Book of Common Prayer
Prayer for deliverance from the treacherous.
A Song of Ascents.
120 In my distress I cried unto Jehovah,
And he answered me.
2 Deliver my soul, O Jehovah, from lying lips,
And from a deceitful tongue.
3 What shall be given unto thee, and what shall be done more unto thee,
Thou deceitful tongue?
4 [a]Sharp arrows of the mighty,
With coals of [b]juniper.
5 Woe is me, that I sojourn in Meshech,
That I dwell among the tents of Kedar!
6 My soul hath long had her dwelling
With him that hateth peace.
7 I am for peace:
But when I speak, they are for war.
Jehovah the keeper of his people.
A Song of Ascents.
121 I will lift up mine eyes unto the mountains:
From whence shall my help come?
2 My help cometh from Jehovah,
Who made heaven and earth.
3 [c]He will not suffer thy foot to be moved:
He that keepeth thee will not slumber.
4 Behold, he that keepeth Israel
Will neither slumber nor sleep.
5 Jehovah is thy keeper:
Jehovah is thy shade upon thy right hand.
6 The sun shall not smite thee by day,
Nor the moon by night.
7 Jehovah will keep thee from all evil;
He will keep thy soul.
8 Jehovah will keep thy going out and thy coming in
From this time forth and for evermore.
Prayer for the peace of Jerusalem.
A Song of Ascents; of David.
122 I was glad when they said unto me,
Let us go unto the house of Jehovah.
2 Our feet [d]are standing
Within thy gates, O Jerusalem,
3 Jerusalem, that art builded
As a city that is compact together;
4 Whither the tribes go up, even the tribes of [e]Jehovah,
For [f]an ordinance for Israel,
To give thanks unto the name of Jehovah.
5 For there [g]are set thrones for judgment,
The thrones of the house of David.
6 [h]Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:
[i]They shall prosper that love thee.
7 Peace be within thy walls,
And prosperity within thy palaces.
8 For my brethren and companions’ sakes,
I will now [j]say, Peace be within thee.
9 For the sake of the house of Jehovah our God
I will seek thy good.
An expectant prayer for Jehovah’s help.
A Song of Ascents.
123 Unto thee do I lift up mine eyes,
O thou that sittest in the heavens.
2 Behold, as the eyes of servants look unto the hand of their master,
As the eyes of a maid unto the hand of her mistress;
So our eyes look unto Jehovah our God,
Until he have mercy upon us.
3 Have mercy upon us, O Jehovah, have mercy upon us;
For we are exceedingly filled with contempt.
4 Our soul is exceedingly filled
With the scoffing of those that are at ease,
And with the contempt of the proud.
Praise for rescue from enemies.
A Song of Ascents; of David.
124 If it had not been Jehovah who was on our side,
Let Israel now say,
2 If it had not been Jehovah who was on our side,
When men rose up against us;
3 Then they had swallowed us up alive,
When their wrath was kindled against us:
4 Then the waters had overwhelmed us,
The stream had gone over our soul;
5 Then the proud waters had gone over our soul.
6 Blessed be Jehovah,
Who hath not given us as a prey to their teeth.
7 Our soul is escaped as a bird out of the snare of the fowlers:
The snare is broken, and we are escaped.
8 Our help is in the name of Jehovah,
Who made heaven and earth.
Jehovah round about his people.
A Song of Ascents.
125 They that trust in Jehovah
Are as mount Zion, which cannot be moved, but abideth for ever.
2 As the mountains are round about Jerusalem,
So Jehovah is round about his people
From this time forth and for evermore.
3 For the sceptre of wickedness shall not rest upon the lot of the righteous;
That the righteous put not forth their hands unto iniquity.
4 Do good, O Jehovah, unto those that are good,
And to them that are upright in their hearts.
5 But as for such as turn aside unto their crooked ways,
Jehovah will lead them forth with the workers of iniquity.
Peace be upon Israel.
Thanksgiving for return from captivity.
A Song of Ascents.
126 When Jehovah brought back those that returned to Zion,
We were like unto them that dream.
2 Then was our mouth filled with laughter,
And our tongue with singing:
Then said they among the nations,
Jehovah hath done great things for them.
3 Jehovah hath done great things for us,
Whereof we are glad.
4 Turn again our captivity, O Jehovah,
As the streams in the South.
5 They that sow in tears shall reap in joy.
6 He that goeth forth and weepeth, [k]bearing seed for sowing,
Shall doubtless come again with joy, bringing his sheaves with him.
Prosperity comes from Jehovah.
A Song of Ascents; of Solomon.
127 Except Jehovah build the house,
They labor in vain that build it:
Except Jehovah keep the city,
The watchman waketh but in vain.
2 It is vain for you to rise up early,
To take rest late,
To eat the bread of toil;
For so he giveth unto his beloved [l]sleep.
3 Lo, children are a heritage of Jehovah;
And the fruit of the womb is his reward.
4 As arrows in the hand of a mighty man,
So are the children of youth.
5 Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them:
They shall not be put to shame,
When they speak with their enemies in the gate.
4 Hear, my sons, the instruction of a father,
And attend to know understanding:
2 For I give you good doctrine;
Forsake ye not my [a]law.
3 For I was a son unto my father,
Tender and [b]only beloved in the sight of my mother.
4 And he taught me, and said unto me:
Let thy heart retain my words;
Keep my commandments, and live;
5 Get wisdom, get understanding;
Forget not, neither decline from the words of my mouth;
6 Forsake her not, and she will preserve thee;
Love her, and she will keep thee.
7 [c]Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom;
Yea, with all [d]thy getting get understanding.
8 Exalt her, and she will promote thee;
She will bring thee to honor, when thou dost embrace her.
9 She will give to thy head a chaplet of grace;
A crown of [e]beauty will she deliver to thee.
10 Hear, O my son, and receive my sayings;
And the years of thy life shall be many.
11 I have taught thee in the way of wisdom;
I have led thee in paths of uprightness.
12 When thou goest, thy steps shall not be straitened;
And if thou runnest, thou shalt not stumble.
13 Take fast hold of instruction; let her not go:
Keep her; for she is thy life.
14 Enter not into the path of the wicked,
And walk not in the way of evil men.
15 Avoid it, pass not by it;
Turn from it, and pass on.
16 For they sleep not, except they do evil;
And their sleep is taken away, unless they cause some to fall.
17 For they eat the bread of wickedness,
And drink the wine of violence.
18 But the path of the righteous is as the dawning light,
That shineth more and more unto the perfect day.
19 The way of the wicked is as darkness:
They know not at what they stumble.
20 My son, attend to my words;
Incline thine ear unto my sayings.
21 Let them not depart from thine eyes;
Keep them in the midst of thy heart.
22 For they are life unto those that find them,
And health to all their flesh.
23 Keep thy heart [f]with all diligence;
For out of it are the issues of life.
24 Put away from thee a wayward mouth,
And perverse lips put far from thee.
25 Let thine eyes look right on,
And let thine eyelids look straight before thee.
26 [g]Make level the path of thy feet,
And let all thy ways be [h]established.
27 Turn not to the right hand nor to the left:
Remove thy foot from evil.
7 Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is begotten of God, and knoweth God. 8 He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. 9 Herein was the love of God manifested [a]in us, that God hath sent his only begotten Son into the world that we might live through him. 10 Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No man hath beheld God at any time: if we love one another, God abideth in us, and his love is perfected in us: 13 hereby we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit. 14 And we have beheld and bear witness that the Father hath sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world. 15 Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God abideth in him, and he in God. 16 And we know and have believed the love which God hath [b]in us. God is love; and he that abideth in love abideth in God, and God abideth in him. 17 Herein is love made perfect with us, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as he is, even so are we in this world. 18 There is no fear in love: but perfect love casteth out fear, because fear hath punishment; and he that feareth is not made perfect in love. 19 We love, because he first loved us. 20 If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, [c]cannot love God whom he hath not seen. 21 And this commandment have we from him, that he who loveth God love his brother also.
30 (Now Jesus was not yet come into the village, but was still in the place where Martha met him.) 31 The Jews then who were with her in the house, and were consoling her, when they saw Mary, that she rose up quickly and went out, followed her, supposing that she was going unto the tomb to [a]weep there. 32 Mary therefore, when she came where Jesus was, and saw him, fell down at his feet, saying unto him, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died. 33 When Jesus therefore saw her [b]weeping, and the Jews also [c]weeping who came with her, he [d]groaned in the spirit, and [e]was troubled, 34 and said, Where have ye laid him? They say unto him, Lord, come and see. 35 Jesus wept. 36 The Jews therefore said, Behold how he loved him! 37 But some of them said, Could not this man, who opened the eyes of him that was blind, have caused that this man also should not die? 38 Jesus therefore again [f]groaning in himself cometh to the tomb. Now it was a cave, and a stone lay [g]against it. 39 Jesus saith, Take ye away the stone. Martha, the sister of him that was dead, saith unto him, Lord, by this time [h]the body decayeth; for he hath been dead four days. 40 Jesus saith unto her, Said I not unto thee, that, if thou believedst, thou shouldest see the glory of God? 41 So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou heardest me. 42 And I knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the multitude that standeth around I said it, that they may believe that thou didst send me. 43 And when he had thus spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth. 44 He that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with [i]grave-clothes; and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go.
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