Book of Common Prayer
131 Lord, I am not proud and haughty. I don’t think myself better than others. I don’t pretend to “know it all.” 2 I am quiet now before the Lord, just as a child who is weaned from the breast. Yes, my begging has been stilled.
3 O Israel, you too should quietly trust in the Lord—now, and always.
132 Lord, do you remember that time when my heart[a] was so filled with turmoil? 2-5 I couldn’t rest, I couldn’t sleep, thinking how I ought to build a permanent home for the Ark of the Lord,[b] a Temple for the Mighty One of Israel. Then I vowed that I would do it; I made a solemn promise to the Lord.
6 First the Ark was in Ephrathah,[c] then in the distant countryside of Jaar. 7 But now it will be settled in the Temple, in God’s permanent home here on earth. That is where we will go to worship him.[d] 8 Arise, O Lord, and enter your Temple with the Ark, the symbol of your power.
9 We will clothe the priests in white, the symbol of all purity. May our nation shout for joy.
10 Do not reject your servant David—the king you chose for your people. 11 For you promised me that my son would sit on my throne and succeed me. And surely you will never go back on a promise! 12 You also promised that if my descendants will obey the terms of your contract with me, then the dynasty of David shall never end.
13 O Lord, you have chosen Jerusalem[e] as your home: 14 “This is my permanent home where I shall live,” you said, “for I have always wanted it this way. 15 I will make this city prosperous and satisfy her poor with food. 16 I will clothe her priests with salvation; her saints shall shout for joy. 17 David’s power shall grow, for I have decreed for him a mighty Son.[f] 18 I’ll clothe his enemies with shame, but he shall be a glorious King.”
133 How wonderful it is, how pleasant, when brothers live in harmony! 2 For harmony is as precious as the fragrant anointing oil that was poured over Aaron’s head and ran down onto his beard and onto the border of his robe. 3 Harmony is as refreshing as the dew on Mount Hermon, on the mountains of Israel. And God has pronounced this eternal blessing on Jerusalem,[g] even life forevermore.
134 Oh, bless the Lord, you who serve him as watchmen in the Temple every night. 2 Lift your hands in holiness and bless the Lord.
3 The Lord bless you from Zion—the Lord who made heaven and earth.
135 Hallelujah! 2 Yes, let his people praise him as they stand in his Temple courts. 3 Praise the Lord because he is so good; sing to his wonderful name. 4 For the Lord has chosen Israel as his personal possession.
5 I know the greatness of the Lord—that he is greater far than any other god. 6 He does whatever pleases him throughout all of heaven and earth and in the deepest seas. 7 He makes mists rise throughout the earth; he sends the lightning to bring down the rain and sends the winds from his treasuries. 8 He destroyed the eldest child in each Egyptian home, along with the firstborn of the flocks. 9 He did great miracles in Egypt before Pharaoh and all his people. 10 He smote great nations, slaying mighty kings— 11 Sihon, king of Amorites; and Og, the king of Bashan; and the kings of Canaan— 12 and gave their land as an eternal gift to his people Israel.
13 O Jehovah, your name endures forever; your fame is known to every generation. 14 For Jehovah will vindicate his people and have compassion on his servants.
15 The heathen worship idols of gold and silver made by men— 16 idols with speechless mouths, sightless eyes, 17 and ears that cannot hear; they cannot even breathe. 18 Those who make them become like them! And so do all who trust in them!
19 O Israel, bless Jehovah! High Priests of Aaron, bless his name. 20 O Levite priests, bless the Lord Jehovah! Oh, bless his name, all of you who trust and reverence him. 21 All people of Jerusalem, praise the Lord,[h] for he lives here in Jerusalem. Hallelujah!
11 “What have you done to me?” demanded King Balak. “I told you to curse my enemies, and now you have blessed them!”
12 But Balaam replied, “Can I say anything except what Jehovah tells me to?”
13 Then Balak told him, “Come with me to another place; there you will see only a portion of the nation of Israel. Curse at least that many!”
14 So King Balak took Balaam into the fields of Zophim at the top of Mount Pisgah, and built seven altars there; and he offered up a young bull and a ram on each altar.
15 Then Balaam said to the king, “Stand here by your burnt offering while I go to meet the Lord.” 16 And the Lord met Balaam and told him what to say. 17 So he returned to where the king and the princes of Moab were standing beside their burnt offerings.
“What has Jehovah said?” the king eagerly inquired.
18-24 And he replied,
“Rise up, Balak, and hear:
Listen to me, you son of Zippor.
God is not a man, that he should lie;
He doesn’t change his mind like humans do.
Has he ever promised,
Without doing what he said?
Look! I have received a command to bless them,
For God has blessed them,
And I cannot reverse it!
He has not seen sin in Jacob.
He will not trouble Israel!
Jehovah their God is with them.
He is their king!
God has brought them out of Egypt.
Israel has the strength of a wild ox.
No curse can be placed on Jacob,
And no magic shall be done against him.
For now it shall be said of Israel,
‘What wonders God has done for them!’
These people rise up as a lion;
They shall not lie down
Until they have eaten what they capture
And have drunk the blood of the slain!”
25 “If you aren’t going to curse them, at least don’t bless them!” the king exclaimed to Balaam.
26 But Balaam replied, “Didn’t I tell you that I must say whatever Jehovah tells me to?”
8 So there is now no condemnation awaiting those who belong to Christ Jesus. 2 For the power of the life-giving Spirit—and this power is mine through Christ Jesus—has freed me from the vicious circle of sin and death. 3 We aren’t saved from sin’s grasp by knowing the commandments of God because we can’t and don’t keep them, but God put into effect a different plan to save us. He sent his own Son in a human body like ours—except that ours are sinful—and destroyed sin’s control over us by giving himself as a sacrifice for our sins. 4 So now we can obey God’s laws if we follow after the Holy Spirit and no longer obey the old evil nature within us.
5 Those who let themselves be controlled by their lower natures live only to please themselves, but those who follow after the Holy Spirit find themselves doing those things that please God. 6 Following after the Holy Spirit leads to life and peace, but following after the old nature leads to death 7 because the old sinful nature within us is against God. It never did obey God’s laws and it never will. 8 That’s why those who are still under the control of their old sinful selves, bent on following their old evil desires, can never please God.
9 But you are not like that. You are controlled by your new nature if you have the Spirit of God living in you. (And remember that if anyone doesn’t have the Spirit of Christ living in him, he is not a Christian at all.) 10 Yet, even though Christ lives within you, your body will die because of sin; but your spirit will live, for Christ has pardoned it.[a] 11 And if the Spirit of God, who raised up Jesus from the dead, lives in you, he will make your dying bodies live again after you die, by means of this same Holy Spirit living within you.
22 1-2 Jesus told several other stories to show what the Kingdom of Heaven is like.
“For instance,” he said, “it can be illustrated by the story of a king who prepared a great wedding dinner for his son. 3 Many guests were invited, and when the banquet was ready, he sent messengers to notify everyone that it was time to come. But all refused! 4 So he sent other servants to tell them, ‘Everything is ready and the roast is in the oven. Hurry!’
5 “But the guests he had invited merely laughed and went on about their business, one to his farm, another to his store; 6 others beat up his messengers and treated them shamefully, even killing some of them.
7 “Then the angry king sent out his army and destroyed the murderers and burned their city. 8 And he said to his servants, ‘The wedding feast is ready, and the guests I invited aren’t worthy of the honor. 9 Now go out to the street corners and invite everyone you see.’
10 “So the servants did, and brought in all they could find, good and bad alike; and the banquet hall was filled with guests. 11 But when the king came in to meet the guests, he noticed a man who wasn’t wearing the wedding robe provided for him.[a]
12 “‘Friend,’ he asked, ‘how does it happen that you are here without a wedding robe?’ And the man had no reply.
13 “Then the king said to his aides, ‘Bind him hand and foot and throw him out into the outer darkness where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ 14 For many are called, but few are chosen.”
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.