Book of Common Prayer
Confidence in God’s Protection.
For the choir director; on a stringed instrument. A Psalm of David.
61 (A)Hear my cry, O God;
(B)Give heed to my prayer.
2 From the (C)end of the earth I call to You when my heart is (D)faint;
Lead me to (E)the rock that is higher than I.
3 For You have been a (F)refuge for me,
A (G)tower of strength [a]against the enemy.
4 Let me [b](H)dwell in Your tent forever;
Let me (I)take refuge in the shelter of Your wings. [c]Selah.
5 For You have heard my (J)vows, O God;
You have given me the inheritance of those who (K)fear Your name.
6 You will [d](L)prolong the king’s [e]life;
His years will be as many generations.
7 He will [f]abide (M)before God forever;
Appoint (N)lovingkindness and truth that they may preserve him.
8 So I will (O)sing praise to Your name forever,
That I may (P)pay my vows day by day.
God Alone a Refuge from Treachery and Oppression.
For the choir director; [g]according to Jeduthun. A Psalm of David.
62 (Q)My soul waits in silence for God only;
From Him (R)is my salvation.
2 He only is my (S)rock and my salvation,
My (T)stronghold; I shall not be greatly shaken.
3 How long will you assail a man,
That you may murder him, all of you,
Like a (U)leaning wall, like a tottering fence?
4 They have counseled only to thrust him down from his high position;
They (V)delight in falsehood;
They (W)bless with [h]their mouth,
But inwardly they curse. [i]Selah.
5 My soul, (X)wait in silence for God only,
For my hope is from Him.
6 He only is (Y)my rock and my salvation,
My stronghold; I shall not be shaken.
7 On God my (Z)salvation and my glory rest;
The rock of my strength, my (AA)refuge is in God.
8 (AB)Trust in Him at all times, O people;
(AC)Pour out your heart before Him;
God is a refuge for us. Selah.
The God of Sinai and of the Sanctuary.
For the choir director. A Psalm of David. A Song.
68 [a]Let (A)God arise, [b]let His enemies be scattered,
And [c]let those who hate Him flee before Him.
2 As (B)smoke is driven away, so drive them away;
As (C)wax melts before the fire,
So let the (D)wicked perish before God.
3 But let the (E)righteous be glad; let them exult before God;
Yes, let them rejoice with gladness.
4 Sing to God, (F)sing praises to His name;
[d](G)Lift up a song for Him who (H)rides through the deserts,
Whose (I)name is [e]the Lord, and exult before Him.
5 A (J)father of the fatherless and a (K)judge [f]for the widows,
Is God in His (L)holy habitation.
6 God [g](M)makes a home for the lonely;
He (N)leads out the prisoners into prosperity,
Only (O)the rebellious dwell in a parched land.
7 O God, when You (P)went forth before Your people,
When You (Q)marched through the wilderness, [h]Selah.
8 The (R)earth quaked;
The (S)heavens also dropped rain at the presence of God;
[i](T)Sinai itself quaked at the presence of God, the God of Israel.
9 You (U)shed abroad a plentiful rain, O God;
You confirmed Your inheritance when it was [j]parched.
10 Your creatures settled in it;
You (V)provided in Your goodness for the poor, O God.
11 The Lord gives the [k]command;
The (W)women who proclaim the good tidings are a great host:
12 “(X)Kings of armies flee, they flee,
And she who remains at home will (Y)divide the spoil!”
13 [l]When you lie down (Z)among the [m]sheepfolds,
You are like the wings of a dove covered with silver,
And its pinions with glistening gold.
14 When the Almighty (AA)scattered the kings [n]there,
It was snowing in (AB)Zalmon.
15 A [o](AC)mountain of God is the mountain of Bashan;
A mountain of many peaks is the mountain of Bashan.
16 Why do you look with envy, O mountains with many peaks,
At the mountain which God has (AD)desired for His abode?
Surely (AE)the Lord will dwell there forever.
17 The (AF)chariots of God are [p]myriads, (AG)thousands upon thousands;
[q]The Lord is among them as at Sinai, in holiness.
18 You have (AH)ascended on high, You have (AI)led captive Your captives;
You have received gifts among men,
Even among the rebellious also, that [r]the Lord God may dwell there.
19 Blessed be the Lord, who daily (AJ)bears our burden,
(AK)The God who is our salvation. Selah.
20 God is to us a (AL)God of deliverances;
And (AM)to [s]God the Lord belong escapes [t]from death.
21 Surely God will (AN)shatter the head of His enemies,
The hairy crown of him who goes on in his guilty deeds.
22 The Lord [u]said, “(AO)I will bring them back from Bashan.
I will bring them back from the depths of the sea;
23 That [v](AP)your foot may shatter them in blood,
The tongue of your (AQ)dogs may have its portion from your enemies.”
24 They have seen (AR)Your [w]procession, O God,
The [x]procession of my God, my King, [y](AS)into the sanctuary.
25 The (AT)singers went on, the musicians after them,
[z]In the midst of the (AU)maidens beating tambourines.
26 (AV)Bless God in the congregations,
Even the Lord, you who are of the (AW)fountain of Israel.
27 There is (AX)Benjamin, the [aa]youngest, [ab]ruling them,
The princes of Judah in their throng,
The princes of (AY)Zebulun, the princes of Naphtali.
28 [ac]Your God has (AZ)commanded your strength;
Show Yourself strong, O God, (BA)who have acted [ad]on our behalf.
29 [ae]Because of Your temple at Jerusalem
(BB)Kings will bring gifts to You.
30 Rebuke the (BC)beasts [af]in the reeds,
The herd of (BD)bulls with the calves of the peoples,
Trampling under foot the pieces of silver;
He has (BE)scattered the peoples who delight in war.
31 Envoys will come out of (BF)Egypt;
[ag](BG)Ethiopia will quickly stretch out her hands to God.
32 Sing to God, O (BH)kingdoms of the earth,
(BI)Sing praises to the Lord, Selah.
33 To Him who (BJ)rides upon the [ah](BK)highest heavens, which are from ancient times;
Behold, (BL)He [ai]speaks forth with His voice, a (BM)mighty voice.
34 (BN)Ascribe strength to God;
His majesty is over Israel
And (BO)His strength is in the [aj]skies.
35 [ak]O God, You are (BP)awesome from Your [al]sanctuary.
The God of Israel Himself (BQ)gives strength and power to the people.
(BR)Blessed be God!
The Reapers
14 Then I looked, and behold, a (A)white cloud, and sitting on the cloud was one (B)like [a]a son of man, having a golden (C)crown on His head and a sharp sickle in His hand. 15 And another angel (D)came out of the [b]temple, crying out with a loud voice to Him who sat on the cloud, “[c](E)Put in your sickle and reap, for the hour to reap has come, because the (F)harvest of the earth [d]is ripe.” 16 Then He who sat on the cloud [e]swung His sickle over the earth, and the earth was reaped.
17 And another angel (G)came out of the [f]temple which is in heaven, and he also had a sharp sickle. 18 Then another angel, (H)the one who has power over fire, came out from (I)the altar; and he called with a loud voice to him who had the sharp sickle, saying, “[g](J)Put in your sharp sickle and gather the clusters [h]from the vine of the earth, (K)because her grapes are ripe.” 19 So the angel [i]swung his sickle to the earth and gathered the clusters from the vine of the earth, and threw them into (L)the great wine press of the wrath of God. 20 And (M)the wine press was trodden (N)outside the city, and (O)blood came out from the wine press, up to the horses’ bridles, [j]for a distance of [k]two hundred miles.
A Scene of Heaven
15 Then I saw (P)another sign in heaven, great and marvelous, (Q)seven angels who had (R)seven plagues, which are (S)the last, because in them the wrath of God is finished.
2 And I saw something like a (T)sea of glass mixed with fire, and those who had (U)been victorious [l]over the (V)beast and (W)his image and the (X)number of his name, standing on the (Y)sea of glass, holding (Z)harps of God. 3 And they *sang the (AA)song of Moses, (AB)the bond-servant of God, and the (AC)song of the Lamb, saying,
“(AD)Great and marvelous are Your works,
(AE)O Lord God, the Almighty;
Righteous and true are Your ways,
(AF)King of the [m]nations!
4 “(AG)Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify Your name?
For You alone are holy;
For (AH)all the nations will come and worship before You,
For Your [n](AI)righteous acts have been revealed.”
5 After these things I looked, and (AJ)the [o]temple of the (AK)tabernacle of testimony in heaven was opened, 6 and the (AL)seven angels who had the seven plagues (AM)came out of the [p]temple, clothed in [q]linen, clean and bright, and (AN)girded around their chests with golden sashes. 7 Then one of the (AO)four living creatures gave to the (AP)seven angels seven (AQ)golden bowls full of the (AR)wrath of God, who (AS)lives forever and ever. 8 And the [r]temple was filled with (AT)smoke from the glory of God and from His power; and no one was able to enter the [s]temple until the seven plagues of the seven angels were finished.
Call to Repent
13 Now on the same occasion there were some present who reported to Him about the Galileans whose blood (A)Pilate had [a]mixed with their sacrifices. 2 And Jesus said to them, “(B)Do you suppose that these Galileans were greater sinners than all other Galileans because they suffered this fate? 3 I tell you, no, but unless you [b]repent, you will all likewise perish. 4 Or do you suppose that those eighteen on whom the tower in (C)Siloam fell and killed them were worse [c](D)culprits than all the men who live in Jerusalem? 5 I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”
6 And He began telling this parable: “A man had (E)a fig tree which had been planted in his vineyard; and he came looking for fruit on it and did not find any. 7 And he said to the vineyard-keeper, ‘Behold, for three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree [d]without finding any. (F)Cut it down! Why does it even use up the ground?’ 8 And he answered and said to him, ‘Let it alone, sir, for this year too, until I dig around it and put in fertilizer; 9 and if it bears fruit next year, fine; but if not, cut it down.’”
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