Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 61
For the music leader, with stringed instruments. Of David.
61 God, listen to my cry;
pay attention to my prayer!
2 When my heart is weak,
I cry out to you from the very ends of the earth.
Lead me to the rock that is higher than I am
3 because you have been my refuge,
a tower of strength in the face of the enemy.
4 Please let me live in your tent forever!
Please let me take refuge
in the shelter of your wings! Selah
5 Because you, God, have heard my promises;
you’ve given me[a] the same possession
as those who honor your name.
6 Add days to the king’s life!
Let his years extend for many generations!
7 Let him be enthroned forever before God!
Make it so love and faithfulness watch over him!
8 Then I will sing praises to your name forever,
and I will do what I promised every single day.
Psalm 62
For the music leader. According to Jeduthun. A psalm of David.
62 Only in God do I[b] find rest;
my salvation comes from him.
2 Only God is my rock and my salvation—
my stronghold!—I won’t be shaken anymore.
3 How long will all of you attack others;
how long will you tear them down[c]
as if they were leaning walls or broken-down fences?
4 The only desire of this people
is to bring others down low;
they delight in deception.
With their mouths they bless,
but inside they are cursing. Selah
5 Oh, I[d] must find rest in God only,
because my hope comes from him!
6 Only God is my rock and my salvation—
my stronghold!—I will not be shaken.
7 My deliverance and glory depend on God.
God is my strong rock.
My refuge is in God.
8 All you people: Trust in him at all times!
Pour out your hearts before him!
God is our refuge! Selah
9 Human beings are nothing but a breath.
Human beings are nothing but lies.
They don’t even register on a scale;
taken all together they are lighter than a breath!
10 Don’t trust in violence;
don’t set false hopes in robbery.
When wealth bears fruit,
don’t set your heart on it.
11 God has spoken one thing—
make it two things—
that I myself have heard:
that strength belongs to God,
12 and faithful love comes from you, my Lord—
and that you will repay
everyone according to their deeds.
Psalm 68
For the music leader. Of David. A psalm. A song.
68 Let God rise up;
let his enemies scatter;
let those who hate him
run scared before him!
2 Like smoke is driven away,
drive them away!
Like wax melting before fire,
let the wicked perish before God!
3 But let the righteous be glad
and celebrate before God.
Let them rejoice with gladness!
4 Sing to God! Sing praises to his name!
Exalt the one who rides the clouds!
The Lord is his name.
Celebrate before him!
5 Father of orphans and defender of widows
is God in his holy habitation.
6 God settles the lonely in their homes;
he sets prisoners free with happiness,[a]
but the rebellious dwell in a parched land.
7 When you went forth before your people, God,
when you marched through the wasteland, Selah
8 the earth shook!
Yes, heaven poured down
before God, the one from Sinai—
before God, the God of Israel!
9 You showered down abundant rain, God;
when your inheritance grew weary,
you restored it yourself,
10 and your creatures settled in it.
In your goodness, God,
you provided for the poor.
11 My Lord gives the command—
many messengers are bringing good news:
12 “The kings of armies are on the run!
The women back home divide the spoil.
13 Even if you lie down among the sheepfolds,
there are wings of a dove covered with silver;
its pinions covered in precious gold.”[b]
14 When the Almighty[c] scattered the kings there,
snow fell on Mount Zalmon.
15 Mighty mountain, Mount Bashan;
many-peaked mountain, Mount Bashan!
16 You many-peaked mountain:
Why do you look with envy
at the mountain God desired for his dwelling,
the mountain where the Lord dwells forever?
17 God’s chariots are twice ten thousand—
countless thousands!
My Lord came from Sinai[d] into the sanctuary.
18 You ascended the heights,
leading away your captives,
receiving tribute from people,
even from those who rebel
against the Lord God’s dwelling there.
19 Bless the Lord!
The God of our salvation
supports us day after day! Selah
20 Our God is the God of salvation,
and escape from certain death comes through God my Lord.
21 Yes, God will shatter the heads of his enemies—
the very skulls of those who walk in guilt.
22 My Lord has spoken:
“From Bashan I will bring those people back.
I will bring them back from the ocean’s depths
23 so that you can wash your feet in their blood,
so that your dogs’ tongues
can lap up their share of your enemies.”
24 They saw your procession, God—
the procession of my God,
my king, into the sanctuary.
25 First came the singers,
then the musicians;
between them the young women
were playing hand drums:
26 “Bless God in the great congregation;
bless the Lord from Israel’s fountain!”
27 There’s Benjamin leading them,
though he’s little;
then the princes of Judah,
their speaker;
then the princes of Zebulun
and the princes of Naphtali.
28 Summon your strength, God!
Show how strong you are, God,
just as you’ve done for us before,
29 from your temple above Jerusalem,
where kings bring you gifts.
30 Rebuke the wild animals of the marshland,
the herd of bulls among the calves of the peoples.
Trample those who delight in money;
scatter the peoples who take pleasure in battles.
31 Let ambassadors come from Egypt;
let Cush stretch out its hands to God.
32 Sing to God, all kingdoms of the earth!
Sing praises to my Lord. Selah
33 Sing to the one who rides through heaven,
the most ancient heaven.
Look! God sends forth his voice,
his mighty voice.
34 Recognize how strong God is!
His majesty extends over Israel;
his strength is in the clouds.
35 You are awesome, God, in your sanctuaries—
the God of Israel who gives strength and power to his people!
Bless God!
The Lord’s messenger condemns
2 The Lord’s messenger came up from Gilgal to Bochim and said, “I brought you up from Egypt and led you into the land that I had promised to your ancestors. I said, ‘I will never break my covenant with you, 2 and you are not to make a covenant with those who live in this land. You should break down their altars.’ But you didn’t obey me. What have you done? 3 So now I tell you, I won’t drive them out before you, but they’ll be a problem[a] for you, and their gods will be a trap for you.” 4 When the Lord’s messenger spoke these words to all the Israelites, they raised their voices and cried out loud. 5 So they named that place Bochim,[b] and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord there.
Israel’s pattern of sin and punishment
11 Then the Israelites did things that the Lord saw as evil: They served the Baals; 12 and they went away from the Lord, their ancestors’ God, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt. They went after other gods from among the surrounding peoples, they worshipped them, and they angered the Lord. 13 They went away from the Lord and served Baal and the Astartes. 14 So the Lord became angry with Israel, and he handed them over to raiders who plundered them. He let them be defeated by their enemies around them, so that they were no longer able to stand up to them. 15 Whenever the Israelites marched out, the Lord’s power worked against them, just as the Lord had warned them. And they were very distressed.
16 Then the Lord raised up leaders[a] to rescue them from the power of these raiders. 17 But they wouldn’t even obey their own leaders because they were unfaithful, following other gods and worshipping them. They quickly deviated from the way of their ancestors, who had obeyed the Lord’s commands, and didn’t follow their example.
18 The Lord was moved by Israel’s groaning under those who oppressed and crushed them. So the Lord would raise up leaders for them, and the Lord would be with the leader, and he would rescue Israel from the power of their enemies as long as that leader lived.
19 But then when the leader died, they would once again act in ways that weren’t as good as their ancestors’, going after other gods, to serve them and to worship them. They wouldn’t drop their bad practices or hardheaded ways. 20 So the Lord became angry with Israel and said, “Because this nation has violated my covenant that I required of their ancestors and hasn’t obeyed me, 21 I in turn will no longer drive out before them any of the nations that Joshua left when he died.” 22 As a test for Israel, to see whether they would carefully walk in the Lord’s ways just as their ancestors had done, 23 the Lord left these nations instead of driving them out immediately or handing them over to Joshua.
Warning against divisions
17 Brothers and sisters, I urge you to watch out for people who create divisions and problems against the teaching that you learned. Keep away from them. 18 People like that aren’t serving the Lord. They are serving their own feelings. They deceive the hearts of innocent people with smooth talk and flattery. 19 The news of your obedience has reached everybody, so I’m happy for you. But I want you to be wise about what’s good, and innocent about what’s evil. 20 The God of peace will soon crush Satan[a] under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.
Greetings from Paul’s coworkers
21 Timothy my coworker says hello to you, and Lucius, Jason, and Sosipater, my relatives. 22 I’m Tertius, and I’m writing this letter to you in the Lord—hello! 23 Gaius, who is host to me and to the whole church, says hello to you. Erastus the city treasurer says hello to you, along with our brother Quartus.[b]
Final prayer
25 May the glory be to God who can strengthen you with my good news and the message that I preach about Jesus Christ. He can strengthen you with the announcement of the secret[c] that was kept quiet for a long time. 26 Now that secret is revealed through what the prophets wrote. It is made known to the Gentiles[d] in order to lead to their faithful obedience based on the command of the eternal God. 27 May the glory be to God, who alone is wise! May the glory be to him through Jesus Christ forever! Amen.
Crucifixion
32 As they were going out, they found Simon, a man from Cyrene. They forced him to carry his cross. 33 When they came to a place called Golgotha, which means Skull Place, 34 they gave Jesus wine mixed with vinegar to drink. But after tasting it, he didn’t want to drink it. 35 After they crucified him, they divided up his clothes among them by drawing lots. 36 They sat there, guarding him. 37 They placed above his head the charge against him. It read, “This is Jesus, the king of the Jews.” 38 They crucified with him two outlaws, one on his right side and one on his left.
39 Those who were walking by insulted Jesus, shaking their heads 40 and saying, “So you were going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, were you? Save yourself! If you are God’s Son, come down from the cross.”
41 In the same way, the chief priests, along with the legal experts and the elders, were making fun of him, saying, 42 “He saved others, but he can’t save himself. He’s the king of Israel, so let him come down from the cross now. Then we’ll believe in him. 43 He trusts in God, so let God deliver him now if he wants to. He said, ‘I’m God’s Son.’” 44 The outlaws who were crucified with him insulted him in the same way.
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible