Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 61
A Soldier’s Prayer From the End of the Earth
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For the choir director. On a stringed instrument. By David.
A Prayer From the End of the Earth
1 Hear my cry, O God.
Pay attention to my prayer.
2 From the end of the earth I call to you
when my heart is overwhelmed.
Lead me up onto the rock that is higher than I.
3 For you have been a refuge for me,
a tower of strength in the face of the enemy.
4 I want to keep living in your tent forever. Interlude
I will take refuge under the cover of your wings.
5 For you, God, have heard my vows.
You have given me the heritage of those who fear your name.
6 Add days to the days of the king.
His years will last through all generations.
7 Let him be seated in God’s presence forever.
Appoint your mercy and truth to protect him.
8 Then will I make music to your name forever,
to fulfill my vows day after day.
Psalm 62
My Soul Rests in God Alone
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For the choir director. According to Jeduthun.[a] A psalm by David.
God Alone Is My Refuge
1 My soul rests quietly in God alone.
My salvation is from him.
2 He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress.
I will not be disturbed.
3 How long will you threaten a man?
Do all of you want to murder him,
like a leaning wall, like a fence to be pushed down?
4 Yes, they plan to push him down from his lofty place.
They are delighted with deceit.
With their mouths they bless,
but inside they curse. Interlude
God Alone Is My Refuge
5 My soul, rest quietly in God alone,
for my hope comes from him.
6 He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress.
I will not be disturbed.
7 My salvation and my honor depend on God, my strong rock.
My refuge is in God.
8 Trust in him at all times, you people.
Pour out your hearts before him. Interlude
God is a refuge for us.
Strength in God, Not in Man
9 Yes, the sons of Adam are only a breath.
The sons of man are a delusion.
On a scale they weigh nothing.
They are nothing but air.[b]
10 Do not trust in extortion.
Do not put empty confidence in stolen goods.
If your wealth grows, do not set your heart on it.
11 One thing God has spoken,
two things that I have heard:
that God has strength
12 and that you, Lord, have mercy.
Surely you will repay each person
according to what he has done.
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!
Religious Conditions During the Time of the Judges
2 The Angel of the Lord[a] went up from Gilgal to Bokim, and he said, “I brought you up out of Egypt, and I brought you to the land that I swore to give to your fathers. I said, ‘I will not break my covenant with you, forever. 2 As for you, do not make a covenant with the people living in this land. You must tear down their altars.’ But you did not listen to my voice. What is this you have done? 3 So I say, ‘I will not drive them out before you, but they will be traps for you, and their gods will be a snare to you.’”
4 When the Angel of the Lord spoke these things to all the people of Israel, the people lifted up their voices and wept loudly. 5 They named that place Bokim,[b] and they sacrificed to the Lord there.
11 The people of Israel committed evil in the eyes of the Lord. They served the Baals, 12 and they abandoned the Lord, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt. They went after other gods from among the gods of the peoples who were around them. They bowed down to them, and they angered the Lord. 13 They abandoned the Lord and served the Baals and the Ashtartes.[a]
14 So the anger of the Lord burned against Israel, and he delivered them into the hand of raiders, who plundered them. He sold them into the hand of their enemies around them, and they were not able to stand up in the face of their enemies. 15 Whenever the men of Israel went out, the hand of the Lord was against them to bring disaster on them, just as the Lord had said to them and just as the Lord had sworn to them. So they were greatly distressed.
16 Nevertheless, the Lord raised up judges,[b] who saved them from the hand of those who plundered them, 17 but they did not listen even to the judges! Instead, they prostituted themselves to other gods and bowed down to them. They quickly turned from the way in which their fathers, who had obeyed the commands of the Lord, had once walked. This generation did not act the same way their fathers had acted.
18 Whenever the Lord raised up a judge for them, the Lord was with that judge and saved them from their enemies during all the days of that judge, because the Lord had compassion when he heard their groaning under their tormenters and oppressors.
19 But then, after the death of the judge, Israel would turn back and become more corrupt than their fathers by going after other gods, by serving them, and by worshipping them. They refused to let go of their practices and their shameless ways.
20 So the anger of the Lord burned against Israel. He said, “Because this nation has violated my covenant, which I commanded to their fathers, and because they did not obey my voice, 21 I will no longer drive out from among them a single one of the nations that Joshua left unconquered when he died. 22 I will do this in order to test Israel by means of them. Will Israel keep the way of the Lord and walk upon it as their fathers kept it, or not?” 23 So the Lord gave those nations a reprieve, and he did not drive them out quickly. He did not hand them over to Joshua.
17 But I urge you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and offenses contrary to the teaching that you learned, and keep away from them. 18 For such people are not serving Christ our Lord but their own appetites.[a] By smooth talk and flattery, they seduce the hearts of the unsuspecting.
19 Your obedience has become known to everyone, so I am very joyful about you. But I want you to continue to be wise about what is good, and innocent about what is evil. 20 The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.
Greetings From Those With Paul
21 Timothy, my coworker, greets you, along with Lucius, Jason, and Sosipater, my relatives.
22 I, Tertius, who wrote down this letter, greet you in the Lord.
23 Gaius, my host and the host of the whole church, greets you.
Erastus, the city treasurer, greets you, and Quartus, the brother.[b]
Doxology
25 Now to him who is able to strengthen you—
according to my gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was veiled in silence for long ages past, 26 but now has been revealed through the prophetic Scriptures and made known to all the Gentiles, in keeping with the command of the eternal God, resulting in the obedience of faith—
27 to God, who alone is wise, be glory forever through Jesus Christ. Amen.
32 As they were going out of the city, they found a man of Cyrene named Simon. They forced him to carry Jesus’ cross. 33 They came to a place called Golgotha, which means “The place of the skull.” 34 They offered Jesus wine to drink, mixed with gall; but when he tasted it, he would not drink it. 35 After they had crucified him, they divided his clothing among themselves by casting lots. 36 Then they sat down and were keeping watch over him there. 37 Above his head they posted the written charge against him: “This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.”
38 At the same time two criminals were crucified with him, one on his right and one on his left. 39 People who passed by kept insulting him, shaking their heads, 40 and saying, “You who were going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross!”
41 In the same way the chief priests, experts in the law, and elders kept mocking him. They said, 42 “He saved others, but he cannot save himself. If he’s the King of Israel, let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. 43 He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now, if he wants him, because he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’” 44 In the same way even the criminals who were crucified with him kept insulting him.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.