Book of Common Prayer
Assurance of God’s Eternal Protection
To the Chief Musician. On [a]a stringed instrument. A Psalm of David.
61 Hear my cry, O God;
Attend to my prayer.
2 From the end of the earth I will cry to You,
When my heart is overwhelmed;
Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.
3 For You have been a shelter for me,
(A)A strong tower from the enemy.
4 I will abide in Your [b]tabernacle forever;
(B)I will trust in the shelter 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 You will prolong the king’s life,
His years as many generations.
7 He shall abide before God forever.
Oh, prepare mercy (C)and truth, which may [c]preserve him!
8 So I will sing praise to Your name forever,
That I may daily perform my vows.
A Calm Resolve to Wait for the Salvation of God
To the Chief Musician. To (D)Jeduthun. A Psalm of David.
62 Truly (E)my soul silently waits for God;
From Him comes my salvation.
2 He only is my rock and my salvation;
He is my [d]defense;
I shall not be greatly (F)moved.[e]
3 How long will you attack a man?
You shall be slain, all of you,
(G)Like a leaning wall and a tottering fence.
4 They only consult to cast him down from his high position;
They (H)delight in lies;
They bless with their mouth,
But they curse inwardly. Selah
5 My soul, wait silently for God alone,
For my [f]expectation is from Him.
6 He only is my rock and my salvation;
He is my defense;
I shall not be [g]moved.
7 (I)In God is my salvation and my glory;
The rock of my strength,
And my refuge, is in God.
8 Trust in Him at all times, you people;
(J)Pour out your heart before Him;
God is a refuge for us. Selah
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!
Isaac Is Born(A)
21 And the Lord (B)visited Sarah as He had said, and the Lord did for Sarah (C)as He had spoken. 2 For Sarah (D)conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age, (E)at the set time of which God had spoken to him. 3 And Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him—whom Sarah bore to him—(F)Isaac.[a] 4 Then Abraham (G)circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, (H)as God had commanded him. 5 Now (I)Abraham was one hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. 6 And Sarah said, (J)“God has [b]made me laugh, and all who hear (K)will laugh with me.” 7 She also said, “Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? (L)For I have borne him a son in his old age.”
Hagar and Ishmael Depart(M)
8 So the child grew and was weaned. And Abraham made a great feast on the same day that Isaac was weaned.
9 And Sarah saw the son of Hagar (N)the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, (O)scoffing.[c] 10 Therefore she said to Abraham, (P)“Cast out this bondwoman and her son; for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, namely with Isaac.” 11 And the matter was very [d]displeasing in Abraham’s sight (Q)because of his son.
12 But God said to Abraham, “Do not let it be displeasing in your sight because of the lad or because of your bondwoman. Whatever Sarah has said to you, listen to her voice; for (R)in Isaac your seed shall be called. 13 Yet I will also make (S)a nation of the son of the bondwoman, because he is your [e]seed.”
14 So Abraham rose early in the morning, and took bread and [f]a skin of water; and putting it on her shoulder, he gave it and the boy to Hagar, and (T)sent her away. Then she departed and wandered in the Wilderness of Beersheba. 15 And the water in the skin was used up, and she placed the boy under one of the shrubs. 16 Then she went and sat down across from him at a distance of about a bowshot; for she said to herself, “Let me not see the death of the boy.” So she sat opposite him, and lifted her voice and wept.
17 And (U)God heard the voice of the lad. Then the (V)angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said to her, “What ails you, Hagar? Fear not, for God has heard the voice of the lad where he is. 18 Arise, lift up the lad and hold him with your hand, for (W)I will make him a great nation.”
19 Then (X)God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water. And she went and filled the skin with water, and gave the lad a drink. 20 So God (Y)was with the lad; and he grew and dwelt in the wilderness, (Z)and became an archer. 21 He dwelt in the Wilderness of Paran; and his mother (AA)took a wife for him from the land of Egypt.
The Heavenly Hope
13 These all died in faith, (A)not having received the (B)promises, but (C)having seen them afar off [a]were assured of them, embraced them and (D)confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. 14 For those who say such things (E)declare plainly that they seek a homeland. 15 And truly if they had called to mind (F)that country from which they had come out, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed (G)to be called their God, for He has (H)prepared a city for them.
The Faith of the Patriarchs(I)
17 By faith Abraham, (J)when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, 18 [b]of whom it was said, (K)“In Isaac your seed shall be called,” 19 concluding that God (L)was able to raise him up, even from the dead, from which he also received him in a figurative sense.
20 By faith (M)Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come.
21 By faith Jacob, when he was dying, (N)blessed each of the sons of Joseph, and worshiped, leaning on the top of his staff.
22 By faith (O)Joseph, when he was dying, made mention of the departure of the children of Israel, and gave instructions concerning his bones.
Rejected by His Own
41 The Jews then [a]complained about Him, because He said, “I am the bread which came down from heaven.” 42 And they said, (A)“Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How is it then that He says, ‘I have come down from heaven’?”
43 Jesus therefore answered and said to them, [b]“Do not murmur among yourselves. 44 (B)No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me (C)draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day. 45 It is written in the prophets, (D)‘And they shall all be taught by God.’ (E)Therefore everyone who [c]has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me. 46 (F)Not that anyone has seen the Father, (G)except He who is from God; He has seen the Father. 47 Most assuredly, I say to you, (H)he who believes [d]in Me has everlasting life. 48 (I)I am the bread of life. 49 (J)Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and are dead. 50 (K)This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that one may eat of it and not die. 51 I am the living bread (L)which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and (M)the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.