Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 131[a]
Humble Trust in God
1 A song of ascents. Of David.
Lord, my heart is not proud;
nor are my eyes haughty.
I do not busy myself with great matters,
with things too sublime for me.(A)
2 Rather, I have stilled my soul,
Like a weaned child to its mother,
weaned is my soul.(B)
3 Israel, hope in the Lord,
now and forever.
Psalm 132[b]
The Covenant Between David and God
1 A song of ascents.
I
Remember, O Lord, for David
all his hardships;
2 How he swore an oath to the Lord,
vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob:[c]
3 “I will not enter the house where I live,(C)
nor lie on the couch where I sleep;
4 I will give my eyes no sleep,
my eyelids no rest,
5 Till I find a place for the Lord,
a dwelling for the Mighty One of Jacob.”
6 “We have heard of it in Ephrathah;[d]
we have found it in the fields of Jaar.
7 Let us enter his dwelling;
let us worship at his footstool.”(D)
8 “Arise, Lord, come to your resting place,(E)
you and your mighty ark.
9 Your priests will be clothed with justice;
your devout will shout for joy.”
10 For the sake of David your servant,
do not reject your anointed.
II
11 The Lord swore an oath to David in truth,
he will never turn back from it:(F)
“Your own offspring(G) I will set upon your throne.
12 If your sons observe my covenant,
and my decrees I shall teach them,
Their sons, in turn,
shall sit forever on your throne.”
13 Yes, the Lord has chosen Zion,
desired it for a dwelling:
14 “This is my resting place forever;
here I will dwell, for I desire it.
15 I will bless Zion with provisions;
its poor I will fill with bread.
16 I will clothe its priests with salvation;
its devout shall shout for joy.(H)
17 There I will make a horn sprout for David;[e](I)
I will set a lamp for my anointed.
18 His foes I will clothe with shame,
but on him his crown shall shine.”
Psalm 133[f]
A Vision of a Blessed Community
1 A song of ascents. Of David.
How good and how pleasant it is,
when brothers[g] dwell together as one!
2 Like fine oil on the head,[h](J)
running down upon the beard,
Upon the beard of Aaron,
upon the collar of his robe.
3 Like dew[i] of Hermon coming down
upon the mountains of Zion.(K)
There the Lord has decreed a blessing,
life for evermore!(L)
Psalm 134[j]
Exhortation to the Night Watch to Bless God
1 A song of ascents.
O come, bless the Lord,
all you servants of the Lord[k]
You who stand in the house of the Lord
throughout the nights.(M)
2 Lift up your hands toward the sanctuary,(N)
and bless the Lord.
3 May the Lord bless you from Zion,
the Maker of heaven and earth.(O)
Psalm 135[l]
Praise of God, the Ruler and Benefactor of Israel
1 Hallelujah!
I
Praise the name of the Lord!
Praise, you servants of the Lord,(P)
2 Who stand in the house of the Lord,
in the courts of the house of our God!(Q)
3 Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good!
Sing to his name, for it brings joy!
4 [m]For the Lord has chosen Jacob for himself,
Israel as his treasured possession.(R)
II
5 For I know that the Lord is great,
that our Lord is greater than all gods.(S)
6 Whatever the Lord desires
he does in heaven and on earth,
in the seas and all the depths.(T)
7 It is he who raises storm clouds from the end of the earth,
makes lightning for the rain,
and brings forth wind from his storehouse.(U)
III
8 He struck down Egypt’s firstborn,(V)
of human being and beast alike,
9 And sent signs and wonders against you, Egypt,
against Pharaoh and all his servants.
10 It is he who struck down many nations,(W)
and slew mighty kings—
11 Sihon, king of the Amorites,
and Og, king of Bashan,
all the kings of Canaan—
12 And made their land a heritage,
a heritage for Israel his people.
13 O Lord, your name is forever,
your renown, from generation to generation!(X)
14 For the Lord defends his people,
shows mercy to his servants.(Y)
IV
15 The idols of the nations are silver and gold,(Z)
the work of human hands.
16 They have mouths but do not speak;
they have eyes but do not see;
17 They have ears but do not hear;
nor is there breath in their mouths.
18 Their makers will become like them,
and anyone who trusts in them.
V
19 House of Israel, bless the Lord!(AA)
House of Aaron, bless the Lord!
20 House of Levi, bless the Lord!
You who fear the Lord, bless the Lord!
21 Blessed be the Lord from Zion,
who dwells in Jerusalem!
Hallelujah!
Chapter 13
Oracles Concerning the End of False Prophecy.[a] 1 On that day a fountain will be opened for the house of David[b] and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to purify from sin and uncleanness.(A)
2 On that day—oracle of the Lord of hosts—I will destroy the names of the idols from the land, so that they will be mentioned no more; I will also remove the prophets and the spirit of uncleanness from the land. 3 If any still prophesy, their father and mother who bore them will say, “You will not live, because you have spoken a lie in the name of the Lord.” Their father and mother who bore them will thrust them through when they prophesy.(B)
4 On that day, all prophets will be ashamed of the visions they prophesy; and they will not put on the hairy mantle[c] to mislead,(C) 5 but each will say, “I am not a prophet. I am a tiller of the soil, for I have owned land since my youth.”(D) 6 And if anyone asks, “What are these wounds on your chest?”[d] each will answer, “I received these wounds in the house of my friends.”(E)
The Song of the Sword
7 Awake, O sword, against my shepherd,
against the one who is my associate
—oracle of the Lord of hosts.
Strike the shepherd
that the sheep may be scattered;[e](F)
I will turn my hand against the little ones.
8 In all the land—oracle of the Lord—
two thirds of them will be cut off and perish,
and one third will be left.
9 I will bring the one third through the fire;
I will refine them as one refines silver,(G)
and I will test them as one tests gold.
They will call upon my name, and I will answer them;(H)
I will say, “They are my people,”(I)
and they will say, “The Lord is my God.”
15 Therefore, I, too, hearing of your faith in the Lord Jesus and of your love[a] for all the holy ones,(A) 16 do not cease giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers,(B) 17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation resulting in knowledge of him.(C) 18 May the eyes of [your] hearts be enlightened, that you may know what is the hope that belongs to his call, what are the riches of glory in his inheritance among the holy ones,(D) 19 and what is the surpassing greatness of his power for us who believe, in accord with the exercise of his great might,(E) 20 which he worked in Christ, raising him from the dead and seating him at his right hand in the heavens,(F) 21 far above every principality, authority, power, and dominion, and every name that is named not only in this age but also in the one to come.(G) 22 And he put all things beneath his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church,(H) 23 which is his body,[b] the fullness of the one who fills all things in every way.(I)
11 (A)While they were listening to him speak, he proceeded to tell a parable because he was near Jerusalem and they thought that the kingdom of God would appear there immediately. 12 So he said, “A nobleman went off to a distant country to obtain the kingship for himself and then to return.(B) 13 He called ten of his servants and gave them ten gold coins[a] and told them, ‘Engage in trade with these until I return.’ 14 His fellow citizens, however, despised him and sent a delegation after him to announce, ‘We do not want this man to be our king.’ 15 But when he returned after obtaining the kingship, he had the servants called, to whom he had given the money, to learn what they had gained by trading. 16 The first came forward and said, ‘Sir, your gold coin has earned ten additional ones.’ 17 He replied, ‘Well done, good servant! You have been faithful in this very small matter; take charge of ten cities.’(C) 18 Then the second came and reported, ‘Your gold coin, sir, has earned five more.’ 19 And to this servant too he said, ‘You, take charge of five cities.’ 20 Then the other servant came and said, ‘Sir, here is your gold coin; I kept it stored away in a handkerchief, 21 for I was afraid of you, because you are a demanding person; you take up what you did not lay down and you harvest what you did not plant.’ 22 He said to him, ‘With your own words I shall condemn you, you wicked servant. You knew I was a demanding person, taking up what I did not lay down and harvesting what I did not plant; 23 why did you not put my money in a bank? Then on my return I would have collected it with interest.’ 24 And to those standing by he said, ‘Take the gold coin from him and give it to the servant who has ten.’ 25 But they said to him, ‘Sir, he has ten gold coins.’ 26 ‘I tell you, to everyone who has, more will be given, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.(D) 27 Now as for those enemies of mine who did not want me as their king, bring them here and slay them before me.’”
VI. The Teaching Ministry in Jerusalem[b]
The Entry into Jerusalem.(E)
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.