Book of Common Prayer
A Davidic Song of Ascents
Hope in the Lord
131 Lord, my heart is not arrogant,
nor do I look haughty.
I do not aspire[a] to great things,
nor concern myself with things beyond my ability.
2 Instead, I have composed and quieted myself
like a weaned child with its mother;
I am like a weaned child.
3 Place your hope in the Lord, Israel,
both now and forever.
A Song of Ascents
The Lord Lives in Zion
132 Lord, remember in David’s favor
all of his troubles;
2 how he swore an oath to the Lord,
vowing to the Mighty One of Jacob,
3 “I will not enter[b] my house,
or lie down on[c] my bed,
4 or let myself go to sleep[d]
or even take a nap,[e]
5 until I locate a place for the Lord,
a dwelling place for the Mighty One of Jacob.”
6 We heard about it[f] in Ephrata;[g]
we found it in the fields of Jaar.[h]
7 Let’s go to his dwelling place
and worship at his footstool.
8 Arise, Lord,
and go to your resting place,
you and the ark of your strength.
9 May your priests be clothed with righteousness
and may your godly ones shout for joy.
10 For the sake of your servant David,
don’t turn away the face of your anointed one.
11 The Lord made an oath to David
from which he will not retreat:
“One of your sons
I will set in place on your throne.
12 If your sons keep my covenant
and my statutes that I will teach them,
then their sons will also sit on your throne forever.”
13 For the Lord has chosen Zion,
desiring it as his dwelling place.
14 “This is my resting place forever.
Here I will live,
because I desire to do so.
15 I will bless its provisions abundantly;
I will satiate its poor with food.[i]
16 I will clothe its priests with salvation
and its godly ones will shout for joy.
17 There I will create a power base[j] for David—
I have prepared a lamp for my anointed one.
18 I will clothe his enemies with disgrace,
but on him his crown will shine.”
A Davidic Song of Ascents
The Significance of Unity
133 Look how good and how pleasant it is
when brothers live together in unity!
2 It is like precious oil on the head,
descending to the beard—
even to Aaron’s beard—
and flowing down to the edge of his robes.
3 It is like the dew of Hermon
falling on Zion’s mountains.
For there the Lord commanded his blessing—
life everlasting.
To the Music Director: A Davidic Song
A Prayer for Deliverance
140 [a]Deliver me, Lord, from evil people,
preserve me from violent men,
2 who craft evil plans in their minds,
inciting wars every day.[b]
3 They sharpen their tongues like a serpent;
the venom of vipers is on their lips.
4 Protect me, Lord, from the control of evil people,
from violent men who have planned to trip me.
5 The arrogant have laid a trap for me;
they have spread a net with ropes,
lining it with snares along the way.
6 So I say to the Lord, “You are my God;
listen to my voice
as I plead for mercy, Lord.
7 Lord, my Lord, my strong deliverer,
you have protected my head in the time[c] of battle.
8 Never grant, Lord, the desires of the wicked;
never condone their plans
so they cannot exalt themselves.
9 May those who surround me discover
that the trouble they talk about falls on their own head!
10 May burning coals fall on them;
may they be cast into fire,
and into miry pits, never to rise again.
11 Let not the slanderer[d] become established in the land.
May evil quickly hunt down the violent man.
12 I know that the Lord will act on behalf of the tormented,
providing justice for the needy.
13 Surely the righteous will give thanks to your name,
while the upright live in your presence.
A Davidic Song, when he was in the cave.[a] A prayer.
A Call to God for Help
142 My voice cries out to the Lord;
my voice pleads for mercy to the Lord.
2 I pour out my complaint to him,
telling him all of my troubles.
3 Though my spirit grows faint within me,
you are aware of my path.
Wherever I go,
they have hidden a trap for me.
4 I look to my right[b] and observe—
no one is concerned about me.
There is nowhere I can go for refuge,
and no one cares for me.
5 So I cry to you, Lord,
declaring, “You are my refuge,
my only[c] possession while I am on this earth.”[d]
6 Pay attention to my cry,
for I have been brought very low.
Deliver me from my tormentors,
for they are far too strong for me.
7 Break me out of this prison,
so I can give thanks to your name.
The righteous will surround me,
for you will deal generously with me.
The Plague of Frogs
25 Seven days after[a] the Lord had struck the Nile River,[b] 8 1 [c]he told Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and tell him, ‘This is what the Lord says: “Let my people go so they may serve[d] me. 2 And if you refuse to let them go, then I’m going to strike all your territory with frogs. 3 The Nile will swarm with frogs. They’ll come up and enter your house, your bedroom, your bed, and your servants’ houses. They’ll jump on your people, into your ovens, and into your kneading troughs. 4 The frogs will be all over you and your servants.”’”
5 [e]Then the Lord told Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Stretch out your hand with your staff over the rivers, over the Nile River,[f] and over the ponds, and bring up frogs over the land of Egypt.’” 6 So Aaron stretched his hand over the waters of Egypt, and the frogs came up and covered the land of Egypt. 7 But the magicians did the same thing[g] with their secret arts, and they brought up frogs on the land of Egypt.
8 Then Pharaoh called to Moses and Aaron and said, “Plead with the Lord so that he may remove the frogs from me and my people. I’ll let the people go so they can offer sacrifices to the Lord.”
9 Moses told Pharaoh, “You decide[h] when I should plead for you, your servants, and your people to remove[i] the frogs from you and your household. They’ll remain only in the Nile River.[j]”
10 Pharaoh[k] said, “Tomorrow.”
Moses[l] said, “It will be just as you say,[m] so that you may know that there is no one like the Lord our God. 11 The frogs will leave you, your house, your officials,[n] and your people. They’ll remain only in the Nile River.[o]”
12 Then Moses and Aaron left Pharaoh’s presence, and Moses cried out to the Lord about the frogs which he had sent[p] on Pharaoh. 13 The Lord did just as Moses asked,[q] and the frogs died in the houses, in the courtyards, and in the fields. 14 They gathered them up into large piles and the land smelled terrible. 15 But when Pharaoh saw that there was relief, he hardened his heart and did not listen to them, just as the Lord had predicted.
The Plague of Gnats
16 Then the Lord told Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Stretch out your staff, strike the dust of the ground, and the dust[r] will become gnats throughout the land of Egypt.’” 17 They did this.[s] Aaron stretched his hand out with his staff, struck the dust of the land, and gnats came on people and animals—all the dust of the ground became gnats throughout the land of Egypt. 18 The magicians tried[t] to do the same thing[u] with their secret arts, but they were unable to bring out the gnats. The gnats were on the people and the animals.
19 The magicians told Pharaoh, “It is the finger of God!”[v] But Pharaoh’s heart was stubborn[w] and he did not listen to them, just as the Lord had predicted.
7 Now if the ministry of death that was inscribed in letters of stone came with such glory that the people of Israel could not gaze on Moses’ face (because the glory was fading away from it), 8 will not the Spirit’s ministry have even more glory? 9 For if the ministry of condemnation has glory, then the ministry of justification has an overwhelming glory. 10 In fact, that which once had glory lost its glory, because the other glory surpassed it. 11 For if that which fades away came[a] through glory, how much more does that which is permanent have glory?
12 Therefore, since we have such a hope, we speak very boldly, 13 not like Moses, who kept covering his face with a veil to keep the people of Israel from gazing at the end of what was fading away. 14 However, their minds were hardened, for to this day the same veil is still there when they read the old covenant. Only in union with the Messiah[b] is that veil removed.[c] 15 Yet even to this day, when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts. 16 But whenever a person turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. 17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Lord’s Spirit is, there is freedom. 18 As all of us reflect the glory of the Lord with unveiled faces, we are becoming more like him with ever-increasing glory by the Lord’s Spirit.
A Rich Man Comes to Jesus(A)
17 As Jesus[a] was setting out again,[b] a man ran up to him, knelt down in front of him, and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
18 “Why do you call me good?” Jesus asked him. “Nobody is good except for one—God. 19 You know the commandments: ‘Never murder.’[c] ‘Never commit adultery.’[d] ‘Never steal.’[e] ‘Never give false testimony.’[f] ‘Never cheat.’ ‘Honor your father and mother.’”[g]
20 The man[h] replied to him, “Teacher, I have obeyed all of these since I was a young man.”
21 Jesus looked at him and loved him. Then he told him, “You’re missing one thing. Go and sell everything you own, give the money[i] to the destitute, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come back and follow me.” 22 Shocked at this statement, the man[j] went away sad, because he had many possessions.
Salvation and Reward(B)
23 Then Jesus looked around and told his disciples, “How hard it will be for those who are wealthy to enter the kingdom of God!” 24 The disciples were startled by these words, but Jesus told them again, “Children, how hard it is for those who trust in their wealth[k] to get into the kingdom of God! 25 It’s easier for a camel to squeeze through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to get into the kingdom of God.”
26 The disciples[l] were utterly amazed and asked one another,[m] “Then who can be saved?”
27 Jesus looked at them intently and said, “For humans it’s impossible, but not for God. All things are possible for God.”
28 Then Peter began to say to him, “See, we have left everything and followed you.” 29 Jesus said, “I tell all of you[n] with certainty, there is no one who has left his home, brothers, sisters, mother, father, children, or fields because of me and the gospel 30 who will not receive a hundred times as much here in this world—homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, and fields, along with persecution—as well as eternal life in the age to come. 31 But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.”
Copyright © 1995-2014 by ISV Foundation. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. Used by permission of Davidson Press, LLC.