Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 61[a]
Prayer of the King in Time of Danger
1 For the leader; with stringed instruments. Of David.
I
2 Hear my cry, O God,
listen to my prayer!
3 From the ends of the earth[b] I call;
my heart grows faint.
Raise me up, set me on a rock,
4 for you are my refuge,
a tower of strength against the foe.(A)
5 Let me dwell in your tent forever,
take refuge in the shelter of your wings.(B)
Selah
II
6 For you, O God, have heard my vows,
you have granted me the heritage of those who revere your name.
7 Add days to the life of the king;
may his years be as from generation to generation;(C)
8 (D)May he reign before God forever;
send your love and fidelity[c] to preserve him—(E)
9 I will duly sing to your name forever,
fulfill my vows day after day.
Psalm 62[d]
Trust in God Alone
1 For the leader; ‘al Jeduthun.[e] A psalm of David.
I
2 My soul rests in God alone,(F)
from whom comes my salvation.
3 God alone is my rock and salvation,
my fortress; I shall never fall.
4 How long will you set yourself against a man?
You shall all be destroyed,
Like a sagging wall
or a tumbled down fence!
5 Even highly placed people
plot to overthrow him.
They delight in lies;
they bless with their mouths,
but inwardly they curse.(G)
Selah
II
6 My soul, be at rest in God alone,
from whom comes my hope.
7 God alone is my rock and my salvation,
my fortress; I shall not fall.
8 My deliverance and honor are with God,(H)
my strong rock;
my refuge is with God.
9 Trust God at all times, my people!
Pour out your hearts to God our refuge!
Selah
III
10 Mortals are a mere breath,
the sons of man but an illusion;(I)
On a balance they rise;[f]
together they weigh nothing.
11 Do not trust in extortion;
in plunder put no empty hope.
On wealth that increases,
do not set your heart.(J)
12 [g]One thing God has said;
two things I have heard:(K)
Strength belongs to God;
13 so too, my Lord, does mercy,
For you repay each man
according to his deeds.(L)
Psalm 68[a]
The Exodus and Conquest, Pledge of Future Help
1 For the leader. A psalm of David; a song.
I
2 [b]May God arise;
may his enemies be scattered;
may those who hate him flee before him.(A)
3 As the smoke is dispersed, disperse them;
as wax is melted by fire,
so may the wicked perish before God.(B)
4 Then the just will be glad;
they will rejoice before God;
they will celebrate with great joy.
II
5 Sing to God, praise his name;
exalt the rider of the clouds.[c]
Rejoice before him
whose name is the Lord.(C)
6 Father of the fatherless, defender of widows(D)—
God in his holy abode,
7 God gives a home to the forsaken,
who leads prisoners out to prosperity,
while rebels live in the desert.[d]
III
8 God, when you went forth before your people,(E)
when you marched through the desert,
Selah
9 The earth quaked, the heavens poured,
before God, the One of Sinai,
before God, the God of Israel.
10 You poured abundant rains, God,
your inheritance was weak and you repaired it.
11 Your creatures dwelt in it;
you will establish it in your goodness for the poor, O God.
IV
12 The Lord announced:
“Those bringing news are a great Army.
13 The kings of the armies are in desperate flight.(F)
Every household will share the spoil,
14 though you lie down among the sheepfolds,(G)
you shall be covered with silver as the wings of a dove,
her feathers bright as fine gold.”
15 When the Almighty routs the kings there,
it will be as when snow fell on Zalmon.[e]
V
16 You mountain of God, mountain of Bashan,
you rugged mountain, mountain of Bashan,
17 You rugged mountains, why look with envy
at the mountain[f] where God has chosen to dwell,
where the Lord resides forever?(H)
18 God’s chariots were myriad, thousands upon thousands;
from Sinai the Lord entered the holy place.
19 You went up to its lofty height;
you took captives, received slaves as tribute,(I)
even rebels, for the Lord God to dwell.
VI
20 Blessed be the Lord day by day,
God, our salvation, who carries us.(J)
Selah
21 Our God is a God who saves;
escape from death is the Lord God’s.
22 God will crush the heads of his enemies,
the hairy scalp of the one who walks in sin.(K)
23 The Lord has said:
“Even from Bashan I will fetch them,
fetch them even from the depths of the sea.[g]
24 You will wash your feet in your enemy’s blood;
the tongues of your dogs will lap it up.”(L)
VII
25 [h]Your procession comes into view, O God,
your procession into the holy place, my God and king.
26 The singers go first, the harpists follow;
in their midst girls sound the timbrels.(M)
27 In your choirs, bless God;
Lord, Israel’s fountain.
28 In the lead is Benjamin, few in number;
there the princes of Judah, a large throng,
the princes of Zebulun, the princes of Naphtali, too.(N)
VIII
29 Summon again, O God, your power,
the divine power you once showed for us,
30 From your temple on behalf of Jerusalem,
that kings may bring you tribute.
31 Roar at the wild beast of the reeds,[i]
the herd of mighty bulls, the calves of the peoples;
trampling those who lust after silver
scatter the peoples that delight in war.
32 Let bronze be brought from Egypt,(O)
Ethiopia hurry its hands to God.(P)
IX
33 You kingdoms of the earth, sing to God;(Q)
chant the praises of the Lord,
Selah
34 Who rides the heights of the ancient heavens,
Who sends forth his voice as a mighty voice?
35 Confess the power of God,
whose majesty protects Israel,
whose power is in the sky.
36 Awesome is God in his holy place,
the God of Israel,
who gives power and strength to his people.(R)
Blessed be God!
Prophetic Condemnation. 17 Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite: 18 Go down to meet Ahab, king of Israel, who is in Samaria. He will be in the vineyard of Naboth, where he has gone to take possession. 19 (A)Tell him: “Thus says the Lord: After murdering, do you also take possession?” And tell him, “Thus says the Lord: In the place where the dogs licked up the blood of Naboth, the dogs shall lick up your blood, too.”
20 [a]Ahab said to Elijah, “Have you found me out, my enemy?” He said, “I have found you. Because you have given yourself up to doing evil in the Lord’s sight, 21 (B)I am bringing evil upon you: I will consume you and will cut off every male belonging to Ahab, whether bond or free, in Israel. 22 I will make your house like that of Jeroboam, son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha, son of Ahijah, because you have provoked me by leading Israel into sin.”
23 Against Jezebel, too, the Lord declared: The dogs shall devour Jezebel in the confines of Jezreel.
24 Anyone of Ahab’s line who dies in the city,
dogs will devour;
Anyone who dies in the field,
the birds of the sky will devour.
25 Indeed, no one gave himself up to the doing of evil in the sight of the Lord as did Ahab, urged on by his wife Jezebel. 26 He became completely abominable by going after idols, just as the Amorites had done, whom the Lord drove out of the Israelites’ way.
27 When Ahab heard these words, he tore his garments and put on sackcloth over his bare flesh. He fasted, slept in the sackcloth, and went about subdued. 28 Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, 29 (C)Have you seen how Ahab has humbled himself before me? Since he has humbled himself before me, I will not bring the evil in his time. I will bring the evil upon his house in his son’s time.
20 Where is the wise one? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made the wisdom of the world foolish?(A) 21 [a]For since in the wisdom of God the world did not come to know God through wisdom, it was the will of God through the foolishness of the proclamation to save those who have faith. 22 For Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom,(B) 23 but we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles,(C) 24 but to those who are called, Jews and Greeks alike, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.
The Corinthians and Paul.[b] 26 Consider your own calling, brothers. Not many of you were wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. 27 Rather, God chose the foolish of the world to shame the wise, and God chose the weak of the world to shame the strong,(D) 28 and God chose the lowly and despised of the world, those who count for nothing, to reduce to nothing those who are something, 29 so that no human being might boast[c] before God.(E) 30 It is due to him that you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God, as well as righteousness, sanctification, and redemption,(F) 31 so that, as it is written, “Whoever boasts, should boast in the Lord.”(G)
12 (A)When he heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee. 13 He left Nazareth and went to live in Capernaum by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali,(B) 14 that what had been said through Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled:
15 “Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali,(C)
the way to the sea, beyond the Jordan,
Galilee of the Gentiles,
16 the people who sit in darkness
have seen a great light,
on those dwelling in a land overshadowed by death
light has arisen.”(D)
17 [a]From that time on, Jesus began to preach and say,(E) “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
The Call of the First Disciples.[b]
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