Book of Common Prayer
Simple Trust in the Lord
A Song of Ascents. Of David.
131 Lord, my heart is not [a]haughty,
Nor my eyes [b]lofty.
(A)Neither do I [c]concern myself with great matters,
Nor with things too [d]profound for me.
2 Surely I have calmed and quieted my soul,
(B)Like a weaned child with his mother;
Like a weaned child is my soul within me.
3 (C)O Israel, hope in the Lord
From this time forth and forever.
The Eternal Dwelling of God in Zion
A Song of Ascents.
132 Lord, remember David
And all his afflictions;
2 How he swore to the Lord,
(D)And vowed to (E)the Mighty One of Jacob:
3 “Surely I will not go into the chamber of my house,
Or go up to the comfort of my bed;
4 I will (F)not give sleep to my eyes
Or slumber to my eyelids,
5 Until I (G)find a place for the Lord,
A dwelling place for the Mighty One of Jacob.”
6 Behold, we heard of it (H)in Ephrathah;
(I)We found it (J)in the fields of [e]the woods.
7 Let us go into His tabernacle;
(K)Let us worship at His footstool.
8 (L)Arise, O Lord, to Your resting place,
You and (M)the ark of Your strength.
9 Let Your priests (N)be clothed with righteousness,
And let Your saints shout for joy.
10 For Your servant David’s sake,
Do not turn away the face of Your [f]Anointed.
11 (O)The Lord has sworn in truth to David;
He will not turn from it:
“I will set upon your throne (P)the [g]fruit of your body.
12 If your sons will keep My covenant
And My testimony which I shall teach them,
Their sons also shall sit upon your throne forevermore.”
13 (Q)For the Lord has chosen Zion;
He has desired it for His [h]dwelling place:
14 “This(R) is My resting place forever;
Here I will dwell, for I have desired it.
15 (S)I will abundantly bless her [i]provision;
I will satisfy her poor with bread.
16 (T)I will also clothe her priests with salvation,
(U)And her saints shall shout aloud for joy.
17 (V)There I will make the [j]horn of David grow;
(W)I will prepare a lamp for My [k]Anointed.
18 His enemies I will (X)clothe with shame,
But upon Himself His crown shall flourish.”
Blessed Unity of the People of God
A Song of Ascents. Of David.
133 Behold, how good and how pleasant it is
For (Y)brethren to dwell together in unity!
Prayer for Deliverance from Evil Men
To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.
140 Deliver me, O Lord, from evil men;
Preserve me from violent men,
2 Who plan evil things in their hearts;
(A)They continually gather together for war.
3 They sharpen their tongues like a serpent;
The (B)poison of asps is under their lips. Selah
4 (C)Keep me, O Lord, from the hands of the wicked;
Preserve me from violent men,
Who have purposed to make my steps stumble.
5 The proud have hidden a (D)snare for me, and cords;
They have spread a net by the wayside;
They have set traps for me. Selah
6 I said to the Lord: “You are my God;
Hear the voice of my supplications, O Lord.
7 O God the Lord, the strength of my salvation,
You have [a]covered my head in the day of battle.
8 Do not grant, O Lord, the desires of the wicked;
Do not further his wicked scheme,
(E)Lest they be exalted. Selah
9 “As for the head of those who surround me,
Let the evil of their lips cover them;
10 (F)Let burning coals fall upon them;
Let them be cast into the fire,
Into deep pits, that they rise not up again.
11 Let not a slanderer be established in the earth;
Let evil hunt the violent man to overthrow him.”
12 I know that the Lord will (G)maintain
The cause of the afflicted,
And justice for the poor.
13 Surely the righteous shall give thanks to Your name;
The upright shall dwell in Your presence.
A Plea for Relief from Persecutors
A (A)Contemplation[a] of David. A Prayer (B)when he was in the cave.
142 I cry out to the Lord with my voice;
With my voice to the Lord I make my supplication.
2 I pour out my complaint before Him;
I declare before Him my trouble.
3 When my spirit [b]was (C)overwhelmed within me,
Then You knew my path.
In the way in which I walk
They have secretly (D)set a snare for me.
4 Look on my right hand and see,
For there is no one who acknowledges me;
Refuge has failed me;
No one cares for my soul.
5 I cried out to You, O Lord:
I said, “You are my refuge,
My portion in the land of the living.
6 [c]Attend to my cry,
For I am brought very low;
Deliver me from my persecutors,
For they are stronger than I.
7 Bring my soul out of prison,
That I may (E)praise Your name;
The righteous shall surround me,
For You shall deal bountifully with me.”
25 And seven days passed after the Lord had struck the river.
The Second Plague: Frogs
8 And the Lord spoke to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord: “Let My people go, (A)that they may serve Me. 2 But if you (B)refuse to let them go, behold, I will smite all your territory with (C)frogs. 3 So the river shall bring forth frogs abundantly, which shall go up and come into your house, into your (D)bedroom, on your bed, into the houses of your servants, on your people, into your ovens, and into your kneading bowls. 4 And the frogs shall come up on you, on your people, and on all your servants.” ’ ”
5 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, “Say to Aaron, (E)‘Stretch out your hand with your rod over the streams, over the rivers, and over the ponds, and cause frogs to come up on the land of Egypt.’ ” 6 So Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt, and (F)the frogs came up and covered the land of Egypt. 7 (G)And the magicians did so with their [a]enchantments, and brought up frogs on the land of Egypt.
8 Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron, and said, (H)“Entreat[b] the Lord that He may take away the frogs from me and from my people; and I will let the people (I)go, that they may sacrifice to the Lord.”
9 And Moses said to Pharaoh, “Accept the honor of saying when I shall intercede for you, for your servants, and for your people, to destroy the frogs from you and your houses, that they may remain in the river only.”
10 So he said, “Tomorrow.” And he said, “Let it be according to your word, that you may know that (J)there is no one like the Lord our God. 11 And the frogs shall depart from you, from your houses, from your servants, and from your people. They shall remain in the river only.”
12 Then Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh. And Moses (K)cried out to the Lord concerning the frogs which He had brought against Pharaoh. 13 So the Lord did according to the word of Moses. And the frogs died out of the houses, out of the courtyards, and out of the fields. 14 They gathered them together in heaps, and the land stank. 15 But when Pharaoh saw that there was (L)relief, (M)he hardened his heart and did not heed them, as the Lord had said.
The Third Plague: Lice
16 So the Lord said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Stretch out your rod, and strike the dust of the land, so that it may become [c]lice throughout all the land of Egypt.’ ” 17 And they did so. For Aaron stretched out his hand with his rod and struck the dust of the earth, and (N)it became lice on man and beast. All the dust of the land became lice throughout all the land of Egypt.
18 Now (O)the magicians so worked with their [d]enchantments to bring forth lice, but they (P)could not. So there were lice on man and beast. 19 Then the magicians said to Pharaoh, “This is (Q)the[e] finger of God.” But Pharaoh’s (R)heart grew hard, and he did not heed them, just as the Lord had said.
Glory of the New Covenant
7 But if (A)the ministry of death, (B)written and engraved on stones, was glorious, (C)so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of the glory of his countenance, which glory was passing away, 8 how will (D)the ministry of the Spirit not be more glorious? 9 For if the ministry of condemnation had glory, the ministry (E)of righteousness exceeds much more in glory. 10 For even what was made glorious had no glory in this respect, because of the glory that excels. 11 For if what is passing away was glorious, what remains is much more glorious.
12 Therefore, since we have such hope, (F)we use great boldness of speech— 13 unlike Moses, (G)who put a veil over his face so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at (H)the end of what was passing away. 14 But (I)their minds were blinded. For until this day the same veil remains unlifted in the reading of the Old Testament, because the veil is taken away in Christ. 15 But even to this day, when Moses is read, a veil lies on their heart. 16 Nevertheless (J)when one turns to the Lord, (K)the veil is taken away. 17 Now (L)the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is (M)liberty. 18 But we all, with unveiled face, beholding (N)as in a mirror (O)the glory of the Lord, (P)are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as [a]by the Spirit of the Lord.
Jesus Counsels the Rich Young Ruler(A)
17 (B)Now as He was going out on the road, one came running, knelt before Him, and asked Him, “Good Teacher, what shall I (C)do that I may inherit eternal life?”
18 So Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, (D)God. 19 You know the commandments: (E)‘Do not commit adultery,’ ‘Do not murder,’ ‘Do not steal,’ ‘Do not bear false witness,’ ‘Do not defraud,’ ‘Honor your father and your mother.’ ”
20 And he answered and said to Him, “Teacher, all these things I have (F)kept from my youth.”
21 Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “One thing you lack: Go your way, (G)sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have (H)treasure in heaven; and come, (I)take up the cross, and follow Me.”
22 But he was sad at this word, and went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.
With God All Things Are Possible(J)
23 (K)Then Jesus looked around and said to His disciples, “How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!” 24 And the disciples were astonished at His words. But Jesus answered again and said to them, “Children, how hard it is [a]for those (L)who trust in riches to enter the kingdom of God! 25 It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a (M)rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”
26 And they were greatly astonished, saying among themselves, “Who then can be saved?”
27 But Jesus looked at them and said, “With men it is impossible, but not (N)with God; for with God all things are possible.”
28 (O)Then Peter began to say to Him, “See, we have left all and followed You.”
29 So Jesus answered and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or father or mother [b]or wife or children or [c]lands, for My sake and the gospel’s, 30 (P)who shall not receive a hundredfold now in this time—houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with (Q)persecutions—and in the age to come, eternal life. 31 (R)But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.