Book of Common Prayer
A song for going up to worship.
120 When I was in trouble, I cried out to the Lord,
and he answered me.
2 O Lord, rescue me from lying lips
and from a deceitful tongue.
3 You deceitful tongue, what can the Lord give you?
What more can he do for you?
4 He will give you a warrior’s sharpened arrows and red-hot coals.
5 How horrible it is to live as a foreigner in Meshech
or to stay in the tents of Kedar.
6 I have lived too long with those who hate peace.
7 I am for peace, but when I talk about it,
they only talk about war.
A song for going up to worship.
121 I look up toward the mountains.
Where can I find help?
2 My help comes from the Lord,
the maker of heaven and earth.
3 He will not let you fall.
Your guardian will not fall asleep.
4 Indeed, the Guardian of Israel never rests or sleeps.
5 The Lord is your guardian.
The Lord is the shade over your right hand.
6 The sun will not beat down on you during the day,
nor will the moon at night.
7 The Lord guards you from every evil.
He guards your life.
8 The Lord guards you as you come and go,
now and forever.
A song by David for going up to worship.
122 I was glad when they said to me,
“Let’s go to the house of the Lord.”
2 Our feet are standing inside your gates, Jerusalem.
3 Jerusalem is built to be a city
where the people are united.
4 All of the Lord’s tribes go to that city
because it is a law in Israel
to give thanks to the name of the Lord.
5 The court of justice sits there.
It consists of ⌞princes who are⌟ David’s descendants.
6 Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:
“May those who love you prosper.
7 May there be peace inside your walls
and prosperity in your palaces.”
8 For the sake of my relatives and friends, let me say,
“May it go well for you!”
9 For the sake of the house of the Lord our God,
I will seek what is good for you.
A song for going up to worship.
123 I look up to you,
to the one who sits enthroned in heaven.
2 As servants depend on their masters,
as a maid depends on her mistress,
so we depend on the Lord our God
until he has pity on us.
3 Have pity on us, O Lord.
Have pity on us
because we have suffered more than our share of contempt.
4 We have suffered more than our share of ridicule
from those who are carefree.
We have suffered more than our share of contempt
from those who are arrogant.
A song by David for going up to worship.
124 “If the Lord had not been on our side …”
(Israel should repeat this.)
2 “If the Lord had not been on our side when people attacked us,
3 then they would have swallowed us alive
when their anger exploded against us.
4 Then the floodwaters would have swept us away.
An ⌞overflowing⌟ stream would have washed us away.
5 Then raging water would have washed us away.”
6 Thank the Lord, who did not let them sink their teeth into us.
7 We escaped like a bird caught in a hunter’s trap.
The trap was broken, and we escaped.
8 Our help is in the name of the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth.
A song for going up to worship.
125 Those who trust the Lord are like Mount Zion,
which can never be shaken.
It remains firm forever.
2 ⌞As⌟ the mountains surround Jerusalem,
so the Lord surrounds his people now and forever.
3 A wicked ruler will not be allowed to govern
the land set aside for righteous people.
That is why righteous people do not use their power to do wrong.
4 Do good, O Lord, to those who are good,
to those whose motives are decent.
5 But when people become crooked,
the Lord will lead them away with troublemakers.
Let there be peace in Israel!
A song for going up to worship.
126 When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion,
it was as if we were dreaming.
2 Then our mouths were filled with laughter
and our tongues with joyful songs.
Then the nations said,
“The Lord has done spectacular things for them.”
3 The Lord has done spectacular things for us.
We are overjoyed.
4 Restore our fortunes, O Lord,
as you restore streams ⌞to dry riverbeds⌟ in the Negev.
5 Those who cry while they plant
will joyfully sing while they harvest.
6 The person who goes out weeping, carrying his bag of seed,
will come home singing, carrying his bundles of grain.
A song by Solomon for going up to worship.
127 If the Lord does not build the house,
it is useless for the builders to work on it.
If the Lord does not protect a city,
it is useless for the guard to stay alert.
2 It is useless to work hard for the food you eat
by getting up early and going to bed late.
The Lord gives ⌞food⌟ to those he loves while they sleep.
3 Children are an inheritance from the Lord.
They are a reward from him.
4 The children born to a man when he is young
are like arrows in the hand of a warrior.
5 Blessed is the man who has filled his quiver with them.
He will not be put to shame
when he speaks with his enemies in the city gate.
Nahum’s Vision
1 This is a revelation from the Lord about Nineveh. This book contains the vision of Nahum from Elkosh.
Who Can Withstand the Lord’s Anger?
2 God does not tolerate rivals. The Lord takes revenge.
The Lord takes revenge and is full of anger.
The Lord takes revenge against his enemies
and holds a grudge against his foes.
3 The Lord is patient and has great strength.
The Lord will never let the guilty go unpunished.
Raging winds and storms mark his path,
and clouds are the dust from his feet.
4 He yells at the sea and makes it dry.
He dries up all the rivers.
Bashan and Carmel wither.
The flowers of Lebanon wither.
5 The mountains quake because of him.
The hills melt.
The earth draws back in his presence.
The world and all who live in it draw back as well.
6 Who can stand in the presence of his rage?
Who can oppose his burning anger?
He pours out his rage like fire
and smashes the rocky cliffs.
Why Does Nineveh Oppose the Lord?
7 The Lord is good.
⌞He is⌟ a fortress in the day of trouble.
He knows those who seek shelter in him.
8 He will put an end to Nineveh
with a devastating flood.
He will pursue his enemies with darkness.
9 What do you think about the Lord?
He is the one who will bring Nineveh to an end.
This trouble will never happen again.
10 ⌞The people of Nineveh will be⌟ like tangled thorns
and like people drunk on their own drink.
They will be completely burned up like very dry straw.
11 From you, Nineveh, a person who plans evil against the Lord sets out.
His advice is wicked.
Nineveh Will Fall
12 This is what the Lord says:
Though the people of Nineveh are physically fit and many in number,
they will be cut down and die.
Though I have humbled you, Judah,
I will not humble you again.
13 But now I will break Nineveh’s yoke [a] off of you
and tear its chains from you.
Live Holy Lives
13 Therefore, your minds must be clear and ready for action. Place your confidence completely in what God’s kindness will bring you when Jesus Christ appears again. 14 Because you are children who obey God, don’t live the kind of lives you once lived. Once you lived to satisfy your desires because you didn’t know any better. 15 But because the God who called you is holy, you must be holy in every aspect of your life. 16 Scripture says, “Be holy, because I am holy.” 17 So if you call God your Father, live your time as temporary residents on earth in fear. He is the God who judges all people by what they have done, and he doesn’t play favorites. 18 Realize that you weren’t set free from the worthless life handed down to you from your ancestors by a payment of silver or gold which can be destroyed. 19 Rather, the payment that freed you was the precious blood of Christ, the lamb with no defects or imperfections. 20 He is the lamb who was known long ago before the world existed, but for your good he became publicly known in the last period of time. 21 Through him you believe in God who brought Christ back to life and gave him glory. So your faith and confidence are in God.
Love Each Other
22 Love each other with a warm love that comes from the heart. After all, you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth. As a result you have a sincere love for each other. 23 You have been born again, not from a seed that can be destroyed, but through God’s everlasting word that can’t be destroyed. That’s why ⌞Scripture says⌟,
24 “All people are like grass,
and all their beauty is like a flower of the field.
The grass dries up and the flower drops off,
25 but the word of the Lord lasts forever.”
This word is the Good News that was told to you.
Jesus Blesses Children(A)
13 Then some people brought little children to Jesus to have him bless them and pray for them. But the disciples told the people not to do that.
14 Jesus said, “Don’t stop children from coming to me! Children like these are part of God’s kingdom.” 15 After Jesus blessed them, he went away from there.
Eternal Life in the Kingdom(B)
16 Then a man came to Jesus and said, “Teacher, what good deed should I do to gain eternal life?”
17 Jesus said to him, “Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you want to enter into life, obey the commandments.”
18 “Which commandments?” the man asked.
Jesus said, “Never murder. Never commit adultery. Never steal. Never give false testimony. 19 Honor your father and mother. Love your neighbor as you love yourself.”
20 The young man replied, “I have obeyed all these commandments. What else do I need to do?”
21 Jesus said to him, “If you want to be perfect, sell what you own. Give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then follow me!”
22 When the young man heard this, he went away sad because he owned a lot of property.
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