Book of Common Prayer
Plea for Relief from Bitter Foes
A Song of Ascents.
120 In (A)my distress I cried to 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 [a]warrior,
With coals of the broom tree!
5 Woe is me, that I dwell in (B)Meshech,
(C)That I dwell among the tents of Kedar!
6 My soul has dwelt too long
With one who hates peace.
7 I am for peace;
But when I speak, they are for war.
God the Help of Those Who Seek Him
A Song of Ascents.
121 I (D)will lift up my eyes to the hills—
From whence comes my help?
2 (E)My help comes from the Lord,
Who made heaven and earth.
3 (F)He will not allow your foot to [b]be moved;
(G)He who keeps you will not slumber.
4 Behold, He who keeps Israel
Shall neither slumber nor sleep.
5 The Lord is your [c]keeper;
The Lord is (H)your shade (I)at your right hand.
6 (J)The sun shall not strike you by day,
Nor the moon by night.
7 The Lord shall [d]preserve you from all evil;
He shall (K)preserve your soul.
8 The Lord shall (L)preserve[e] your going out and your coming in
From this time forth, and even forevermore.
The Joy of Going to the House of the Lord
A Song of Ascents. Of David.
122 I was glad when they said to me,
(M)“Let us go into the house of the Lord.”
2 Our feet have been standing
Within your gates, O Jerusalem!
3 Jerusalem is built
As a city that is (N)compact together,
4 (O)Where the tribes go up,
The tribes of the Lord,
[f]To (P)the Testimony of Israel,
To give thanks to the name of the Lord.
5 (Q)For thrones are set there for judgment,
The thrones of the house of David.
6 (R)Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:
“May they prosper who love you.
7 Peace be within your walls,
Prosperity within your palaces.”
8 For the sake of my brethren and companions,
I will now say, “Peace be within you.”
9 Because of the house of the Lord our God
I will (S)seek your good.
Prayer for Relief from Contempt
A Song of Ascents.
123 Unto You (T)I lift up my eyes,
O You (U)who dwell in the heavens.
2 Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their masters,
As the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress,
(V)So our eyes look to the Lord our God,
Until He has mercy on us.
3 Have mercy on us, O Lord, have mercy on us!
For we are exceedingly filled with contempt.
4 Our soul is exceedingly filled
With the scorn of those who are at ease,
With the contempt of the proud.
The Lord the Defense of His People
A Song of Ascents. Of David.
124 “If it had not been the Lord who was on our (W)side,”
(X)Let Israel now 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 (Y)swallowed us alive,
When their wrath was kindled against us;
4 Then the waters would have overwhelmed us,
The stream would have [g]gone over our soul;
5 Then the swollen waters
Would have [h]gone over our soul.”
6 Blessed be the Lord,
Who has not given us as prey to their teeth.
7 (Z)Our soul has escaped (AA)as a bird from the snare of the [i]fowlers;
The snare is broken, and we have escaped.
8 (AB)Our help is in the name of the Lord,
(AC)Who made heaven and earth.
The Lord the Strength of His People
A Song of Ascents.
125 Those who trust in the Lord
Are like Mount Zion,
Which cannot be moved, but abides forever.
2 As the mountains surround Jerusalem,
So the Lord surrounds His people
From this time forth and forever.
3 For (AD)the scepter of wickedness shall not rest
On the land allotted to the righteous,
Lest the righteous reach out their hands to iniquity.
4 Do good, O Lord, to those who are good,
And to those who are upright in their hearts.
5 As for such as turn aside to their (AE)crooked ways,
The Lord shall lead them away
With the workers of iniquity.
(AF)Peace be upon Israel!
A Joyful Return to Zion
A Song of Ascents.
126 When (AG)the Lord brought back [j]the captivity of Zion,
(AH)We were like those who dream.
2 Then (AI)our mouth was filled with laughter,
And our tongue with singing.
Then they said among the [k]nations,
“The Lord has done great things for them.”
3 The Lord has done great things for us,
And we are glad.
4 Bring back our captivity, O Lord,
As the streams in the South.
5 (AJ)Those who sow in tears
Shall reap in joy.
6 He who continually goes [l]forth weeping,
Bearing [m]seed for sowing,
Shall doubtless come again [n]with (AK)rejoicing,
Bringing his sheaves with him.
Laboring and Prospering with the Lord
A Song of Ascents. Of Solomon.
127 Unless the Lord builds the house,
They labor in vain who build it;
Unless (AL)the Lord guards the city,
The watchman stays awake in vain.
2 It is vain for you to rise up early,
To sit up late,
To (AM)eat the bread of sorrows;
For so He gives His beloved sleep.
3 Behold, (AN)children are a heritage from the Lord,
(AO)The fruit of the womb is a (AP)reward.
4 Like arrows in the hand of a warrior,
So are the children of one’s youth.
5 (AQ)Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them;
(AR)They shall not be ashamed,
But shall speak with their enemies in the gate.
Josiah Reigns in Judah(A)
22 Josiah (B)was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jedidah the daughter of Adaiah of (C)Bozkath. 2 And he did what was right in the sight of the Lord, and walked in all the ways of his father David; he (D)did not turn aside to the right hand or to the left.
Hilkiah Finds the Book of the Law(E)
3 (F)Now it came to pass, in the eighteenth year of King Josiah, that the king sent Shaphan the scribe, the son of Azaliah, the son of Meshullam, to the house of the Lord, saying: 4 “Go up to Hilkiah the high priest, that he may count the money which has been (G)brought into the house of the Lord, which (H)the doorkeepers have gathered from the people. 5 And let them (I)deliver it into the hand of those doing the work, who are the overseers in the house of the Lord; let them give it to those who are in the house of the Lord doing the work, to repair the damages of the house— 6 to carpenters and builders and masons—and to buy timber and hewn stone to repair the house. 7 However (J)there need be no accounting made with them of the money delivered into their hand, because they deal faithfully.”
8 Then Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the scribe, (K)“I have found the Book of the Law in the house of the Lord.” And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan, and he read it. 9 So Shaphan the scribe went to the king, bringing the king word, saying, “Your servants have [a]gathered the money that was found in the house, and have delivered it into the hand of those who do the work, who oversee the house of the Lord.” 10 Then Shaphan the scribe showed the king, saying, “Hilkiah the priest has given me a book.” And Shaphan read it before the king.
11 Now it happened, when the king heard the words of the Book of the Law, that he tore his clothes. 12 Then the king commanded Hilkiah the priest, (L)Ahikam the son of Shaphan, [b]Achbor the son of Michaiah, Shaphan the scribe, and Asaiah a servant of the king, saying, 13 “Go, inquire of the Lord for me, for the people and for all Judah, concerning the words of this book that has been found; for great is (M)the wrath of the Lord that is aroused against us, because our fathers have not obeyed the words of this book, to do according to all that is written concerning us.”
Head Coverings
2 Now I praise you, brethren, that you remember me in all things and keep the traditions just as I delivered them to you.
Conduct at the Lord’s Supper
17 Now in giving these instructions I do not praise you, since you come together not for the better but for the worse. 18 For first of all, when you come together as a church, (A)I hear that there are divisions among you, and in part I believe it. 19 For (B)there must also be factions among you, (C)that those who are approved may be [a]recognized among you. 20 Therefore when you come together in one place, it is not to eat the Lord’s Supper. 21 For in eating, each one takes his own supper ahead of others; and one is hungry and (D)another is drunk. 22 What! Do you not have houses to eat and drink in? Or do you despise (E)the church of God and (F)shame [b]those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you in this? I do not praise you.
Jesus Forgives and Heals a Paralytic(A)
9 So He got into a boat, crossed over, (B)and came to His own city. 2 (C)Then behold, they brought to Him a paralytic lying on a bed. (D)When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Son, be of good cheer; your sins are forgiven you.”
3 And at once some of the scribes said within themselves, “This Man blasphemes!”
4 But Jesus, (E)knowing their thoughts, said, “Why do you think evil in your hearts? 5 For which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Arise and walk’? 6 But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins”—then He said to the paralytic, “Arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.” 7 And he arose and departed to his house.
8 Now when the multitudes saw it, they (F)marveled[a] and glorified God, who had given such power to men.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.