Book of Common Prayer
In Praise of the Temple
132 Lord, do not forget David
and all the hardships he endured.
2 Remember, Lord, what he promised,
the vow he made to you, the Mighty God of Jacob:
3 “I will not go home or go to bed;
4 I will not rest or sleep,
5 until I provide a place for the Lord,
a home for the Mighty God of Jacob.”
6 (A)In Bethlehem we heard about the Covenant Box,
and we found it in the fields of Jearim.
7 We said, “Let us go to the Lord's house;
let us worship before his throne.”
8 Come to the Temple, Lord, with the Covenant Box,
the symbol of your power,
and stay here forever.
9 May your priests do always what is right;
may your people shout for joy!
10 You made a promise to your servant David;
do not reject your chosen king, Lord.
11 (B)You made a solemn promise to David—
a promise you will not take back:
“I will make one of your sons king,
and he will rule after you.
12 If your sons are true to my covenant
and to the commands I give them,
their sons, also, will succeed you for all time as kings.”
13 The Lord has chosen Zion;
he wants to make it his home:
14 “This is where I will live forever;
this is where I want to rule.
15 I will richly provide Zion with all she needs;
I will satisfy her poor with food.
16 I will bless her priests in all they do,
and her people will sing and shout for joy.
17 (C)Here I will make one of David's descendants a great king;
here I will preserve the rule of my chosen king.
18 I will cover his enemies with shame,
but his kingdom will prosper and flourish.”
The Peaceful Kingdom
11 (A)The royal line of David is like a tree that has been cut down; but just as new branches sprout from a stump, so a new king will arise from among David's descendants.
2 The spirit of the Lord will give him wisdom
and the knowledge and skill to rule his people.
He will know the Lord's will and honor him,
3 and find pleasure in obeying him.
He will not judge by appearance or hearsay;
4 (B)he will judge the poor fairly
and defend the rights of the helpless.
At his command the people will be punished,
and evil persons will die.
5 (C)He will rule his people with justice and integrity.
6 (D)Wolves and sheep will live together in peace,
and leopards will lie down with young goats.
Calves and lion cubs will feed[a] together,
and little children will take care of them.
7 Cows and bears will eat together,
and their calves and cubs will lie down in peace.
Lions will eat straw as cattle do.
8 Even a baby will not be harmed
if it plays near a poisonous snake.
9 (E)On Zion, God's sacred hill,
there will be nothing harmful or evil.
The land will be as full of knowledge of the Lord
as the seas are full of water.
The Exiled People Will Return
10 (F)A day is coming when the new king from the royal line of David will be a symbol to the nations. They will gather in his royal city and give him honor.
11 He purifies people from their sins, and both he and those who are made pure all have the same Father. That is why Jesus is not ashamed to call them his family. 12 (A)He says to God,
“I will tell my people what you have done;
I will praise you in their meeting.”
13 (B)He also says, “I will put my trust in God.” And he also says, “Here I am with the children that God has given me.”
14 Since the children, as he calls them, are people of flesh and blood, Jesus himself became like them and shared their human nature. He did this so that through his death he might destroy the Devil, who has the power over death, 15 and in this way set free those who were slaves all their lives because of their fear of death. 16 (C)For it is clear that it is not the angels that he helps. Instead, he helps the descendants of Abraham. 17 This means that he had to become like his people in every way, in order to be their faithful and merciful High Priest in his service to God, so that the people's sins would be forgiven. 18 And now he can help those who are tempted, because he himself was tempted and suffered.
Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition) © 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved. For more information about GNT, visit www.bibles.com and www.gnt.bible.