Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 68
God’s Majestic Power
For the choir director. A psalm of David. A song.
1 God arises. His enemies scatter,
and those who hate him flee from his presence.(A)
2 As smoke is blown away,
so you blow them away.
As wax melts before the fire,
so the wicked are destroyed before God.(B)
3 But the righteous are glad;
they rejoice before God and celebrate with joy.(C)
4 Sing to God! Sing praises to his name.
Exalt him who rides on the clouds[a]—
his name is the Lord[b]—and celebrate before him.(D)
5 God in his holy dwelling is
a father of the fatherless
and a champion of widows.(E)
6 God provides homes for those who are deserted.
He leads out the prisoners to prosperity,[c]
but the rebellious live in a scorched land.(F)
7 God, when you went out before your people,
when you marched through the desert,Selah
8 the earth trembled and the skies poured rain
before God, the God of Sinai,[d]
before God, the God of Israel.(G)
9 You, God, showered abundant rain;
you revived your inheritance when it languished.(H)
10 Your people settled in it;
God, you provided for the poor by your goodness.(I)
11 The Lord gave the command;
a great company of women brought the good news:(J)
12 “The kings of the armies flee—they flee!”
She who stays at home divides the spoil.(K)
13 While[e] you lie among the sheep pens,[f]
the wings of a dove are covered with silver,
and its feathers with glistening gold.(L)
14 When the Almighty scattered kings in the land,
it snowed on Zalmon.[g](M)
15 Mount Bashan is God’s towering mountain;
Mount Bashan is a mountain of many peaks.(N)
16 Why gaze with envy, you mountain peaks,
at the mountain God desired for his abode?
The Lord will dwell there forever!(O)
17 God’s chariots are tens of thousands,
thousands and thousands;(P)
the Lord is among them in the sanctuary[h]
as he was at Sinai.(Q)
18 You ascended to the heights, taking away captives;
you received gifts from[i] people,
even from the rebellious,
so that the Lord God might dwell there.[j](R)
19 Blessed be the Lord!
Day after day he bears our burdens;
God is our salvation.(S)Selah
20 Our God is a God of salvation,
and escape from death belongs to the Lord my Lord.(T)
21 Surely God crushes the heads of his enemies,
the hairy brow of one who goes on in his guilty acts.(U)
22 The Lord said, “I will bring them back from Bashan;
I will bring them back from the depths of the sea(V)
23 so that your foot may wade[k] in blood
and your dogs’ tongues may have their share
from the enemies.”(W)
24 People have seen your procession, God,
the procession of my God,
my King, in the sanctuary.(X)
25 Singers lead the way,
with musicians following;
among them are young women
playing tambourines.(Y)
26 Bless God in the assemblies;
bless the Lord from the fountain of Israel.(Z)
27 There is Benjamin, the youngest, leading them,
the rulers of Judah in their assembly,[l]
the rulers of Zebulun, the rulers of Naphtali.(AA)
28 Your God has decreed your strength.
Show your strength, God,
you who have acted on our behalf.(AB)
29 Because of your temple at Jerusalem,
kings will bring tribute to you.(AC)
30 Rebuke the beast in the reeds,
the herd of bulls with the calves of the peoples.(AD)
Trample underfoot those with bars of silver.[m]
Scatter the peoples who take pleasure in war.(AE)
31 Ambassadors will come[n] from Egypt;
Cush will stretch out its hands to God.(AF)
32 Sing to God, you kingdoms of the earth;
sing praise to the Lord,(AG)Selah
33 to him who rides in the ancient, highest heavens.(AH)
Look, he thunders with his powerful voice!(AI)
34 Ascribe power to God.
His majesty is over Israel;
his power is among the clouds.(AJ)
35 God, you are awe-inspiring in your sanctuaries.
The God of Israel gives power and strength to his people.
Blessed be God!(AK)
Psalm 72
A Prayer for the King
Of Solomon.(A)
1 God, give your justice to the king
and your righteousness to the king’s son.(B)
2 He will judge your people with righteousness
and your afflicted ones with justice.(C)
3 May the mountains bring well-being[a] to the people
and the hills, righteousness.(D)
4 May he vindicate the afflicted among the people,
help the poor,
and crush the oppressor.(E)
5 May they fear you[b] while the sun endures
and as long as the moon, throughout all generations.(F)
6 May the king be like rain that falls on the cut grass,
like spring showers that water the earth.(G)
7 May the righteous[c] flourish in his days
and well-being abound
until the moon is no more.(H)
8 May he rule from sea to sea
and from the Euphrates
to the ends of the earth.(I)
9 May desert tribes kneel before him
and his enemies lick the dust.(J)
10 May the kings of Tarshish
and the coasts and islands bring tribute,
the kings of Sheba and Seba offer gifts.(K)
11 Let all kings bow in homage to him,
all nations serve him.(L)
12 For he will rescue the poor who cry out
and the afflicted who have no helper.(M)
13 He will have pity on the poor and helpless
and save the lives of the poor.(N)
14 He will redeem them from oppression and violence,
for their lives are[d] precious[e] in his sight.(O)
15 May he live long!
May gold from Sheba be given to him.
May prayer be offered for him continually,
and may he be blessed all day long.(P)
16 May there be plenty of grain in the land;
may it wave on the tops of the mountains.
May its crops be like Lebanon.
May people flourish in the cities
like the grass of the field.(Q)
17 May his name endure forever;
as long as the sun shines,
may his fame increase.
May all nations be blessed by him
and call him blessed.(R)
9 He entered a cave(A) there and spent the night.
Elijah’s Encounter with the Lord
Suddenly, the word of the Lord came to him, and he said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” (B)
10 He replied, “I have been very zealous(C) for the Lord God of Armies, but the Israelites have abandoned your covenant,(D) torn down your altars,(E) and killed your prophets(F) with the sword. I alone am left,(G) and they are looking for me to take my life.”(H)
11 Then he said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the Lord’s presence.”(I)
At that moment, the Lord passed by.(J) A great and mighty wind(K) was tearing at the mountains and was shattering cliffs before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake,(L) but the Lord was not in the earthquake. 12 After the earthquake there was a fire,(M) but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire there was a voice, a soft whisper.(N) 13 When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle(O) and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave.
Suddenly, a voice came to him and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
14 “I have been very zealous for the Lord God of Armies,” he replied, “but the Israelites have abandoned your covenant, torn down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they’re looking for me to take my life.”(P)
15 Then the Lord said to him, “Go and return by the way you came to the Wilderness of Damascus. When you arrive, you are to anoint Hazael(Q) as king over Aram. 16 You are to anoint Jehu(R) son of Nimshi as king over Israel and Elisha(S) son of Shaphat from Abel-meholah as prophet in your place. 17 Then Jehu will put to death whoever escapes the sword of Hazael,(T) and Elisha will put to death whoever escapes the sword of Jehu.(U) 18 But I will leave seven thousand in Israel(V)—every knee that has not bowed to Baal(W) and every mouth that has not kissed him.”(X)
Living the New Life
17 Therefore, I say this and testify in the Lord: You should no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thoughts. 18 They are darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them and because[a] of the hardness of their hearts. 19 They became callous and gave themselves over to promiscuity for the practice of every kind of impurity(A) with a desire for more and more.[b]
20 But that is not how you came to know Christ, 21 assuming you heard about him and were taught by him, as the truth(B) is in Jesus, 22 to take off[c](C) your former way of life,(D) the old self(E) that is corrupted by deceitful desires, 23 to be renewed[d] in the spirit(F) of your minds, 24 and to put on[e](G) the new self, the one created(H) according to God’s likeness(I) in righteousness and purity of the truth.
25 Therefore, putting away(J) lying, speak the truth, each one to his neighbor,[f](K) because we are members of one another. 26 Be angry and do not sin.[g](L) Don’t let the sun go down on your anger, 27 and don’t give the devil an opportunity. 28 Let the thief no longer steal. Instead, he is to do honest work with his own hands, so that he has something to share(M) with anyone in need. 29 No foul language should come from your mouth, but only what is good for building up someone in need,[h] so that it gives grace to those who hear. 30 And don’t grieve God’s Holy Spirit.(N) You were sealed by him[i] for the day of redemption.(O) 31 Let all bitterness, anger and wrath, shouting and slander be removed from you, along with all malice. 32 And be kind(P) and compassionate(Q) to one another, forgiving(R) one another, just as God also forgave you[j] in Christ.
15 Therefore, when Jesus realized that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king,(A) he withdrew again to the mountain by himself.
The Fifth Sign: Walking on Water
16 When(B) evening came, his disciples went down to the sea, 17 got into a boat, and started across the sea to Capernaum.(C) Darkness had already set in, but Jesus had not yet come to them. 18 A high wind arose, and the sea began to churn. 19 After they had rowed about three or four miles,[a] they saw Jesus walking on the sea. He was coming near the boat, and they were afraid. 20 But he said to them, “It is I.[b](D) Don’t be afraid.” 21 Then they were willing to take him on board, and at once the boat was at the shore where they were heading.
The Bread of Life
22 The next day, the crowd that had stayed on the other side of the sea saw there had been only one boat.[c](E) They also saw that Jesus had not boarded the boat with his disciples, but that his disciples had gone off alone. 23 Some boats from Tiberias(F) came near the place where they had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks. 24 When the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they got into the boats and went to Capernaum looking for Jesus. 25 When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, “Rabbi,(G) when did you get here?”
26 Jesus answered, “Truly I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw[d] the signs, but because you ate the loaves and were filled. 27 Don’t work for the food that perishes(H) but for the food that lasts for eternal life,(I) which the Son of Man(J) will give you, because God the Father(K) has set his seal of approval on him.”
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