Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 68
For the Music Director. A Psalm of David. A Song.
1 Let God arise, let His enemies be scattered;
let those who hate Him flee before Him.
2 As smoke is driven away,
You drive them away;
as wax melts before the fire,
so may the wicked perish before God.
3 But let the righteous be glad;
let them rejoice before God;
let them rejoice exceedingly.
4 Sing to God, sing praises to His name;
raise a song to Him who rides through the deserts—
His name is the Lord;
exult before Him.
5 A father of the fatherless, and a protector of the widows,
is God in His holy habitation.
6 God sets the deserted in families;
He brings out prisoners into prosperity,
but the rebellious dwell in a dry land.
7 O God, when You went forth before Your people,
when You marched through the wasteland, Selah
8 the earth shook;
the heavens also poured down rain
at the presence of God; even Sinai shook
at the presence of God, the God of Israel.
9 You, O God, sent plentiful rain;
You established Your inheritance when it was weary.
10 Your congregation has lived in it;
You, O God, by Your goodness have prepared for the poor.
11 The Lord gave the word;
great was the company of women who proclaimed it:
12 “Kings of armies flee; they flee!”
Even the women who were at home divided the spoil.
13 Though you sleep between the sheepfolds,
yet you will be like the wings of a dove overlaid with silver,
and its feathers with yellow gold.
14 When the Almighty scattered kings in it,
it was white as snow on Mount Zalmon.
15 The mountain of God is as the mountain of Bashan;
a mountain of many peaks like the mountain of Bashan.
16 Why are you envious, you mountains of many peaks?
This is the mountain which God desires to dwell in;
yes, the Lord will dwell in it forever.
17 The chariots of God are twice ten thousand, even thousands of thousands;
the Lord is among them, as in Sinai, in the holy place.
18 You have ascended on high,
You have led captivity captive;
You have received gifts from people,
yes, even from the rebellious,
that the Lord God might dwell among them.
19 Blessed be the Lord, who daily loads us with benefits,
even the God who is our salvation. Selah
20 That God is for us, the God of saving acts;
and to God the Lord belongs escape from death.
21 But God will shatter the head of His enemies,
and the scalp of one who walks in his trespasses.
22 The Lord said, “I will cause them to return from Bashan,
I will bring my people again from the depths of the sea,
23 that your foot may stomp in the blood of your enemies,
and the tongue of your dogs may have a portion in it.”
24 They have seen Your processions, O God,
the processions of my God, my King, in the sanctuary.
25 The singers went before,
the players on instruments followed after;
among them were the young women playing tambourines.
26 Bless God in the congregations,
the Lord, from the fountain of Israel.
27 There is little Benjamin leading them,
the princes of Judah and their throng of people,
the princes of Zebulun, and the princes of Naphtali.
28 Your God has commanded your strength;
strengthen, O God, what You have done for us.
29 From Your temple above Jerusalem,
kings will bring gifts to You.
30 Rebuke the animals that live among the reeds,
the herd of bulls, with the calves of the people,
until everyone submits himself with pieces of silver;
scatter peoples who delight in war.
31 Ambassadors will come out of Egypt;
Ethiopia will stretch out its hands to God.
32 Sing to God, you kingdoms of the earth;
oh, sing praises to the Lord; Selah
33 to Him who rides on the heavens, the ancient heavens;
He who sends out His voice, a mighty voice.
34 Ascribe strength to God;
His majesty is over Israel,
and His strength is in the clouds.
35 O God, You are awesome from Your sanctuaries;
the God of Israel is He who gives strength and power to people.
Blessed be God!
Psalm 72
A Psalm of Solomon.
1 Give the king Your judgments, O God,
and Your righteousness to the king’s son.
2 May he judge Your people with righteousness,
and Your poor with justice.
3 May the mountains bring well-being to the people,
and the hills, in righteousness.
4 May he judge the poor of the people,
may he save the children of the needy,
and crush the oppressor.
5 May they fear You as long as the sun endures,
and the moon, throughout all generations.
6 May he descend like rain on the mown grass,
as showers dripping on the earth.
7 In his days may the righteous flourish,
and abundance of peace until the moon is no more.
8 May he have dominion from sea to sea,
and from the River to the ends of the earth.
9 May those who dwell in the wilderness bow before him,
and his enemies lick the dust.
10 May the kings of Tarshish and of the isles
bring presents;
the kings of Sheba and Seba offer a gift.
11 May all kings bow down before him;
may all nations serve him.
12 Indeed, may he deliver the needy when he cries;
the poor also, and him who has no helper.
13 May he have compassion on the poor and needy,
and save the lives of the needy.
14 May he redeem their life from deceit and violence;
and may their blood be precious in his sight.
15 May he live long,
and may one give him the gold of Sheba;
and pray for him continually;
and all day long may he be blessed.
16 May there be abundance of grain in the earth
on the top of the mountains;
may its fruit shake like Lebanon;
and may those from the city flourish like grass of the earth.
17 May his name endure forever;
may his name increase as long as the sun.
May men be blessed in him;
may all nations call him blessed!
18 Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel,
who alone does wondrous deeds.
19 Blessed be His glorious name forever;
and may the whole earth be filled with His glory.
Amen, and Amen.
20 The prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended.
Elijah Hears the Lord
9 He came to a cave and camped there, and the word of the Lord came to him, and He said to him, “Why are you here, Elijah?”
10 And he said, “I have been very zealous for the Lord, Lord of Hosts, for the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, thrown down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword, and I alone am left, and they seek to take my life.”
11 He said, “Go and stand on the mountain before the Lord.”
And, behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind split the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind, an earthquake came, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. 12 And after the earthquake, a fire came, but the Lord was not in the fire, and after the fire, a still, small voice. 13 When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood in the entrance to the cave.
And a voice came to him and said, “Why are you here, Elijah?”
14 And he said, “I have been very zealous for the Lord, Lord of Hosts, because the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, thrown down Your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword, and I alone am left, and they seek to take my life.”
15 The Lord said to him, “Go, return on the road through the Wilderness of Damascus, and when you arrive, anoint Hazael to be king over Aram. 16 And you shall anoint Jehu, the son of Nimshi, to be king over Israel, and you shall anoint Elisha, the son of Shaphat of Abel Meholah, to be prophet in your place. 17 He who escapes the sword of Hazael will be killed by Jehu, and he who escapes the sword of Jehu will be killed by Elisha. 18 Still, I have preserved seven thousand men in Israel for Myself, all of whose knees have not bowed to Baal and whose mouths have not kissed him.”
The Old Life and New Life
17 Therefore this I say and testify in the Lord, that from now on you walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their minds, 18 having their understanding darkened, excluded from the life of God through the ignorance that is within them, due to the hardness of their hearts. 19 Being calloused they have given themselves over to sensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness.
20 But you did not learn about Christ in this manner, 21 if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: 22 that you put off the former way of life in the old nature, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, 23 and be renewed in the spirit of your mind; 24 and that you put on the new nature, which was created according to God in righteousness and true holiness.
Rules for the New Life
25 Therefore, putting away lying, let every man speak truthfully with his neighbor, for we are members of one another. 26 Be angry but do not sin. Do not let the sun go down on your anger. 27 Do not give place to the devil. 28 Let him who steals steal no more. Instead, let him labor, working with his hands things which are good, that he may have something to share with him who is in need.
29 Let no unwholesome word proceed out of your mouth, but only that which is good for building up, that it may give grace to the listeners. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, in whom you are sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, outbursts, and blasphemies, with all malice, be taken away from you. 32 And be kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ also forgave you.
15 Therefore, knowing that they would come and take Him by force to make Him king, Jesus departed again to a mountain by Himself alone.
Walking on the Water(A)
16 Now when evening came, His disciples went down to the sea. 17 They got into a boat and went across the sea toward Capernaum. It was now dark, and Jesus had not come to them. 18 The sea was stirred up because a strong wind was blowing. 19 So when they had rowed about three or four miles,[a] they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat. And they were afraid. 20 But He said to them, “It is I. Do not be afraid.” 21 Then they gladly received Him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going.
Jesus the Bread of Life
22 The following day the people who stood on the other side of the sea saw that there was no other boat there, except the one which His disciples had entered, and that Jesus had not entered the boat with His disciples, but that His disciples had gone away alone. 23 However, other boats came from Tiberias near the place where they ate bread when the Lord had given thanks. 24 When the people therefore saw that neither Jesus nor His disciples were there, they also got into boats and came to Capernaum, looking for Jesus.
25 When they found Him on the other side of the sea, they said to Him, “Rabbi, when did You come here?”
26 Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly I say to you, you seek Me not because you saw signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled. 27 Do not work for the food which perishes, but for that food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For God the Father has set His seal on Him.”
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.