Book of Common Prayer
Prayer for Deliverance from Enemies
A song of ascents.[a]
120 In my distress I called to Yahweh,
and he answered me.
2 “Deliver my life, O Yahweh, from lying lips,
from a deceitful tongue.”
3 What shall be given to you,[b]
and what more shall be done to you,
deceitful tongue?
4 The sharpened arrows of a warrior,
with burning charcoals from broom trees.
5 Woe to me, that I sojourn in Meshech,
that I dwell among the tents of Kedar.
6 Too long my soul has had its dwelling
near one who hates peace.
7 I am for peace, but when I speak,
they are for war.
Trust in God’s Protection
A song for the ascents.[c]
121 I lift up my eyes to the mountains;
whence will my help come?
2 My help is from Yahweh,
maker of heaven and earth.
3 He will not allow your foot to be moved;
he who protects you will not slumber.
4 Look, he will not slumber and he will not sleep—
he who protects Israel.
5 Yahweh is your protector;
Yahweh is your shade at your right hand.
6 The sun will not strike you by day,
nor the moon by night.
7 Yahweh will protect you from all evil;[d]
he will protect your life.
8 Yahweh will protect your going out and your coming in
from now until forever.
Jerusalem the Site of God’s Presence
A song of ascents. Of David.[e]
122 I rejoiced in those who said to me,
“Let us go to the house[f] of Yahweh.”
2 Our feet are standing
within your gates, O Jerusalem—
3 Jerusalem that is built
as a city that is joined together,
4 where the tribes go up,
the tribes of Yah[g] as a testimony for Israel,
to give thanks to the name of Yahweh.
5 For there the thrones sit[h] for judgment,
thrones of David’s house.
6 Pray[i] for the peace of Jerusalem:
“May those who love you be at ease.
7 May peace be within your walls,
security within your palaces.”
8 For the sake of my brothers and my friends,
I will say, “Peace be within you.”
9 For the sake of the house[j] of Yahweh our God,
I will seek your good.
Prayer for Yahweh’s Action in the Face of Scorn
A song of ascents.[k]
123 I lift up my eyes to you,
the one enthroned[l] in the heavens.
2 Behold, as the eyes of servants
look to the hand of their master,[m]
as the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress,
so our eyes look to Yahweh our God,
until he is gracious to us.
3 Be gracious to us, O Yahweh, be gracious to us,
for long enough we have had our fill of contempt.
4 For long enough our soul has had its fill of
the derision of the self-confident,
the contempt of the arrogant.
Thanksgiving for Yahweh’s Help
A song of ascents. Of David.[n]
124 “If it had not been Yahweh who was on our side,”
do let Israel say,
2 “If it had not been Yahweh who was on our side,
when men rose up against us,
3 then they would have swallowed us alive,
when their anger was kindled against us.
4 Then the waters would have flooded over us,
the torrent would have passed over our soul.
5 Then over our soul would have passed
the raging waters.”
6 Blessed be Yahweh,
who has not made[o] us prey for their teeth.
7 Our soul has escaped like a bird
from the snare of fowlers.
The snare is broken, and we have escaped.
8 Our help is in the name of Yahweh,
maker of heaven and earth.
Confidence in Yahweh’s Protection
A song of ascents.[p]
125 Those who trust in Yahweh
are like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved,
but abides forever.
2 As mountains are round about Jerusalem,
so Yahweh is round about his people,
from now until forever.
3 For the scepter of wickedness shall not rest
on the land[q] of the righteous,
lest the righteous stretch out
their hands to do wickedness.[r]
4 Do good, O Yahweh, to the good,
and to those upright in their hearts.
5 But regarding those who turn aside to their crooked ways,
Yahweh will lead them away with the evildoers.
Peace be upon Israel.
A Prayer for Restoration
A song of ascents.[s]
126 When Yahweh restored the fortunes[t] of Zion,[u]
we were like dreamers.
2 Then our mouth was filled with laughter,
and our tongue with rejoicing.
Then they said among the nations,
“Yahweh has done great things for these people.”
3 Yahweh has done great things for us;
we are glad.
4 Restore, O Yahweh, our fortunes[v]
like the streams in the Negeb.[w]
5 Those who sow with tears
shall reap with rejoicing.
6 He who diligently goes out with weeping,
carrying the seed bag,
shall certainly come in with rejoicing,
carrying his sheaves.
A Prayer for Protection and Prosperity
A song of ascents. Of Solomon.[x]
127 Unless Yahweh builds a house,
its builders labor at it in vain.
Unless Yahweh guards a city,
a guard watches in vain.
2 It is in vain for you who rise early and sit late,
eating the bread of anxious toil,
when thus he[y] provides[z] for his beloved in his sleep.[aa]
3 Look, children[ab] are the heritage[ac] of Yahweh;
the fruit of the womb is a reward.
4 Like arrows in the hand of a warrior,
so are the children[ad] of one’s youth.
5 Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them.[ae]
They shall not be put to shame
when they speak with enemies at the gate.
The Impending Doom of Samaria and Jerusalem
1 The word of Yahweh that came to Micah the Morashtite in the days of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, the kings of Judah, that he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem:
2 Hear, all you peoples;
give heed, O earth and its fullness.
And let the Lord Yahweh be against you as a witness,
the Lord from his holy temple.[a]
3 For behold, Yahweh is coming out from his place,
and he will come down and tread upon the high places of the earth.
4 The mountains will melt under him
and the valleys will burst open,
like wax before the fire,
like water rushing down a slope.
5 All this is for the rebellion of Jacob,
and for the sins of the house of Israel.
What is the rebellion of Jacob?
Is it not Samaria?
And what are the high places of Judah?
Are they not Jerusalem?
6 So I will make Samaria as a heap of rubble in the field,
a place for planting a vineyard.
And I will pour down her stones into the valley
and uncover her foundations.
7 Then all her idols will be broken in pieces,
and all her prostitution wages will be burned in the fire,
and all her idols I will make a desolation,
For from the wage of a prostitute she gathered them,
and to the wage of a prostitute they will return.
8 On account of this I will lament and wail.
I will go about barefoot and naked.
I will make a lamentation like the jackals,
and a mourning ceremony like the ostriches.[b]
9 For her wounds are incurable,
because it has come to Judah.
It has reached to the gate of my people, to Jerusalem.
A Conspiracy to Kill Paul
12 And when it[a] was day, the Jews made a conspiracy and[b] bound themselves under a curse, saying they would[c] neither eat nor drink until they had killed Paul. 13 Now there were more than forty who had made this conspiracy, 14 who went to the chief priests and the elders and[d] said, “We have bound ourselves under a curse to partake of nothing until we have killed Paul. 15 Therefore, now you along with the Sanhedrin explain to the military tribune that he should bring him down to you, as if you were going to determine more accurately the things concerning him. And we are ready to do away with him before he comes near.”
16 But when[e] the son of Paul’s sister heard about the ambush, he came and entered into the barracks[f] and[g] reported it[h] to Paul. 17 So Paul called one of the centurions and[i] said, “Bring this young man to the military tribune, because he has something to report to him.” 18 So he took him and[j] brought him[k] to the military tribune and said, “The prisoner Paul called me and[l] asked me[m] to bring this young man to you because he[n] has something to tell you.” 19 And the military tribune, taking hold of his hand and withdrawing privately, asked, “What is it that you have to report to me?” 20 And he said, “The Jews have agreed to ask you that you bring Paul down to the Sanhedrin tomorrow, as if they were going to inquire somewhat more accurately concerning him. 21 You therefore do not be persuaded by them, because more than forty men of their number[o] are lying in wait for him, who have bound themselves under a curse neither to eat nor to drink until they have done away with him. And now they are ready, waiting for you to agree.”[p] 22 So the military tribune sent the young man away, directing him,[q] “Tell no one that you have revealed these things to me.”
23 And he summoned two of the centurions and[r] said, “Make ready from the third hour of the night two hundred soldiers and seventy horsemen and two hundred spearmen,[s] in order that they may proceed as far as Caesarea. 24 And provide mounts so that they can put Paul on them and[t] bring him[u] safely to Felix the governor.”
A Centurion’s Slave Healed
7 After he had finished all his statements in the hearing of the people, he entered into Capernaum. 2 Now a certain centurion’s slave, who was esteemed by him, was sick[a] and[b] was about to die. 3 So when he[c] heard about Jesus, he sent Jewish elders to him, asking him that he would come and[d] cure his slave. 4 And when they[e] came to Jesus, they began imploring[f] him earnestly, saying, “He is worthy that you grant this for him, 5 because he loves our nation and he himself built the synagogue for us.” 6 So Jesus went with them. Now by this time he was not far away from the house, and[g] the centurion sent friends, saying to him, “Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy that you should come in under my roof. 7 For this reason neither did I consider myself worthy to come to you. But say the word and my slave must be healed. 8 For I also am a man placed under authority, who has soldiers under me, and I say to this one, ‘Go!’ and he goes, and to another one, ‘Come!’ and he comes, and to my slave, ‘Do this!’ and he does it.”[h]
9 And when[i] Jesus heard these things, he marveled at him, and turning around to the crowd that was following him, he said, “I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such great faith!” 10 And when they[j] returned to the house, those who had been sent found the slave healthy.
A Widow’s Son Raised
11 And it happened that on the next day he went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went with him. 12 And as he approached the gate of the town, behold, a man who had died was being carried out, his mother’s only son, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the town was with her. 13 And when[k] the Lord saw her, he had compassion for her and said to her, “Do not weep!” 14 And he came up and[l] touched the bier, and those who were carrying it[m] stopped. And he said, “Young man, I say to you, get up!” 15 And the dead man sat up and began to speak, and he gave him to his mother. 16 And fear seized them all, and they began to glorify[n] God, saying, “A great prophet has appeared among us!” and “God has visited to help his people!” 17 And this report about him went out in the whole of Judea and in all the surrounding region.
2012 by Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software