Book of Common Prayer
Prayer for Rescue from the Treacherous.
A Song of [a]Ascents.
120 (A)I cried to the Lord in my trouble,
And He answered me.
2 Rescue my soul, Lord, from (B)lying lips,
From a (C)deceitful tongue.
3 What will He give to you, and what more will He do to you,
You (D)deceitful tongue?
4 (E)Sharp arrows of the warrior,
With the burning (F)coals of the broom tree!
5 Woe to me, for I reside in (G)Meshech,
For I have settled among the (H)tents of (I)Kedar!
6 Too long has my soul had its dwelling
With those who (J)hate peace.
7 I (K)am for peace, but when I speak,
They are (L)for war.
The Lord, the Keeper of Israel.
A Song of Ascents.
121 I will (M)raise my eyes to (N)the mountains;
From where will my help come?
2 My (O)help comes from the Lord,
Who (P)made heaven and earth.
3 He will not (Q)allow your foot to slip;
He who (R)watches over you will not slumber.
4 Behold, He who watches over Israel
Will neither slumber nor sleep.
5 The Lord is your [b](S)protector;
The Lord is your (T)shade on your right hand.
6 The (U)sun will not [c]beat down on you by day,
Nor the moon by night.
7 The Lord will [d](V)protect you from all evil;
He will keep your soul.
8 The Lord will [e](W)guard your going out and your coming in
(X)From this time and forever.
Prayer for the Peace of Jerusalem.
A Song of Ascents, of David.
122 I was glad when they said to me,
“Let’s (Y)go to the house of the Lord.”
2 Our feet are standing
Within your (Z)gates, Jerusalem,
3 Jerusalem, that has been (AA)built
As a city that is (AB)firmly joined together;
4 To which the tribes (AC)go up, the tribes of [f]the Lord—
[g]An ordinance for Israel—
To give thanks to the name of the Lord.
5 For (AD)thrones were set there for judgment,
The thrones of the house of David.
6 Pray for the (AE)peace of Jerusalem:
“May they prosper who (AF)love you.
7 May peace be within your (AG)walls,
And prosperity within your (AH)palaces.”
8 For the sake of my (AI)brothers and my friends,
I will now say, “(AJ)May peace be within you.”
9 For the sake of the house of the Lord our God,
I will (AK)seek your good.
Prayer for the Lord’s Help.
A Song of Ascents.
123 To You I have (AL)raised my eyes,
You who (AM)are enthroned in the heavens!
2 Behold, as the eyes of (AN)servants look to the hand of their master,
As the eyes of a female servant to the hand of her mistress,
So our (AO)eyes look to the Lord our God,
Until He is gracious to us.
3 (AP)Be gracious to us, Lord, be gracious to us,
For we have had much more than enough of (AQ)contempt.
4 Our soul has had much more than enough
Of the (AR)scoffing of (AS)those who are at ease,
And with the (AT)contempt of the proud.
Praise for Rescue from Enemies.
A Song of Ascents, of David.
124 “(AU)Had it not been the Lord who was on our side,”
(AV)Let Israel say,
2 “Had it not been the Lord who was on our side
When people rose up against us,
3 Then they would have (AW)swallowed us alive,
When their (AX)anger was kindled against us;
4 Then the (AY)waters would have flooded over us,
The stream would have [h]swept over our souls;
5 Then the (AZ)raging waters would have [i]swept over our souls.”
6 Blessed be the Lord,
Who has not given us [j]to be (BA)torn by their teeth.
7 Our souls have (BB)escaped (BC)like a bird from the trapper’s (BD)snare;
The snare is broken and we have escaped.
8 Our (BE)help is in the name of the Lord,
Who (BF)made heaven and earth.
The Lord Surrounds His People.
A Song of Ascents.
125 Those who trust in the Lord
Are like Mount Zion, which (BG)cannot be moved but (BH)remains forever.
2 As the mountains surround Jerusalem,
So (BI)the Lord surrounds His people
(BJ)From this time and forever.
3 For the (BK)scepter of wickedness will not rest upon the [k]land of the righteous,
So that the righteous (BL)will not extend their hands to do wrong.
4 (BM)Do good, Lord, to those who are good
And to those who are (BN)upright in their hearts.
5 But as for those who (BO)turn aside to their (BP)crooked ways,
The Lord will lead them away with those who (BQ)practice injustice.
(BR)Peace be upon Israel.
Thanksgiving for Return from Captivity.
A Song of Ascents.
126 When the Lord (BS)brought back [l]the captives of Zion,
We were (BT)like those who dream.
2 Then our (BU)mouth was filled with laughter
And our (BV)tongue with joyful shouting;
Then they said among the nations,
“The Lord has (BW)done great things for them.”
3 The Lord has done great things for us;
We are (BX)joyful.
4 Restore our fortunes, Lord,
As the [m](BY)streams in the [n]South.
5 Those who sow in (BZ)tears shall harvest with (CA)joyful shouting.
6 One who goes here and there weeping, carrying his bag of seed,
Shall indeed come again with a shout of joy, bringing his sheaves with him.
Prosperity Comes from the Lord.
A Song of Ascents, of Solomon.
127 Unless the Lord (CB)builds a house,
They who build it labor in vain;
Unless the Lord (CC)guards a city,
The watchman stays awake in vain.
2 It is futile for you to rise up early,
To [o]stay up late,
To (CD)eat the bread of painful labor;
This is how He gives to His (CE)beloved (CF)sleep.
3 Behold, (CG)children are a [p]gift of the Lord,
The (CH)fruit of the womb is a reward.
4 Like arrows in the hand of a (CI)warrior,
So are the children of one’s youth.
5 (CJ)Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them;
(CK)They will not be ashamed
When they (CL)speak with their enemies (CM)in the gate.
God Is Awesome
1 The (A)pronouncement of (B)Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite:
2 A (C)jealous and avenging God is the Lord;
The Lord is (D)avenging and [a]wrathful.
The Lord takes (E)vengeance on His adversaries,
And He reserves wrath for His enemies.
3 The Lord is (F)slow to anger and great in power,
And the Lord will by no means leave the guilty unpunished.
In the (G)gale and the storm is His way,
And (H)clouds are the dust beneath His feet.
4 He (I)rebukes the sea and dries it up;
He dries up all the rivers.
(J)Bashan and Carmel wither,
The blossoms of Lebanon wither.
5 Mountains (K)quake because of Him,
And the hills (L)come apart;
Indeed the earth is (M)upheaved by His presence,
The (N)world and all the inhabitants in it.
6 (O)Who can stand before His indignation?
Who can endure the (P)burning of His anger?
His (Q)wrath gushes forth like fire,
And the (R)rocks are broken up by Him.
7 The Lord is (S)good,
A stronghold in the day of trouble,
And (T)He knows those who take refuge in Him.
8 But with an (U)overflowing flood
He will make a complete end of [b]its site,
And will pursue His enemies into (V)darkness.
9 Whatever you (W)devise against the Lord,
He will make a (X)complete end of it.
Distress will not rise up twice.
10 Like tangled (Y)thorns,
And like those who are (Z)drunken with their drink,
They are (AA)consumed
Like stubble completely dried up.
11 From you has gone out
One who (AB)plotted evil against the Lord,
A [c](AC)wicked counselor.
12 This is what the Lord says:
13 Therefore, [a](A)prepare your minds for action, [b](B)keep sober in spirit, set your (C)hope completely on the (D)grace to be brought to you at (E)the revelation of Jesus Christ. 14 As [c](F)obedient children, do not [d](G)be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your (H)ignorance, 15 but [e](I)like the Holy One who called you, [f](J)be holy yourselves also (K)in all your behavior; 16 because it is written: “(L)You shall be holy, for I am holy.”
17 If you (M)address as Father the One who (N)impartially (O)judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves (P)in fear during the time of your (Q)stay on earth; 18 knowing that you were not [g](R)redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your (S)futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, 19 but with precious (T)blood, as of a (U)lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ. 20 For He was (V)foreknown before (W)the foundation of the world, but has (X)appeared [h]in these last times (Y)for the sake of you 21 who through Him are (Z)believers in God, who raised Him from the dead and (AA)gave Him glory, so that your faith and (AB)hope are in God.
22 Since you have (AC)purified your souls (AD)in obedience to the truth for a (AE)sincere love of the brothers and sisters, fervently love one another from [i]the heart, 23 for you have been (AF)born again (AG)not of seed which is perishable, but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring (AH)word of God. 24 For,
Jesus Blesses Little Children
13 (A)Then some children were brought to Him so that He would lay His hands on them and pray; and the disciples rebuked them. 14 But Jesus said, “[a](B)Leave the children alone, and do not [b]forbid them to come to Me; for (C)the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” 15 After laying His hands on them, He departed from there.
The Rich Young Ruler
16 (D)And someone came to Him and said, “Teacher, what good thing shall I do so that I may obtain (E)eternal life?” 17 And He said to him, “Why are you asking Me about what is good? There is only One who is good; but (F)if you want to enter life, keep the commandments.” 18 Then he *said to Him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, “(G)You shall not commit murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not give false testimony; 19 (H)Honor your father and mother; and (I)You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 20 The young man *said to Him, “All these I have kept; what am I still lacking?” 21 Jesus said to him, “If you want to be [c]complete, go and (J)sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have (K)treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” 22 But when the young man heard this statement, he went away grieving; for he was one who owned much property.
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