Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 68[a]
The Exodus and Conquest, Pledge of Future Help
1 For the leader. A psalm of David; a song.
I
2 [b]May God arise;
may his enemies be scattered;
may those who hate him flee before him.(A)
3 As the smoke is dispersed, disperse them;
as wax is melted by fire,
so may the wicked perish before God.(B)
4 Then the just will be glad;
they will rejoice before God;
they will celebrate with great joy.
II
5 Sing to God, praise his name;
exalt the rider of the clouds.[c]
Rejoice before him
whose name is the Lord.(C)
6 Father of the fatherless, defender of widows(D)—
God in his holy abode,
7 God gives a home to the forsaken,
who leads prisoners out to prosperity,
while rebels live in the desert.[d]
III
8 God, when you went forth before your people,(E)
when you marched through the desert,
Selah
9 The earth quaked, the heavens poured,
before God, the One of Sinai,
before God, the God of Israel.
10 You poured abundant rains, God,
your inheritance was weak and you repaired it.
11 Your creatures dwelt in it;
you will establish it in your goodness for the poor, O God.
IV
12 The Lord announced:
“Those bringing news are a great Army.
13 The kings of the armies are in desperate flight.(F)
Every household will share the spoil,
14 though you lie down among the sheepfolds,(G)
you shall be covered with silver as the wings of a dove,
her feathers bright as fine gold.”
15 When the Almighty routs the kings there,
it will be as when snow fell on Zalmon.[e]
V
16 You mountain of God, mountain of Bashan,
you rugged mountain, mountain of Bashan,
17 You rugged mountains, why look with envy
at the mountain[f] where God has chosen to dwell,
where the Lord resides forever?(H)
18 God’s chariots were myriad, thousands upon thousands;
from Sinai the Lord entered the holy place.
19 You went up to its lofty height;
you took captives, received slaves as tribute,(I)
even rebels, for the Lord God to dwell.
VI
20 Blessed be the Lord day by day,
God, our salvation, who carries us.(J)
Selah
21 Our God is a God who saves;
escape from death is the Lord God’s.
22 God will crush the heads of his enemies,
the hairy scalp of the one who walks in sin.(K)
23 The Lord has said:
“Even from Bashan I will fetch them,
fetch them even from the depths of the sea.[g]
24 You will wash your feet in your enemy’s blood;
the tongues of your dogs will lap it up.”(L)
VII
25 [h]Your procession comes into view, O God,
your procession into the holy place, my God and king.
26 The singers go first, the harpists follow;
in their midst girls sound the timbrels.(M)
27 In your choirs, bless God;
Lord, Israel’s fountain.
28 In the lead is Benjamin, few in number;
there the princes of Judah, a large throng,
the princes of Zebulun, the princes of Naphtali, too.(N)
VIII
29 Summon again, O God, your power,
the divine power you once showed for us,
30 From your temple on behalf of Jerusalem,
that kings may bring you tribute.
31 Roar at the wild beast of the reeds,[i]
the herd of mighty bulls, the calves of the peoples;
trampling those who lust after silver
scatter the peoples that delight in war.
32 Let bronze be brought from Egypt,(O)
Ethiopia hurry its hands to God.(P)
IX
33 You kingdoms of the earth, sing to God;(Q)
chant the praises of the Lord,
Selah
34 Who rides the heights of the ancient heavens,
Who sends forth his voice as a mighty voice?
35 Confess the power of God,
whose majesty protects Israel,
whose power is in the sky.
36 Awesome is God in his holy place,
the God of Israel,
who gives power and strength to his people.(R)
Blessed be God!
Psalm 72[a]
A Prayer for the King
1 Of Solomon.
I
2 O God, give your judgment to the king;
your justice to the king’s son;[b](A)
That he may govern your people with justice,
your oppressed with right judgment,(B)
3 That the mountains may yield their bounty for the people,
and the hills great abundance,(C)
4 That he may defend the oppressed among the people,
save the children of the poor and crush the oppressor.
II
5 May they fear you with the sun,
and before the moon, through all generations.(D)
6 May he be like rain coming down upon the fields,
like showers watering the earth,(E)
7 That abundance may flourish in his days,
great bounty, till the moon be no more.
III
8 [c]May he rule from sea to sea,
from the river to the ends of the earth.(F)
9 May his foes kneel before him,
his enemies lick the dust.(G)
10 May the kings of Tarshish and the islands[d] bring tribute,
the kings of Sheba and Seba offer gifts.(H)
11 May all kings bow before him,
all nations serve him.(I)
12 For he rescues the poor when they cry out,
the oppressed who have no one to help.
13 He shows pity to the needy and the poor(J)
and saves the lives of the poor.
14 From extortion and violence he redeems them,
for precious is their blood[e] in his sight.
IV
15 Long may he live, receiving gold from Sheba,
prayed for without cease, blessed day by day.
16 [f]May wheat abound in the land,
flourish even on the mountain heights.
May his fruit be like that of Lebanon,
and flourish in the city like the grasses of the land.(K)
17 May his name be forever;
as long as the sun, may his name endure.(L)
May the tribes of the earth give blessings with his name;[g]
may all the nations regard him as favored.(M)
18 [h]Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel,
who alone does wonderful deeds.(N)
19 Blessed be his glorious name forever;
may he fill all the earth with his glory.(O)
Amen and amen.
20 The end of the psalms of David, son of Jesse.
9 There he came to a cave, where he took shelter. But the word of the Lord came to him: Why are you here, Elijah? 10 He answered: “I have been most zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts, but the Israelites have forsaken your covenant. They have destroyed your altars and murdered your prophets by the sword. I alone remain, and they seek to take my life.” 11 (A)Then the Lord said: Go out and stand on the mountain before the Lord;[a] the Lord will pass by. There was a strong and violent wind rending the mountains and crushing rocks before the Lord—but the Lord was not in the wind; after the wind, an earthquake—but the Lord was not in the earthquake; 12 after the earthquake, fire—but the Lord was not in the fire; after the fire, a light silent sound.[b]
13 When he heard this, Elijah hid his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. A voice said to him, Why are you here, Elijah? 14 (B)He replied, “I have been most zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts, but the Israelites have forsaken your covenant. They have destroyed your altars and murdered your prophets by the sword. I alone remain, and they seek to take my life.” 15 [c](C)The Lord said to him: Go back! Take the desert road to Damascus. When you arrive, you shall anoint Hazael as king of Aram. 16 (D)You shall also anoint Jehu, son of Nimshi, as king of Israel, and Elisha, son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah, as prophet to succeed you. 17 Anyone who escapes the sword of Hazael, Jehu will kill. Anyone who escapes the sword of Jehu, Elisha will kill. 18 (E)But I will spare seven thousand in Israel—every knee that has not bent to Baal, every mouth that has not kissed him.
17 So I declare and testify in the Lord that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds;(A) 18 darkened in understanding, alienated from the life of God because of their ignorance, because of their hardness of heart,(B) 19 they have become callous and have handed themselves over to licentiousness for the practice of every kind of impurity to excess.(C) 20 That is not how you learned Christ, 21 assuming that you have heard of him and were taught in him, as truth is in Jesus, 22 that you should put away the old self of your former way of life, corrupted through deceitful desires,(D) 23 and be renewed in the spirit of your minds,(E) 24 and put on[a] the new self, created in God’s way in righteousness and holiness of truth.(F)
IV. Daily Conduct, an Expression of Unity[b]
Rules for the New Life. 25 Therefore, putting away falsehood, speak the truth, each one to his neighbor, for we are members one of another.(G) 26 Be angry but do not sin;(H) do not let the sun set on your anger,[c] 27 and do not leave room for the devil.(I) 28 The thief must no longer steal, but rather labor, doing honest work[d] with his [own] hands, so that he may have something to share with one in need.(J) 29 No foul language should come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for needed edification, that it may impart grace to those who hear.(K) 30 And do not grieve the holy Spirit of God, with which you were sealed for the day of redemption.[e] 31 All bitterness, fury, anger, shouting, and reviling must be removed from you, along with all malice.(L) 32 [And] be kind to one another, compassionate, forgiving one another as God has forgiven you in Christ.(M)
15 Since Jesus knew that they were going to come and carry him off to make him king, he withdrew again to the mountain alone.(A)
Walking on the Water.[a] 16 (B)When it was evening, his disciples went down to the sea, 17 embarked in a boat, and went across the sea to Capernaum. It had already grown dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. 18 The sea was stirred up because a strong wind was blowing. 19 When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea[b] and coming near the boat, and they began to be afraid.(C) 20 But he said to them, “It is I.[c] Do not be afraid.” 21 They wanted to take him into the boat, but the boat immediately arrived at the shore to which they were heading.
The Bread of Life Discourse. 22 [d]The next day, the crowd that remained across the sea saw that there had been only one boat there, and that Jesus had not gone along with his disciples in the boat, but only his disciples had left. 23 [e]Other boats came from Tiberias near the place where they had eaten the bread when the Lord gave thanks. 24 When the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they themselves got into boats and came to Capernaum looking for Jesus. 25 And when they found him across the sea they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you get here?” 26 Jesus answered them and said, “Amen, amen, I say to you, you are looking for me not because you saw signs but because you ate the loaves and were filled. 27 Do not work for food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life,[f] which the Son of Man will give you. For on him the Father, God, has set his seal.”(D)
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