Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 131[a]
Humble Trust in God
1 A song of ascents. Of David.
Lord, my heart is not proud;
nor are my eyes haughty.
I do not busy myself with great matters,
with things too sublime for me.(A)
2 Rather, I have stilled my soul,
Like a weaned child to its mother,
weaned is my soul.(B)
3 Israel, hope in the Lord,
now and forever.
Psalm 132[b]
The Covenant Between David and God
1 A song of ascents.
I
Remember, O Lord, for David
all his hardships;
2 How he swore an oath to the Lord,
vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob:[c]
3 “I will not enter the house where I live,(C)
nor lie on the couch where I sleep;
4 I will give my eyes no sleep,
my eyelids no rest,
5 Till I find a place for the Lord,
a dwelling for the Mighty One of Jacob.”
6 “We have heard of it in Ephrathah;[d]
we have found it in the fields of Jaar.
7 Let us enter his dwelling;
let us worship at his footstool.”(D)
8 “Arise, Lord, come to your resting place,(E)
you and your mighty ark.
9 Your priests will be clothed with justice;
your devout will shout for joy.”
10 For the sake of David your servant,
do not reject your anointed.
II
11 The Lord swore an oath to David in truth,
he will never turn back from it:(F)
“Your own offspring(G) I will set upon your throne.
12 If your sons observe my covenant,
and my decrees I shall teach them,
Their sons, in turn,
shall sit forever on your throne.”
13 Yes, the Lord has chosen Zion,
desired it for a dwelling:
14 “This is my resting place forever;
here I will dwell, for I desire it.
15 I will bless Zion with provisions;
its poor I will fill with bread.
16 I will clothe its priests with salvation;
its devout shall shout for joy.(H)
17 There I will make a horn sprout for David;[e](I)
I will set a lamp for my anointed.
18 His foes I will clothe with shame,
but on him his crown shall shine.”
Psalm 133[f]
A Vision of a Blessed Community
1 A song of ascents. Of David.
How good and how pleasant it is,
when brothers[g] dwell together as one!
2 Like fine oil on the head,[h](J)
running down upon the beard,
Upon the beard of Aaron,
upon the collar of his robe.
3 Like dew[i] of Hermon coming down
upon the mountains of Zion.(K)
There the Lord has decreed a blessing,
life for evermore!(L)
Psalm 140[a]
Prayer for Deliverance from the Wicked
1 For the leader. A psalm of David.
I
2 Deliver me, Lord, from the wicked;
preserve me from the violent,(A)
3 From those who plan evil in their hearts,
who stir up conflicts every day,
4 [b]Who sharpen their tongue like a serpent,
venom of asps upon their lips.(B)
Selah
II
5 Keep me, Lord, from the clutches of the wicked;
preserve me from the violent,
who plot to trip me up.(C)
6 [c]The arrogant have set a trap for me;
they have spread out ropes for a net,
laid snares for me by the wayside.
Selah
7 I say to the Lord: You are my God;(D)
listen, Lord, to the words of my pleas.
8 Lord, my master, my strong deliverer,
you cover my head on the day of armed conflict.
9 Lord, do not grant the desires of the wicked one;
do not let his plot succeed.
Selah
III
10 Those who surround me raise their heads;
may the mischief they threaten overwhelm them.
11 Drop burning coals upon them;(E)
cast them into the watery pit never more to rise.
12 Slanderers will not survive on earth;
evil will hunt down the man of violence to overthrow him.
13 For I know the Lord will take up the cause of the needy,
justice for the poor.
14 Then the righteous will give thanks to your name;
the upright will dwell in your presence.(F)
Psalm 142[a]
A Prayer in Time of Trouble
1 A maskil of David, when he was in the cave.[b] A prayer.
2 With my own voice I cry to the Lord;
with my own voice I beseech the Lord.
3 Before him I pour out my complaint,
tell of my distress in front of him.
4 When my spirit is faint within me,(A)
you know my path.(B)
As I go along this path,
they have hidden a trap for me.(C)
5 I look to my right hand to see(D)
that there is no one willing to acknowledge me.
My escape has perished;
no one cares for me.
6 I cry out to you, Lord,
I say, You are my refuge,(E)
my portion in the land of the living.(F)
7 Listen to my cry for help,
for I am brought very low.(G)
Rescue me from my pursuers,
for they are too strong for me.
8 Lead my soul from prison,
that I may give thanks to your name.
Then the righteous shall gather around me[c]
because you have been good to me.
IV. The Temple Sermon
Chapter 26
Jeremiah Threatened with Death. 1 In the beginning of the reign[a] of Jehoiakim, son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came from the Lord: 2 Thus says the Lord: Stand in the court of the house of the Lord and speak to the inhabitants of all the cities of Judah who come to worship in the house of the Lord; whatever I command you, tell them, and hold nothing back.(A) 3 Perhaps they will listen and turn, all of them from their evil way, so that I may repent of the evil I plan to inflict upon them for their evil deeds.(B) 4 Say to them: Thus says the Lord: If you do not obey me, by walking according to the law I set before you 5 and listening to the words of my servants the prophets, whom I kept sending you, even though you do not listen to them,(C) 6 I will treat this house like Shiloh, and make this city a curse for all the nations of the earth.(D)
7 Now the priests, the prophets, and all the people heard Jeremiah speaking these words in the house of the Lord. 8 When Jeremiah finished speaking all that the Lord commanded him to speak to all the people, then the priests, the prophets, and all the people laid hold of him, crying, “You must die! 9 Why do you prophesy in the name of the Lord: ‘This house shall become like Shiloh,’ and ‘This city shall be desolate, without inhabitant’?” And all the people crowded around Jeremiah in the house of the Lord.
10 When the princes of Judah heard about these things, they came up from the house of the king to the house of the Lord and convened at the New Gate of the house of the Lord. 11 The priests and prophets said to the princes and to all the people, “Sentence this man to death! He has prophesied against this city! You heard it with your own ears.”(E) 12 Jeremiah said to the princes and all the people: “It was the Lord who sent me to prophesy against this house and city everything you have heard. 13 Now, therefore, reform your ways and your deeds; listen to the voice of the Lord your God, so that the Lord will have a change of heart regarding the evil he has spoken against you.(F) 14 As for me, I am in your hands; do with me what is good and right in your eyes. 15 But you should certainly know that by putting me to death, you bring innocent blood on yourselves, on this city and its inhabitants. For in truth it was the Lord who sent me to you, to speak all these words for you to hear.”
16 Then the princes and all the people said to the priests and the prophets, “This man does not deserve a death sentence; it is in the name of the Lord, our God, that he speaks to us.”
Chapter 11
The Remnant of Israel.[a] 1 I ask, then, has God rejected his people? Of course not!(A) For I too am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin.(B) 2 God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew. Do you not know what the scripture says about Elijah, how he pleads with God against Israel? 3 “Lord, they have killed your prophets, they have torn down your altars, and I alone am left, and they are seeking my life.”(C) 4 But what is God’s response to him? “I have left for myself seven thousand men who have not knelt to Baal.”(D) 5 So also at the present time there is a remnant, chosen by grace.(E) 6 But if by grace, it is no longer because of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace.(F) 7 What then? What Israel was seeking it did not attain, but the elect attained it; the rest were hardened,(G) 8 as it is written:
“God gave them a spirit of deep sleep,
eyes that should not see
and ears that should not hear,
down to this very day.”(H)
9 And David says:(I)
“Let their table become a snare and a trap,
a stumbling block and a retribution for them;
10 let their eyes grow dim so that they may not see,
and keep their backs bent forever.”
The Gentiles’ Salvation. 11 [b]Hence I ask, did they stumble so as to fall? Of course not! But through their transgression salvation has come to the Gentiles, so as to make them jealous.(J) 12 Now if their transgression is enrichment for the world, and if their diminished number is enrichment for the Gentiles, how much more their full number.
19 Again there was a division among the Jews because of these words.(A) 20 Many of them said, “He is possessed and out of his mind; why listen to him?”(B) 21 Others said, “These are not the words of one possessed; surely a demon cannot open the eyes of the blind, can he?”(C)
Feast of the Dedication. 22 The feast of the Dedication[a] was then taking place in Jerusalem. It was winter.(D) 23 [b]And Jesus walked about in the temple area on the Portico of Solomon. 24 So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, “How long are you going to keep us in suspense?[c] If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.”(E) 25 Jesus answered them, “I told you[d] and you do not believe. The works I do in my Father’s name testify to me.(F) 26 But you do not believe, because you are not among my sheep.(G) 27 My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish. No one can take them out of my hand.(H) 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all,[e] and no one can take them out of the Father’s hand.(I) 30 [f]The Father and I are one.”(J)
31 The Jews again picked up rocks to stone him.(K) 32 Jesus answered them, “I have shown you many good works from my Father. For which of these are you trying to stone me?” 33 The Jews answered him, “We are not stoning you for a good work but for blasphemy. You, a man, are making yourself God.”(L) 34 [g]Jesus answered them,(M) “Is it not written in your law, ‘I said, “You are gods”’? 35 If it calls them gods to whom the word of God came, and scripture cannot be set aside, 36 can you say that the one whom the Father has consecrated[h] and sent into the world blasphemes because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’?(N) 37 If I do not perform my Father’s works, do not believe me; 38 but if I perform them, even if you do not believe me, believe the works, so that you may realize [and understand] that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.”(O) 39 [Then] they tried again to arrest him; but he escaped from their power.
40 He went back across the Jordan to the place where John first baptized, and there he remained.(P) 41 Many came to him and said, “John performed no sign,[i] but everything John said about this man was true.” 42 And many there began to believe in him.(Q)
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.