Book of Common Prayer
A song of David for going up to the Temple.
131 Lord, I don’t feel proud.
I don’t see myself as better than others.
I am not thinking about doing great things
or reaching impossible goals.
2 No, right now I am calm and quiet,
like a child after nursing,
content in its mother’s arms.[a]
3 Israel, trust in the Lord.
Trust in him now and forever!
A song for going up to the Temple.
132 Lord, remember how David suffered.
2 He made a promise to you, Lord,
an oath to the Mighty God of Jacob.
3 He said, “I will not go into my house
or lie down on my bed.
4 I will not sleep
or let my eyes rest,
5 until I find a home for the Lord,
a tent for the Mighty God of Jacob!”
6 We heard about this in Ephrathah.[b]
We found the Box of the Agreement at Kiriath Jearim.[c]
7 Now, let’s go to the Lord’s house.
Let’s worship at his throne.[d]
8 Lord, get up[e] and go to your resting place;
go with the Box that shows your power.
9 May your priests be clothed in victory
and your loyal followers be filled with joy.
10 For the sake of your servant David,
don’t reject your chosen king.[f]
11 The Lord made a promise to David, an oath of loyalty to him:
“I will always put one of your descendants on your throne.
12 If your descendants obey my agreement and the laws I teach them,
then the king will always be someone from your family.”
13 The Lord has chosen Zion to be the place for his Temple,
the place he wanted for his home.
14 He said, “This will always be my place of rest.
This is where I want to sit on my throne.
15 I will bless this city with plenty of food.
Even the poor will have enough to eat.
16 I will clothe the priests with salvation,
and my followers will be filled with joy.
17 This is where I will make David’s family strong.
I will never let the lamp of my chosen king stop burning.
18 I will cover his enemies with shame,
and on his head will be a shining crown.”
A song of David for going up to the Temple.
133 Oh, how wonderful, how pleasing it is
when God’s people all come together as one[g]!
2 It is like the sweet-smelling oil that is poured over the high priest’s[h] head,
that runs down his beard flowing over his robes.
3 It is like a gentle rain[i] from Mount Hermon falling on Mount Zion.
It is there that the Lord has promised his blessing of eternal life.
A song for going up to the Temple.
134 Praise the Lord, all his servants
who serve in the Temple at night.
2 Lift your hands toward the Temple,
and praise the Lord.
3 May the Lord, who made heaven and earth,
bless you from Zion.
135 Praise the Lord!
Praise the name of the Lord!
Praise him, you servants of the Lord,
2 you who serve in the Lord’s Temple,
in the courtyard of the Temple of our God.
3 Praise the Lord, because he is good.
Praise his name, because it brings such joy!
4 The Lord chose Jacob to be his own.
Yes, he chose Israel to be his own people.
5 I know the Lord is great!
Our Lord is greater than all the gods!
6 The Lord does whatever he wants,
in heaven and on earth, in the seas and the deep oceans.
7 He brings the clouds from the other side of the earth.
He sends the lightning and the rain,
and he opens the doors to release the winds.
8 He destroyed the firstborn males of the people in Egypt and their animals.
9 He did great wonders and miracles in Egypt.
He used them against Pharaoh and his officials.
10 He defeated many nations
and killed powerful kings.
11 He defeated Sihon, king of the Amorites,
Og, king of Bashan,
and all the kingdoms in Canaan.
12 Then he gave their land to Israel, his people.
13 Lord, your name will be famous forever!
Lord, people will remember you forever and ever.
14 The Lord defends his people;
he is kind to his servants.
15 The gods of other nations are only gold and silver idols
that people have made.
16 They have mouths, but cannot speak.
They have eyes, but cannot see.
17 They have ears, but cannot hear.
They have mouths, but no breath.
18 Those who make idols and trust in them
will become just like the idols they have made.
19 Family of Israel, praise the Lord!
Aaron’s family, praise the Lord!
20 Levi’s family, praise the Lord!
All you who worship the Lord, praise the Lord!
21 The Lord should be praised from Zion,
from Jerusalem, his home.
Praise the Lord!
Job, the Good Man
1 There was a man named Job who lived in the country of Uz. He was a good, honest man. He respected God and refused to do evil. 2 Job had seven sons and three daughters. 3 He owned 7000 sheep, 3000 camels, 1000 oxen, and 500 female donkeys. He had many servants. He was the richest man in the east.
4 Job’s sons took turns having dinner parties in their homes, and they invited their sisters. 5 The day after each of these parties, Job got up early in the morning, sent for his children, and offered a burnt offering for each of them. He thought, “Maybe my children were careless and sinned against God at their party.” Job always did this so that his children would be forgiven of their sins.
6 Then the day came for the angels[a] to meet with the Lord. Even Satan was there with them. 7 The Lord said to Satan, “Where have you been?”
Satan answered the Lord, “I have been roaming around the earth, going from place to place.”
8 Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you noticed my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him. He is a good, faithful man. He respects God and refuses to do evil.”
9 Satan answered the Lord, “But Job has a good reason to respect you. 10 You always protect him, his family, and everything he has. You have blessed him and made him successful in everything he does. He is so wealthy that his herds and flocks are all over the country. 11 But if you were to destroy everything he has, I promise you that he would curse you to your face.”
12 The Lord said to Satan, “All right, do whatever you want with anything that he has, but don’t hurt Job himself.”
Then Satan left the meeting.
Job Loses Everything
13 One day Job’s sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine at the oldest brother’s house. 14 A messenger came to Job and said, “We were plowing the fields with the oxen and the donkeys were eating grass nearby, 15 when some Sabeans[b] attacked us and took your animals! They killed the other servants. I am the only one who escaped to come and tell you the news!”
16 That messenger was still speaking when another one came in and said, “A bolt of lightning[c] struck your sheep and servants and burned them up. I am the only one who escaped to come and tell you the news!”
17 That messenger was still speaking when another one came in and said, “The Chaldeans[d] sent out three raiding parties that attacked us and took the camels! They killed the other servants. I am the only one who escaped to come and tell you the news!”
18 That messenger was still speaking when another one came in and said, “Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine at the oldest brother’s house. 19 A strong wind suddenly came in from across the desert and blew the house down. It fell on your sons and daughters, and they are all dead. I am the only one who escaped to come and tell you the news!”
20 When Job heard this, he got up, tore his clothes, and shaved his head to show his sadness. Then he fell to the ground to bow down before God 21 and said,
“When I was born into this world,
I was naked and had nothing.
When I die and leave this world,
I will be naked and have nothing.
The Lord gives,
and the Lord takes away.
Praise the name of the Lord!”
22 Even after all this, Job did not sin. He did not accuse God of doing anything wrong.
Philip Teaches a Man From Ethiopia
26 An angel of the Lord spoke to Philip. The angel said, “Get ready and go south on the road that leads down to Gaza from Jerusalem—the road that goes through the desert.”
27 So Philip got ready and went. On the road he saw a man from Ethiopia. He was a eunuch and an important official in the service of Candace, the queen of the Ethiopians. He was responsible for taking care of all her money. This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship. 28 Now he was on his way home. He was sitting in his chariot reading from the book of Isaiah the prophet.
29 The Spirit said to Philip, “Go to that chariot and stay near it.” 30 So he went toward the chariot, and he heard the man reading from Isaiah the prophet. Philip asked him, “Do you understand what you are reading?”
31 The man answered, “How can I understand? I need someone to explain it to me.” Then he invited Philip to climb in and sit with him. 32 The part of the Scriptures that he was reading was this:
“He was like a sheep being led to the butcher.
He was like a lamb that makes no sound as its wool is being cut off.
He said nothing.
33 He was shamed, and all his rights were taken away.
His life on earth has ended.
So there will be no story about his descendants.” (A)
34 The official[a] said to Philip, “Please, tell me, who is the prophet talking about? Is he talking about himself or about someone else?” 35 Philip began to speak. He started with this same Scripture and told the man the Good News about Jesus.
36 While they were traveling down the road, they came to some water. The official said, “Look, here is water! What is stopping me from being baptized?” 37 [b] 38 Then the official ordered the chariot to stop. Both Philip and the official went down into the water, and Philip baptized him. 39 When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord took Philip away; the official never saw him again. The official continued on his way home. He was very happy. 40 But Philip appeared in a city called Azotus. He was going to the city of Caesarea. He told people the Good News in all the towns on the way from Azotus to Caesarea.
Jesus Walks on Water(A)
16 That evening Jesus’ followers went down to the lake. 17 It was dark now, and Jesus had not yet come back to them. They got into a boat and started going across the lake to Capernaum. 18 The wind was blowing very hard. The waves on the lake were becoming bigger. 19 They rowed the boat about three or four miles.[a] Then they saw Jesus. He was walking on the water, coming to the boat. They were afraid. 20 But he said to them, “Don’t be afraid. It’s me.” 21 When he said this, they were glad to take him into the boat. And then the boat reached the shore at the place they wanted to go.
The People Look for Jesus
22 The next day came. Some people had stayed on the other side of the lake. They knew that Jesus did not go with his followers in the boat. They knew that the followers had left in the boat alone. And they knew it was the only boat that was there. 23 But then some boats from Tiberias came and landed near the place where the people had eaten the day before. This was where they had eaten the bread after the Lord gave thanks. 24 The people saw that Jesus and his followers were not there now. So they got into the boats and went to Capernaum to find Jesus.
Jesus, the Bread of Life
25 The people found Jesus on the other side of the lake. They asked him, “Teacher, when did you come here?”
26 He answered, “Why are you looking for me? Is it because you saw miraculous signs? The truth is, you are looking for me because you ate the bread and were satisfied. 27 But earthly food spoils and ruins. So don’t work to get that kind of food. But work to get the food that stays good and gives you eternal life. The Son of Man will give you that food. He is the only one qualified by God the Father to give it to you.”
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International