Book of Common Prayer
131 Lord, I am not proud and haughty. I don’t think myself better than others. I don’t pretend to “know it all.” 2 I am quiet now before the Lord, just as a child who is weaned from the breast. Yes, my begging has been stilled.
3 O Israel, you too should quietly trust in the Lord—now, and always.
132 Lord, do you remember that time when my heart[a] was so filled with turmoil? 2-5 I couldn’t rest, I couldn’t sleep, thinking how I ought to build a permanent home for the Ark of the Lord,[b] a Temple for the Mighty One of Israel. Then I vowed that I would do it; I made a solemn promise to the Lord.
6 First the Ark was in Ephrathah,[c] then in the distant countryside of Jaar. 7 But now it will be settled in the Temple, in God’s permanent home here on earth. That is where we will go to worship him.[d] 8 Arise, O Lord, and enter your Temple with the Ark, the symbol of your power.
9 We will clothe the priests in white, the symbol of all purity. May our nation shout for joy.
10 Do not reject your servant David—the king you chose for your people. 11 For you promised me that my son would sit on my throne and succeed me. And surely you will never go back on a promise! 12 You also promised that if my descendants will obey the terms of your contract with me, then the dynasty of David shall never end.
13 O Lord, you have chosen Jerusalem[e] as your home: 14 “This is my permanent home where I shall live,” you said, “for I have always wanted it this way. 15 I will make this city prosperous and satisfy her poor with food. 16 I will clothe her priests with salvation; her saints shall shout for joy. 17 David’s power shall grow, for I have decreed for him a mighty Son.[f] 18 I’ll clothe his enemies with shame, but he shall be a glorious King.”
133 How wonderful it is, how pleasant, when brothers live in harmony! 2 For harmony is as precious as the fragrant anointing oil that was poured over Aaron’s head and ran down onto his beard and onto the border of his robe. 3 Harmony is as refreshing as the dew on Mount Hermon, on the mountains of Israel. And God has pronounced this eternal blessing on Jerusalem,[g] even life forevermore.
134 Oh, bless the Lord, you who serve him as watchmen in the Temple every night. 2 Lift your hands in holiness and bless the Lord.
3 The Lord bless you from Zion—the Lord who made heaven and earth.
135 Hallelujah! 2 Yes, let his people praise him as they stand in his Temple courts. 3 Praise the Lord because he is so good; sing to his wonderful name. 4 For the Lord has chosen Israel as his personal possession.
5 I know the greatness of the Lord—that he is greater far than any other god. 6 He does whatever pleases him throughout all of heaven and earth and in the deepest seas. 7 He makes mists rise throughout the earth; he sends the lightning to bring down the rain and sends the winds from his treasuries. 8 He destroyed the eldest child in each Egyptian home, along with the firstborn of the flocks. 9 He did great miracles in Egypt before Pharaoh and all his people. 10 He smote great nations, slaying mighty kings— 11 Sihon, king of Amorites; and Og, the king of Bashan; and the kings of Canaan— 12 and gave their land as an eternal gift to his people Israel.
13 O Jehovah, your name endures forever; your fame is known to every generation. 14 For Jehovah will vindicate his people and have compassion on his servants.
15 The heathen worship idols of gold and silver made by men— 16 idols with speechless mouths, sightless eyes, 17 and ears that cannot hear; they cannot even breathe. 18 Those who make them become like them! And so do all who trust in them!
19 O Israel, bless Jehovah! High Priests of Aaron, bless his name. 20 O Levite priests, bless the Lord Jehovah! Oh, bless his name, all of you who trust and reverence him. 21 All people of Jerusalem, praise the Lord,[h] for he lives here in Jerusalem. Hallelujah!
5 The Philistines recruited a mighty army of three thousand chariots, six thousand horsemen, and so many soldiers that they were as thick as sand along the seashore; and they camped at Michmash east of Beth-aven.
6 When the men of Israel saw the vast mass of enemy troops, they lost their nerve entirely and tried to hide in caves, thickets, coverts, among the rocks, and even in tombs and cisterns. 7 Some of them crossed the Jordan River and escaped to the land of Gad and Gilead. Meanwhile, Saul stayed at Gilgal, and those who were with him trembled with fear at what awaited them. 8 Samuel had told Saul earlier to wait seven days for his arrival, but when he still didn’t come, and Saul’s troops were rapidly slipping away, 9 he decided to sacrifice the burnt offering and the peace offerings himself. 10 But just as he was finishing, Samuel arrived. Saul went out to meet him and to receive his blessing, 11 but Samuel said, “What is this you have done?”
“Well,” Saul replied, “when I saw that my men were scattering from me, and that you hadn’t arrived by the time you said you would, and that the Philistines were at Michmash, ready for battle, 12 I said, ‘The Philistines are ready to march against us and I haven’t even asked for the Lord’s help!’ So I reluctantly offered the burnt offering without waiting for you to arrive.”
13 “You fool!” Samuel exclaimed. “You have disobeyed the commandment of the Lord your God. He was planning to make you and your descendants kings of Israel forever, 14 but now your dynasty must end; for the Lord wants a man who will obey him. And he has discovered the man he wants and has already appointed him as king over his people; for you have not obeyed the Lord’s commandment.”
15 Samuel then left Gilgal and went to Gibeah in the land of Benjamin.
When Saul counted the soldiers who were still with him, he found only six hundred left! 16 Saul and Jonathan and these six hundred men set up their camp in Geba in the land of Benjamin; but the Philistines stayed at Michmash. 17 Three companies of raiders soon left the camp of the Philistines; one went toward Ophrah in the land of Shual, 18 another went to Beth-horon, and the third moved toward the border above the valley of Zeboim near the desert.
26 But as for Philip, an angel of the Lord said to him, “Go over to the road that runs from Jerusalem through the Gaza Desert, arriving around noon.” 27 So he did, and who should be coming down the road but the Treasurer of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under Candace the queen. He had gone to Jerusalem to worship 28 and was now returning in his chariot, reading aloud from the book of the prophet Isaiah.
29 The Holy Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and walk along beside the chariot.”
30 Philip ran over and heard what he was reading and asked, “Do you understand it?”
31 “Of course not!” the man replied. “How can I when there is no one to instruct me?” And he begged Philip to come up into the chariot and sit with him.
32 The passage of Scripture he had been reading from was this:
“He was led as a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb is silent before the shearers, so he opened not his mouth; 33 in his humiliation, justice was denied him; and who can express the wickedness of the people of his generation?[a] For his life is taken from the earth.”
34 The eunuch asked Philip, “Was Isaiah talking about himself or someone else?”
35 So Philip began with this same Scripture and then used many others to tell him about Jesus.
36 As they rode along, they came to a small body of water, and the eunuch said, “Look! Water! Why can’t I be baptized?”
37 [b]“You can,” Philip answered, “if you believe with all your heart.”
And the eunuch replied, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”
38 He stopped the chariot, and they went down into the water and Philip baptized him. 39 And when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, and the eunuch never saw him again, but went on his way rejoicing. 40 Meanwhile, Philip found himself at Azotus! He preached the Good News there and in every city along the way, as he traveled to Caesarea.
13 Then Pilate called together the chief priests and other Jewish leaders, along with the people, 14 and announced his verdict:
“You brought this man to me, accusing him of leading a revolt against the Roman government.[a] I have examined him thoroughly on this point and find him innocent. 15 Herod came to the same conclusion and sent him back to us—nothing this man has done calls for the death penalty. 16 I will therefore have him scourged with leaded thongs and release him.”
17-18 [b]But now a mighty roar rose from the crowd as with one voice they shouted. “Kill him, and release Barabbas to us!” 19 (Barabbas was in prison for starting an insurrection in Jerusalem against the government, and for murder.) 20 Pilate argued with them, for he wanted to release Jesus. 21 But they shouted, “Crucify him! Crucify him!”
22 Once more, for the third time, he demanded, “Why? What crime has he committed? I have found no reason to sentence him to death. I will therefore scourge him and let him go.” 23 But they shouted louder and louder for Jesus’ death, and their voices prevailed.
24 So Pilate sentenced Jesus to die as they demanded. 25 And he released Barabbas, the man in prison for insurrection and murder, at their request. But he delivered Jesus over to them to do with as they would.
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.