Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 131[a]
Childlike Trust in God
1 A song of ascents. Of David.
O Lord, my heart[b] is not proud,
nor are my eyes raised too high.
I do not concern myself with great affairs
or with things too sublime for me.
2 Rather, I have stilled and calmed my soul,[c]
hushed it like a weaned child.
Like a weaned child held in its mother’s arms,
so is my soul within me.
3 O Israel, put your hope in the Lord
both now and forevermore.[d]
Psalm 132[e]
The Divine Promises Made to David
1 A song of ascents.
Remember, O Lord, for David’s sake,
all the difficulties he endured.[f]
2 [g]He swore an oath to the Lord
and vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob:
3 “I will not enter the house I live in
or lie down on the bed where I sleep,
4 neither will I allow myself to fall asleep
or even to close my eyes,
5 until I find a home for the Lord,
a dwelling for the Mighty One of Jacob.”
6 We heard of it in Ephrathah;
we came upon it[h] in the fields of Jaar.
7 [i]Let us enter his dwelling place,
let us worship at his footstool.
8 Arise, O Lord, and go up to your resting place,
you and the Ark of your might.
9 Let your priests clothe themselves with righteousness,[j]
and let your saints shout for joy.
10 For the sake of your servant David,
do not reject your anointed one.[k]
11 The Lord swore this oath[l] to David,
an oath that he will not renounce:
“One of your own descendants
I will place on your throne.
12 If your sons keep my covenant
and the statutes that I will teach them,
their sons will also rule
on your throne from age to age.”[m]
13 For the Lord has chosen Zion;
he has designated it for his home:
14 “This will be my resting place forever;
here I will reside, for such is my wish.
15 [n]“I will bless it with abundant provisions
and satisfy its poor with their fill of bread.
16 I will clothe its priests with salvation,
and its saints will shout for joy.
17 “There I will raise up a horn for David[o]
and prepare a lamp for my anointed one.
18 I will clothe his enemies with shame,
but on his head there will be a resplendent crown.”[p]
Psalm 133[q]
The Blessings of Brotherly Accord
1 A song of ascents. Of David.[r]
How wonderful and delightful it is
for brothers to live together in unity.[s]
2 It is like fragrant ointment poured on the head,
running down upon the beard,
running down upon the beard of Aaron,
and flowing on the collar of his robes.[t]
3 It is like the dew of Hermon
falling upon the mountains of Zion.[u]
For there the Lord has bestowed his blessing,
life forevermore.
Psalm 134[v]
Invitation to Night Prayer
1 A song of ascents.
Come forth to bless the Lord,
all you servants of the Lord,[w]
who minister throughout the night
in the house of the Lord.
2 Lift up your hands toward[x] the sanctuary
and bless the Lord.
3 May the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth,
bless you from Zion.[y]
Psalm 135[z]
Praise of God, Benefactor of His People
1 [aa]Alleluia.
Praise the name of the Lord;
offer him praise, you servants of the Lord,[ab]
2 you who minister in the house of the Lord,
in the courts of the house of our God.[ac]
3 Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good;
sing to honor his name, for he is gracious.[ad]
4 For the Lord has chosen Jacob for himself,
Israel as his treasured possession.[ae]
5 [af]I know that the Lord is great,
that our Lord is superior to all gods.[ag]
6 The Lord does whatever he pleases
in heaven and on earth,
in the seas and in all their depths.[ah]
7 He causes clouds to rise
from the ends of the earth;
he sends lightning[ai] with the rain
and brings forth the wind from his storehouses.
8 [aj]He struck down the firstborn of Egypt,[ak]
those of humans as well as of animals.
9 He sent signs and portents into your midst, O Egypt,[al]
against Pharaoh and all his servants.
10 He struck down many nations
and slew mighty kings:
11 Sihon, king of the Amorites,
Og, king of Bashan,
and all the kings of Canaan.[am]
12 He then gave their lands as a heritage,
a heritage to his people Israel.[an]
13 Your name, O Lord, endures forever,
your renown, O Lord, lasts throughout the ages.[ao]
14 For the Lord will vindicate his people
and show compassion to his servants.[ap]
15 [aq]The idols of the nations are silver and gold,
the work of human hands.
16 They have mouths but they cannot speak;
they have eyes but they cannot see.
17 They have ears but they cannot hear,
and there is no breath in their mouths.
18 Those who make them end up like them,
as do all who place their trust in them.
19 [ar]O house of Israel, bless the Lord!
O house of Aaron, bless the Lord!
20 O house of Levi, bless the Lord!
You who fear the Lord, bless the Lord!
21 Blessed from Zion be the Lord,
he who dwells in Jerusalem.
Alleluia.[as]
Chapter 7
1 My son, keep my words
and make my commands your treasure.
2 Follow my precepts, and you will live;
keep my teachings as the apple of your eye.
3 Bind them to your fingers;
inscribe them on the tablet of your heart.
4 Say to wisdom,[a] “You are my sister,”
and regard understanding as your friend,
5 so that they may keep you from another’s wife,
from the adulteress with her seductive words.
6 While standing at the window of my house
I looked out through my lattice,
7 and as I glanced at the immature youths,
I observed among the simple ones[b]
a lad with no sense.
8 He walked along the street near her corner
and then turned in the direction near her house,
9 at twilight, as the day was fading,
at dusk when the night grows dark.
10 Then a woman came forth to meet him,
dressed like a prostitute with a scheming heart.
11 She was loud-mouthed and brazen,
one who is never content to rest at home,
12 always on the streets or the public squares,
lying in wait at every corner.
13 She caught him and kissed him,
and brazenly said to him:
14 “I had to make sacrificial peace offerings,[c]
and I have fulfilled my vows today.
15 And so I came out to meet you,
to look for you, and now I have found you.
16 I have spread coverlets over my bed,
covered sheets of Egyptian linen.[d]
17 “I have perfumed my bed
with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.
18 Come, let us take our fill of love till morning,
abandoning ourselves to a feast of love.
19 For my husband is not at home;
he is away on a long journey.
20 He took a bag of money with him
and will not be back until the moon is full.”
21 With her persistent urging she persuaded him,
luring him astray with her seductive words.[e]
22 Bemused, he followed her,
like an ox being led to the slaughter,
like a stag stepping into a noose,
23 until an arrow pierces its liver,
like a bird rushing into a snare,
not realizing its life is at stake.
24 So now, my son, listen to me
and be attentive to what I have to say.
25 Do not let your heart stray into her ways
or wander into her paths.
26 For many are those she has led to death;
her victims are beyond number.
27 Her house is the pathway to the netherworld,[f]
the descent to the chambers of death.
Epilogue[a]
So That You May Know[b]
13 I write these things to you
who believe in the name of the Son of God
so that you may know
that you have eternal life.
Prayer for Sinners[c]
14 And thus we can have confidence in him
that if we ask anything
that is in accordance with his will,
he hears us.
15 And if we know that he hears us
in regard to whatever we ask him,
we may be sure
that all we ask of him will be ours.
16 If anyone sees a brother commit a sin
that does not lead to death,
he should intercede for him,
and God will grant him life—
provided that the sin is not deadly.
There is a sin that leads to death,
and I do not say
that you should pray about it.[d]
17 All wrongdoing is sinful,
but not all sins are deadly.
The Great Certitudes[e]
18 We know that one born of God does not continue to sin,
because he who is born of God protects him,
and the evil one has no power over him.
19 We know
that we are from God
and that the entire world
lies under the power of the evil one.
20 We also know
that the Son of God has come
and given us understanding
so that we can know the one who is true.
And we are in the one who is true,
since we are in his Son Jesus Christ.
He is the true God and eternal life.
21 Dear children,
keep away from idols.
The True Passover That Brings About the Salvation of Humankind[a]
The Hour Has Come[b]
55 The Last Passover.[c]Now the Jewish Passover[d] was drawing near, and many people went up from the country to Jerusalem before the Passover in order to purify themselves. 56 They kept looking for Jesus, and they asked one another as they stood in the temple, “What do you think? Will he come to the feast or not?” 57 Meanwhile, the chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that anyone who knew where he was should inform them so that they might arrest him.
Chapter 12
The Anointing at Bethany. 1 Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, the hometown of Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. 2 They gave a dinner there for him. Martha served the meal, and Lazarus was among those at table with him.
3 Mary brought in a pint[e] of very costly ointment, made from pure nard, anointed Jesus’ feet, and dried them with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the ointment. 4 Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples, the one who was about to betray him, said, 5 “Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii[f] and the money given to the poor?” 6 He said this not because he had any concern for the poor but because he was a thief. He was in charge of the money bag, and he used to steal from it.
7 Jesus said in response, “Leave her alone! Let her keep it for the day of my burial. 8 The poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have me.”
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