Book of Common Prayer
The Songs of Ascents and Great Hallel—Pss 120–136[a]
Psalm 120[b]
A Complaint against Treacherous Tongues
1 A song of ascents.
Whenever I am in distress,
I cry out to the Lord and he answers me.
2 Deliver me, O Lord, from lying lips
and from deceitful tongues.[c]
3 What will he[d] inflict upon you,
and what more will he add to it,
O deceitful tongue?
4 He has prepared a warrior’s sharp arrows
and red-hot coals[e] of the broom tree.
5 Why have I been doomed as an exile in Meshech
and forced to dwell among the tents of Kedar?[f]
6 Far too long have I lived
among people who despise peace.[g]
7 When I proclaim peace,
they shout for war.[h]
Psalm 121[i]
God, Guardian of His People
1 A song of ascents.
I lift up my eyes to the mountains;[j]
from where will I receive help?
2 My help comes from the Lord,
the Maker of heaven and earth.[k]
3 He will not permit your foot to stumble;
he who guards you will not fall asleep.[l]
4 Indeed, the one who guards Israel
never slumbers, never sleeps.[m]
5 [n]The Lord serves as your guardian;
he is at your right hand to serve as your shade.
6 The sun will not strike you during the day,
nor the moon during the night.
7 [o]The Lord will protect you against all evil;
he will watch over your life.
8 The Lord will watch over your coming and your going
both now and forevermore.
Psalm 122[p]
The Pilgrim’s Greeting to the Holy City
1 A song of ascents. Of David.
[q]I rejoiced when they said to me,
“Let us go to the house of the Lord.”
2 And finally our feet are standing
at your gates, O Jerusalem.
3 Jerusalem is built as a city
that is firmly bound together[r] in unity.
4 There the tribes go up,
the tribes of the Lord,
as it was decreed for Israel
to celebrate the name of the Lord.[s]
5 For there the thrones of judgment[t] were established,
the thrones of the house of David.
6 Pray for the peace[u] of Jerusalem:
“May those who love you rest secure.
7 May there be peace within your walls
and security in your palaces.”
8 [v]Out of love for my relatives and friends,
I will say, “May peace be within you.”
9 Out of love for the house of the Lord, our God,
I will pray for your well-being.
Psalm 123[w]
Prayer in Time of Spiritual Need
1 A song of ascents.
I lift up my eyes to you,
to you who are enthroned in heaven.[x]
2 Behold, as the eyes of servants[y]
are on the hand of their master,
or as the eyes of a maid
focus on the hand of her mistress,
so our eyes are on the Lord, our God,
as we wait for him to show us his mercy.
3 Show us your mercy, O Lord, show us your mercy,
for we have suffered more than our share of contempt.[z]
4 We have had to suffer far too long
the insults of the haughty[aa]
and the contempt of the arrogant.
Psalm 124[ab]
Thanksgiving for the Lord’s Help
1 A song of ascents. Of David.
[ac]If the Lord had not been on our side—
let Israel now proclaim—[ad]
2 if the Lord had not been on our side
when our enemies attacked[ae] us,
3 [af]then they would have swallowed us alive
as their wrath was kindled against us.
4 [ag]The waters would have washed us away,
the torrent would have swept over us,
5 and we would have drowned
in the raging waters.
6 Blessed be the Lord,
who did not give us as prey to their teeth.
7 We have escaped like a bird
from the snare of the fowlers;
the snare was broken,
and we escaped.[ah]
8 Our help is in the name of the Lord,
the Maker of heaven and earth.[ai]
Psalm 125[aj]
God, Protector of His People
1 A song of ascents.
Those who put their trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion,
which cannot be shaken but stands fast forever.[ak]
2 As the mountains surround Jerusalem,
so the Lord surrounds his people
both now and forevermore.[al]
3 The scepter of the wicked will not prevail
over the land allotted to the righteous,
so that the righteous will not be tempted
to turn their hands to evil.[am]
4 [an]Do good, O Lord, to those who are good,
to those who are upright of heart.[ao]
5 But the Lord will assign to the ranks of the evildoers
those who turn their hearts to wickedness.[ap]
May peace be granted to Israel.
Psalm 126[aq]
God, Our Joy and Our Hope
1 [ar]A song of ascents.
When the Lord brought home the captives to Zion,
we seemed to be dreaming.[as]
2 Our mouths were filled with laughter
and our tongues with songs of joy.
Then it was said among the nations,
“The Lord has done great things for them.”[at]
3 The Lord has indeed done great deeds for us,
and we are overflowing with joy.[au]
4 [av]Once again restore our fortunes,[aw] O Lord,
as you did for the streams in the Negeb.
5 Those who sow in tears[ax]
will reap with songs of joy.
6 Those who go forth weeping,
carrying the seeds to be sown,[ay]
will return with shouts of joy,
carrying their sheaves.
Psalm 127[az]
Need of Divine Assistance
1 A song of ascents. Of Solomon.
[ba]If the Lord does not build the house,[bb]
those who construct it labor in vain.
If the Lord does not guard the city,
those who keep watch over it do so in vain.
2 It is useless for you to rise earlier
and delay taking your rest at night,
toiling relentlessly for the bread you eat;
for while those he loves sleep,
he provides all of this for them.[bc]
3 [bd]Behold, children are a gift from the Lord,
a reward of the fruit of the womb.
4 Like arrows in the hands of a warrior
are the children born in one’s youth.[be]
5 Blessed is the man
who has filled his quiver with them.
He will never be forced to retreat
when he is confronted by his enemies at the city gate.[bf]
Chapter 5[a]
First Audience of Moses with Pharaoh. 1 Afterward, Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and proclaimed to him, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: ‘Let my people go so that they might celebrate a feast in the desert.’ ” 2 Pharaoh answered, “Who is the Lord that I should listen to his voice and let Israel leave? I do not know the Lord, and I will not let Israel leave.” 3 They said, “The God of the Hebrews has appeared to us. Let us leave for a journey of three days into the desert to celebrate a sacrifice to the Lord, our God, lest he punish us with plague or the sword.”
4 The king of Egypt said to them, “Why, Moses and Aaron, do you take the people away from their work? Return to your work.” 5 Pharaoh added, “Behold how numerous the people of the land are. Would you have them rest from their labors?”
6 On that day, Pharaoh gave this order to the taskmasters of the people and to his overseers:[b] 7 “Do not give any more straw[c] for making bricks to the people as you previously have. Let them get their own straw. 8 But you must demand that they make the same number of bricks as before, without any reduction. They are lazy. That is why they are protesting, ‘We wish to leave, we must sacrifice to our God.’ 9 Let more work be laid upon them so that they keep busy and not pay attention to lies.”
10 The taskmasters of the people and the overseers went out and spoke to the people: “Pharaoh has ordered, ‘I will not give you straw. 11 You can go and gather it for yourselves wherever you can find it, but your work must not decline.’ ”
12 The people scattered all throughout Egypt to gather stubble for straw. 13 But the taskmasters urged them on saying, “Finish your work, your daily quota, just as when you were given straw.”
14 Complaint of the Overseers. The overseers of the children of Israel, whom the taskmasters of Pharaoh had placed over them, beat them saying, “Why have you not finished your number of bricks today and yesterday like you did before?”
15 The overseers of the children of Israel came to Pharaoh and appealed to him saying, “Why do you treat your servants like this? 16 You have not given straw to your servants, but you tell them to make bricks. Your servants are beaten and it is the fault of your own people.” 17 He answered, “You are lazy, lazy! This is why you say, ‘We want to leave; we must sacrifice to the Lord.’ 18 Now go, work! You will not be given straw, but you will produce the same number of bricks.”
19 The overseers of the children of Israel saw that they were in trouble when they were told, “Do not lower the daily number of bricks.” 20 Upon leaving Pharaoh, they met Moses and Aaron who were waiting for them. 21 They said, “The Lord look upon you and judge, for you have made us hateful to Pharaoh and his ministers. You placed the sword in their hands to kill us.”
22 Renewal of God’s Promise. Moses turned again to the Lord and said, “My Lord, why have you treated this people so badly? Why did you send me? 23 From the time that I went to Pharaoh to speak to him in your name, he has treated this people harshly and you have not done anything to free your people.”
Chapter 6
1 The Lord said to Moses, “Now you will see what I am about to do to Pharaoh. With a mighty hand he will let them go. With a mighty hand he will drive them out of his land.”
20 Brethren, do not be childish in your thinking. Be like infants in regard to evil, but in your thinking be mature. 21 In the Law[a] it is written,
“By people speaking strange tongues
and by the lips of foreigners
I will speak to this people,
and even so they will not listen to me,
says the Lord.”
22 Clearly, then, tongues are intended as a sign not for believers but for unbelievers, while prophecy is designed not for unbelievers but for believers.
23 Therefore, if the whole Church has assembled and everyone is speaking in tongues, would not any uninstructed person or any unbeliever on entering conclude that you are all out of your minds? 24 However, if everyone is prophesying and an unbeliever or uninstructed person should enter, he would be reproved by all and judged by all, 25 and the secrets of his heart would be revealed. Then he would fall down and worship God, declaring, “God is truly in your midst.”
26 Let Everything Be Done Properly and in an Orderly Fashion. And so, what then should be done, brethren? When you assemble, each of you should bring a psalm or some lesson or a revelation, or speak in a tongue, or offer an interpretation. Everything should be done with the goal in mind of building up. 27 If any of you speak in a tongue, let only two or at most three come forward, one at a time, and someone must interpret. 28 If no one is available to interpret, let those who speak in tongues be silent in the church and speak only to themselves and to God.
29 As for the prophets, let two or three speak, and let the rest weigh their words. 30 Should a revelation be made to someone else who is sitting there, let the one who is speaking stop. 31 You can all prophesy, but one at a time, so that all may receive instruction and encouragement. 32 Indeed, the spirits of the prophets are subject to their prophets’ control, 33 for God is not a God of disorder but of peace.
As in all the Churches of the saints,
39 Therefore, brethren, be eager to prophesy and do not forbid speaking in tongues. 40 But ensure that everything is done properly and in an orderly fashion.
42 Woe to the World because of Scandals.[a]“If anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea.
43 “If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off.[b] It is preferable for you to enter life maimed than to have two hands and go into the unquenchable fire of Gehenna [ 44 where the devouring worm never dies and the fire is never quenched][c] 45 And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than to have two feet and be thrown into Gehenna [ 46 where the devouring worm never dies and the fire is never quenched]. 47 And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out. It is preferable for you to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be cast into Gehenna, 48 where the devouring worm never dies and the fire is never quenched.
49 The Simile of Salt.“For everyone will be salted with fire.[d] 50 Salt is good, but if salt loses its saltiness, how can you revive its flavor? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.”
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