Book of Common Prayer
A song for going up to worship.
120 When I was in trouble, I cried out to the Lord,
and he answered me.
2 O Lord, rescue me from lying lips
and from a deceitful tongue.
3 You deceitful tongue, what can the Lord give you?
What more can he do for you?
4 He will give you a warrior’s sharpened arrows and red-hot coals.
5 How horrible it is to live as a foreigner in Meshech
or to stay in the tents of Kedar.
6 I have lived too long with those who hate peace.
7 I am for peace, but when I talk about it,
they only talk about war.
A song for going up to worship.
121 I look up toward the mountains.
Where can I find help?
2 My help comes from the Lord,
the maker of heaven and earth.
3 He will not let you fall.
Your guardian will not fall asleep.
4 Indeed, the Guardian of Israel never rests or sleeps.
5 The Lord is your guardian.
The Lord is the shade over your right hand.
6 The sun will not beat down on you during the day,
nor will the moon at night.
7 The Lord guards you from every evil.
He guards your life.
8 The Lord guards you as you come and go,
now and forever.
A song by David for going up to worship.
122 I was glad when they said to me,
“Let’s go to the house of the Lord.”
2 Our feet are standing inside your gates, Jerusalem.
3 Jerusalem is built to be a city
where the people are united.
4 All of the Lord’s tribes go to that city
because it is a law in Israel
to give thanks to the name of the Lord.
5 The court of justice sits there.
It consists of ⌞princes who are⌟ David’s descendants.
6 Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:
“May those who love you prosper.
7 May there be peace inside your walls
and prosperity in your palaces.”
8 For the sake of my relatives and friends, let me say,
“May it go well for you!”
9 For the sake of the house of the Lord our God,
I will seek what is good for you.
A song for going up to worship.
123 I look up to you,
to the one who sits enthroned in heaven.
2 As servants depend on their masters,
as a maid depends on her mistress,
so we depend on the Lord our God
until he has pity on us.
3 Have pity on us, O Lord.
Have pity on us
because we have suffered more than our share of contempt.
4 We have suffered more than our share of ridicule
from those who are carefree.
We have suffered more than our share of contempt
from those who are arrogant.
A song by David for going up to worship.
124 “If the Lord had not been on our side …”
(Israel should repeat this.)
2 “If the Lord had not been on our side when people attacked us,
3 then they would have swallowed us alive
when their anger exploded against us.
4 Then the floodwaters would have swept us away.
An ⌞overflowing⌟ stream would have washed us away.
5 Then raging water would have washed us away.”
6 Thank the Lord, who did not let them sink their teeth into us.
7 We escaped like a bird caught in a hunter’s trap.
The trap was broken, and we escaped.
8 Our help is in the name of the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth.
A song for going up to worship.
125 Those who trust the Lord are like Mount Zion,
which can never be shaken.
It remains firm forever.
2 ⌞As⌟ the mountains surround Jerusalem,
so the Lord surrounds his people now and forever.
3 A wicked ruler will not be allowed to govern
the land set aside for righteous people.
That is why righteous people do not use their power to do wrong.
4 Do good, O Lord, to those who are good,
to those whose motives are decent.
5 But when people become crooked,
the Lord will lead them away with troublemakers.
Let there be peace in Israel!
A song for going up to worship.
126 When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion,
it was as if we were dreaming.
2 Then our mouths were filled with laughter
and our tongues with joyful songs.
Then the nations said,
“The Lord has done spectacular things for them.”
3 The Lord has done spectacular things for us.
We are overjoyed.
4 Restore our fortunes, O Lord,
as you restore streams ⌞to dry riverbeds⌟ in the Negev.
5 Those who cry while they plant
will joyfully sing while they harvest.
6 The person who goes out weeping, carrying his bag of seed,
will come home singing, carrying his bundles of grain.
A song by Solomon for going up to worship.
127 If the Lord does not build the house,
it is useless for the builders to work on it.
If the Lord does not protect a city,
it is useless for the guard to stay alert.
2 It is useless to work hard for the food you eat
by getting up early and going to bed late.
The Lord gives ⌞food⌟ to those he loves while they sleep.
3 Children are an inheritance from the Lord.
They are a reward from him.
4 The children born to a man when he is young
are like arrows in the hand of a warrior.
5 Blessed is the man who has filled his quiver with them.
He will not be put to shame
when he speaks with his enemies in the city gate.
King Josiah of Judah(A)
22 Josiah was 8 years old when he began to rule, and he was king for 31 years in Jerusalem. His mother was Jedidah, daughter of Adaiah from Bozkath. 2 Josiah did what the Lord considered right. He lived in the ways of his ancestor David and never stopped.
The Book of the Lord’s Teachings Found in the Temple(B)
3 In Josiah’s eighteenth year as king of Judah, he sent the scribe Shaphan, son of Azaliah and grandson of Meshullam, to the Lord’s temple with these instructions: 4 “Go to the chief priest Hilkiah. Have him count the money that has been brought into the Lord’s temple, ⌞the money⌟ that the doorkeepers have collected from the people. 5 Give ⌞some of⌟ it to the foremen who are in charge of the Lord’s temple. They should give it to the workmen who are making repairs on the Lord’s temple. 6 (These workers include the carpenters, builders, and masons.) Also, use ⌞the rest of⌟ the money to buy lumber and quarried stones to repair the temple. 7 Since the workmen are honest, don’t require them to account for the money you give them.”
8 The chief priest Hilkiah told the scribe Shaphan, “I have found the Book of Moses’ Teachings in the Lord’s temple.” Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan, who then read it.
9 The scribe Shaphan went to the king and reported, “We have taken the money donated in the temple and have given it to the workmen who are in charge of the Lord’s temple.” 10 Then the scribe Shaphan told the king, “The priest Hilkiah has given me a book.” And Shaphan read it to the king.
11 When the king heard what the book of the Teachings said, he tore his clothes ⌞in distress⌟. 12 Then the king gave an order to the priest Hilkiah, to Ahikam (son of Shaphan), Achbor (son of Micaiah), the scribe Shaphan, and the royal official Asaiah. He said, 13 “On behalf of the people, all of Judah, and me, ask the Lord about the words in this book that has been found. The Lord’s fierce anger is directed towards us because our ancestors did not obey the things in this book or do everything written ⌞in it⌟.” [a]
Advice about Worship
2 I praise you for always thinking about me and for carefully following the traditions that I handed down to you.
17 I have no praise for you as I instruct you in the following matter: When you gather, it results in more harm than good. 18 In the first place, I hear that when you gather as a church you split up into opposing groups. I believe some of what I hear. 19 Factions have to exist in order to make it clear who the genuine believers among you are.
20 When you gather in the same place, you can’t possibly be eating the Lord’s Supper. 21 Each of you eats his own supper ⌞without waiting for each other⌟. So one person goes hungry and another gets drunk. 22 Don’t you have homes in which to eat and drink? Do you despise God’s church and embarrass people who don’t have anything to eat? What can I say to you? Should I praise you? I won’t praise you for this.
Jesus Forgives Sins(A)
9 Jesus got into a boat, crossed the sea, and came to his own city. 2 Some people brought him a paralyzed man on a stretcher.
When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the man, “Cheer up, friend! Your sins are forgiven.”
3 Then some of the experts in Moses’ Teachings thought, “He’s dishonoring God.”
4 Jesus knew what they were thinking. He asked them, “Why are you thinking evil things? 5 Is it easier to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? 6 I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” Then he said to the paralyzed man, “Get up, pick up your stretcher, and go home.”
7 So the man got up and went home. 8 When the crowd saw this, they were filled with awe and praised God for giving such authority to humans.
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