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)
Choose Life
11 “This command that I give you today is certainly not too difficult or beyond your reach. 12 It is not in heaven so that you have to ask, ‘Who will go up to heaven, get it for us, and proclaim it to us so that we may follow it?’ 13 And it is not across the sea so that you have to ask, ‘Who will cross the sea, get it for us, and proclaim it to us so that we may follow it?’ 14 But the message is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, so that you may follow it.(A) 15 See, today I have set before you life and prosperity, death and adversity.(B) 16 For[a] I am commanding you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commands, statutes, and ordinances, so that you may live[b] and multiply, and the Lord your God may bless you in the land you are entering to possess. 17 But if your heart turns away and you do not listen and you are led astray to bow down to other gods and worship them, 18 I tell you today that you will certainly perish and will not live long in the land you are entering to possess across the Jordan. 19 I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you today that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Choose life(C) so that you and your descendants may live, 20 love the Lord your God, obey Him, and remain faithful[c] to Him. For He is your life, and He will prolong your life in the land the Lord swore to give to your fathers(D) Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”
Paul and the False Apostles
11 I wish you would put up with a little foolishness(A) from me. Yes, do put up with me.[a] 2 For I am jealous(B) over you with a godly jealousy,(C) because I have promised you in marriage to one husband—to present a pure(D) virgin to Christ. 3 But I fear that, as the serpent(E) deceived(F) Eve(G) by his cunning, your minds may be seduced from a complete and pure[b] devotion to Christ.(H) 4 For if a person comes and preaches another Jesus,(I) whom we did not preach, or you receive a different spirit,(J) which you had not received, or a different gospel,(K) which you had not accepted, you put up with it splendidly!
5 Now I consider myself in no way inferior to the “super-apostles.”(L) 6 Though untrained in public speaking,(M) I am certainly not untrained in knowledge.(N) Indeed, we have always made that clear to you in everything. 7 Or did I commit a sin by humbling(O) myself so that you might be exalted,(P) because I preached the gospel of God to you free of charge?(Q) 8 I robbed other churches by taking pay from them to minister to you. 9 When I was present with you and in need, I did not burden anyone, for the brothers who came from Macedonia(R) supplied my needs.(S) I have kept myself, and will keep myself, from burdening you in any way. 10 As the truth of Christ is in me, this boasting of mine will not be stopped[c] in the regions of Achaia.(T) 11 Why? Because I don’t love you? God knows I do!
12 But I will continue to do what I am doing, in order to deny[d] the opportunity of those who want an opportunity to be regarded just as our equals in what they boast about. 13 For such people are false apostles,(U) deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. 14 And no wonder! For Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. 15 So it is no great thing if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their destiny[e] will be according to their works.(V)
Paul’s Sufferings for Christ
16 I repeat: No one should consider me a fool. But if you do, at least accept me as a fool, so I too may boast a little. 17 What I say in this matter[f] of boasting, I don’t speak as the Lord would, but foolishly. 18 Since many boast in an unspiritual way,[g] I will also boast. 19 For you, being so wise, gladly put up with fools!(W) 20 In fact, you put up with it if someone enslaves you, if someone devours(X) you, if someone captures you, if someone dominates you, or if someone hits(Y) you in the face. 21 I say this to our shame: We have been weak.
But in whatever anyone dares to boast—I am talking foolishly—I also dare:
Jesus Visits Zacchaeus
19 He entered Jericho and was passing through. 2 There was a man named Zacchaeus who was a chief tax collector, and he was rich. 3 He was trying to see who Jesus was, but he was not able because of the crowd, since he was a short man. 4 So running ahead, he climbed up a sycamore tree to see Jesus, since He was about to pass that way. 5 When Jesus came to the place, He looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down because today I must stay at your house.”
6 So he quickly came down and welcomed Him joyfully. 7 All who saw it began to complain,(A) “He’s gone to lodge with a sinful man!”
8 But Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, “Look, I’ll give[a] half of my possessions to the poor,(B) Lord! And if I have extorted(C) anything from anyone, I’ll pay[b] back four times as much!”(D)
9 “Today salvation(E) has come to this house,” Jesus told him, “because he too is a son of Abraham.(F) 10 For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save the lost.”[c](G)
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