Book of Common Prayer
Prayer for deliverance from the treacherous.
A Song of Ascents.
120 In my distress I cried unto Jehovah,
And he answered me.
2 Deliver my soul, O Jehovah, from lying lips,
And from a deceitful tongue.
3 What shall be given unto thee, and what shall be done more unto thee,
Thou deceitful tongue?
4 [a]Sharp arrows of the mighty,
With coals of [b]juniper.
5 Woe is me, that I sojourn in Meshech,
That I dwell among the tents of Kedar!
6 My soul hath long had her dwelling
With him that hateth peace.
7 I am for peace:
But when I speak, they are for war.
Jehovah the keeper of his people.
A Song of Ascents.
121 I will lift up mine eyes unto the mountains:
From whence shall my help come?
2 My help cometh from Jehovah,
Who made heaven and earth.
3 [c]He will not suffer thy foot to be moved:
He that keepeth thee will not slumber.
4 Behold, he that keepeth Israel
Will neither slumber nor sleep.
5 Jehovah is thy keeper:
Jehovah is thy shade upon thy right hand.
6 The sun shall not smite thee by day,
Nor the moon by night.
7 Jehovah will keep thee from all evil;
He will keep thy soul.
8 Jehovah will keep thy going out and thy coming in
From this time forth and for evermore.
Prayer for the peace of Jerusalem.
A Song of Ascents; of David.
122 I was glad when they said unto me,
Let us go unto the house of Jehovah.
2 Our feet [d]are standing
Within thy gates, O Jerusalem,
3 Jerusalem, that art builded
As a city that is compact together;
4 Whither the tribes go up, even the tribes of [e]Jehovah,
For [f]an ordinance for Israel,
To give thanks unto the name of Jehovah.
5 For there [g]are set thrones for judgment,
The thrones of the house of David.
6 [h]Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:
[i]They shall prosper that love thee.
7 Peace be within thy walls,
And prosperity within thy palaces.
8 For my brethren and companions’ sakes,
I will now [j]say, Peace be within thee.
9 For the sake of the house of Jehovah our God
I will seek thy good.
An expectant prayer for Jehovah’s help.
A Song of Ascents.
123 Unto thee do I lift up mine eyes,
O thou that sittest in the heavens.
2 Behold, as the eyes of servants look unto the hand of their master,
As the eyes of a maid unto the hand of her mistress;
So our eyes look unto Jehovah our God,
Until he have mercy upon us.
3 Have mercy upon us, O Jehovah, have mercy upon us;
For we are exceedingly filled with contempt.
4 Our soul is exceedingly filled
With the scoffing of those that are at ease,
And with the contempt of the proud.
Praise for rescue from enemies.
A Song of Ascents; of David.
124 If it had not been Jehovah who was on our side,
Let Israel now say,
2 If it had not been Jehovah who was on our side,
When men rose up against us;
3 Then they had swallowed us up alive,
When their wrath was kindled against us:
4 Then the waters had overwhelmed us,
The stream had gone over our soul;
5 Then the proud waters had gone over our soul.
6 Blessed be Jehovah,
Who hath not given us as a prey to their teeth.
7 Our soul is escaped as a bird out of the snare of the fowlers:
The snare is broken, and we are escaped.
8 Our help is in the name of Jehovah,
Who made heaven and earth.
Jehovah round about his people.
A Song of Ascents.
125 They that trust in Jehovah
Are as mount Zion, which cannot be moved, but abideth for ever.
2 As the mountains are round about Jerusalem,
So Jehovah is round about his people
From this time forth and for evermore.
3 For the sceptre of wickedness shall not rest upon the lot of the righteous;
That the righteous put not forth their hands unto iniquity.
4 Do good, O Jehovah, unto those that are good,
And to them that are upright in their hearts.
5 But as for such as turn aside unto their crooked ways,
Jehovah will lead them forth with the workers of iniquity.
Peace be upon Israel.
Thanksgiving for return from captivity.
A Song of Ascents.
126 When Jehovah brought back those that returned to Zion,
We were like unto them that dream.
2 Then was our mouth filled with laughter,
And our tongue with singing:
Then said they among the nations,
Jehovah hath done great things for them.
3 Jehovah hath done great things for us,
Whereof we are glad.
4 Turn again our captivity, O Jehovah,
As the streams in the South.
5 They that sow in tears shall reap in joy.
6 He that goeth forth and weepeth, [k]bearing seed for sowing,
Shall doubtless come again with joy, bringing his sheaves with him.
Prosperity comes from Jehovah.
A Song of Ascents; of Solomon.
127 Except Jehovah build the house,
They labor in vain that build it:
Except Jehovah keep the city,
The watchman waketh but in vain.
2 It is vain for you to rise up early,
To take rest late,
To eat the bread of toil;
For so he giveth unto his beloved [l]sleep.
3 Lo, children are a heritage of Jehovah;
And the fruit of the womb is his reward.
4 As arrows in the hand of a mighty man,
So are the children of youth.
5 Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them:
They shall not be put to shame,
When they speak with their enemies in the gate.
1 The [a]burden of Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite.
2 Jehovah is a jealous God and avengeth; Jehovah avengeth and is full of wrath; Jehovah taketh vengeance on his adversaries, and he reserveth wrath for his enemies. 3 Jehovah is slow to anger, and great in power, and will by no means clear the guilty: Jehovah hath his way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet. 4 He rebuketh the sea, and maketh it dry, and drieth up all the rivers: Bashan languisheth, and Carmel; and the flower of Lebanon languisheth. 5 The mountains quake at him, and the hills melt; and the earth is upheaved at his presence, yea, the world, and all that dwell therein. 6 Who can stand before his indignation? and who can abide in the fierceness of his anger? his wrath is poured out like fire, and the rocks are broken asunder by him. 7 Jehovah is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; and he knoweth them that take refuge in him. 8 But with an over-running flood he will make a full end of her place, and will pursue his enemies into darkness.
9 What do ye devise against Jehovah? he will make a full end; affliction shall not rise up the second time. 10 For entangled like thorns, and drunken as with their drink, they are consumed [b]utterly as dry stubble. 11 There is one gone forth out of thee, that deviseth evil against Jehovah, [c]that counselleth [d]wickedness. 12 Thus saith Jehovah: Though they be in full strength, and likewise many, even so shall they be cut down, and he shall pass away. [e]Though I have afflicted thee, I will afflict thee no more. 13 And now will I break his yoke from off thee, and will burst thy bonds in sunder.
13 Wherefore girding up the loins of your mind, be sober and set your hope perfectly on the grace that [a]is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; 14 as children of obedience, not fashioning yourselves according to your former lusts in the time of your ignorance: 15 but [b]like as he who called you is holy, be ye yourselves also holy in all manner of living; 16 because it is written, [c]Ye shall be holy; for I am holy. 17 And if ye call on him as Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to each man’s work, pass the time of your sojourning in fear: 18 knowing that ye were redeemed, not with corruptible things, with silver or gold, from your vain manner of life handed down from your fathers; 19 but with precious blood, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot, even the blood of Christ: 20 who was foreknown indeed before the foundation of the world, but was manifested at the end of the times for your sake, 21 who through him are believers in God, that raised him from the dead, and gave him glory; so that your faith and hope might be in God. 22 Seeing ye have purified your souls in your obedience to the truth unto unfeigned love of the brethren, love one another [d]from the heart fervently: 23 having been begotten again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, through the word of [e]God, which liveth and abideth. 24 For,
[f]All flesh is as grass,
And all the glory thereof as the flower of grass.
The grass withereth, and the flower falleth:
25 But the [g]word of the Lord abideth for ever.
And this is the [h]word of good tidings which was [i]preached unto you.
13 Then were there brought unto him little children, that he should lay his hands on them, and pray: and the disciples rebuked them. 14 But Jesus said, Suffer the little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for [a]to such belongeth the kingdom of heaven. 15 And he laid his hands on them, and departed thence.
16 And behold, one came to him and said, [b]Teacher, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life? 17 And he said unto him, [c]Why askest thou me concerning that which is good? One there is who is good: but if thou wouldest enter into life, keep the commandments. 18 He saith unto him, Which? And Jesus said, [d]Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, 19 Honor thy father and thy mother; and, [e]Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. 20 The young man saith unto him, All these things have I observed: what lack I yet? 21 Jesus said unto him, If thou wouldest be perfect, go, sell that which thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me. 22 But when the young man heard the saying, he went away sorrowful; for he was one that had great possessions.
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