Book of Common Prayer
Assurance of God’s Eternal Protection
To the Chief Musician. On [a]a stringed instrument. A Psalm of David.
61 Hear my cry, O God;
Attend to my prayer.
2 From the end of the earth I will cry to You,
When my heart is overwhelmed;
Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.
3 For You have been a shelter for me,
(A)A strong tower from the enemy.
4 I will abide in Your [b]tabernacle forever;
(B)I will trust in the shelter of Your wings. Selah
5 For You, O God, have heard my vows;
You have given me the heritage of those who fear Your name.
6 You will prolong the king’s life,
His years as many generations.
7 He shall abide before God forever.
Oh, prepare mercy (C)and truth, which may [c]preserve him!
8 So I will sing praise to Your name forever,
That I may daily perform my vows.
A Calm Resolve to Wait for the Salvation of God
To the Chief Musician. To (D)Jeduthun. A Psalm of David.
62 Truly (E)my soul silently waits for God;
From Him comes my salvation.
2 He only is my rock and my salvation;
He is my [d]defense;
I shall not be greatly (F)moved.[e]
3 How long will you attack a man?
You shall be slain, all of you,
(G)Like a leaning wall and a tottering fence.
4 They only consult to cast him down from his high position;
They (H)delight in lies;
They bless with their mouth,
But they curse inwardly. Selah
5 My soul, wait silently for God alone,
For my [f]expectation is from Him.
6 He only is my rock and my salvation;
He is my defense;
I shall not be [g]moved.
7 (I)In God is my salvation and my glory;
The rock of my strength,
And my refuge, is in God.
8 Trust in Him at all times, you people;
(J)Pour out your heart before Him;
God is a refuge for us. Selah
The Glory of God in His Goodness to Israel
To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David. A Song.
68 Let (A)God arise,
Let His enemies be scattered;
Let those also who hate Him flee before Him.
2 (B)As smoke is driven away,
So drive them away;
(C)As wax melts before the fire,
So let the wicked perish at the presence of God.
3 But (D)let the righteous be glad;
Let them rejoice before God;
Yes, let them rejoice exceedingly.
4 Sing to God, sing praises to His name;
(E)Extol[a] Him who rides on the [b]clouds,
(F)By His name [c]Yah,
And rejoice before Him.
5 (G)A father of the fatherless, a defender of widows,
Is God in His holy habitation.
6 (H)God sets the solitary in families;
(I)He brings out those who are bound into prosperity;
But (J)the rebellious dwell in a dry land.
7 O God, (K)when You went out before Your people,
When You marched through the wilderness, Selah
8 The earth shook;
The heavens also dropped rain at the presence of God;
Sinai itself was moved at the presence of God, the God of Israel.
9 (L)You, O God, sent a plentiful rain,
Whereby You confirmed Your inheritance,
When it was weary.
10 Your congregation dwelt in it;
(M)You, O God, provided from Your goodness for the poor.
11 The Lord gave the word;
Great was the [d]company of those who proclaimed it:
12 “Kings(N) of armies flee, they flee,
And she who remains at home divides the [e]spoil.
13 (O)Though you lie down among the [f]sheepfolds,
(P)You will be like the wings of a dove covered with silver,
And her feathers with yellow gold.”
14 (Q)When the Almighty scattered kings in it,
It was white as snow in Zalmon.
15 A mountain of God is the mountain of Bashan;
A mountain of many peaks is the mountain of Bashan.
16 Why do you [g]fume with envy, you mountains of many peaks?
(R)This is the mountain which God desires to dwell in;
Yes, the Lord will dwell in it forever.
17 (S)The chariots of God are twenty thousand,
Even thousands of thousands;
The Lord is among them as in Sinai, in the Holy Place.
18 (T)You have ascended on high,
(U)You have led captivity captive;
(V)You have received gifts among men,
Even from (W)the rebellious,
(X)That the Lord God might dwell there.
19 Blessed be the Lord,
Who daily loads us with benefits,
The God of our salvation! Selah
20 Our God is the God of salvation;
And (Y)to God the Lord belong escapes from death.
21 But (Z)God will wound the head of His enemies,
(AA)The hairy scalp of the one who still goes on in his trespasses.
22 The Lord said, “I will bring (AB)back from Bashan,
I will bring them back (AC)from the depths of the sea,
23 (AD)That [h]your foot may crush them in blood,
(AE)And the tongues of your dogs may have their portion from your enemies.”
24 They have seen Your [i]procession, O God,
The procession of my God, my King, into the sanctuary.
25 (AF)The singers went before, the players on instruments followed after;
Among them were the maidens playing timbrels.
26 Bless God in the congregations,
The Lord, from (AG)the fountain of Israel.
27 (AH)There is little Benjamin, their leader,
The princes of Judah and their [j]company,
The princes of Zebulun and the princes of Naphtali.
28 [k]Your God has (AI)commanded your strength;
Strengthen, O God, what You have done for us.
29 Because of Your temple at Jerusalem,
(AJ)Kings will bring presents to You.
30 Rebuke the beasts of the reeds,
(AK)The herd of bulls with the calves of the peoples,
Till everyone (AL)submits himself with pieces of silver.
Scatter the peoples who delight in war.
31 (AM)Envoys will come out of Egypt;
(AN)Ethiopia will quickly (AO)stretch out her hands to God.
32 Sing to God, you (AP)kingdoms of the earth;
Oh, sing praises to the Lord, Selah
33 To Him (AQ)who rides on the heaven of heavens, which were of old!
Indeed, He sends out His voice, a (AR)mighty voice.
34 (AS)Ascribe strength to God;
His excellence is over Israel,
And His strength is in the clouds.
35 O God, (AT)You are more awesome than Your holy places.
The God of Israel is He who gives strength and power to His people.
Blessed be God!
Abner Joins Forces with David
6 Now it was so, while there was war between the house of Saul and the house of David, that Abner was strengthening his hold on the house of Saul.
7 And Saul had a concubine, whose name was (A)Rizpah, the daughter of Aiah. So Ishbosheth said to Abner, “Why have you (B)gone in to my father’s concubine?”
8 Then Abner became very angry at the words of Ishbosheth, and said, “Am I (C)a dog’s head that belongs to Judah? Today I show loyalty to the house of Saul your father, to his brothers, and to his friends, and have not delivered you into the hand of David; and you charge me today with a fault concerning this woman? 9 (D)May God do so to Abner, and more also, if I do not do for David (E)as the Lord has sworn to him— 10 to transfer the kingdom from the [a]house of Saul, and set up the throne of David over Israel and over Judah, (F)from Dan to Beersheba.” 11 And he could not answer Abner another word, because he feared him.
12 Then Abner sent messengers on his behalf to David, saying, “Whose is the land?” saying also, “Make your covenant with me, and indeed my hand shall be with you to bring all Israel to you.”
13 And David said, “Good, I will make a covenant with you. But one thing I require of you: (G)you shall not see my face unless you first bring (H)Michal, Saul’s daughter, when you come to see my face.” 14 So David sent messengers to (I)Ishbosheth, Saul’s son, saying, “Give me my wife Michal, whom I betrothed to myself (J)for a hundred foreskins of the Philistines.” 15 And Ishbosheth sent and took her from her husband, from [b]Paltiel the son of Laish. 16 Then her husband went along with her to (K)Bahurim, [c]weeping behind her. So Abner said to him, “Go, return!” And he returned.
17 Now Abner had communicated with the elders of Israel, saying, “In time past you were seeking for David to be king over you. 18 Now then, do it! (L)For the Lord has spoken of David, saying, ‘By the hand of My servant David, [d]I will save My people Israel from the hand of the Philistines and the hand of all their enemies.’ ” 19 And Abner also spoke in the hearing of (M)Benjamin. Then Abner also went to speak in the hearing of David in Hebron all that seemed good to Israel and the whole house of Benjamin.
20 So Abner and twenty men with him came to David at Hebron. And David made a feast for Abner and the men who were with him. 21 Then Abner said to David, “I will arise and go, and (N)gather all Israel to my lord the king, that they may make a covenant with you, and that you may (O)reign over all that your heart desires.” So David sent Abner away, and he went in peace.
The Macedonian Call
6 Now when they had gone through Phrygia and the region of (A)Galatia, they were forbidden by the Holy Spirit to preach the word in [a]Asia. 7 After they had come to Mysia, they tried to go into Bithynia, but the [b]Spirit did not permit them. 8 So passing by Mysia, they (B)came down to Troas. 9 And a vision appeared to Paul in the night. A (C)man of Macedonia stood and pleaded with him, saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” 10 Now after he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go (D)to Macedonia, concluding that the Lord had called us to preach the gospel to them.
Lydia Baptized at Philippi
11 Therefore, sailing from Troas, we ran a straight course to Samothrace, and the next day came to Neapolis, 12 and from there to (E)Philippi, which is the [c]foremost city of that part of Macedonia, a colony. And we were staying in that city for some days. 13 And on the Sabbath day we went out of the city to the riverside, where prayer was customarily made; and we sat down and spoke to the women who met there. 14 Now a certain woman named Lydia heard us. She was a seller of purple from the city of (F)Thyatira, who worshiped God. (G)The Lord opened her heart to heed the things spoken by Paul. 15 And when she and her household were baptized, she begged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay.” So (H)she persuaded us.
Feeding the Five Thousand(A)
30 (B)Then the apostles gathered to Jesus and told Him all things, both what they had done and what they had taught. 31 (C)And He said to them, “Come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.” For (D)there were many coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat. 32 (E)So they departed to a deserted place in the boat by themselves.
33 But [a]the multitudes saw them departing, and many (F)knew Him and ran there on foot from all the cities. They arrived before them and came together to Him. 34 (G)And Jesus, when He came out, saw a great multitude and was moved with compassion for them, because they were like (H)sheep not having a shepherd. So (I)He began to teach them many things. 35 (J)When the day was now far spent, His disciples came to Him and said, “This is a deserted place, and already the hour is late. 36 Send them away, that they may go into the surrounding country and villages and buy themselves [b]bread; for they have nothing to eat.”
37 But He answered and said to them, “You give them something to eat.”
And they said to Him, (K)“Shall we go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread and give them something to eat?”
38 But He said to them, “How many loaves do you have? Go and see.”
And when they found out they said, (L)“Five, and two fish.”
39 Then He (M)commanded them to make them all sit down in groups on the green grass. 40 So they sat down in ranks, in hundreds and in fifties. 41 And when He had taken the five loaves and the two fish, He (N)looked up to heaven, (O)blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to His disciples to set before them; and the two fish He divided among them all. 42 So they all ate and were filled. 43 And they took up twelve baskets full of fragments and of the fish. 44 Now those who had eaten the loaves were [c]about five thousand men.
Jesus Walks on the Sea(P)
45 (Q)Immediately He [d]made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, to Bethsaida, while He sent the multitude away. 46 And when He had sent them away, He (R)departed to the mountain to pray.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.