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 Tribe of Dan Seeks Territory
18 In those days there was no king in Israel. And in those days the tribe of the Danites was seeking territory for itself to live in, because until that day it had not been allotted territory among the tribes of Israel. 2 The descendants[a] of Dan sent from the whole number of their clan five capable men[b] from Zorah and Eshtaol to spy out the land and to explore it. And they said to them, “Go, explore the land.” And they went to the hill country of Ephraim, to the house of Micah, and they spent the night there.[c] 3 While they were with the house of Micah, they recognized the voice of the young Levite, and they turned aside there and said to him, “Who brought you here? What are you doing in this place, and what is your business here?”[d] 4 And he said to them, “Micah did such and such for me and hired me, and I became his priest.” 5 And they said to him, “Please inquire of God that we may know whether our journey that we are going on will be successful.” 6 And the priest said to them, “Go in peace. Yahweh is in front of you on the journey you want to go on.”
7 And the five men went and came to Laish, and they observed the people who were living according to the customs of the Sidonians, quiet and unsuspecting, and lacking nothing in the land, and possessing restraint.[e] And they were far from the Sidonians and had no word with anyone. 8 They came to their relatives[f] at Zorah and Eshtaol, and their relatives[g] said to them, “What do you report?” 9 And they said to them, “Come, let us go up against them; for we have seen the land, and it is very good. Will you do nothing? Do not hesitate to go, to enter, to possess the land. 10 When you go you will come to an unsuspecting people, and the land is spread out on all sides;[h] God has given a place into your hands where there is no lack of anything that is on the earth.”
11 Six hundred men from the clan of the Danites from Zorah and Eshtaol, armed with weapons of war, set out from there. 12 They went up and encamped at Kiriath Jearim in Judah. Therefore they called this place Camp of Dan[i] to this day; it is west of Kiriath Jearim. 13 From there they crossed over to the hill country of Ephraim, and they came to the house of Micah.
14 And the five men that went out to spy out the land (that is, Laish) responded and said to their relatives,[j] “Do you know that there are in these houses an ephod, teraphim, and an idol of cast metal? So then, consider what you must do.” 15 So they turned to that direction, and they came to the house of the young Levite, the house of Micah, and they greeted him.[k]
Saul Attempts to Destroy the Church
8 And Saul was agreeing with his murder. Now there happened on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. 2 And devout men buried Stephen and made loud lamentation over him. 3 But Saul was attempting to destroy the church. Entering house after house,[a] he dragged off both men and women and[b] delivered them[c] to prison.
Philip Proclaims Christ in Samaria
4 Now those who had been scattered went about proclaiming the good news of the word. 5 And Philip came down to the city of Samaria and[d] began proclaiming[e] the Christ[f] to them. 6 And the crowds with one mind were paying attention to what was being said by Philip, as they heard him[g] and saw the signs that he was performing. 7 For many of those who had unclean spirits, they were coming out of them,[h] crying out with a loud voice, and many who were paralyzed and lame were healed. 8 And there was great joy in that city.
Simon the Magician
9 Now a certain man named[i] Simon had been in the city practicing magic and astonishing the people of Samaria, saying he was someone great. 10 They were all paying attention to him,[j] from the least to the greatest, saying, “This man is the power of God that is called ‘Great.’” 11 And they were paying attention to him because for a long time he had astonished them with his[k] magic. 12 But when they believed Philip as he[l] was proclaiming the good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, both men and women were being baptized. 13 And Simon himself also believed, and after he[m] was baptized he was keeping close company with[n] Philip. And when he[o] saw the signs and great miracles that were taking place, he was astonished.
30 I am able to do nothing from myself. Just as I hear, I judge, and my judgment is just, because I do not seek my own will, but the will of the one who sent me.
Further Testimony About the Son
31 “If I testify about myself, my testimony is not true. 32 There is another who testifies about me, and I know that the testimony which he testifies about me is true. 33 You have sent to John and he has testified to the truth. 34 (And I do not receive testimony from people, but I say these things in order that you may be saved.) 35 That one was the lamp which was burning and shining, and you wanted to rejoice for an hour in his light.
36 “But I have a testimony greater than John’s, for the works which the Father has given to me that I should complete them—the very works which I am doing—these testify about me, that the Father has sent me. 37 And the Father who sent me, that one has testified about me. You have neither heard his voice at any time nor seen his form. 38 And you do not have his word residing in yourselves, because the one whom that one sent, in this one you do not believe. 39 You search[a] the scriptures because you think that you have eternal life in them, and it is these that testify about me. 40 And you are not willing to come to me so that you may have life.
41 “I do not accept glory[b] from people, 42 but I know you, that you do not have the love of God in yourselves. 43 I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not accept me. If another should come in his own name, you would accept that one! 44 How are you able to believe, if you[c] accept glory from one another, and do not seek the glory which is from the only God? 45 Do not think that I will accuse you before the Father! The one who accuses you is Moses, in whom you have put your hope! 46 For if you had believed Moses, you would believe me, for that one wrote about me. 47 But if you do not believe that one’s writings, how will you believe my words?”
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