Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 61[a]
For the music director, to be played on a stringed instrument; written by David.
61 O God, hear my cry for help.
Pay attention to my prayer.
2 From the remotest place on earth[b]
I call out to you in my despair.[c]
Lead me[d] up to a rocky summit where I can be safe.[e]
3 Indeed,[f] you are[g] my shelter,
a strong tower that protects me from the enemy.[h]
4 I will be a permanent guest in your home;[i]
I will find shelter in the protection of your wings.[j] (Selah)
5 For you, O God, hear my vows;
you grant me the reward that belongs to your loyal followers.[k]
6 Give the king long life.
Make his lifetime span several generations.[l]
7 May he reign[m] forever before God.
Decree that your loyal love and faithfulness should protect him.[n]
8 Then I will sing praises to your name continually,[o]
as I fulfill[p] my vows day after day.
Psalm 62[q]
For the music director, Jeduthun; a psalm of David.
62 For God alone I patiently wait;[r]
he is the one who delivers me.[s]
2 He alone is my protector[t] and deliverer.
He is my refuge;[u] I will not be upended.[v]
3 How long will you threaten[w] a man like me?
All of you are murderers,[x]
as dangerous as a leaning wall or an unstable fence.[y]
4 They[z] spend all their time planning how to bring their victim[aa] down.[ab]
They love to use deceit;[ac]
they pronounce blessings with their mouths,
but inwardly they utter curses.[ad] (Selah)
5 Patiently wait for God alone, my soul![ae]
For he is the one who gives me hope.[af]
6 He alone is my protector[ag] and deliverer.
He is my refuge;[ah] I will not be shaken.
7 God delivers me and exalts me;
God is my strong protector and my shelter.[ai]
8 Trust in him at all times, you people!
Pour out your hearts before him.[aj]
God is our shelter. (Selah)
9 Men are nothing but a mere breath;
human beings are unreliable.[ak]
When they are weighed in the scales,
all of them together are lighter than air.[al]
10 Do not trust in what you can gain by oppression.[am]
Do not put false confidence in what you can gain by robbery.[an]
If wealth increases, do not become attached to it.[ao]
11 God has declared one principle;
two principles I have heard:[ap]
God is strong,[aq]
12 and you, O Lord, demonstrate loyal love.[ar]
For you repay men for what they do.[as]
Psalm 68[a]
For the music director, by David, a psalm, a song.
68 God springs into action.[b]
His enemies scatter;
his adversaries[c] run from him.[d]
2 As smoke is driven away by the wind, so you drive them away.[e]
As wax melts before fire,
so the wicked are destroyed before God.
3 But the godly[f] are happy;
they rejoice before God
and are overcome with joy.[g]
4 Sing to God! Sing praises to his name.
Exalt the one who rides on the clouds.[h]
For the Lord is his name.[i]
Rejoice before him.
5 He is a father to the fatherless
and an advocate for widows.[j]
God rules from his holy dwelling place.[k]
6 God settles in their own homes those who have been deserted;[l]
he frees prisoners and grants them prosperity.[m]
But sinful rebels live in the desert.[n]
7 O God, when you lead your people into battle,[o]
when you march through the wastelands,[p] (Selah)
8 the earth shakes.
Yes, the heavens pour down rain
before God, the God of Sinai,[q]
before God, the God of Israel.[r]
9 O God, you cause abundant showers to fall[s] on your chosen people.[t]
When they[u] are tired, you sustain them,[v]
10 for you live among them.[w]
You sustain the oppressed with your good blessings, O God.
11 The Lord speaks;[x]
many, many women spread the good news.[y]
12 Kings leading armies run away—they run away![z]
The lovely lady[aa] of the house divides up the loot.
13 When[ab] you lie down among the sheepfolds,[ac]
the wings of the dove are covered with silver
and with glittering gold.[ad]
14 When the Sovereign One[ae] scatters kings,[af]
let it snow[ag] on Zalmon.
15 The mountain of Bashan[ah] is a towering mountain;[ai]
the mountain of Bashan is a mountain with many peaks.[aj]
16 Why do you look with envy,[ak] O mountains[al] with many peaks,
at the mountain where God has decided to live?[am]
Indeed[an] the Lord will live there[ao] permanently.
17 God has countless chariots;
they number in the thousands.[ap]
The Lord comes from Sinai in holy splendor.[aq]
18 You ascend on high;[ar]
you have taken many captives.[as]
You receive tribute[at] from[au] men,
including even sinful rebels.
Indeed, the Lord God lives there.[av]
19 The Lord deserves praise.[aw]
Day after day[ax] he carries our burden,
the God who delivers us. (Selah)
20 Our God is a God who delivers;
the Lord, the Sovereign Lord, can rescue from death.[ay]
21 Indeed, God strikes the heads of his enemies,
the hairy foreheads of those who persist in rebellion.[az]
22 The Lord says,
“I will retrieve them[ba] from Bashan.
I will bring them back from the depths of the sea,
23 so that your feet may stomp[bb] in their blood,
and your dogs may eat their portion of the enemies’ corpses.”[bc]
24 They[bd] see your processions, O God—
the processions of my God, my king, who marches along in holy splendor.[be]
25 Singers walk in front;
musicians follow playing their stringed instruments,[bf]
in the midst of young women playing tambourines.[bg]
26 In your large assemblies praise God,
the Lord, in the assemblies of Israel.[bh]
27 There is little Benjamin, their ruler,[bi]
and the princes of Judah in their robes,[bj]
along with the princes of Zebulun and the princes of Naphtali.
28 God has decreed that you will be powerful.[bk]
O God, you who have acted on our behalf, demonstrate your power.
29 Because of your temple in Jerusalem,[bl]
kings bring tribute to you.
30 Sound your battle cry against[bm] the wild beast of the reeds,[bn]
and the nations that assemble like a herd of calves led by bulls.[bo]
They humble themselves[bp] and offer gold and silver as tribute.[bq]
God[br] scatters[bs] the nations that like to do battle.
31 They come with red cloth[bt] from Egypt.
Ethiopia[bu] voluntarily offers tribute[bv] to God.
32 O kingdoms of the earth, sing to God.
Sing praises to the Lord, (Selah)
33 to the one who rides through the sky from ancient times.[bw]
Look! He thunders loudly.[bx]
34 Acknowledge God’s power,[by]
his sovereignty over Israel,
and the power he reveals in the skies.[bz]
35 You are awe-inspiring, O God, as you emerge from your holy temple.[ca]
It is the God of Israel[cb] who gives the people power and strength.
God deserves praise![cc]
Abner Defects to David’s Camp
6 As the war continued between the house of Saul and the house of David, Abner was becoming more influential[a] in the house of Saul. 7 Now Saul had a concubine named Rizpah daughter of Aiah. Ish Bosheth[b] said to Abner, “Why did you sleep with[c] my father’s concubine?”[d]
8 These words of Ish Bosheth really angered Abner and he said, “Am I the head of a dog that belongs to Judah? This very day I am demonstrating[e] loyalty to the house of Saul your father and to his relatives[f] and his friends! I have not betrayed you into the hand of David. Yet you have accused me of sinning with this woman today![g] 9 God will severely judge Abner[h] if I do not do for David exactly what the Lord has promised him,[i] 10 namely, to transfer the kingdom from the house of Saul and to establish the throne of David over Israel and over Judah all the way from Dan to Beer Sheba!” 11 Ish Bosheth[j] was unable to answer Abner with even a single word because he was afraid of him.
12 Then Abner sent messengers[k] to David saying, “To whom does the land belong? Make an agreement[l] with me, and I will do whatever I can[m] to cause all Israel to turn to you.” 13 So David said, “Good! I will make an agreement with you. I ask only one thing from you. You will not see my face unless you bring Saul’s daughter Michal when you come to visit me.”[n]
14 David sent messengers to Ish Bosheth son of Saul with this demand:[o] “Give me my wife Michal whom I acquired[p] for 100 Philistine foreskins.” 15 So Ish Bosheth took her[q] from her husband Paltiel[r] son of Laish. 16 Her husband went along behind her, weeping all the way to Bahurim. Finally Abner said to him, “Go back!”[s] So he returned home.
17 Abner advised[t] the elders of Israel, “Previously you were wanting David to be your king.[u] 18 Act now! For the Lord has said to David, ‘By the hand of my servant David I will save[v] my people Israel from[w] the Philistines and from all their enemies.’”
19 Then Abner spoke privately with[x] the Benjaminites. Abner also went to Hebron to inform David privately[y] of all that Israel and the entire house of Benjamin had agreed to.[z] 20 When Abner, accompanied by twenty men, came to David in Hebron, David prepared a banquet for Abner and the men who were with him. 21 Abner said to David, “Let me leave so that I may go and gather all Israel to my lord the king so that they may make an agreement[aa] with you. Then you will rule over all that you desire.” So David sent Abner away, and he left in peace.
Paul’s Vision of the Macedonian Man
6 They went through the region of Phrygia[a] and Galatia,[b] having been prevented[c] by the Holy Spirit from speaking the message[d] in the province of Asia.[e] 7 When they came to[f] Mysia,[g] they attempted to go into Bithynia,[h] but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow[i] them to do this,[j] 8 so they passed through[k] Mysia[l] and went down to Troas.[m] 9 A[n] vision appeared to Paul during the night: A Macedonian man was standing there[o] urging him,[p] “Come over[q] to Macedonia[r] and help us!” 10 After Paul[s] saw the vision, we[t] attempted[u] immediately to go over to Macedonia,[v] concluding that God had called[w] us to proclaim the good news to them.
Arrival at Philippi
11 We put out to sea[x] from Troas[y] and sailed a straight course[z] to Samothrace,[aa] the next day to Neapolis,[ab] 12 and from there to Philippi, which is a leading city of that district[ac] of Macedonia,[ad] a Roman colony.[ae] We stayed in this city for some days. 13 On the Sabbath day we went outside the city gate to the side of the river, where we thought there would be a place of prayer, and we sat down[af] and began to speak[ag] to the women[ah] who had assembled there.[ai] 14 A[aj] woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth[ak] from the city of Thyatira,[al] a God-fearing woman, listened to us.[am] The Lord opened her heart to respond[an] to what Paul was saying. 15 After she and her household were baptized, she urged us,[ao] “If[ap] you consider me to be a believer in the Lord,[aq] come and stay in my house.” And she persuaded[ar] us.
The Feeding of the Five Thousand
30 Then[a] the apostles gathered around Jesus and told him everything they had done and taught. 31 He said to them, “Come with me privately to an isolated place and rest a while” (for many were coming and going, and there was no time to eat). 32 So they went away by themselves in a boat[b] to some remote place. 33 But many saw them leaving and recognized them, and they hurried on foot[c] from all the towns[d] and arrived there ahead of them.[e] 34 As Jesus[f] came ashore[g] he saw the large crowd and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So[h] he taught them many things.
35 When it was already late, his disciples came to him and said, “This is an isolated place[i] and it is already very late. 36 Send them away so that they can go into the surrounding countryside and villages and buy something for themselves to eat.” 37 But he answered them,[j] “You[k] give them something to eat.” And they said, “Should we go and buy bread for 200 silver coins[l] and give it to them to eat?” 38 He said to them, “How many loaves do you have? Go and see.” When they found out, they said, “Five—and two fish.” 39 Then he directed them all to sit down in groups on the green grass. 40 So they reclined in groups of hundreds and fifties. 41 He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. He[m] gave them to his[n] disciples to serve the people, and he divided the two fish among them all. 42 They all ate and were satisfied, 43 and they picked up the broken pieces and fish that were left over, twelve baskets full. 44 Now[o] there were 5,000 men[p] who ate the bread.[q]
Walking on Water
45 Immediately Jesus[r] made his disciples get into the boat[s] and go on ahead to the other side, to Bethsaida, while he dispersed the crowd. 46 After saying goodbye to them, he went to the mountain to pray.
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