Book of Common Prayer
I Have Calmed and Quieted My Soul
A Song of (A)Ascents. Of David.
131 O Lord, my heart is not (B)lifted up;
my eyes are not (C)raised too high;
I do not (D)occupy myself with things
too great and (E)too marvelous for me.
2 But I have calmed and quieted my soul,
like a weaned (F)child with its mother;
like a weaned child is my soul within me.
3 (G)O Israel, hope in the Lord
from this time forth and forevermore.
The Lord Has Chosen Zion
A Song of (H)Ascents.
132 Remember, O Lord, in David's favor,
all (I)the hardships he endured,
2 how he swore to the Lord
and (J)vowed to (K)the Mighty One of Jacob,
3 “I will not enter my house
or get into my bed,
4 I will not (L)give sleep to my eyes
or slumber to my eyelids,
5 until I (M)find a place for the Lord,
a dwelling place for (N)the Mighty One of Jacob.”
6 Behold, we heard of it in (O)Ephrathah;
we found it in (P)the fields of Jaar.
7 “Let us go to his dwelling place;
let us (Q)worship at his (R)footstool!”
8 (S)Arise, O Lord, and go to your (T)resting place,
you and the ark of your (U)might.
9 Let your (V)priests be (W)clothed with righteousness,
and let your (X)saints shout for joy.
10 For the sake of your servant David,
(Y)do not turn away the face of (Z)your anointed one.
11 (AA)The Lord swore to David a sure oath
(AB)from which he will not turn back:
(AC)“One of the sons of your body[a]
I will set on your throne.
12 If your sons keep my covenant
and my testimonies that I shall teach them,
their sons also forever
shall (AD)sit on your throne.”
13 For the Lord has (AE)chosen Zion;
he has (AF)desired it for his dwelling place:
14 “This is my (AG)resting place forever;
here I will (AH)dwell, for I have desired it.
15 I will abundantly (AI)bless her provisions;
I will (AJ)satisfy her poor with bread.
16 Her (AK)priests I will clothe with salvation,
and her (AL)saints will shout for joy.
17 There I will make (AM)a horn to sprout for David;
I have prepared (AN)a lamp for (AO)my anointed.
18 His enemies I will (AP)clothe with shame,
but on him his crown will shine.”
When Brothers Dwell in Unity
A Song of (AQ)Ascents. Of David.
133 Behold, how good and pleasant it is
when (AR)brothers dwell in unity![b]
2 It is like the precious (AS)oil on (AT)the head,
running down on the beard,
on the beard of Aaron,
running down on (AU)the collar of his robes!
3 It is like (AV)the dew of (AW)Hermon,
which falls on (AX)the mountains of Zion!
For there the Lord (AY)has commanded the blessing,
life forevermore.
Come, Bless the Lord
A Song of (AZ)Ascents.
134 Come, bless the Lord, all you (BA)servants of the Lord,
who (BB)stand (BC)by night in the house of the Lord!
2 (BD)Lift up your hands to (BE)the holy place
and bless the Lord!
Your Name, O Lord, Endures Forever
135 (BI)Praise the Lord!
Praise the name of the Lord,
give praise, O (BJ)servants of the Lord,
2 who (BK)stand in the house of the Lord,
in (BL)the courts of the house of our God!
3 Praise the Lord, for (BM)the Lord is good;
sing to his name, (BN)for it is pleasant![c]
4 For the Lord has (BO)chosen Jacob for himself,
Israel as his (BP)own possession.
5 For I know that (BQ)the Lord is great,
and that our Lord is above all gods.
6 (BR)Whatever the Lord pleases, he does,
in heaven and on earth,
in the seas and all deeps.
7 (BS)He it is who makes the clouds rise at the end of the earth,
who (BT)makes lightnings for the rain
and brings forth the wind from his (BU)storehouses.
8 He it was who (BV)struck down the firstborn of Egypt,
both of man and of beast;
9 who in your midst, O Egypt,
sent (BW)signs and wonders
against Pharaoh and all his servants;
10 (BX)who struck down many nations
and killed mighty kings,
11 (BY)Sihon, king of the Amorites,
and (BZ)Og, king of Bashan,
and (CA)all the kingdoms of Canaan,
12 and (CB)gave their land as a heritage,
a heritage to his people Israel.
13 (CC)Your name, O Lord, endures forever,
(CD)your renown,[d] O Lord, throughout all ages.
14 (CE)For the Lord will vindicate his people
and (CF)have compassion on his servants.
15 (CG)The idols of the nations are silver and gold,
the work of human hands.
16 They have mouths, but do not speak;
they have eyes, but do not see;
17 they have ears, but do not hear,
nor is there any breath in their mouths.
18 Those who make them become like them,
so do all who trust in them.
Judgment on Jerusalem and the Nations
3 Woe to her who is rebellious and defiled,
(A)the oppressing city!
2 She listens to no voice;
(B)she accepts no correction.
(C)She does not trust in the Lord;
she does not draw near to her God.
3 (D)Her officials within her
are roaring lions;
her judges are (E)evening wolves
that leave nothing till the morning.
4 (F)Her prophets are fickle, treacherous men;
(G)her priests (H)profane what is holy;
they do violence to the law.
5 The Lord within her (I)is righteous;
he does no injustice;
every morning he shows forth his justice;
each dawn he does not fail;
but (J)the unjust knows no shame.
6 (K)“I have cut off nations;
their battlements are in ruins;
I have laid waste their streets
(L)so that no one walks in them;
their cities have been made desolate,
without a man, without an inhabitant.
7 (M)I said, ‘Surely you will fear me;
(N)you will accept correction.
Then your[a] dwelling would not be cut off
according to all that I have appointed against you.’[b]
But (O)all the more they were eager
to make all their deeds corrupt.
8 “Therefore (P)wait for me,” declares the Lord,
“for the day when I rise up to seize the prey.
For my decision is (Q)to gather nations,
to assemble kingdoms,
to pour out upon them my indignation,
all my burning anger;
for in the fire of my jealousy
(R)all the earth shall be consumed.
The Conversion of the Nations
9 “For at that time I will change the speech of the peoples
to (S)a pure speech,
that all of them may call upon the name of the Lord
and serve him with one accord.
10 (T)From beyond the rivers (U)of Cush
my worshipers, the daughter of my dispersed ones,
shall bring my offering.
11 (V)“On that day (W)you shall not be put to shame
because of the deeds by which you have rebelled against me;
for then (X)I will remove from your midst
your proudly exultant ones,
and (Y)you shall no longer be haughty
in my holy mountain.
12 But I will leave in your midst
a people (Z)humble and lowly.
(AA)They shall seek refuge in the name of the Lord,
13 (AB)those who are left in Israel;
they (AC)shall do no injustice
and speak no lies,
(AD)nor shall there be found in their mouth
a deceitful tongue.
(AE)For they shall graze and lie down,
and none shall make them afraid.”
11 Beloved, I urge you (A)as sojourners and exiles (B)to abstain from the passions of the flesh, (C)which wage war against your soul. 12 (D)Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, (E)they may see your good deeds and glorify God on (F)the day of visitation.
Submission to Authority
13 (G)Be subject for the Lord's sake to every human institution,[a] whether it be to the emperor[b] as supreme, 14 or to governors as sent by him (H)to punish those who do evil and (I)to praise those who do good. 15 For this is the will of God, (J)that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. 16 (K)Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but (L)living as servants[c] of God. 17 (M)Honor everyone. (N)Love the brotherhood. (O)Fear God. Honor the emperor.
18 (P)Servants, be subject to your masters with all respect, not only to the good and gentle but also to the unjust. 19 For this is a gracious thing, when, (Q)mindful of God, one endures sorrows while suffering unjustly. 20 For what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? But (R)if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God. 21 For (S)to this you have been called, (T)because Christ also suffered for you, (U)leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps. 22 (V)He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. 23 (W)When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, (X)but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. 24 (Y)He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we (Z)might die to sin and (AA)live to righteousness. (AB)By his wounds you have been healed. 25 For (AC)you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to (AD)the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.
Laborers in the Vineyard
20 “For the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. 2 After agreeing with the laborers for a denarius[a] a day, he sent them into his vineyard. 3 And going out about the third hour he saw others standing idle in the marketplace, 4 and to them he said, ‘You go into the vineyard too, and whatever is right I will give you.’ 5 So they went. Going out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour, he did the same. 6 And (A)about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing. And he said to them, ‘Why do you stand here idle all day?’ 7 They said to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You go into the vineyard too.’ 8 And (B)when evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his (C)foreman, ‘Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last, up to the first.’ 9 And when those hired about the eleventh hour came, each of them received a denarius. 10 Now when those hired first came, they thought they would receive more, but each of them also received a denarius. 11 And on receiving it they grumbled at the master of the house, 12 saying, ‘These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and (D)the scorching heat.’ 13 But he replied to one of them, (E)‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? 14 Take (F)what belongs to you and go. I choose to give to this last worker as I give to you. 15 (G)Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or (H)do you begrudge my generosity?’[b] 16 So (I)the last will be first, and the first last.”
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.