israel and the whole house of Benjamin thought good to do.
20 When Abner came with twenty men to David at Hebron, David made a feast for Abner and the men who were with him. 21 And Abner said to David, “I will arise and go, and will gather all Israel to my lord the king, that they may make a covenant with you, and that you may reign over all that your heart desires.” So David sent Abner away; and he went in peace.
Paul’s Vision of the Man of Macedonia
6 And they went through the region of Phry′gia and Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia. 7 And when they had come opposite My′sia, they attempted to go into Bithyn′ia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them; 8 so, passing by My′sia, they went down to Tro′as. 9 And a vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of Macedo′nia was standing beseeching him and saying, “Come over to Macedo′nia and help us.” 10 And when he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go on into Macedo′nia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.[a]
The Conversion of Lydia
11 Setting sail therefore from Tro′as, we made a direct voyage to Sam′othrace, and the following day to Ne-ap′olis, 12 and from there to Philippi, which is the leading city of the district[b] of Macedo′nia, and a Roman colony. We remained in this city some days; 13 and on the sabbath day we went outside the gate to the riverside, where we supposed there was a place of prayer;[c] and we sat down and spoke to the women who had come together. 14 One who heard us was a woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyati′ra, a seller of purple goods, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to give heed to what was said by Paul. 15 And when she was baptized, with her household, she besought us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay.” And she prevailed upon us.
Feeding the Five Thousand
30 The apostles returned to Jesus, and told him all that they had done and taught. 31 And he said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a lonely place, and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. 32 And they went away in the boat to a lonely place by themselves. 33 Now many saw them going, and knew them, and they ran there on foot from all the towns, and got there ahead of them. 34 As he landed he saw a great throng, and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things. 35 And when it grew late, his disciples came to him and said, “This is a lonely place, and the hour is now late; 36 send them away, to go into the country and villages round about and buy themselves something to eat.” 37 But he answered them, “You give them something to eat.” And they said to him, “Shall we go and buy two hundred denarii[a] worth of bread, and give it to them to eat?” 38 And he said to them, “How many loaves have you? Go and see.” And when they had found out, they said, “Five, and two fish.” 39 Then he commanded them all to sit down by companies upon the green grass. 40 So they sat down in groups, by hundreds and by fifties. 41 And taking the five loaves and the two fish he looked up to heaven, and blessed, and broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples to set before the people; and he divided the two fish among them all. 42 And they all ate and were satisfied. 43 And they took up twelve baskets full of broken pieces and of the fish. 44 And those who ate the loaves were five thousand men.
Jesus Walks on the Water
45 Immediately he made his disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, to Beth-sa′ida, while he dismissed the crowd. 46 And after he had taken leave of them, he went up into the hills to pray.
The Revised Standard Version of the Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1965, 1966 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.