Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 131[a]
Childlike Trust in God
1 A song of ascents. Of David.
O Lord, my heart[b] is not proud,
nor are my eyes raised too high.
I do not concern myself with great affairs
or with things too sublime for me.
2 Rather, I have stilled and calmed my soul,[c]
hushed it like a weaned child.
Like a weaned child held in its mother’s arms,
so is my soul within me.
3 O Israel, put your hope in the Lord
both now and forevermore.[d]
Psalm 132[e]
The Divine Promises Made to David
1 A song of ascents.
Remember, O Lord, for David’s sake,
all the difficulties he endured.[f]
2 [g]He swore an oath to the Lord
and vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob:
3 “I will not enter the house I live in
or lie down on the bed where I sleep,
4 neither will I allow myself to fall asleep
or even to close my eyes,
5 until I find a home for the Lord,
a dwelling for the Mighty One of Jacob.”
6 We heard of it in Ephrathah;
we came upon it[h] in the fields of Jaar.
7 [i]Let us enter his dwelling place,
let us worship at his footstool.
8 Arise, O Lord, and go up to your resting place,
you and the Ark of your might.
9 Let your priests clothe themselves with righteousness,[j]
and let your saints shout for joy.
10 For the sake of your servant David,
do not reject your anointed one.[k]
11 The Lord swore this oath[l] to David,
an oath that he will not renounce:
“One of your own descendants
I will place on your throne.
12 If your sons keep my covenant
and the statutes that I will teach them,
their sons will also rule
on your throne from age to age.”[m]
13 For the Lord has chosen Zion;
he has designated it for his home:
14 “This will be my resting place forever;
here I will reside, for such is my wish.
15 [n]“I will bless it with abundant provisions
and satisfy its poor with their fill of bread.
16 I will clothe its priests with salvation,
and its saints will shout for joy.
17 “There I will raise up a horn for David[o]
and prepare a lamp for my anointed one.
18 I will clothe his enemies with shame,
but on his head there will be a resplendent crown.”[p]
Psalm 133[q]
The Blessings of Brotherly Accord
1 A song of ascents. Of David.[r]
How wonderful and delightful it is
for brothers to live together in unity.[s]
2 It is like fragrant ointment poured on the head,
running down upon the beard,
running down upon the beard of Aaron,
and flowing on the collar of his robes.[t]
3 It is like the dew of Hermon
falling upon the mountains of Zion.[u]
For there the Lord has bestowed his blessing,
life forevermore.
Psalm 134[v]
Invitation to Night Prayer
1 A song of ascents.
Come forth to bless the Lord,
all you servants of the Lord,[w]
who minister throughout the night
in the house of the Lord.
2 Lift up your hands toward[x] the sanctuary
and bless the Lord.
3 May the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth,
bless you from Zion.[y]
Psalm 135[z]
Praise of God, Benefactor of His People
1 [aa]Alleluia.
Praise the name of the Lord;
offer him praise, you servants of the Lord,[ab]
2 you who minister in the house of the Lord,
in the courts of the house of our God.[ac]
3 Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good;
sing to honor his name, for he is gracious.[ad]
4 For the Lord has chosen Jacob for himself,
Israel as his treasured possession.[ae]
5 [af]I know that the Lord is great,
that our Lord is superior to all gods.[ag]
6 The Lord does whatever he pleases
in heaven and on earth,
in the seas and in all their depths.[ah]
7 He causes clouds to rise
from the ends of the earth;
he sends lightning[ai] with the rain
and brings forth the wind from his storehouses.
8 [aj]He struck down the firstborn of Egypt,[ak]
those of humans as well as of animals.
9 He sent signs and portents into your midst, O Egypt,[al]
against Pharaoh and all his servants.
10 He struck down many nations
and slew mighty kings:
11 Sihon, king of the Amorites,
Og, king of Bashan,
and all the kings of Canaan.[am]
12 He then gave their lands as a heritage,
a heritage to his people Israel.[an]
13 Your name, O Lord, endures forever,
your renown, O Lord, lasts throughout the ages.[ao]
14 For the Lord will vindicate his people
and show compassion to his servants.[ap]
15 [aq]The idols of the nations are silver and gold,
the work of human hands.
16 They have mouths but they cannot speak;
they have eyes but they cannot see.
17 They have ears but they cannot hear,
and there is no breath in their mouths.
18 Those who make them end up like them,
as do all who place their trust in them.
19 [ar]O house of Israel, bless the Lord!
O house of Aaron, bless the Lord!
20 O house of Levi, bless the Lord!
You who fear the Lord, bless the Lord!
21 Blessed from Zion be the Lord,
he who dwells in Jerusalem.
Alleluia.[as]
Chapter 19
Joab Reproves David. 1 Word was brought to Joab: “The king is weeping and mourning for Absalom.” 2 Therefore, that day’s victory was turned into one of mourning for the entire army when the troops heard the report: “The king is grieving for his son.”
3 The troops stole furtively into the city that day, much as soldiers steal in who are ashamed when they flee from a battle. 4 Meanwhile the king covered his face and cried out in a loud voice: “O my son Absalom! O Absalom, my son, my son!”
5 Then Joab came to the king’s house and said to him: “Today you have caused all of your officers and servants to feel ashamed, humiliating those who saved your life today, and the lives of your sons and daughters, and the lives of your wives and concubines, 6 by showing love for those who hate you and hatred for those who love you.
“You have made it perfectly clear that your commanders and soldiers mean nothing to you. I feel certain that if Absalom were still alive and all the rest of us were dead, then you would be pleased. 7 Therefore, get up, come out, and reassure your servants. I swear by the Lord that if you do not go out, not one man will be left with you by nightfall, and that will be worse for you than all the calamities you have endured from your youth until now.”
8 On hearing these words, the king arose and took his seat at the gate. When it was announced to the troops: “The king is sitting at the gate,” they all assembled there before him.
The Reconciliation. Meanwhile all the Israelites had fled to their homes. 9 However, throughout all the tribes of Israel, there was great dissension, and the people were arguing among themselves, saying: “The king delivered us from the clutches of our enemies and rescued us from the hands of the Philistines. But now he has fled from the country to escape from Absalom. 10 However, Absalom, whom we anointed to reign over us, has fallen in battle. Why, then, does no one offer the suggestion that we should restore the king to his palace?”
11 When King David learned of the debate that was ensuing throughout Israel, he sent this message to the priests Zadok and Abiathar: “Say to the elders of Judah: ‘Why should you be the last to bring back the king to his palace? 12 You are my brothers, my own flesh and blood. Why then should you be the last to bring the king home?’
13 “And say to Amasa: ‘Are you not my bone and my flesh?[a] May God deal with me in the most severe way possible if from now on you are not the commander of my army in place of Joab.’ ” 14 With those words, David won over the hearts of all the men of Judah as though they were one man, and they sent this message to the king: “Return, both you and all who serve you.”
15 David and Shimei. When the king on his return reached the Jordan, the men of Judah came to Gilgal to greet him and escort him across the river. 16 Shimei, the son of Gera the Benjaminite, from Horonaim, hurried down with the men of Judah to welcome King David.
17 Accompanying Shimei were one thousand men from Benjamin. Ziba, the servant of the house of Saul, together with his fifteen sons and twenty servants, hastened to the Jordan ahead of the king. 18 They crossed at the ford to transport the king’s household and to do whatever the king requested.
When Shimei, the son of Gera, crossed the Jordan, he threw himself down before the king, 19 and he said: “I entreat my lord not to hold me guilty or to remember how shamefully I behaved on the day my lord the king departed from Jerusalem. I beg you not to hold my guilt against me. 20 I humbly admit that I have sinned. Today I am the first of all the house of Joseph to come down to meet my lord the king.”
21 However, Abishai, the son of Zeruiah, objected, saying: “Should not Shimei be put to death because he cursed the Lord’s anointed?” 22 David replied: “Of what concern are my decisions to you, you sons of Zeruiah, that you have become my adversary? Should anyone be put to death this day in Israel? Am I not fully aware that today I am king of Israel?” 23 Then the king said to Shimei: “You shall not die,” and he confirmed that with an oath.
Chapter 24
Paul’s Second Trial—before Felix.[a] 1 Five days later, the high priest Ananias came down with some of the elders and an advocate named Tertullus, and they presented charges against Paul to the governor. 2 Then Paul was summoned, and Tertullus began the prosecution.
He said, “Because of you we have enjoyed an unbroken period of peace, and reforms have been made in this nation as a result of your caring concern. 3 We acknowledge this everywhere and in every way with the utmost gratitude, most noble Felix.
4 “But in order not to detain you needlessly, I beg you to be kind enough to listen to a brief statement. 5 We have found this man to be a troublemaker. He is a fomenter of dissension among Jews all over the world and a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes. 6 When he even tried to profane the temple, we placed him under arrest. [ 7 We would have judged him according to our own Law, but the commander Lysias came and forcibly removed him out of our hands, ordering his accusers to appear before you.][b] 8 If you examine him yourself, you will be able to ascertain the validity of all the charges we bring against him.” 9 The Jews supported the charge, asserting that these things were true.
10 Then the governor motioned to Paul to speak, and he replied, “I know that you have administered justice to this nation for many years, and therefore I feel confident in presenting my defense. 11 As you can verify for yourself, no more than twelve days have elapsed since I went up to worship in Jerusalem. 12 They did not find me disputing with anyone in the temple or stirring up a crowd either in the synagogues or throughout the city. 13 Nor can they offer you any proof concerning their charges against me.
14 “But this much I will admit to you: it is as a follower of the Way, which they call a sect, that I worship the God of my ancestors, believing everything that is in accordance with the Law or is written in the Prophets. 15 I hold the same hope in God as they do that there will be a resurrection of the righteous and the wicked alike. 16 Accordingly, I strive at all times to have a clear conscience before God and man.
17 “After several years, I came to bring charitable gifts to my people and to offer sacrifices. 18 They found me in the temple after I had completed the rite of purification. There was no crowd with me, nor was I involved in any disturbance.
“However, some Jews from the province of Asia were there, 19 and they are the ones who should have appeared before you to give such evidence if they had any charge against me. 20 At the very least, those who are present here should state what crime they discovered when I was brought before the Sanhedrin, 21 unless it has to do with this one declaration I made when I stood up among them, ‘I am on trial on account of the resurrection of the dead.’ ”
22 In the Procurator’s Hall.[c] Then Felix, who was well informed about the Way, adjourned the hearing with the comment, “When Lysias the commander comes down, I shall issue a ruling on this case.” 23 He also ordered the centurion to keep Paul in custody, but allow him some freedom, and not to prevent any of his friends from caring for his needs.
28 The Greatest Commandment.[a] Then one of the scribes who had listened to these discussions, and who had observed how well Jesus answered them, asked Jesus, “Which is the first of all the commandments?”[b]
29 Jesus answered, “The first is: ‘Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one! 30 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ 31 The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”
32 Then the scribe said to him, “Well said, Teacher. You have truly said, ‘He is one, and there is no other besides him.’ 33 And ‘to love him with all your heart, and with all your understanding, and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself,’ is worth more than any burnt offerings and sacrifices.” 34 And when Jesus saw with what great understanding he had spoken, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And after that no one dared to ask him any question.
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