Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 131
A Song of Ascents. Of David.
1 Lord, my heart is not haughty,
my eyes are not raised too high.
I have not striven for enormities,
for things too wonderful for me.
2 I composed and quieted my desire,
like a child given suck by his mother;
like a child who sucks is my desire within me.
3 Let Israel hope in the Lord
from now and forever.
Psalm 132(A)
A Song of Ascents.
1 O Lord, remember David
and all his afflictions,
2 how he swore unto the Lord,
and vowed unto the mighty God of Jacob:
3 “I will not come into my house,
nor go up to my bed;
4 I will not give sleep to my eyes,
or slumber to my eyelids,
5 until I find a place for the Lord,
a dwelling for the mighty God of Jacob.”
6 We heard of it in Ephrathah;
we found it in the fields of Jaar.
7 “We will go to His dwelling place,
we will worship at His footstool.”
8 Arise, O Lord, go to Your resting place,
You and the ark of Your strength.
9 Let Your priests be clothed with righteousness,
and let Your godly ones shout for joy.
10 For Your servant David’s sake,
do not turn away Your anointed king.
11 The Lord has sworn with a sure oath to David
that He will not turn from it:
“From the fruit of your body
I will set a son on your throne.
12 If your children will keep My covenant
and My testimonies that I shall teach them,
then their children shall also sit
upon your throne forever.”
13 For the Lord has chosen Zion;
He has desired it for His dwelling:
14 “This is My resting place forever;
here I will dwell, for I have chosen it.
15 I will abundantly bless her provisions;
I will satisfy her poor with bread.
16 I will also clothe her priests with salvation,
and her godly ones shall shout for joy.
17 “There I will make a horn sprout for David;
I have prepared a lamp for My anointed one.
18 His enemies I will clothe with shame,
but on him his crown will shine.”
Psalm 133
A Song of Ascents. Of David.
1 Behold, how good and how pleasant it is
for brothers to dwell together in unity!
2 It is like precious oil upon the head,
that runs down on the beard—
even Aaron’s beard—
and going down to the collar of his garments;
3 as the dew of Hermon,
that descends upon the mountains of Zion,
for there the Lord has commanded the blessing,
even life forever.
Psalm 134
A Song of Ascents.
1 Come, bless the Lord, all you servants of the Lord,
who by night stand in the house of the Lord.
2 Lift up your hands in the sanctuary,
and bless the Lord.
3 May the Lord who made heaven and earth
bless you from Zion.
Psalm 135(B)
1 Praise the Lord!
Praise the name of the Lord
praise Him, O servants of the Lord,
2 you who stand in the house of the Lord,
in the courts of the house of our God!
3 Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good;
sing praises unto His name, for it is pleasant.
4 For the Lord has chosen Jacob for Himself,
and Israel for His special possession.
5 For I know that the Lord is great,
and that our Lord is above all gods.
6 Whatever the Lord pleases,
He does in heaven and on earth,
in the seas and all the depths.
7 He causes the clouds to ascend from the ends of the earth;
He makes lightning for the rain;
He brings the wind out from His storehouses.
8 He struck down the firstborn of Egypt,
both of man and animal.
9 He sent signs and wonders into your midst, O Egypt,
against Pharaoh and all his servants;
10 He struck down great nations
and slew mighty kings—
11 Sihon, king of the Amorites,
and Og king of Bashan,
and all the kingdoms of Canaan—
12 and gave their land for an inheritance,
a possession to Israel His people.
13 Your name, O Lord, endures forever;
and Your renown, O Lord, throughout all generations.
14 For the Lord will defend His people,
and He will have compassion on His servants.
15 The idols of the nations are silver and gold,
the work of men’s hands.
16 They have mouths, but do not speak;
they have eyes, but do not see;
17 they have ears, but do not hear;
neither is there any breath in their mouths.
18 Those who make them are like them;
so is everyone who trusts in them.
19 Bless the Lord, O house of Israel;
bless the Lord, O house of Aaron.
20 Bless the Lord, O house of Levi;
you who fear the Lord, bless the Lord.
21 Blessed be the Lord from Zion,
who dwells at Jerusalem.
Praise you the Lord!
4 The king commanded Hilkiah the high priest, the priests of the second order, and the keepers of the threshold to bring out of the temple of the Lord all the implements that were made for Baal, for Asherah, and for all the host of heaven. Then he burned them outside Jerusalem in the fields of Kidron and carried their ashes to Bethel. 5 Then he removed the idolatrous priests whom the kings of Judah had ordained to burn incense on the high places at the cities of Judah and around Jerusalem; those also who burned incense to Baal, to the sun, to the moon, to the constellations, and to all the host of heaven. 6 He brought out the Asherah from the house of the Lord to the outside of Jerusalem, to the Kidron Valley. Then he burned it at the Kidron Valley, crushed it to dust, and threw its dust upon the graves of the people. 7 He tore down the houses of the male cult prostitutes that were in the house of the Lord, where the women were weaving hangings for the Asherah.
8 He brought all the priests out of the cities of Judah and defiled the high places where the priests had made offerings, from Geba to Beersheba. He broke down the high places of the gates at the entry of the gates of Joshua the governor of the city, which were on the left at the gate of the city. 9 However the priests of the high places did not go up to the altar of the Lord in Jerusalem. Instead they ate unleavened bread among their fellow priests.
10 He defiled Topheth, which is in the Valley of Ben Hinnom, so that no man would make his son or his daughter pass through the fire to Molek. 11 He removed the horses that the kings of Judah had given to the sun, at the entry of the house of the Lord, by the hall of Nathan-Melek the eunuch, which was in the vestibule. The chariots of the sun he burned with fire.
12 The altars that were on the roof of the upper chamber of Ahaz, which the kings of Judah had made, and the altars which Manasseh had made in the two courts of the house of the Lord the king tore down and banished from there and threw their dust into the Kidron Valley. 13 The high places east of Jerusalem, south of the Mount of Corruption, which Solomon the king of Israel had built for Ashtoreth the abomination of the Sidonians, for Chemosh the abomination of the Moabites, and for Molek the abomination of the Ammonites, the king defiled. 14 He broke the standing stones, cut down the Asherah poles, and filled their sites with human bones.
15 Moreover, the altar that was at Bethel and the high place which Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel sin, had made, both that altar and the high place he tore down. Then he burned the high place and crushed it to powder, and he burned the Asherah. 16 As Josiah turned, he saw the tombs that were there on the mount. He took the bones out of the tombs and burned them on the altar and defiled it, according to the word of the Lord that the man of God proclaimed, the one who announced these things.
17 Then he said, “What is this monument that I see?”
The men of the city said to him, “It is the tomb of the man of God who came from Judah and proclaimed these things that you have done against the altar of Bethel.”
18 He said, “Let him rest. No one shall disturb his bones.” So they let his bones alone, with the bones of the prophet who came out of Samaria.
19 Moreover, all the houses of the high places that were in the cities of Samaria, which the kings of Israel had made to provoke the Lord to anger, Josiah removed. He did to them just as he had done in Bethel. 20 He slaughtered on the altars all the priests of the high places who were there, and burned human bones on them. Then he returned to Jerusalem.
21 The king commanded all the people, “Keep the Passover to the Lord your God as it is written in this Book of the Covenant.” 22 For such a Passover had not been kept from the days of the judges who judged Israel, nor in all the days of the kings of Israel and the kings of Judah. 23 But in the eighteenth year of King Josiah, this Passover was kept to the Lord in Jerusalem.
24 Moreover, Josiah disposed of the mediums, the soothsayers, the teraphim, the idols, and all the abominations that were seen in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem, so that he established the words of the law that were written in the book that Hilkiah the priest found in the house of the Lord. 25 Now there had been no king like him before or after, who turned to the Lord with all his heart, with all his soul, and with all his might, according to all the Law of Moses.
Spiritual Gifts
12 Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be ignorant. 2 You know that you were Gentiles, carried away to these dumb idols, however you were led. 3 Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus be cursed!” And no one can say, “Jesus is the Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.
4 There are various gifts, but the same Spirit. 5 There are differences of administrations, but the same Lord. 6 There are various operations, but it is the same God who operates all of them in all people.
7 But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to everyone for the common good. 8 To one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom, to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit, 10 to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, and to another the interpretation of tongues. 11 But that one and very same Spirit works all these, dividing to each one individually as He will.
The Ruler’s Daughter and a Woman Healed(A)
18 While He was speaking these things to them, a certain ruler came and worshipped Him, saying, “My daughter is even now dead. But come and lay Your hand on her, and she will live.” 19 Jesus rose and followed him, and so did His disciples.
20 Then a woman, who was ill with a flow of blood for twelve years, came behind Him and touched the hem of His garment. 21 For she said within herself, “If I may just touch His garment, I shall be healed.”
22 But Jesus turned around, and when He saw her, He said, “Daughter, be of good comfort. Your faith has made you well.” And the woman was made well instantly.
23 When Jesus came to the ruler’s house and saw the musicians and the mourners making a noise, 24 He said to them, “Depart. The girl is not dead, but is sleeping.” And they laughed Him to scorn. 25 But when the people were put outside, He went in and took her by the hand, and the girl arose. 26 The news of this went out into all that land.
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.