Book of Common Prayer
Prayer for Deliverance from the Treacherous.
A Song of [a]Ascents.
120 (A)In my trouble I cried to the Lord,
And He answered me.
2 Deliver my soul, O Lord, from (B)lying lips,
From a (C)deceitful tongue.
3 What shall be given to you, and what more shall be done to you,
You (D)deceitful tongue?
4 (E)Sharp arrows of the warrior,
With the burning (F)coals of the broom tree.
5 Woe is me, for I sojourn in (G)Meshech,
For I dwell among the (H)tents of (I)Kedar!
6 Too long has my soul had its dwelling
With those who (J)hate peace.
7 I (K)am for peace, but when I speak,
They are (L)for war.
The Lord the Keeper of Israel.
A Song of Ascents.
121 I will (M)lift up my eyes to (N)the mountains;
From where shall my help come?
2 My (O)help comes from the Lord,
Who (P)made heaven and earth.
3 He will not (Q)allow your foot to slip;
He who (R)keeps you will not slumber.
4 Behold, He who keeps Israel
Will neither slumber nor sleep.
5 The Lord is your (S)keeper;
The Lord is your (T)shade on your right hand.
6 The (U)sun will not smite you by day,
Nor the moon by night.
7 The Lord will [b](V)protect you from all evil;
He will keep your soul.
8 The Lord will [c](W)guard your going out and your coming in
(X)From this time forth and forever.
Prayer for the Peace of Jerusalem.
A Song of Ascents, of David.
122 I was glad when they said to me,
“Let us (Y)go to the house of the Lord.”
2 Our feet are standing
Within your (Z)gates, O Jerusalem,
3 Jerusalem, that is (AA)built
As a city that is (AB)compact together;
4 To which the tribes (AC)go up, even the tribes of [d]the Lord—
[e]An ordinance for Israel—
To give thanks to the name of the Lord.
5 For there (AD)thrones were set for judgment,
The thrones of the house of David.
6 Pray for the (AE)peace of Jerusalem:
“May they prosper who (AF)love you.
7 “May peace be within your (AG)walls,
And prosperity within your (AH)palaces.”
8 For the sake of my (AI)brothers and my friends,
I will now say, “(AJ)May peace be within you.”
9 For the sake of the house of the Lord our God,
I will (AK)seek your good.
Prayer for the Lord’s Help.
A Song of Ascents.
123 To You I (AL)lift up my eyes,
O You who (AM)are enthroned in the heavens!
2 Behold, as the eyes of (AN)servants look to the hand of their master,
As the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress,
So our (AO)eyes look to the Lord our God,
Until He is gracious to us.
3 (AP)Be gracious to us, O Lord, be gracious to us,
For we are greatly filled (AQ)with contempt.
4 Our soul is greatly filled
With the (AR)scoffing of (AS)those who are at ease,
And with the (AT)contempt of the proud.
Praise for Rescue from Enemies.
A Song of Ascents, of David.
124 “(AU)Had it not been the Lord who was on our side,”
(AV)Let Israel now say,
2 “Had it not been the Lord who was on our side
When men rose up against us,
3 Then they would have (AW)swallowed us alive,
When their (AX)anger was kindled against us;
4 Then the (AY)waters would have engulfed us,
The stream would have [f]swept over our soul;
5 Then the (AZ)raging waters would have [g]swept over our soul.”
6 Blessed be the Lord,
Who has not given us [h]to be (BA)torn by their teeth.
7 Our soul has (BB)escaped (BC)as a bird out of the (BD)snare of the trapper;
The snare is broken and we have escaped.
8 Our (BE)help is in the name of the Lord,
Who (BF)made heaven and earth.
The Lord Surrounds His People.
A Song of Ascents.
125 Those who trust in the Lord
Are as Mount Zion, which (BG)cannot be moved but (BH)abides forever.
2 As the mountains surround Jerusalem,
So (BI)the Lord surrounds His people
(BJ)From this time forth and forever.
3 For the (BK)scepter of wickedness shall not rest upon the [i]land of the righteous,
So that the righteous (BL)will not put forth their hands to do wrong.
4 (BM)Do good, O Lord, to those who are good
And to those who are (BN)upright in their hearts.
5 But as for those who (BO)turn aside to their (BP)crooked ways,
The Lord will lead them away with the (BQ)doers of iniquity.
(BR)Peace be upon Israel.
Thanksgiving for Return from Captivity.
A Song of Ascents.
126 When the Lord (BS)brought back [j]the captive ones of Zion,
We were (BT)like those who dream.
2 Then our (BU)mouth was filled with laughter
And our (BV)tongue with joyful shouting;
Then they said among the nations,
“The Lord has (BW)done great things for them.”
3 The Lord has done great things for us;
We are (BX)glad.
4 Restore our captivity, O Lord,
As the [k](BY)streams in the [l]South.
5 Those who sow in (BZ)tears shall reap with (CA)joyful shouting.
6 He who goes to and fro weeping, carrying his bag of seed,
Shall indeed come again with a shout of joy, bringing his sheaves with him.
Prosperity Comes from the Lord.
A Song of Ascents, of Solomon.
127 Unless the Lord (CB)builds the house,
They labor in vain who build it;
Unless the Lord (CC)guards the city,
The watchman keeps awake in vain.
2 It is vain for you to rise up early,
To [m]retire late,
To (CD)eat the bread of [n]painful labors;
For He gives to His (CE)beloved (CF)even in his sleep.
3 Behold, (CG)children are a [o]gift of the Lord,
The (CH)fruit of the womb is a reward.
4 Like arrows in the hand of a (CI)warrior,
So are the children of one’s youth.
5 How (CJ)blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them;
(CK)They will not be ashamed
When they (CL)speak with their enemies (CM)in the gate.
Word of Jerusalem’s Capture
21 Now (A)in the (B)twelfth year of our exile, on the fifth of the tenth month, the [a]refugees from Jerusalem came to me, saying, “(C)The city has been [b]taken.” 22 Now the (D)hand of the Lord had been upon me in the evening, before the [c]refugees came. And He (E)opened my mouth [d]at the time they came to me in the morning; so my mouth was (F)opened and I was no longer [e]speechless.
23 Then the word of the Lord came to me saying, 24 “Son of man, they who (G)live in these waste places in the land of Israel are saying, ‘(H)Abraham was only one, yet he possessed the land; so to (I)us who are many the land has been given as a possession.’ 25 Therefore say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God, “You eat meat with the (J)blood in it, lift up your eyes to your idols as you shed blood. (K)Should you then possess the land? 26 You [f](L)rely on your sword, you commit abominations and each of you defiles his neighbor’s wife. Should you then possess the land?”’ 27 Thus you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God, “As I live, surely those who are in the waste places will (M)fall by the sword, and whoever is in the [g]open field I will give to the beasts to be devoured, and those who are in the strongholds and in the (N)caves will die of pestilence. 28 I will (O)make the land a desolation and a waste, and the (P)pride of her power will cease; and the mountains of Israel will be desolate so that no one will pass through. 29 Then they will know that I am the Lord, when I make the land a desolation and a waste because of all their abominations which they have committed.”’
30 “But as for you, son of man, [h]your fellow citizens who talk about you by the walls and in the doorways of the houses, speak to one another, each to his brother, saying, ‘(Q)Come now and hear what the [i]message is which comes forth from the Lord.’ 31 They come to you as people come, and sit before you as My people and hear your words, but they do not do them, for they do the lustful desires expressed by their (R)mouth, and their heart goes after their (S)gain. 32 Behold, you are to them like a sensual song by one who has a (T)beautiful voice and plays well on an instrument; for they hear your words but they do not practice them. 33 So when it (U)comes to pass—[j]as surely it will—then they will know that a prophet has been in their midst.”
Christ Is Our Advocate
2 (A)My little children, I am (B)writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, (C)we have an [a](D)Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; 2 and He Himself is (E)the [b]propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also (F)for those of the whole world.
3 (G)By this we know that we have come to (H)know Him, if we (I)keep His commandments. 4 The one who says, “(J)I have come to (K)know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a (L)liar, and (M)the truth is not in him; 5 but whoever (N)keeps His word, in him the (O)love of God has truly been perfected. (P)By this we know that we are in Him: 6 the one who says he (Q)abides in Him (R)ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked.
7 (S)Beloved, I am (T)not writing a new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you have had (U)from the beginning; the old commandment is the word which you have heard. 8 [c]On the other hand, I am writing (V)a new commandment to you, which is true in Him and in you, because (W)the darkness is passing away and (X)the true Light is already shining. 9 The one who says he is in the Light and yet (Y)hates his (Z)brother is in the darkness until now. 10 (AA)The one who loves his brother abides in the Light and there is no cause for stumbling in him. 11 But the one who (AB)hates his brother is in the darkness and (AC)walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going because the darkness has (AD)blinded his eyes.
35 Jesus was going through all the cities and villages, (A)teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness.
36 (B)Seeing the [a]people, He felt compassion for them, (C)because they were [b]distressed and [c]dispirited like sheep [d]without a shepherd. 37 Then He *said to His disciples, “(D)The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. 38 Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.”
The Twelve Disciples; Instructions for Service
10 Jesus (E)summoned His twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to (F)heal every kind of disease and every kind of sickness.
2 (G)Now the names of the twelve apostles are these: The first, (H)Simon, who is called Peter, and (I)Andrew his brother; and [e](J)James the son of Zebedee, and [f]John his brother; 3 (K)Philip and [g]Bartholomew; (L)Thomas and (M)Matthew the tax collector; [h](N)James the son of Alphaeus, and (O)Thaddaeus; 4 Simon the [i]Zealot, and (P)Judas Iscariot, the one who betrayed Him.
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