Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 120
A Song of Ascents.
1 In my distress I cried unto the Lord,
and He heard me.
2 Deliver my soul, O Lord, from lying lips
and from a deceitful tongue.
3 What shall be given to you,
or what shall be done to you, you false tongue?
4 Sharp arrows of the warrior,
with coals of the broom tree!
5 Woe is me, that I have sojourned in Meshek,
or that I have dwelled among the tents of Kedar!
6 My soul has long lived
with those who hate peace.
7 I am for peace,
but when I speak, they are for war!
Psalm 121
A Song of Ascents.
1 I will lift up my eyes to the hills,
from where does my help come?
2 My help comes from the Lord,
who made heaven and earth.
3 He will not let your foot slip;
He who keeps you will not slumber.
4 Behold, He who guards Israel
shall neither slumber nor sleep.
5 The Lord is your guardian;
the Lord is your shade at your right hand.
6 The sun shall not harm you during the day,
nor the moon during the night.
7 The Lord shall protect you from all evil;
He shall preserve your soul.
8 The Lord shall preserve your going out and your coming in
from now and for evermore.
Psalm 122
A Song of Ascents. Of David.
1 I was glad when they said to me,
“Let us go into the house of the Lord.”
2 Our feet shall stand
within your gates, O Jerusalem.
3 Jerusalem is built as a city
that is designed for a multitude,
4 where the tribes go up,
the tribes of the Lord,
as a decree of Israel,
to give thanks unto the name of the Lord.
5 There are set thrones of judgment,
the thrones of the house of David.
6 Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:
“May they prosper who love you!
7 Peace be within your walls
and security within your towers!”
8 For my brothers and companions’ sake,
I will now say, “Peace be within you.”
9 Because of the house of the Lord our God,
I will seek your good.
Psalm 123
A Song of Ascents.
1 To You I lift up my eyes,
O You who dwell in the heavens.
2 Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master,
and as the eyes of a maiden to the hand of her mistress,
so our eyes look upon the Lord our God,
until He has mercy upon us.
3 Have mercy upon us, O Lord, have mercy upon us,
for we have been completely filled with contempt.
4 Our soul is exceedingly filled with the ridicule of those who are at ease,
and with the contempt of the proud ones.
Psalm 124
A Song of Ascents. Of David.
1 If it had not been the Lord who was on our side,
now may Israel say,
2 if it had not been the Lord who was on our side,
when men rose up against us,
3 then they would have swallowed us up,
when their wrath was kindled against us;
4 then the flood would have overwhelmed us,
the torrent would have passed over our lives;
5 then the surging waters
would have gone over us.
6 Blessed be the Lord,
who has not given us for a prey to their teeth.
7 We have escaped
as a bird out of the snare of the hunters;
the snare is broken,
and we have escaped.
8 Our help is in the name of the Lord,
who made heaven and earth.
Psalm 125
A Song of Ascents.
1 Those who trust in the Lord shall be as Mount Zion,
which cannot be removed, but abides forever.
2 As the mountains are around Jerusalem,
so the Lord surrounds His people,
from now and forever.
3 For the scepter of the wicked shall not rest
upon the land allotted to the righteous,
lest the righteous put forth
their hands to do iniquity.
4 Do good, O Lord, for those who are good,
and to those who are upright in their hearts.
5 As for those who turn aside to their twisted ways,
the Lord shall lead them away with the other workers of iniquity.
Peace be upon Israel!
Psalm 126
A Song of Ascents.
1 When the Lord restored the captives of Zion,
we were like those who dream.
2 Then our mouth was filled with laughter,
and our tongue with singing.
Then they said among the nations,
“The Lord has done great things for them.”
3 The Lord has done great things for us;
we are glad.
4 Restore our captives, O Lord,
as the streams in the Negev.
5 Those who sow in tears
shall reap in joy.
6 He who goes forth and weeps,
bearing precious seed to sow,
shall come home again with rejoicing,
bringing his grain sheaves with him.
Psalm 127
A Song of Ascents. Of Solomon.
1 Except the Lord build the house,
those who build labor in vain;
except the Lord guards the city,
the watchman stays awake in vain.
2 It is in vain for you to rise up early,
to stay up late,
and to eat the bread of hard toil,
for He gives sleep to His beloved.
3 Look, children are a gift of the Lord,
and the fruit of the womb is a reward.
4 As arrows in the hand of a mighty warrior,
so are the children of one’s youth.
5 Happy is the man
who has his quiver full of them;
he shall not be ashamed
when he speaks with the enemies at the gate.
Saul Rescues Jabesh Gilead
11 Then Nahash the Ammonite came up, and encamped against Jabesh Gilead. And all the men of Jabesh said to Nahash, “Make a covenant with us, and we will serve you.”
2 Nahash the Ammonite answered them, “On this condition will I make a covenant with you, that I may pluck out all your right eyes. So I will inflict it as a reproach upon all Israel.”
3 The elders of Jabesh said to him, “Give us seven days, that we may send messengers to all the territory of Israel. And then if there is no one to rescue us, we will come out to you.”
4 So the messengers came to Gibeah of Saul, and spoke the words in the ears of the people. And all the people lifted up their voices, and wept. 5 Now Saul was coming out of the field after the cattle, and Saul said, “Why are the people weeping?” And they reported to him the words of the men of Jabesh.
6 The Spirit of God came strongly upon Saul when he heard these words, and he became very angry. 7 He took a yoke of oxen, and hewed them in pieces. And he sent them throughout all the territory of Israel by the hands of messengers, saying, “Whoever does not come out after Saul and after Samuel, so will it be done to his oxen.” And the fear of the Lord fell on the people, and they came out as one man. 8 When he numbered them in Bezek, the children of Israel were three hundred thousand, and the men of Judah thirty thousand.
9 They said to the messengers that came, “Thus will you say to the men of Jabesh Gilead, ‘Tomorrow, by the time the sun is hot, you will have help.’ ” And the messengers came and reported it to the men of Jabesh and they were glad. 10 Therefore the men of Jabesh said, “Tomorrow we will come out to you, and you may do to us all that seems good to you.”
11 On the next day Saul put the people in three companies. And they came into the midst of the camp in the morning and struck down the Ammonites until the heat of the day. Those surviving were scattered, so that even two of them were not left together.
Saul Confirmed as King
12 The people said to Samuel, “Who said, ‘Shall Saul reign over us?’ Bring the men, that we may put them to death.”
13 Saul said, “There will not be a man put to death this day. For today the Lord has worked deliverance in Israel.”
14 Then Samuel said to the people, “Come, and let us go to Gilgal and renew the kingdom there.” 15 All the people went to Gilgal and there they made Saul king before the Lord in Gilgal. And there they made sacrifices of peace offerings before the Lord. And there Saul and all Israel’s fighting men rejoiced greatly.
8 And Saul was consenting to his death.
Saul Persecutes the Church
On that day a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem. And they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. 2 Devout men carried Stephen to his burial and made great lamentation over him. 3 But Saul ravaged the church, entering house by house and dragging out both men and women and committing them to prison.
The Gospel Preached in Samaria
4 Therefore those who were scattered went everywhere preaching the word. 5 Philip went down to the city of Samaria and preached Christ to them. 6 When the crowds heard Philip and saw the miracles which he did, they listened in unity to what he said. 7 For unclean spirits, crying with a loud voice, came out of many who were possessed. And many who were paralyzed or lame were healed. 8 So there was much joy in that city.
Simon the Sorcerer Believes
9 Now a man named Simon was previously in the city practicing sorcery and astonishing the nation of Samaria, saying he was someone great, 10 to whom they all listened, from the least to the greatest, saying, “This man is the great power of God.” 11 They listened to him, because for a long time he had astonished them by his sorceries. 12 But when they believed Philip preaching about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, both men and women were baptized. 13 Even Simon himself believed. And when he was baptized, he continued with Philip and was amazed as he watched the miracles and signs which were done.
The Mocking and Whipping of Jesus(A)
63 The men who guarded Jesus mocked Him and whipped Him. 64 When they had blindfolded Him, they struck Him on the face and asked Him, “Prophesy! Who struck You?” 65 And many other things they blasphemously spoke against Him.
Jesus Before the Council(B)
66 When day came, the assembly of the elders of the people, both the chief priests and scribes, came together and led Him away to their council, saying, 67 “Are You the Christ? Tell us!”
He said to them, “If I tell you, you will not believe. 68 And if I also question you, you will not answer Me or release Me. 69 From now on the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the power of God.”
70 They all said, “Are You then the Son of God?”
He said to them, “You truly say that I am.”
71 Then they said, “What further testimony do we need? We have heard it from His own mouth.”
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.