Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 68
The Procession of God
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For the choir director. By David. A psalm. A song.
Judgment on God’s Enemies
1 May God arise. May his enemies scatter.
May those who hate him flee from his presence.
2 As smoke is blown away, may you blow them away.
As wax melts before the fire, may the wicked perish before God.
Blessing on God’s People
3 But the righteous rejoice and celebrate in the presence of God.
They will be happy and joyful.
4 Sing to God. Make music to his name.
Lift up a song to him who rides through the deserts.[a]
His name is the Lord.[b] Celebrate before him.
5 In his holy dwelling, God is a father for the fatherless
and a judge who defends widows.
6 God causes the lonely to dwell together as a household.
He leads out the prisoners with music,
but the rebellious dwell in a scorched land.
God Brings His People Into His Land
7 God, when you went out in front of your people,
when you marched through the wasteland, Interlude
8 the earth shook.
Yes, the heavens poured down rain,
before God, this one from Sinai,
before God, the God of Israel.
9 You dispersed plentiful showers, O God.
You strengthened your inheritance when it was weary.[c]
10 Your people settled in it.
In your goodness you provided for the oppressed, O God.
The Lord Defeats the Kings of the Land
11 The Lord provided the message.
The women who proclaimed it were a great army:[d]
12 “Kings with armies flee—they flee!”
The woman who stays home shares in the plunder.
13 Even while you lie among the campfires,
the wings of a dove are sheathed with silver,
and its feathers with yellow gold.[e]
14 When the Almighty scattered the kings there,
it snowed on Zalmon.
The Lord Makes His Dwelling in Zion
15 The mountain of Bashan is a mountain of God.
The mountain of Bashan is a mountain with many peaks.[f]
16 O mountains with many peaks, why do you look jealously
at the mountain God desires for his home?
Indeed, the Lord will dwell there forever.
17 The chariots of God are twice ten thousand,
thousands upon thousands.
Among them the Lord has come from Sinai into his sanctuary.[g]
18 You ascended on high. You led captivity captive.
You received gifts among men,
so that even among the rebellious the Lord[h] God might dwell.
God’s Daily Care
19 Blessed be the Lord.
Day by day he bears our burdens.
He is the God who saves us. Interlude
God’s Future Victories
20 Our God is a God who saves.
From God the Lord comes escape from death.
21 Surely God will crush the heads of his enemies,
the scalps of those who walk around in their guilt.
22 The Lord says, “I will bring them from Bashan.
I will bring them from the depths of the sea,
23 so that you may stomp your foot in blood.
The tongues of your dogs get their share of the enemies’ blood.”
God’s Procession Into the Temple
24 They see your processions, O God,
the processions of my God, my King, into the sanctuary.
25 The singers lead the way.
After them come the musicians.
In the middle are virgins playing hand drums.
26 In the assemblies bless God, the Lord,
who is the Fountain of Israel.[i]
27 There is little Benjamin, leading them.
The officers of Judah are their noisy crowd.
There are the officers of Zebulun and the officers of Naphtali.
Prayer for Future Victory
28 Your God commands your strength.
Show strength, O God, as you have done for us before.
God Rules the Nations
29 Because of your temple at Jerusalem kings will bring tribute to you.
30 Threaten the beast among the reeds,
the herd of strong bulls among the calves (that is, the peoples),
until they submit with bars of silver.[j]
He scatters the peoples who delight in battles.
31 Envoys[k] will come from Egypt.
Cush[l] will run to stretch out its hands to God.
32 Sing to God, you kingdoms of the earth. Interlude
Make music to the Lord,
33 to him who rides in the highest heavens,
in the ancient heavens.
Yes, he sends out his voice, his mighty voice.
34 Proclaim God’s strength.
His majesty is over Israel,
and his power is in the skies.
Closing Praise
35 You are awesome, O God, from your sanctuary.
The God of Israel, he is the one
who gives power and strength to the people.
Blessed be God!
Psalm 72
The Rule of the Righteous King
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By Solomon.
The King’s Justice
1 God, give your authority to judge to the King.
Give your righteousness to the Son of the King.
2 He will judge your people with righteousness.
He will judge your afflicted ones with justice.
3 The mountains will deliver peace to the people.
The hills will produce righteousness.
4 He will obtain justice for the afflicted among the people.
He will save the children of the poor,
but he will crush the oppressor.
The King’s Eternal Reign
5 They will fear you[a] as long as the sun remains,
and as long as the moon endures, through all generations.
6 He will come down like rain on a mown field,
like showers, like a downpour on the earth.
7 In his days the righteous will flourish,
and peace will be plentiful till the moon is no more.
The King’s Universal Reign
8 He will rule[b] from sea to sea
and from the River[c] to the ends of the earth.
9 Those who dwell in the desert will bow before him,
and his enemies will lick the dust.
10 The kings of Tarshish and of the sea coasts will bring tribute.
The kings of Sheba and Seba will offer him gifts.
11 All kings will bow down to him.
All nations will serve him.
The Blessings of His Rule
12 He will certainly deliver the poor person who cries out,
as well as the afflicted, and the one who has no helper.
13 He will take pity on the weak and the poor.
He will save the lives of the poor.
14 From oppression and violence he will redeem their lives,
because their blood is precious in his sight.
A Prayer for His Blessings
15 May the King live![d]
May gold from Sheba be offered to him.
May people always pray for him.
May they bless him all day long.
16 Let there be an abundance of grain in the land.
Let it wave on the top of the mountains.
Let its fruit trees be like the cedars of Lebanon.[e]
Let people from the city flourish like the grass of the land.
17 May his name endure forever.
May his name flourish as long as the sun.
They will be blessed through him.
All nations will call him blessed.
Closing Doxology
18 Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel,
who alone does marvelous deeds.
19 Blessed be his glorious name forever.
May the whole earth be filled with his glory.
Amen and Amen.
20 This ends the prayers of David son of Jesse.
9 He came to a cave and spent the night there.
Then the word of the Lord suddenly came to him, saying, “Why are you here, Elijah?”
10 He said, “I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of Armies, but the people of Israel have abandoned your covenant. They have torn down your altars and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are seeking to take my life.”
11 Then the Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is passing by.” Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains and shattered rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind.
After the wind came an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake.
12 After the earthquake there was a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire.
After the fire there was a soft, whispering voice.
13 When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak, and he went out and stood at the entrance to the cave. Then a voice came to him and said, “Why are you here, Elijah?”
14 He said, “I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of Armies, but the people of Israel have abandoned your covenant. They have torn down your altars and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are seeking to take my life.”
15 Then the Lord said to him, “Go back the way you came and go to the Wilderness of Damascus. When you get there, you are to anoint Hazael as king over Aram. 16 You will also anoint Jehu son of Nimshi as king over Israel and Elisha son of Shaphat from Abel Meholah as prophet in your place. 17 Whoever escapes the sword of Hazael, Jehu will kill, and whoever escapes the sword of Jehu, Elisha will kill. 18 But I have preserved in Israel seven thousand whose knees have not bent to Baal and whose lips have not kissed him.”
Living Changed Lives
17 So I tell you this and testify to it in the Lord: Do not walk any longer as the Gentiles walk, in their futile way of thinking. 18 They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, due to the hardness of their hearts. 19 Because they have no sense of shame, they have given themselves over to sensuality, with an ever-increasing desire to practice every kind of impurity.
20 But you did not learn Christ in that way, 21 if indeed you have heard of him and were taught in him (since the truth is in Jesus). 22 As far as your former way of life is concerned, you were taught to take off the old self, which is corrupted by its deceitful desires, 23 and to be renewed continually in the spirit of your mind, 24 and to put on the new self, which has been created to be like God in righteousness and true holiness.
25 Therefore, after you put away lying, let each of you speak truthfully with your neighbor, because we are all members of one body. 26 “Be angry, yet do not sin.”[a] Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry. 27 Do not give the Devil an opportunity. 28 Let the one who has been stealing steal no longer. Instead, let him work hard doing what is good with his own hands, so that he has something to share with a person who is in need. 29 Do not let any unwholesome talk come from your mouths. Say only what is beneficial when there is a need to build up others, so that it will be a blessing to those who hear. 30 Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Get rid of every kind of bitterness, rage, anger, quarreling, and slander, along with every kind of malice. 32 Instead, be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ has forgiven us.[b]
Jesus Walks on Water
15 When Jesus realized that they intended to come and take him by force to make him king, he withdrew again to the mountain by himself.
16 When evening came, his disciples went down to the sea, 17 got into a boat, and started across the sea to Capernaum. It was already dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. 18 A strong wind started to blow, and the sea became rough.
19 After they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea toward their boat, and they were afraid.
20 But he said to them, “It is I. Do not be afraid!”
21 Then they were willing to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the shore where they were heading.
Bread From Heaven
22 The next day, the crowd that stayed on the other side of the sea noticed that only one boat[a] was there. They also knew that Jesus had not stepped into the boat with his disciples, but they had gone away without him. 23 Other boats from Tiberias came to shore near the place where they ate the bread after the Lord gave thanks. 24 When the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they got into the boats and went to Capernaum looking for Jesus. 25 When they found him on the other side of the sea, they asked him, “Rabbi, when did you get here?”
26 Jesus answered them, “Amen, Amen, I tell you: You are not looking for me because you saw the miraculous signs, but because you ate the loaves and were filled. 27 Do not continue to work for the food that spoils, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.”
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.