Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 61[a]
Prayer of One in Exile
1 For the director.[b] With stringed instruments. Of David.
2 O God, hear my cry
and listen to my prayer.
3 From the ends of the earth[c] I call to you,
with a heart that is fainting away;
set me high upon a rock.
4 For you are my refuge,
a tower of strength against the enemy.
5 I will abide in your tent forever
and find refuge in the shelter of your wings.[d] Selah
6 For you, O God, have heard my vows
and granted me the heritage of those who fear your name.[e]
7 [f]Add length of days to the life of the king;
may his years be prolonged for many generations.
8 May he be enthroned in God’s presence forever,
and may your kindness and faithfulness watch over him.
9 Then I will sing praise to your name forever
as I fulfill my vows day after day.[g]
Psalm 62[h]
Trust in God Alone
1 For the director.[i] For Jeduthun. A psalm of David.
2 In God alone is my soul[j] at rest;
it is from him that my salvation comes.
3 He alone is my rock and my salvation,
my fortress, so that I stand ever unshaken.
4 How long will you assault someone,
and all of you beat him down,
as if he were a leaning wall
or a tottering fence?[k]
5 They devise plots to dislodge me
from my place on high[l]
and delight in spreading lies about me.
They bless with their lips,
but they curse in their hearts. Selah
6 In God alone be at rest,[m] O my soul;
it is from him that my hope comes.
7 He alone is my rock and my salvation,
my fortress, so that I stand unshaken.
8 My deliverance and my glory depend on God;
he is my mighty rock and my refuge.
9 Trust in him at all times, my people,
and pour out your heart before him,[n]
for God is our refuge. Selah
10 Ordinary people are no more than a breath,
and the great are no more than a delusion.
When they are placed on scales all together,
they are lighter than air.[o]
11 Do not place your trust in extortion,
and set no vain hopes in stolen goods;
no matter how greatly your wealth increases,
do not set your heart[p] on it.
12 One thing God has revealed;
two things have I heard:
that power belongs to you, O God,
13 and so does kindness,[q] O Lord.
You reward each person
in accordance with his deeds.
Psalm 68[a]
Song of Victory
1 For the director.[b] A psalm of David. A song.
2 [c]May God rise up, and his enemies be scattered;
may his foes flee before him.
3 As smoke is blown away in the wind,
so will they be blown away.
As wax melts away before a flame,
so will the wicked perish before God.
4 But those who are righteous will rejoice;
they will exult before God,
crying out with great delight.
5 [d]Sing to God, sing praise to his name;[e]
exalt him who rides upon the clouds.
Rejoice in the presence of this God
whose name is the Lord.
6 [f]The Father of orphans and the defender of widows:
such is God in his holy dwelling place.
7 He gives a home to those who are forsaken
and leads out prisoners amid chants of exultation,
while rebels are forced to live in an arid land.
8 [g]O God, when you set out at the head of your people,
when you went marching through the wilderness, Selah
9 the earth quaked,[h]
and rain poured down from the heavens,
at the presence of God, the One of Sinai,
at the presence of God, the God of Israel.
10 [i]You poured down rain in abundance, O God,
and revived your exhausted inheritance.
11 It was there that your people settled;
and in your great goodness, O God,
you provided for those who were needy.
12 [j]The Lord issues the word,[k]
and a vast army proclaims good tidings:
13 “Kings and their armies are beating a hasty retreat;
even those who remained in camp are dividing up the spoils.
14 “While you linger by the sheepfolds,
the wings of the dove are covered[l] with silver,
its feathers brilliant with shining gold.”
15 When the Almighty[m] routed the kings there,
it was like snow fallen upon Zalmon.
16 [n]The mountains of Bashan are God’s mountains;
the mountains of Bashan are mighty peaks.
17 Why, O rugged mountains, do you gaze enviously
at the mountain[o] that God has chosen as his abode,
where the Lord himself will dwell forever?
18 The chariots of God[p] are myriad,
thousands upon thousands;
the Lord has come down from Sinai
and entered into the holy place.
19 You ascended on high,
leading captives in your train;
you accepted slaves as tribute,
so that even rebels might dwell with the Lord God.[q]
20 [r]Blessed be the Lord, day after day,
the God of our salvation, who carries our burden. Selah
21 Our God is a God who saves;
the Lord God delivers from death.[s]
22 God himself will smite the heads of his enemies,
the hairy crowns of those who persist in their sins.
23 The Lord has said:
“I will bring them back even from Bashan,
I will bring them back even from the depths of the sea,[t]
24 so that you may bathe your feet in the blood of your foes
and the tongues of your dogs may have their share.”[u]
25 [v]Your procession, O God, comes into view,
the procession of my God and King into the sanctuary.
26 The singers enter first,
with musicians trailing behind them,
while in their midst are the maidens playing tambourines.[w]
27 Bless God in the assembly;
the Lord, the source of Israel.
28 In the lead is Benjamin, the smallest in number,
with the princes of Judah in a council,
as well as the princes of Zebulun and Naphtali.
29 [x]Marshal your power once again, O God,
the power of God that you have often wielded for us.
30 For to your temple in Jerusalem
kings will come to you bearing gifts.[y]
31 Rebuke those wild beasts of the reeds,[z]
the herd of mighty bulls, the calves of nations,
who bring bars of silver and prostrate themselves;
rout the nations that delight in war.
32 Envoys will come from Egypt;
Ethiopia will stretch out its hands to God.[aa]
33 [ab]Sing to God, all you kingdoms of the earth;
sing the praises of the Lord, Selah
34 who rides the ancient heavens above[ac]
and speaks with his voice of thunder.
35 Acknowledge the power of God,
whose majesty is over Israel
and whose power is in the skies.
36 Awesome is God in his sanctuary,
the God of Israel, who gives power and strength to his people.[ad]
Blessed be God!
20 The Scapegoat.“When he has finished making an atonement for the sanctuary, and for the tent of meeting, and for the altar, he shall bring out the live goat. 21 Aaron shall lay both of his hands upon the head of the live goat and confess all of the iniquities of the children of Israel over it, and all of their transgressions, and all of their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat. The goat shall then be sent away, led by the hand of a man appointed to lead it into the wilderness.[a] 22 The goat shall bear all of their iniquities into an isolated place. The man shall release it into the wilderness.
23 “Aaron shall then enter the tent of meeting and take off the linen garments that he put on when he entered the sanctuary, and he shall leave them there. 24 He shall wash himself in a holy place and put on his normal clothes. He shall then come out and offer his burnt offering and the burnt offering of the people to make atonement for himself and for the people. 25 He shall burn the fat of the sin offering upon the altar.
26 “The man who led the scapegoat away shall wash his clothes and bathe himself with water, and then he can enter the camp. 27 The young bull of the sin offering and the goat of the sin offering, whose blood was brought into the sanctuary to make atonement, must be carried outside of the camp and burned with fire. This includes its hide, its meat, and its dung. 28 The man who burned them shall wash his clothes and bathe himself with water, and then he can come into the camp.
29 The Fast.“This will be a statute for you forever. On the tenth day of the seventh month, you must humble your spirits and do no work, whether it is a countryman or an alien dwelling among you[b] 30 for that is the day that the priest shall make atonement for you, to cleanse you of your sins before the Lord, so that you may be clean. 31 It will be a Sabbath rest, and you will humble your spirits. This is a statute forever. 32 The priest who is anointed and consecrated to succeed his father as priest shall make atonement. He shall wear the sacred linen garments. 33 He shall make atonement for the sanctuary, for the tent of meeting, and for the altar. He shall make atonement for the priest and all the assembly of the people. 34 This shall be an everlasting statute for you, to make atonement for the children of Israel for all of their sins once a year.” Moses did as the Lord had commanded him.
Chapter 5
The Christian Life Is One Long Vigil.[a] 1 In regard to specific dates and times,[b] brethren, it is not necessary to write you. 2 For you yourselves are fully aware that the Day of the Lord[c] will come like a thief in the night. 3 When people are saying, “Everything is peaceful and secure,” instant destruction[d] will overwhelm them, in the manner that labor pains suddenly come upon a pregnant woman, and there will be no means of escape.
4 However, brethren, you do not live in darkness, and therefore that Day will not catch you unawares like a thief. 5 For all of you are children of the light[e] and children of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness. 6 So we must not fall asleep as the others do, but we must stay alert and sober.
7 Those who sleep do so at night, and those who get drunk do so at night. 8 But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, arming ourselves with faith and love as our breastplate and the hope of salvation as our helmet.[f] 9 [g]For God has not destined us to suffer wrath, but to achieve salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. 10 He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him. 11 Therefore, encourage one another and strengthen one another, as indeed you are doing.
The Lord’s Prayer.[a] 7 “When you pray do not go on babbling endlessly as the pagans do, for they believe that they are more likely to be heard because of their many words. 8 Do not imitate them. Your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
9 “This is how you should pray:
‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
10 Your kingdom come.
Your will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us this day our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts
as we forgive our debtors.
13 And do not lead us into temptation,[b]
but deliver us from the evil one.’
14 If you forgive others for the wrongs they have done, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.
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