Book of Common Prayer
A Song of degrees.
1 ¶ In my distress I cried unto the LORD, and he answered me.
2 Deliver my soul, O LORD, from lying lips and from a deceitful tongue.
3 What shall be given unto thee? or what shall be done unto thee, thou false tongue?
4 Sharp arrows of the mighty, with coals of juniper.
5 ¶ Woe is me, that I sojourn in Mesech, that I dwell in the tents of Kedar!
6 My soul has long dwelt with those that hate peace.
7 I am for peace; but when I speak, they are for war.
A Song of degrees.
1 ¶ I will lift up mine eyes unto the mountains, from whence cometh my help.
2 My help comes from the LORD, who made the heavens and earth.
3 He will not suffer thy foot to be moved; he that keeps thee will not slumber.
4 Behold, he that keeps Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.
5 The LORD is thy keeper: the LORD is thy shade upon thy right hand.
6 The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night.
7 The LORD shall preserve thee from all evil; he shall preserve thy soul.
8 The LORD shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.
A Song of degrees of David.
1 ¶ I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the LORD.
2 Our feet stood within thy gates, O Jerusalem.
3 Jerusalem, that one which is built as a city that is well united together
4 Because the tribes went up there, the tribes of JAH, the testimony to Israel, to praise the name of the LORD.
5 For there are set thrones of the judgment, the thrones of the house of David.
6 ¶ Pray for the peace of Jerusalem; those that love thee shall be brought into rest.
7 Peace be within thy walls and rest within thy palaces.
8 For my brethren and companions’ sakes, I will now say, Peace be within thee.
9 Because of the house of the LORD our God, I will seek thy good.
A Song of degrees.
1 ¶ Unto thee I lift up mine eyes, O thou that dwellest in the heavens.
2 Behold, as the eyes of slaves look unto the hand of their masters and as the eyes of a maiden unto the hand of her mistress, so our eyes wait upon the LORD our God, until he shall have mercy upon us.
3 Have mercy upon us, O LORD, have mercy upon us, for we are exceedingly weary of being held in contempt.
4 Our soul is exceedingly weary of the scorning of those that are at ease and of the contempt of the proud.
A Song of degrees of David.
1 ¶ If the LORD had not been for us, now may Israel say,
2 If the LORD had not been for us, when men rose up against us,
3 then they would have swallowed us up alive, when their wrath was kindled against us;
4 then the waters would have overwhelmed us; the flood would have gone over our soul;
5 then the proud waters would have gone over our soul.
6 ¶ Blessed be the LORD, who did not give us as a prey to their teeth.
7 Our soul has escaped as a bird out of the snare of the fowlers; the snare has broken, and we are escaped.
8 Our help is in the name of the LORD, who made the heaven and the earth.
A Song of degrees.
1 ¶ Those that trust in the LORD are as Mount Zion, which cannot be removed but abides for ever.
2 As the mountains are round about Jerusalem, so the LORD is round about his people from now on even for ever.
3 For the rod of wickedness shall not rest upon the lot of the righteous because the righteous shall not put forth their hands unto iniquity.
4 ¶ Do good, O LORD, unto those that are good and to those that are upright in their hearts.
5 As for such as turn aside unto their crooked ways, the LORD shall take them away with the workers of iniquity; and peace shall be upon Israel.
A Song of degrees.
1 ¶ When the LORD shall turn again the captivity of Zion, we shall be like those that dream.
2 Then our mouth shall be filled with laughter and our tongue with singing; then they shall say among the Gentiles, The LORD has done great things with them.
3 The LORD has done great things with us, of which we shall be glad.
4 ¶ Turn again our captivity, O LORD, as the streams in the south.
5 Those that sow with tears shall reap with joy.
6 He that goes forth and weeps, bearing the precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.
A Song of degrees for Solomon.
1 ¶ Unless the LORD builds the house, they labour in vain that build it; unless the LORD keeps the city, the watchmen watch in vain.
2 It is vain for you to rise up early, to come home late, to eat the bread of sorrows, because he shall give his beloved sleep.
3 Behold, sons are a heritage of the LORD, and the fruit of the womb is to be desired.
4 As arrows in the hand of a mighty man, so are the young men.
5 Happy is the man that has filled his quiver with them: he shall not be ashamed when he speaks with the enemies in the gate.
18 ¶ In those days there was no king in Israel, and in those days the tribe of the Dan sought a possession for themselves to dwell in, for unto that day their lot had not fallen unto them among the tribes of Israel for an inheritance.
2 And the sons of Dan sent five men from their family of their borders, men of valour, from Zorah and from Eshtaol, to spy out the land and to search it, and they said unto them, Go, search the land. These came unto Mount Ephraim to the house of Micah, and they lodged there.
3 When they were near the house of Micah, they recognized the accent of the voice of the young man the Levite, and they turned in there and said unto him, Who brought thee here? And what doest thou in this place? And what hast thou here?
4 And he said unto them, Thus and thus Micah has done with me and has hired me that I may be his priest.
5 And they said unto him, Ask counsel now, therefore, of God, that we may know whether he shall prosper our journey which we do.
6 And the priest replied unto them, Go in peace. Your journey which ye do is before the LORD.
7 ¶ Then the five men departed and came to Laish and saw that the people that dwelt there were secure, idle, and confident after the manner of the Zidonians; and there was no one in that land that might hinder them in any way from possessing that land; furthermore they were far from the Zidonians and had no business with anyone.
8 And they returned unto their brethren in Zorah and Eshtaol, and their brethren said unto them, What say ye?
9 And they said, Arise, let us go up against them, for we have seen the land, and, behold, it is very good; and are ye to remain still? Do not be slothful to go and to enter to possess the land.
10 When ye go, ye shall come unto a people secure and to a large land, for God has given it into your hands, a place where there is no want of any thing that is in the earth.
11 And there went from there of the family of Dan, out of Zorah and out of Eshtaol, six hundred men armed with weapons of war.
12 And they went up and pitched camp in Kirjathjearim in Judah; therefore, they called that place the camp of Dan unto this day; it is behind Kirjathjearim.
13 And they passed from there unto Mount Ephraim and came unto the house of Micah.
14 ¶ Then the five men that had gone to spy out the land of Laish said unto their brethren, Do ye know that there is in these houses an ephod and teraphim and a graven image and a molten image? Now, therefore, consider what ye have to do.
15 And they turned in there and came to the house of the young man, the Levite, even unto the house of Micah, and greeted him. {Heb. asked him of peace}
8 ¶ And Saul was consenting unto his death. And at that time there was a great persecution against the congregation {Gr. ekklesia – called out ones} which was at Jerusalem, and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judaea and Samaria, except the apostles.
2 And devout men carried Stephen to his burial and made great lamentation over him.
3 As for Saul, he made havoc of the congregation; {Gr. ekklesia – called out ones} entering into the houses and dragging out men and women, he committed them to prison.
4 ¶ But those that were scattered abroad went everywhere preaching the word of the gospel.
5 Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria and preached the Christ unto them.
6 And the people with one accord gave heed unto those things which Philip spoke, hearing and seeing the signs which he did.
7 For many unclean spirits, crying with a loud voice, came out of those who were possessed with them, and many paralytics and that were lame were healed.
8 And there was great joy in that city.
9 But there was a certain man called Simon, who before this in the same city used magic arts and amazed the people of Samaria, giving out that he himself was some great one,
10 to whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, This is the great virtue of God.
11 And to him they had regard because for a long time he had amazed them with magic arts.
12 But when they believed Philip preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.
13 Then Simon himself believed also; and when he was baptized, he continued with Philip and wondered, beholding the miracles and signs which were being done.
30 I can of my own self do nothing; as I hear, I judge, and my judgment is just because I seek not my own will, but the will of the Father who has sent me.
31 ¶ If I bear witness of myself, my witness is not true.
32 There is another that bears witness of me, and I know that the witness which he witnesses of me is true.
33 Ye sent unto John, and he bore witness unto the truth.
34 But I receive not testimony from man, but I say these things that ye might be saved.
35 He was a burning and a shining light, and ye were willing to rejoice for one hour in his light.
36 But I have greater testimony than that of John; for the works which the Father has given me to finish, the same works that I do, bear witness of me that the Father has sent me.
37 And the Father himself, who has sent me, has borne witness of me. Ye have neither heard his voice at any time nor seen his appearance.
38 And ye do not have his word abiding in you; for whom he has sent, him ye do not believe.
39 Search the scriptures, for in them ye think ye have eternal life; and they are those who testify of me.
40 And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.
41 I do not receive glory from men.
42 But I know you that ye have not the love of God in you.
43 I have come in my Father’s name, and ye receive me not; if another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive.
44 How can ye believe, who take glory one from another, and seek not the glory that comes only from God?
45 Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father; there is one that accuses you, even Moses, in whom ye trust.
46 For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me, for he wrote of me.
47 But if ye do not believe his writings, how shall ye believe my words?
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