Book of Common Prayer
The Lord Guards His People
A song ·for going up to worship [of ascents; C perhaps sung while traveling to Jerusalem to celebrate an annual religious festival like Passover].
121 I ·look up [L raise my eyes] to the hills [C the hills surrounding Zion, the location of the Temple],
but where does my help come from?
2 My help comes from the Lord,
who made heaven and earth [Gen. 1].
3 He will not let ·you be defeated [L your feet be moved/slip].
He who ·guards [watches] you never sleeps.
4 He who ·guards [watches] Israel
never ·rests [sleeps] or ·sleeps [slumbers].
5 The Lord ·guards [watches] you.
The Lord is the shade ·that protects you from the sun [L at your hand, your right hand; 91:1].
6 The sun cannot ·hurt [L strike] you during the day,
and the moon cannot ·hurt [L strike] you at night.
7 The Lord will ·protect [guard; watch] you from all ·dangers [trouble; evil];
he will ·guard [watch] your life.
8 The Lord will ·guard [watch] you as you come and go,
both now and forever.
Happy People in Jerusalem
A song ·for going up to worship [of ascents; C perhaps sung while traveling to Jerusalem to celebrate an annual religious festival like Passover]. Of David.
122 I ·was happy [rejoiced] when they said to me,
“Let’s ·go [walk] to the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord.”
2 Jerusalem, ·we [L our feet] are standing
at your gates.
3 Jerusalem is built as a city
·with the buildings close together [L that is closely tied together].
4 The tribes [C the twelve tribes of Israel] go up there,
the tribes who belong to the Lord.
It is the ·rule [decree; testimony] in Israel
to ·praise [L thank the name of] the Lord at Jerusalem.
5 There ·are set thrones to judge the people [L dwell thrones of judgment],
the thrones of the ·descendants [dynasty; L house] of David.
6 ·Pray [L Ask] for peace in Jerusalem:
“May those who love her ·be safe [prosper].
7 May there be peace within her ·walls [ramparts]
and ·safety [security] within her strong towers.”
8 To help my ·relatives [brothers] and ·friends [neighbors],
I say, “Let ·Jerusalem have peace [L peace be within you].”
9 For the sake of the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord our God,
I ·wish [L seek] ·good [prosperity] for her.
A Prayer for Mercy
A song ·for going up to worship [of ascents; C perhaps sung while traveling to Jerusalem to celebrate an annual religious festival like Passover].
123 Lord, I ·look upward [L lift up my eyes] to you,
you who ·live [are enthroned; L sit] in heaven.
2 ·Slaves depend on their masters [L Like the eyes of servants/slaves to the hand of their master],
and ·a female servant depends on her mistress [L like the eyes of a maidservant to the hand of her mistress].
·In the same way, we depend on the Lord our God [L …thus our eyes are to the Lord our God as…];
we wait for him to show us ·mercy [grace].
3 ·Have mercy on [Be gracious to] us, Lord. ·Have mercy on [Be gracious to] us,
because we have been insulted.
4 We ·have suffered [are filled with the] ·many insults [much ridicule] from ·lazy [untroubled; unworried] people
and much ·cruelty [scorn] from the proud.
Childlike Trust in the Lord
A song ·for going up to worship [of ascents; C perhaps sung while traveling to Jerusalem to celebrate an annual religious festival like Passover]. Of David.
131 Lord, my heart is not proud;
·I don’t look down on others [L my eyes are not haughty/lifted up].
I don’t ·do [consider doing] great things,
and I ·can’t do [don’t consider doing] ·miracles [wonderful acts].
2 But I ·am calm and quiet [L have stilled and quieted my soul]
like a ·baby [L weaned child] with its mother,
like a ·baby [L weaned child] with its mother [C a relationship with God is like that of a mother with her weaned child resting comfortably in her arms].
3 People of Israel, put your hope in the Lord
now and forever.
In Praise of the Temple
A song ·for going up to worship [of ascents; C perhaps sung while traveling to Jerusalem to celebrate an annual religious festival like Passover].
132 Lord, remember David
and all his ·suffering [afflictions].
2 He ·made an oath [swore] to the Lord,
a ·promise [vow] to the Mighty God of Jacob [Gen. 49:24].
3 He said, “I will not ·go home to my house [L enter into the tent of my house],
or ·lie down on my bed [L go up to the couch of my bed],
4 or ·close [L give sleep to] my eyes,
or ·let myself sleep [L slumber to my pupils]
5 until I find a place for the Lord.
I want to provide a home for the Mighty God of Jacob [Gen. 49:24].”
6 We heard about it [C the Ark] in ·Bethlehem [L Ephrathah].
We found it in the fields of Jearim [C Kiriath Jearim; 1 Sam 6:21—7:2].
7 Let’s go to ·the Lord’s house [L his dwelling].
Let’s worship at his footstool [C the Ark].
8 Rise, Lord, and come to your resting place;
come with the Ark that shows your strength.
9 May your priests ·do what is right [L be clothed with righteousness].
May your ·people [saints; loyal ones] sing for joy.
10 For the sake of your servant David,
do not ·reject [L turn from the face of] your ·appointed [anointed] king.
11 The Lord ·made a promise [swore] to David,
a sure promise that he will not take back [2 Sam. 7:12–16, 28].
He promised, “I will ·make one of your descendants
rule as king after you [L set on your throne from the fruit of your womb; Acts 2:30].
12 If your sons ·keep [observe; guard] my ·agreement [covenant; treaty]
and the ·rules [decrees; testimonies] that I teach them,
then their sons after them will ·rule [L sit]
on your throne forever and ever.”
13 The Lord has chosen ·Jerusalem [L Zion; C the location of the Temple];
he ·wants [desires] it for his home.
14 He says, “This is my resting place forever.
Here is where I ·want to stay [L will sit/reside because I desire it].
15 I will bless her with ·plenty [provisions];
I will ·fill [satisfy] her poor with ·food [bread].
16 I will ·cover [L clothe] her priests with ·salvation [victory],
and ·those who worship me [L her saints/loyal ones] will really sing for joy.
17 “I will ·make a king come from the family of [L cause a horn to sprout up for; C an animal’s horn symbolizes strength] David [Luke 1:69–70].
I will ·provide my appointed one descendants to rule after him [L prepare a lamp for my anointed king; 2 Sam. 21:17].
18 I will ·cover [L clothe] his enemies with shame,
but his crown will shine.”
14 The Lord says,
“The ·goods made in [L labor of] Egypt and the ·products [merchandise; or revenue] of ·Cush [Ethiopia]
and the tall people of Seba [43:3]
will ·come to [or be brought to] you
and will become yours.
·The Sabeans [L They] will walk behind you,
coming along in chains [C Israel is depicted as a great empire, receiving tribute from other nations].
They will bow down before you
and pray to you [C because they recognize Israel as God’s representative], saying,
‘God is with you,
and there is no other God.’”
15 God and Savior of Israel,
·you are [or how, then, can you be…?] a God ·that people cannot see [L who hides himself].
16 All the people who make idols will be put to great shame;
they will go off together in ·disgrace [humiliation; or confusion].
17 But Israel will be saved by the Lord,
and that salvation will continue forever.
Never again will Israel be ·put to shame [shamed; disgraced].
18 The Lord created the heavens.
He is the God who formed the earth and made it.
He did not ·want [create] it to be ·empty [or formless; chaotic; Gen. 1:2],
but he ·wanted life on the earth [L formed it to be inhabited].
This is what the Lord says:
“I am the Lord. There is no other God.
19 I did not speak in secret
or hide my words in some dark place.
I did not tell the ·family [descendants; offspring; seed] of Jacob
to ·look for me in empty places [or seek me in vain].
I am the Lord, and I speak the truth;
I say what is right.
Paul’s Work for the Church
24 [L Now] I ·am happy [rejoice] in my sufferings for you. And I ·accept [fill up; complete] in my ·body [flesh] what ·Christ must still suffer [or is lacking in the suffering of Christ] ·through [or on behalf of] his body, the church. [C By suffering while spreading the Gospel, Paul both participates in Christ’s death and helps complete God’s plan.] 25 I became a ·servant [minister] of the church because God gave me a ·special work to do [stewardship; commission] ·that helps you [L for you], and that work is to ·tell fully [or complete; or preach everywhere; L fulfill] the ·message [word] of God. 26 This message is the ·secret [mystery; C something God had not previously disclosed; Eph. 1:9] that was hidden from ·everyone since the beginning of time [L ages and generations], but now it is made known to ·God’s holy people [T the saints]. 27 God ·decided [chose; willed] to let his people know this rich and glorious ·secret [mystery; 1:26] which he has for ·all people [the nations/Gentiles]. This ·secret [mystery] is ·that Christ lives in you. He is our only hope for glory [L Christ in you, the hope of glory]. 28 So we continue to ·preach [proclaim; announce] Christ to each person, using all wisdom to ·warn [instruct; admonish] and to teach everyone, in order to bring each one into God’s presence as a mature person in Christ. 29 To do this, I ·work [toil; labor] and struggle, using ·Christ’s [L his] great strength that works so powerfully in me.
2 [L For] I want you to know how hard I ·work [contend; struggle] for you, those in Laodicea [C a city northwest of Colossae; 4:16; Rev. 3:14–22], and others who have never ·seen me [met me personally; L seen my face in the flesh]. 2 I want ·them [L their hearts] to be ·strengthened [encouraged; comforted] and joined together with love so that they may be rich in their ·understanding [L assurance of understanding]. This leads to their knowing fully God’s ·secret [mystery; 1:26], that is, Christ himself. 3 In him all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are ·safely kept [hidden].
4 I say this so that no one can ·fool [deceive] you by ·arguments that seem good, but are false [persuasive/enticing/specious arguments]. 5 [L For] Though I am absent from you in my body, ·my heart is [in spirit I am] with you, and I ·am happy [rejoice] to see your ·good lives [discipline; orderly lives; or unbroken ranks] and your ·strong [firm; steadfast] faith in Christ.
Continue to Live in Christ
6 [L Therefore] As you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so continue to ·live [walk] in him. 7 Keep your roots deep in him and have your lives built on him. Be ·strong [established] in the faith, just as you were taught, ·and always be thankful [abounding/overflowing with gratitude].
Jesus Is the Light of the World
12 Later, Jesus talked to the people again, saying, “I am the light of the world [C the Feast of Shelters included a lamp lighting ritual that Jesus may be alluding to; 7:37–39]. The person who follows me will never ·live [L walk] in darkness but will have the light ·that gives life [L of life].”
13 The Pharisees [see 1:24] said to Jesus, “When you ·talk [testify; witness] about yourself, ·you are the only one to say these things are true. We cannot accept what you say [L your testimony/witness is not true/valid; 5:31].”
14 Jesus answered, “Yes, I am ·saying these things [witnessing; testifying] about myself, but they are true [valid]. I know where I came from [C from the Father or “from above”] and where I am going. But you don’t know where I came from or where I am going. 15 You judge ·by human standards [T according to the flesh; C rather than guided by the Spirit]. I am not judging anyone. 16 But ·when [if] I do judge, ·I judge truthfully [L my judgment is true], because I am not alone. The Father who sent me is with me. 17 Your own law says that ·when two witnesses say the same thing, you must accept what they say [L the testimony of two witnesses is true/valid; Deut. 17:6; 19:15]. 18 I am one of the witnesses who speaks about myself, and the Father who sent me is the other witness.”
19 [L Therefore] They asked him, “Where is your father?”
Jesus answered, “You don’t know me or my Father. If you knew me, you would know my Father, too.”
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