Book of Common Prayer
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)
Psalm 133
Living in Harmony
A song of ascents. Of David.
1 How delightfully good
when brothers live together in harmony!(Y)
2 It is like fine oil on the head,
running down on the beard,
running down Aaron’s beard
onto his robes.(Z)
3 It is like the dew of Hermon[g]
falling on the mountains of Zion.(AA)
For there the Lord has appointed the blessing—
life forevermore.(AB)
Psalm 134
Call to Evening Worship
A song of ascents.
1 Now bless the Lord,
all you servants of the Lord
who stand in the Lord’s house at night!(AC)
2 Lift up your hands in the holy place
and bless the Lord!(AD)
3 May the Lord,
Maker of heaven and earth,
bless you from Zion.(AE)
Psalm 135
The Lord Is Great
1 Hallelujah!
Praise the name of the Lord.
Give praise, you servants of the Lord(AF)
2 who stand in the house of the Lord,
in the courts of the house of our God.(AG)
3 Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good;
sing praise to his name, for it is delightful.(AH)
4 For the Lord has chosen Jacob for himself,
Israel as his treasured possession.(AI)
5 For I know that the Lord is great;
our Lord is greater than all gods.(AJ)
6 The Lord does whatever he pleases
in heaven and on earth,
in the seas and all the depths.(AK)
7 He causes the clouds to rise from the ends of the earth.
He makes lightning for the rain
and brings the wind from his storehouses.(AL)
8 He struck down the firstborn of Egypt,
both people and animals.(AM)
9 He sent signs and wonders against you, Egypt,
against Pharaoh and all his officials.(AN)
10 He struck down many nations
and slaughtered mighty kings:(AO)
11 Sihon king of the Amorites,
Og king of Bashan,
and all the kings of Canaan.(AP)
12 He gave their land as an inheritance,
an inheritance to his people Israel.(AQ)
13 Lord, your name endures forever,
your reputation, Lord,
through all generations.(AR)
14 For the Lord will vindicate his people
and have compassion on his servants.(AS)
Job and His Family
1 There was a man in the country of Uz(A) named Job.(B) He was a man of complete integrity,(C) who feared God and turned away from evil.(D) 2 He had seven sons and three daughters.(E) 3 His estate included seven thousand sheep and goats, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, five hundred female donkeys,(F) and a very large number of servants. Job was the greatest man among all the people of the east.(G)
4 His sons used to take turns having banquets at their homes. They would send an invitation to their three sisters to eat and drink with them. 5 Whenever a round of banqueting was over, Job would send for his children and purify them, rising early in the morning to offer burnt offerings for[a] all of them. For Job thought, “Perhaps my children have sinned, having cursed God in their hearts.”(H) This was Job’s regular practice.
Satan’s First Test of Job
6 One day the sons of God(I) came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan[b] also came with them. 7 The Lord asked Satan, “Where have you come from?”
“From roaming through the earth,”(J) Satan answered him, “and walking around on it.”
8 Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? No one else on earth is like him, a man of perfect integrity,(K) who fears God and turns away from evil.”(L)
9 Satan answered the Lord, “Does Job fear God for nothing? 10 Haven’t you placed a hedge around(M) him, his household, and everything he owns? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. 11 But stretch out your hand and strike(N) everything he owns, and he will surely curse you to your face.”
12 “Very well,” the Lord told Satan, “everything he owns is in your power. However, do not lay a hand on Job himself.” So Satan left the Lord’s presence.
13 One day when Job’s sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house, 14 a messenger came to Job and reported, “While the oxen were plowing and the donkeys grazing nearby, 15 the Sabeans(O) swooped down and took them away. They struck down the servants with the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you!”
16 He was still speaking when another messenger came and reported, “God’s fire fell from heaven.(P) It burned the sheep and the servants and devoured them, and I alone have escaped to tell you!”
17 That messenger was still speaking when yet another came and reported, “The Chaldeans formed three bands, made a raid on the camels, and took them away. They struck down the servants with the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you!”
18 He was still speaking when another messenger came and reported, “Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house. 19 Suddenly a powerful wind swept in from the desert and struck the four corners of the house. It collapsed on the young people so that they died, and I alone have escaped to tell you!”
20 Then Job stood up, tore(Q) his robe, and shaved(R) his head. He fell to the ground and worshiped, 21 saying:
Naked I came from my mother’s womb,(S)
and naked I will leave this life.[c](T)
The Lord gives, and the Lord takes away.
Blessed be the name of the Lord.(U)
22 Throughout all this Job did not sin or blame God for anything.[d](V)
The Conversion of the Ethiopian Official
26 An angel of the Lord spoke to Philip: “Get up and go south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” (This is the desert road.[a](A)) 27 So he got up and went. There was an Ethiopian man, a eunuch(B) and high official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of her entire treasury. He had come to worship in Jerusalem(C) 28 and was sitting in his chariot on his way home, reading the prophet Isaiah aloud.
29 The Spirit told Philip, “Go and join that chariot.”(D)
30 When Philip ran up to it, he heard him reading the prophet Isaiah, and said, “Do you understand what you’re reading?”
31 “How can I,” he said, “unless someone guides me?” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. 32 Now the Scripture passage he was reading was this:
He was led like a sheep to the slaughter,
and as a lamb is silent before its shearer,
so he does not open his mouth.
33 In his humiliation justice was denied him.
Who will describe his generation?
For his life is taken from the earth.[b](E)
34 The eunuch said to Philip, “I ask you, who is the prophet saying this about—himself or someone else?” 35 Philip proceeded to tell him the good news about Jesus, beginning with that Scripture.(F)
36 As they were traveling down the road, they came to some water. The eunuch said, “Look, there’s water. What would keep me from being baptized?” [c] 38 So he ordered the chariot to stop, and both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him. 39 When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord(G) carried Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him any longer but went on his way rejoicing. 40 Philip appeared in[d] Azotus,[e] and he was traveling and preaching the gospel in all the towns until he came to Caesarea.(H)
The Fifth Sign: Walking on Water
16 When(A) evening came, his disciples went down to the sea, 17 got into a boat, and started across the sea to Capernaum.(B) Darkness had already set in, but Jesus had not yet come to them. 18 A high wind arose, and the sea began to churn. 19 After they had rowed about three or four miles,[a] they saw Jesus walking on the sea. He was coming near the boat, and they were afraid. 20 But he said to them, “It is I.[b](C) Don’t be afraid.” 21 Then they were willing to take him on board, and at once the boat was at the shore where they were heading.
The Bread of Life
22 The next day, the crowd that had stayed on the other side of the sea saw there had been only one boat.[c](D) They also saw that Jesus had not boarded the boat with his disciples, but that his disciples had gone off alone. 23 Some boats from Tiberias(E) came near the place where they had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks. 24 When the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they got into the boats and went to Capernaum looking for Jesus. 25 When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, “Rabbi,(F) when did you get here?”
26 Jesus answered, “Truly I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw[d] the signs, but because you ate the loaves and were filled. 27 Don’t work for the food that perishes(G) but for the food that lasts for eternal life,(H) which the Son of Man(I) will give you, because God the Father(J) has set his seal of approval on him.”
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