Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 131[a]
Childlike Trust in God
1 A song of ascents. Of David.
O Lord, my heart[b] is not proud,
nor are my eyes raised too high.
I do not concern myself with great affairs
or with things too sublime for me.
2 Rather, I have stilled and calmed my soul,[c]
hushed it like a weaned child.
Like a weaned child held in its mother’s arms,
so is my soul within me.
3 O Israel, put your hope in the Lord
both now and forevermore.[d]
Psalm 132[e]
The Divine Promises Made to David
1 A song of ascents.
Remember, O Lord, for David’s sake,
all the difficulties he endured.[f]
2 [g]He swore an oath to the Lord
and vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob:
3 “I will not enter the house I live in
or lie down on the bed where I sleep,
4 neither will I allow myself to fall asleep
or even to close my eyes,
5 until I find a home for the Lord,
a dwelling for the Mighty One of Jacob.”
6 We heard of it in Ephrathah;
we came upon it[h] in the fields of Jaar.
7 [i]Let us enter his dwelling place,
let us worship at his footstool.
8 Arise, O Lord, and go up to your resting place,
you and the Ark of your might.
9 Let your priests clothe themselves with righteousness,[j]
and let your saints shout for joy.
10 For the sake of your servant David,
do not reject your anointed one.[k]
11 The Lord swore this oath[l] to David,
an oath that he will not renounce:
“One of your own descendants
I will place on your throne.
12 If your sons keep my covenant
and the statutes that I will teach them,
their sons will also rule
on your throne from age to age.”[m]
13 For the Lord has chosen Zion;
he has designated it for his home:
14 “This will be my resting place forever;
here I will reside, for such is my wish.
15 [n]“I will bless it with abundant provisions
and satisfy its poor with their fill of bread.
16 I will clothe its priests with salvation,
and its saints will shout for joy.
17 “There I will raise up a horn for David[o]
and prepare a lamp for my anointed one.
18 I will clothe his enemies with shame,
but on his head there will be a resplendent crown.”[p]
Psalm 133[q]
The Blessings of Brotherly Accord
1 A song of ascents. Of David.[r]
How wonderful and delightful it is
for brothers to live together in unity.[s]
2 It is like fragrant ointment poured on the head,
running down upon the beard,
running down upon the beard of Aaron,
and flowing on the collar of his robes.[t]
3 It is like the dew of Hermon
falling upon the mountains of Zion.[u]
For there the Lord has bestowed his blessing,
life forevermore.
Psalm 134[v]
Invitation to Night Prayer
1 A song of ascents.
Come forth to bless the Lord,
all you servants of the Lord,[w]
who minister throughout the night
in the house of the Lord.
2 Lift up your hands toward[x] the sanctuary
and bless the Lord.
3 May the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth,
bless you from Zion.[y]
Psalm 135[z]
Praise of God, Benefactor of His People
1 [aa]Alleluia.
Praise the name of the Lord;
offer him praise, you servants of the Lord,[ab]
2 you who minister in the house of the Lord,
in the courts of the house of our God.[ac]
3 Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good;
sing to honor his name, for he is gracious.[ad]
4 For the Lord has chosen Jacob for himself,
Israel as his treasured possession.[ae]
5 [af]I know that the Lord is great,
that our Lord is superior to all gods.[ag]
6 The Lord does whatever he pleases
in heaven and on earth,
in the seas and in all their depths.[ah]
7 He causes clouds to rise
from the ends of the earth;
he sends lightning[ai] with the rain
and brings forth the wind from his storehouses.
8 [aj]He struck down the firstborn of Egypt,[ak]
those of humans as well as of animals.
9 He sent signs and portents into your midst, O Egypt,[al]
against Pharaoh and all his servants.
10 He struck down many nations
and slew mighty kings:
11 Sihon, king of the Amorites,
Og, king of Bashan,
and all the kings of Canaan.[am]
12 He then gave their lands as a heritage,
a heritage to his people Israel.[an]
13 Your name, O Lord, endures forever,
your renown, O Lord, lasts throughout the ages.[ao]
14 For the Lord will vindicate his people
and show compassion to his servants.[ap]
15 [aq]The idols of the nations are silver and gold,
the work of human hands.
16 They have mouths but they cannot speak;
they have eyes but they cannot see.
17 They have ears but they cannot hear,
and there is no breath in their mouths.
18 Those who make them end up like them,
as do all who place their trust in them.
19 [ar]O house of Israel, bless the Lord!
O house of Aaron, bless the Lord!
20 O house of Levi, bless the Lord!
You who fear the Lord, bless the Lord!
21 Blessed from Zion be the Lord,
he who dwells in Jerusalem.
Alleluia.[as]
Woe to Jerusalem, the Rebel
Chapter 3
1 Woe to the city of tyrants,
rebellious and defiled.
2 It has not heeded any warning voice,
it has not accepted any correction.
It has not placed its trust in the Lord;
it has not drawn near to its God.
3 The officials within it
are roaring lions;
its judges are wolves of the wasteland
that leave nothing in reserve for the morning.
4 Its prophets are arrogant;
they are treacherous men.
Its priests have profaned what is holy
and done violence to the law.
5 The Lord within this city is just;
he does no wrong.
Morning after morning he renders judgment
unfailingly at dawn.
6 I have cut off nations;
their strongholds lie in ruins.
I have laid waste their streets
so that no one walks along them.
Their cities have been laid waste,
and now they are deserted,
without inhabitants.
7 I thought, “Surely you will now fear me
and be willing to accept correction.
You will not fail to realize
how I have inflicted punishments on you.”
However, they only seemed more eager
to make all their deeds corrupt.
8 Therefore, wait for me, says the Lord;
wait for the day when I stand up to accuse you.
For I am determined to gather nations
and assemble kingdoms
in order to pour forth my wrath upon them,
all the heat of my anger.
The entire earth will be consumed
by the fire of my jealousy.
Toward a Tomorrow of Exultance[a]
9 Then I will purify
the lips of my people,
so that all may call on
the name of the Lord
and serve him with one accord.
10 From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia
my suppliants, my scattered ones,
will bring offerings to me.
11 On that day you will not be put to shame
as a result of all the deeds
by which you have rebelled against me.
For then I will remove from your midst
those who are proud and arrogant,
and then you will never again flaunt your pride
on my holy mountain.
12 For I will leave in your midst
those who are meek and humble;
they will seek refuge in the name of the Lord.
13 This remnant of Israel will do no wrong
and utter no lies.
Nor will a deceitful tongue
be found in their mouths.
They will eat and lie down,
and no one will cause them to be afraid.
God’s People in a Hostile World[a]
11 Lead a Good Life amidst Pagans.[b] Beloved, I urge you as aliens and exiles not to succumb to the desires of the flesh that wage war against the soul. 12 Conduct yourselves honorably among the Gentiles so that, although they now malign you as evildoers, they may observe your good works and glorify God on the day of visitation.
13 Christianity Is Not a Subversive Group.[c] For the Lord’s sake, submit to every human institution, whether of the emperor as supreme 14 or of governors as sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do good works. 15 For it is the will of God that by doing right you should silence the ignorant talk of fools.
16 As servants of God, behave as free people, but do not use your freedom as a means to cover up wrongdoing. 17 Give due honor to everyone. Love your fellow believers. Fear God. Honor the emperor.
18 Recommendations for Slaves.[d] Slaves, submit to your masters with due respect, not only to those who are kind and forbearing but also to those who are harsh. 19 It is a sign of grace if you endure the pain of unjust suffering because of your awareness of God.
20 What credit do you deserve if you are patient when you are beaten for doing wrong? However, if you are patient when you do what is right and suffer for it, you have earned merit with God.
21 [e]This, in fact, is what you have been called to do, because Christ himself suffered for you and left an example for you to follow in his footsteps.
22 He committed no sin,[f]
and no deceit was found on his lips.
23 When he was abused, he did not retaliate. When he suffered, he made no threats, but he placed his trust in the one who judges justly. 24 He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live in righteousness.
By his wounds you have been healed. 25 For you were like sheep who had gone astray, but now you have returned to the shepherd and guardian of your souls.[g]
Chapter 20
The Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard.[a] 1 “The kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. 2 After agreeing with the laborers for a denarius[b] a day, he sent them into his vineyard. 3 Going out about nine o’clock,[c] he saw some others standing idle in the marketplace. 4 He said to them, ‘You also go into my vineyard and I will give you what is just.’ 5 When he went out again around noon and at three in the afternoon,[d] he did the same. 6 Then, about five o’clock,[e] he went out and found others standing around, and he said to them, ‘Why have you been standing here idle all day?’ 7 They answered, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You too go into my vineyard.’
8 “When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Summon the workers and give them their pay, beginning with those who came last and ending with the first.’ 9 When those who had started to labor at five o’clock came, each of them received a denarius. 10 Therefore, those who had come first thought that they would receive more, but they were paid a denarius, the same as the others. 11 And when they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner, 12 saying, ‘These men who were hired last worked only one hour, and yet you have rewarded them on the same level with us who have borne the greatest portion of the work and the heat of the day.’
13 “The owner replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I am not treating you unfairly. Did you not agree with me to work for a denarius? 14 Take your pay and leave. I have chosen to pay the latecomers the same as I pay you. 15 Am I not free to do as I wish with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?’ 16 Thus, the last will be first and the first will be last.”
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