Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 61
For the Music Director. With stringed instruments. A Psalm of David.
1 Hear my cry, O God,
attend to my prayer.
2 From the end of the earth I will cry to You;
when my heart faints,
lead me to the rock that is higher than I.
3 For You have been a refuge for me,
and a strong tower from the enemy.
4 I will abide in Your tent forever;
I will seek refuge in the covering of Your wings. Selah
5 For You, O God, have heard my vows;
You have given me the heritage of those who fear Your name.
6 May You prolong the king’s life,
and may his years be as many generations.
7 May he sit enthroned before God forever;
oh, prepare mercy and truth, which may preserve him.
8 Thus will I sing praise to Your name forever,
that I may fulfill my vows day by day.
Psalm 62
For the Music Director. According to Jeduthun. A Psalm of David.
1 My soul waits in silence on God alone;
from Him comes my salvation.
2 He only is my rock and my salvation;
He is my refuge; I will not be greatly shaken.
3 How long will you attack a man,
to batter him, all of you,
as you would a leaning wall, a tottering fence?
4 They only conspire to cast him down
from his high position;
they delight in lies,
they bless with their mouth,
but they curse inwardly. Selah
5 My soul, wait silently for God,
for my hope is from Him.
6 He only is my rock and my salvation;
He is my refuge; I will not be moved.
7 In God is my salvation and my glory;
the rock of my strength, and my shelter, is in God.
8 Trust in Him at all times;
you people, pour out your heart before Him;
God is a shelter for us. Selah
9 Surely people of low degree are a breath,
and men of high degree are a lie;
if they are placed in the balance,
they are altogether lighter than vapor.
10 Do not trust in oppression,
and do not become vain in robbery;
if riches increase,
do not set your heart on them.
11 God has spoken once,
twice have I heard this:
that power belongs to God.
12 Also to You, O Lord, belongs mercy;
for You render to each one
according to his work.
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!
Nehemiah Dedicates the City Wall
27 At the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem they sought to bring the Levites from all their places to Jerusalem to celebrate the dedication appropriately with thanksgiving songs and singing, accompanied by cymbals, harps, and lyres. 28 The members of choirs had assembled from the regions all around Jerusalem, from the villages of the Netophathites, 29 from Beth Gilgal, and from fields of Geba and Azmaveth, because they had built villages for themselves all around Jerusalem. 30 Then the priests and the Levites purified themselves. They also purified the people, the gates, and the wall.
31 Then I led the commanders of Judah up to the top of the wall and appointed two great thanksgiving choirs. The first choir proceeded to the right on the wall toward the Dung Gate.
42 and Maaseiah, Shemaiah, Eleazar, Uzzi, Jehohanan, Malkijah, Elam, and Ezer. The singers sang loudly. Jezrahiah was their director. 43 On that day they offered great sacrifices and rejoiced because God had given them great cause for rejoicing. The wives and the children rejoiced, too. From far away the joyful celebration of Jerusalem was heard.
Temple Responsibilities
44 At that time men were appointed to govern over the chambers for the treasures, for the contributions, for the first fruits, and for the tithes, so that they might gather into them out of the fields of the cities the legal portions belonging to the priests and Levites. This was because the celebration of Judah survived on the basis of the priests and the Levites 45 who, accompanied by the singers and the gatekeepers, attentively preserved the practices of their God and the practices of purification, according to the commandment of David and of his son Solomon. 46 For in the former days of David and Asaph there were leaders for the singers, the songs of praise, and thanksgivings to God. 47 All Israel in the days of Zerubbabel and Nehemiah gave the singers and the gatekeepers their portions, as specified daily. Likewise, they consecrated what was due to the Levites, who then consecrated what was due to the descendants of Aaron.
The Two Witnesses
11 I was given a reed like a measuring rod. The angel stood, saying, “Rise and measure the temple of God and the altar, and those who worship in it. 2 But exclude the court which is outside the temple, and do not measure it, for it has been given to the nations. They will trample on the Holy City for forty-two months. 3 And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for one thousand two hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth.” 4 These are the two olive trees and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth.[a] 5 If anyone desires to harm them, fire proceeds out of their mouth and devours their enemies. If anyone desires to harm them, he must be killed in this way. 6 They have power to shut heaven, that it may not rain during the days of their prophecy. They have power over waters to turn them into blood and to strike the earth with every plague as often as they desire.
7 When they have finished their testimony, the beast that ascends from the bottomless pit will wage war against them and overcome them and kill them. 8 Their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified. 9 Those from every people and tribe and tongue and nation will see their dead bodies for three and a half days, and will not allow their dead bodies to be put in graves. 10 Those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them and make merry and send gifts to one another, because these two prophets tormented those who dwell on the earth.
11 After the three and a half days, the breath[b] of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet, and great fear fell on those who saw them. 12 Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up here!” And they ascended to heaven in a cloud, while their enemies watched them.
13 At that same hour there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell. Seven thousand men were killed in the earthquake, and the remnant were frightened and gave glory to the God of heaven.
14 The second woe is past. Listen, the third woe is coming quickly.
The Seventh Trumpet
15 The seventh angel sounded, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying:
“The kingdoms of the world have become
the kingdoms of our Lord, and of His Christ,
and He shall reign forever and ever.”
16 And the twenty-four elders, who sat before God on their thrones, fell on their faces and worshipped God, 17 saying:
“We give You thanks, O Lord God Almighty,
who is and was and who is to come,
because You have taken Your great power
and begun to reign.
18 The nations were angry,
and Your wrath has come,
and the time has come for the dead to be judged,
and to reward Your servants the prophets
and the saints and those who fear Your name,
small and great,
and to destroy those who destroy the earth.”
19 Then the temple of God was opened in heaven, and the ark of His covenant was seen in His temple. And there came lightning, noises, thundering, an earthquake, and great hail.
The Parable of the Hidden Treasure
44 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid. And with joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.
The Parable of the Pearl of Great Price
45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, 46 who, on finding one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it.
The Parable of the Net
47 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was cast into the sea and gathered all kinds of fish. 48 When it was full, they drew it to shore, sat down, and gathered the good into baskets, but threw the bad away. 49 So shall it be at the end of the world. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous 50 and throw them into the fiery furnace. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.”
Treasures New and Old
51 Jesus said to them, “Have you understood all of these things?”
They said to Him, “Yes, Lord.”
52 Then He said to them, “Therefore every scribe who is discipled for the kingdom of heaven is like a man who is master of the household who brings out of his treasure new and old things.”
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.