Book of Common Prayer
The God of Sinai and of the Sanctuary.
For the music director. A Psalm of David. A Song.
68 [a]May (A)God arise, [b]may His enemies be scattered,
And [c]may those who hate Him flee from His presence.
2 As (B)smoke is driven away, so drive them away;
As (C)wax melts before a fire,
So the (D)wicked will perish before God.
3 But the (E)righteous will be joyful; they will rejoice before God;
Yes, they will rejoice with gladness.
4 Sing to God, (F)sing praises to His name;
[d](G)Exalt Him who (H)rides through the deserts,
Whose (I)name is [e]the Lord, and be jubilant before Him.
5 A (J)father of the fatherless and a (K)judge [f]for the widows,
Is God in His (L)holy dwelling.
6 God [g](M)makes a home for the lonely;
He (N)leads out the prisoners into prosperity,
Only (O)the rebellious live in parched lands.
7 God, when You (P)went forth before Your people,
When You (Q)marched through the desert, Selah
8 The (R)earth quaked;
The (S)heavens also dropped rain at the presence of God;
[h](T)Sinai itself quaked at the presence of God, the God of Israel.
9 You (U)made plentiful rain fall, God;
You confirmed Your inheritance when it was [i]parched.
10 Your creatures settled in it;
In Your kindness You (V)provided for the poor, God.
11 The Lord gives the [j]command;
The (W)women who proclaim good news are a great army:
12 “(X)Kings of armies flee, they flee,
And she who remains at home will (Y)divide the spoils!”
13 [k]When you lie down (Z)among the sheepfolds,
You are like the wings of a dove covered with silver,
And its pinions with [l]glistening gold.
14 When the Almighty (AA)scattered the kings [m]there,
It was snowing in (AB)Zalmon.
15 (AC)The mountain of Bashan is a [n]mountain of God;
The mountain of Bashan is a mountain of many peaks.
16 Why do you look with envy, you mountains of many peaks,
At the mountain God has (AD)desired as His dwelling?
Indeed, (AE)the Lord will dwell there forever.
17 The (AF)chariots of God are [o]myriads, (AG)thousands upon thousands;
[p]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 people,
Even among the rebellious as well, that [q]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 salvation;
And (AM)to [r]God the Lord belong ways of escape [s]from death.
21 God certainly will (AN)shatter the heads of His enemies,
The hairy [t]head of one who goes about in his guilt.
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 So that [v](AP)your foot may shatter them in blood,
And the tongue of your (AQ)dogs may have its portion from your enemies.”
24 They have seen (AR)Your procession, God,
The procession of my God, my King, [w](AS)into the sanctuary.
25 The (AT)singers went on, the musicians after them,
[x]In the midst of the (AU)young women beating tambourines.
26 (AV)Bless God in the congregations,
Even the Lord, you who are of the (AW)fountain of Israel.
27 (AX)Benjamin, the [y]youngest, is there, [z]ruling them,
The leaders of Judah in their company,
The leaders of (AY)Zebulun, the leaders of Naphtali.
28 [aa]Your God has (AZ)commanded your strength;
Show Yourself strong, God, You (BA)who acted [ab]in our behalf.
29 [ac]Because of Your temple at Jerusalem
(BB)Kings will bring gifts to You.
30 Rebuke the (BC)animals [ad]in the reeds,
The herd of (BD)bulls with the calves of the peoples,
Trampling the pieces of silver;
He has (BE)scattered the peoples who delight in war.
31 [ae]Messengers will come from (BF)Egypt;
[af](BG)Cush will quickly stretch out her hands to God.
32 Sing to God, you (BH)kingdoms of the earth,
(BI)Sing praises to the Lord, Selah
33 To Him who (BJ)rides upon the [ag](BK)highest heavens, which are from ancient times;
Behold, (BL)He [ah]speaks 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 [ai]skies.
35 [aj]God, You are (BP)awesome from Your [ak]sanctuary.
The God of Israel Himself (BQ)gives strength and power to the people.
(BR)Blessed be God!
The Reign of the Righteous King.
A Psalm of Solomon.
72 Give the king (A)Your judgments, God,
And (B)Your righteousness to the king’s son.
2 [a]May [b]he (C)judge Your people with righteousness
And [c](D)Your afflicted with justice.
3 [d]May the mountains bring [e](E)peace to the people,
And the hills, in righteousness.
4 [f]May he (F)vindicate the [g]afflicted of the people,
Save the children of the needy,
And crush the oppressor.
5 [h]May they fear You (G)while the sun shines,
And [i]as long as the moon shines, throughout all generations.
6 [j]May he come down (H)like rain upon the mown grass,
Like (I)showers that water the earth.
7 [k]May the (J)righteous flourish in his days,
As well as an (K)abundance of peace, until the moon is no more.
8 May he also rule (L)from sea to sea,
And from the Euphrates River to the ends of the earth.
9 [l]May (M)the nomads of the desert (N)bow before him,
And his enemies (O)lick the dust.
10 [m]May the kings of (P)Tarshish and of the [n](Q)islands bring gifts;
May the kings of (R)Sheba and (S)Seba (T)offer tributes.
11 [o]And may all (U)kings bow down before him,
All (V)nations serve him.
12 For he will (W)save the needy when he cries for help,
The [p]afflicted also, and him who has no helper.
13 He will have (X)compassion on the poor and needy,
And he will save the [q]lives of the needy.
14 He will [r](Y)rescue their [s]life from oppression and violence,
And their blood will be (Z)precious in his sight;
15 So may he live, and may the (AA)gold of Sheba be given to him;
And [t]they are to pray for him continually;
[u]They are to bless him all day long.
16 May there be abundance of grain on the earth on top of the mountains;
Its fruit will wave like the cedars of (AB)Lebanon;
And may those from the city flourish like the (AC)vegetation of the earth.
17 May his (AD)name endure forever;
May his name produce descendants [v](AE)as long as the sun shines;
And may people (AF)wish blessings on themselves by him;
(AG)May all nations call him blessed.
18 (AH)Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel,
Who alone (AI)works wonders.
19 And blessed be His (AJ)glorious name forever;
And may the whole (AK)earth be filled with His glory.
(AL)Amen and Amen.
20 The prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended.
Jacob’s Dream
10 Then Jacob departed from (A)Beersheba and went toward (B)Haran. 11 And he [a]happened upon a [b](C)particular place and spent the night there, because the sun had set; and he took one of the stones of the place and made it a support for his head, and lay down in that place. 12 And (D)he had a dream, and behold, a ladder was set up on the earth with its top reaching to heaven; and behold, (E)the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. 13 Then behold, (F)the Lord was standing [c]above it and said, “I am the Lord, (G)the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give (H)to you and to (I)your [d]descendants. 14 Your [e]descendants will also be like (J)the dust of the earth, and you will [f]spread out (K)to the west and to the east, and to the north and to the south; and (L)in you and in your [g]descendants shall all the families of the earth be blessed. 15 Behold, (M)I am with you and (N)will keep you wherever you go, and (O)will bring you back to this land; for (P)I will not leave you until I have done what I have [h]promised you.” 16 Then Jacob (Q)awoke from his sleep and said, “(R)The Lord is certainly in this place, and I did not know it!” 17 And he was afraid and said, “(S)How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven!”
18 So Jacob got up early in the morning, and took (T)the stone that he had placed as a support for his head, and set it up as a memorial stone, and poured oil on its top. 19 Then he named that place [i](U)Bethel; but [j]previously the name of the city had been (V)Luz. 20 Jacob also (W)made a vow, saying, “(X)If God will be with me and will keep me on this journey that I [k]take, and give me [l](Y)food to eat and garments to wear, 21 and (Z)I return to my father’s house in [m]safety, (AA)then the Lord will be my God. 22 And this stone, which I have set up as a memorial stone, (AB)will be God’s house, and (AC)of everything that You give me I will assuredly give a tenth to You.”
13 (A)All these died in faith, (B)without receiving the promises, but (C)having seen and welcomed them from a distance, and (D)having confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. 14 For those who say such things make it clear that they are seeking a country of their own. 15 And indeed if they had been [a]thinking of that country which they left, (E)they would have had opportunity to return. 16 But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a (F)heavenly one. Therefore (G)God is not [b]ashamed to be (H)called their God; for (I)He has prepared a city for them.
17 By faith (J)Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and the one who had (K)received the promises was offering up his [c]only son; 18 it was he to whom it was said, “(L)Through Isaac your [d]descendants shall be named.” 19 [e]He considered that (M)God is able to raise people even from the dead, from which he also received him back [f]as a [g](N)type. 20 By faith (O)Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau, even regarding things to come. 21 By faith (P)Jacob, as he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, and (Q)worshiped, leaning on the top of his staff. 22 By faith (R)Joseph, when he was dying, made mention of the exodus of the sons of Israel, and gave orders concerning his bones.
7 So Jesus said to them again, “Truly, truly I say to you, I am (A)the door of the sheep. 8 All those who came before Me are (B)thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. 9 (C)I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came so that they (D)would have life, and [a]have it abundantly.
11 “(E)I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd (F)lays down His life for the sheep. 12 He who is a hired hand, and not a (G)shepherd, who is not the owner of the sheep, sees the wolf coming, and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf snatches them and scatters the flock. 13 He flees because he is a hired hand and does not care about the sheep. 14 (H)I am the good shepherd, and (I)I know My own, and My own know Me, 15 just as (J)the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and (K)I lay down My life for the sheep. 16 And I have (L)other sheep that are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will listen to My voice; and they will become (M)one flock, with (N)one shepherd. 17 For this reason the Father loves Me, because I (O)lay down My life so that I may take it back.
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