Book of Common Prayer
Childlike Trust in the Lord.
A Song of Ascents, of David.
131 O Lord, my heart is not (A)proud, nor my eyes [a](B)haughty;
Nor do I [b]involve myself in (C)great matters,
Or in things (D)too [c]difficult for me.
2 Surely I have (E)composed and quieted my soul;
Like a weaned (F)child rests [d]against his mother,
My soul is like a weaned child [e]within me.
3 O Israel, (G)hope in the Lord
(H)From this time forth and forever.
Prayer for the Lord’s Blessing upon the Sanctuary.
A Song of Ascents.
132 Remember, O Lord, on David’s behalf,
All (I)his affliction;
2 How he swore to the Lord
And vowed to (J)the Mighty One of Jacob,
3 “Surely I will not [f]enter (K)my house,
Nor [g]lie on my bed;
4 I will not (L)give sleep to my eyes
Or slumber to my eyelids,
5 Until I find a (M)place for the Lord,
[h]A dwelling place for (N)the Mighty One of Jacob.”
6 Behold, we heard of it in (O)Ephrathah,
We found it in the (P)field of [i]Jaar.
7 Let us go into His [j](Q)dwelling place;
Let us (R)worship at His (S)footstool.
8 (T)Arise, O Lord, to Your (U)resting place,
You and the ark of Your (V)strength.
9 Let Your priests be (W)clothed with righteousness,
And let Your (X)godly ones sing for joy.
10 For the sake of David Your servant,
Do not turn away the face of Your (Y)anointed.
11 The Lord has (Z)sworn to David
A truth from which He will not turn back:
“(AA)Of the fruit of your body I will set upon your throne.
12 “If your sons will keep My covenant
And My testimony which I will teach them,
Their sons also shall (AB)sit upon your throne forever.”
13 For the Lord has (AC)chosen Zion;
He has (AD)desired it for His habitation.
14 “This is My (AE)resting place forever;
Here I will (AF)dwell, for I have desired it.
15 “I will abundantly (AG)bless her provision;
I will (AH)satisfy her needy with bread.
16 “Her (AI)priests also I will clothe with salvation,
And her (AJ)godly ones will sing aloud for joy.
17 “There I will cause the (AK)horn of David to spring forth;
I have prepared a (AL)lamp for Mine anointed.
18 “His enemies I will (AM)clothe with shame,
But upon himself his (AN)crown shall shine.”
The Excellency of Brotherly Unity.
A Song of Ascents, of David.
133 Behold, how good and how pleasant it is
For (AO)brothers to dwell together in unity!
2 It is like the precious (AP)oil upon the head,
Coming down upon the beard,
Even Aaron’s beard,
Coming down upon the (AQ)edge of his robes.
3 It is like the (AR)dew of (AS)Hermon
Coming down upon the (AT)mountains of Zion;
For there the Lord (AU)commanded the blessing—(AV)life forever.
Greetings of Night Watchers.
A Song of Ascents.
134 Behold, (AW)bless the Lord, all (AX)servants of the Lord,
Who [k](AY)serve (AZ)by night in the house of the Lord!
2 (BA)Lift up your hands to the (BB)sanctuary
And bless the Lord.
3 May the Lord (BC)bless you from Zion,
He who (BD)made heaven and earth.
Praise the Lord’s Wonderful Works. Vanity of Idols.
135 [l](BE)Praise [m]the Lord!
Praise the name of the Lord;
Praise Him, O (BF)servants of the Lord,
2 You who stand in the house of the Lord,
In the (BG)courts of the house of our God!
3 [n]Praise [o]the Lord, for (BH)the Lord is good;
(BI)Sing praises to His name, (BJ)for it is lovely.
4 For [p]the Lord has (BK)chosen Jacob for Himself,
Israel for His [q](BL)own possession.
5 For I know that (BM)the Lord is great
And that our Lord is (BN)above all gods.
6 (BO)Whatever the Lord pleases, He does,
In heaven and in earth, in the seas and in all deeps.
7 [r]He (BP)causes the [s]vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth;
Who (BQ)makes lightnings for the rain,
Who (BR)brings forth the wind from His treasuries.
8 [t]He (BS)smote the firstborn of Egypt,
[u]Both of man and beast.
9 [v]He sent (BT)signs and wonders into your midst, O Egypt,
Upon (BU)Pharaoh and all his servants.
10 [w](BV)He (BW)smote many nations
And slew mighty kings,
11 (BX)Sihon, king of the Amorites,
And (BY)Og, king of Bashan,
And (BZ)all the kingdoms of Canaan;
12 And He (CA)gave their land as a heritage,
A heritage to Israel His people.
13 Your (CB)name, O Lord, is everlasting,
Your [x]remembrance, O Lord, [y]throughout all generations.
14 For the Lord will (CC)judge His people
And (CD)will have compassion on His servants.
15 The (CE)idols of the nations are but silver and gold,
The work of man’s hands.
16 They have mouths, but they do not speak;
They have eyes, but they do not see;
17 They have ears, but they do not hear,
Nor is there any breath at all in their mouths.
18 Those who make them will be like them,
Yes, everyone who trusts in them.
The Wiles of the Harlot
7 My son, (A)keep my words
And treasure my commandments within you.
2 (B)Keep my commandments and live,
And my [a]teaching (C)as the [b]apple of your eye.
3 (D)Bind them on your fingers;
(E)Write them on the tablet of your heart.
4 Say to wisdom, “You are my sister,”
And call understanding your intimate friend;
5 That they may keep you from an [c]adulteress,
From the foreigner who [d]flatters with her words.
6 For (F)at the window of my house
I looked out (G)through my lattice,
7 And I saw among the [e](H)naive,
And discerned among the [f]youths
A young man (I)lacking [g]sense,
8 Passing through the street near (J)her corner;
And he [h]takes the way to (K)her house,
9 In the (L)twilight, in the [i]evening,
In the [j]middle of the night and in the darkness.
10 And behold, a woman comes to meet him,
(M)Dressed as a harlot and cunning of heart.
11 She is (N)boisterous and rebellious,
Her (O)feet do not remain at home;
12 She is now in the streets, now (P)in the squares,
And (Q)lurks by every corner.
13 So she seizes him and kisses him
[k]And with a (R)brazen face she says to him:
14 “[l]I was due to offer (S)peace offerings;
Today I have (T)paid my vows.
15 “Therefore I have come out to meet you,
To seek your presence earnestly, and I have found you.
16 “I have spread my couch with (U)coverings,
With colored (V)linens of Egypt.
17 “I have sprinkled my bed
With (W)myrrh, aloes and (X)cinnamon.
18 “Come, let us drink our fill of love until morning;
Let us delight ourselves with caresses.
19 “For [m]my husband is not at home,
He has gone on a long journey;
20 He has taken a (Y)bag of money [n]with him,
At the full moon he will come home.”
21 With her many persuasions she entices him;
With her [o](Z)flattering lips she seduces him.
22 Suddenly he follows her
As an ox goes to the slaughter,
Or as [p]one in fetters to the discipline of a fool,
23 Until an arrow pierces through his liver;
As a (AA)bird hastens to the snare,
So he does not know that it will cost him his life.
24 Now therefore, my sons, (AB)listen to me,
And pay attention to the words of my mouth.
25 Do not let your heart (AC)turn aside to her ways,
Do not stray into her paths.
26 For many are the [q]victims she has cast down,
And (AD)numerous are all her slain.
27 Her (AE)house is the way to Sheol,
Descending to the chambers of death.
This Is Written That You May Know
13 (A)These things I have written to you who (B)believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have (C)eternal life. 14 This is (D)the confidence which we have [a]before Him, that, (E)if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. 15 And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, (F)we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him.
16 If anyone sees his brother [b]committing a sin not leading to death, (G)he shall ask and [c]God will for him give life to those who commit sin not leading to death. (H)There is a sin leading to death; (I)I do not say that he should make request for this. 17 (J)All unrighteousness is sin, and (K)there is a sin not leading to death.
18 (L)We know that (M)no one who is [d]born of God sins; but He who was [e]born of God (N)keeps him, and (O)the evil one does not (P)touch him. 19 (Q)We know that (R)we are of God, and that (S)the whole world lies in the power of the evil one. 20 And (T)we know that (U)the Son of God has come, and has (V)given us understanding so that we may know (W)Him who is true; and we (X)are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. (Y)This is the true God and (Z)eternal life.
55 Now (A)the Passover of the Jews was near, and many went up to Jerusalem out of the country before the Passover (B)to purify themselves. 56 So they (C)were seeking for Jesus, and were saying to one another as they stood in the temple, “What do you think; that He will not come to the feast at all?” 57 Now (D)the chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that if anyone knew where He was, he was to report it, so that they might seize Him.
Mary Anoints Jesus
12 (E)Jesus, therefore, six days before (F)the Passover, came to (G)Bethany where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. 2 So they made Him a supper there, and (H)Martha was serving; but Lazarus was one of those reclining at the table with Him. 3 (I)Mary then took a [a]pound of very costly (J)perfume of pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped His feet with her hair; and the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. 4 But (K)Judas Iscariot, one of His disciples, who was intending to [b]betray Him, *said, 5 “Why was this perfume not sold for [c]three hundred denarii and given to poor people?” 6 Now he said this, not because he was concerned about the poor, but because he was a thief, and as he (L)had the money box, he used to pilfer (M)what was put into it. 7 Therefore Jesus said, “Let her alone, so that she may keep [d]it for (N)the day of My burial. 8 (O)For you always have the poor with you, but you do not always have Me.”
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