Book of Common Prayer
A Song of Ascents[a]
A Prayer for Deliverance
120 I cried to the Lord in my distress,
and he responded to me.
2 “Lord, deliver me[b] from lips that lie
and tongues that deceive.”
3 What will be given to you,
and what will be done to you,
you treacherous tongue?
4 Like a[c] sharp arrow from a warrior,
along with fiery coals from juniper trees!
5 How terrible for me,
that I am an alien in Meshech,
that I reside among the tents of Kedar!
6 I have resided too long
with those who hate peace.
7 I am in favor of peace;
but when I speak,
they are in favor of war.
A Song of Ascents
The Guardian of God’s People
121 I lift up my eyes toward the mountains—
from where will my help come?
2 My help is from the Lord,
maker of heaven and earth.
3 He will never let[d] your foot slip,
nor[e] will[f] your guardian become drowsy.
4 Look! The one who is guarding Israel
never sleeps and does not take naps.
5 The Lord is your guardian;
the Lord is your shade at your right side.
6 The sun will not ravage you by day,
nor the moon by night.
7 The Lord will guard you from all evil,
preserving[g] your life.
8 The Lord will guard your goings and comings,[h]
from this time on and forever.
A Davidic Song of Ascents
Up to Jerusalem
122 I rejoiced when they kept on asking me,
“Let us go to the Lord’s Temple.”
2 Our feet are standing
inside your gates, Jerusalem.
3 Jerusalem stands built up,
a city knitted together.
4 To it the tribes ascend—
the tribes of the Lord—
as decreed to Israel,
to give thanks to the name of the Lord.
5 For thrones are established there for judgment,
thrones of the house of David.
6 Pray for peace for Jerusalem:
“May those who love you be at peace![i]
7 May peace be within your ramparts,
and[j] prosperity[k] within your fortresses.”
8 For the sake of my relatives and friends
I will now say, “May there be peace within you.”
9 For the sake of the Temple of the Lord our God,
I will seek your welfare.
A Song of Ascents
A Prayer for Relief
123 To you, who sit enthroned in heaven,
I lift up my eyes.
2 Consider this: as the eyes of a servant focus
on what his master provides,[l]
and as the eyes of a female servant focus[m]
on what her mistress provides,[n]
so our eyes focus on the Lord our God,
until he has mercy on us.
3 Have mercy on us, Lord, have mercy,
for we have had more than enough of contempt.
4 Our lives overflow
with scorn from those who live at ease,
with contempt from those who are proud.
A Davidic Song of Ascents
God is for Us
124 If the Lord had not been on our side—
let Israel now say—
2 if the Lord had not been on our side,
when men came against us,
3 then they would have devoured us alive,
when their anger burned against us.
4 Then the flood waters would have overwhelmed us,
the torrent would have flooded over us;
5 the swollen waters would have swept us away.
6 Blessed be the Lord,
who did not give us as prey to their teeth.
7 We have escaped like a bird from the hunter’s trap.
The trap has been broken,
and we have escaped.
8 Our help is in the name of the Lord,
the maker of heaven and earth.
A Song of Ascents
God is Secure
125 Those who are trusting in the Lord
are like Mount Zion, which cannot be overthrown.
They remain forever.
2 Just as mountains encircle Jerusalem,
so the Lord encircles his people,
from now to eternity.
3 For evil’s scepter will not rest
on the land that has been allotted to the righteous,
and so the righteous will not direct themselves[o] to do wrong.
4 Lord, do good to those who are good,
and to those who are upright in heart.[p]
5 But for those who choose their own devious paths,
the Lord will lead them away,
along with those who practice evil.
Peace be upon Israel.
A Song of Ascents
The Exiles Restored
126 When the Lord brought back Zion’s exiles,[q]
we were like dreamers.[r]
2 Then our mouths were filled with laughter,
and our tongues formed joyful shouts.
Then it was said among the nations,
“The Lord has done great things for them.”
3 The great things that the Lord has done for us
gladden us.
4 Restore our exiles,[s] Lord,
like the streams of the Negev.[t]
5 Those who weep while they plant
will sing for joy while they harvest.
6 The one who goes out weeping,[u]
carrying a bag of seeds,
will surely return with a joyful song,
bearing sheaves from his harvest.[v]
A Solomonic Song of Ascents
God’s Blessing in the Family
127 Unless the Lord builds the house,
its builders labor uselessly.
Unless the Lord guards the city,
its security forces keep watch uselessly.
2 It is useless to get up early
and to stay up late,[w]
eating the food of exhausting labor—
truly he gives sleep to those he loves.
3 Children[x] are a gift[y] from the Lord;
a productive womb, the Lord’s[z] reward.
4 As arrows in the hand of a warrior,
so also are children[aa] born during one’s[ab] youth.
5 How blessed[ac] is the man whose quiver is full of them!
He[ad] will not be ashamed
as they confront their enemies at the city gate.
The Descendants of Dan Learn about Micah
18 Back in those days, Israel didn’t have a king yet, and during that time the tribe of Dan had been seeking a territorial inheritance to live in, because up until that time no territory had been allotted to them as a possession among the tribes of Israel. 2 So the tribe[a] of Dan sent from their families five valiant men of their number from Zorah and Eshtaol to scout the land and search through it. Following their orders, which were “Go and scout the land,” they came to the mountainous region[b] of Ephraim, arrived at Micah’s home, and stayed there.
3 As they approached Micah’s home, they recognized the voice of the young male descendant of Levi. They turned aside from there and spoke to him, asking him, “Who brought you here? What work are you doing here? And what’s your business here?”
4 He answered, “Micah did such and such for me, and has hired me, so I’ve become his priest.”
5 They replied, “Go ask God, please, about whether or not we’ll be successful in this journey.”
6 The priest responded to them, “Travel in peace. The mission that you’re to accomplish is from the Lord.”
7 So the five men left and went to Laish, and observed the people who were living there carefree, as Sidonians tend to do, in peace and quiet. There was no ruler in the land oppressing them for any reason. They were living far away from the Sidonians, and had no dealings with anyone.[c] 8 When they returned to their relatives at Zorah and Eshtaol, their relatives asked them, “What’s your report?”[d]
9 They replied, “Let’s get going and attack them. We’ve scouted out the land—and look!—it’s a very good one. Why should we sit still? We can’t wait to go back, invade, and take over the land. 10 When you invade, you’ll meet a carefree people living in a spacious territory. God has given it into your control—it’s a place that lacks nothing on this earth!” 11 So 600 descendants of Dan from Zorah and Eshtaol set out for battle, armed with military weapons. 12 They went out and encamped at Kiriath-jearim in the territory of Judah. (That’s why they call the place Mahaneh-dan to this day. It lies west of Kiriath-jearim.) 13 They proceeded from there to the mountainous region[e] of Ephraim and arrived at Micah’s house.
The Descendants of Dan Commandeer Micah’s Idols
14 Then the five men who had gone to scout out the territory of Laish told their relatives, “Are you aware that in these houses there’s an ephod, some household idols,[f] a carved image, and a cast image? You know what you need to do.” 15 So they turned aside from there, went to Micah’s house, and greeted him.
The Church is Scattered
8 Now Saul heartily approved of putting Stephen[a] to death. That day a severe persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and everyone except for the apostles was scattered throughout the countryside of Judea and Samaria. 2 Devout men buried Stephen as they mourned loudly for him. 3 But Saul kept trying to destroy the church. Going into one house after another, he began dragging off men and women and throwing them in prison.
Some Samaritans Become Believers
4 Now those who were scattered went from place to place preaching the word. 5 Philip went down to the[b] city of Samaria and began to preach the Messiah[c] to the people.[d] 6 The crowds, hearing his message[e] and seeing the signs that he was doing, paid close attention to what was said by Philip. 7 Unclean spirits screamed with a loud voice as they came out of the many people they had possessed, and many paralyzed and lame people were healed. 8 As a result, there was great rejoicing in that city.
9 Now in that city there was a man named Simon. He was practicing occult arts and thrilling the people of Samaria, claiming to be someone great. 10 Everyone from the least to the greatest paid close attention to him, saying, “This is what we call[f] the great power of God!” 11 They paid careful attention to him because he had thrilled them for a long time with his occult performances. 12 But when Philip proclaimed the good news about the kingdom of God and about the name of Jesus the Messiah,[g] men and women believed and were baptized. 13 Even Simon believed, and after he was baptized he became devoted to Philip. He was amazed to see the signs and great miracles that were happening.
30 I can do nothing on my own accord. I judge according to what I hear, and my judgment is just, because I do not seek my own will but the will of the one who sent me.”
Jesus’ Greater Testimony
31 “If I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is not trustworthy. 32 There is another who testifies about me, and I know[a] that the testimony he gives about me is true. 33 You have sent messengers[b] to John, and he has testified to the truth. 34 I myself do not accept human testimony, but I am saying these things so that you may be saved. 35 That man John[c] was a lamp that burns and brightly shines, and for a while you were willing to rejoice in his light.
36 “But I have a greater testimony than John’s, because the actions that the Father has given me to complete—the very actions that I am doing—testify on my behalf that the Father has sent me. 37 Moreover, the Father who sent me has himself testified on my behalf. You have never heard his voice or seen what he looks like, 38 nor do you have his word at work[d] in you, because you do not believe in the one whom he sent. 39 You examine the Scriptures carefully because you suppose that in them you have eternal life. Yet they testify about me. 40 But you are not willing to come to me to have life.
41 “I do not accept human praise. 42 I know that you do not have the love of God in you. 43 I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not accept me. Yet if another man comes in his own name, you will accept him. 44 How can you believe when you accept each other’s praise and do not look for the praise that comes from the only God?[e] 45 Do not suppose that I will be the one to accuse you before the Father. Your accuser is Moses, on whom you have set your hope, 46 because if you believed Moses, you would believe me, since he wrote about me. 47 But if you do not believe what he wrote, how will you believe my words?”
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