Book of Common Prayer
Lead Me to the Rock
To the choirmaster: with (A)stringed instruments. Of David.
61 Hear my cry, O God,
(B)listen to my prayer;
2 from the end of the earth I call to you
when my heart is (C)faint.
Lead me to (D)the rock
that is higher than I,
3 for you have been (E)my refuge,
a strong (F)tower against the enemy.
4 Let me (G)dwell in your tent forever!
Let me take refuge under (H)the shelter of your wings! Selah
5 For you, O God, have heard my vows;
you have given me the heritage of those who fear your name.
6 (I)Prolong (J)the life of the king;
may his years endure to all generations!
7 May he be enthroned forever before God;
appoint (K)steadfast love and faithfulness to watch over him!
8 So will I ever sing praises to your name,
as I (L)perform my vows day after day.
My Soul Waits for God Alone
To the choirmaster: according to (M)Jeduthun. A Psalm of David.
62 For God alone (N)my soul (O)waits in silence;
from him comes my salvation.
2 (P)He alone is my rock and my salvation,
my (Q)fortress; (R)I shall not be greatly shaken.
3 How long will all of you attack a man
to batter him,
like (S)a leaning wall, a tottering fence?
4 They only plan to thrust him down from his (T)high position.
They take pleasure in falsehood.
(U)They bless with their mouths,
but inwardly they curse. Selah
5 For God alone, O (V)my soul, wait in silence,
for my hope is from him.
6 (W)He only is my rock and my salvation,
my fortress; I shall not be shaken.
7 On God rests my (X)salvation and my glory;
my mighty rock, (Y)my refuge is God.
8 (Z)Trust in him at all times, O people;
(AA)pour out your heart before him;
God is (AB)a refuge for us. Selah
God Shall Scatter His Enemies
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. A Song.
68 (A)God shall arise, his enemies shall be (B)scattered;
and those who hate him shall flee before him!
2 As (C)smoke is driven away, so you shall drive them away;
(D)as wax melts before fire,
so the wicked shall perish before God!
3 But (E)the righteous shall be glad;
they shall exult before God;
they shall be jubilant with joy!
4 Sing to God, (F)sing praises to his name;
(G)lift up a song to him who (H)rides through (I)the deserts;
his name is (J)the Lord;
exult before him!
5 (K)Father of the fatherless and (L)protector of widows
is God in his holy habitation.
6 God (M)settles the solitary in a home;
he (N)leads out the prisoners to prosperity,
but (O)the rebellious dwell in (P)a parched land.
7 O God, when you (Q)went out before your people,
(R)when you marched through (S)the wilderness, Selah
8 (T)the earth quaked, the heavens poured down rain,
before God, the One of Sinai,
before God,[a] the God of Israel.
9 (U)Rain in abundance, O God, you shed abroad;
you restored your inheritance as it languished;
10 your flock[b] found a dwelling in it;
in your goodness, O God, you (V)provided for the needy.
11 The Lord gives (W)the word;
(X)the women who announce the news are a great host:
12 (Y)“The kings of the armies—they flee, they flee!”
The women at home (Z)divide the spoil—
13 though you men lie among (AA)the sheepfolds—
the wings of a dove covered with silver,
its pinions with shimmering gold.
14 When the Almighty scatters kings there,
let snow fall on (AB)Zalmon.
15 O mountain of God, mountain of Bashan;
O many-peaked[c] mountain, mountain of Bashan!
16 Why do you look with hatred, O many-peaked mountain,
at the mount that God (AC)desired for his abode,
yes, where the Lord will dwell forever?
17 (AD)The chariots of God are twice ten thousand,
thousands upon thousands;
the Lord is among them; Sinai is now in the sanctuary.
18 (AE)You ascended on high,
(AF)leading a host of captives in your train
and (AG)receiving gifts among men,
even among (AH)the rebellious, (AI)that the Lord God may dwell there.
19 Blessed be the Lord,
who daily (AJ)bears us up;
God is our salvation. Selah
20 Our God is a God of salvation,
(AK)and to God, the Lord, belong deliverances from death.
21 (AL)But God will strike the heads of his enemies,
the hairy crown of him who walks in his guilty ways.
22 The Lord said,
“I will bring them back (AM)from Bashan,
(AN)I will bring them back from the depths of the sea,
23 that you may (AO)strike your feet in their blood,
that (AP)the tongues of your dogs may have their portion from the foe.”
24 Your procession is[d] seen, O God,
the procession of my God, my King, into the sanctuary—
25 (AQ)the singers in front, (AR)the musicians last,
between them (AS)virgins playing tambourines:
26 (AT)“Bless God in the great congregation,
the Lord, O you[e] who are of (AU)Israel's fountain!”
27 There is (AV)Benjamin, the least of them, in the lead,
the princes of Judah in their throng,
the princes of (AW)Zebulun, the princes of Naphtali.
28 (AX)Summon your power, O God,[f]
the power, O God, by which you have worked for us.
29 Because of your temple at Jerusalem
kings shall (AY)bear gifts to you.
30 Rebuke (AZ)the beasts that dwell among the reeds,
the herd of (BA)bulls with the calves of the peoples.
(BB)Trample underfoot those who lust after tribute;
scatter the peoples who delight in war.[g]
31 Nobles shall come from (BC)Egypt;
(BD)Cush shall hasten to (BE)stretch out her hands to God.
32 (BF)O kingdoms of the earth, sing to God;
sing praises to the Lord, Selah
33 to him (BG)who rides in (BH)the heavens, the ancient heavens;
behold, he (BI)sends out his voice, his mighty voice.
34 (BJ)Ascribe power to God,
whose majesty is over Israel,
and whose (BK)power is in (BL)the skies.
35 (BM)Awesome is God from his[h] (BN)sanctuary;
the God of Israel—he is the one who gives (BO)power and strength to his people.
Blessed be God!
Man Cannot Know God's Ways
14 There is a vanity that takes place on earth, that there are righteous people (A)to whom it happens according to the deeds of the wicked, and there are wicked people (B)to whom it happens according to the deeds of the righteous. I said that this also is vanity. 15 And I commend joy, for man (C)has nothing better under the sun but to (D)eat and drink and be joyful, for this will go with him in his toil through the days of his life that God has given him under the sun.
16 When I applied my heart to know wisdom, and to see (E)the business that is done on earth, how neither (F)day nor night do one's eyes see sleep, 17 then I saw all the work of God, that (G)man cannot find out the work that is done under the sun. However much man may toil in seeking, he will not find it out. Even though a wise man claims to know, (H)he cannot find it out.
Death Comes to All
9 But all this I laid to heart, examining it all, (I)how the righteous and the wise and their deeds are (J)in the hand of God. Whether it is love or hate, man does not know; both are before him. 2 (K)It is the same for all, since (L)the same event happens to the righteous and the wicked, to the good and the evil,[a] to the clean and the unclean, to him who sacrifices and him who does not sacrifice. As the good one is, so is the sinner, and he who (M)swears is as he who shuns an oath. 3 This is an evil in all that is done under the sun, that (N)the same event happens to all. Also, the hearts of the children of man are full of evil, and (O)madness is in their hearts while they live, and after that they go to the dead. 4 But he who is joined with all the living has hope, for a living dog is better than a dead lion. 5 For the living know that they will die, but (P)the dead know nothing, and they have no more reward, for (Q)the memory of them is forgotten. 6 Their love and their hate and their envy have already perished, and forever they have no more share in all that is done under the sun.
Enjoy Life with the One You Love
7 Go, (R)eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a merry heart, for God has already approved what you do.
8 (S)Let your garments be always white. Let not (T)oil be lacking on your head.
9 Enjoy life with the wife whom you love, all the days of your (U)vain[b] life that he has given you under the sun, because that is your (V)portion in life and in your toil at which you toil under the sun. 10 Whatever your hand finds to do, (W)do it with your might,[c] (X)for there is no work or thought or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol, to which you are going.
Example of Hagar and Sarah
21 Tell me, you who desire to be under the law, do you not listen to the law? 22 For it is written that Abraham had two sons, (A)one by a slave woman and (B)one by a free woman. 23 But (C)the son of the slave was born according to the flesh, while (D)the son of the free woman was born through promise. 24 Now this may be interpreted allegorically: these women are two (E)covenants. (F)One is from Mount Sinai, bearing children for slavery; she is Hagar. 25 Now Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia;[a] she corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children. 26 But (G)the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother. 27 For it is written,
(H)“Rejoice, O barren one who does not bear;
break forth and cry aloud, you who are not in labor!
For the children of the desolate one will be more
than those of the one who has a husband.”
28 Now you,[b] brothers, (I)like Isaac, (J)are children of promise. 29 But just as at that time he who was born according to the flesh (K)persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, (L)so also it is now. 30 But what does the Scripture say? (M)“Cast out the slave woman and her son, for the son of the slave woman shall not inherit with the son of the free woman.” 31 So, brothers, we are not children of the slave but (N)of the free woman.
Jesus Heals Many
29 (A)Jesus went on from there and walked (B)beside the Sea of Galilee. And he (C)went up on the mountain and sat down there. 30 And great crowds came to him, bringing with them (D)the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute, and many others, and they put them at his feet, and he healed them, 31 (E)so that the crowd wondered, when they saw the mute speaking, (F)the crippled healthy, the lame walking, and the blind seeing. And (G)they glorified (H)the God of Israel.
Jesus Feeds the Four Thousand
32 (I)Then Jesus called his disciples to him and said, (J)“I have compassion on the crowd because they have been with me now three days and have nothing to eat. And I am unwilling to send them away hungry, lest they faint on the way.” 33 And the disciples said to him, “Where are we to get enough bread in such a desolate place to feed so great a crowd?” 34 And Jesus said to them, “How many loaves do you have?” They said, (K)“Seven, and a few small fish.” 35 And directing the crowd to sit down on the ground, 36 he took the seven loaves and the fish, and (L)having given thanks he broke them and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. 37 And (M)they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up seven baskets full of the broken pieces left over. 38 Those who ate were four thousand men, besides women and children. 39 And after sending away the crowds, he got into the boat and went to the region of (N)Magadan.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.