Book of Common Prayer
A song for those who go up to Jerusalem to worship the Lord.
120 I call out to the Lord when I’m in trouble,
and he answers me.
2 Lord, save me from people whose lips tell lies.
Save me from people whose tongues don’t tell the truth.
3 What will the Lord do to you, you lying tongue?
And what more will he do?
4 He will punish you with the sharp arrows of a soldier.
He will punish you with burning coals from a desert bush.
5 How terrible it is for me to live in the tents of the people of Meshek!
How terrible to live in the tents of the people of Kedar!
6 I have lived too long
among those who hate peace.
7 I want peace.
But when I speak, they want war.
A song for those who go up to Jerusalem to worship the Lord.
121 I look up to the mountains.
Where does my help come from?
2 My help comes from the Lord.
He is the Maker of heaven and earth.
3 He won’t let your foot slip.
He who watches over you won’t get tired.
4 In fact, he who watches over Israel
won’t get tired or go to sleep.
5 The Lord watches over you.
The Lord is like a shade tree at your right hand.
6 The sun won’t harm you during the day.
The moon won’t harm you during the night.
7 The Lord will keep you from every kind of harm.
He will watch over your life.
8 The Lord will watch over your life no matter where you go,
both now and forever.
A song for those who go up to Jerusalem to worship the Lord. A psalm of David.
122 I was very glad when they said to me,
“Let us go up to the house of the Lord.”
2 Jerusalem, our feet are standing
inside your gates.
3 Jerusalem is built like a city
where everything is close together.
4 The tribes of the Lord go there to praise his name.
They do it in keeping with the law he gave to Israel.
5 The thrones of the family line of David are there.
That’s where the people are judged.
6 Pray for the peace of Jerusalem. Say,
“May those who love you be secure.
7 May there be peace inside your walls.
May your people be kept safe.”
8 I’m concerned for my family and friends.
So I say to Jerusalem, “May you enjoy peace.”
9 I’m concerned about the house of the Lord our God.
So I pray that things will go well with Jerusalem.
A song for those who go up to Jerusalem to worship the Lord.
123 I look up and pray to you.
Your throne is in heaven.
2 Slaves depend on their masters.
A female slave depends on the woman she works for.
In the same way, we depend on the Lord our God.
We wait for him to have mercy on us.
3 Lord, have mercy on us. Have mercy on us,
because people haven’t stopped making fun of us.
4 We have had to put up with a lot from those who are proud.
They were always laughing at us.
A song for those who go up to Jerusalem to worship the Lord. A psalm of David.
124 Here is what Israel should say.
Suppose the Lord had not been on our side.
2 Suppose the Lord had not been on our side
when our enemies attacked us.
3 Suppose he had not been on our side
when their burning anger blazed out against us.
Then they would have swallowed us alive.
4 They would have been like a flood that drowned us.
They would have swept over us like a rushing river.
5 They would have washed us away
like a swollen stream.
6 Give praise to the Lord.
He has not let our enemies chew us up.
7 We have escaped like a bird
from a hunter’s trap.
The trap has been broken,
and we have escaped.
8 Our help comes from the Lord.
He is the Maker of heaven and earth.
A song for those who go up to Jerusalem to worship the Lord.
125 Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion.
They will always be secure. They will last forever.
2 Like the mountains around Jerusalem,
the Lord is all around his people
both now and forever.
3 Evil people will not always rule
the land the Lord gave to those who do right.
If they did, those who do right
might do what is evil.
4 Lord, do good to those who are good.
Do good to those whose hearts are honest.
5 But the Lord will drive out those who have taken crooked paths.
He will drive them out with those who do evil things.
May Israel enjoy peace.
A song for those who go up to Jerusalem to worship the Lord.
126 Our enemies took us away from Zion.
But when the Lord brought us home,
it seemed like a dream to us.
2 Our mouths were filled with laughter.
Our tongues sang with joy.
Then the people of other nations said,
“The Lord has done great things for them.”
3 The Lord has done great things for us.
And we are filled with joy.
4 Lord, bless us with great success again,
as rain makes streams flow in the Negev Desert.
5 Those who cry as they plant their crops
will sing with joy when they gather them in.
6 Those who go out weeping
as they carry seeds to plant
will come back singing with joy.
They will bring the new crop back with them.
A song for those who go up to Jerusalem to worship the Lord. A psalm of Solomon.
127 If the Lord doesn’t build a house,
the work of the builders is useless.
If the Lord doesn’t watch over a city,
it’s useless for those on guard duty to stand watch over it.
2 It’s useless for you to work from early morning
until late at night
just to get food to eat.
God provides for those he loves even while they sleep.
3 Children are a gift from the Lord.
They are a reward from him.
4 Children who are born to people when they are young
are like arrows in the hands of a soldier.
5 Blessed are those
who have many children.
They won’t be put to shame
when they go up against their enemies in court.
Hilkiah Finds the Book of the Law
22 Josiah was eight years old when he became king. He ruled in Jerusalem for 31 years. His mother’s name was Jedidah. She was the daughter of Adaiah. She was from Bozkath. 2 Josiah did what was right in the eyes of the Lord. He lived the way King David had lived. He didn’t turn away from it to the right or the left.
3 King Josiah sent his secretary Shaphan to the Lord’s temple. It was in the 18th year of Josiah’s rule. Shaphan was the son of Azaliah. Azaliah was the son of Meshullam. Josiah said, 4 “Go up to Hilkiah the high priest. Have him add up the money that has been brought into the Lord’s temple. The men who guard the doors have collected it from the people. 5 Have them put all the money in the care of certain men. These men have been put in charge of the work on the Lord’s temple. Have them pay the workers who repair it. 6 Have them pay the builders and those who work with wood. Have them pay those who lay the stones. Also have them buy lumber and blocks of stone to repair the temple. 7 But they don’t have to report how they use the money that is given to them. That’s because they are completely honest.”
8 Hilkiah the high priest spoke to Shaphan the secretary. Hilkiah said, “I’ve found the Book of the Law in the Lord’s temple.” Hilkiah gave it to Shaphan, who read it. 9 Then Shaphan went to King Josiah. Shaphan told him, “Your officials have paid out the money that was in the Lord’s temple. They’ve put it in the care of the workers and directors there.” 10 Shaphan continued, “Hilkiah the priest has given me a book.” Shaphan read some of it to the king.
11 The king heard the words of the Book of the Law. When he did, he tore his royal robes. 12 He gave orders to Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam, Akbor, Shaphan the secretary and Asaiah. Ahikam was the son of Shaphan. Akbor was the son of Micaiah. And Asaiah was the king’s attendant. Josiah commanded them, 13 “Go. Ask the Lord for advice. Ask him about what is written in this book that has been found. Do it for me. Also do it for the people and the whole nation of Judah. The Lord is very angry with us. That’s because our people who have lived before us didn’t obey the words of this book. They didn’t do everything written there about us.”
Proper Worship
2 I praise you for being faithful in remembering me. I also praise you for staying true to the teachings of the past. You have stayed true to them, just as I gave them to you.
Celebrating the Lord’s Supper in the Right Way
17 In the following matters, I don’t praise you. Your meetings do more harm than good. 18 First, here is what people are telling me. When you come together as a church, you take sides. And in some ways I believe it. 19 Do you really think you need to take sides? You probably think God favors one side over the other! 20 So when you come together, it is not the Lord’s Supper you eat. 21 As you eat, some of you go ahead and eat your own private meals. Because of this, one person stays hungry and another gets drunk. 22 Don’t you have homes to eat and drink in? You are shaming those in the church who have nothing. Do you think so little of God’s church that you do this? What should I say to you? Should I praise you? Certainly not about the Lord’s Supper!
Jesus Forgives and Heals a Man Who Could Not Walk
9 Jesus stepped into a boat. He went over to the other side of the lake and came to his own town. 2 Some men brought to him a man who could not walk. He was lying on a mat. Jesus saw that they had faith. So he said to the man, “Don’t lose hope, son. Your sins are forgiven.”
3 Then some teachers of the law said to themselves, “This fellow is saying a very evil thing!”
4 Jesus knew what they were thinking. So he said, “Why do you have evil thoughts in your hearts? 5 Is it easier to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven’? Or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? 6 But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he spoke to the man who could not walk. “Get up,” he said. “Take your mat and go home.” 7 The man got up and went home. 8 When the crowd saw this, they were filled with wonder. They praised God for giving that kind of authority to a human being.
Copyright © 1995, 1996, 1998, 2014 by Biblica, Inc.®. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.