Book of Common Prayer
Calm Trust in Yahweh
A song of ascents. Of David.[a]
131 My heart is not haughty nor my eyes arrogant.[b]
And I do not concern myself[c]
with things too great and difficult for me.
2 Rather I have soothed and quieted my soul,
like a weaned child with its mother,
like the weaned child is my soul with me.
3 O Israel, hope in Yahweh
from now until forever.
Yahweh Dwells in Zion
A song of ascents.[d]
132 O Yahweh, remember with regard to David
all his affliction.[e]
2 How he swore to Yahweh,
he vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob:
3 “I will not enter into the tent of my house,
I will not go up to the couch of my bed,
4 I will give no sleep to my eyes,
no slumber to my eyelids,
5 until I find a place for Yahweh,
a dwelling place for the Mighty One of Jacob.”
6 Look, we heard of it in Ephrathah;
we found her in the fields of Jaar.[f]
7 Let us go to his dwelling places;[g]
Let us worship at his footstool.
8 Arise, O Yahweh, to your resting place,
you and your mighty ark.
9 Let your priests clothe themselves with righteousness,
and let your faithful sing for joy.
10 For the sake of your servant David,
do not turn away the face of your anointed one.
11 Yahweh swore in truth to David;
he will not turn back from it.
“One from the fruit of your body[h]
I will set on your throne.
12 If your sons will heed my covenant
and my testimonies that I will teach them,
their sons also forever
will sit on your throne.”
13 For Yahweh has chosen Zion;
he has desired it for his habitation.
14 “This is my resting place forever;
here I will dwell, for I have desired it.
15 I will bless its provisions abundantly;
I will satisfy its poor with bread.
16 I will also clothe its priests with salvation,
and its faithful will shout exuberantly for joy.
17 There I will cause a horn to grow for David;
I will set a lamp for my anointed one.
18 I will clothe his enemies with shame,
but on him his crown will flourish.”[i]
The People of God Dwell in Unity
A song of ascents. Of David.[j]
133 Look, how good and how pleasant it is
when brothers dwell together in unity.
2 It is like the fragrant oil upon the head,
running down upon the beard, the beard of Aaron,
that runs down upon the edges of his robes.
3 It is like the dew of Hermon that runs down
upon the mountains of Zion,
because there Yahweh commanded the blessing—
life forever.
Praising Yahweh in the Temple at Night
A song of ascents.[k]
134 Look, bless Yahweh, all you the servants of Yahweh,
who serve[l] in the house[m] of Yahweh by night.
2 Lift up your hands in the sanctuary
and bless Yahweh.
3 May Yahweh bless you from Zion,
he who made heaven and earth.
Praise to God for His Power and Redemption
135 Praise Yah![n] Praise the name of Yahweh.
Praise him, O servants of Yahweh,
2 who stand in the house[o] of Yahweh,
in the courts of the house[p] of our God.
3 Praise Yah,[q] for Yahweh is good.
Sing praises concerning his name, for it is pleasant.
4 For Yah has chosen Jacob for himself,
Israel as his special possession.
5 For I know that Yahweh is great,
and our Lord is greater than all gods.
6 All that Yahweh desires, he does,
in heaven and on earth,
in the seas and all the depths.
7 He causes clouds to rise from the edge of the earth;
he makes lightnings for the rain;
he brings out the wind from his storehouses.
8 Who struck the firstborn of Egypt,
both of humans[r] and animals.[s]
9 He sent signs and wonders into your midst, O Egypt,
against Pharaoh and all his servants.
10 Who struck many nations
and killed mighty kings—
11 Sihon the king of the Amorites,
and Og the king of Bashan,
and all the kingdoms of Canaan—
12 and he gave their land as an inheritance,
an inheritance for his people Israel.
13 O Yahweh, your name endures forever,
your renown[t] throughout all generations,[u]
14 for Yahweh will plead the cause of his people
and will have compassion on his servants.
15 The idols of the nations are silver and gold,
the work of the hands of humankind.
16 They have mouths, but cannot speak;
they have eyes, but cannot see;
17 they have ears, but cannot hear;
there is not even breath in their mouths.
18 Those who make them become like them,
as does everyone who trusts in them.
19 O house of Israel, bless Yahweh.
O house of Aaron, bless Yahweh.
20 O house of Levi, bless Yahweh.
You who fear Yahweh, bless Yahweh.
21 Blessed be Yahweh from Zion,
who dwells in Jerusalem. Praise Yah![v]
King David Weeps for Absalom
19 And it was told to Joab that the king was weeping and he mourned over Absalom, 2 so the victory turned to mourning on that day for all the army, because they had heard that day, “The king is grieving over his son.” 3 The army came secretly[a] into the city on that day because the army was disgraced when they fled in the battle, 4 and because the king had covered his face and cried with a loud voice, “My son, Absalom, Absalom, my son, my son.”
5 Then Joab came to the king’s house and said, “Today you have humiliated the faces of all of your servants who have saved your life this day, and the life of your sons and your daughters, the life of your wives, and the life of your concubines, 6 by loving those who hate you and hating those who love you. Indeed, you have made clear this day that you have no regard for your commanders or officers, for I have realized today that were Absalom alive, and all of us were dead, then that would have been right in your eyes! 7 So then, get up and go out and speak kindly to your servants,[b] for I swear by Yahweh, if you do not go out, no man will lodge this night with you, and this disaster will be greater for you than any disaster that has come upon you from your childhood until now!” 8 So the king got up and he sat in the gate, and they told all the army, “Look, the king is sitting in the gate.” Then all the army came before the king; whereas all of Israel had fled, each to his tent.
David Returns from Exile
9 Then it happened that all the people were disputing among all 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 because of Absalom. 10 Now Absalom whom we anointed as king over us has died in the battle; so then, why are you taking no action to restore the king?” 11 Then King David sent to Zadok and to Abiathar the priests, saying, “Speak to the elders of Judah: ‘Why are you last to bring back the king to his house? The talk of all Israel has come to the king in his house. 12 My brothers, you are my bones and you are my flesh. Why should you be the last to bring back the king?’ 13 To Amasa you shall say: ‘Are you not my bones and my flesh? May God punish me[c] if you are not the commander of my army before me forever, in place of Joab.’” 14 So he turned the heart of all the men of Judah as one man, and they sent word to the king, “Return, you and all your servants.”
15 Then the king returned and he came to the Jordan; Judah had come to Gilgal to come to meet the king, to bring the king over the Jordan. 16 Then Shimei the son of Gera, the son of the Benjaminite, who was from Bahurim quickly came down with the men of Judah to meet King David, 17 and a thousand men were with him from Benjamin. Too, Ziba the servant of the household of Saul and fifteen of his sons and twenty of his servants were with him, and they rushed to the Jordan before the king. 18 The crossing took place[d] to bring the household of the king over and to do good in his eyes. Then Shimei the son of Gera fell before the king when he crossed over the Jordan, 19 and he said to the king, “May not my lord hold me guilty, and may you not remember how your servant did wrong on the day that my lord the king went out from Jerusalem, by taking it to heart! 20 For your servant knows that I have sinned; look, I have come this day as the first of all the house of Joseph to come down to meet my lord the king.” 21 Then Abishai the son of Zeruiah responded and said, “Because of this, should not Shimei be put to death, for he cursed the anointed one of Yahweh?” 22 Then David said, “What is it to me or to you, sons of Zeruiah, that you should be an adversary today? Should anyone be put to death in Israel? Do I not know today that I am king over Israel?” 23 Then the king said to Shimei, “You shall not die,” and so the king swore to him.
Paul Before Felix at Caesarea Maritima
24 And after five days the high priest Ananias came down with some elders and an attorney, a certain Tertullus, all of whom brought charges against Paul to the governor. 2 And when[a] he had been summoned, Tertullus began to accuse him,[b] saying, “We have experienced[c] much[d] peace through you, and reforms are taking place in this nation through your foresight. 3 Both in every way and everywhere we acknowledge this,[e] most excellent Felix, with all gratitude. 4 But so that I may not impose on you for longer, I implore you to hear us briefly with your customary graciousness. 5 For we have found[f] this man to be a public menace and one who causes riots among all the Jews throughout the Roman Empire[g] and a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes, 6 who even attempted to desecrate the temple, and we arrested him[h].[i] 8 When[j] you yourself examine him[k] you will be able to find out from him[l] about all these things of which we are accusing him.” 9 And the Jews also joined in the attack, asserting these things were so.
10 And when[m] the governor gestured for him to speak, Paul replied, “Because I[n] know you have been a judge over this nation for many years, I defend myself cheerfully with respect to the things concerning myself. 11 You can ascertain that it has not been more than[o] twelve days since[p] I went up to Jerusalem to worship. 12 And neither did they find me arguing with anyone or making a crowd develop in the temple courts[q] nor in the synagogues nor throughout the city. 13 Nor can they prove the things[r] to you concerning which they are now accusing me. 14 But I do confess this to you, that according to the Way (which they call a sect), so I worship the God of our fathers, believing all things that are in accordance with the law and that are written in the prophets, 15 having a hope in God which these men also themselves await: that there is going to be a resurrection of both the righteous and the unrighteous. 16 For this reason[s] also I myself always[t] do my best to have a clear conscience toward God and people. 17 So after many years, I came to practice charitable giving and offerings to my people,[u] 18 in which they found me purified in the temple courts,[v] not with a crowd or with a disturbance. 19 But there are some Jews from Asia[w] who ought to be present before you and bring charges against me,[x] if they have anything against me, 20 or these men themselves should say what crime they found when[y] I stood before the Sanhedrin,[z] 21 other than concerning this one declaration that I shouted while[aa] standing there before them: ‘I am being judged before you today concerning the resurrection of the dead!’”
Paul Held Awaiting Trial
22 But Felix, because he[ab] understood the facts concerning the Way more accurately, put them off, saying, “When Lysias the military tribune comes down, I will decide your case.”[ac] 23 He ordered[ad] the centurion for him to be guarded and to have some freedom, and in no way to prevent any of his own people[ae] from serving him.
The Greatest Commandment
28 And one of the scribes came up and[a] heard them debating. When he[b] saw that he answered them well, he asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?” 29 Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Listen, Israel! The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 And you shall love the Lord your God from your whole heart and from your whole soul and from your whole mind and from your whole strength.’[c] 31 The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’[d] There is no other commandment greater than these.” 32 And the scribe said to him, “That is true, Teacher. You have said correctly[e] that he is one and there is no other except him. 33 And to love him from your[f] whole heart and from your[g] whole understanding and from your[h] whole strength, and to love your[i] neighbor as yourself, is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.” 34 And Jesus, when he[j] saw that he had answered thoughtfully, said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And no one dared to put a question to him any longer.
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