Book of Common Prayer
Childlike Trust in the Lord
A song ·for going up to worship [of ascents; C perhaps sung while traveling to Jerusalem to celebrate an annual religious festival like Passover]. Of David.
131 Lord, my heart is not proud;
·I don’t look down on others [L my eyes are not haughty/lifted up].
I don’t ·do [consider doing] great things,
and I ·can’t do [don’t consider doing] ·miracles [wonderful acts].
2 But I ·am calm and quiet [L have stilled and quieted my soul]
like a ·baby [L weaned child] with its mother,
like a ·baby [L weaned child] with its mother [C a relationship with God is like that of a mother with her weaned child resting comfortably in her arms].
3 People of Israel, put your hope in the Lord
now and forever.
In Praise of the Temple
A song ·for going up to worship [of ascents; C perhaps sung while traveling to Jerusalem to celebrate an annual religious festival like Passover].
132 Lord, remember David
and all his ·suffering [afflictions].
2 He ·made an oath [swore] to the Lord,
a ·promise [vow] to the Mighty God of Jacob [Gen. 49:24].
3 He said, “I will not ·go home to my house [L enter into the tent of my house],
or ·lie down on my bed [L go up to the couch of my bed],
4 or ·close [L give sleep to] my eyes,
or ·let myself sleep [L slumber to my pupils]
5 until I find a place for the Lord.
I want to provide a home for the Mighty God of Jacob [Gen. 49:24].”
6 We heard about it [C the Ark] in ·Bethlehem [L Ephrathah].
We found it in the fields of Jearim [C Kiriath Jearim; 1 Sam 6:21—7:2].
7 Let’s go to ·the Lord’s house [L his dwelling].
Let’s worship at his footstool [C the Ark].
8 Rise, Lord, and come to your resting place;
come with the Ark that shows your strength.
9 May your priests ·do what is right [L be clothed with righteousness].
May your ·people [saints; loyal ones] sing for joy.
10 For the sake of your servant David,
do not ·reject [L turn from the face of] your ·appointed [anointed] king.
11 The Lord ·made a promise [swore] to David,
a sure promise that he will not take back [2 Sam. 7:12–16, 28].
He promised, “I will ·make one of your descendants
rule as king after you [L set on your throne from the fruit of your womb; Acts 2:30].
12 If your sons ·keep [observe; guard] my ·agreement [covenant; treaty]
and the ·rules [decrees; testimonies] that I teach them,
then their sons after them will ·rule [L sit]
on your throne forever and ever.”
13 The Lord has chosen ·Jerusalem [L Zion; C the location of the Temple];
he ·wants [desires] it for his home.
14 He says, “This is my resting place forever.
Here is where I ·want to stay [L will sit/reside because I desire it].
15 I will bless her with ·plenty [provisions];
I will ·fill [satisfy] her poor with ·food [bread].
16 I will ·cover [L clothe] her priests with ·salvation [victory],
and ·those who worship me [L her saints/loyal ones] will really sing for joy.
17 “I will ·make a king come from the family of [L cause a horn to sprout up for; C an animal’s horn symbolizes strength] David [Luke 1:69–70].
I will ·provide my appointed one descendants to rule after him [L prepare a lamp for my anointed king; 2 Sam. 21:17].
18 I will ·cover [L clothe] his enemies with shame,
but his crown will shine.”
The Love of God’s People
A song ·for going up to worship [of ascents; C perhaps sung while traveling to Jerusalem to celebrate an annual religious festival like Passover]. Of David.
133 ·It is [L How] good and pleasant
when ·God’s people [L brothers] live together [C in unity]!
2 It is like ·perfumed [fine] oil on the head
and running down his beard [Ex. 30:22–33].
It ran down Aaron’s beard
and on to the collar of his robes.
3 It is like the dew of Mount Hermon [C in the extreme north of Israel]
falling on the hills of ·Jerusalem [L Zion; C the location of the Temple].
There the Lord ·gives [L commanded] his blessing
of life forever.
Temple Guards, Praise the Lord
A song ·for going up to worship [of ascents; C perhaps sung while traveling to Jerusalem to celebrate an annual religious festival like Passover].
134 ·Praise [L Bless] the Lord, all you servants of the Lord,
you who ·serve [L stand] at night in the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord.
2 Raise your hands in the ·Temple [L holy place]
and ·praise [bless] the Lord.
3 May the Lord bless you from Mount Zion [L the location of the Temple],
he who made heaven and earth [Gen. 1].
The Lord Saves, Idols Do Not
135 Praise the Lord!
Praise the name of the Lord;
praise him, you servants of the Lord,
2 you who stand in the Lord’s ·Temple [L house]
and in the ·Temple courtyards [L courtyards of the house of our God].
3 Praise the Lord, because the Lord is good;
·sing praises [make a psalm] to him, because it is pleasant.
4 The Lord has chosen the people of Jacob for himself;
he has chosen the people of Israel ·for his very own [as his special possession/treasure; Ex. 19:5–6; Deut. 7:6; 14:2; Mal. 3:17].
5 I know that the Lord is great.
Our Lord is greater than all the gods.
6 The Lord does what he pleases,
in heaven and on earth,
in the seas and the deep oceans.
7 He brings the clouds from the ends of the earth.
He ·sends [L makes] the lightning with the rain.
He brings out the wind from his storehouses [Job 38:22–23].
8 He ·destroyed [L struck] the firstborn sons in Egypt
the firstborn of both people and animals [Ex. 12].
9 He ·did [L sent] many signs and ·miracles [wonders] in Egypt
against ·the king [L Pharaoh] and all his servants [L the plagues; Ex. 7–12].
10 He ·defeated [L struck] many nations
and killed ·powerful [strong] kings:
11 Sihon king of the Amorites,
Og king of Bashan [Num. 21:21–35],
and all the kings of Canaan [Num. 21:1–3; Josh. 1–12].
12 Then he gave their land as a ·gift [L inheritance],
a ·gift [L inheritance] to his people, the Israelites [Josh. 13–24].
13 Lord, your name is everlasting;
Lord, you will be remembered forever.
14 The Lord ·defends [vindicates] his people
and ·has mercy on [shows grace to] his servants.
15 The idols of other nations are made of 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.
They have no breath in their mouths.
18 People who make idols will be like them,
and so will those who ·trust [have confidence in] them [115:4–8; Is. 44:9–20; 46:6–7; Jer. 10:1–9; Hab. 2:18–19].
19 ·Family [L House] of Israel, ·praise [bless] the Lord.
·Family [L House] of Aaron [C the priests], ·praise [bless] the Lord.
20 ·Family [L House] of Levi [C assistants to the priests], ·praise [bless] the Lord.
You who ·respect [fear] the Lord [Prov. 1:7] should ·praise [bless] him.
21 You ·people of [L who live in] Jerusalem, ·praise [bless] the Lord on Mount Zion [C the location of the Temple].
Praise the Lord!
11 Balak said to Balaam, “What have you done to me? I brought you here to curse my enemies, but you have only blessed them!”
12 But Balaam answered, “·I must [L Must I not…?] say what the Lord ·tells me to say [L put in my mouth].”
Balaam’s Second Message
13 Then Balak said to him, “Come with me to another place, where you can also see the people. But you can only see part of them, not all of them [C perhaps he could curse a part of Israel]. Curse them for me from there.” 14 So Balak took Balaam to the field of Zophim, on top of Mount Pisgah. There Balak built seven altars and offered a bull and a ·male sheep [ram] on each altar.
15 So Balaam said to Balak, “Stay here by your burnt offering [Lev. 1:1–17], and I will meet with God over there.”
16 So the Lord came to Balaam and ·told him what to say [L put a word in his mouth]. Then he said, “Go back to Balak and say ·such and such [L thus].”
17 So Balaam went to Balak, where he and the leaders of Moab were standing beside his burnt offering [Lev. 1:1–17]. Balak asked him, “What did the Lord say?”
18 Then Balaam gave this ·message [or oracle; or poem]:
“Stand up, Balak, and listen.
Hear me, son of Zippor.
19 God is not a human being, and he will not lie.
He is not a human, and he does not change his mind.
What he says he will do, ·he does [L will he not do it?].
What he promises, ·he makes come true [L will he not fulfill it/make it come true?].
20 He ·told [commanded] me to bless them,
so I cannot change the blessing.
21 He ·has found [observes] no wrong in the people of Jacob;
he saw no ·fault [trouble] in Israel.
The Lord their God is with them,
and they praise their King.
22 God brought them out of Egypt;
they are ·as strong as [L like the horns of] a wild ox.
23 No ·tricks [divination] will work on the people of Jacob,
and no magic will work against Israel.
People now say about ·them [L Jacob],
‘Look what God has done for Israel!’
24 The people rise up like a lioness;
they get up like a lion.
Lions don’t rest until they have eaten prey,
until they have drunk ·their enemies’ blood [L the blood of corpses].”
25 Then Balak said to Balaam, “You haven’t cursed these people, so at least don’t bless them!”
26 Balaam answered Balak, “·I told [L Did I not tell…?] you before that I can only do what the Lord tells me.”
Be Ruled by the Spirit
8 So now, those who are in Christ Jesus are not ·judged guilty[a] [condemned; punished for their sins]. 2 [L For] ·Through [or In] Christ Jesus the ·law [principle; or power] of the Spirit that brings life set you[b] free from the ·law [principle; or power] that brings sin and death. 3 The law [C of Moses] was without power, because the law was made weak by our ·sinful selves [sinful nature; T flesh]. But God did what the law could not do. He sent his own Son to earth ·with the same human life that others use for sin [or in a body like ours, prone to sin; L in the likeness of sinful flesh]. By sending his Son ·to be an offering for sin [L concerning sin], God ·used a human life to destroy sin [L condemned sin in the flesh]. 4 He did this so that ·we could be the kind of people that the law demands that we be [L the law’s righteous/just requirements would be fulfilled in us]. Now we do not ·live [walk; C life’s journey] following our ·sinful selves [sinful nature; T flesh], but following the Spirit.
5 Those who live following their ·sinful selves [sinful nature; T flesh] ·think only about [have their minds set on; or have their outlook shaped by] things that their ·sinful selves [sinful nature; T flesh] want. But those who live following the Spirit ·are thinking about [have their minds set on; or have their outlook shaped by] the things ·the Spirit wants them to do [L of the Spirit]. 6 If people’s ·thinking is controlled by [or outlook/mind is set on] the ·sinful self [sinful nature; T flesh], ·there is [the result is] death. But if their ·thinking is controlled by [or outlook/mind is set on] the Spirit, ·there is [the result is] life and peace. 7 When people’s ·thinking is controlled by [or outlook/mind is set on] the ·sinful self [sinful nature; T flesh], they are ·against [hostile to] God, because they refuse to ·obey [submit to] God’s law and really are not even able to ·obey [submit to] God’s law. 8 Those people who are ·ruled by [or under the control of; L in] ·their sinful selves [their sinful nature; T the flesh] cannot please God.
9 But you are not ·ruled by [controlled by; or in] ·your sinful selves [your sinful nature; T the flesh], but ·by [or in] the Spirit, if that Spirit of God really lives in you. But the person who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to Christ. 10 Your body ·will always be [L is] dead because of sin. But if Christ is in you, then the Spirit ·gives you [L is] life, because ·Christ made you right with God [L of righteousness]. 11 God raised Jesus from the dead, and if God’s Spirit is living in you, the One who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies that die, through[c] his Spirit who lives in you.
A Story About a Wedding Feast(A)
22 Jesus again used ·stories [parables] to teach them. He said, 2 “The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding ·feast [banquet] for his son. 3 When the ·feast [banquet] was ready, the king sent his servants to ·tell [inform; call] the people who had been invited, but they refused to come.
4 “Then the king sent other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who have been invited that my ·feast [banquet] is ready. I have killed my best ·bulls [or oxen] and [L fattened] calves for the dinner, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding ·feast [banquet].’
5 “But the people ·refused to listen [paid no attention] to the servants and ·left to do other things [went their own way]. One went to ·work in his field [his field/farm], and another went to his business. 6 ·Some of the other people [or The rest] grabbed the servants, ·beat [mistreated; insulted] them, and killed them. 7 The king was furious and sent his army to ·kill [destroy] the murderers and burn their city [C probably an allusion to the destruction of Jerusalam in ad 70].
8 “After that, the king said to his servants, ‘The wedding ·feast [banquet] is ready. I invited those people, but they ·were not worthy [do not deserve] to come. 9 So go to the ·street corners [crossroads; or main roads] and invite everyone you find to come to my ·feast [banquet].’ 10 So the servants went into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, both good and ·bad [evil]. And the wedding hall was filled with guests.
11 “[L But] When the king came in to see the guests, he saw a man who was not dressed ·for a wedding [in wedding clothes]. 12 The king said, ‘Friend, how were you allowed to come in here? You are not dressed for a wedding.’ But the man ·said nothing [was speechless/silent]. 13 So the king told some servants, ‘Tie this man’s hands and feet. Throw him out into the ·darkness [darkness outside; or outermost darkness], where ·people will cry and grind their teeth with pain [L there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth; C symbols of agony and torment].’
14 “·Yes [L For], many are ·invited [called], but only a few are chosen.”
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