Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 131
A Song of Ascents. Of David.
1 Lord, my heart is not haughty,
my eyes are not raised too high.
I have not striven for enormities,
for things too wonderful for me.
2 I composed and quieted my desire,
like a child given suck by his mother;
like a child who sucks is my desire within me.
3 Let Israel hope in the Lord
from now and forever.
Psalm 132(A)
A Song of Ascents.
1 O Lord, remember David
and all his afflictions,
2 how he swore unto the Lord,
and vowed unto the mighty God of Jacob:
3 “I will not come into my house,
nor go up to my bed;
4 I will not give sleep to my eyes,
or slumber to my eyelids,
5 until I find a place for the Lord,
a dwelling for the mighty God of Jacob.”
6 We heard of it in Ephrathah;
we found it in the fields of Jaar.
7 “We will go to His dwelling place,
we will worship at His footstool.”
8 Arise, O Lord, go to Your resting place,
You and the ark of Your strength.
9 Let Your priests be clothed with righteousness,
and let Your godly ones shout for joy.
10 For Your servant David’s sake,
do not turn away Your anointed king.
11 The Lord has sworn with a sure oath to David
that He will not turn from it:
“From the fruit of your body
I will set a son on your throne.
12 If your children will keep My covenant
and My testimonies that I shall teach them,
then their children shall also sit
upon your throne forever.”
13 For the Lord has chosen Zion;
He has desired it for His dwelling:
14 “This is My resting place forever;
here I will dwell, for I have chosen it.
15 I will abundantly bless her provisions;
I will satisfy her poor with bread.
16 I will also clothe her priests with salvation,
and her godly ones shall shout for joy.
17 “There I will make a horn sprout for David;
I have prepared a lamp for My anointed one.
18 His enemies I will clothe with shame,
but on him his crown will shine.”
Psalm 133
A Song of Ascents. Of David.
1 Behold, how good and how pleasant it is
for brothers to dwell together in unity!
2 It is like precious oil upon the head,
that runs down on the beard—
even Aaron’s beard—
and going down to the collar of his garments;
3 as the dew of Hermon,
that descends upon the mountains of Zion,
for there the Lord has commanded the blessing,
even life forever.
Psalm 134
A Song of Ascents.
1 Come, bless the Lord, all you servants of the Lord,
who by night stand in the house of the Lord.
2 Lift up your hands in the sanctuary,
and bless the Lord.
3 May the Lord who made heaven and earth
bless you from Zion.
Psalm 135(B)
1 Praise the Lord!
Praise the name of the Lord
praise Him, O servants of the Lord,
2 you who stand in the house of the Lord,
in the courts of the house of our God!
3 Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good;
sing praises unto His name, for it is pleasant.
4 For the Lord has chosen Jacob for Himself,
and Israel for His special possession.
5 For I know that the Lord is great,
and that our Lord is above all gods.
6 Whatever the Lord pleases,
He does in heaven and on earth,
in the seas and all the depths.
7 He causes the clouds to ascend from the ends of the earth;
He makes lightning for the rain;
He brings the wind out from His storehouses.
8 He struck down the firstborn of Egypt,
both of man and animal.
9 He sent signs and wonders into your midst, O Egypt,
against Pharaoh and all his servants;
10 He struck down great nations
and slew mighty kings—
11 Sihon, king of the Amorites,
and Og king of Bashan,
and all the kingdoms of Canaan—
12 and gave their land for an inheritance,
a possession to Israel His people.
13 Your name, O Lord, endures forever;
and Your renown, O Lord, throughout all generations.
14 For the Lord will defend His people,
and He will have compassion on His servants.
15 The idols of the nations are silver and gold,
the work of men’s hands.
16 They have mouths, but do not speak;
they have eyes, but do not see;
17 they have ears, but do not hear;
neither is there any breath in their mouths.
18 Those who make them are like them;
so is everyone who trusts in them.
19 Bless the Lord, O house of Israel;
bless the Lord, O house of Aaron.
20 Bless the Lord, O house of Levi;
you who fear the Lord, bless the Lord.
21 Blessed be the Lord from Zion,
who dwells at Jerusalem.
Praise you the Lord!
The Cleansing of God’s People
13 On that day there will be a spring opened up for the house of David and for the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and impurity.
2 And on that day, says the Lord of Hosts, I will cut off the names of the idols from the land, and they will not be remembered any more. And I will also remove from the land the prophets and the unclean spirit. 3 And it will be if a man again prophesies, then his father and mother who gave birth to him will say, “You will not live because you speak deception in the name of the Lord.” Then when he prophesies, his father and mother will pierce him through.
4 On that day each prophet will be ashamed of his vision when he prophesies. He will not put on a robe of coarse hair in order to deceive. 5 But he will say, “I am not a prophet. I am a man who works the ground, for a man purchased me when I was young.” 6 If someone asks, “What are these wounds on your arms?” he will say, “I was struck in the house of my close friends.”
Striking the Shepherd, Scattering the Sheep
7 “Awake, O sword, against My shepherd
and the man of My association,”
says the Lord of Hosts.
Strike the shepherd,
and the sheep will scatter.
I will turn My hand against the small ones.
8 And it will happen in all the land, says the Lord,
that two-thirds will be cut off and die,
and one-third will be left in the land.
9 And I will bring this one-third left into the fire,
and will refine them as the refinement of silver,
and will test them as the testing of gold.
They will call on My name,
and I will answer them.
I will say, “They are My people”;
and they will say, “The Lord is my God.”
Paul’s Prayer
15 Therefore I also, after hearing of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, 16 do not cease giving thanks for you, mentioning you in my prayers, 17 so that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, 18 that the eyes of your understanding may be enlightened, that you may know what is the hope of His calling and what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance among the saints, 19 and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power, 20 which He performed in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His own right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all principalities, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. 22 And He put all things in subjection under His feet and made Him the head over all things for the church, 23 which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all things in all ways.
The Parable of the Ten Pounds(A)
11 As they heard these things, He continued and told them a parable, because He was near Jerusalem and because they thought the kingdom of God would immediately appear. 12 Therefore He said, “A nobleman went to a distant country to receive a kingdom and to return. 13 So he called his ten servants and entrusted to them ten pounds[a] and said to them, ‘Trade until I come.’
14 “But his citizens hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We do not want this man to reign over us.’
15 “When he returned, having received the kingdom, he summoned these servants, to whom he had entrusted the money, that he might know what everyone gained by trading.
16 “The first came, saying, ‘Master, your pound has made ten pounds more.’
17 “He said to him, ‘Well done, good servant! Because you have been faithful in very little, take authority over ten cities.’
18 “The second came, saying, ‘Master, your pound has made five pounds more.’
19 “He said in like manner to him, ‘You, take authority over five cities.’
20 “Then another came, saying, ‘Master, look, here is your pound, which I have kept put away in a napkin. 21 For I feared you, because you are an exacting man. You collect what you did not deposit, and reap what you did not sow.’
22 “He said to him, ‘Out of your own mouth will I judge you, you wicked servant. You knew that I was an exacting man, collecting what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow. 23 Why then did you not deposit my money in the bank, so that at my coming I might have collected it with interest?’
24 “Then he said to those who stood by, ‘Take the pound from him and give it to him who has ten pounds.’
25 “They said to him, ‘Master, he has ten pounds.’
26 “ ‘I tell you that to everyone who has will be given. But from him who has not, even what he has will be taken away from him. 27 But as for those enemies of mine, who would not let me reign over them, bring them here and slay them before me.’ ”
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.