Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 61[a]
Prayer of the King in Time of Danger
1 For the leader; with stringed instruments. Of David.
I
2 Hear my cry, O God,
listen to my prayer!
3 From the ends of the earth[b] I call;
my heart grows faint.
Raise me up, set me on a rock,
4 for you are my refuge,
a tower of strength against the foe.(A)
5 Let me dwell in your tent forever,
take refuge in the shelter of your wings.(B)
Selah
II
6 For you, O God, have heard my vows,
you have granted me the heritage of those who revere your name.
7 Add days to the life of the king;
may his years be as from generation to generation;(C)
8 (D)May he reign before God forever;
send your love and fidelity[c] to preserve him—(E)
9 I will duly sing to your name forever,
fulfill my vows day after day.
Psalm 62[d]
Trust in God Alone
1 For the leader; ‘al Jeduthun.[e] A psalm of David.
I
2 My soul rests in God alone,(F)
from whom comes my salvation.
3 God alone is my rock and salvation,
my fortress; I shall never fall.
4 How long will you set yourself against a man?
You shall all be destroyed,
Like a sagging wall
or a tumbled down fence!
5 Even highly placed people
plot to overthrow him.
They delight in lies;
they bless with their mouths,
but inwardly they curse.(G)
Selah
II
6 My soul, be at rest in God alone,
from whom comes my hope.
7 God alone is my rock and my salvation,
my fortress; I shall not fall.
8 My deliverance and honor are with God,(H)
my strong rock;
my refuge is with God.
9 Trust God at all times, my people!
Pour out your hearts to God our refuge!
Selah
III
10 Mortals are a mere breath,
the sons of man but an illusion;(I)
On a balance they rise;[f]
together they weigh nothing.
11 Do not trust in extortion;
in plunder put no empty hope.
On wealth that increases,
do not set your heart.(J)
12 [g]One thing God has said;
two things I have heard:(K)
Strength belongs to God;
13 so too, my Lord, does mercy,
For you repay each man
according to his deeds.(L)
Psalm 68[a]
The Exodus and Conquest, Pledge of Future Help
1 For the leader. A psalm of David; a song.
I
2 [b]May God arise;
may his enemies be scattered;
may those who hate him flee before him.(A)
3 As the smoke is dispersed, disperse them;
as wax is melted by fire,
so may the wicked perish before God.(B)
4 Then the just will be glad;
they will rejoice before God;
they will celebrate with great joy.
II
5 Sing to God, praise his name;
exalt the rider of the clouds.[c]
Rejoice before him
whose name is the Lord.(C)
6 Father of the fatherless, defender of widows(D)—
God in his holy abode,
7 God gives a home to the forsaken,
who leads prisoners out to prosperity,
while rebels live in the desert.[d]
III
8 God, when you went forth before your people,(E)
when you marched through the desert,
Selah
9 The earth quaked, the heavens poured,
before God, the One of Sinai,
before God, the God of Israel.
10 You poured abundant rains, God,
your inheritance was weak and you repaired it.
11 Your creatures dwelt in it;
you will establish it in your goodness for the poor, O God.
IV
12 The Lord announced:
“Those bringing news are a great Army.
13 The kings of the armies are in desperate flight.(F)
Every household will share the spoil,
14 though you lie down among the sheepfolds,(G)
you shall be covered with silver as the wings of a dove,
her feathers bright as fine gold.”
15 When the Almighty routs the kings there,
it will be as when snow fell on Zalmon.[e]
V
16 You mountain of God, mountain of Bashan,
you rugged mountain, mountain of Bashan,
17 You rugged mountains, why look with envy
at the mountain[f] where God has chosen to dwell,
where the Lord resides forever?(H)
18 God’s chariots were myriad, thousands upon thousands;
from Sinai the Lord entered the holy place.
19 You went up to its lofty height;
you took captives, received slaves as tribute,(I)
even rebels, for the Lord God to dwell.
VI
20 Blessed be the Lord day by day,
God, our salvation, who carries us.(J)
Selah
21 Our God is a God who saves;
escape from death is the Lord God’s.
22 God will crush the heads of his enemies,
the hairy scalp of the one who walks in sin.(K)
23 The Lord has said:
“Even from Bashan I will fetch them,
fetch them even from the depths of the sea.[g]
24 You will wash your feet in your enemy’s blood;
the tongues of your dogs will lap it up.”(L)
VII
25 [h]Your procession comes into view, O God,
your procession into the holy place, my God and king.
26 The singers go first, the harpists follow;
in their midst girls sound the timbrels.(M)
27 In your choirs, bless God;
Lord, Israel’s fountain.
28 In the lead is Benjamin, few in number;
there the princes of Judah, a large throng,
the princes of Zebulun, the princes of Naphtali, too.(N)
VIII
29 Summon again, O God, your power,
the divine power you once showed for us,
30 From your temple on behalf of Jerusalem,
that kings may bring you tribute.
31 Roar at the wild beast of the reeds,[i]
the herd of mighty bulls, the calves of the peoples;
trampling those who lust after silver
scatter the peoples that delight in war.
32 Let bronze be brought from Egypt,(O)
Ethiopia hurry its hands to God.(P)
IX
33 You kingdoms of the earth, sing to God;(Q)
chant the praises of the Lord,
Selah
34 Who rides the heights of the ancient heavens,
Who sends forth his voice as a mighty voice?
35 Confess the power of God,
whose majesty protects Israel,
whose power is in the sky.
36 Awesome is God in his holy place,
the God of Israel,
who gives power and strength to his people.(R)
Blessed be God!
14 This is a vanity that occurs on earth: There are those who are just but are treated as though they had done evil, and those who are wicked but are treated as though they had done justly. This, too, I say is vanity. 15 (A)Therefore I praised joy, because there is nothing better for mortals under the sun than to eat and to drink and to be joyful; this will accompany them in their toil through the limited days of life God gives them under the sun.
16 I applied my heart to know wisdom and to see the business that is done on earth, though neither by day nor by night do one’s eyes see sleep, 17 (B)and I saw all the work of God: No mortal can find out the work that is done under the sun. However much mortals may toil in searching, no one finds it out; and even if the wise claim to know, they are unable to find it out.
B. No One Knows the Future
Chapter 9
1 All this I have kept in my heart and all this I examined: The just, the wise, and their deeds are in the hand of God. Love from hatred[a] mortals cannot tell; both are before them. 2 (C)Everything is the same for everybody: the same lot for the just and the wicked, for the good, for the clean and the unclean, for the one who offers sacrifice and the one who does not. As it is for the good, so it is for the sinner; as it is for the one who takes an oath, so it is for the one who fears an oath. 3 Among all the things that are done under the sun, this is the worst, that there is one lot for all. Hence the hearts of human beings are filled with evil, and madness is in their hearts during life; and afterward—to the dead!
4 For whoever is chosen among all the living has hope: “A live dog[b] is better off than a dead lion.” 5 (D)For the living know that they are to die, but the dead no longer know anything. There is no further recompense for them, because all memory of them is lost. 6 For them, love and hatred and rivalry have long since perished. Never again will they have part in anything that is done under the sun.
7 (E)Go, eat your bread[c] with joy and drink your wine with a merry heart, because it is now that God favors your works. 8 At all times let your garments be white, and spare not the perfume for your head. 9 Enjoy life with the wife you love, all the days of the vain life granted you under the sun. This is your lot in life, for the toil of your labors under the sun. 10 Anything you can turn your hand to, do with what power you have; for there will be no work, no planning, no knowledge, no wisdom in Sheol where you are going.
21 Tell me, you who want to be under the law, do you not listen to the law? 22 For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the slave woman and the other by the freeborn woman.(A) 23 The son of the slave woman was born naturally, the son of the freeborn through a promise.(B) 24 Now this is an allegory. These women represent two covenants. One was from Mount Sinai, bearing children for slavery; this is Hagar.(C) 25 Hagar represents Sinai,[a] a mountain in Arabia; it corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery along with her children. 26 But the Jerusalem above is freeborn, and she is our mother.(D) 27 For it is written:
“Rejoice, you barren one who bore no children;(E)
break forth and shout, you who were not in labor;
for more numerous are the children of the deserted one
than of her who has a husband.”[b]
28 Now you, brothers, like Isaac, are children of the promise.(F) 29 But just as then the child of the flesh persecuted the child of the spirit, it is the same now. 30 But what does the scripture say?
“Drive out the slave woman and her son!
For the son of the slave woman shall not share the inheritance with the son”(G)
of the freeborn. 31 Therefore, brothers, we are children not of the slave woman but of the freeborn woman.(H)
The Healing of Many People. 29 Moving on from there Jesus walked by the Sea of Galilee, went up on the mountain, and sat down there. 30 (A)Great crowds came to him, having with them the lame, the blind, the deformed, the mute, and many others. They placed them at his feet, and he cured them. 31 The crowds were amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the deformed made whole, the lame walking, and the blind able to see, and they glorified the God of Israel.
The Feeding of the Four Thousand.[a] 32 (B)Jesus summoned his disciples and said, “My heart is moved with pity for the crowd, for they have been with me now for three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, for fear they may collapse on the way.” 33 The disciples said to him, “Where could we ever get enough bread in this deserted place to satisfy such a crowd?” 34 Jesus said to them, “How many loaves do you have?” “Seven,” they replied, “and a few fish.” 35 He ordered the crowd to sit down on the ground. 36 Then he took the seven loaves and the fish, gave thanks,[b] broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, who in turn gave them to the crowds. 37 (C)They all ate and were satisfied. They picked up the fragments left over—seven baskets full. 38 Those who ate were four thousand men, not counting women and children. 39 And when he had dismissed the crowds, he got into the boat and came to the district of Magadan.
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.