Book of Common Prayer
Childlike trust in Jehovah.
A Song of Ascents; of David.
131 Jehovah, my heart is not haughty, nor mine eyes lofty;
Neither do I [a]exercise myself in great matters,
Or in things too wonderful for me.
2 Surely I have stilled and quieted my soul;
Like a weaned child with his mother,
Like a weaned child is my soul within me.
3 O Israel, hope in Jehovah
From this time forth and for evermore.
Prayer for Jehovah’s blessing upon the sanctuary.
A Song of Ascents.
132 Jehovah, remember for David
All his affliction;
2 How he sware unto Jehovah,
And vowed unto the Mighty One of Jacob:
3 Surely I will not come into the [b]tabernacle of my house,
Nor go up into [c]my bed;
4 I will not give sleep to mine eyes,
Or slumber to mine eyelids;
5 Until I find out a place for Jehovah,
[d]A tabernacle for the Mighty One of Jacob.
6 Lo, we heard of it in [e]Ephrathah:
We found it in the field of [f]the wood.
7 We will go into his tabernacles;
We will worship at his footstool.
8 Arise, O Jehovah, into thy resting-place;
Thou, and the ark of thy strength.
9 Let thy priests be clothed with righteousness;
And let thy saints shout for joy.
10 For thy servant David’s sake
Turn not away the face of thine anointed.
11 Jehovah hath sworn unto David in truth;
He will not turn from it:
Of the fruit of thy body will I set upon thy throne.
12 If thy children will keep my covenant
And my testimony that I shall teach them,
Their children also shall sit upon thy throne for evermore.
13 For Jehovah hath chosen Zion;
He hath desired it for his habitation.
14 This is my resting-place for ever:
Here will I dwell; for I have desired it.
15 I will [g]abundantly bless her provision:
I will satisfy her poor with bread.
16 Her priests also will I clothe with salvation;
And her saints shall shout aloud for joy.
17 There will I make [h]the horn of David to bud:
I have [i]ordained a lamp for mine anointed.
18 His enemies will I clothe with shame;
But upon himself shall his crown flourish.
The excellency of brotherly unity.
A Song of Ascents; of David.
133 Behold, how good and how pleasant it is
For brethren to dwell together in unity!
2 It is like the precious oil upon the head,
That ran down upon the beard,
Even Aaron’s beard;
That came down upon the [j]skirt of his garments;
3 Like the dew of Hermon,
That cometh down upon the mountains of Zion:
For there Jehovah commanded the blessing,
Even life for evermore.
Greetings of night-watchers.
A Song of Ascents.
134 Behold, bless ye Jehovah, all ye servants of Jehovah,
That by night stand in the house of Jehovah.
2 Lift up your hands [k]to the sanctuary,
And bless ye Jehovah.
3 Jehovah bless thee out of Zion;
Even he that made heaven and earth.
Praise for Jehovah’s wonderful works. Vanity of idols.
[l]135 Praise ye Jehovah.
Praise ye the name of Jehovah;
Praise him, O ye servants of Jehovah,
2 Ye that stand in the house of Jehovah,
In the courts of the house of our God.
3 Praise ye Jehovah; for Jehovah is good:
Sing praises unto his name; for it is pleasant.
4 For [m]Jehovah hath chosen Jacob unto himself,
And Israel for his own possession.
5 For I know that Jehovah is great,
And that our Lord is above all gods.
6 Whatsoever Jehovah pleased, that hath he done,
In heaven and in earth, in the seas and in all deeps;
7 Who causeth the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth;
Who maketh lightnings for the rain;
Who bringeth forth the wind out of his treasuries;
8 Who smote the first-born of Egypt,
Both of man and beast;
9 Who sent signs and wonders into the midst of thee, O Egypt,
Upon Pharaoh, and upon all his servants;
10 Who smote many [n]nations,
And slew mighty kings,
11 Sihon king of the Amorites,
And Og king of Bashan,
And all the kingdoms of Canaan,
12 And gave their land for a heritage,
A heritage unto Israel his people.
13 Thy name, O Jehovah, endureth for ever;
Thy memorial name, O Jehovah, throughout all generations.
14 For Jehovah will judge his people,
And repent himself concerning his servants.
15 The idols of the nations are silver and gold,
The work of men’s hands.
16 They have mouths, but they speak not;
Eyes have they, but they see not;
17 They have ears, but they hear not;
Neither is there any breath in their mouths.
18 They that make them shall be like unto them;
Yea, every one that trusteth in them.
19 O house of Israel, bless ye Jehovah:
O house of Aaron, bless ye Jehovah:
20 O house of Levi, bless ye Jehovah:
Ye that fear Jehovah, bless ye Jehovah.
21 Blessed be Jehovah out of Zion,
Who dwelleth at Jerusalem.
[o]Praise ye Jehovah.
5 And the Philistines assembled themselves together to fight with Israel, thirty thousand chariots, and six thousand horsemen, and people as the sand which is on the sea-shore in multitude: and they came up, and encamped in Michmash, eastward of Beth-aven. 6 When the men of Israel saw that they were in a strait (for the people were distressed), then the people did hide themselves in caves, and in thickets, and in rocks, and in coverts, and in [a]pits. 7 Now some of the Hebrews had gone over the Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead; but as for Saul, he was yet in Gilgal, and all the people followed him trembling.
8 And he tarried seven days, according to the set time that Samuel had appointed: but Samuel came not to Gilgal; and the people were scattered from him. 9 And Saul said, Bring hither the burnt-offering to me, and the peace-offerings. And he offered the burnt-offering. 10 And it came to pass that, as soon as he had made an end of offering the burnt-offering, behold, Samuel came; and Saul went out to meet him, that he might [b]salute him. 11 And Samuel said, What hast thou done? And Saul said, Because I saw that the people were scattered from me, and that thou camest not within the days appointed, and that the Philistines assembled themselves together at Michmash; 12 therefore said I, Now will the Philistines come down upon me to Gilgal, and I have not entreated the favor of Jehovah: I forced myself therefore, and offered the burnt-offering. 13 And Samuel said to Saul, Thou hast done foolishly; thou hast not kept the commandment of Jehovah thy God, which he commanded thee: for now would Jehovah have established thy kingdom upon Israel for ever. 14 But now thy kingdom shall not continue: Jehovah hath sought him a man after his own heart, and Jehovah hath appointed him to be prince over his people, because thou hast not kept that which Jehovah commanded thee. 15 And Samuel arose, and gat him up from Gilgal unto Gibeah of Benjamin.
And Saul numbered the people that were present with him, about six hundred men. 16 And Saul, and Jonathan his son, and the people that were present with them, abode in Geba of Benjamin: but the Philistines encamped in Michmash. 17 And the spoilers came out of the camp of the Philistines in three companies: one company turned unto the way that leadeth to Ophrah, unto the land of Shual; 18 and another company turned the way to Beth-horon; and another company turned the way of the border that looketh down upon the valley of Zeboim toward the wilderness.
26 But an angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, Arise, and go [a]toward the south unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza: the same is desert. 27 And he arose and went: and behold, a man of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was over all her treasure, who had come to Jerusalem to worship; 28 and he was returning and sitting in his chariot, and was reading the prophet Isaiah. 29 And the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot. 30 And Philip ran to him, and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest? 31 And he said, How can I, except some one shall guide me? And he besought Philip to come up and sit with him. 32 Now the passage of the scripture which he was reading was this,
[b]He was led as a sheep to the slaughter;
And as a lamb before his shearer is dumb,
So he openeth not his mouth:
33 In his humiliation his judgment was taken away:
His generation who shall declare?
For his life is taken from the earth.
34 And the eunuch answered Philip, and said, I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or of some other? 35 And Philip opened his mouth, and beginning from this scripture, [c]preached unto him Jesus. 36 And as they went on the way, they came unto a certain water; and the eunuch saith, Behold, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized?[d] 38 And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they both went down into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him. 39 And when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip; and the eunuch saw him no more, for he went on his way rejoicing. 40 But Philip was found at Azotus: and passing through he [e]preached the gospel to all the cities, till he came to Caesarea.
13 And Pilate called together the chief priests and the rulers and the people, 14 and said unto them, Ye brought unto me this man, as one that perverteth the people: and behold, I, having examined him before you, found no fault in this man touching those things whereof ye accuse him: 15 no, nor yet Herod: for [a]he sent him back unto us; and behold, nothing worthy of death hath been done by him. 16 I will therefore chastise him, and release him.[b] 18 But they cried out all together, saying, Away with this man, and release unto us Barabbas:— 19 one who for a certain insurrection made in the city, and for murder, was cast into prison. 20 And Pilate spake unto them again, desiring to release Jesus; 21 but they shouted, saying, Crucify, crucify him. 22 And he said unto them the third time, Why, what evil hath this man done? I have found no cause of death in him: I will therefore chastise him and release him. 23 But they were urgent with loud voices, asking that he might be crucified. And their voices prevailed. 24 And Pilate gave sentence that what they asked for should be done. 25 And he released him that for insurrection and murder had been cast into prison, whom they asked for; but Jesus he delivered up to their will.
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