Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 61
Security in God
For the choir director: on stringed instruments. Davidic.
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 live in Your tent forever
and take refuge under the shelter of Your wings.(E)
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 Davidic psalm.
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 stone 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)
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)
Psalm 68
God’s Majestic Power
For the choir director. A Davidic psalm. 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 Yahweh[b]—and rejoice 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,
8 the earth trembled and the skies poured down 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 sheepfolds,[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[h] God desired for His dwelling?
The Lord will live there forever!(O)
17 God’s chariots are tens of thousands,
thousands and thousands;(P)
the Lord is among them in the sanctuary[i]
as He was at Sinai.(Q)
18 You ascended to the heights, taking away captives;
You received gifts from[j] people,
even from the rebellious,
so that the Lord God might live there.[k](R)
19 May the Lord be praised!
Day after day He bears our burdens;
God is our salvation.(S)
20 Our God is a God of salvation,
and escape from death belongs to the Lord God.(T)
21 Surely God crushes the heads of His enemies,
the hairy head 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[l] 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.[m](X)
25 Singers[n] lead the way,
with musicians following;
among them are young women
playing tambourines.(Y)
26 Praise God in the assemblies;
praise the Lord from the fountain of Israel.(Z)
27 There is Benjamin, the youngest, leading them,
the rulers of Judah in their assembly,[o]
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[p] in the reeds,
the herd of bulls with the calves of the peoples.(AD)
Trample underfoot those with bars of silver.[q]
Scatter the peoples who take pleasure in war.(AE)
31 Ambassadors will come[r] from Egypt;
Cush will stretch out its hands[s] to God.(AF)
32 Sing to God, you kingdoms of the earth;
sing praise to the Lord,(AG)
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 among the clouds.(AJ)
35 God, You are awe-inspiring in Your sanctuaries.
The God of Israel gives power and strength to His people.
May God be praised!(AK)
Pattern of Sin and Judgment
2 The Angel of the Lord(A) went up from Gilgal to Bochim[a] and said, “I brought you out of Egypt and led you into the land(B) I had promised to your fathers.(C) I also said: I will never break My covenant with you. 2 You are not to make a covenant(D) with the people who are living in this land, and you are to tear down their altars.[b](E) But you have not obeyed Me. What is this you have done? 3 Therefore, I now say: I will not drive out these people before you.(F) They will be thorns[c][d] in your sides,(G) and their gods will be a trap for you.”(H) 4 When the Angel of the Lord had spoken these words to all the Israelites, the people wept loudly. 5 So they named that place Bochim[e] and offered sacrifices there to the Lord.
11 The Israelites did what was evil in the Lord’s sight.(A) They worshiped the Baals(B) 12 and abandoned the Lord, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of Egypt. They went after other gods from the surrounding peoples(C) and bowed down to them. They infuriated the Lord,(D) 13 for they abandoned Him and worshiped Baal and the Ashtoreths.(E)
14 The Lord’s anger burned against Israel, and He handed them over to marauders who raided them. He sold(F) them to[a] the enemies around them, and they could no longer resist their enemies. 15 Whenever the Israelites went out, the Lord[b] was against them(G) and brought disaster on them, just as He had promised and sworn to them.(H) So they suffered greatly.
16 The Lord raised up(I) judges, who saved them from the power of their marauders, 17 but they did not listen to their judges. Instead, they prostituted(J) themselves with other gods, bowing down to them. They quickly turned from the way(K) of their fathers, who had walked in obedience to the Lord’s commands. They did not do as their fathers did. 18 Whenever the Lord raised up a judge for the Israelites, the Lord was with(L) him and saved the people from the power of their enemies while the judge was still alive.[c] The Lord was moved to pity whenever they groaned because of those who were oppressing and afflicting them. 19 Whenever the judge died, the Israelites would act even more corruptly(M) than their fathers, going after other gods to worship and bow down to them. They did not turn from their evil practices or their obstinate(N) ways.
20 The Lord’s anger burned against Israel, and He declared, “Because this nation has violated My covenant(O) that I made with their fathers(P) and disobeyed Me, 21 I will no longer drive out before them any of the nations Joshua left(Q) when he died.(R) 22 I did this to test Israel and to see whether they would keep the Lord’s way(S) by walking in it, as their fathers had.”(T) 23 The Lord left these nations and did not drive them out immediately. He did not hand them over to Joshua.
Warning against Divisive People
17 Now I urge you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause dissensions and obstacles contrary to the doctrine you have learned.(A) Avoid them,(B) 18 for such people do not serve our Lord Christ(C) but their own appetites.[a](D) They deceive the hearts of the unsuspecting with smooth talk and flattering words.(E)
Paul’s Gracious Conclusion
19 The report of your obedience has reached everyone.(F) Therefore I rejoice over you. But I want you to be wise about what is good, yet innocent about what is evil.(G) 20 The God of peace(H) will soon crush Satan(I) under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.(J)
21 Timothy,(K) my coworker, and Lucius,(L) Jason,(M) and Sosipater,(N) my fellow countrymen, greet you.
22 I Tertius, who wrote this letter,(O) greet you in the Lord.[b]
23 Gaius,(P) who is host to me and to the whole church, greets you. Erastus,(Q) the city treasurer, and our brother Quartus greet you.
[24 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.][c]
Glory to God
25 Now to Him who has power to strengthen you(R) according to my gospel and the proclamation about Jesus Christ,(S) according to the revelation of the mystery kept silent(T) for long ages(U) 26 but now revealed and made known through the prophetic Scriptures,(V) according to the command of the eternal God to advance the obedience of faith[d](W) among all nations— 27 to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ—to Him be the glory forever Amen.
Crucified Between Two Criminals
32 As they were going out, they found a Cyrenian man named Simon. They forced this man to carry His cross.(A) 33 When they came to a place called Golgotha(B) (which means Skull Place), 34 they gave Him wine[a] mixed with gall to drink. But when He tasted it, He would not drink it. 35 After crucifying Him they divided His clothes by casting lots.[b](C) 36 Then they sat down and were guarding Him there. 37 Above His head they put up the charge against Him in writing:
THIS IS JESUS
THE KING OF THE JEWS.
38 Then two criminals[c] were crucified with Him, one on the right and one on the left.(D) 39 Those who passed by were yelling insults at[d] Him, shaking their heads(E) 40 and saying, “The One who would demolish the sanctuary and rebuild it in three days, save Yourself! If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross!”(F) 41 In the same way the chief priests, with the scribes and elders,[e] mocked Him and said, 42 “He saved others, but He cannot save Himself! He is the King of Israel!(G) Let Him[f] come down now from the cross, and we will believe in Him. 43 He has put His trust in God; let God rescue Him now—if He wants Him![g] For He said, ‘I am God’s Son.’” 44 In the same way even the criminals who were crucified with Him kept taunting Him.(H)
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