Book of Common Prayer
Child-Like Trust in the Lord
131 O Lord, my heart is not proud. My eyes are not filled with pride. And I do not trouble myself with important things or in things too great for me. 2 For sure I have made my soul quiet like a child who no longer nurses while he is with his mother. My soul within me is like a child who no longer nurses. 3 O Israel, hope in the Lord, now and forever.
A Prayer for the House of God
132 O Lord, remember David and all of his suffering. 2 Remember how he swore to the Lord, and how he made a promise to the Powerful One of Jacob: 3 “For sure I will not go into my house or lie on my bed, 4 or let sleep come and close my eyes, 5 until I find a place for the Lord, a house of worship for the Powerful One of Jacob.”
6 See, we heard about it in Ephrathah. We found it in the field of Jaar. 7 Let us go into the House of God. Let us worship at His feet. 8 Rise up, O Lord. Go to the place where You can rest, You and the special box of the Way of Worship which is Your strength. 9 Let Your religious leaders be dressed with what is right and good. And let those who belong to You sing for joy.
10 Because of David Your servant, do not turn away from Your chosen one. 11 The Lord has made a sure promise to David that He will never break: “I will set upon your throne your own children. 12 If your sons will keep My Law and My Word which I will teach them, then their sons will sit upon your throne forever.”
13 For the Lord has chosen Zion. He has wanted it for a place to live: 14 “This is the place where I can rest forever. Here I will live, for I have wanted it. 15 I will give her many good things. I will give her poor people much bread. 16 I will dress her religious leaders with saving power. And those in her that belong to Me will sing for joy. 17 There I will make the horn of David grow and will make a lamp ready for My chosen one. 18 I will dress those who hate him with shame. But the crown on him will shine.”
A Song of Praise
133 See, how good and how pleasing it is for brothers to live together as one! 2 It is like oil of great worth poured on the head, flowing down through the hair on the face, even the face of Aaron, and flowing down to his coat. 3 It is like the morning water of Hermon coming down upon the hills of Zion. For there the Lord has given the gift of life that lasts forever.
A Call to Praise
134 See, give honor and thanks to the Lord, all who work for the Lord, who stand during the night in the house of the Lord. 2 Lift up your hands to the holy place and give thanks to the Lord. 3 May the Lord bring good to you from Zion. He is the One Who made heaven and earth.
A Song of Praise
135 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, within the walls of the house of our God. 3 Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good. Sing praises to His name, for it is sweet. 4 For the Lord has chosen Jacob for Himself. Israel belongs to Him.
5 I know that the Lord is great. He is greater than all gods. 6 The Lord does whatever is pleasing to Him, in heaven and on earth, in the seas and in all waters. 7 He makes the clouds rise from the ends of the earth. He makes lightning come with the rain. He brings the wind out from where He stores His riches.
8 He killed the first-born of Egypt, both man and animal. 9 He sent special things to see and did great works among you, O Egypt, against Pharaoh and all his servants. 10 He crushed many nations and killed powerful kings, 11 King Sihon of the Amorites, King Og of Bashan, and all the kings of Canaan. 12 And He gave their land as a gift, a gift to Israel His people. 13 O Lord, Your name lasts forever. O Lord, You will be remembered for all time. 14 For the Lord will decide in favor of His people. He will have loving-pity on His servants. 15 The gods of the nations are silver and gold, made by the hands of men. 16 They have mouths but they do not speak. They have eyes but they do not see. 17 They have ears but they do not hear. And there is no breath in their mouths. 18 Those who make them and those who trust in them will be like them.
19 O house of Israel, give honor and thanks to the Lord. O house of Aaron, give honor and thanks to the Lord. 20 O house of Levi, give honor and thanks to the Lord. You who fear the Lord, give honor and thanks to the Lord. 21 Honor and thanks be to the Lord from Zion, Who lives in Jerusalem. Praise the Lord!
Satan Tests Job
1 There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job. That man was without blame. He was right and good, he feared God, and turned away from sin. 2 Seven sons and three daughters were born to him. 3 He had 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 1,000 oxen, 500 female donkeys, and many servants. He was the greatest of all the men of the east. 4 His sons used to go and make a special supper in each one’s house on a special day. And they would send for their three sisters to eat and drink with them. 5 When the days of their special supper were over, Job would get up early in the morning and send for them. Then he would give burnt gifts for each of them so that they would be pure. For Job said, “It might be that my sons have sinned and cursed God in their hearts.” Job always did this.
6 Now there was a day when the sons of God came to show themselves before the Lord. Satan came with them also. 7 And the Lord said to Satan, “Where have you come from?” Satan answered the Lord and said, “From traveling around on the earth and walking around on it.” 8 The Lord said to Satan, “Have you thought about My servant Job? For there is no one like him on the earth. He is without blame, a man who is right and good. He honors God with fear and turns away from sin.” 9 Then Satan answered the Lord, “Does Job fear God for nothing? 10 Have You not made a wall around him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have brought good to the work of his hands, and he has received more and more in the land. 11 But put out Your hand now and touch all that he has. And for sure he will curse You to Your face.” 12 Then the Lord said to Satan, “See, all that he has is in your power. Only do not put your hand on him.” So Satan went out from the Lord.
Job’s Children and Riches Are Destroyed
13 On a day when Job’s sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house, 14 a man came to Job with news, saying, “The oxen were pulling the plow and the donkeys were eating beside them. 15 And the Sabeans came and took them. They also killed the servants with the sword. I alone have run away from them to tell you.” 16 While he was still speaking, another man came and said, “The fire of God fell from heaven and burned up the sheep and the servants and destroyed them. I alone have gotten away to tell you.” 17 While he was still speaking, another came and said, “The Babylonians divided into three groups and came to fight. They took the camels and killed the servants with the sword. I alone have gotten away to tell you.” 18 While he was still speaking, another also came and said, “Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house. 19 And see, a strong wind came from the desert and hit the four corners of the house. It fell on the young people and they are dead. I alone have gotten away to tell you.”
20 Then Job stood up and tore his clothing and cut the hair from his head. And he fell to the ground and worshiped. 21 He said, “Without clothing I was born from my mother, and without clothing I will return. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. Praise the name of the Lord.” 22 In all this Job did not sin or blame God.
Philip and the Man from Ethiopia
26 An angel of the Lord spoke to Philip saying, “Get up and go south. Take the road that goes down from Jerusalem to the country of Gaza. It goes through the desert.” 27 Philip got up and went. A man from the country of Ethiopia had come to Jerusalem to worship. He had been made so he could not have children. He cared for all the riches that belonged to Candace who was Queen of Ethiopia. 28 As he was going back home, he was sitting in his wagon reading about the early preacher Isaiah. 29 The Holy Spirit said to Philip, “Go over to that wagon and get on it.” 30 Philip ran up to him. He saw that the man from Ethiopia was reading from the writings of the early preacher Isaiah and said, “Do you understand what you are reading?” 31 The man from Ethiopia said, “How can I, unless someone teaches me?” Then he asked Philip to come up and sit beside him.
32 He was reading the part in the Holy Writings which says He was taken like a lamb to be put to death. A sheep does not make a sound while its wool is cut. So He made no sound. 33 No one listened to Him because of His shame. Who will tell the story of His day? For His life was taken away from the earth. (A)
34 The man from Ethiopia said to Philip, “Who is the early preacher talking about, himself, or someone else?” 35 So Philip started with this part of the Holy Writings and preached the Good News of Jesus to him.
36 As they went on their way, they came to some water. The man from Ethiopia said, “See! Here is water. What is to stop me from being baptized?” 37 (*Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.” The man said, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”) 38 He stopped the wagon. Then both Philip and the man from Ethiopia went down into the water and Philip baptized him.
39 When they came up out of the water, the Holy Spirit took Philip away. The man from Ethiopia did not see Philip again. He went on his way full of joy. 40 Philip found himself at the city of Azotus. Then Philip went through all the towns as far as the city of Caesarea preaching the Good News at each place.
16 When evening had come, His followers went down to the lake. 17 They got into a boat and started to cross the lake to go to the city of Capernaum. By this time it was dark. Jesus had not come back to them yet. 18 A strong wind was making high waves on the lake. 19 They were about half way across the lake when they saw Jesus walking on the water. As He got near the boat, they were afraid. 20 But Jesus called to them, “It is I. Do not be afraid.” 21 They were glad to take Him into the boat. At once they got to the other side where they wanted to go.
Jesus Teaches Many People
22 The next day the people on the other side of the lake saw no other boat there but the one His followers had been in. The people knew Jesus had not gone with His followers in the boat because they had gone alone. 23 There were other boats from Tiberias that had come near the place where they had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks. 24 The people saw that Jesus and His followers were not there. They got into boats and went to Capernaum looking for Jesus.
25 The people found Him on the other side of the lake. They said to Him, “Teacher, when did You come here?” 26 Jesus said to them, “For sure, I tell you, you are not looking for Me because of the powerful works. You are looking for Me because you ate bread and were filled. 27 Do not work for food that does not last. Work for food that lasts forever. The Son of Man will give you that kind of food. God the Father has shown He will do this.”
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