Book of Common Prayer
131 LORD, my heart is not haughty, nor are my eyes lofty, nor have I proceeded in great matters and things hidden from me.
2 Surely, I have behaved like one weaned from his mother and kept silent. In myself, I am as one who is weaned.
3 Let Israel wait on the LORD from henceforth and forever. A song of degrees
132 LORD, remember David with all his affliction.
2 Who swore to the LORD, vowed to the Mighty of Jacob,
3 “I will not enter into the tabernacle of my house, nor come upon my pallet (my bed),
4 “nor allow my eyes to sleep, nor my eyelids to slumber,
5 “until I find a place for the LORD, a habitation for the Mighty of Jacob.”
6 Lo, we heard of it in Ephrathah and found it in the fields of the forest.
7 We will enter into His Tabernacles and worship before His footstool.
8 Arise, O LORD, into Your rest, You and the Ark of Your strength.
9 Let Your priests be clothed with righteousness; and let Your saints rejoice.
10 For Your servant David’s sake, do not refuse the face of Your Anointed.
11 The LORD has sworn to David in truth; and He will not shrink from it, saying, “From the fruit of your body will I set upon your throne.
12 “If your sons keep My Covenant, and My testimonies, so that I shall teach them, their sons also shall sit upon your throne forever.”
13 For the LORD has chosen Zion and loved to dwell in it, saying,
14 “This is My rest, forever. Here will I dwell; for I have desired it.
15 “I will surely bless her provisions and will satisfy her poor with bread
16 “and will clothe her priests with salvation; and her saints shall shout for joy.
17 “There I will make the horn of David bud. I have ordained a Light for My Anointed.
18 “I will clothe His enemies with shame; but on Him His crown shall flourish.” A song of degrees, or Psalm, of Solomon
133 Behold, how good and how pleasant a thing it is for brothers to dwell together.
2 It is like the precious ointment upon the head, which runs down upon the beard (even to Aaron’s beard, which went down on the border of his garments)
3 as the dew of Hermon which falls upon the mountains of Zion; for there the LORD appointed the blessing and life forever. A song of degrees
134 Behold! Praise the LORD all you servants of the LORD, who stand in the House of the LORD by night!
2 Lift up your hands to the Sanctuary and praise the LORD!
3 The LORD, Who has made Heaven and Earth, bless you out of Zion. Praise the LORD
135 Praise the Name of the LORD, you servants of the LORD! Praise,
2 you who stand in the House of the LORD and in the courts of the House of our God!
3 Praise the LORD; for the LORD is good! Sing praises to His Name; for it is a sweet thing.
4 For the LORD has chosen Jacob for Himself and Israel for His chief treasure.
5 For I know that the LORD is great and that our LORD is above all gods.
6 Whatever pleased the LORD, He did in Heaven and on Earth, in the sea and in all the depths.
7 He brings up the clouds from the ends of the Earth and makes the lightning with the rain. He draws forth the wind out of His treasures.
8 He struck the firstborn of Egypt (of both man and beast).
9 He has sent signs and wonders into the midst of You, O Egypt, upon Pharaoh and upon all his servants.
10 He struck many nations and slew mighty Kings—
11 Sihon, King of the Amorites and Og, King of Bashan, and all the kingdoms of Canaan—
12 and gave their land for an inheritance, an inheritance to Israel, His people.
13 Your Name, O LORD, endures forever! O LORD, Your remembrance is from generation to generation.
14 For the LORD will judge His people and be pacified toward His servants.
15 The idols of the heathen are silver and gold, the work of men’s hands.
16 They have a mouth and do not speak. They have eyes and do not see.
17 They have ears and do not hear, nor is there any breath in their mouth.
18 Those who make them are like them, all who trust in them.
19 Praise the LORD, you House of Israel! Praise the LORD, you House of Aaron!
20 Praise the LORD, you House of Levi! You who fear the LORD, praise the LORD!
21 Praise the LORD out of Zion, Who dwells in Jerusalem! Praise the LORD!
19 And it was told to Joab, “Behold, the king weeps and mourns for Absalom.”
2 Therefore, the victory of that day was turned into mourning for all the people. For the people heard say that day, “The king sorrows for his son.”
3 And the people went that day into the city, secretly, as ashamed people when they hide themselves while fleeing in battle.
4 So the king hid his face. And the king cried with a loud voice, “My son Absalom! Absalom, my son! My son!”
5 Then Joab came into the house, to the king, and said, “This day you have shamed the faces of all your servants who have saved your life this day, and the lives of your sons, and of your daughters, and the lives of your wives, and the lives of your concubines,
6 “in that you love your enemies and hate your friends. For this day you have declared that you regard neither your princes nor servants. Therefore, this day I perceive that if Absalom had lived, and we all had died this day, that then it would have pleased you well.
7 “Now, therefore, up! Come out and speak comfortably to your servants. For I swear by the LORD, unless you come out, there will not be one man stay with you this night! And that will be worse for you than all the evil that has fallen on you from your youth until now!”
8 Then the king arose and sat in the gate. And they declared to all the people, saying, “Behold, the king sits in the gate!” And all the people came before the king (for Israel had fled, each man to his tent).
9 Then all the people were quarreling throughout all the tribes of Israel, saying, “The king saved us out of the hand of our enemies, and he delivered us out of the hand of the Philistines, and now he has fled out of the land for Absalom!
10 “And Absalom, whom we anointed over us, is dead in battle! Therefore, why are you so slow to bring the king back?”
11 But King David sent to Zadok and to Abiathar, the priests, saying, “Speak to the elders of Judah, and say, ‘Why are you the last to bring the king back to his house, since the saying of all Israel has come to the king, to his house?
12 ‘You are my brethren. My bones and my flesh are yours. Why, then, are you the last who bring the king back?’
13 “Also, say to Amasa, ‘Are you not my bone and my flesh? God do so to me and more also if you are not captain of the army to me forever in the room of Joab!’”
14 So he turned the hearts of all the men of Judah, as of one man. Therefore, they sent to the king, saying, “Return with all your servants.”
15 So the king returned and came to Jordan. And Judah came to Gilgal, to go meet the king and to cross over Jordan with him.
16 And Shimei, the son of Gera, the son of Benjamin (who was from Bahurim) hurried and came down with the men of Judah to meet king David,
17 and a thousand men of Benjamin with him, and Ziba the servant of the House of Saul and his fifteen sons and twenty servants with him. And they went over Jordan before the king.
18 And a boat went over to carry over the king’s household, and to bring him pleasure. Then Shimei, the son of Gera, fell before the king after he had come over Jordan,
19 and said to the king, “Do not let my lord think me guilty, or remember the thing that your servant did wickedly when my lord the king departed out of Jerusalem, so that the king would take it to heart.
20 “For your servant knows that I have done amiss. Therefore, behold, I am the first this day, of all the House of Joseph, who has come to go down to meet my lord the king.”
21 But Abishai, the son of Zeruiah, answered and said, “Shall not Shimei die for this, because he cursed the LORD’s anointed?”
22 And David said, “What have I to do with you, you sons of Zeruiah, that this day you should be adversaries to me? Shall there any man die this day in Israel? For do not I know that I am this day king over Israel?”
23 Therefore, the king said to Shimei, “You shall not die.” And the king swore to him.
24 Now after five days, Ananias the High Priest came down with the elders and Tertullus (a certain orator), who appeared against Paul before the Governor.
2 And when he was called forth, Tertullus began to accuse him, saying, “Seeing that we have obtained great peace through you, and that many worthy things are being done in this nation through your foresight,
3 “we acknowledge it wholly, and in all places, with all thanks, most noble Felix.
4 “But so as not to detain you, I beg you to hear a few words from us out of your fairness.
5 “We have found this man to be a pest, an inciter of sedition among all the Jews throughout the world, and a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes,
6 “who has tried to pollute the Temple. Therefore, we took him, and would have judged him according to our Law.
7 “But the chief captain, Lysias, came upon us and (with great violence) took him out of our hands,
8 “commanding his accusers to come to you. By examining him yourself you may learn all these things of which we accuse him.”
9 And the Jews also agreed, saying that it was so.
10 Then Paul, after the Governor had beckoned to him that he should speak, answered, “Because I know that you have been a judge over this nation for many years, I do the more gladly answer for myself,
11 “seeing that you may know that it has only been twelve days since I came up to worship in Jerusalem.
12 “And they neither found me in the Temple (disputing with any man or inciting uproar among the people), nor in the synagogues, nor in the city.
13 “Nor can they prove the things of which they now accuse me.
14 “But this I confess to you: that I worship the God of my Fathers as does the Way (which they call heresy), believing all things which are written in the Law and the Prophets.
15 “And I have hope in God that the resurrection of the dead, (which they themselves also look for) shall be of both just and unjust.
16 “And in this I myself always endeavor to have a clear conscience toward God and toward man.
17 “Now after many years, I came and brought alms and offerings to my nation.
18 “At which time, some Asian Jews found me (with neither multitude nor tumult) purified in the Temple.
19 “They ought to have been present to accuse me before you, if they have anything against me.
20 “Or else let these themselves say if they have found any unjust thing in me while I stood in the Council,
21 “except for this one statement which I cried out while standing among them, ‘Concerning the resurrection of the dead am I accused by you this day.’”
22 Now when Felix heard these things, he deferred them, and said, “When I shall better understand the things which concern this Way (by the coming of Lysias the chief Captain), I will decide your matter.”
23 Then he commanded a Centurion to keep Paul, and that he should have liberty, and that he should forbid none of his friends to minister to him, or to come to him.
28 Then came one of the scribes who had heard them disputing together. And perceiving that he had answered them well, he asked him, “Which is the first Commandment of all?
29 Jesus answered him, “The first of all the Commandments is, ‘Hear, Israel, The Lord our God is the only Lord.
30 “‘You shall therefore love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first Commandment.
31 “And the second is similar; that is, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other Commandment greater than these.”
32 Then that scribe said to Him, “Well, Master, you have said the truth; that there is one God, and that there is none but He,
33 “And to love Him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbor as himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.”
34 Then when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, He said to him, “You are not far from the Kingdom of God.” And no one dared to ask Him any question after that.
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