Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 131
A Childlike Spirit
A song of ascents. Of David.
1 Lord, my heart is not proud;
my eyes are not haughty.(A)
I do not get involved with things
too great or too wondrous for me.(B)
2 Instead, I have calmed and quieted my soul
like a weaned child with its mother;
my soul is like a weaned child.(C)
3 Israel, put your hope in the Lord,
both now and forever.(D)
Psalm 132
David and Zion Chosen
A song of ascents.
1 Lord, remember David
and all the hardships he endured,(E)
2 and how he swore an oath to the Lord,
making a vow to the Mighty One of Jacob:(F)
3 “I will not enter my house
or get into my bed,
4 I will not allow my eyes to sleep
or my eyelids to slumber(G)
5 until I find a place for the Lord,
a dwelling for the Mighty One of Jacob.”(H)
6 We heard of the ark in Ephrathah;[a](I)
we found it in the fields of Jaar.[b](J)
7 Let’s go to his dwelling place;
let’s worship at his footstool.(K)
8 Rise up, Lord, come to your resting place,
you and your powerful ark.(L)
9 May your priests be clothed with righteousness,
and may your faithful people shout for joy.(M)
10 For the sake of your servant David,
do not reject your anointed one.[c](N)
11 The Lord swore an oath to David,
a promise he will not abandon:
“I will set one of your offspring[d]
on your throne.(O)
12 If your sons keep my covenant
and my decrees that I will teach them,
their sons will also sit on your throne forever.”(P)
13 For the Lord has chosen Zion;
he has desired it for his home:(Q)
14 “This is my resting place forever;
I will make my home here
because I have desired it.(R)
15 I will abundantly bless its food;
I will satisfy its needy with bread.(S)
16 I will clothe its priests with salvation,
and its faithful people will shout for joy.(T)
17 There I will make a horn grow for David;(U)
I have prepared a lamp[e] for my anointed one.(V)
18 I will clothe his enemies with shame,(W)
but the crown he wears[f] will be glorious.”(X)
Psalm 133
Living in Harmony
A song of ascents. Of David.
1 How delightfully good
when brothers live together in harmony!(Y)
2 It is like fine oil on the head,
running down on the beard,
running down Aaron’s beard
onto his robes.(Z)
3 It is like the dew of Hermon[g]
falling on the mountains of Zion.(AA)
For there the Lord has appointed the blessing—
life forevermore.(AB)
Psalm 134
Call to Evening Worship
A song of ascents.
1 Now bless the Lord,
all you servants of the Lord
who stand in the Lord’s house at night!(AC)
2 Lift up your hands in the holy place
and bless the Lord!(AD)
3 May the Lord,
Maker of heaven and earth,
bless you from Zion.(AE)
Psalm 135
The Lord Is Great
1 Hallelujah!
Praise the name of the Lord.
Give praise, you servants of the Lord(AF)
2 who stand in the house of the Lord,
in the courts of the house of our God.(AG)
3 Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good;
sing praise to his name, for it is delightful.(AH)
4 For the Lord has chosen Jacob for himself,
Israel as his treasured possession.(AI)
5 For I know that the Lord is great;
our Lord is greater than all gods.(AJ)
6 The Lord does whatever he pleases
in heaven and on earth,
in the seas and all the depths.(AK)
7 He causes the clouds to rise from the ends of the earth.
He makes lightning for the rain
and brings the wind from his storehouses.(AL)
8 He struck down the firstborn of Egypt,
both people and animals.(AM)
9 He sent signs and wonders against you, Egypt,
against Pharaoh and all his officials.(AN)
10 He struck down many nations
and slaughtered mighty kings:(AO)
11 Sihon king of the Amorites,
Og king of Bashan,
and all the kings of Canaan.(AP)
12 He gave their land as an inheritance,
an inheritance to his people Israel.(AQ)
13 Lord, your name endures forever,
your reputation, Lord,
through all generations.(AR)
14 For the Lord will vindicate his people
and have compassion on his servants.(AS)
Woe to Oppressive Jerusalem
3 Woe to the city that is rebellious[a](A) and defiled,(B)
the oppressive city!
2 She has not obeyed;(C)
she has not accepted discipline.(D)
She has not trusted(E) in the Lord;
she has not drawn near to her God.
3 The[b] princes within her are roaring lions;(F)
her judges are wolves of the night,(G)
which leave nothing for[c] the morning.
4 Her prophets are reckless(H)—
treacherous men.
Her priests profane the sanctuary;
they do violence to instruction.(I)
5 The righteous Lord is in her;(J)
he does no wrong.(K)
He applies his justice morning by morning;
he does not fail at dawn,
yet the one who does wrong knows no shame.(L)
6 I have cut off nations;
their corner towers(M) are destroyed.
I have laid waste their streets,
with no one to pass through.
Their cities lie devastated,
without a person, without an inhabitant.(N)
7 I said: You will certainly fear me
and accept correction.
Then her dwelling place[d]
would not be cut off
based on all that I had allocated to her.
However, they became more corrupt
in all their actions.
8 Therefore, wait for me(O)—
this is the Lord’s declaration—
until the day I rise up for plunder.[e]
For my decision is to gather nations,
to assemble kingdoms,
in order to pour out my indignation(P) on them,
all my burning anger;
for the whole earth will be consumed
by the fire of my jealousy.(Q)
Final Restoration Promised
9 For I will then restore
pure(R) speech to the peoples
so that all of them may call
on the name of the Lord
and serve him with a single purpose.[f]
10 From beyond the rivers of Cush(S)
my supplicants, my dispersed people,
will bring an offering to me.
11 On that day you[g] will not be put to shame(T)
because of everything you have done
in rebelling(U) against me.
For then I will remove
from among you your jubilant,(V) arrogant people,
and you will never again be haughty
on my holy mountain.(W)
12 I will leave
a meek and humble people(X) among you,
and they will take refuge in the name of the Lord.
13 The remnant(Y) of Israel will no longer
do wrong or tell lies;
a deceitful tongue will not be found
in their mouths.
They will pasture and lie down,
with nothing to make them afraid.(Z)
A Call to Good Works
11 Dear friends, I urge you as strangers and exiles(A) to abstain(B) from sinful(C) desires that wage war against the soul.(D) 12 Conduct(E) yourselves honorably among the Gentiles,[a] so that when they slander you as evildoers, they will observe your good works and will glorify God on the day he visits.(F)
13 Submit(G) to every human authority because of the Lord, whether to the emperor[b] as the supreme authority(H) 14 or to governors as those sent out by him to punish those who do what is evil and to praise those who do what is good. 15 For it is God’s will(I) that you silence the ignorance(J) of foolish people by doing good. 16 Submit as free people, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil,(K) but as God’s slaves.(L) 17 Honor everyone. Love(M) the brothers and sisters.(N) Fear God.(O) Honor the emperor.
Submission of Slaves to Masters
18 Household slaves, submit to your masters(P) with all reverence(Q) not only to the good and gentle ones but also to the cruel.(R) 19 For it brings favor if, because of a consciousness of God, someone endures grief from suffering unjustly. 20 For what credit is there if when you do wrong and are beaten, you endure it? But when you do what is good and suffer,(S) if you endure it, this brings favor with God.
21 For you were called to this, because Christ also suffered(T) for you, leaving you an example,(U) that you should follow(V) in his steps. 22 He did not commit sin,(W) and no deceit(X) was found in his mouth;[c](Y) 23 when he was insulted, he did not insult in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten but entrusted himself to the one who judges(Z) justly. 24 He himself bore our sins(AA) in his body(AB) on the tree;(AC) so that, having died to sins,(AD) we might live for righteousness.(AE) By his wounds[d](AF) you have been healed. 25 For you were like sheep going astray,[e](AG) but you have now returned to the Shepherd(AH) and Overseer[f] of your souls.
The Parable of the Vineyard Workers
20 “For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard.(A) 2 After agreeing with the workers on one denarius,[a] he sent them into his vineyard for the day. 3 When he went out about nine in the morning,[b] he saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. 4 He said to them, ‘You also go into my vineyard, and I’ll give you whatever is right.’ So off they went. 5 About noon and about three,[c] he went out again and did the same thing. 6 Then about five[d] he went and found others standing around[e] and said to them, ‘Why have you been standing here all day doing nothing?’
7 “‘Because no one hired us,’ they said to him.
“‘You also go into my vineyard,’ he told them.[f] 8 When evening came, the owner of the vineyard told his foreman, ‘Call the workers and give them their pay,(B) starting with the last and ending with the first.’
9 “When those who were hired about five came, they each received one denarius. 10 So when the first ones came, they assumed they would get more, but they also received a denarius each. 11 When they received it, they began to complain to the landowner: 12 ‘These last men put in one hour, and you made them equal to us who bore the burden of the day’s work and the burning heat.’(C)
13 “He replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I’m doing you no wrong. Didn’t you agree with me on a denarius?(D) 14 Take what’s yours and go. I want to give this last man the same as I gave you. 15 Don’t I have the right to do what I want with what is mine? Are you jealous[g] because I’m generous?’[h](E)
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