Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 131[a]
Humble Trust in God
1 A song of ascents. Of David.
Lord, my heart is not proud;
nor are my eyes haughty.
I do not busy myself with great matters,
with things too sublime for me.(A)
2 Rather, I have stilled my soul,
Like a weaned child to its mother,
weaned is my soul.(B)
3 Israel, hope in the Lord,
now and forever.
Psalm 132[b]
The Covenant Between David and God
1 A song of ascents.
I
Remember, O Lord, for David
all his hardships;
2 How he swore an oath to the Lord,
vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob:[c]
3 “I will not enter the house where I live,(C)
nor lie on the couch where I sleep;
4 I will give my eyes no sleep,
my eyelids no rest,
5 Till I find a place for the Lord,
a dwelling for the Mighty One of Jacob.”
6 “We have heard of it in Ephrathah;[d]
we have found it in the fields of Jaar.
7 Let us enter his dwelling;
let us worship at his footstool.”(D)
8 “Arise, Lord, come to your resting place,(E)
you and your mighty ark.
9 Your priests will be clothed with justice;
your devout will shout for joy.”
10 For the sake of David your servant,
do not reject your anointed.
II
11 The Lord swore an oath to David in truth,
he will never turn back from it:(F)
“Your own offspring(G) I will set upon your throne.
12 If your sons observe my covenant,
and my decrees I shall teach them,
Their sons, in turn,
shall sit forever on your throne.”
13 Yes, the Lord has chosen Zion,
desired it for a dwelling:
14 “This is my resting place forever;
here I will dwell, for I desire it.
15 I will bless Zion with provisions;
its poor I will fill with bread.
16 I will clothe its priests with salvation;
its devout shall shout for joy.(H)
17 There I will make a horn sprout for David;[e](I)
I will set a lamp for my anointed.
18 His foes I will clothe with shame,
but on him his crown shall shine.”
Psalm 133[f]
A Vision of a Blessed Community
1 A song of ascents. Of David.
How good and how pleasant it is,
when brothers[g] dwell together as one!
2 Like fine oil on the head,[h](J)
running down upon the beard,
Upon the beard of Aaron,
upon the collar of his robe.
3 Like dew[i] of Hermon coming down
upon the mountains of Zion.(K)
There the Lord has decreed a blessing,
life for evermore!(L)
Psalm 134[j]
Exhortation to the Night Watch to Bless God
1 A song of ascents.
O come, bless the Lord,
all you servants of the Lord[k]
You who stand in the house of the Lord
throughout the nights.(M)
2 Lift up your hands toward the sanctuary,(N)
and bless the Lord.
3 May the Lord bless you from Zion,
the Maker of heaven and earth.(O)
Psalm 135[l]
Praise of God, the Ruler and Benefactor of Israel
1 Hallelujah!
I
Praise the name of the Lord!
Praise, you servants of the Lord,(P)
2 Who stand in the house of the Lord,
in the courts of the house of our God!(Q)
3 Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good!
Sing to his name, for it brings joy!
4 [m]For the Lord has chosen Jacob for himself,
Israel as his treasured possession.(R)
II
5 For I know that the Lord is great,
that our Lord is greater than all gods.(S)
6 Whatever the Lord desires
he does in heaven and on earth,
in the seas and all the depths.(T)
7 It is he who raises storm clouds from the end of the earth,
makes lightning for the rain,
and brings forth wind from his storehouse.(U)
III
8 He struck down Egypt’s firstborn,(V)
of human being and beast alike,
9 And sent signs and wonders against you, Egypt,
against Pharaoh and all his servants.
10 It is he who struck down many nations,(W)
and slew mighty kings—
11 Sihon, king of the Amorites,
and Og, king of Bashan,
all the kings of Canaan—
12 And made their land a heritage,
a heritage for Israel his people.
13 O Lord, your name is forever,
your renown, from generation to generation!(X)
14 For the Lord defends his people,
shows mercy to his servants.(Y)
IV
15 The idols of the nations are silver and gold,(Z)
the work of human hands.
16 They have mouths but do not speak;
they have eyes but do not see;
17 They have ears but do not hear;
nor is there breath in their mouths.
18 Their makers will become like them,
and anyone who trusts in them.
V
19 House of Israel, bless the Lord!(AA)
House of Aaron, bless the Lord!
20 House of Levi, bless the Lord!
You who fear the Lord, bless the Lord!
21 Blessed be the Lord from Zion,
who dwells in Jerusalem!
Hallelujah!
I. Prologue
Chapter 1
Job’s Piety. 1 In the land of Uz[a] there was a blameless and upright man named Job,(A) who feared God and avoided evil. 2 Seven sons and three daughters were born to him; 3 and he had seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, five hundred she-donkeys, and a very large household, so that he was greater than anyone in the East.[b] 4 His sons used to take turns giving feasts, sending invitations to their three sisters to eat and drink with them. 5 And when each feast had run its course, Job would send for them and sanctify them, rising early and offering sacrifices for every one of them. For Job said, “It may be that my children have sinned and cursed[c] God in their hearts.” Job did this habitually.
The Interview Between the Lord and the Satan. 6 (B)One day, when the sons of God[d] came to present themselves before the Lord, the satan also came among them.(C) 7 The Lord said to the satan, “Where have you been?” Then the satan answered the Lord and said,(D) “Roaming the earth and patrolling it.” 8 The Lord said to the satan, “Have you noticed my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him, blameless and upright, fearing God and avoiding evil.” 9 The satan answered the Lord and said, “Is it for nothing that Job is God-fearing? 10 Have you not surrounded him and his family and all that he has with your protection? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his livestock are spread over the land. 11 (E)But now put forth your hand and touch all that he has, and surely he will curse you to your face.” 12 The Lord said to the satan, “Very well, all that he has is in your power; only do not lay a hand on him.” So the satan went forth from the presence of the Lord.
The First Trial. 13 One day, while his sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in the house of their eldest brother, 14 a messenger came to Job and said, “The oxen were plowing and the donkeys grazing beside them, 15 and the Sabeans[e] carried them off in a raid. They put the servants to the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you.” 16 He was still speaking when another came and said, “God’s fire has fallen from heaven and struck the sheep and the servants and consumed them; I alone have escaped to tell you.” 17 He was still speaking when another came and said, “The Chaldeans[f] formed three columns, seized the camels, carried them off, and put the servants to the sword; I alone have escaped to tell you.” 18 He was still speaking when another came and said, “Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in the house of their eldest brother, 19 and suddenly a great wind came from across the desert and smashed the four corners of the house. It fell upon the young people and they are dead; I alone have escaped to tell you.”
Job’s Reaction. 20 Then Job arose and tore his cloak and cut off his hair. He fell to the ground and worshiped. 21 He said,
“Naked I came forth from my mother’s womb,(F)
and naked shall I go back there.[g]
The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away;
blessed be the name of the Lord!”
22 In all this Job did not sin,(G) nor did he charge God with wrong.
26 Then the angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, “Get up and head south on the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza, the desert route.” 27 So he got up and set out. Now there was an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of the Candace,[a] that is, the queen of the Ethiopians, in charge of her entire treasury, who had come to Jerusalem to worship,(A) 28 and was returning home. Seated in his chariot, he was reading the prophet Isaiah. 29 The Spirit said to Philip, “Go and join up with that chariot.” 30 [b]Philip ran up and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and said, “Do you understand what you are reading?” 31 He replied, “How can I, unless someone instructs me?” So he invited Philip to get in and sit with him.(B) 32 This was the scripture passage he was reading:(C)
“Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter,
and as a lamb before its shearer is silent,
so he opened not his mouth.
33 In (his) humiliation justice was denied him.
Who will tell of his posterity?
For his life is taken from the earth.”
34 Then the eunuch said to Philip in reply, “I beg you, about whom is the prophet saying this? About himself, or about someone else?” 35 Then Philip opened his mouth and, beginning with this scripture passage, he proclaimed Jesus to him. 36 (D)As they traveled along the road they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “Look, there is water. What is to prevent my being baptized?” [37 ][c] 38 Then he ordered the chariot to stop, and Philip and the eunuch both went down into the water, and he baptized him. 39 When they came out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away, and the eunuch saw him no more, but continued on his way rejoicing.(E) 40 Philip came to Azotus, and went about proclaiming the good news to all the towns until he reached Caesarea.(F)
16 (A)When it was evening, his disciples went down to the sea, 17 embarked in a boat, and went across the sea to Capernaum. It had already grown dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. 18 The sea was stirred up because a strong wind was blowing. 19 When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea[a] and coming near the boat, and they began to be afraid.(B) 20 But he said to them, “It is I.[b] Do not be afraid.” 21 They wanted to take him into the boat, but the boat immediately arrived at the shore to which they were heading.
The Bread of Life Discourse. 22 [c]The next day, the crowd that remained across the sea saw that there had been only one boat there, and that Jesus had not gone along with his disciples in the boat, but only his disciples had left. 23 [d]Other boats came from Tiberias near the place where they had eaten the bread when the Lord gave thanks. 24 When the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they themselves got into boats and came to Capernaum looking for Jesus. 25 And when they found him across the sea they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you get here?” 26 Jesus answered them and said, “Amen, amen, I say to you, you are looking for me not because you saw signs but because you ate the loaves and were filled. 27 Do not work for food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life,[e] which the Son of Man will give you. For on him the Father, God, has set his seal.”(C)
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.