Book of Common Prayer
Prayer for deliverance from the treacherous.
A Song of Ascents.
120 In my distress I cried unto Jehovah,
And he answered me.
2 Deliver my soul, O Jehovah, from lying lips,
And from a deceitful tongue.
3 What shall be given unto thee, and what shall be done more unto thee,
Thou deceitful tongue?
4 [a]Sharp arrows of the mighty,
With coals of [b]juniper.
5 Woe is me, that I sojourn in Meshech,
That I dwell among the tents of Kedar!
6 My soul hath long had her dwelling
With him that hateth peace.
7 I am for peace:
But when I speak, they are for war.
Jehovah the keeper of his people.
A Song of Ascents.
121 I will lift up mine eyes unto the mountains:
From whence shall my help come?
2 My help cometh from Jehovah,
Who made heaven and earth.
3 [c]He will not suffer thy foot to be moved:
He that keepeth thee will not slumber.
4 Behold, he that keepeth Israel
Will neither slumber nor sleep.
5 Jehovah is thy keeper:
Jehovah is thy shade upon thy right hand.
6 The sun shall not smite thee by day,
Nor the moon by night.
7 Jehovah will keep thee from all evil;
He will keep thy soul.
8 Jehovah will keep thy going out and thy coming in
From this time forth and for evermore.
Prayer for the peace of Jerusalem.
A Song of Ascents; of David.
122 I was glad when they said unto me,
Let us go unto the house of Jehovah.
2 Our feet [d]are standing
Within thy gates, O Jerusalem,
3 Jerusalem, that art builded
As a city that is compact together;
4 Whither the tribes go up, even the tribes of [e]Jehovah,
For [f]an ordinance for Israel,
To give thanks unto the name of Jehovah.
5 For there [g]are set thrones for judgment,
The thrones of the house of David.
6 [h]Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:
[i]They shall prosper that love thee.
7 Peace be within thy walls,
And prosperity within thy palaces.
8 For my brethren and companions’ sakes,
I will now [j]say, Peace be within thee.
9 For the sake of the house of Jehovah our God
I will seek thy good.
An expectant prayer for Jehovah’s help.
A Song of Ascents.
123 Unto thee do I lift up mine eyes,
O thou that sittest in the heavens.
2 Behold, as the eyes of servants look unto the hand of their master,
As the eyes of a maid unto the hand of her mistress;
So our eyes look unto Jehovah our God,
Until he have mercy upon us.
3 Have mercy upon us, O Jehovah, have mercy upon us;
For we are exceedingly filled with contempt.
4 Our soul is exceedingly filled
With the scoffing of those that are at ease,
And with the contempt of the proud.
Praise for rescue from enemies.
A Song of Ascents; of David.
124 If it had not been Jehovah who was on our side,
Let Israel now say,
2 If it had not been Jehovah who was on our side,
When men rose up against us;
3 Then they had swallowed us up alive,
When their wrath was kindled against us:
4 Then the waters had overwhelmed us,
The stream had gone over our soul;
5 Then the proud waters had gone over our soul.
6 Blessed be Jehovah,
Who hath not given us as a prey to their teeth.
7 Our soul is escaped as a bird out of the snare of the fowlers:
The snare is broken, and we are escaped.
8 Our help is in the name of Jehovah,
Who made heaven and earth.
Jehovah round about his people.
A Song of Ascents.
125 They that trust in Jehovah
Are as mount Zion, which cannot be moved, but abideth for ever.
2 As the mountains are round about Jerusalem,
So Jehovah is round about his people
From this time forth and for evermore.
3 For the sceptre of wickedness shall not rest upon the lot of the righteous;
That the righteous put not forth their hands unto iniquity.
4 Do good, O Jehovah, unto those that are good,
And to them that are upright in their hearts.
5 But as for such as turn aside unto their crooked ways,
Jehovah will lead them forth with the workers of iniquity.
Peace be upon Israel.
Thanksgiving for return from captivity.
A Song of Ascents.
126 When Jehovah brought back those that returned to Zion,
We were like unto them that dream.
2 Then was our mouth filled with laughter,
And our tongue with singing:
Then said they among the nations,
Jehovah hath done great things for them.
3 Jehovah hath done great things for us,
Whereof we are glad.
4 Turn again our captivity, O Jehovah,
As the streams in the South.
5 They that sow in tears shall reap in joy.
6 He that goeth forth and weepeth, [k]bearing seed for sowing,
Shall doubtless come again with joy, bringing his sheaves with him.
Prosperity comes from Jehovah.
A Song of Ascents; of Solomon.
127 Except Jehovah build the house,
They labor in vain that build it:
Except Jehovah keep the city,
The watchman waketh but in vain.
2 It is vain for you to rise up early,
To take rest late,
To eat the bread of toil;
For so he giveth unto his beloved [l]sleep.
3 Lo, children are a heritage of Jehovah;
And the fruit of the womb is his reward.
4 As arrows in the hand of a mighty man,
So are the children of youth.
5 Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them:
They shall not be put to shame,
When they speak with their enemies in the gate.
9 And Absalom chanced to meet the servants of David. And Absalom was riding upon his mule, and the mule went under the thick boughs of a great [a]oak, and his head caught hold of the oak, and he was taken up between heaven and earth; and the mule that was under him went on. 10 And a certain man saw it, and told Joab, and said, Behold, I saw Absalom hanging in an oak. 11 And Joab said unto the man that told him, And, behold, thou sawest it, and why didst thou not smite him there to the ground? and I would have given thee ten pieces of silver, and a girdle. 12 And the man said unto Joab, Though I should receive a thousand pieces of silver in my hand, yet would I not put forth my hand against the king’s son: for in our hearing the king charged thee and Abishai and Ittai, saying, [b]Beware that none touch the young man Absalom. 13 Otherwise if I had dealt falsely against [c]his life (and there is no matter hid from the king), then thou thyself wouldest have set thyself against me. 14 Then said Joab, I may not tarry thus with thee. And he took three [d]darts in his hand, and thrust them through the heart of Absalom, while he was yet alive in the midst of the oak. 15 And ten young men that bare Joab’s armor compassed about and smote Absalom, and slew him.
16 And Joab blew the trumpet, and the people returned from pursuing after Israel; for Joab [e]held back the people. 17 And they took Absalom, and cast him into the great pit in the forest, and raised over him a very great heap of stones: and all Israel fled every one to his tent. 18 Now Absalom in his lifetime had taken and reared up for himself the pillar, which is in the king’s dale; for he said, I have no son to keep my name in remembrance: and he called the pillar after his own name; and it is called Absalom’s monument, unto this day.
12 And when it was day, the Jews banded together, and bound themselves under a curse, saying that they would neither eat nor drink till they had killed Paul. 13 And they were more than forty that made this conspiracy. 14 And they came to the chief priests and the elders, and said, We have bound ourselves under a great curse, to taste nothing until we have killed Paul. 15 Now therefore do ye with the council signify to the [a]chief captain that he bring him down unto you, as though ye would judge of his case more exactly: and we, before he comes near, are ready to slay him. 16 But Paul’s sister’s son heard of their lying in wait, [b]and he came and entered into the castle and told Paul. 17 And Paul called unto him one of the centurions, and said, Bring this young man unto the [c]chief captain; for he hath something to tell him. 18 So he took him, and brought him to the [d]chief captain, and saith, Paul the prisoner called me unto him, and asked me to bring this young man unto thee, who hath something to say to thee. 19 And the [e]chief captain took him by the hand, and going aside asked him privately, What is it that thou hast to tell me? 20 And he said, The Jews have agreed to ask thee to bring down Paul to-morrow unto the council, as though thou wouldest inquire somewhat more exactly concerning him. 21 Do not thou therefore yield unto them: for there lie in wait for him of them more than forty men, who have bound themselves under a curse, neither to eat nor to drink till they have slain him: and now are they ready, looking for the promise from thee. 22 So the [f]chief captain let the young man go, charging him, Tell no man that thou hast signified these things to me. 23 And he called unto him two of the centurions, and said, Make ready two hundred soldiers to go as far as Caesarea, and horsemen threescore and ten, and spearmen two hundred, at the third hour of the night: 24 and he bade them provide beasts, that they might set Paul thereon, and bring him safe unto Felix the governor.
27 And they come again to Jerusalem: and as he was walking in the temple, there come to him the chief priests, and the scribes, and the elders; 28 and they said unto him, By what authority doest thou these things? or who gave thee this authority to do these things? 29 And Jesus said unto them, I will ask of you one [a]question, and answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things. 30 The baptism of John, was it from heaven, or from men? answer me. 31 And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven; he will say, Why then did ye not believe him? 32 [b]But should we say, From men—they feared the people: [c]for all verily held John to be a prophet. 33 And they answered Jesus and say, We know not. And Jesus saith unto them, Neither tell I you by what authority I do these things.
12 And he began to speak unto them in parables. A man planted a vineyard, and set a hedge about it, and digged a pit for the winepress, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into another country. 2 And at the season he sent to the husbandmen a [d]servant, that he might receive from the husbandmen of the fruits of the vineyard. 3 And they took him, and beat him, and sent him away empty. 4 And again he sent unto them another [e]servant; and him they wounded in the head, and handled shamefully. 5 And he sent another; and him they killed: and many others; beating some, and killing some. 6 He had yet one, a beloved son: he sent him last unto them, saying, They will reverence my son. 7 But those husbandmen said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and the inheritance shall be ours. 8 And they took him, and killed him, and cast him forth out of the vineyard. 9 What therefore will the lord of the vineyard do? he will come and destroy the husbandmen, and will give the vineyard unto others. 10 Have ye not read even this scripture:
[f]The stone which the builders rejected,
The same was made the head of the corner;
11 This was from the Lord,
And it is marvellous in our eyes?
12 And they sought to lay hold on him; and they feared the multitude; for they perceived that he spake the parable against them: and they left him, and went away.
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