Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 131
A Childlike Spirit
A Davidic song of ascents.
1 Lord, my heart is not proud;
my eyes are not haughty.(A)
I do not get involved with things
too great or too difficult for me.(B)
2 Instead, I have calmed and quieted myself
like a little weaned child with its mother;
I am like a little child.(C)
3 Israel, put your hope in the Lord,
both now and forever.(D)
Psalm 132
David and Zion Chosen
A song of ascents.
1 Lord, remember David
and all the hardships he endured,(E)
2 and how he swore an oath to the Lord,
making a vow to the Mighty One of Jacob:(F)
3 “I will not enter my house[a]
or get into my bed,[b]
4 I will not allow my eyes to sleep
or my eyelids to slumber(G)
5 until I find a place for the Lord,
a dwelling for the Mighty One of Jacob.”(H)
6 We heard of the ark in Ephrathah;[c](I)
we found it in the fields of Jaar.[d](J)
7 Let us go to His dwelling place;
let us worship at His footstool.(K)
8 Rise up, Lord, come to Your resting place,
You and Your powerful ark.(L)
9 May Your priests be clothed with righteousness,
and may Your godly people shout for joy.(M)
10 Because of Your servant David,
do not reject Your anointed one.[e](N)
11 The Lord swore an oath to David,
a promise He will not abandon:
“I will set one of your descendants[f]
on your throne.(O)
12 If your sons keep My covenant
and My decrees that I will teach them,
their sons will also sit on your throne forever.”(P)
13 For the Lord has chosen Zion;
He has desired it for His home:(Q)
14 “This is My resting place forever;
I will make My home here
because I have desired it.(R)
15 I will abundantly bless its food;
I will satisfy its needy with bread.(S)
16 I will clothe its priests with salvation,
and its godly people will shout for joy.(T)
17 There I will make a horn grow for David;(U)
I have prepared a lamp for My anointed one.(V)
18 I will clothe his enemies with shame,(W)
but the crown he wears[g] will be glorious.”(X)
Psalm 133
Living in Harmony
A Davidic song of ascents.
1 How good and pleasant it is
when brothers live together in harmony!(Y)
2 It is like fine oil on the head,
running down on the beard,
running down Aaron’s beard
onto his robes.(Z)
3 It is like the dew of Hermon[h]
falling on the mountains of Zion.(AA)
For there the Lord has appointed the blessing—
life forevermore.(AB)
Psalm 134
Call to Evening Worship
A song of ascents.
1 Now praise the Lord,
all you servants of the Lord
who stand in the Lord’s house at night!(AC)
2 Lift up your hands in the holy place
and praise the Lord!(AD)
3 May the Lord,
Maker of heaven and earth,
bless you from Zion.(AE)
Psalm 135
Yahweh Is Great
1 Hallelujah!
Praise the name of Yahweh.
Give praise, you servants of Yahweh(AF)
2 who stand in the house of Yahweh,
in the courts of the house of our God.(AG)
3 Praise Yahweh, for Yahweh is good;
sing praise to His name, for it is delightful.(AH)
4 For Yahweh has chosen Jacob for Himself,
Israel as His treasured possession.(AI)
5 For I know that Yahweh is great;
our Lord is greater than all gods.(AJ)
6 Yahweh does whatever He pleases
in heaven and on earth,
in the seas and all the depths.(AK)
7 He causes the clouds to rise from the ends of the earth.
He makes lightning for the rain
and brings the wind from His storehouses.(AL)
8 He struck down the firstborn of Egypt,
both man and beast.(AM)
9 He sent signs and wonders against you, Egypt,
against Pharaoh and all his officials.(AN)
10 He struck down many nations
and slaughtered mighty kings:(AO)
11 Sihon king of the Amorites,
Og king of Bashan,
and all the kings of Canaan.(AP)
12 He gave their land as an inheritance,
an inheritance to His people Israel.(AQ)
13 Yahweh, Your name endures forever,
Your reputation, Yahweh,
through all generations.(AR)
14 For Yahweh will vindicate His people
and have compassion on His servants.(AS)
Josiah’s Reforms
4 Then the king commanded Hilkiah(A) the high priest and the priests of the second rank(B) and the doorkeepers to bring out of the Lord’s temple all the articles made for Baal, Asherah, and the whole heavenly host.(C) He burned them outside Jerusalem in the fields of the Kidron and carried their ashes to Bethel.(D) 5 Then he did away with the idolatrous priests the kings of Judah had appointed to burn incense at the high places(E) in the cities of Judah and in the areas surrounding Jerusalem. They had burned incense to Baal, and to the sun, moon, constellations, and the whole heavenly host.(F) 6 He brought out the Asherah pole(G) from the Lord’s temple to the Kidron Valley outside Jerusalem. He burned it at the Kidron Valley,(H) beat it to dust,(I) and threw its dust on the graves of the common people.[a](J) 7 He also tore down the houses of the male cult prostitutes(K) that were in the Lord’s temple, in which the women were weaving tapestries[b] for Asherah.(L)
8 Then Josiah brought all the priests from the cities of Judah, and he defiled the high places(M) from Geba(N) to Beer-sheba,(O) where the priests had burned incense. He tore down the high places of the gates at the entrance of the gate of Joshua the governor of the city (on the left at the city gate). 9 The priests of the high places, however, did not come up to the altar of the Lord in Jerusalem; instead, they ate unleavened bread with their fellow priests.(P)
10 He defiled Topheth,(Q) which is in the Valley of Hinnom,(R) so that no one could make his son or daughter pass through the fire(S) to Molech.(T) 11 He did away with the horses that the kings of Judah had dedicated to the sun. They had been at the entrance of the Lord’s temple in the precincts by the chamber of Nathan-melech the court official, and he burned up the chariots of the sun.(U)
12 The king tore down the altars that were on the roof(V)—Ahaz’s upper chamber(W) that the kings of Judah had made—and the altars that Manasseh had made(X) in the two courtyards of the Lord’s temple. Then he smashed them[c] there and threw their dust into the Kidron Valley. 13 The king also defiled the high places that were across from Jerusalem, to the south of the Mount of Destruction, which King Solomon of Israel had built for Ashtoreth, the detestable idol of the Sidonians; for Chemosh, the detestable idol of Moab; and for Milcom, the abomination of the Ammonites.(Y) 14 He broke the sacred pillars into pieces,(Z) cut down the Asherah poles,(AA) then filled their places with human bones.
15 He even tore down the altar at Bethel(AB) and the high place(AC) that Jeroboam son of Nebat, who caused Israel to sin, had made. Then he burned the high place, crushed it to dust, and burned the Asherah.(AD) 16 As Josiah turned, he saw the tombs there on the mountain. He sent someone to take the bones out of the tombs, and he burned them on the altar.(AE) He defiled it according to the word of the Lord proclaimed by the man of God[d] who proclaimed these things.(AF) 17 Then he said, “What is this monument I see?”
The men of the city told him, “It is the tomb of the man of God who came from Judah and proclaimed these things that you have done to the altar at Bethel.”(AG)
18 So he said, “Let him rest. Don’t let anyone disturb his bones.” So they left his bones undisturbed with the bones of the prophet who came from Samaria.(AH)
19 Josiah also removed all the shrines of the high places that were in the cities of Samaria, which the kings of Israel had made to provoke the Lord.(AI) Josiah did the same things to them that he had done at Bethel. 20 He slaughtered on the altars all the priests of the high places(AJ) who were there, and he burned human bones on the altars.(AK) Then he returned to Jerusalem.
Passover Observed
21 The king commanded all the people, “Keep the Passover of the Lord your God as written in the book of the covenant.”(AL) 22 No such Passover had ever been kept from the time of the judges who judged Israel through the entire time of the kings of Israel and Judah. 23 But in the eighteenth year of King Josiah, this Passover was observed to the Lord in Jerusalem.(AM)
Further Zeal for the Lord
24 In addition, Josiah removed the mediums, the spiritists,(AN) household idols,(AO) images, and all the detestable things(AP) that were seen in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem. He did this in order to carry out the words of the law that were written in the book that Hilkiah the priest found in the Lord’s temple.(AQ) 25 Before him there was no king like him who turned to the Lord with all his mind and with all his heart and with all his strength(AR) according to all the law of Moses, and no one like him arose after him.(AS)
Diversity of Spiritual Gifts
12 Now concerning what comes from the Spirit:[a] brothers, I do not want you to be unaware. 2 You know that when you were pagans, you used to be led off to the idols(A) that could not speak.(B) 3 Therefore I am informing you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus is cursed,” and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.
4 Now there are different gifts,(C) but the same Spirit. 5 There are different ministries, but the same Lord. 6 And there are different activities, but the same God activates each gift in each person.[b] 7 A demonstration of the Spirit is given to each person(D) to produce what is beneficial:
8 to one(E) is given a message of wisdom(F)
through the Spirit,
to another, a message of knowledge
by the same Spirit,
9 to another, faith by the same Spirit,
to another, gifts of healing(G) by the one Spirit,
10 to another, the performing of miracles,(H)
to another, prophecy,(I)
to another, distinguishing between spirits,(J)
to another, different kinds of languages,
to another, interpretation of languages.
11 But one and the same Spirit is active in all these, distributing to each person as He wills.
A Girl Restored and a Woman Healed
18 As He was telling them these things,(A) suddenly one of the leaders[a] came and knelt down before Him, saying, “My daughter is near death,[b] but come and lay Your hand on her, and she will live.”(B) 19 So Jesus and His disciples got up and followed(C) him.
20 Just then, a woman who had suffered from bleeding for 12 years approached from behind and touched the tassel on His robe,(D) 21 for she said to herself, “If I can just touch His robe, I’ll be made well!”[c](E)
22 But Jesus turned and saw her. “Have courage, daughter,” He said. “Your faith has made you well.”[d](F) And the woman was made well from that moment.[e]
23 When Jesus came to the leader’s house, He saw the flute players and a crowd lamenting loudly.(G) 24 “Leave,” He said, “because the girl isn’t dead, but sleeping.”(H) And they started laughing at Him. 25 But when the crowd had been put outside, He went in and took her by the hand, and the girl got up.(I) 26 And this news spread throughout that whole area.(J)
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