Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 120
A Cry for Truth and Peace
A song of ascents.
1 In my distress I called to the Lord,
and He answered me.(A)
2 “Lord, deliver me from lying lips
and a deceitful tongue.”(B)
3 What will He give you,
and what will He do to you,
you deceitful tongue?(C)
4 A warrior’s sharp arrows
with burning charcoal
5 What misery that I have stayed in Meshech,[b](E)
that I have lived among the tents of Kedar
6 I have lived too long
with those who hate peace.(G)
7 I am for peace; but when I speak,
they are for war.(H)
Psalm 121
The Lord Our Protector
A song of ascents.
1 I lift my eyes toward the mountains.
Where will my help come from?(I)
2 My help comes from the Lord,
the Maker of heaven and earth.(J)
3 He will not allow your foot to slip;
your Protector will not slumber.(K)
4 Indeed, the Protector of Israel
does not slumber or sleep.(L)
5 The Lord protects you;
the Lord is a shelter right by your side.[d](M)
6 The sun will not strike you by day
or the moon by night.(N)
7 The Lord will protect you from all harm;
He will protect your life.(O)
8 The Lord will protect your coming and going
both now and forever.(P)
Psalm 122
A Prayer for Jerusalem
A Davidic song of ascents.
1 I rejoiced with those who said to me,
“Let us go to the house of the Lord.”(Q)
2 Our feet are standing
within your gates, Jerusalem(R)—
3 Jerusalem, built as a city should be,
solidly joined together,(S)
4 where the tribes, Yahweh’s tribes, go up
to give thanks to the name of Yahweh.(T)
(This is an ordinance for Israel.(U))
5 There, thrones for judgment are placed,
thrones of the house of David.(V)
6 Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:
“May those who love you prosper;(W)
7 may there be peace within your walls,
prosperity within your fortresses.”(X)
8 Because of my brothers and friends,
I will say, “Peace be with you.”(Y)
9 Because of the house of the Lord our God,
I will seek your good.(Z)
Psalm 123
Looking for God’s Favor
A song of ascents.
1 I lift my eyes to You,
the One enthroned in heaven.(AA)
2 Like a servant’s eyes on his master’s hand,
like a servant girl’s eyes on her mistress’s hand,
so our eyes are on the Lord our God
until He shows us favor.(AB)
3 Show us favor, Lord, show us favor,
for we’ve had more than enough contempt.(AC)
4 We’ve had more than enough
scorn from the arrogant
and contempt from the proud.(AD)
Psalm 124
The Lord Is on Our Side
A Davidic song of ascents.
1 If the Lord had not been on our side—
let Israel say—
2 If the Lord had not been on our side(AE)
when men attacked us,(AF)
3 then they would have swallowed us alive
in their burning anger against us.(AG)
4 Then the waters would have engulfed us;
the torrent would have swept over us;
5 the raging waters would have swept over us.(AH)
6 Praise the Lord,
who has not let us be ripped apart by their teeth.(AI)
7 We have escaped like a bird from the hunter’s net;
the net is torn, and we have escaped.(AJ)
8 Our help is in the name of Yahweh,
the Maker of heaven and earth.(AK)
Psalm 125
Israel’s Stability
A song of ascents.
1 Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion.
It cannot be shaken; it remains forever.(AL)
2 Jerusalem—the mountains surround her.
And the Lord surrounds His people,
both now and forever.(AM)
3 The scepter of the wicked will not remain
over the land allotted to the righteous,
so that the righteous will not apply their hands to injustice.(AN)
4 Do what is good, Lord, to the good,
to those whose hearts are upright.(AO)
5 But as for those who turn aside to crooked ways,
the Lord will banish them with the evildoers.(AP)
Peace be with Israel.(AQ)
Psalm 126
Zion’s Restoration
A song of ascents.
1 When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion,[e]
we were like those who dream.(AR)
2 Our mouths were filled with laughter then,(AS)
and our tongues with shouts of joy.(AT)
Then they said among the nations,
“The Lord has done great things for them.”(AU)
3 The Lord had done great things for us;
we were joyful.(AV)
4 Restore our fortunes,[f] Lord,
like watercourses in the Negev.(AW)
5 Those who sow in tears
will reap with shouts of joy.(AX)
6 Though one goes along weeping,
carrying the bag of seed,
he will surely come back with shouts of joy,
carrying his sheaves.(AY)
Psalm 127
The Blessing of the Lord
A Solomonic song of ascents.
21 When he got up in the morning, Balaam saddled his donkey and went with the officials of Moab.
Balaam’s Donkey and the Angel
22 But God was incensed that Balaam was going, and the Angel of the Lord took His stand on the path to oppose him. Balaam was riding his donkey, and his two servants were with him. 23 When the donkey saw the Angel of the Lord standing on the path with a drawn sword in His hand, she turned off the path and went into the field. So Balaam hit her to return her to the path. 24 Then the Angel of the Lord stood in a narrow passage between the vineyards, with a stone wall on either side. 25 The donkey saw the Angel of the Lord and pressed herself against the wall, squeezing Balaam’s foot against it. So he hit her once again. 26 The Angel of the Lord went ahead and stood in a narrow place where there was no room to turn to the right or the left. 27 When the donkey saw the Angel of the Lord, she crouched down under Balaam. So he became furious and beat the donkey with his stick.
28 Then the Lord opened the donkey’s mouth, and she asked Balaam, “What have I done to you that you have beaten me these three times?”(A)
29 Balaam answered the donkey, “You made me look like a fool. If I had a sword in my hand, I’d kill you now!”
30 But the donkey said, “Am I not the donkey you’ve ridden all your life until today? Have I ever treated you this way before?”
“No,” he replied.
31 Then the Lord opened Balaam’s eyes, and he saw the Angel of the Lord standing in the path with a drawn sword in His hand. Balaam knelt and bowed with his face to the ground. 32 The Angel of the Lord asked him, “Why have you beaten your donkey these three times? Look, I came out to oppose you, because what you are doing is evil in My sight. 33 The donkey saw Me and turned away from Me these three times. If she had not turned away from Me, I would have killed you by now and let her live.”
34 Balaam said to the Angel of the Lord, “I have sinned, for I did not know that You were standing in the path to confront me. And now, if it is evil in Your sight, I will go back.”
35 Then the Angel of the Lord said to Balaam, “Go with the men, but you are to say only what I tell you.” So Balaam went with Balak’s officials.
36 When Balak heard that Balaam was coming, he went out to meet him at the Moabite city[a] on the Arnon border at the edge of his territory. 37 Balak asked Balaam, “Did I not send you an urgent summons? Why didn’t you come to me? Am I really not able to reward you?”
38 Balaam said to him, “Look, I have come to you, but can I say anything I want? I must speak only the message God puts in my mouth.”
An Illustration from Marriage
7 Since I am speaking to those who understand law, brothers,(A) are you unaware that the law has authority over someone as long as he lives? 2 For example, a married woman is legally bound to her husband while he lives.(B) But if her husband dies, she is released from the law regarding the husband. 3 So then, if she gives herself to another man while her husband is living, she will be called an adulteress. But if her husband dies, she is free from that law. Then, if she gives herself to another man, she is not an adulteress.
4 Therefore, my brothers, you also were put to death(C) in relation to the law(D) through the crucified body of the Messiah,(E) so that you may belong to another—to Him who was raised from the dead—that we may bear fruit for God. 5 For when we were in the flesh,[a](F) the sinful passions operated through the law in every part of us[b](G) and bore fruit for death. 6 But now we have been released from the law, since we have died to what held us, so that we may serve in the new way[c] of the Spirit(H) and not in the old letter of the law.
Sin’s Use of the Law
7 What should we say then?(I) Is the law sin? Absolutely not!(J) On the contrary, I would not have known sin if it were not for the law.(K) For example, I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, Do not covet.(L)[d] 8 And sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment,(M) produced in me coveting of every kind. For apart from the law sin is dead.(N) 9 Once I was alive apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin sprang to life 10 and I died. The commandment that was meant for life(O) resulted in death for me. 11 For sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me,(P) and through it killed me. 12 So then, the law is holy,(Q) and the commandment is holy and just and good.
Messiah’s Authority Challenged
23 When He entered the temple complex,(A) the chief priests and the elders of the people came up to Him as He was teaching and said, “By what authority are You doing these things? Who gave You this authority?”(B)
24 Jesus answered them, “I will also ask you one question, and if you answer it for Me, then I will tell you by what authority I do these things. 25 Where did John’s baptism come from? From heaven or from men?”
They began to argue among themselves, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say to us, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’(C) 26 But if we say, ‘From men,’ we’re afraid of the crowd,(D) because everyone thought John was a prophet.”(E) 27 So they answered Jesus, “We don’t know.”
And He said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.
The Parable of the Two Sons
28 “But what do you think? A man had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘My son, go, work in the vineyard today.’(F)
29 “He answered, ‘I don’t want to!’ Yet later he changed his mind and went. 30 Then the man went to the other and said the same thing.
“‘I will, sir,’ he answered. But he didn’t go.
31 “Which of the two did his father’s will?”
“The first,” they said.
Jesus said to them, “I assure you: Tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God before you! 32 For John came to you in the way of righteousness,(G) and you didn’t believe him. Tax collectors and prostitutes did believe him, but you, when you saw it, didn’t even change your minds then and believe him.
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