Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 131
A Song of Ascents. Of David.
1 Lord, my heart is not haughty,
my eyes are not raised too high.
I have not striven for enormities,
for things too wonderful for me.
2 I composed and quieted my desire,
like a child given suck by his mother;
like a child who sucks is my desire within me.
3 Let Israel hope in the Lord
from now and forever.
Psalm 132(A)
A Song of Ascents.
1 O Lord, remember David
and all his afflictions,
2 how he swore unto the Lord,
and vowed unto the mighty God of Jacob:
3 “I will not come into my house,
nor go up to my bed;
4 I will not give sleep to my eyes,
or slumber to my eyelids,
5 until I find a place for the Lord,
a dwelling for the mighty God of Jacob.”
6 We heard of it in Ephrathah;
we found it in the fields of Jaar.
7 “We will go to His dwelling place,
we will worship at His footstool.”
8 Arise, O Lord, go to Your resting place,
You and the ark of Your strength.
9 Let Your priests be clothed with righteousness,
and let Your godly ones shout for joy.
10 For Your servant David’s sake,
do not turn away Your anointed king.
11 The Lord has sworn with a sure oath to David
that He will not turn from it:
“From the fruit of your body
I will set a son on your throne.
12 If your children will keep My covenant
and My testimonies that I shall teach them,
then their children shall also sit
upon your throne forever.”
13 For the Lord has chosen Zion;
He has desired it for His dwelling:
14 “This is My resting place forever;
here I will dwell, for I have chosen it.
15 I will abundantly bless her provisions;
I will satisfy her poor with bread.
16 I will also clothe her priests with salvation,
and her godly ones shall shout for joy.
17 “There I will make a horn sprout for David;
I have prepared a lamp for My anointed one.
18 His enemies I will clothe with shame,
but on him his crown will shine.”
Psalm 133
A Song of Ascents. Of David.
1 Behold, how good and how pleasant it is
for brothers to dwell together in unity!
2 It is like precious oil upon the head,
that runs down on the beard—
even Aaron’s beard—
and going down to the collar of his garments;
3 as the dew of Hermon,
that descends upon the mountains of Zion,
for there the Lord has commanded the blessing,
even life forever.
Psalm 134
A Song of Ascents.
1 Come, bless the Lord, all you servants of the Lord,
who by night stand in the house of the Lord.
2 Lift up your hands in the sanctuary,
and bless the Lord.
3 May the Lord who made heaven and earth
bless you from Zion.
Psalm 135(B)
1 Praise the Lord!
Praise the name of the Lord
praise Him, O servants of the Lord,
2 you who stand in the house of the Lord,
in the courts of the house of our God!
3 Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good;
sing praises unto His name, for it is pleasant.
4 For the Lord has chosen Jacob for Himself,
and Israel for His special possession.
5 For I know that the Lord is great,
and that our Lord is above all gods.
6 Whatever the Lord pleases,
He does in heaven and on earth,
in the seas and all the depths.
7 He causes the clouds to ascend from the ends of the earth;
He makes lightning for the rain;
He brings the wind out from His storehouses.
8 He struck down the firstborn of Egypt,
both of man and animal.
9 He sent signs and wonders into your midst, O Egypt,
against Pharaoh and all his servants;
10 He struck down great nations
and slew mighty kings—
11 Sihon, king of the Amorites,
and Og king of Bashan,
and all the kingdoms of Canaan—
12 and gave their land for an inheritance,
a possession to Israel His people.
13 Your name, O Lord, endures forever;
and Your renown, O Lord, throughout all generations.
14 For the Lord will defend His people,
and He will have compassion on His servants.
15 The idols of the nations are silver and gold,
the work of men’s hands.
16 They have mouths, but do not speak;
they have eyes, but do not see;
17 they have ears, but do not hear;
neither is there any breath in their mouths.
18 Those who make them are like them;
so is everyone who trusts in them.
19 Bless the Lord, O house of Israel;
bless the Lord, O house of Aaron.
20 Bless the Lord, O house of Levi;
you who fear the Lord, bless the Lord.
21 Blessed be the Lord from Zion,
who dwells at Jerusalem.
Praise you the Lord!
19 It was reported to Joab that the king was weeping and mourning over Absalom. 2 The victory that day was turned into mourning for all of the people, for the people heard that day, “The king is grieving for his son.” 3 So the people entered the city by stealth that day, as a people who have been disgraced steal away when they flee from battle. 4 The king covered his face and called with a loud voice, “My son Absalom, my son, my son!”
5 Then Joab came to the king in his house and said, “Today you have shamed the faces of all of your servants who saved your life today, as well as the lives of your sons and daughters, the lives of your wives, and the lives of your concubines, 6 by loving those who hated you and hating those who love you. You have shown today that commanders and servants are nothing to you. I know that if Absalom were alive instead today and all of us were dead, then this would be right in your eyes. 7 Now go out and speak reassuringly to your servants, for I swear by the Lord that if you do not go out, no man will stay with you this night, and this will be worse for you than any calamity that has come against you from your youth until now.”
8 So the king arose and took his seat in the gate, and the people were all told, “The king is sitting in the gate.” So all the people came before the king, but the children of Israel had fled, each to his tent.
David Returns to Jerusalem
9 Now all of the people began to quarrel throughout all of the tribes of Israel, saying, “The king delivered us from the hand of our enemies, and he saved us from the hand of the Philistines, but now he has fled from the land on account of Absalom. 10 But Absalom, whom we anointed over us, has died in battle. Now why are you idle to bring back the king?”
11 Then David sent word to Zadok and Abiathar the priests, saying, “Speak to the elders of Israel, saying, ‘Why are you last to bring the king back to his house when the word of all Israel has come to the king, to his house? 12 You are my brother. You are my bone and my flesh. Why are you last to bring back the king?’ 13 Say to Amasa, ‘Are you not my bone and my flesh? May God do to me, and more so, if you are not commander of the army before me from now on in the place of Joab.’ ”
14 He swayed the heart of every man of Judah as though they were one man, and they sent a message to the king: “Return, you and all of your servants.”
15 So the king returned and came as far as the Jordan, and Judah came to Gilgal to meet the king and bring the king across the Jordan. 16 Shimei the son of Gera, the Benjamite who was from Bahurim, hastened to go down with the men of Judah to meet King David. 17 With him were a thousand men from Benjamin. And Ziba, the servant of the house of Saul, with his fifteen sons and twenty servants, rushed down to the Jordan before the king. 18 They crossed the ford to bring the household of the king across and to do what was pleasing in his eyes.
Shimei the son of Gera fell before the king as he was crossing the Jordan, 19 and he said to the king, “Do not regard me as guilty, my lord, or remember how your servant went astray the day when my lord the king went out from Jerusalem. May the king not take it to heart. 20 For your servant knows that I have sinned. Therefore, I have come this day, first from all of the house of Joseph, to go down to meet my lord the king.”
21 Abishai the son of Zeruiah answered, “Shall not Shimei be put to death for this, because he cursed the anointed of the Lord?”
22 David said, “What do you sons of Zeruiah have against me that you should become an adversary to me today? Should any man in Israel be put to death today? For do I not know that today I am king over Israel?” 23 The king said to Shimei, “You will not die.” The king gave him his oath.
The Case Against Paul
24 After five days Ananias the high priest arrived with some of the elders and a lawyer named Tertullus. They brought before the governor their charges against Paul. 2 When he was summoned, Tertullus began to accuse him, saying, “Since through you we enjoy much peace, and your foresight is bringing reforms to this nation, 3 with all thankfulness, most excellent Felix, we always welcome it everywhere. 4 But not to detain you further, I beg you to briefly hear us in your patience.
5 “We have found this man a troublemaker, instigating riots among all the Jews throughout the world, and a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes. 6 He even tried to profane the temple. So we seized him and wanted to judge him according to our law. 7 But the commander, Lysias, came to us and forcefully took him out of our hands, 8 ordering his accusers to come before you. By examining him yourself you will be able to learn about all these things concerning which we accuse him.”
9 The Jews assented, alleging these things to be true.
Paul’s Defense Before Felix
10 After the governor motioned to him to speak, Paul answered, “Knowing that for many years you have been a judge over this nation, I cheerfully defend myself. 11 You may verify that it is no more than twelve days since I went up to Jerusalem to worship. 12 They did not find me in the temple or in the synagogues or in the city disputing with anyone or stirring up a crowd. 13 They cannot prove the things concerning which they now accuse me. 14 However, I affirm that in accordance with the Way, which they call a sect, I worship the God of my fathers and believe everything written in the Law and in the Prophets. 15 I have hope in God that there will be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and the unjust, which they also expect. 16 In this do I always strive to have a clear conscience toward God and toward men.
17 “Now after many years I came to bring alms and offerings to my nation, 18 when some Jews from Asia found me purified in the temple, neither with a crowd nor an uproar. 19 They ought to be here before you to accuse me if they have any charges. 20 Or let these men say what crime they found in me when I stood before the Sanhedrin, 21 unless it is concerning this one statement which I cried out while standing among them, ‘Concerning the resurrection of the dead, I am being judged by you this day.’ ”
22 When Felix, who had more exact knowledge concerning the Way, had heard this, he adjourned the proceedings and said, “When Lysias the commander arrives, I will decide your case.” 23 Then he ordered the centurion to guard Paul, and to let him have liberty, and to forbid none of his own people from attending to him.
The Great Commandment(A)
28 One of the scribes came and heard them reasoning together. Perceiving that Jesus had answered them well, he asked Him, “Which is the first commandment of all?”
29 Jesus answered him, “The first of all the commandments is, ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord. 30 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’[a] This is the first commandment. 31 The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’[b] There is no other commandment greater than these.”
32 The scribe said to Him, “Well said, Teacher. You have spoken the truth, that there is one God and there is no other but Him. 33 To love Him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself, is more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”
34 When Jesus saw that he answered wisely, He said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” After that, no one dared to ask Him any question.
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.