Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 121[a]
A song of ascents.[b]
121 I look up[c] toward the hills.
From where[d] does my help come?
2 My help comes from the Lord,[e]
the Creator[f] of heaven and earth.
3 May he not allow your foot to slip.
May your Protector[g] not sleep.[h]
4 Look! Israel’s Protector[i]
does not sleep or slumber.
5 The Lord is your protector;
the Lord is the shade at your right hand.
6 The sun will not harm you by day,
or the moon by night.[j]
7 The Lord will protect you from all harm;
he will protect your life.
8 The Lord will protect you in all you do,[k]
now and forevermore.
Psalm 122[l]
A song of ascents;[m] by David.
122 I was glad because[n] they said to me,
“We will go to the Lord’s temple.”
2 Our feet are[o] standing
inside your gates, O Jerusalem.
3 Jerusalem is a city designed
to accommodate an assembly.[p]
4 The tribes go up[q] there,[r]
the tribes of the Lord,
where it is required that Israel
give thanks to the name of the Lord.[s]
5 Indeed,[t] the leaders sit[u] there on thrones and make legal decisions,
on the thrones of the house of David.[v]
6 Pray[w] for the peace of Jerusalem.
May those who love her prosper.[x]
7 May there be peace inside your defenses,
and prosperity[y] inside your fortresses.[z]
8 For the sake of my brothers and my neighbors
I will say, “May there be peace in you.”
9 For the sake of the temple of the Lord our God
I will pray for you to prosper.[aa]
Psalm 123[ab]
A song of ascents.[ac]
123 I look up[ad] toward you,
the one enthroned[ae] in heaven.
2 Look, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master,
as the eyes of a female servant look to the hand of her mistress,[af]
so our eyes will look to the Lord, our God, until he shows us favor.
3 Show us favor, O Lord, show us favor!
For we have had our fill of humiliation, and then some.[ag]
4 We have had our fill[ah]
of the taunts of the self-assured,
of the contempt of the proud.
Psalm 131[a]
A song of ascents,[b] by David.
131 O Lord, my heart is not proud,
nor do I have a haughty look.[c]
I do not have great aspirations,
or concern myself with things that are beyond me.[d]
2 Indeed,[e] I have calmed and quieted myself[f]
like a weaned child with its mother;[g]
I am content like a young child.[h]
3 O Israel, hope in the Lord
now and forevermore!
Psalm 132[i]
A song of ascents.[j]
132 O Lord, for David’s sake remember
all his strenuous effort,[k]
2 and how he made a vow to the Lord,
and swore an oath to the Powerful One of Jacob.
3 He said,[l] “I will not enter my own home,[m]
or get into my bed.[n]
4 I will not allow my eyes to sleep,
or my eyelids to slumber,
5 until I find a place for the Lord,
a fine dwelling place[o] for the Powerful One of Jacob.”[p]
6 Look, we heard about it[q] in Ephrathah;[r]
we found it in the territory of Jaar.[s]
7 Let us go to his dwelling place.
Let us worship[t] before his footstool.
8 Ascend, O Lord, to your resting place,
you and the ark of your strength.
9 May your priests be clothed with integrity.[u]
May your loyal followers shout for joy.
10 For the sake of David, your servant,
do not reject your chosen king.[v]
11 The Lord made a reliable promise to David;[w]
he will not go back on his word.[x]
He said,[y] “I will place one of your descendants[z] on your throne.
12 If your sons keep my covenant
and the rules I teach them,
their sons will also sit on your throne forever.”
13 Certainly[aa] the Lord has chosen Zion;
he decided to make it his home.[ab]
14 He said,[ac] “This will be my resting place forever;
I will live here, for I have chosen it.[ad]
15 I will abundantly supply what she needs;[ae]
I will give her poor all the food they need.[af]
16 I will protect her priests,[ag]
and her godly people will shout exuberantly.[ah]
17 There I will make David strong;[ai]
I have determined that my chosen king’s dynasty will continue.[aj]
18 I will humiliate his enemies,[ak]
and his crown will shine.”
The Lord is the Nations’ Only Hope
14 This is what the Lord says:
“The profit[a] of Egypt and the revenue[b] of Ethiopia,
along with the Sabeans, those tall men,
will be brought to you[c] and become yours.
They will walk behind you, coming along in chains.[d]
They will bow down to you
and pray to you:[e]
‘Truly God is with[f] you; he has no peer;[g]
there is no other God!’”
15 Yes, you are a God who keeps hidden,
O God of Israel, deliverer!
16 They will all be ashamed and embarrassed;
those who fashion idols will all be humiliated.[h]
17 Israel will be delivered once and for all by the Lord;[i]
you will never again be ashamed or humiliated.[j]
18 For this is what the Lord says,
the one who created the sky—
he is the true God,[k]
the one who formed the earth and made it;
he established it,
he did not create it without order,[l]
he formed it to be inhabited:
“I am the Lord, I have no peer.
19 I have not spoken in secret,
in some hidden place.[m]
I did not tell Jacob’s descendants,
‘Seek me in vain!’[n]
I am the Lord,
the one who speaks honestly,
who makes reliable announcements.[o]
24 Now I rejoice in my sufferings for you, and I fill up in my physical body—for the sake of his body, the church—what is lacking in the sufferings of Christ. 25 I became a servant of the church according to the stewardship[a] from God—given to me for you—in order to complete[b] the word of God, 26 that is, the mystery that has been kept hidden from ages and generations, but has now been revealed to his saints. 27 God wanted to make known to them the glorious[c] riches of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. 28 We proclaim him by instructing[d] and teaching[e] all people[f] with all wisdom so that we may present every person mature[g] in Christ. 29 Toward this goal[h] I also labor, struggling according to his power that powerfully[i] works in me.
2 For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you,[j] and for those in Laodicea, and for those who have not met me face to face.[k] 2 My goal is that[l] their hearts, having been knit together[m] in love, may be encouraged, and that[n] they may have all the riches that assurance brings in their understanding of the knowledge of the mystery of God, namely, Christ,[o] 3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. 4 I say this so that no one will deceive you through arguments[p] that sound reasonable.[q] 5 For though[r] I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit, rejoicing to see[s] your morale[t] and the firmness of your faith in Christ.
Warnings Against the Adoption of False Philosophies
6 Therefore, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord,[u] continue to live your lives[v] in him, 7 rooted[w] and built up in him and firm[x] in your[y] faith just as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.
Jesus as the Light of the World
12 Then Jesus spoke out again,[a] “I am the light of the world![b] The one who follows me will never[c] walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” 13 So the Pharisees[d] objected,[e] “You testify about yourself; your testimony is not true!”[f] 14 Jesus answered,[g] “Even if I testify about myself, my testimony is true, because I know where I came from and where I am going. But you people[h] do not know where I came from or where I am going.[i] 15 You people[j] judge by outward appearances;[k] I do not judge anyone.[l] 16 But if I judge, my evaluation is accurate,[m] because I am not alone when I judge,[n] but I and the Father who sent me do so together.[o] 17 It is written in your law that the testimony of two men is true.[p] 18 I testify about myself[q] and the Father who sent me testifies about me.”
19 Then they began asking[r] him, “Who is your father?” Jesus answered, “You do not know either me or my Father. If you knew me you would know my Father too.”[s]
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