Book of Common Prayer
Deliver Me, O Lord
A Song of (A)Ascents.
120 In my distress I called to the Lord,
and he answered me.
2 Deliver me, O Lord,
from lying lips,
from a deceitful tongue.
3 What shall be given to you,
(B)and what more shall be done to you,
you deceitful tongue?
4 (C)A warrior's (D)sharp arrows,
with glowing (E)coals of the broom tree!
5 Woe to me, that I sojourn in (F)Meshech,
that I dwell among (G)the tents of (H)Kedar!
6 Too long have I had my dwelling
among those who hate peace.
7 (I)I am for peace,
but when I speak, they are for war!
My Help Comes from the Lord
A Song of (J)Ascents.
121 I (K)lift up my eyes to (L)the hills.
From where does my help come?
2 (M)My help comes from the Lord,
who (N)made heaven and earth.
3 He will not (O)let your foot be moved;
he who (P)keeps you will not slumber.
4 Behold, he who keeps Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.
5 The Lord is your keeper;
the Lord is your (Q)shade on your (R)right hand.
6 (S)The sun shall not (T)strike you by day,
nor the moon by night.
7 The Lord will (U)keep you from all evil;
he will (V)keep your life.
8 The Lord will keep
your (W)going out and your coming in
from this time forth and forevermore.
Let Us Go to the House of the Lord
A Song of (X)Ascents. Of David.
122 I was glad when they said to me,
(Y)“Let us go to the house of the Lord!”
2 Our feet have been standing
within your gates, O Jerusalem!
3 Jerusalem—(Z)built as a city
that is (AA)bound firmly together,
4 to which the tribes (AB)go up,
the tribes of the Lord,
as was (AC)decreed for[a] Israel,
to give thanks to the name of the Lord.
5 There (AD)thrones for judgment were set,
the thrones of the house of David.
6 (AE)Pray for the peace of Jerusalem!
“May they be secure who love you!
7 Peace be within your (AF)walls
and security within your (AG)towers!”
8 For my brothers and companions' sake
I will say, (AH)“Peace be within you!”
9 For the sake of the house of the Lord our God,
I will (AI)seek your good.
Our Eyes Look to the Lord Our God
A Song of (AJ)Ascents.
123 To you I (AK)lift up my eyes,
O you who are (AL)enthroned in the heavens!
2 Behold, as the eyes of servants
look to the hand of their master,
as the eyes of a maidservant
to the hand of her mistress,
so our eyes look to the Lord our God,
till he has mercy upon us.
3 (AM)Have mercy upon us, O Lord, have mercy upon us,
for we have had more than enough of (AN)contempt.
4 Our soul has had more than enough
of (AO)the scorn of (AP)those who are at ease,
of the contempt of (AQ)the proud.
Our Help Is in the Name of the Lord
A Song of (AR)Ascents. Of David.
124 (AS)If it had not been the Lord who was on our side—
(AT)let Israel now say—
2 if it had not been the Lord who was on our side
when people rose up against us,
3 then they would have (AU)swallowed us up alive,
when their anger was kindled against us;
4 then (AV)the flood would have (AW)swept us away,
the torrent would have gone (AX)over us;
5 then over us would have gone
the raging waters.
6 Blessed be the Lord,
who has not given us
as prey to their teeth!
7 We have escaped like a bird
from (AY)the snare of the fowlers;
the snare is broken,
and we have escaped!
8 (AZ)Our help is in the name of the Lord,
who made heaven and earth.
The Lord Surrounds His People
A Song of (BA)Ascents.
125 Those who (BB)trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion,
which (BC)cannot be moved, but abides forever.
2 As the mountains surround Jerusalem,
so (BD)the Lord surrounds his people,
from this time forth and forevermore.
3 For (BE)the scepter of wickedness shall not (BF)rest
on (BG)the land allotted to the righteous,
lest the righteous (BH)stretch out
their hands to do wrong.
4 (BI)Do good, O Lord, to those who are good,
and to those who are (BJ)upright in their hearts!
5 But those who (BK)turn aside to their (BL)crooked ways
the Lord will lead away with (BM)evildoers!
(BN)Peace be upon Israel!
Restore Our Fortunes, O Lord
A Song of (BO)Ascents.
126 When the Lord (BP)restored the fortunes of Zion,
we were like those who (BQ)dream.
2 Then our (BR)mouth was filled with laughter,
and our tongue with shouts of joy;
then they said among the nations,
(BS)“The Lord has done great things for them.”
3 The Lord has done great things for us;
we are glad.
4 Restore our fortunes, O Lord,
like streams in the Negeb!
5 (BT)Those who sow in tears
shall reap with shouts of joy!
6 He who goes out weeping,
bearing the seed for sowing,
shall come home with shouts of joy,
bringing his sheaves with him.
Unless the Lord Builds the House
A Song of (BU)Ascents. Of Solomon.
Making Bricks Without Straw
5 Afterward Moses and Aaron went and said to Pharaoh, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘Let my people go, that they may hold (A)a feast to me in the wilderness.’” 2 But Pharaoh said, (B)“Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, and moreover, (C)I will not let Israel go.” 3 Then they said, “The (D)God of the Hebrews has met with us. Please let us go a three days' journey into the wilderness that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God, lest he fall upon us with pestilence or with the sword.” 4 But the king of Egypt said to them, “Moses and Aaron, why do you take the people away from their work? Get back to your (E)burdens.” 5 And Pharaoh said, “Behold, (F)the people of the land are now many,[a] and you make them rest from their burdens!” 6 The same day Pharaoh commanded the (G)taskmasters of the people and their (H)foremen, 7 “You shall no longer give the people straw to make bricks, as in the past; let them go and gather straw for themselves. 8 But the number of bricks that they made in the past you shall impose on them, you shall by no means reduce it, for they are idle. Therefore they cry, ‘Let us go and offer sacrifice to our God.’ 9 Let heavier work be laid on the men that they may labor at it and pay no regard to lying words.”
10 So the (I)taskmasters and the foremen of the people went out and said to the people, “Thus says Pharaoh, ‘I will not give you straw. 11 Go and get your straw yourselves wherever you can find it, but your work will not be reduced in the least.’” 12 So the people were scattered throughout all the land of Egypt to gather stubble for straw. 13 The (J)taskmasters were urgent, saying, “Complete your work, your daily task each day, as when there was straw.” 14 And the foremen of the people of Israel, whom Pharaoh's (K)taskmasters had set over them, were beaten and were asked, “Why have you not done all your task of making bricks today and yesterday, as in the past?”
15 Then the foremen of the people of Israel came and cried to Pharaoh, “Why do you treat your servants like this? 16 No straw is given to your servants, yet they say to us, ‘Make bricks!’ And behold, your servants are beaten; but the fault is in your own people.” 17 But he said, “You are idle, you are idle; that is why you say, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to the Lord.’ 18 Go now and work. No straw will be given you, but you must still deliver the same number of bricks.” 19 The foremen of the people of Israel saw that they were in trouble when they said, “You shall by no means reduce your number of bricks, your daily task each day.” 20 They met Moses and Aaron, who were waiting for them, as they came out from Pharaoh; 21 and (L)they said to them, “The Lord look on you and judge, because you have made us stink in the sight of Pharaoh and his servants, and have put a sword in their hand to kill us.”
22 Then Moses turned to the Lord and said, “O Lord, why have you done evil to this people? Why did you ever send me? 23 For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has done evil to this people, and you have not delivered your people at all.”
God Promises Deliverance
6 But the Lord said to Moses, “Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh; for with a strong hand he will send them out, and with (M)a strong hand he will (N)drive them out of his land.”
20 Brothers, (A)do not be children in your thinking. (B)Be infants in evil, but in your thinking be (C)mature. 21 (D)In the Law it is written, (E)“By people of strange tongues and by the lips of foreigners will I speak to this people, and even then they will not listen to me, says the Lord.” 22 Thus tongues are a sign not for believers but for unbelievers, while prophecy is a sign[a] not for unbelievers but for believers. 23 If, therefore, the whole church comes together and all speak in tongues, and outsiders or unbelievers enter, (F)will they not say that you are out of your minds? 24 But if all prophesy, and an unbeliever or outsider enters, he is convicted by all, he is called to account by all, 25 (G)the secrets of his heart are disclosed, and so, (H)falling on his face, he will worship God and (I)declare that God is really among you.
Orderly Worship
26 What then, brothers? When you come together, each one has (J)a hymn, (K)a lesson, (L)a revelation, (M)a tongue, or (N)an interpretation. (O)Let all things be done for building up. 27 If any speak in (P)a tongue, let there be only two or at most three, and each in turn, and let someone interpret. 28 But if there is no one to interpret, let each of them keep silent in church and speak to himself and to God. 29 Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others (Q)weigh what is said. 30 If a revelation is made to another sitting there, (R)let the first be silent. 31 For you can all prophesy one by one, so that all may learn and all be encouraged, 32 and the spirits of prophets are subject to prophets. 33 For God is not a God of (S)confusion but of peace.
As in (T)all the churches of the saints,
Temptations to Sin
42 (A)“Whoever causes one of (B)these little ones who believe in me to sin,[a] (C)it would be better for him if a great millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea. 43 (D)And if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than with two hands to go to (E)hell,[b] to (F)the unquenchable fire.[c] 45 (G)And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame than with two feet to be thrown into (H)hell. 47 (I)And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into (J)hell, 48 ‘where (K)their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.’ 49 For everyone will be salted with fire.[d] 50 (L)Salt is good, (M)but if the salt has lost its saltiness, how will you make it salty again? (N)Have salt in yourselves, and (O)be at peace with one another.”
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.