Book of Common Prayer
The Glory of God in His Goodness to Israel
To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David. A Song.
68 Let (A)God arise,
Let His enemies be scattered;
Let those also who hate Him flee before Him.
2 (B)As smoke is driven away,
So drive them away;
(C)As wax melts before the fire,
So let the wicked perish at the presence of God.
3 But (D)let the righteous be glad;
Let them rejoice before God;
Yes, let them rejoice exceedingly.
4 Sing to God, sing praises to His name;
(E)Extol[a] Him who rides on the [b]clouds,
(F)By His name [c]Yah,
And rejoice before Him.
5 (G)A father of the fatherless, a defender of widows,
Is God in His holy habitation.
6 (H)God sets the solitary in families;
(I)He brings out those who are bound into prosperity;
But (J)the rebellious dwell in a dry land.
7 O God, (K)when You went out before Your people,
When You marched through the wilderness, Selah
8 The earth shook;
The heavens also dropped rain at the presence of God;
Sinai itself was moved at the presence of God, the God of Israel.
9 (L)You, O God, sent a plentiful rain,
Whereby You confirmed Your inheritance,
When it was weary.
10 Your congregation dwelt in it;
(M)You, O God, provided from Your goodness for the poor.
11 The Lord gave the word;
Great was the [d]company of those who proclaimed it:
12 “Kings(N) of armies flee, they flee,
And she who remains at home divides the [e]spoil.
13 (O)Though you lie down among the [f]sheepfolds,
(P)You will be like the wings of a dove covered with silver,
And her feathers with yellow gold.”
14 (Q)When the Almighty scattered kings in it,
It was white as snow in Zalmon.
15 A mountain of God is the mountain of Bashan;
A mountain of many peaks is the mountain of Bashan.
16 Why do you [g]fume with envy, you mountains of many peaks?
(R)This is the mountain which God desires to dwell in;
Yes, the Lord will dwell in it forever.
17 (S)The chariots of God are twenty thousand,
Even thousands of thousands;
The Lord is among them as in Sinai, in the Holy Place.
18 (T)You have ascended on high,
(U)You have led captivity captive;
(V)You have received gifts among men,
Even from (W)the rebellious,
(X)That the Lord God might dwell there.
19 Blessed be the Lord,
Who daily loads us with benefits,
The God of our salvation! Selah
20 Our God is the God of salvation;
And (Y)to God the Lord belong escapes from death.
21 But (Z)God will wound the head of His enemies,
(AA)The hairy scalp of the one who still goes on in his trespasses.
22 The Lord said, “I will bring (AB)back from Bashan,
I will bring them back (AC)from the depths of the sea,
23 (AD)That [h]your foot may crush them in blood,
(AE)And the tongues of your dogs may have their portion from your enemies.”
24 They have seen Your [i]procession, O God,
The procession of my God, my King, into the sanctuary.
25 (AF)The singers went before, the players on instruments followed after;
Among them were the maidens playing timbrels.
26 Bless God in the congregations,
The Lord, from (AG)the fountain of Israel.
27 (AH)There is little Benjamin, their leader,
The princes of Judah and their [j]company,
The princes of Zebulun and the princes of Naphtali.
28 [k]Your God has (AI)commanded your strength;
Strengthen, O God, what You have done for us.
29 Because of Your temple at Jerusalem,
(AJ)Kings will bring presents to You.
30 Rebuke the beasts of the reeds,
(AK)The herd of bulls with the calves of the peoples,
Till everyone (AL)submits himself with pieces of silver.
Scatter the peoples who delight in war.
31 (AM)Envoys will come out of Egypt;
(AN)Ethiopia will quickly (AO)stretch out her hands to God.
32 Sing to God, you (AP)kingdoms of the earth;
Oh, sing praises to the Lord, Selah
33 To Him (AQ)who rides on the heaven of heavens, which were of old!
Indeed, He sends out His voice, a (AR)mighty voice.
34 (AS)Ascribe strength to God;
His excellence is over Israel,
And His strength is in the clouds.
35 O God, (AT)You are more awesome than Your holy places.
The God of Israel is He who gives strength and power to His people.
Blessed be God!
Glory and Universality of the Messiah’s Reign
A Psalm (A)of Solomon.
72 Give the king Your judgments, O God,
And Your righteousness to the king’s Son.
2 (B)He will judge Your people with righteousness,
And Your poor with justice.
3 (C)The mountains will bring peace to the people,
And the little hills, by righteousness.
4 (D)He will bring justice to the poor of the people;
He will save the children of the needy,
And will [a]break in pieces the oppressor.
5 [b]They shall fear You
(E)As long as the sun and moon endure,
Throughout all generations.
6 (F)He shall come down like rain upon the grass before mowing,
Like showers that water the earth.
7 In His days the righteous shall flourish,
(G)And abundance of peace,
Until the moon is no more.
8 (H)He shall have dominion also from sea to sea,
And from the River to the ends of the earth.
9 (I)Those who dwell in the wilderness will bow before Him,
(J)And His enemies will lick the dust.
10 (K)The kings of Tarshish and of the isles
Will bring presents;
The kings of Sheba and Seba
Will offer gifts.
11 (L)Yes, all kings shall fall down before Him;
All nations shall serve Him.
12 For He (M)will deliver the needy when he cries,
The poor also, and him who has no helper.
13 He will spare the poor and needy,
And will save the souls of the needy.
14 He will redeem their life from oppression and violence;
And (N)precious shall be their blood in His sight.
15 And He shall live;
And the gold of (O)Sheba will be given to Him;
Prayer also will be made for Him continually,
And daily He shall be praised.
16 There will be an abundance of grain in the earth,
On the top of the mountains;
Its fruit shall wave like Lebanon;
(P)And those of the city shall flourish like grass of the earth.
17 (Q)His name shall endure forever;
His name shall continue as long as the sun.
And (R)men shall be blessed in Him;
(S)All nations shall call Him blessed.
18 (T)Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel,
(U)Who only does wondrous things!
19 And (V)blessed be His glorious name forever!
(W)And let the whole earth be filled with His glory.
Amen and Amen.
20 The prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended.
9 And there he went into a cave, and spent the night in that place; and behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and He said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
10 So he said, (A)“I have been very (B)zealous for the Lord God of hosts; for the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and (C)killed Your prophets with the sword. (D)I alone am left; and they seek to take my life.”
God’s Revelation to Elijah
11 Then He said, “Go out, and stand (E)on the mountain before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord (F)passed by, and (G)a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; 12 and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire [a]a still small voice.
13 So it was, when Elijah heard it, that (H)he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave. (I)Suddenly a voice came to him, and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
14 (J)And he said, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God of hosts; because the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I alone am left; and they seek to take my life.”
15 Then the Lord said to him: “Go, return on your way to the Wilderness of Damascus; (K)and when you arrive, anoint Hazael as king over Syria. 16 Also you shall anoint (L)Jehu the son of Nimshi as king over Israel. And (M)Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel Meholah you shall anoint as prophet in your place. 17 (N)It shall be that whoever escapes the sword of Hazael, Jehu will (O)kill; and whoever escapes the sword of Jehu, (P)Elisha will kill. 18 (Q)Yet I have reserved seven thousand in Israel, all whose knees have not bowed to Baal, (R)and every mouth that has not kissed him.”
The New Man
17 This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should (A)no longer walk as [a]the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind, 18 having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the (B)blindness of their heart; 19 (C)who, being past feeling, (D)have given themselves over to lewdness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.
20 But you have not so learned Christ, 21 if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: 22 that you (E)put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, 23 and (F)be renewed in the spirit of your mind, 24 and that you (G)put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.
Do Not Grieve the Spirit
25 Therefore, putting away lying, (H)“Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor,” for (I)we are members of one another. 26 (J)“Be angry, and do not sin”: do not let the sun go down on your wrath, 27 (K)nor give [b]place to the devil. 28 Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather (L)let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something (M)to give him who has need. 29 (N)Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but (O)what is good for necessary [c]edification, (P)that it may impart grace to the hearers. 30 And (Q)do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 (R)Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, [d]clamor, and (S)evil speaking be put away from you, (T)with all malice. 32 And (U)be kind to one another, tenderhearted, (V)forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.
Jesus Walks on the Sea(A)
15 Therefore when Jesus perceived that they were about to come and take Him by force to make Him (B)king, He departed again to the mountain by Himself alone.
16 (C)Now when evening came, His disciples went down to the sea, 17 got into the boat, and went over the sea toward Capernaum. And it was already dark, and Jesus had not come to them. 18 Then the sea arose because a great wind was blowing. 19 So when they had rowed about [a]three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and drawing near the boat; and they were (D)afraid. 20 But He said to them, (E)“It is I; do not be afraid.” 21 Then they willingly received Him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land where they were going.
The Bread from Heaven
22 On the following day, when the people who were standing on the other side of the sea saw that there was no other boat there, except [b]that one [c]which His disciples had entered, and that Jesus had not entered the boat with His disciples, but His disciples had gone away alone— 23 however, other boats came from Tiberias, near the place where they ate bread after the Lord had given thanks— 24 when the people therefore saw that Jesus was not there, nor His disciples, they also got into boats and came to Capernaum, (F)seeking Jesus. 25 And when they found Him on the other side of the sea, they said to Him, “Rabbi, when did You come here?”
26 Jesus answered them and said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled. 27 (G)Do not labor for the food which perishes, but (H)for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, (I)because God the Father has set His seal on Him.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.