Book of Common Prayer
Prayer for deliverance from the treacherous.
A Song of Ascents.
120 In my distress I cried unto Jehovah,
And he answered me.
2 Deliver my soul, O Jehovah, from lying lips,
And from a deceitful tongue.
3 What shall be given unto thee, and what shall be done more unto thee,
Thou deceitful tongue?
4 [a]Sharp arrows of the mighty,
With coals of [b]juniper.
5 Woe is me, that I sojourn in Meshech,
That I dwell among the tents of Kedar!
6 My soul hath long had her dwelling
With him that hateth peace.
7 I am for peace:
But when I speak, they are for war.
Jehovah the keeper of his people.
A Song of Ascents.
121 I will lift up mine eyes unto the mountains:
From whence shall my help come?
2 My help cometh from Jehovah,
Who made heaven and earth.
3 [c]He will not suffer thy foot to be moved:
He that keepeth thee will not slumber.
4 Behold, he that keepeth Israel
Will neither slumber nor sleep.
5 Jehovah is thy keeper:
Jehovah is thy shade upon thy right hand.
6 The sun shall not smite thee by day,
Nor the moon by night.
7 Jehovah will keep thee from all evil;
He will keep thy soul.
8 Jehovah will keep thy going out and thy coming in
From this time forth and for evermore.
Prayer for the peace of Jerusalem.
A Song of Ascents; of David.
122 I was glad when they said unto me,
Let us go unto the house of Jehovah.
2 Our feet [d]are standing
Within thy gates, O Jerusalem,
3 Jerusalem, that art builded
As a city that is compact together;
4 Whither the tribes go up, even the tribes of [e]Jehovah,
For [f]an ordinance for Israel,
To give thanks unto the name of Jehovah.
5 For there [g]are set thrones for judgment,
The thrones of the house of David.
6 [h]Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:
[i]They shall prosper that love thee.
7 Peace be within thy walls,
And prosperity within thy palaces.
8 For my brethren and companions’ sakes,
I will now [j]say, Peace be within thee.
9 For the sake of the house of Jehovah our God
I will seek thy good.
An expectant prayer for Jehovah’s help.
A Song of Ascents.
123 Unto thee do I lift up mine eyes,
O thou that sittest in the heavens.
2 Behold, as the eyes of servants look unto the hand of their master,
As the eyes of a maid unto the hand of her mistress;
So our eyes look unto Jehovah our God,
Until he have mercy upon us.
3 Have mercy upon us, O Jehovah, have mercy upon us;
For we are exceedingly filled with contempt.
4 Our soul is exceedingly filled
With the scoffing of those that are at ease,
And with the contempt of the proud.
Praise for rescue from enemies.
A Song of Ascents; of David.
124 If it had not been Jehovah who was on our side,
Let Israel now say,
2 If it had not been Jehovah who was on our side,
When men rose up against us;
3 Then they had swallowed us up alive,
When their wrath was kindled against us:
4 Then the waters had overwhelmed us,
The stream had gone over our soul;
5 Then the proud waters had gone over our soul.
6 Blessed be Jehovah,
Who hath not given us as a prey to their teeth.
7 Our soul is escaped as a bird out of the snare of the fowlers:
The snare is broken, and we are escaped.
8 Our help is in the name of Jehovah,
Who made heaven and earth.
Jehovah round about his people.
A Song of Ascents.
125 They that trust in Jehovah
Are as mount Zion, which cannot be moved, but abideth for ever.
2 As the mountains are round about Jerusalem,
So Jehovah is round about his people
From this time forth and for evermore.
3 For the sceptre of wickedness shall not rest upon the lot of the righteous;
That the righteous put not forth their hands unto iniquity.
4 Do good, O Jehovah, unto those that are good,
And to them that are upright in their hearts.
5 But as for such as turn aside unto their crooked ways,
Jehovah will lead them forth with the workers of iniquity.
Peace be upon Israel.
Thanksgiving for return from captivity.
A Song of Ascents.
126 When Jehovah brought back those that returned to Zion,
We were like unto them that dream.
2 Then was our mouth filled with laughter,
And our tongue with singing:
Then said they among the nations,
Jehovah hath done great things for them.
3 Jehovah hath done great things for us,
Whereof we are glad.
4 Turn again our captivity, O Jehovah,
As the streams in the South.
5 They that sow in tears shall reap in joy.
6 He that goeth forth and weepeth, [k]bearing seed for sowing,
Shall doubtless come again with joy, bringing his sheaves with him.
Prosperity comes from Jehovah.
A Song of Ascents; of Solomon.
127 Except Jehovah build the house,
They labor in vain that build it:
Except Jehovah keep the city,
The watchman waketh but in vain.
2 It is vain for you to rise up early,
To take rest late,
To eat the bread of toil;
For so he giveth unto his beloved [l]sleep.
3 Lo, children are a heritage of Jehovah;
And the fruit of the womb is his reward.
4 As arrows in the hand of a mighty man,
So are the children of youth.
5 Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them:
They shall not be put to shame,
When they speak with their enemies in the gate.
15 And she said, Behold, thy sister-in-law is gone back unto her people, and unto her god: return thou after thy sister-in-law. 16 And Ruth said, Entreat me not to leave thee, and to return from following after thee, for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge; thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God; 17 where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried: Jehovah do so to me, and more also, if aught but death part thee and me. 18 And when she saw that she was stedfastly minded to go with her, she left off speaking unto her.
19 So they two went until they came to Beth-lehem. And it came to pass, when they were come to Beth-lehem, that all the city was moved about them, and the women said, Is this Naomi? 20 And she said unto them, Call me not [a]Naomi, call me [b]Mara; for the Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me. 21 I went out full, and Jehovah hath brought me home again empty; why call ye me Naomi, seeing Jehovah hath testified against me, and the Almighty hath afflicted me? 22 So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabitess, her daughter-in-law, with her, who returned out of the country of Moab: and they came to Beth-lehem in the beginning of barley harvest.
12 For our glorying is this, the testimony of our conscience, that in holiness and sincerity of God, not in fleshly wisdom but in the grace of God, we behaved ourselves in the world, and more abundantly to you-ward. 13 For we write no other things unto you, than what ye read or even acknowledge, and I hope ye will acknowledge unto the end: 14 as also ye did acknowledge us in part, that we are your glorying, even as ye also are ours, in the day of our Lord Jesus.
15 And in this confidence I was minded to come first unto you, that ye might have a second [a]benefit; 16 and by you to pass into Macedonia, and again from Macedonia to come unto you, and of you to be set forward on my journey unto Judaea. 17 When I therefore was thus minded, did I show fickleness? or the things that I purpose, do I purpose according to the flesh, that with me there should be the yea yea and the nay nay? 18 But as God is faithful, our word toward you is not yea and nay. 19 For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you [b]by us, even [c]by me and Silvanus and Timothy, was not yea and nay, but in him is yea. 20 For how many soever be the promises of God, in him is the yea: wherefore also through him is the Amen, unto the glory of God through us. 21 Now he that establisheth us with you [d]in Christ, and anointed us, is God; 22 [e]who also sealed us, and gave us the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.
13 Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost its savor, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out and trodden under foot of men. 14 Ye are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hid. 15 Neither do men light a lamp, and put it under the bushel, but on the stand; and it shineth unto all that are in the house. 16 Even so let your light shine before men; that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.
17 Think not that I came to destroy the law or the prophets: I came not to destroy, but to fulfil. 18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass away from the law, till all things be accomplished. 19 Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I say unto you, that except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no wise enter into the kingdom of heaven.
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