Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 131[a]
A song of ascents,[b] by David.
131 O Lord, my heart is not proud,
nor do I have a haughty look.[c]
I do not have great aspirations,
or concern myself with things that are beyond me.[d]
2 Indeed,[e] I have calmed and quieted myself[f]
like a weaned child with its mother;[g]
I am content like a young child.[h]
3 O Israel, hope in the Lord
now and forevermore!
Psalm 132[i]
A song of ascents.[j]
132 O Lord, for David’s sake remember
all his strenuous effort,[k]
2 and how he made a vow to the Lord,
and swore an oath to the Powerful One of Jacob.
3 He said,[l] “I will not enter my own home,[m]
or get into my bed.[n]
4 I will not allow my eyes to sleep,
or my eyelids to slumber,
5 until I find a place for the Lord,
a fine dwelling place[o] for the Powerful One of Jacob.”[p]
6 Look, we heard about it[q] in Ephrathah;[r]
we found it in the territory of Jaar.[s]
7 Let us go to his dwelling place.
Let us worship[t] before his footstool.
8 Ascend, O Lord, to your resting place,
you and the ark of your strength.
9 May your priests be clothed with integrity.[u]
May your loyal followers shout for joy.
10 For the sake of David, your servant,
do not reject your chosen king.[v]
11 The Lord made a reliable promise to David;[w]
he will not go back on his word.[x]
He said,[y] “I will place one of your descendants[z] on your throne.
12 If your sons keep my covenant
and the rules I teach them,
their sons will also sit on your throne forever.”
13 Certainly[aa] the Lord has chosen Zion;
he decided to make it his home.[ab]
14 He said,[ac] “This will be my resting place forever;
I will live here, for I have chosen it.[ad]
15 I will abundantly supply what she needs;[ae]
I will give her poor all the food they need.[af]
16 I will protect her priests,[ag]
and her godly people will shout exuberantly.[ah]
17 There I will make David strong;[ai]
I have determined that my chosen king’s dynasty will continue.[aj]
18 I will humiliate his enemies,[ak]
and his crown will shine.”
Psalm 133[al]
A song of ascents;[am] by David.
133 Look! How good and how pleasant it is
when brothers truly live in unity.[an]
2 It is like fine oil poured on the head,
which flows down the beard[ao]—
Aaron’s beard,
and then flows down his garments.[ap]
3 It is like the dew of Hermon,[aq]
which flows down upon the hills of Zion.[ar]
Indeed,[as] that is where the Lord has decreed
a blessing will be available—eternal life.[at]
Psalm 134[au]
A song of ascents.[av]
134 Attention![aw] Praise the Lord,
all you servants of the Lord,
who serve[ax] in the Lord’s temple during the night.
2 Lift your hands toward the sanctuary
and praise the Lord.
3 May the Lord, the Creator of heaven and earth,
bless you[ay] from Zion.[az]
Psalm 135[ba]
135 Praise the Lord.
Praise the name of the Lord.
Offer praise, you servants of the Lord,
2 who serve[bb] in the Lord’s temple,
in the courts of the temple of our God.
3 Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good.
Sing praises to his name, for it is pleasant.[bc]
4 Indeed,[bd] the Lord has chosen Jacob for himself,
Israel to be his special possession.[be]
5 Yes,[bf] I know the Lord is great,
and our Lord is superior to all gods.
6 He does whatever he pleases
in heaven and on earth,
in the seas and all the ocean depths.
7 He causes the clouds to arise from the end of the earth,
makes lightning bolts accompany the rain,
and brings the wind out of his storehouses.
8 He struck down the firstborn of Egypt,
including both men and animals.
9 He performed awesome deeds[bg] and acts of judgment[bh]
in your midst, O Egypt,
against Pharaoh and all his servants.
10 He defeated many nations,
and killed mighty kings—
11 Sihon, king of the Amorites,
and Og, king of Bashan,
and all the kingdoms of Canaan.
12 He gave their land as an inheritance,
as an inheritance to Israel his people.
13 O Lord, your name endures,[bi]
your reputation, O Lord, lasts.[bj]
14 For the Lord vindicates[bk] his people,
and has compassion on his servants.[bl]
15 The nations’ idols are made of silver and gold;
they are man-made.[bm]
16 They have mouths, but cannot speak,
eyes, but cannot see,
17 and ears, but cannot hear.
Indeed, they cannot breathe.[bn]
18 Those who make them will end up[bo] like them,
as will everyone who trusts in them.
19 O family[bp] of Israel, praise the Lord.
O family of Aaron, praise the Lord.
20 O family of Levi, praise the Lord.
You loyal followers[bq] of the Lord, praise the Lord.
21 The Lord deserves praise in Zion[br]—
he who dwells in Jerusalem.
Praise the Lord.
21 Then tell them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Look, I am about to take the Israelites from among the nations where they have gone. I will gather them from round about and bring them to their land. 22 I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel, and one king will rule over them all. They will never again be two nations and never again be divided into two kingdoms.[a] 23 They will not defile themselves with their idols, their detestable things, and all their rebellious deeds. I will save them from all their unfaithfulness[b] by which they sinned. I will purify them; they will become my people, and I will become their God.
24 “‘My servant David will be king over them; there will be one shepherd for all of them. They will follow[c] my regulations and carefully observe my statutes.[d] 25 They will live in the land I gave to my servant Jacob, in which your fathers lived; they will live in it—they and their children and their grandchildren forever. David my servant will be prince over them forever. 26 I will make a covenant of peace with them; it will be a perpetual covenant with them.[e] I will establish them,[f] increase their numbers, and place my sanctuary among them forever. 27 My dwelling place will be with them; I will be their God, and they will be my people. 28 Then, when my sanctuary is among them forever, the nations will know that I, the Lord, sanctify Israel.’”[g]
Warning About False Teachers
18 Children, it is the last hour, and just as you heard that the antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists[a] have appeared. We know from this that it is the last hour. 19 They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us, because if they had belonged to us, they would have remained[b] with us. But[c] they went out from us[d] to demonstrate[e] that all of them do not belong to us.[f]
20 Nevertheless you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you all know.[g] 21 I have not written to you that[h] you do not know the truth, but that[i] you do know it, and that[j] no lie is of the truth. 22 Who is the liar but the person who denies that Jesus is the Christ[k] ? This one is the antichrist: the person who denies the Father and the Son. 23 Everyone who denies the Son does not have the Father either. The person who confesses the Son has the Father also.[l]
24 As for you, what you have heard from the beginning must remain[m] in you. If what you heard from the beginning remains in you, you also will remain in the Son and in the Father. 25 Now this[n] is the promise that he[o] himself made to[p] us: eternal life.[q] 26 These things I have written to you about those who are trying to deceive you.[r]
27 Now as for you, the anointing[s] that you received from him[t] resides[u] in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you. But as his[v] anointing teaches you about all things, it is true and is not a lie. Just as[w] it[x] has taught you, you reside[y] in him.
Children of God
28 And now, little children, remain[z] in him,[aa] so that when[ab] he appears we may have confidence and not shrink away from him in shame when he comes back.[ac] 29 If you know that he is righteous, you also know[ad] that everyone who practices righteousness has been fathered[ae] by him.
Persecution of Disciples
16 “I[a] am sending you out like sheep surrounded by wolves,[b] so be wise as serpents[c] and innocent as doves.[d] 17 Beware[e] of people, because they will hand you over to councils[f] and flog[g] you in their synagogues.[h] 18 And you will be brought before governors and kings[i] because of me, as a witness to them and to the Gentiles. 19 Whenever[j] they hand you over for trial,[k] do not worry about how to speak or what to say,[l] for what you should say will be given to you at that time.[m] 20 For it is not you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.
21 “Brother[n] will hand over brother to death, and a father his child. Children will rise against[o] parents and have them put to death. 22 And you will be hated by everyone because of my name. But the one who endures to the end will be saved! 23 Whenever[p] they persecute you in one town,[q] flee to another! I tell you the truth,[r] you will not finish going through all the towns[s] of Israel before the Son of Man comes.
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