Book of Common Prayer
Confidence in God’s Protection.
To the Chief Musician; on stringed instruments. A Psalm of David.
61 Hear my cry, O God;
Listen to my prayer.
2
From the end of the earth I call to You, when my heart is overwhelmed and weak;
Lead me to the rock that is higher than I [a rock that is too high to reach without Your help].
3
For You have been a shelter and a refuge for me,
A strong tower against the enemy.
4
Let me dwell in Your tent forever;
Let me take refuge in the shelter of Your wings. Selah.
5
For You have heard my vows, O God;
You have given me the inheritance of those who fear Your name [with reverence].
6
You will prolong the king’s life [adding days upon days];
His years will be like many generations.
7
He will sit enthroned forever before [the face of] God;
Appoint lovingkindness and truth to watch over and preserve him.
8
So I will sing praise to Your name forever,
Paying my vows day by day.
God Alone a Refuge from Treachery and Oppression.
To the Chief Musician; to Jeduthun [Ethan, the noted musician, founder of an official musical family]. A Psalm of David.
62 For God alone my soul waits in silence;
From Him comes my salvation.
2
He alone is my rock and my salvation,
My defense and my strong tower; I will not be shaken or disheartened.
3
How long will you attack a man
So that you may murder him, all of you,
Like a leaning wall, like a tottering fence?
4
They consult only to throw him down from his high position [to dishonor him];
They delight in lies.
They bless with [the words of] their mouths,
But inwardly they curse. Selah.
5
For God alone my soul waits in silence and quietly submits to Him,
For my hope is from Him.
6
He only is my rock and my salvation;
My fortress and my defense, I will not be shaken or discouraged.
7
On God my salvation and my glory rest;
He is my rock of [unyielding] strength, my refuge is in God.
8
Trust [confidently] in Him at all times, O people;
Pour out your heart before Him.
God is a refuge for us. Selah.
9
Men of low degree are only a breath (emptiness), and men of [high] rank are a lie (delusion).
In the balances they go up [because they have no measurable weight or value];
They are together lighter than a breath.
10
Do not trust in oppression,
And do not vainly hope in robbery;
If riches increase, do not set your heart on them.
11
God has spoken once,
Twice I have heard this:
That power belongs to God.
12
Also to You, O Lord, belong lovingkindness and compassion,
For You compensate every man according to [the value of] his work.(A)
The God of Sinai and of the Sanctuary.
To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David. A Song.
68 Let God arise, and His enemies be scattered;
Let those who hate Him flee before Him.
2
As smoke is driven away, so drive them away;
As wax melts before the fire,
So let the wicked and guilty perish before [the presence of] God.
3
But let the righteous be glad; let them be in good spirits before God,
Yes, let them rejoice with delight.
4
Sing to God, sing praises to His name;
Lift up a song for Him who rides through the desert—
His name is the Lord—be in good spirits before Him.
5
A father of the fatherless and a judge and protector of the widows,
Is God in His holy habitation.
6
God makes a home for the lonely;
He leads the prisoners into prosperity,
Only the stubborn and rebellious dwell in a parched land.
7
O God, when You went out before Your people,
When You marched through the wilderness, Selah.
8
The earth trembled;
The heavens also poured down rain at the presence of God;
Sinai itself trembled at the presence of God, the God of Israel.
9
You, O God, sent abroad plentiful rain;
You confirmed Your inheritance when it was parched and weary.
10
Your flock found a dwelling place in it;
O God, in Your goodness You provided for the poor.
11
The Lord gives the command [to take Canaan];
The women who proclaim the good news are a great host (army);
12
“The kings of the [enemies’] armies flee, they flee,
And the beautiful woman who remains at home divides the spoil [left behind].”
13
When you lie down [to rest] among the [a]sheepfolds,
You [Israel] are like the wings of a dove [of victory] overlaid with silver,
Its feathers glistening with gold [trophies taken from the enemy].
14
When the Almighty scattered [the Canaanite] kings in the land of Canaan,
It was snowing on [b]Zalmon.
15
A mountain of God is the mountain of Bashan;
A [high] mountain of many summits is Mount Bashan [rising east of the Jordan].
16
Why do you look with envy, mountains with many peaks,
At the mountain [of the city of Zion] which God has desired for His dwelling place?
Yes, the Lord will dwell there forever.
17
The chariots of God are [c]myriads, thousands upon thousands;
The Lord is among them as He was at Sinai, in holiness.
18
You have ascended on high, You have led away captive Your captives;
You have received gifts among men,
Even from the rebellious also, that the Lord God may dwell there.(A)
19
Blessed be the Lord, who bears our burden day by day,
The God who is our salvation! Selah.
20
God is to us a God of acts of salvation;
And to [d]God the Lord belong escapes from death [setting us free].
21
Surely God will shatter the head of His enemies,
The hairy scalp of one who goes on in his guilty ways.
22
The Lord said, “I will bring your enemies back from Bashan;
I will bring them back from the depths of the [Red] Sea,
23
That your foot may crush them in blood,
That the tongue of your dogs may have its share from your enemies.”
24
They have seen Your [solemn] [e]procession, O God,
The procession of my God, my King, into the sanctuary [in holiness].
25
The singers go in front, the players of instruments last;
Between them the maidens playing on tambourines.
26
Bless God in the congregations, [give thanks, gratefully praise Him],
The Lord, you who are from [Jacob] the fountain of Israel.
27
The youngest is there, Benjamin, ruling them,
The princes of Judah and their company [the southern tribes],
The princes of Zebulun and the princes of Naphtali [the northern tribes].
28
Your God has commanded your strength [your power in His service and your resistance to temptation];
Show Yourself strong, O God, who acted on our behalf.
29
Because of Your temple at Jerusalem
[Pagan] kings will bring gifts to You [out of respect].
30
Rebuke the beasts [living] among the reeds [in Egypt],
The herd of bulls (the leaders) with the calves of the peoples;
Trampling underfoot the pieces of silver;
He has scattered the peoples who delight in war.
31
Princes and envoys shall come from Egypt;
Ethiopia will quickly stretch out her hands [with the offerings of submission] to God.
32
Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth,
Sing praises to the Lord! Selah.
33
To Him who rides in the highest heavens, the ancient heavens,
Behold, He sends out His voice, a mighty and majestic voice.
34
Ascribe strength to God;
His majesty is over Israel
And His strength is in the skies.
35
O God, You are awesome and profoundly majestic from Your sanctuary;
The God of Israel gives strength and power to His people.
Blessed be God!
Abner Joins David
6 Now while war continued between the houses of Saul and David, Abner was proving himself strong in the house of Saul. 7 Now Saul had a [a]concubine whose name was Rizpah the daughter of Aiah; and Ish-bosheth said to Abner, [b]“Why have you gone in to my father’s concubine?” 8 Then Abner was very angry at the words of Ish-bosheth, and he said, “Am I a dog’s head [a despicable traitor] that belongs to Judah? [c]Today I show loyalty and kindness to the house of Saul your father, to his brothers and his friends, by not having you handed over to David; and yet you charge me today with guilt concerning this woman. 9 May God do so to Abner, and more also, if I do not do for David just as the Lord has sworn to him, 10 to transfer the kingdom from the house of Saul, and establish the throne of David over Israel and Judah from Dan [in the north] to Beersheba [in the south].” 11 And Ish-bosheth could not say another word to Abner, because he was afraid of him.
12 Then Abner sent messengers to David [who was] in his place [at Hebron], saying, “Whose is the land? Make your covenant (treaty) with me, and behold, my hand shall be with you to bring all Israel over to you.” 13 David said, “Good! I will make a covenant (treaty) with you, but I require one thing of you: you shall not see my face unless you first bring Michal, Saul’s daughter, when you come to see [d]me.” 14 So David sent messengers to Ish-bosheth, Saul’s son, saying, “[e]Give me my wife Michal, to whom I was [f]betrothed for [the price of] a hundred foreskins of the Philistines.” 15 So Ish-bosheth sent and took her from her husband, from Paltiel the son of Laish [to whom Saul had given her]. 16 But her husband went with her, weeping continually behind her as far as Bahurim. Then Abner told him, “Go, return.” And he did so.
17 Abner talked with the elders (tribal leaders) of Israel, saying, “In times past you were seeking for David to be king over you. 18 Now then, do it [and make him king]! For the Lord has spoken of David, saying, ‘By the hand of My servant David I will save My people Israel from the hand of the Philistines and the hand of all their enemies.’”(A) 19 Abner also spoke [g]to [the men of] Benjamin. Then he also went to [h]tell David at Hebron everything that seemed good [i]to Israel and to the entire house of Benjamin.
20 So Abner came to David at Hebron, and [brought] twenty men along with him. And David prepared a feast for Abner and the men with him. 21 Abner said to David, “Let me stand up and go, and gather all Israel to my lord the king, so that they may make a covenant (treaty) with you, and that you may reign over all that your soul desires.” So David sent Abner away, and he went in peace.
6 Now they passed through the territory of Phrygia and Galatia, after being forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in [the west coast province of] Asia [Minor]; 7 and after they came to Mysia, they tried to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not permit them; 8 so passing by Mysia, they went down to Troas. 9 Then a vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man from [the Roman province of] [a]Macedonia was standing and pleading with him, saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us!” 10 And when he had seen the vision, [b]we (including Luke) tried to go on into Macedonia at once, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.
11 So setting sail from Troas, we ran a direct course to Samothrace, and the next day [went on] to Neapolis; 12 and from there [we came] to Philippi, which is a leading city of the district of Macedonia, a Roman colony. We stayed on in this city for several days; 13 and on the Sabbath day we went outside the city gate to the bank of the [Gangites] river, where we thought there would be a [c]place of prayer, and we sat down and began speaking to the women who had come there.
First Convert in Europe
14 A woman named [d]Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a dealer in [e]purple fabrics who was [already] a worshiper of God, listened to us; and the Lord opened her heart to pay attention and to respond to the things said by Paul. 15 And when she was baptized, along with her household, she pleaded with us, saying, “If you have judged me and decided that I am faithful to the Lord [a true believer], come to my house and stay.” And she persuaded us.
Five Thousand Fed
30 The apostles [who had been sent out on a mission] gathered together with Jesus and told Him everything that they had done and taught. 31 He said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a secluded place and rest a little while”—for there were many [people who were continually] coming and going, and they could not even find time to eat. 32 And they went away by themselves in the boat to a secluded place.(A) 33 Many [people] saw them leaving, and recognized them and ran there together on foot from all the [surrounding] cities, and got there ahead of them. 34 When Jesus went ashore, He saw a large crowd [waiting], and He was moved with compassion for them because they were like sheep without a shepherd [lacking guidance]; and He began to teach them many things. 35 When the day was nearly gone, His disciples came to Him and said, “This is an isolated place, and it is already late; 36 send the crowds away so that they may go into the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.” 37 But He replied, “You give them something to eat!” And they asked Him, “Shall we go and buy 200 [a]denarii worth of bread and give it to them to eat?”(B) 38 He said to them, “How many loaves do you have? Go look!” And when they found out, they said, “Five [loaves], and two fish.” 39 Then Jesus commanded them all to sit down by groups on the green grass. 40 They sat down in groups of hundreds and of fifties [so that the crowd resembled an orderly arrangement of colorful garden plots]. 41 Taking the five loaves and two fish, He looked up to heaven and said a blessing [of praise and thanksgiving to the Father]. Then He broke the loaves and [repeatedly] gave them to the disciples to set before the people; and He divided up the two fish among them all. 42 They all ate and were satisfied. 43 And the disciples picked up twelve full baskets of the broken pieces [of the loaves], and of the fish. 44 Those who ate the loaves were five thousand men [not counting the women and children].
Jesus Walks on the Water
45 Jesus immediately insisted that His disciples get into the boat and go ahead [of Him] to the other side to Bethsaida, while He was dismissing the crowd.(C) 46 And after He said goodbye to them, He went to the mountain to pray.
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