Book of Common Prayer
Calm Trust in Yahweh
A song of ascents. Of David.[a]
131 My heart is not haughty nor my eyes arrogant.[b]
And I do not concern myself[c]
with things too great and difficult for me.
2 Rather I have soothed and quieted my soul,
like a weaned child with its mother,
like the weaned child is my soul with me.
3 O Israel, hope in Yahweh
from now until forever.
Yahweh Dwells in Zion
A song of ascents.[d]
132 O Yahweh, remember with regard to David
all his affliction.[e]
2 How he swore to Yahweh,
he vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob:
3 “I will not enter into the tent of my house,
I will not go up to the couch of my bed,
4 I will give no sleep to my eyes,
no slumber to my eyelids,
5 until I find a place for Yahweh,
a dwelling place for the Mighty One of Jacob.”
6 Look, we heard of it in Ephrathah;
we found her in the fields of Jaar.[f]
7 Let us go to his dwelling places;[g]
Let us worship at his footstool.
8 Arise, O Yahweh, to your resting place,
you and your mighty ark.
9 Let your priests clothe themselves with righteousness,
and let your faithful sing for joy.
10 For the sake of your servant David,
do not turn away the face of your anointed one.
11 Yahweh swore in truth to David;
he will not turn back from it.
“One from the fruit of your body[h]
I will set on your throne.
12 If your sons will heed my covenant
and my testimonies that I will teach them,
their sons also forever
will sit on your throne.”
13 For Yahweh has chosen Zion;
he has desired it for his habitation.
14 “This is my resting place forever;
here I will dwell, for I have desired it.
15 I will bless its provisions abundantly;
I will satisfy its poor with bread.
16 I will also clothe its priests with salvation,
and its faithful will shout exuberantly for joy.
17 There I will cause a horn to grow for David;
I will set a lamp for my anointed one.
18 I will clothe his enemies with shame,
but on him his crown will flourish.”[i]
The People of God Dwell in Unity
A song of ascents. Of David.[j]
133 Look, how good and how pleasant it is
when brothers dwell together in unity.
2 It is like the fragrant oil upon the head,
running down upon the beard, the beard of Aaron,
that runs down upon the edges of his robes.
3 It is like the dew of Hermon that runs down
upon the mountains of Zion,
because there Yahweh commanded the blessing—
life forever.
Praising Yahweh in the Temple at Night
A song of ascents.[k]
134 Look, bless Yahweh, all you the servants of Yahweh,
who serve[l] in the house[m] of Yahweh by night.
2 Lift up your hands in the sanctuary
and bless Yahweh.
3 May Yahweh bless you from Zion,
he who made heaven and earth.
Praise to God for His Power and Redemption
135 Praise Yah![n] Praise the name of Yahweh.
Praise him, O servants of Yahweh,
2 who stand in the house[o] of Yahweh,
in the courts of the house[p] of our God.
3 Praise Yah,[q] for Yahweh is good.
Sing praises concerning his name, for it is pleasant.
4 For Yah has chosen Jacob for himself,
Israel as his special possession.
5 For I know that Yahweh is great,
and our Lord is greater than all gods.
6 All that Yahweh desires, he does,
in heaven and on earth,
in the seas and all the depths.
7 He causes clouds to rise from the edge of the earth;
he makes lightnings for the rain;
he brings out the wind from his storehouses.
8 Who struck the firstborn of Egypt,
both of humans[r] and animals.[s]
9 He sent signs and wonders into your midst, O Egypt,
against Pharaoh and all his servants.
10 Who struck many nations
and killed mighty kings—
11 Sihon the king of the Amorites,
and Og the king of Bashan,
and all the kingdoms of Canaan—
12 and he gave their land as an inheritance,
an inheritance for his people Israel.
13 O Yahweh, your name endures forever,
your renown[t] throughout all generations,[u]
14 for Yahweh will plead the cause of his people
and will have compassion on his servants.
15 The idols of the nations are silver and gold,
the work of the hands of humankind.
16 They have mouths, but cannot speak;
they have eyes, but cannot see;
17 they have ears, but cannot hear;
there is not even breath in their mouths.
18 Those who make them become like them,
as does everyone who trusts in them.
19 O house of Israel, bless Yahweh.
O house of Aaron, bless Yahweh.
20 O house of Levi, bless Yahweh.
You who fear Yahweh, bless Yahweh.
21 Blessed be Yahweh from Zion,
who dwells in Jerusalem. Praise Yah![v]
Judgment of Jerusalem and the Nations
3 Woe to you, O rebellious and defiled one!
The oppressing city!
2 She listens to no voice;
she does not accept correction.
In Yahweh she does not trust;
to her God she does not draw near.
3 Her officials in her midst are roaring lions;
her judges are evening wolves;
they leave nothing until the morning.
4 Her prophets are arrogant men of treachery;
her priests have defiled that which is holy;
they do violence to the law.
5 Yahweh is righteous in her midst;
he does not do wickedness.
Morning by morning[a] he renders his judgment;
at dawn he does not fail,
but an evil one knows no shame.
6 “I have cut off nations;
their strongholds are deserted.
I have laid waste their streets,
so that none pass through.
Their cities have been destroyed
and are without a man, without an inhabitant.
7 I have said, ‘Surely she will fear me;
she will accept discipline.
Then her dwelling place will not be cut down,
nor all that I have brought upon her.’
Surely they rise early;
they make all their deeds corrupt.
8 “Therefore, wait for me”—a declaration of Yahweh—
“for the day of my rising as a witness.
For my decision is to gather nations,
to assemble[b] kingdoms,
to pour out my wrath upon them, all my burning anger.
For by the fire of my anger all the land shall be consumed.
9 Because then I will make the speech of the nations pure;[c]
that all of them might call on the name of Yahweh,
to serve him in unison.[d]
10 From beyond the rivers of Cush
my worshipers and the daughter of my scattered ones
shall bring my offering.
11 On that day you shall not be humiliated
on account of all your deeds
by which you have rebelled against me.
For then I shall remove from your midst
those exulting in your pride,
and you shall no longer be haughty
in my holy mountain.[e]
12 And I will leave in your midst
a people afflicted and poor,
and they shall take refuge
in the name of Yahweh.
13 The remnant of Israel
shall not do wickedness;
they shall not speak deception,
nor shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth.
For they shall graze and lie down,
and none shall frighten them.”
11 Dear friends, I urge you as foreigners and temporary residents to abstain from fleshly desires which wage war against your[a] soul, 12 maintaining your good conduct among the Gentiles, so that in the things in which they slander you as evildoers, by seeing your good deeds they may glorify God on the day of visitation.
Submission to Established Authority
13 Subject yourselves to every human authority for the sake of the Lord, whether to a king[b] as having supreme authority, 14 or to governors as those sent out by him for the punishment of those who do evil and the praise of those who do good. 15 For the will of God is as follows: by[c] doing good to silence the ignorance of foolish people. 16 Live as free persons, and not using your[d] freedom as a covering for evil, but as slaves of God. 17 Honor all people, love the community of believers, fear God, honor the king.[e]
18 Domestic slaves, be subject to your[f] masters with all respect, not only to those who are good and gentle, but also to those who are unjust. 19 For this finds favor, if because of consciousness of God someone endures sorrows while[g] suffering unjustly. 20 For what credit is it if, when you[h] sin and are beaten for it, you endure? But if you endure when you[i] do good and suffer for it, this finds favor with God. 21 For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you should follow in his footsteps, 22 who did not commit sin, nor was deceit found in his mouth,[j] 23 who when he[k] was reviled, did not revile in return; when[l] suffering, he did not threaten, but entrusted himself to the one who judges justly, 24 who himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we may die to sins and live to righteousness, by whose wounds you were healed. 25 For you were going astray like sheep, but you have turned back now to the shepherd and guardian of your souls.
The Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard
20 “For the kingdom of heaven is like a man—the master of the house—who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. 2 And after[a] coming to an agreement with the workers for a denarius per 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 those people he said, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and I will give you whatever is right.’ 5 So they went. Going out[b] again about the sixth and ninth hour he did the same thing. 6 And about the eleventh hour he went out and[c] found others standing there and said to them, ‘Why are you standing here the whole day unemployed?’ 7 They said to him, ‘Because no one hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You go also into the vineyard.’ 8 And when[d] evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his manager, ‘Call the workers and pay them their[e] wages, beginning from the last up to the first.’ 9 And when the ones hired about the eleventh hour came, they received a denarius apiece. 10 And when[f] the first came, they thought that they would receive more, and they also received a denarius apiece. 11 And when they[g] received it,[h] they began to complain[i] against the master of the house, 12 saying, ‘These last people worked one hour and you made them equal to us who have endured the burden of the day and the burning heat!’ 13 But he answered one of them and[j] said, ‘Friend, I am not doing you wrong. Did you not come to an agreement with me for a denarius? 14 Take what is yours and go! But I want to give to this last person the same as I gave[k] to you also. 15 Is it not[l] permitted for me to do whatever I want with what is mine? Or is your eye evil because I am generous?’ 16 Thus the last will be first and the first last.”
2012 by Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software