Book of Common Prayer
Childlike Trust in the Lord.
A Song of [a]Ascents. Of David.
131 Lord, my heart is not proud, nor my eyes haughty;
Nor do I involve myself in great matters,
Or in things too difficult for me.
2
Surely I have calmed and quieted my soul;
Like a weaned child [resting] with his mother,
My soul is like a weaned child within me [composed and freed from discontent].
3
O Israel, hope in the Lord
From this time forth and forever.
Prayer for the Lord’s Blessing Upon the Sanctuary.
A Song of [b]Ascents.
132 O Lord, remember on David’s behalf
All his hardship and affliction;
2
How he swore to the Lord
And vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob:
3
“I absolutely will not enter my house,
Nor get into my bed—
4
I certainly will not permit my eyes to sleep
Nor my eyelids to slumber,
5
Until I find a place for the Lord,
A dwelling place for the Mighty One of Jacob (Israel).”(A)
6
Behold, we heard of it at Ephrathah;
We found it in the field of Jaar.(B)
7
Let us go into His tabernacle;
Let us worship at His footstool.
8
Arise, O Lord, to Your resting place,
You and the ark [the symbol] of Your strength.
9
Let Your priests be clothed with righteousness (right living),
And let Your godly ones shout for joy.
10
For the sake of Your servant David,
Do not turn away the face of Your anointed.
11
The Lord swore to David
A truth from which He will not turn back:
“One of your [c]descendants I will set upon your throne.(C)
12
“If your children will keep My covenant
And My testimony which I will teach them,
Their children also shall sit upon your throne forever.”
13
For the Lord has chosen Zion;
He has desired it for His dwelling place:
14
“This is My resting place forever” [says the Lord];
“Here will I dwell, for I have desired it.
15
“I will abundantly bless her provisions;
I will satisfy her poor with bread.
16
“Her priests also I will clothe with salvation,
And her godly ones will shout aloud for joy.
17
“There I will make the horn (strength) of David grow;
I have prepared a lamp for My anointed [fulfilling the promises].(D)
18
“His enemies I will clothe with shame,
But upon himself shall his crown shine.”
The Excellency of Brotherly Unity.
A Song of [d]Ascents. Of David.
133 Behold, how good and how pleasant it is
For brothers to dwell together in unity!
2
It is like the precious oil [of consecration] poured on the head,
Coming down on the beard,
Even the beard of Aaron,
Coming down upon the edge of his [priestly] robes [consecrating the whole body].(E)
3
It is like the dew of [Mount] Hermon
Coming down on the hills of Zion;
For there the Lord has commanded the blessing: life forevermore.
Greetings of Night Watchers.
A Song of [e]Ascents.
134 Behold, bless and praise the Lord, all servants of the Lord (priests, Levites),
Who stand and serve by night in the house of the Lord.(F)
2
Lift up your hands to the sanctuary
And bless the Lord.
3
May the Lord bless you from Zion,
He who made heaven and earth.
Praise the Lord’s Wonderful Works. Vanity of Idols.
135 Praise the Lord! (Hallelujah!)
Praise the name of the Lord;
Praise Him, O servants of the Lord (priests, Levites),
2
You who stand in the house of the Lord,
In the courts of the house of our God,
3
Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good;
Sing praises to His name, for it is gracious and lovely.
4
For the Lord has chosen [the descendants of] Jacob for Himself,
Israel for His own special treasure and possession.(G)
5
For I know that the Lord is great
And that our Lord is above all gods.
6
Whatever the Lord pleases, He does,
In the heavens and on the earth, in the seas and all deeps—
7
Who causes the clouds to rise from the ends of the earth;
Who makes lightning for the rain,
Who brings the wind from His storehouses;
8
Who struck the firstborn of Egypt,
Both of man and animal;(H)
9
Who sent signs and wonders into your midst, O Egypt,
Upon Pharaoh and all his servants.
10
Who struck many nations
And killed mighty kings,
11
Sihon, king of the Amorites,
Og, king of Bashan,
And all the kingdoms of Canaan;
12
And He gave their land as a heritage,
A heritage to Israel His people.
13
Your name, O Lord, endures forever,
Your fame and remembrance, O Lord, [endures] throughout all generations.
14
For the Lord will judge His people
And He will have compassion on His servants [revealing His mercy].(I)
15
The idols of the nations are silver and gold,
The work of men’s hands.
16
They have mouths, but they do not speak;
They have eyes, but they do not see;
17
They have ears, but they do not hear,
Nor is there any breath in their mouths.
18
Those who make idols are like them [absolutely worthless—spiritually blind, deaf, and powerless];
So is everyone who trusts in and relies on them.(J)
19
O house of Israel, bless and praise the Lord [with gratitude];
O house of Aaron, bless the Lord;
20
O house of Levi, bless the Lord;
You who fear the Lord [and worship Him with obedience], bless the Lord [with grateful praise]!(K)
21
Blessed be the Lord from Zion,
Who dwells [with us] at Jerusalem.
Praise the Lord! (Hallelujah!)
5 Now the Philistines gathered to fight against Israel, 30,000 chariots and 6,000 horsemen, and troops in multitude, like sand on the seashore. They came up and camped at Michmash, east of Beth-aven. 6 When the men of Israel saw that they were in a tight situation (for their troops were hard-pressed), they hid in caves, in thickets, in cellars, and in [dry] cisterns (pits). 7 Also some of the Hebrews had crossed the [river] Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead. As for Saul, he was still in Gilgal, and all the people followed him, trembling [in fear and anticipation].
8 Now Saul waited seven days, according to the appointed time which Samuel had set, but Samuel had not come to Gilgal; and the people were scattering away from Saul. 9 So Saul said, “Bring me the burnt offering and the peace offerings.” And [a]he offered the burnt offering [which he was forbidden to do]. 10 As soon as he finished offering the burnt offering, [b]Samuel finally came; Saul went out to meet and to [c]welcome him. 11 But Samuel said, “What have you done?” Saul said, “Since I saw that the people were scattering away from me, and that you did not come within the appointed time, and that the Philistines were assembling at Michmash, 12 therefore, I said, ‘Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not asked for the Lord’s favor [by making supplication to Him].’ So I forced myself to offer the burnt offering.” 13 Samuel said to Saul, “You have acted foolishly; you have not kept the commandment of the Lord your God, which He commanded you, for [if you had obeyed] the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. 14 But now your kingdom shall not endure. The Lord has sought out for Himself a man (David) after His own heart, and the Lord has appointed him as leader and ruler over His people, because you have not kept (obeyed) what the Lord commanded you.”
15 Then Samuel arose and went up from Gilgal to Gibeah of Benjamin. And Saul assembled and counted the people who were still with him, [only] about six hundred [fighting] men. 16 Saul and his son Jonathan and the people with them were staying in Geba of Benjamin, while the Philistines camped at Michmash. 17 And the raiding party came from the Philistine camp in three companies: one company turned toward Ophrah, to the land of Shual, 18 another company turned toward Beth-horon, and another toward the border overlooking the Valley of Zeboim toward the wilderness.
26 But an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Get up and go south to the road that runs from Jerusalem down to Gaza.” (This is a desert road). 27 So he got up and went; and there was an Ethiopian eunuch [a man of great authority], a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure. He had come to Jerusalem to worship, 28 and he was returning, and sitting in his chariot he was reading [the scroll of] the prophet Isaiah. 29 Then the [Holy] Spirit said to Philip, “Go up and join this chariot.” 30 Philip ran up and heard the man reading the prophet Isaiah, and asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?” 31 And he said, “Well, how could I [understand] unless someone guides me [correctly]?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. 32 Now this was the passage of Scripture which he was reading:
“Like a sheep He was led to the slaughter;
And as a lamb before its shearer is silent,
So He does not open His mouth.
33
“In humiliation His judgment was taken away [justice was denied Him].
Who will describe His generation?
For His life is taken from the earth.”(A)
34 The eunuch replied to Philip, “Please tell me, about whom does the prophet say this? About himself or about someone else?” 35 Then Philip spoke and beginning with this Scripture he preached Jesus to him [explaining that He is the promised Messiah and the source of salvation]. 36 As they continued along the road, they came to some water; and the eunuch exclaimed, “Look! Water! What forbids me from being baptized?” 37 [a][Philip said to him, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.” And he replied, “I do believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”] 38 And he ordered that the chariot be stopped; and both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and Philip baptized him. 39 When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord [suddenly] took Philip [and carried him] away [to a different place]; and the eunuch no longer saw him, but he went on his way rejoicing. 40 But Philip found himself at [b]Azotus, and as he passed through he preached the good news [of salvation] to all the cities, until he came to [c]Caesarea [Maritima].
Pilate Seeks Jesus’ Release
13 Pilate summoned the chief priests and the rulers and the people, 14 and said to them, “You brought this man before me as one who corrupts and incites the people to rebellion. After examining Him before you, I have found no guilt in this Man regarding the charges which you make against Him. 15 No, nor has Herod, for he sent Him back to us; and indeed, He has done nothing to deserve death. 16 Therefore I will punish Him [to teach Him a lesson] and release Him.” 17 [a][Now he was obligated to release to them one prisoner at the Feast.]
18 But they [loudly] shouted out all together, saying, “Away with this Man, and release Barabbas to us!”(A) 19 (He was one who had been thrown into prison for an insurrection that happened in the city, and for murder.) 20 Pilate addressed them again, wanting to release Jesus, 21 but they kept shouting out, “Crucify, crucify Him!” 22 A third time he said to them, “Why, what wrong has He done? I have found no guilt [no crime, no offense] in Him demanding death; therefore I will punish Him [to teach Him a lesson] and release Him.” 23 But they were insistent and unrelenting, demanding with loud voices that Jesus be crucified. And their voices began to prevail and accomplish their purpose. 24 Pilate pronounced sentence that their demand be granted. 25 And he released the man they were asking for who had been thrown into prison for insurrection and murder, but he handed over Jesus to their will.
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