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.”
Jeremiah Saved from Death(A)
26 In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came from the Lord, saying, 2 “Thus says the Lord: ‘Stand in (B)the court of the Lord’s house, and speak to all the cities of Judah, which come to worship in the Lord’s house, (C)all the words that I command you to speak to them. (D)Do not diminish a word. 3 (E)Perhaps everyone will listen and turn from his evil way, that I may (F)relent concerning the calamity which I purpose to bring on them because of the evil of their doings.’ 4 And you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord: (G)“If you will not listen to Me, to walk in My law which I have set before you, 5 to heed the words of My servants the prophets (H)whom I sent to you, both rising up early and sending them (but you have not heeded), 6 then I will make this house like (I)Shiloh, and will make this city (J)a curse to all the nations of the earth.” ’ ”
7 So the priests and the prophets and all the people heard Jeremiah speaking these words in the house of the Lord. 8 Now it happened, when Jeremiah had made an end of speaking all that the Lord had commanded him to speak to all the people, that the priests and the prophets and all the people seized him, saying, “You will surely die! 9 Why have you prophesied in the name of the Lord, saying, ‘This house shall be like Shiloh, and this city shall be (K)desolate, without an inhabitant’?” And all the people were gathered against Jeremiah in the house of the Lord.
10 When the princes of Judah heard these things, they came up from the king’s house to the house of the Lord and sat down in the entry of the New Gate of the Lord’s house. 11 And the priests and the prophets spoke to the princes and all the people, saying, [a]“This man deserves to (L)die! For he has prophesied against this city, as you have heard with your ears.”
12 Then Jeremiah spoke to all the princes and all the people, saying: “The Lord sent me to prophesy against this house and against this city with all the words that you have heard. 13 Now therefore, (M)amend your ways and your doings, and obey the voice of the Lord your God; then the Lord will relent concerning the doom that He has pronounced against you. 14 As for me, here (N)I am, in your hand; do with me as seems good and [b]proper to you. 15 But know for certain that if you put me to death, you will surely bring innocent blood on yourselves, on this city, and on its inhabitants; for truly the Lord has sent me to you to speak all these words in your hearing.”
16 So the princes and all the people said to the priests and the prophets, “This man does not deserve to die. For he has spoken to us in the name of the Lord our God.”
Israel’s Rejection Not Total
11 I say then, (A)has God cast away His people? (B)Certainly not! For (C)I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. 2 God has not cast away His people whom (D)He foreknew. Or do you not know what the Scripture says of Elijah, how he pleads with God against Israel, saying, 3 (E)“Lord, they have killed Your prophets and torn down Your altars, and I alone am left, and they seek my life”? 4 But what does the divine response say to him? (F)“I have reserved for Myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.” 5 (G)Even so then, at this present time there is a remnant according to the election of grace. 6 And (H)if by grace, then it is no longer of works; otherwise grace is no longer grace. [a]But if it is of works, it is no longer grace; otherwise work is no longer work.
7 What then? (I)Israel has not obtained what it seeks; but the elect have obtained it, and the rest were (J)blinded. 8 Just as it is written:
(K)“God has given them a spirit of stupor,
(L)Eyes that they should not see
And ears that they should not hear,
To this very day.”
9 And David says:
(M)“Let their table become a snare and a trap,
A stumbling block and a recompense to them.
10 Let their eyes be darkened, so that they do not see,
And bow down their back always.”
Israel’s Rejection Not Final
11 I say then, have they stumbled that they should fall? Certainly not! But (N)through their [b]fall, to provoke them to (O)jealousy, salvation has come to the Gentiles. 12 Now if their [c]fall is riches for the world, and their failure riches for the Gentiles, how much more their fullness!
19 Therefore (A)there was a division again among the Jews because of these sayings. 20 And many of them said, (B)“He has a demon and is [a]mad. Why do you listen to Him?”
21 Others said, “These are not the words of one who has a demon. (C)Can a demon (D)open the eyes of the blind?”
The Shepherd Knows His Sheep
22 Now it was the Feast of Dedication in Jerusalem, and it was winter. 23 And Jesus walked in the temple, (E)in Solomon’s porch. 24 Then the Jews surrounded Him and said to Him, “How long do You keep us in [b]doubt? If You are the Christ, tell us plainly.”
25 Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. (F)The works that I do in My Father’s name, they (G)bear witness of Me. 26 But (H)you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep, [c]as I said to you. 27 (I)My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. 28 And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. 29 (J)My Father, (K)who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand. 30 (L)I and My Father are one.”
Renewed Efforts to Stone Jesus
31 Then (M)the Jews took up stones again to stone Him. 32 Jesus answered them, “Many good works I have shown you from My Father. For which of those works do you stone Me?”
33 The Jews answered Him, saying, “For a good work we do not stone You, but for (N)blasphemy, and because You, being a Man, (O)make Yourself God.”
34 Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your law, (P)‘I said, “You are gods” ’? 35 If He called them gods, (Q)to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture (R)cannot be broken), 36 do you say of Him (S)whom the Father sanctified and (T)sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ (U)because I said, ‘I am (V)the Son of God’? 37 (W)If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me; 38 but if I do, though you do not believe Me, (X)believe the works, that you may know and [d]believe (Y)that the Father is in Me, and I in Him.” 39 (Z)Therefore they sought again to seize Him, but He escaped out of their hand.
The Believers Beyond Jordan
40 And He went away again beyond the Jordan to the place (AA)where John was baptizing at first, and there He stayed. 41 Then many came to Him and said, “John performed no sign, (AB)but all the things that John spoke about this Man were true.” 42 And many believed in Him there.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.