Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 131
A Childlike Spirit
A song of ascents. Of David.
1 Lord, my heart is not proud;
my eyes are not haughty.(A)
I do not get involved with things
too great or too wondrous for me.(B)
2 Instead, I have calmed and quieted my soul
like a weaned child with its mother;
my soul is like a weaned child.(C)
3 Israel, put your hope in the Lord,
both now and forever.(D)
Psalm 132
David and Zion Chosen
A song of ascents.
1 Lord, remember David
and all the hardships he endured,(E)
2 and how he swore an oath to the Lord,
making a vow to the Mighty One of Jacob:(F)
3 “I will not enter my house
or get into my bed,
4 I will not allow my eyes to sleep
or my eyelids to slumber(G)
5 until I find a place for the Lord,
a dwelling for the Mighty One of Jacob.”(H)
6 We heard of the ark in Ephrathah;[a](I)
we found it in the fields of Jaar.[b](J)
7 Let’s go to his dwelling place;
let’s worship at his footstool.(K)
8 Rise up, Lord, come to your resting place,
you and your powerful ark.(L)
9 May your priests be clothed with righteousness,
and may your faithful people shout for joy.(M)
10 For the sake of your servant David,
do not reject your anointed one.[c](N)
11 The Lord swore an oath to David,
a promise he will not abandon:
“I will set one of your offspring[d]
on your throne.(O)
12 If your sons keep my covenant
and my decrees that I will teach them,
their sons will also sit on your throne forever.”(P)
13 For the Lord has chosen Zion;
he has desired it for his home:(Q)
14 “This is my resting place forever;
I will make my home here
because I have desired it.(R)
15 I will abundantly bless its food;
I will satisfy its needy with bread.(S)
16 I will clothe its priests with salvation,
and its faithful people will shout for joy.(T)
17 There I will make a horn grow for David;(U)
I have prepared a lamp[e] for my anointed one.(V)
18 I will clothe his enemies with shame,(W)
but the crown he wears[f] will be glorious.”(X)
Psalm 133
Living in Harmony
A song of ascents. Of David.
1 How delightfully good
when brothers live together in harmony!(Y)
2 It is like fine oil on the head,
running down on the beard,
running down Aaron’s beard
onto his robes.(Z)
3 It is like the dew of Hermon[g]
falling on the mountains of Zion.(AA)
For there the Lord has appointed the blessing—
life forevermore.(AB)
Psalm 140
Prayer for Rescue
For the choir director. A psalm of David.
1 Rescue me, Lord, from evil men.
Keep me safe from violent men(A)
2 who plan evil in their hearts.
They stir up wars all day long.(B)
3 They make their tongues
as sharp as a snake’s bite;
viper’s venom is under their lips.(C)Selah
4 Protect me, Lord,
from the power of the wicked.(D)
Keep me safe from violent men
who plan to make me stumble.[a](E)
5 The proud hide a trap with ropes for me;
they spread a net along the path
and set snares for me.(F)Selah
6 I say to the Lord, “You are my God.”
Listen, Lord, to my cry for help.(G)
7 Lord, my Lord, my strong Savior,
you shield my head on the day of battle.(H)
8 Lord, do not grant the desires of the wicked;
do not let them achieve their goals.
Otherwise, they will become proud.(I)Selah
Psalm 142
A Cry of Distress
A Maskil of David. When he was in the cave.(A) A prayer.
1 I cry aloud to the Lord;(B)
I plead aloud to the Lord for mercy.(C)
2 I pour out my complaint before him;
I reveal my trouble to him.(D)
3 Although my spirit is weak within me,
you know my way.(E)
Along this path I travel
they have hidden a trap for me.(F)
4 Look to the right and see:[a]
no one stands up for me;
there is no refuge for me;
no one cares about me.(G)
5 I cry to you, Lord;
I say, “You are my shelter,
my portion in the land of the living.”(H)
6 Listen to my cry,
for I am very weak.(I)
Rescue me from those who pursue me,
for they are too strong for me.(J)
7 Free me from prison
so that I can praise your name.
The righteous will gather around me
because you deal generously with me.(K)
25 Seven days passed after the Lord struck the Nile.
The Second Plague: Frogs
8 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go in to Pharaoh and tell him: This is what the Lord says: Let my people go, so that they may worship me.(A) 2 But if you refuse to let them go, then I will plague all your territory with frogs.(B) 3 The Nile will swarm with frogs; they will come up and go into your palace, into your bedroom and on your bed, into the houses of your officials and your people, and into your ovens and kneading bowls. 4 The frogs will come up on you, your people, and all your officials.”
5 The Lord then said to Moses, “Tell Aaron: Stretch out your hand with your staff over the rivers, canals, and ponds, and cause the frogs to come up onto the land of Egypt.”(C) 6 When Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt, the frogs(D) came up and covered the land of Egypt. 7 But the magicians did the same thing by their occult practices and brought frogs up onto the land of Egypt.
8 Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, “Appeal(E) to the Lord to remove the frogs from me and my people. Then I will let the people go and they can sacrifice to the Lord.”
9 Moses said to Pharaoh, “You may have the honor of choosing. When should I appeal on behalf of you, your officials, and your people, that the frogs be taken away from you and your houses, and remain only in the Nile?”
10 “Tomorrow,” he answered.
Moses replied, “As you have said, so that you may know there is no one like the Lord our God,(F) 11 the frogs will go away from you, your houses, your officials, and your people. The frogs will remain only in the Nile.” 12 After Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh, Moses cried out to the Lord for help concerning the frogs that he had brought against Pharaoh. 13 The Lord did as Moses had said: the frogs in the houses, courtyards, and fields died. 14 They piled them in countless heaps, and there was a terrible odor in the land. 15 But when Pharaoh saw there was relief, he hardened his heart(G) and would not listen to them, as the Lord had said.
The Third Plague: Gnats
16 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron: Stretch out your staff and strike the dust of the land, and it will become gnats[a] throughout the land of Egypt.” 17 And they did this. Aaron stretched out his hand with his staff, and when he struck the dust of the land, gnats were on people and animals. All the dust of the land became gnats throughout the land of Egypt. 18 The magicians tried to produce gnats using their occult practices, but they could not. The gnats remained on people and animals.(H)
19 “This is the finger of God,”(I) the magicians said to Pharaoh. But Pharaoh’s heart was hard, and he would not listen to them, as the Lord had said.
New Covenant Ministry
7 Now if the ministry that brought death, chiseled in letters on stones, came with glory,(A) so that the Israelites were not able to gaze steadily at Moses’s face because of its glory, which was set aside, 8 how will the ministry of the Spirit not be more glorious? 9 For if the ministry that brought condemnation had glory, the ministry that brings righteousness overflows with even more glory. 10 In fact, what had been glorious is not glorious now by comparison because of the glory that surpasses it. 11 For if what was set aside(B) was glorious, what endures will be even more glorious.
12 Since, then, we have such a hope,(C) we act with great boldness. 13 We are not like Moses, who used to put a veil over his face(D) to prevent the Israelites from gazing steadily until the end[a] of the glory of what was being set aside, 14 but their minds were hardened.(E) For to this day, at the reading of the old covenant,(F) the same veil remains; it is not lifted, because it is set aside only in Christ.(G) 15 Yet still today, whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their hearts, 16 but whenever a person turns(H) to the Lord, the veil is removed.(I) 17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18 We all, with unveiled faces, are looking as in a mirror at[b](J) the glory of the Lord(K) and are being transformed(L) into the same image(M) from glory to glory; this is from the Lord who is the Spirit.[c]
The Rich Young Ruler
17 As(A) he was setting out on a journey,(B) a man ran up, knelt down(C) before him, and asked him, “Good(D) teacher,(E) what must I do to inherit(F) eternal life?” (G)
18 “Why do you call me good?” Jesus asked him. “No one is good except God alone.(H) 19 You know the commandments: Do not murder;(I) do not commit adultery;(J) do not steal;(K) do not bear false witness;(L) do not defraud;(M) honor(N) your father and mother.”[a](O)
20 He said to him, “Teacher,(P) I have kept all these from my youth.”
21 Looking at him, Jesus loved him(Q) and said to him, “You lack one thing: Go, sell all you have and give to the poor,(R) and you will have treasure(S) in heaven.(T) Then come,[b] follow me.”(U) 22 But he was dismayed by this demand, and he went away grieving,(V) because he had many possessions.(W)
Possessions and the Kingdom
23 Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for those who have wealth(X) to enter the kingdom of God!”(Y)
24 The disciples were astonished at his words. Again Jesus said to them, “Children,(Z) how hard it is[c] to enter the kingdom of God! 25 It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich(AA) person to enter the kingdom of God.”
26 They were even more astonished, saying to one another, “Then who can be saved?” (AB)
27 Looking at them, Jesus said, “With man it is impossible,(AC) but not with God, because all things are possible with God.”
28 Peter(AD) began to tell him, “Look, we have left everything and followed you.”
29 “Truly I tell you,”(AE) Jesus said, “there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father[d] or children or fields for my sake and for the sake of the gospel,(AF) 30 who will not receive a hundred times(AG) more, now at this time(AH) —houses, brothers and sisters, mothers and children, and fields, with persecutions(AI) —and eternal life(AJ) in the age to come.(AK) 31 But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”(AL)
The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.