Book of Common Prayer
Deliver Me, O Lord
A Song of (A)Ascents.
120 In my distress I called to the Lord,
and he answered me.
2 Deliver me, O Lord,
from lying lips,
from a deceitful tongue.
3 What shall be given to you,
(B)and what more shall be done to you,
you deceitful tongue?
4 (C)A warrior's (D)sharp arrows,
with glowing (E)coals of the broom tree!
5 Woe to me, that I sojourn in (F)Meshech,
that I dwell among (G)the tents of (H)Kedar!
6 Too long have I had my dwelling
among those who hate peace.
7 (I)I am for peace,
but when I speak, they are for war!
My Help Comes from the Lord
A Song of (J)Ascents.
121 I (K)lift up my eyes to (L)the hills.
From where does my help come?
2 (M)My help comes from the Lord,
who (N)made heaven and earth.
3 He will not (O)let your foot be moved;
he who (P)keeps you will not slumber.
4 Behold, he who keeps Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.
5 The Lord is your keeper;
the Lord is your (Q)shade on your (R)right hand.
6 (S)The sun shall not (T)strike you by day,
nor the moon by night.
7 The Lord will (U)keep you from all evil;
he will (V)keep your life.
8 The Lord will keep
your (W)going out and your coming in
from this time forth and forevermore.
Let Us Go to the House of the Lord
A Song of (X)Ascents. Of David.
122 I was glad when they said to me,
(Y)“Let us go to the house of the Lord!”
2 Our feet have been standing
within your gates, O Jerusalem!
3 Jerusalem—(Z)built as a city
that is (AA)bound firmly together,
4 to which the tribes (AB)go up,
the tribes of the Lord,
as was (AC)decreed for[a] Israel,
to give thanks to the name of the Lord.
5 There (AD)thrones for judgment were set,
the thrones of the house of David.
6 (AE)Pray for the peace of Jerusalem!
“May they be secure who love you!
7 Peace be within your (AF)walls
and security within your (AG)towers!”
8 For my brothers and companions' sake
I will say, (AH)“Peace be within you!”
9 For the sake of the house of the Lord our God,
I will (AI)seek your good.
Our Eyes Look to the Lord Our God
A Song of (AJ)Ascents.
123 To you I (AK)lift up my eyes,
O you who are (AL)enthroned in the heavens!
2 Behold, as the eyes of servants
look to the hand of their master,
as the eyes of a maidservant
to the hand of her mistress,
so our eyes look to the Lord our God,
till he has mercy upon us.
3 (AM)Have mercy upon us, O Lord, have mercy upon us,
for we have had more than enough of (AN)contempt.
4 Our soul has had more than enough
of (AO)the scorn of (AP)those who are at ease,
of the contempt of (AQ)the proud.
Our Help Is in the Name of the Lord
A Song of (AR)Ascents. Of David.
124 (AS)If it had not been the Lord who was on our side—
(AT)let Israel now say—
2 if it had not been the Lord who was on our side
when people rose up against us,
3 then they would have (AU)swallowed us up alive,
when their anger was kindled against us;
4 then (AV)the flood would have (AW)swept us away,
the torrent would have gone (AX)over us;
5 then over us would have gone
the raging waters.
6 Blessed be the Lord,
who has not given us
as prey to their teeth!
7 We have escaped like a bird
from (AY)the snare of the fowlers;
the snare is broken,
and we have escaped!
8 (AZ)Our help is in the name of the Lord,
who made heaven and earth.
The Lord Surrounds His People
A Song of (BA)Ascents.
125 Those who (BB)trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion,
which (BC)cannot be moved, but abides forever.
2 As the mountains surround Jerusalem,
so (BD)the Lord surrounds his people,
from this time forth and forevermore.
3 For (BE)the scepter of wickedness shall not (BF)rest
on (BG)the land allotted to the righteous,
lest the righteous (BH)stretch out
their hands to do wrong.
4 (BI)Do good, O Lord, to those who are good,
and to those who are (BJ)upright in their hearts!
5 But those who (BK)turn aside to their (BL)crooked ways
the Lord will lead away with (BM)evildoers!
(BN)Peace be upon Israel!
Restore Our Fortunes, O Lord
A Song of (BO)Ascents.
126 When the Lord (BP)restored the fortunes of Zion,
we were like those who (BQ)dream.
2 Then our (BR)mouth was filled with laughter,
and our tongue with shouts of joy;
then they said among the nations,
(BS)“The Lord has done great things for them.”
3 The Lord has done great things for us;
we are glad.
4 Restore our fortunes, O Lord,
like streams in the Negeb!
5 (BT)Those who sow in tears
shall reap with shouts of joy!
6 He who goes out weeping,
bearing the seed for sowing,
shall come home with shouts of joy,
bringing his sheaves with him.
Unless the Lord Builds the House
A Song of (BU)Ascents. Of Solomon.
Jerusalem Struck Down
21 In the (A)twelfth year (B)of our exile, in the tenth month, on the fifth day of the month, (C)a fugitive from Jerusalem came to me and said, (D)“The city has been struck down.” 22 (E)Now (F)the hand of the Lord had been upon me the evening before the fugitive came; and he had opened my mouth by the time the man came to me in the morning, so my mouth was opened, and I was no longer mute.
23 The word of the Lord came to me: 24 (G)“Son of man, the inhabitants of these (H)waste places in the land of Israel keep saying, (I)‘Abraham was only one man, yet he got possession of the land; but (J)we are many; the land is surely given us to possess.’ 25 Therefore say to them, Thus says the Lord God: (K)You eat flesh with the blood and (L)lift up your eyes to your idols and (M)shed blood; shall you then possess the land? 26 (N)You rely on the sword, (O)you commit abominations, and (P)each of you defiles his neighbor's wife; shall you then possess the land? 27 Say this to them, Thus says the Lord God: (Q)As I live, surely those who are in (R)the waste places shall fall by (S)the sword, and whoever is in the open field I will give to (T)the beasts to be devoured, and those who are in (U)strongholds and in caves shall die by (V)pestilence. 28 (W)And I will make the land a desolation and a waste, and (X)her proud might shall come to an end, and (Y)the mountains of Israel shall be so desolate that none will pass through. 29 (Z)Then they will know that I am the Lord, when I have made the land a desolation and a waste because of all their abominations that they have committed.
30 “As for you, (AA)son of man, (AB)your people who talk together about you by the walls and at the doors of the houses, say to one another, each to his brother, ‘Come, and hear what the word is that comes from the Lord.’ 31 (AC)And they come to you as people come, and they sit before you as my people, and they hear what you say but they will not do it; for (AD)with lustful talk in their mouths they act; their heart is set on their gain. 32 And behold, you are to them like one who sings lustful songs with a beautiful voice and (AE)plays[a] well on an instrument, for (AF)they hear what you say, but they will not do it. 33 (AG)When this comes—and come it will!—(AH)then they will know that a prophet has been among them.”
Christ Our Advocate
2 My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, (A)we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. 2 (B)He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but (C)also for the sins of the whole world. 3 And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we (D)keep his commandments. 4 Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments (E)is a liar, and (F)the truth is not in him, 5 but whoever (G)keeps his word, in him truly (H)the love of God is perfected. (I)By this we may know that we are in him: 6 whoever says he (J)abides in him (K)ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.
The New Commandment
7 Beloved, I am writing you (L)no new commandment, but (M)an old commandment (N)that you had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word that you have heard. 8 At the same time, it is (O)a new commandment that I am writing to you, which is true in him and in you, because[a] (P)the darkness is passing away and (Q)the true light is already shining. 9 Whoever says he is in the light and (R)hates his brother is still in darkness. 10 Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him[b] there is no (S)cause for stumbling. 11 But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and (T)walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.
The Harvest Is Plentiful, the Laborers Few
35 (A)And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction. 36 (B)When he saw the crowds, (C)he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, (D)like sheep without a shepherd. 37 (E)Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; 38 therefore (F)pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to (G)send out laborers into his harvest.”
The Twelve Apostles
10 (H)And he called to him his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every affliction. 2 (I)The names of the twelve apostles are these: first, Simon, (J)who is called Peter, and (K)Andrew his brother; (L)James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; 3 Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and (M)Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus;[a] 4 Simon the Zealot,[b] and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.