Book of Common Prayer
Childlike Trust in the Lord.
A Song of Ascents, of David.
131 Lord, my heart is not (A)proud, nor my eyes (B)arrogant;
Nor do I [a]involve myself in (C)great matters,
Or in things (D)too [b]difficult for me.
2 I have certainly (E)soothed and quieted my soul;
Like a weaned (F)child resting [c]against his mother,
My soul [d]within me is like a weaned child.
3 Israel, (G)wait for the Lord
(H)From this time on and forever.
Prayer for the Lord’s Blessing upon the Sanctuary.
A Song of Ascents.
132 Remember, Lord, in David’s behalf,
All (I)his affliction;
2 How he swore to the Lord
And vowed to (J)the Mighty One of Jacob,
3 “I certainly will not [e]enter (K)my house,
Nor [f]lie on my bed;
4 I will not (L)give sleep to my eyes
Or slumber to my eyelids,
5 Until I find a (M)place for the Lord,
[g]A dwelling place for (N)the Mighty One of Jacob.”
6 Behold, we heard about it in (O)Ephrathah,
We found it in the (P)field of [h]Jaar.
7 Let’s go into His [i](Q)dwelling place;
Let’s (R)worship at His (S)footstool.
8 (T)Arise, Lord, to Your (U)resting place,
You and the ark of Your (V)strength.
9 May Your priests be (W)clothed with righteousness,
And may Your (X)godly ones sing for joy.
10 For the sake of Your servant David,
Do not turn away the face of Your (Y)anointed.
11 The Lord has (Z)sworn to David
A truth from which He will not turn back:
“I will set upon your throne one (AA)from the fruit of your body.
12 If your sons will keep My covenant
And My testimony which I will teach them,
Their sons also will (AB)sit upon your throne forever.”
13 For the Lord has (AC)chosen Zion;
He has (AD)desired it as His dwelling place.
14 “This is My (AE)resting place forever;
Here I will (AF)dwell, for I have desired it.
15 I will abundantly (AG)bless her food;
I will (AH)satisfy her needy with bread.
16 I will also clothe her (AI)priests with salvation,
And her (AJ)godly ones will sing aloud for joy.
17 I will make the (AK)horn of David spring forth there;
I have prepared a (AL)lamp for My anointed.
18 I will (AM)clothe his enemies with shame,
But upon himself his (AN)crown will gleam.”
The Excellency of Brotherly Unity.
A Song of Ascents, of David.
133 Behold, how good and how pleasant it is
For (AO)brothers to live together in unity!
2 It is like the precious (AP)oil on the head,
Running down upon the beard,
As on Aaron’s beard,
The oil which ran down upon the (AQ)edge of his robes.
3 It is like the (AR)dew of (AS)Hermon
Coming down upon the (AT)mountains of Zion;
For the Lord (AU)commanded the blessing there—(AV)life forever.
Prayer for Protection against the Wicked.
For the music director. A Psalm of David.
140 (A)Rescue me, Lord, from evil people;
Protect me from (B)violent men
2 Who (C)devise evil things in their hearts;
They (D)continually stir up wars.
3 They (E)sharpen their tongues like a snake;
(F)The venom of a viper is under their lips. Selah
4 (G)Keep me, Lord, from the hands of the wicked;
(H)Protect me from violent men
Who [a]intend to [b](I)trip up my feet.
5 The proud have (J)hidden a trap for me, and snares;
They have spread a (K)net at the [c]wayside;
They have set (L)snares for me. Selah
6 I (M)said to the Lord, “You are my God;
(N)Listen, Lord, to the (O)sound of my pleadings.
7 [d]God the Lord, (P)the strength of my salvation,
You have (Q)covered my head on the day of [e]battle.
8 Do not grant, Lord, the (R)desires of the wicked;
Do not bring about (S)his evil planning, so that they are not exalted. Selah
9 “As for the head of those who surround me,
May the (T)harm of their lips cover them.
10 May (U)burning coals fall upon them;
May they be (V)cast into the fire,
Into bottomless pits from which they (W)cannot rise.
11 May a [f]slanderer not endure on the earth;
(X)May evil hunt a violent person [g]violently.”
Prayer for Help in Trouble.
[a]Maskil of David, when he was [b]in the cave. A Prayer.
142 I (A)cry out with my voice to the Lord;
With my voice I (B)implore the Lord for compassion.
2 I (C)pour out my complaint before Him;
I declare my (D)trouble before Him.
3 When (E)my spirit felt weak within me,
You knew my path.
In the way where I walk
They have (F)hidden a trap for me.
4 Look to the right and see;
For there is (G)no one who regards me favorably;
[c]There is no (H)escape for me;
(I)No one cares for my soul.
5 I cried out to You, Lord;
I said, “You are (J)my refuge,
My (K)portion in the (L)land of the living.
6 (M)Give Your attention to my cry,
For I have been (N)brought very low;
Rescue me from my persecutors,
For they are too (O)strong for me.
7 (P)Bring my soul out of prison,
So that I may give thanks to Your name;
The righteous will surround me,
For You will (Q)look after me.”
Cities of Judah Warned
26 In the beginning of the reign of (A)Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came from the Lord, saying, 2 “This is what the Lord says: ‘(B)Stand in the courtyard of the Lord’s house, and speak to all the cities of Judah who have (C)come to worship in the Lord’s house (D)all the words that I have commanded you to speak to them. (E)Do not omit a word! 3 (F)Perhaps they will listen and everyone will turn from his evil way, and (G)I will relent of the disaster which I am planning to inflict on them because of the evil of their deeds.’ 4 And you shall say to them, ‘This is what the Lord says: “(H)If you do not listen to Me, to (I)walk in My Law which I have set before you, 5 to listen to the words of (J)My servants the prophets, whom I have been sending to you again and again, but you have not listened; 6 then I will make this house like (K)Shiloh, and I will make this city a (L)curse to all the nations of the earth.”’”
A Plot to Murder Jeremiah
7 The (M)priests and the prophets and all the people heard Jeremiah speaking these words in the house of the Lord. 8 Yet when Jeremiah finished speaking everything that the Lord had commanded him to speak to all the people, then the priests and the prophets and all the people seized him, saying, “(N)You must die! 9 Why have you prophesied in the name of the Lord, saying, ‘This house will be like Shiloh and this city will be (O)in ruins, without inhabitant’?” And (P)all the people gathered to Jeremiah at the house of the Lord.
10 When the (Q)officials of Judah heard these things, they came up from the king’s house to the house of the Lord and sat at the (R)entrance of the New Gate of the Lord’s house. 11 Then the priests and the prophets (S)spoke to the officials and to all the people, saying, “A (T)death sentence for this man! For he has prophesied (U)against this city, just as you have heard with your own ears!”
12 Then Jeremiah spoke to all the officials and to all the people, saying, “(V)The Lord sent me to prophesy against this house and against this city all the words that you have heard. 13 Now then, (W)reform your ways and your deeds and obey the voice of the Lord your God; and the Lord will relent of the disaster which He has pronounced against you. 14 But as for me, behold, (X)I am in your hands; do with me as is good and right in your sight. 15 Only know for certain that if you put me to death, you will bring (Y)innocent blood on yourselves, and on this city and its inhabitants; for truly the Lord has sent me to you to speak all these words [a]so that you hear them.”
Jeremiah Is Spared
16 Then the officials and all the people (Z)said to the priests and the prophets, “No (AA)death sentence for this man! For he has spoken to us in the name of the Lord our God.”
Israel Has Not Been Rejected
11 I say then, God has not (A)rejected His people, has He? [a](B)Far from it! For (C)I too am an Israelite, [b]a descendant of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. 2 God (D)has not rejected His people whom He (E)foreknew. (F)Or do you not know what the Scripture says in the passage about Elijah, how he pleads with God against Israel? 3 “Lord, (G)they have killed Your prophets, they have torn down Your altars, and I alone am left, and they are seeking my life.” 4 But what [c]is the divine response to him? “(H)I have kept for Myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.” 5 In the same way then, there has also come to be at the present time (I)a remnant according to God’s [d]gracious choice. 6 But (J)if it is by grace, it is no longer [e]on the basis of works, since otherwise grace is no longer grace.
7 What then? What (K)Israel is seeking, it has not obtained, but [f]those who were chosen obtained it, and the rest were (L)hardened; 8 just as it is written:
“(M)God gave them a spirit of stupor,
Eyes to see not and ears to hear not,
Down to this very day.”
9 And David says,
“(N)May their table become a snare and a trap,
And a stumbling block and a retribution to them.
10 (O)May their eyes be darkened to see not,
And bend their backs continually.”
11 (P)I say then, they did not stumble so as to fall, did they? [g](Q)Far from it! But by their wrongdoing (R)salvation has come to the Gentiles, to (S)make them jealous. 12 Now if their wrongdoing proves to be riches for the world, and their failure, riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their [h](T)fulfillment be!
19 (A)Dissension occurred again among the Jews because of these words. 20 Many of them were saying, “He (B)has a demon and (C)is insane. Why do you listen to Him?” 21 Others were saying, “These are not the words of one who is (D)demon-possessed. (E)A demon cannot open the eyes of those who are blind, can it?”
Jesus Asserts His Deity
22 At that time the [a]Feast of the Dedication took place in Jerusalem; 23 it was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple area, in the portico of (F)Solomon. 24 (G)The Jews then surrounded Him and began saying to Him, “How long [b]will You keep us in suspense? If You are the [c]Christ, tell us (H)plainly.” 25 Jesus answered them, “(I)I told you, and you do not believe; (J)the works that I do in My Father’s name, these testify of Me. 26 But you do not believe, because (K)you are not of My sheep. 27 My sheep (L)listen to My voice, and (M)I know them, and they follow Me; 28 and I give them (N)eternal life, and they will never perish; and (O)no one will snatch them out of My hand. 29 [d]My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. 30 (P)I and the Father are [e]one.”
31 The Jews (Q)picked up stones again to stone Him. 32 Jesus replied to them, “I showed you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you stoning Me?” 33 The Jews answered Him, “We are not stoning You for a good work, but for (R)blasphemy; and because You, being a man, (S)make Yourself out to be God.” 34 Jesus answered them, “Has it not been written in (T)your (U)Law: ‘(V)I said, you are gods’? 35 If he called them gods, to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture cannot be nullified), 36 are you saying of Him whom the Father (W)sanctified and (X)sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ because I said, ‘(Y)I am the Son of God’? 37 (Z)If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me; 38 but if I do them, even though you do not believe Me, believe (AA)the works, so that you may [f]know and understand that (AB)the Father is in Me, and I in the Father.” 39 Therefore (AC)they were seeking again to arrest Him, and (AD)He eluded their grasp.
40 And He went away (AE)again beyond the Jordan to the place where John was first baptizing, and He stayed there. 41 Many came to Him and were saying, “While John performed no (AF)sign, yet (AG)everything John said about this Man was true.” 42 And (AH)many believed in Him there.
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