Book of Common Prayer
For the choir director; on a stringed instrument; by David.
61 Listen to my cry for help, O God.
Pay attention to my prayer.
2 From the ends of the earth, I call to you
when I begin to lose heart.
Lead me to the rock that is high above me.
3 You have been my refuge,
a tower of strength against the enemy.
4 I would like to be a guest in your tent forever
and to take refuge under the protection of your wings. Selah
5 O God, you have heard my vows.
You have given me the inheritance
that belongs to those who fear your name.
6 Add days upon days to the life of the king.
May his years endure throughout every generation.
7 May he sit enthroned in the presence of God forever.
May mercy and truth protect him.
8 Then I will make music to praise your name forever,
as I keep my vows day after day.
For the choir director; according to Jeduthun; a psalm by David.
62 My soul waits calmly for God alone.
My salvation comes from him.
2 He alone is my rock and my savior—my stronghold.
I cannot be severely shaken.
3 How long will all of you attack a person?
How long will you try to murder him,
as though he were a leaning wall or a sagging fence?
4 They plan to force him out of his high position.
They are happy to lie.
They bless with their mouths,
but in their hearts they curse. Selah
5 Wait calmly for God alone, my soul,
because my hope comes from him.
6 He alone is my rock and my savior—my stronghold.
I cannot be shaken.
7 My salvation and my glory depend on God.
God is the rock of my strength, my refuge.
8 Trust him at all times, you people.
Pour out your hearts in his presence.
God is our refuge. Selah
9 Common people are only a whisper in the wind.
Important people are only a delusion.
When all of them are weighed on a scale, they amount to nothing.
They are less than a whisper in the wind.
10 Do not count on extortion ⌞to make you rich⌟.
Do not hope to gain anything through robbery.
When riches increase, do not depend on them.
11 God has spoken once.
I have heard it ⌞said⌟ twice:
“Power belongs to God.
12 Mercy belongs to you, O Lord.
You reward a person based on what he has done.”
For the choir director; a psalm by David; a song.
68 God will arise.
His enemies will be scattered.
Those who hate him will flee from him.
2 Blow them away like smoke.
Let wicked people melt in God’s presence like wax next to a fire.
3 But let righteous people rejoice.
Let them celebrate in God’s presence.
Let them overflow with joy.
4 Sing to God; make music to praise his name.
Make a highway for him to ride through the deserts.[a]
The Lord is his name.
Celebrate in his presence.
5 The God who is in his holy dwelling place
is the father of the fatherless and the defender of widows.
6 God places lonely people in families.
He leads prisoners out of prison into productive lives,
but rebellious people must live in an unproductive land.
7 O God, when you went in front of your people,
when you marched through the desert, Selah
8 the earth quaked and the sky poured
in the presence of the God of Sinai,
in the presence of the God of Israel.
9 You watered the land with plenty of rain, O God.
You refreshed it when your land was exhausted.
10 Your flock settled there.
Out of your goodness, O God,
you provided for oppressed people.
11 The Lord gives instructions.
The women who announce the good news are a large army.
12 ⌞They say,⌟ “The kings of the armies flee; they run away.
The women who remained at home will divide the goods.
13 Though you stayed among the sheep pens,
⌞you will be like⌟ the wings of a dove covered with silver, its feathers with yellow gold.
14 Meanwhile, the Almighty was still scattering kings there
like snow falling on Mount Zalmon.”
15 The mountain of Bashan is the mountain of God.
The mountain of Bashan is the mountain with many peaks.
16 Why do you look with envy, you mountains with many peaks,
at the mountain where God has chosen to live?
Certainly, the Lord will live there forever.
17 The chariots of God are twenty thousand in number,
thousands upon thousands.
The Lord is among them.
⌞The God of⌟ Sinai is in his holy place.
18 You went to the highest place.
You took prisoners captive.
You received gifts from people,
even from rebellious people, so that the Lord God may live there.
19 Thanks be to the Lord,
who daily carries our burdens for us.
God is our salvation. Selah
20 Our God is the God of victories.
The Almighty Lord is our escape from death.
21 Certainly, God will crush the heads of his enemies
⌞and destroy even⌟ the hair on the heads
of those who continue to be guilty.
22 The Lord said, “I will bring them back from Bashan.
I will bring them back from the depths of the sea
23 so that you, ⌞my people,⌟ may bathe [b] your feet in blood
and the tongues of your dogs
may lick the blood of your enemies.”
24 Your festival processions, O God, can be seen by everyone.
They are the processions for my God, my king, into the holy place.
25 The singers are in front.
The musicians are behind them.
The young women beating tambourines are between them.
26 Thank God, the Lord, the source of Israel, with the choirs.
27 Benjamin, the youngest, is leading them,
⌞next⌟ the leaders of Judah with their noisy crowds,
⌞then⌟ the leaders of Zebulun,
⌞then⌟ the leaders of Naphtali.
28 Your God has decided you will be strong.
Display your strength, O God,
as you have for us before.
29 Kings will bring you gifts
because of your temple high above Jerusalem.
30 Threaten the beast who is among the cattails,
the herd of bulls with the calves of the nations,
until it humbles itself with pieces of silver.
Scatter the people who find joy in war.
31 Ambassadors will come from Egypt.
Sudan will stretch out its hands to God ⌞in prayer⌟.
32 You kingdoms of the world, sing to God.
Make music to praise the Lord. Selah
33 God rides through the ancient heaven, the highest heaven.
Listen! He makes his voice heard, his powerful voice.
34 Acknowledge the power of God.
His majesty is over Israel, and his power is in the skies.
35 God, the God of Israel, is awe-inspiring in his holy place.
He gives strength and power to his people.
Thanks be to God!
Jerusalem’s Walls Are Dedicated to God
27 When the wall of Jerusalem was going to be dedicated, they went to wherever the Levites lived and had them come to Jerusalem to celebrate the dedication joyfully with hymns of thanksgiving, with songs and cymbals, and with harps and lyres. 28 So the groups of singers came together from the countryside around Jerusalem, from the villages of Netophah, 29 from Beth Gilgal, and from the region of Geba and Azmaveth. The singers had built villages for themselves around Jerusalem. 30 The priests and the Levites cleansed themselves. Then they cleansed the people, the gates, and the wall.
31 Then I had the leaders of Judah come up on the wall, and I arranged two large choirs to give thanks and march in procession. One choir went to the right on the wall to Dung Gate.
42 and Maaseiah, Shemaiah, Eleazar, Uzzi, Jehohanan, Malchiah, Elam, and Ezer. The singers sang under the direction of Jezrahiah.
43 That day they offered many sacrifices and rejoiced because God had given them reason to rejoice. The women and children rejoiced as well. The sound of rejoicing in Jerusalem could be heard from far away.
44 On that day men were put in charge of the storerooms for the contributions, the first produce harvested, and a tenth of the people’s money. They stored in those rooms the gifts designated by Moses’ Teachings for the priests and Levites from the fields around the cities. The people of Judah were pleased with the ministry of the priests and Levites. 45 They were doing what their God required, what needed to be done for cleansing. The singers and the gatekeepers did what David and his son Solomon had ordered them to do. 46 Long ago in the time of David and Asaph, there had been directors for the singers to lead ⌞in singing⌟ the songs of praise and hymns of thanksgiving to God. 47 At the time of Zerubbabel and Nehemiah, all the Israelites were giving gifts for the daily support of the singers and the gatekeepers. They set aside holy gifts for ⌞the daily support of⌟ the Levites, and the Levites set aside holy gifts for support of Aaron’s descendants.
God’s Two Witnesses
11 Then I was given a stick like a measuring stick. I was told, “Stand up and measure the temple of God and the altar. Count those who worship there. 2 But do not measure the temple courtyard. Leave that out, because it is given to the nations, and they will trample the holy city for 42 months. 3 I will allow my two witnesses who wear sackcloth to speak what God has revealed. They will speak for 1,260 days.”
4 These witnesses are the two olive trees and the two lamp stands standing in the presence of the Lord of the earth. 5 If anyone wants to hurt them, fire comes out of the witnesses’ mouths and burns up their enemies. If anyone wants to hurt them, he must be killed the same way. 6 These witnesses have authority to shut the sky in order to keep rain from falling during the time they speak what God has revealed. They have authority to turn water into blood and to strike the earth with any plague as often as they want.
7 When the witnesses finish their testimony, the beast which comes from the bottomless pit will fight them, conquer them, and kill them. 8 Their dead bodies will lie on the street of the important city where their Lord was crucified. The spiritual names of that city are Sodom and Egypt. 9 For 3½ days some members of the people, tribes, languages, and nations will look at the witnesses’ dead bodies and will not allow anyone to bury them. 10 Those living on earth will gloat over the witnesses’ death. They will celebrate and send gifts to each other because these two prophets had tormented those living on earth.
11 After 3½ days the breath of life from God entered the two witnesses, and they stood on their feet. Great fear fell on those who watched them. 12 The witnesses heard a loud voice from heaven calling to them, “Come up here.” They went up to heaven in a cloud, and their enemies watched them. 13 At that moment a powerful earthquake struck. One-tenth of the city collapsed, 7,000 people were killed by the earthquake, and the rest were terrified. They gave glory to the God of heaven.
14 The second catastrophe is over. The third catastrophe will soon be here.
15 When the seventh angel blew his trumpet, there were loud voices in heaven, saying,
“The kingdom of the world has become
the kingdom of our Lord and of his Messiah,
and he will rule as king forever and ever.”
16 Then the 24 leaders, who were sitting on their thrones in God’s presence, immediately bowed, worshiped God, 17 and said,
“We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty,
who is and who was,
because you have taken your great power
and have begun ruling as king.
18 “The nations were angry, but your anger has come.
The time has come for the dead to be judged:
to reward your servants, the prophets,
your holy people,
and those who fear your name,
no matter if they are important or unimportant,
and to destroy those who destroy the earth.”
19 God’s temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of his promise was seen inside his temple. There was lightning, noise, thunder, an earthquake, and heavy hail.
Stories about a Treasure, a Merchant, and a Net
44 “The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure buried in a field. When a man discovered it, he buried it again. He was so delighted with it that he went away, sold everything he had, and bought that field.
45 “Also, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant who was searching for fine pearls. 46 When he found a valuable pearl, he went away, sold everything he had, and bought it.
47 “Also, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea. It gathered all kinds of fish. 48 When it was full, they pulled it to the shore. Then they sat down, gathered the good fish into containers, and threw the bad ones away. 49 The same thing will happen at the end of time. The angels will go out and separate the evil people from people who have God’s approval. 50 Then the angels will throw the evil people into a blazing furnace. They will cry and be in extreme pain there.
51 “Have you understood all of this?”
“Yes,” they answered.
52 So Jesus said to them, “That is why every student of the Scriptures who has become a disciple of the kingdom of heaven is like a home owner. He brings new and old things out of his treasure chest.”
Copyright © 1995, 2003, 2013, 2014, 2019, 2020 by God’s Word to the Nations Mission Society. All rights reserved.