Book of Common Prayer
131 Lord, I am not proud and haughty. I don’t think myself better than others. I don’t pretend to “know it all.” 2 I am quiet now before the Lord, just as a child who is weaned from the breast. Yes, my begging has been stilled.
3 O Israel, you too should quietly trust in the Lord—now, and always.
132 Lord, do you remember that time when my heart[a] was so filled with turmoil? 2-5 I couldn’t rest, I couldn’t sleep, thinking how I ought to build a permanent home for the Ark of the Lord,[b] a Temple for the Mighty One of Israel. Then I vowed that I would do it; I made a solemn promise to the Lord.
6 First the Ark was in Ephrathah,[c] then in the distant countryside of Jaar. 7 But now it will be settled in the Temple, in God’s permanent home here on earth. That is where we will go to worship him.[d] 8 Arise, O Lord, and enter your Temple with the Ark, the symbol of your power.
9 We will clothe the priests in white, the symbol of all purity. May our nation shout for joy.
10 Do not reject your servant David—the king you chose for your people. 11 For you promised me that my son would sit on my throne and succeed me. And surely you will never go back on a promise! 12 You also promised that if my descendants will obey the terms of your contract with me, then the dynasty of David shall never end.
13 O Lord, you have chosen Jerusalem[e] as your home: 14 “This is my permanent home where I shall live,” you said, “for I have always wanted it this way. 15 I will make this city prosperous and satisfy her poor with food. 16 I will clothe her priests with salvation; her saints shall shout for joy. 17 David’s power shall grow, for I have decreed for him a mighty Son.[f] 18 I’ll clothe his enemies with shame, but he shall be a glorious King.”
133 How wonderful it is, how pleasant, when brothers live in harmony! 2 For harmony is as precious as the fragrant anointing oil that was poured over Aaron’s head and ran down onto his beard and onto the border of his robe. 3 Harmony is as refreshing as the dew on Mount Hermon, on the mountains of Israel. And God has pronounced this eternal blessing on Jerusalem,[g] even life forevermore.
134 Oh, bless the Lord, you who serve him as watchmen in the Temple every night. 2 Lift your hands in holiness and bless the Lord.
3 The Lord bless you from Zion—the Lord who made heaven and earth.
135 Hallelujah! 2 Yes, let his people praise him as they stand in his Temple courts. 3 Praise the Lord because he is so good; sing to his wonderful name. 4 For the Lord has chosen Israel as his personal possession.
5 I know the greatness of the Lord—that he is greater far than any other god. 6 He does whatever pleases him throughout all of heaven and earth and in the deepest seas. 7 He makes mists rise throughout the earth; he sends the lightning to bring down the rain and sends the winds from his treasuries. 8 He destroyed the eldest child in each Egyptian home, along with the firstborn of the flocks. 9 He did great miracles in Egypt before Pharaoh and all his people. 10 He smote great nations, slaying mighty kings— 11 Sihon, king of Amorites; and Og, the king of Bashan; and the kings of Canaan— 12 and gave their land as an eternal gift to his people Israel.
13 O Jehovah, your name endures forever; your fame is known to every generation. 14 For Jehovah will vindicate his people and have compassion on his servants.
15 The heathen worship idols of gold and silver made by men— 16 idols with speechless mouths, sightless eyes, 17 and ears that cannot hear; they cannot even breathe. 18 Those who make them become like them! And so do all who trust in them!
19 O Israel, bless Jehovah! High Priests of Aaron, bless his name. 20 O Levite priests, bless the Lord Jehovah! Oh, bless his name, all of you who trust and reverence him. 21 All people of Jerusalem, praise the Lord,[h] for he lives here in Jerusalem. Hallelujah!
3 Woe to filthy, sinful Jerusalem, city of violence and crime. 2 In her pride she won’t listen even to the voice of God. No one can tell her anything; she refuses all correction. She does not trust the Lord nor seek for God.
3 Her leaders are like roaring lions hunting for their victims—out for everything that they can get. Her judges are like ravenous wolves at evening time, who by dawn have left no trace of their prey.
4 Her “prophets” are liars seeking their own gain; her priests defile the Temple by their disobedience to God’s laws.
5 But the Lord is there within the city, and he does no wrong. Day by day his justice is more evident, but no one heeds—the wicked know no shame.
6 “I have cut off many nations, laying them waste to their farthest borders; I have left their streets in silent ruin and their cities deserted without a single survivor to remember what happened. 7 I thought, ‘Surely they will listen to me now—surely they will heed my warnings, so that I’ll not need to strike again.’ But no; however much I punish them, they continue all their evil ways from dawn to dusk and dusk to dawn.” 8 But the Lord says, “Be patient; the time is coming soon when I will stand up and accuse these evil nations. For it is my decision to gather together the kingdoms of the earth and pour out my fiercest anger and wrath upon them. All the earth shall be devoured with the fire of my jealousy.
9 “At that time I will change the speech of my returning people to pure Hebrew[a] so that all can worship the Lord together. 10 My scattered people who live in the Sudan,[b] beyond the rivers of Ethiopia, will come with their offerings, asking me to be their God again. 11 And then you will no longer need to be ashamed of yourselves, for you will no longer be rebels against me. I will remove all your proud and arrogant people from among you; there will be no pride or haughtiness on my holy mountain. 12 Those who are left will be the poor and the humble, and they will trust in the name of the Lord. 13 They will not be sinners, full of lies and deceit. They will live quietly, in peace, and lie down in safety, and no one will make them afraid.”
11 Dear brothers, you are only visitors here. Since your real home is in heaven, I beg you to keep away from the evil pleasures of this world; they are not for you, for they fight against your very souls.
12 Be careful how you behave among your unsaved neighbors; for then, even if they are suspicious of you and talk against you, they will end up praising God for your good works when Christ returns.
13 For the Lord’s sake, obey every law of your government: those of the king as head of the state, 14 and those of the king’s officers, for he has sent them to punish all who do wrong, and to honor those who do right.
15 It is God’s will that your good lives should silence those who foolishly condemn the Gospel without knowing what it can do for them, having never experienced its power. 16 You are free from the law, but that doesn’t mean you are free to do wrong. Live as those who are free to do only God’s will at all times.
17 Show respect for everyone. Love Christians everywhere. Fear God and honor the government.
18 Servants, you must respect your masters and do whatever they tell you—not only if they are kind and reasonable, but even if they are tough and cruel. 19 Praise the Lord if you are punished for doing right! 20 Of course, you get no credit for being patient if you are beaten for doing wrong; but if you do right and suffer for it, and are patient beneath the blows, God is well pleased.
21 This suffering is all part of the work God has given you. Christ, who suffered for you, is your example. Follow in his steps: 22 He never sinned, never told a lie, 23 never answered back when insulted; when he suffered he did not threaten to get even; he left his case in the hands of God who always judges fairly. 24 He personally carried the load of our sins in his own body when he died on the cross so that we can be finished with sin and live a good life from now on. For his wounds have healed ours! 25 Like sheep you wandered away from God, but now you have returned to your Shepherd, the Guardian of your souls who keeps you safe from all attacks.
20 Here is another illustration of the Kingdom of Heaven. “The owner of an estate went out early one morning to hire workers for his harvest field. 2 He agreed to pay them $20 a day
3 “A couple of hours later he was passing a hiring hall and saw some men standing around waiting for jobs, 4 so he sent them also into his fields, telling them he would pay them whatever was right at the end of the day. 5 At noon and again around three o’clock in the afternoon he did the same thing.
6 “At five o’clock that evening he was in town again and saw some more men standing around and asked them, ‘Why haven’t you been working today?’
7 “‘Because no one hired us,’ they replied.
“‘Then go on out and join the others in my fields,’ he told them.
8 “That evening he told the paymaster to call the men in and pay them, beginning with the last men first. 9 When the men hired at five o’clock were paid, each received $20. 10 So when the men hired earlier came to get theirs, they assumed they would receive much more. But they, too, were paid $20.
11-12 “They protested, ‘Those fellows worked only one hour, and yet you’ve paid them just as much as those of us who worked all day in the scorching heat.’
13 “‘Friend,’ he answered one of them, ‘I did you no wrong! Didn’t you agree to work all day for $20? 14 Take it and go. It is my desire to pay all the same; 15 is it against the law to give away my money if I want to? Should you be angry because I am kind?’ 16 And so it is that the last shall be first, and the first, last.”
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.