Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 61
Security in God
For the choir director: on stringed instruments. Of David.
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 dwell in your tent forever
and take refuge under the shelter of your wings.(E)Selah
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 psalm of David.
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 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)Selah
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)Selah
Psalm 68
God’s Majestic Power
For the choir director. A psalm of David. 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 the Lord[b]—and celebrate 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,Selah
8 the earth trembled and the skies poured 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 sheep pens,[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 God desired for his abode?
The Lord will dwell there forever!(O)
17 God’s chariots are tens of thousands,
thousands and thousands;(P)
the Lord is among them in the sanctuary[h]
as he was at Sinai.(Q)
18 You ascended to the heights, taking away captives;
you received gifts from[i] people,
even from the rebellious,
so that the Lord God might dwell there.[j](R)
19 Blessed be the Lord!
Day after day he bears our burdens;
God is our salvation.(S)Selah
20 Our God is a God of salvation,
and escape from death belongs to the Lord my Lord.(T)
21 Surely God crushes the heads of his enemies,
the hairy brow 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[k] 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.(X)
25 Singers lead the way,
with musicians following;
among them are young women
playing tambourines.(Y)
26 Bless God in the assemblies;
bless the Lord from the fountain of Israel.(Z)
27 There is Benjamin, the youngest, leading them,
the rulers of Judah in their assembly,[l]
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 in the reeds,
the herd of bulls with the calves of the peoples.(AD)
Trample underfoot those with bars of silver.[m]
Scatter the peoples who take pleasure in war.(AE)
31 Ambassadors will come[n] from Egypt;
Cush will stretch out its hands to God.(AF)
32 Sing to God, you kingdoms of the earth;
sing praise to the Lord,(AG)Selah
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 is among the clouds.(AJ)
35 God, you are awe-inspiring in your sanctuaries.
The God of Israel gives power and strength to his people.
Blessed be God!(AK)
6 During the war between the house of Saul and the house of David, Abner kept acquiring more power in the house of Saul.(A) 7 Now Saul had a concubine whose name was Rizpah(B) daughter of Aiah, and Ish-bosheth questioned Abner, “Why did you sleep with my father’s concubine?”
8 Abner was very angry about Ish-bosheth’s accusation. “Am I a dog’s head[a](C) who belongs to Judah?” he asked. “All this time I’ve been loyal to the family of your father Saul, to his brothers, and to his friends and haven’t betrayed you to David, but now you accuse me of wrongdoing with this woman! 9 May God punish Abner and do so severely if I don’t do for David what the Lord swore to him: 10 to transfer the kingdom from the house of Saul and establish the throne of David over Israel and Judah(D) from Dan to Beer-sheba.” 11 Ish-bosheth did not dare respond to Abner because he was afraid of him.
12 Abner sent messengers as his representatives to say to David, “Whose land is it? Make your covenant with me, and you can be certain I am on your side to turn all Israel over to you.”
13 David replied, “Good, I will make a covenant with you. However, there’s one thing I require of you: You will not see my face unless you first bring Saul’s daughter Michal(E) when you come to see me.”
14 Then David sent messengers to say to Ish-bosheth son of Saul, “Give me back my wife Michal. I was engaged to her for the price of a hundred Philistine foreskins.”(F)
15 So Ish-bosheth sent someone to take her away from her husband, Paltiel son of Laish.(G) 16 Her husband followed her, weeping all the way to Bahurim. Abner said to him, “Go back.” So he went back.
The Assassination of Abner
17 Abner conferred with the elders of Israel: “In the past you wanted David to be king over you. 18 Now take action, because the Lord has spoken concerning David: ‘Through my servant David I will save my people Israel from the power of the Philistines and the power of all Israel’s enemies.’”
19 Abner also informed the Benjaminites and went to Hebron to inform David about all that was agreed on by Israel and the whole house of Benjamin.(H) 20 When Abner and twenty men came to David at Hebron, David held a banquet for him and his men.
21 Abner said to David, “Let me now go and I will gather all Israel to my lord the king. They will make a covenant with you,(I) and you will reign over all you desire.” So David dismissed Abner, and he went in peace.
Evangelization of Europe
6 They went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia; they had been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia.(A) 7 When they came to Mysia, they tried to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus(B) did not allow them. 8 Passing by Mysia they went down to Troas.(C) 9 During the night Paul had a vision in which a Macedonian man was standing and pleading with him, “Cross over to Macedonia and help us!” (D) 10 After(E) he had seen the vision, we immediately made efforts to set out for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.
Lydia’s Conversion
11 From Troas we put out to sea and sailed straight for Samothrace, the next day to Neapolis, 12 and from there to Philippi,(F) a Roman colony and a leading city of the district of Macedonia. We stayed in that city for several days. 13 On the Sabbath day we went outside the city gate by the river, where we expected to find a place of prayer. We sat down and spoke to the women gathered there. 14 A God-fearing woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth from the city of Thyatira, was listening. The Lord opened her heart to respond to what Paul was saying.(G) 15 After she and her household were baptized, she urged us, “If you consider me a believer in the Lord, come and stay at my house.”(H) And she persuaded us.
Feeding of the Five Thousand
30 The(A) apostles(B) gathered around Jesus and reported to him all that they had done and taught. 31 He said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a remote place and rest for a while.” For many people were coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat.
32 So they went away in the boat by themselves to a remote place, 33 but many saw them leaving and recognized them, and they ran on foot from all the towns and arrived ahead of them.[a]
34 When he went ashore, he saw a large crowd and had compassion(C) on them, because they were like sheep(D) without a shepherd. Then he began to teach them many things.
35 When it grew late, his disciples(E) approached him and said, “This place is deserted,(F) and it is already late. 36 Send them away so that they can go into the surrounding countryside and villages to buy themselves something to eat.”
37 “You give them something to eat,” he responded.
They said to him, “Should we go and buy two hundred denarii[b] worth of bread and give them something to eat?”
38 He asked them, “How many loaves do you have? Go and see.”
When they found out they said, “Five, and two fish.” 39 Then he instructed them to have all the people sit down in groups on the green grass. 40 So they sat down in groups of hundreds and fifties. 41 He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, he blessed and broke the loaves. He kept giving them to his disciples to set before the people. He also divided the two fish among them all. 42 Everyone ate and was satisfied.(G) 43 They picked up twelve baskets full of pieces of bread and fish. 44 Now those who had eaten the loaves were five thousand men.
Walking on the Water
45 Immediately(H) he made his disciples get into the boat and go ahead of him to the other side, to Bethsaida,(I) while he dismissed the crowd. 46 After he said good-bye to them, he went away to the mountain(J) to pray.(K)
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