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)
The Lord’s Judgment on Ahab
17 Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite:(A) 18 “Get up and go to meet Ahab king of Israel,(B) who is in Samaria.(C) You’ll find him in Naboth’s vineyard, where he has gone to take possession of it. 19 Tell him, ‘This is what the Lord says: Have you murdered(D) and also taken possession?’(E) Then tell him, ‘This is what the Lord says: In the place where the dogs licked Naboth’s blood, the dogs will also lick your blood!’”(F)
20 Ahab said to Elijah, “So, you have caught me, my enemy.”(G)
He replied, “I have caught you because you devoted(H) yourself to do what is evil in the Lord’s sight. 21 This is what the Lord says:[a] ‘I am about to bring disaster on you and will sweep away your descendants:
22 I will make your house like the house of Jeroboam(J) son of Nebat and like the house of Baasha(K) son of Ahijah, because you have provoked My anger and caused Israel to sin.(L) 23 The Lord also speaks of Jezebel: The dogs will eat Jezebel in the plot of land[c] at Jezreel:(M)
24 He who belongs to Ahab and dies in the city, the dogs will eat,
and he who dies in the field, the birds of the sky will eat.’”(N)
25 Still, there was no one like Ahab, who devoted himself to do what was evil in the Lord’s sight, because his wife Jezebel incited him.(O) 26 He committed the most detestable acts by going after idols(P) as the Amorites(Q) had, whom the Lord had dispossessed before the Israelites.
27 When Ahab heard these words, he tore his clothes, put sackcloth over his body, and fasted. He lay down in sackcloth(R) and walked around subdued. 28 Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite: 29 “Have you seen how Ahab has humbled himself before Me? I will not bring the disaster during his lifetime,(S) because he has humbled himself before Me. I will bring the disaster on his house during his son’s lifetime.”(T)
20 Where is the philosopher?[a] Where is the scholar? Where is the debater of this age?(A) Hasn’t God made the world’s wisdom foolish? 21 For since, in God’s wisdom, the world did not know God through wisdom, God was pleased to save those who believe through the foolishness of the message preached. 22 For the Jews ask for signs(B) and the Greeks seek wisdom, 23 but we preach Christ crucified,(C) a stumbling block to the Jews and foolishness to the Gentiles.[b] 24 Yet to those who are called,(D) both Jews and Greeks, Christ is God’s power and God’s wisdom, 25 because God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength.
Boasting Only in the Lord
26 Brothers, consider your calling: Not many are wise from a human perspective,[c] not many powerful,(E) not many of noble birth. 27 Instead, God has chosen(F) what is foolish in the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen what is weak in the world to shame the strong. 28 God has chosen what is insignificant and despised in the world(G)—what is viewed as nothing—to bring to nothing what is viewed as something, 29 so that no one[d] can boast in His presence.(H) 30 But it is from Him that you are in Christ Jesus, who became God-given wisdom for us—our righteousness,(I) sanctification,(J) and redemption,(K) 31 in order that, as it is written:(L) The one who boasts must boast in the Lord.(M)[e]
Ministry in Galilee
12 When He heard that John had been arrested,(A) He withdrew into Galilee.(B) 13 He left Nazareth behind and went to live in Capernaum(C) by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali. 14 This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah:
15 Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali,
along the sea road, beyond the Jordan,
Galilee of the Gentiles!
16 The people who live in darkness
have seen a great light,
and for those living in the shadowland of death,
light has dawned.[a](D)[b]
17 From then on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, because the kingdom of heaven(E) has come near!”
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