Book of Common Prayer
Prayer for Deliverance from the Treacherous.
A Song of [a]Ascents.
120 (A)In my trouble I cried to the Lord,
And He answered me.
2 Deliver my soul, O Lord, from (B)lying lips,
From a (C)deceitful tongue.
3 What shall be given to you, and what more shall be done to you,
You (D)deceitful tongue?
4 (E)Sharp arrows of the warrior,
With the burning (F)coals of the broom tree.
5 Woe is me, for I sojourn in (G)Meshech,
For I dwell among the (H)tents of (I)Kedar!
6 Too long has my soul had its dwelling
With those who (J)hate peace.
7 I (K)am for peace, but when I speak,
They are (L)for war.
The Lord the Keeper of Israel.
A Song of Ascents.
121 I will (M)lift up my eyes to (N)the mountains;
From where shall my help come?
2 My (O)help comes from the Lord,
Who (P)made heaven and earth.
3 He will not (Q)allow your foot to slip;
He who (R)keeps you will not slumber.
4 Behold, He who keeps Israel
Will neither slumber nor sleep.
5 The Lord is your (S)keeper;
The Lord is your (T)shade on your right hand.
6 The (U)sun will not smite you by day,
Nor the moon by night.
7 The Lord will [b](V)protect you from all evil;
He will keep your soul.
8 The Lord will [c](W)guard your going out and your coming in
(X)From this time forth and forever.
Prayer for the Peace of Jerusalem.
A Song of Ascents, of David.
122 I was glad when they said to me,
“Let us (Y)go to the house of the Lord.”
2 Our feet are standing
Within your (Z)gates, O Jerusalem,
3 Jerusalem, that is (AA)built
As a city that is (AB)compact together;
4 To which the tribes (AC)go up, even the tribes of [d]the Lord—
[e]An ordinance for Israel—
To give thanks to the name of the Lord.
5 For there (AD)thrones were set for judgment,
The thrones of the house of David.
6 Pray for the (AE)peace of Jerusalem:
“May they prosper who (AF)love you.
7 “May peace be within your (AG)walls,
And prosperity within your (AH)palaces.”
8 For the sake of my (AI)brothers and my friends,
I will now say, “(AJ)May peace be within you.”
9 For the sake of the house of the Lord our God,
I will (AK)seek your good.
Prayer for the Lord’s Help.
A Song of Ascents.
123 To You I (AL)lift up my eyes,
O You who (AM)are enthroned in the heavens!
2 Behold, as the eyes of (AN)servants look to the hand of their master,
As the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress,
So our (AO)eyes look to the Lord our God,
Until He is gracious to us.
3 (AP)Be gracious to us, O Lord, be gracious to us,
For we are greatly filled (AQ)with contempt.
4 Our soul is greatly filled
With the (AR)scoffing of (AS)those who are at ease,
And with the (AT)contempt of the proud.
Praise for Rescue from Enemies.
A Song of Ascents, of David.
124 “(AU)Had it not been the Lord who was on our side,”
(AV)Let Israel now say,
2 “Had it not been the Lord who was on our side
When men rose up against us,
3 Then they would have (AW)swallowed us alive,
When their (AX)anger was kindled against us;
4 Then the (AY)waters would have engulfed us,
The stream would have [f]swept over our soul;
5 Then the (AZ)raging waters would have [g]swept over our soul.”
6 Blessed be the Lord,
Who has not given us [h]to be (BA)torn by their teeth.
7 Our soul has (BB)escaped (BC)as a bird out of the (BD)snare of the trapper;
The snare is broken and we have escaped.
8 Our (BE)help is in the name of the Lord,
Who (BF)made heaven and earth.
The Lord Surrounds His People.
A Song of Ascents.
125 Those who trust in the Lord
Are as Mount Zion, which (BG)cannot be moved but (BH)abides forever.
2 As the mountains surround Jerusalem,
So (BI)the Lord surrounds His people
(BJ)From this time forth and forever.
3 For the (BK)scepter of wickedness shall not rest upon the [i]land of the righteous,
So that the righteous (BL)will not put forth their hands to do wrong.
4 (BM)Do good, O Lord, to those who are good
And to those who are (BN)upright in their hearts.
5 But as for those who (BO)turn aside to their (BP)crooked ways,
The Lord will lead them away with the (BQ)doers of iniquity.
(BR)Peace be upon Israel.
Thanksgiving for Return from Captivity.
A Song of Ascents.
126 When the Lord (BS)brought back [j]the captive ones of Zion,
We were (BT)like those who dream.
2 Then our (BU)mouth was filled with laughter
And our (BV)tongue with joyful shouting;
Then they said among the nations,
“The Lord has (BW)done great things for them.”
3 The Lord has done great things for us;
We are (BX)glad.
4 Restore our captivity, O Lord,
As the [k](BY)streams in the [l]South.
5 Those who sow in (BZ)tears shall reap with (CA)joyful shouting.
6 He who goes to and fro weeping, carrying his bag of seed,
Shall indeed come again with a shout of joy, bringing his sheaves with him.
Prosperity Comes from the Lord.
A Song of Ascents, of Solomon.
127 Unless the Lord (CB)builds the house,
They labor in vain who build it;
Unless the Lord (CC)guards the city,
The watchman keeps awake in vain.
2 It is vain for you to rise up early,
To [m]retire late,
To (CD)eat the bread of [n]painful labors;
For He gives to His (CE)beloved (CF)even in his sleep.
3 Behold, (CG)children are a [o]gift of the Lord,
The (CH)fruit of the womb is a reward.
4 Like arrows in the hand of a (CI)warrior,
So are the children of one’s youth.
5 How (CJ)blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them;
(CK)They will not be ashamed
When they (CL)speak with their enemies (CM)in the gate.
A Father’s Instruction
4 Hear, O sons, the (A)instruction of a father,
And (B)give attention that you may [a]gain understanding,
2 For I give you [b]sound (C)teaching;
(D)Do not abandon my [c]instruction.
3 When I was a son to my father,
(E)Tender and (F)the only son in the sight of my mother,
4 Then he (G)taught me and said to me,
“Let your heart (H)hold fast my words;
(I)Keep my commandments and live;
5 (J)Acquire wisdom! (K)Acquire understanding!
Do not forget nor turn away from the words of my mouth.
6 “Do not forsake her, and she will guard you;
(L)Love her, and she will watch over you.
7 “(M)The [d]beginning of wisdom is: (N)Acquire wisdom;
And with all your acquiring, get understanding.
8 “(O)Prize her, and she will exalt you;
She will honor you if you embrace her.
9 “She will place (P)on your head a garland of grace;
She will present you with a crown of beauty.”
10 Hear, my son, and (Q)accept my sayings
And the (R)years of your life will be many.
11 I have (S)directed you in the way of wisdom;
I have led you in upright paths.
12 When you walk, your (T)steps will not be impeded;
And if you run, you (U)will not stumble.
13 (V)Take hold of instruction; do not let go.
Guard her, for she is your (W)life.
14 (X)Do not enter the path of the wicked
And do not proceed in the way of evil men.
15 Avoid it, do not pass by it;
Turn away from it and pass on.
16 For they (Y)cannot sleep unless they do evil;
And [e]they are robbed of sleep unless they make someone stumble.
17 For they (Z)eat the bread of wickedness
And drink the wine of violence.
18 But the (AA)path of the righteous is like the (AB)light of dawn,
That (AC)shines brighter and brighter until the (AD)full day.
19 The (AE)way of the wicked is like darkness;
They do not know over what they [f](AF)stumble.
20 My son, (AG)give attention to my words;
(AH)Incline your ear to my sayings.
21 (AI)Do not let them depart from your sight;
(AJ)Keep them in the midst of your heart.
22 For they are (AK)life to those who find them
And (AL)health to all [g]their body.
23 Watch over your heart with all diligence,
For (AM)from it flow the springs of life.
24 Put away from you a (AN)deceitful mouth
And (AO)put devious [h]speech far from you.
25 Let your eyes look directly ahead
And let your [i]gaze be fixed straight in front of you.
26 (AP)Watch the path of your feet
And all your (AQ)ways will be established.
27 (AR)Do not turn to the right nor to the left;
(AS)Turn your foot from evil.
God Is Love
7 (A)Beloved, let us (B)love one another, for love is from God; and (C)everyone who loves is [a](D)born of God and (E)knows God. 8 The one who does not love does not know God, for (F)God is love. 9 By this the love of God was manifested [b](G)in us, that (H)God has sent His [c]only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him. 10 In this is love, (I)not that we loved God, but that (J)He loved us and sent His Son to be (K)the propitiation for our sins. 11 (L)Beloved, if God so loved us, (M)we also ought to love one another. 12 (N)No one has seen God at any time; if we love one another, God abides in us, and His (O)love is perfected in us. 13 (P)By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. 14 We have seen and (Q)testify that the Father has (R)sent the Son to be the Savior of the world.
15 (S)Whoever confesses that (T)Jesus is the Son of God, God (U)abides in him, and he in God. 16 (V)We have come to know and have believed the love which God has [d](W)for us. (X)God is love, and the one who (Y)abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. 17 By this, (Z)love is perfected with us, so that we may have (AA)confidence in (AB)the day of judgment; because (AC)as He is, so also are we in this world. 18 There is no fear in love; but (AD)perfect love casts out fear, because fear [e]involves punishment, and the one who fears is not (AE)perfected in love. 19 (AF)We love, because He first loved us. 20 (AG)If someone says, “I love God,” and (AH)hates his brother, he is a (AI)liar; for (AJ)the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, (AK)cannot love God whom he has not seen. 21 And (AL)this commandment we have from Him, that the one who loves God (AM)should love his brother also.
30 Now Jesus had not yet come into the village, but (A)was still in the place where Martha met Him. 31 (B)Then the Jews who were with her in the house, and (C)consoling her, when they saw that Mary got up quickly and went out, they followed her, supposing that she was going to the tomb to weep there. 32 Therefore, when Mary came where Jesus was, she saw Him, and fell at His feet, saying to Him, “(D)Lord, (E)if You had been here, my brother would not have died.” 33 When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and (F)the Jews who came with her also weeping, He (G)was deeply moved in spirit and [a](H)was troubled, 34 and said, “Where have you laid him?” They *said to Him, “Lord, come and see.” 35 Jesus (I)wept. 36 So (J)the Jews were saying, “See how He (K)loved him!” 37 But some of them said, “Could not this man, who (L)opened the eyes of the blind man, [b]have kept this man also from dying?”
38 So Jesus, again being deeply moved within, *came to the tomb. Now it was a (M)cave, and a stone was lying against it. 39 Jesus *said, “Remove the stone.” Martha, the sister of the deceased, *said to Him, “Lord, by this time [c]there will be a stench, for he has been dead (N)four days.” 40 Jesus *said to her, “(O)Did I not say to you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?” 41 So they removed the (P)stone. Then Jesus (Q)raised His eyes, and said, “(R)Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. 42 I knew that You always hear Me; but (S)because of the [d]people standing around I said it, so that they may believe that (T)You sent Me.” 43 When He had said these things, He cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth.” 44 The man who had died came forth, (U)bound hand and foot with wrappings, and (V)his face was wrapped around with a cloth. Jesus *said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.