Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 61
Security in God
For the choir director: on stringed instruments. Of David.
1 God, hear my cry;
pay attention to my prayer.(A)
2 I call to you from the ends of the earth
when my heart is without strength.(B)
Lead me to a rock that is high above me,(C)
3 for you have been a refuge for me,
a strong tower(D) in the face of the enemy.
4 I will dwell in your tent forever
and take refuge under the shelter of your wings.(E)Selah
5 God, you have heard my vows;(F)
you have given a heritage
to those who fear your name.(G)
6 Add days to the king’s life;
may his years span many generations.(H)
7 May he sit enthroned before God forever.(I)
Appoint faithful love and truth to guard him.(J)
8 Then I will continually sing of your name,(K)
fulfilling my vows day by day.(L)
Psalm 62
Trust in God Alone
For the choir director: according to Jeduthun.(M) A psalm of David.
1 I am at rest in God alone;
my salvation comes from him.(N)
2 He alone is my rock and my salvation,(O)
my stronghold; I will never be shaken.(P)
3 How long will you threaten a man?
Will all of you attack[a]
as if he were a leaning wall
or a tottering fence?(Q)
4 They only plan to bring him down
from his high position.
They take pleasure in lying;
they bless with their mouths,
but they curse inwardly.(R)Selah
5 Rest in God alone, my soul,
for my hope comes from him.(S)
6 He alone is my rock and my salvation,(T)
my stronghold; I will not be shaken.(U)
7 My salvation and glory depend on God, my strong rock.
My refuge is in God.(V)
8 Trust in him at all times, you people;
pour out your hearts before him.
God is our refuge.(W)Selah
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)
Joseph’s Brothers in Egypt
42 When Jacob learned that there was grain in Egypt,(A) he said to his sons, “Why do you keep looking at each other? 2 Listen,” he went on, “I have heard there is grain in Egypt. Go down there and buy some for us so that we will live and not die.”(B) 3 So ten of Joseph’s brothers went down to buy grain from Egypt. 4 But Jacob did not send Joseph’s brother Benjamin with his brothers, for he thought, “Something might happen to him.”
5 The sons of Israel were among those who came to buy grain, for the famine was in the land of Canaan. 6 Joseph was in charge of the country; he sold grain to all its people. His brothers came and bowed down before him with their faces to the ground.(C) 7 When Joseph saw his brothers, he recognized them, but he treated them like strangers and spoke harshly to them.
“Where do you come from?” he asked.
“From the land of Canaan to buy food,” they replied.
8 Although Joseph recognized his brothers, they did not recognize him. 9 Joseph remembered his dreams about them(D) and said to them, “You are spies. You have come to see the weakness[a] of the land.”
10 “No, my lord. Your servants have come to buy food,” they said. 11 “We are all sons of one man. We are honest; your servants are not spies.”
12 “No,” he said to them. “You have come to see the weakness of the land.”
13 But they replied, “We, your servants, were twelve brothers, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan. The youngest is now[b] with our father, and one is no longer living.”
14 Then Joseph said to them, “I have spoken:[c] ‘You are spies!’ 15 This is how you will be tested: As surely as Pharaoh lives, you will not leave this place unless your youngest brother comes here. 16 Send one from among you to get your brother. The rest of you will be imprisoned so that your words can be tested to see if they are true. If they are not, then as surely as Pharaoh lives, you are spies!” 17 So Joseph imprisoned them together for three days.
Immoral Church Members
5 It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality(A) among you, and the kind of sexual immorality that is not even tolerated[a] among the Gentiles(B)—a man is sleeping with his father’s wife.(C) 2 And you are arrogant! Shouldn’t you be filled with grief(D) and remove from your congregation the one who did this? 3 Even though I am absent in the body, I am present in spirit.(E) As one who is present with you in this way, I have already pronounced judgment on the one who has been doing such a thing. 4 When you are assembled in the name of our Lord Jesus, and I am with you in spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus, 5 hand that one over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh,(F) so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord.(G)
6 Your boasting is not good. Don’t you know that a little leaven[b](H) leavens the whole batch of dough?(I) 7 Clean out the old leaven so that you may be a new unleavened batch, as indeed you are. For Christ our Passover lamb(J) has been sacrificed.[c] 8 Therefore, let us observe the feast, not with old leaven or with the leaven of malice and evil,(K) but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
19 and Judas Iscariot,(A) who also betrayed him.
A House Divided
20 Jesus entered a house, and the crowd gathered again so that they were not even able to eat.[a] 21 When his family(B) heard this, they set out to restrain him, because they said, “He’s out of his mind.”(C)
22 The scribes(D) who had come down from Jerusalem said, “He is possessed by Beelzebul,”(E) and, “He drives out(F) demons(G) by the ruler(H) of the demons.”(I)
23 So he summoned(J) them and spoke to them in parables:(K) “How can Satan(L) drive out Satan?(M) 24 If a kingdom(N) is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25 If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. 26 And if Satan opposes himself and is divided, he cannot stand but is finished. 27 But no one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his possessions unless he first ties up(O) the strong man. Then he can plunder his house.
28 “Truly I tell you, people will be forgiven for all sins and whatever blasphemies(P) they utter. 29 But whoever blasphemes(Q) against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness,(R) but is guilty(S) of an eternal sin”[b](T)— 30 because they were saying, “He has an unclean spirit.”(U)
True Relationships
31 His(V) mother(W) and his brothers(X) came, and standing outside, they sent word to him and called him. 32 A crowd was sitting around him and told him, “Look, your mother, your brothers,(Y) and your sisters[c] are outside asking for you.”
33 He replied to them, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” 34 Looking at those sitting in a circle around him, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers!(Z) 35 Whoever does the will of God(AA) is my brother and sister and mother.”
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