Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 121
The Lord Our Protector
A song of ascents.
1 I lift my eyes toward the mountains.
Where will my help come from?(A)
2 My help comes from the Lord,
the Maker of heaven and earth.(B)
3 He will not allow your foot to slip;
your Protector will not slumber.(C)
4 Indeed, the Protector of Israel
does not slumber or sleep.(D)
5 The Lord protects you;
the Lord is a shelter right by your side.[a](E)
6 The sun will not strike you by day
or the moon by night.(F)
7 The Lord will protect you from all harm;
he will protect your life.(G)
8 The Lord will protect your coming and going
both now and forever.(H)
Psalm 122
A Prayer for Jerusalem
A song of ascents. Of David.
1 I rejoiced with those who said to me,
“Let’s go to the house of the Lord.”(I)
2 Our feet were standing
within your gates, Jerusalem(J)—
3 Jerusalem, built as a city should be,
solidly united,(K)
4 where the tribes, the Lord’s tribes, go up
to give thanks to the name of the Lord.(L)
(This is an ordinance for Israel.(M))
5 There, thrones for judgment are placed,
thrones of the house of David.(N)
6 Pray for the well-being[b] of Jerusalem:
“May those who love you be secure;(O)
7 may there be peace within your walls,
security within your fortresses.”(P)
8 Because of my brothers and friends,
I will say, “May peace be in you.”[c](Q)
9 Because of the house of the Lord our God,
I will pursue your prosperity.(R)
Psalm 123
Looking for God’s Favor
A song of ascents.
Psalm 131
A Childlike Spirit
A song of ascents. Of David.
1 Lord, my heart is not proud;
my eyes are not haughty.(A)
I do not get involved with things
too great or too wondrous for me.(B)
2 Instead, I have calmed and quieted my soul
like a weaned child with its mother;
my soul is like a weaned child.(C)
3 Israel, put your hope in the Lord,
both now and forever.(D)
Psalm 132
David and Zion Chosen
A song of ascents.
1 Lord, remember David
and all the hardships he endured,(E)
2 and how he swore an oath to the Lord,
making a vow to the Mighty One of Jacob:(F)
3 “I will not enter my house
or get into my bed,
4 I will not allow my eyes to sleep
or my eyelids to slumber(G)
5 until I find a place for the Lord,
a dwelling for the Mighty One of Jacob.”(H)
6 We heard of the ark in Ephrathah;[a](I)
we found it in the fields of Jaar.[b](J)
7 Let’s go to his dwelling place;
let’s worship at his footstool.(K)
8 Rise up, Lord, come to your resting place,
you and your powerful ark.(L)
9 May your priests be clothed with righteousness,
and may your faithful people shout for joy.(M)
10 For the sake of your servant David,
do not reject your anointed one.[c](N)
11 The Lord swore an oath to David,
a promise he will not abandon:
“I will set one of your offspring[d]
on your throne.(O)
12 If your sons keep my covenant
and my decrees that I will teach them,
their sons will also sit on your throne forever.”(P)
13 For the Lord has chosen Zion;
he has desired it for his home:(Q)
14 “This is my resting place forever;
I will make my home here
because I have desired it.(R)
15 I will abundantly bless its food;
I will satisfy its needy with bread.(S)
16 I will clothe its priests with salvation,
and its faithful people will shout for joy.(T)
17 There I will make a horn grow for David;(U)
I have prepared a lamp[e] for my anointed one.(V)
18 I will clothe his enemies with shame,(W)
but the crown he wears[f] will be glorious.”(X)
God Alone Is the Savior
14 This is what the Lord says:
“The products of Egypt and the merchandise of Cush
and the Sabeans, men of stature,(A)
will come over to you(B)
and will be yours;
they will follow you,
they will come over in chains
and bow down to you.
They will confess[a] to you,
‘God is indeed with you,(C) and there is no other;
there is no other God.’”
15 Yes, you are a God who hides,(D)
God of Israel, Savior.(E)
16 All of them are put to shame, even humiliated;(F)
the makers of idols go in humiliation together.
17 Israel will be saved by the Lord
with an everlasting salvation;
you will not be put to shame or humiliated
for all eternity.(G)
18 For this is what the Lord says—
the Creator of the heavens,
the God who formed the earth and made it,
the one who established it
(he did not create it to be a wasteland,
but formed it to be inhabited)(H)—
he says, “I am the Lord,
and there is no other.
19 I have not spoken in secret,(I)
somewhere in a land of darkness.
I did not say to the descendants of Jacob:
Seek me in a wasteland.(J)
I am the Lord, who speaks righteously,(K)
who declares what is right.
Paul’s Ministry
24 Now I rejoice in my sufferings(A) for you, and I am completing in my flesh what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for his body,(B) that is, the church. 25 I have become its servant, according to God’s commission that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, 26 the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints. 27 God wanted to make known among the Gentiles the glorious wealth of this mystery, which is Christ(C) in you, the hope(D) of glory. 28 We proclaim him, warning and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone mature in Christ. 29 I labor for this, striving(E) with his strength that works powerfully in me.(F)
2 For I want you to know how greatly I am struggling(G) for you, for those in Laodicea,(H) and for all who have not seen me in person. 2 I want their hearts to be encouraged(I) and joined together in love, so that they may have all the riches of complete understanding and have the knowledge of God’s mystery(J)—Christ.[a](K) 3 In him are hidden all the treasures of wisdom(L) and knowledge.(M)
Christ versus the Colossian Heresy
4 I am saying this so that no one will deceive you with arguments that sound reasonable. 5 For I may be absent in body, but I am with you in spirit,(N) rejoicing to see how well ordered you are and the strength of your faith in Christ.
6 So then, just as you have received(O) Christ Jesus as Lord,(P) continue to walk in him, 7 being rooted and built up in him(Q) and established in the faith, just as you were taught,(R) and overflowing with gratitude.
The Light of the World
12 Jesus spoke to them again: “I am(A) the light(B) of the world. Anyone who follows me will never walk in the darkness but will have the light of life.”(C)
13 So the Pharisees said to him, “You are testifying about yourself. Your testimony is not valid.”
14 “Even if I testify about myself,” Jesus replied, “my testimony is true, because I know where I came from and where I’m going. But you don’t know where I come from or where I’m going.(D) 15 You judge(E) by human standards.[a](F) I judge no one.(G) 16 And if I do judge, my judgment is true, because it is not I alone who judge, but I and the Father who sent me.(H) 17 Even in your law it is written that the testimony of two witnesses is true.(I) 18 I am the one who testifies(J) about myself, and the Father who sent me testifies about me.”
19 Then they asked him, “Where is your Father?”
“You know neither me nor my Father,”(K) Jesus answered. “If you knew me, you would also know my Father.”(L)
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