Book of Common Prayer
A song for those who go up to Jerusalem to worship the Lord.
120 I call out to the Lord when I’m in trouble,
and he answers me.
2 Lord, save me from people whose lips tell lies.
Save me from people whose tongues don’t tell the truth.
3 What will the Lord do to you, you lying tongue?
And what more will he do?
4 He will punish you with the sharp arrows of a soldier.
He will punish you with burning coals from a desert bush.
5 How terrible it is for me to live in the tents of the people of Meshek!
How terrible to live in the tents of the people of Kedar!
6 I have lived too long
among those who hate peace.
7 I want peace.
But when I speak, they want war.
A song for those who go up to Jerusalem to worship the Lord.
121 I look up to the mountains.
Where does my help come from?
2 My help comes from the Lord.
He is the Maker of heaven and earth.
3 He won’t let your foot slip.
He who watches over you won’t get tired.
4 In fact, he who watches over Israel
won’t get tired or go to sleep.
5 The Lord watches over you.
The Lord is like a shade tree at your right hand.
6 The sun won’t harm you during the day.
The moon won’t harm you during the night.
7 The Lord will keep you from every kind of harm.
He will watch over your life.
8 The Lord will watch over your life no matter where you go,
both now and forever.
A song for those who go up to Jerusalem to worship the Lord. A psalm of David.
122 I was very glad when they said to me,
“Let us go up to the house of the Lord.”
2 Jerusalem, our feet are standing
inside your gates.
3 Jerusalem is built like a city
where everything is close together.
4 The tribes of the Lord go there to praise his name.
They do it in keeping with the law he gave to Israel.
5 The thrones of the family line of David are there.
That’s where the people are judged.
6 Pray for the peace of Jerusalem. Say,
“May those who love you be secure.
7 May there be peace inside your walls.
May your people be kept safe.”
8 I’m concerned for my family and friends.
So I say to Jerusalem, “May you enjoy peace.”
9 I’m concerned about the house of the Lord our God.
So I pray that things will go well with Jerusalem.
A song for those who go up to Jerusalem to worship the Lord.
123 I look up and pray to you.
Your throne is in heaven.
2 Slaves depend on their masters.
A female slave depends on the woman she works for.
In the same way, we depend on the Lord our God.
We wait for him to have mercy on us.
3 Lord, have mercy on us. Have mercy on us,
because people haven’t stopped making fun of us.
4 We have had to put up with a lot from those who are proud.
They were always laughing at us.
A song for those who go up to Jerusalem to worship the Lord. A psalm of David.
124 Here is what Israel should say.
Suppose the Lord had not been on our side.
2 Suppose the Lord had not been on our side
when our enemies attacked us.
3 Suppose he had not been on our side
when their burning anger blazed out against us.
Then they would have swallowed us alive.
4 They would have been like a flood that drowned us.
They would have swept over us like a rushing river.
5 They would have washed us away
like a swollen stream.
6 Give praise to the Lord.
He has not let our enemies chew us up.
7 We have escaped like a bird
from a hunter’s trap.
The trap has been broken,
and we have escaped.
8 Our help comes from the Lord.
He is the Maker of heaven and earth.
A song for those who go up to Jerusalem to worship the Lord.
125 Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion.
They will always be secure. They will last forever.
2 Like the mountains around Jerusalem,
the Lord is all around his people
both now and forever.
3 Evil people will not always rule
the land the Lord gave to those who do right.
If they did, those who do right
might do what is evil.
4 Lord, do good to those who are good.
Do good to those whose hearts are honest.
5 But the Lord will drive out those who have taken crooked paths.
He will drive them out with those who do evil things.
May Israel enjoy peace.
A song for those who go up to Jerusalem to worship the Lord.
126 Our enemies took us away from Zion.
But when the Lord brought us home,
it seemed like a dream to us.
2 Our mouths were filled with laughter.
Our tongues sang with joy.
Then the people of other nations said,
“The Lord has done great things for them.”
3 The Lord has done great things for us.
And we are filled with joy.
4 Lord, bless us with great success again,
as rain makes streams flow in the Negev Desert.
5 Those who cry as they plant their crops
will sing with joy when they gather them in.
6 Those who go out weeping
as they carry seeds to plant
will come back singing with joy.
They will bring the new crop back with them.
A song for those who go up to Jerusalem to worship the Lord. A psalm of Solomon.
127 If the Lord doesn’t build a house,
the work of the builders is useless.
If the Lord doesn’t watch over a city,
it’s useless for those on guard duty to stand watch over it.
2 It’s useless for you to work from early morning
until late at night
just to get food to eat.
God provides for those he loves even while they sleep.
3 Children are a gift from the Lord.
They are a reward from him.
4 Children who are born to people when they are young
are like arrows in the hands of a soldier.
5 Blessed are those
who have many children.
They won’t be put to shame
when they go up against their enemies in court.
1 A message from the Lord came to Micah. He was from the town of Moresheth. The message came while Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah were kings of Judah. This is the vision Micah saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem. Here is what he said.
2 Listen to me, all you nations!
Earth and everyone who lives in it, pay attention!
The Lord and King will be a witness against you.
The Lord will speak from his holy temple in heaven.
The Lord Will Judge Samaria and Jerusalem
3 The Lord is about to come down
from his home in heaven.
He rules over even the highest places on earth.
4 The mountains will melt under him
like wax near a fire.
The valleys will be broken apart
by water rushing down a slope.
5 All this will happen because
Jacob’s people have done what is wrong.
The people of Israel
have committed many sins.
Who is to blame
for the wrong things Jacob has done?
Samaria!
Who is to blame for the high places
where Judah’s people worship other gods?
Jerusalem!
6 So the Lord says,
“I will turn Samaria into a pile of trash.
It will become a place for planting vineyards.
I will dump its stones down into the valley.
And I will destroy it
down to its very foundations.
7 All the statues of Samaria’s gods
will be broken to pieces.
All the gifts its people gave to temple prostitutes
will be burned with fire.
I will destroy all the statues of its gods.
Samaria collected gifts that were paid to temple prostitutes.
So the Assyrians will use the gifts
to pay their own temple prostitutes.”
Micah Weeps Over His People
8 I will weep and mourn because Samaria will be destroyed.
I’ll walk around barefoot and naked.
I’ll bark like a wild dog.
I’ll hoot like an owl.
9 Samaria’s plague can’t be healed.
The plague has spread to Judah.
It has spread right up to the gate of my people.
It has spread to Jerusalem itself.
The Plan to Kill Paul
12 The next morning some Jews gathered secretly to make plans against Paul. They made a promise to themselves. They promised that they would not eat or drink anything until they killed him. 13 More than 40 men took part in this plan. 14 They went to the chief priests and the elders. They said, “We have made a special promise to God. We will not eat anything until we have killed Paul. 15 Now then, you and the Sanhedrin must make an appeal to the commanding officer. Ask him to bring Paul to you. Pretend you want more facts about his case. We are ready to kill him before he gets here.”
16 But Paul’s nephew heard about this plan. So he went into the fort and told Paul.
17 Then Paul called one of the commanders. He said to him, “Take this young man to the commanding officer. He has something to tell him.” 18 So the commander took Paul’s nephew to the officer.
The commander said, “Paul, the prisoner, sent for me. He asked me to bring this young man to you. The young man has something to tell you.”
19 The commanding officer took the young man by the hand. He spoke to him in private. “What do you want to tell me?” the officer asked.
20 He said, “Some Jews have agreed to ask you to bring Paul to the Sanhedrin tomorrow. They will pretend they want more facts about him. 21 Don’t give in to them. More than 40 of them are waiting in hiding to attack him. They have promised that they will not eat or drink anything until they have killed him. They are ready now. All they need is for you to bring Paul to the Sanhedrin.”
22 The commanding officer let the young man go. But he gave him a warning. “Don’t tell anyone you have reported this to me,” he said.
Paul Is Taken to Caesarea
23 Then the commanding officer called for two of his commanders. He ordered them, “Gather a company of 200 soldiers, 70 horsemen and 200 men armed with spears. Get them ready to go to Caesarea at nine o’clock tonight. 24 Provide horses for Paul so that he may be taken safely to Governor Felix.”
A Roman Commander Has Faith
7 Jesus finished saying all these things to the people who were listening. Then he entered Capernaum. 2 There the servant of a Roman commander was sick and about to die. His master thought highly of him. 3 The commander heard about Jesus. So he sent some elders of the Jews to him. He told them to ask Jesus to come and heal his servant. 4 They came to Jesus and begged him, “This man deserves to have you do this. 5 He loves our nation and has built our synagogue.” 6 So Jesus went with them.
When Jesus came near the house, the Roman commander sent friends to him. He told them to say, “Lord, don’t trouble yourself. I am not good enough to have you come into my house. 7 That is why I did not even think I was fit to come to you. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. 8 I myself am a man who is under authority. And I have soldiers who obey my orders. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes. I tell that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”
9 When Jesus heard this, he was amazed at the commander. Jesus turned to the crowd that was following him. He said, “I tell you, even in Israel I have not found anyone whose faith is so strong.” 10 Then the men who had been sent to Jesus returned to the house. They found that the servant was healed.
Jesus Raises a Widow’s Son From the Dead
11 Some time later, Jesus went to a town called Nain. His disciples and a large crowd went along with him. 12 He approached the town gate. Just then, a dead person was being carried out. He was the only son of his mother. She was a widow. A large crowd from the town was with her. 13 When the Lord saw her, he felt sorry for her. So he said, “Don’t cry.”
14 Then he went up and touched the coffin. Those carrying it stood still. Jesus said, “Young man, I say to you, get up!” 15 The dead man sat up and began to talk. Then Jesus gave him back to his mother.
16 The people were all filled with wonder and praised God. “A great prophet has appeared among us,” they said. “God has come to help his people.” 17 This news about Jesus spread all through Judea and the whole country.
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