Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 131
A Song of [a]Ascents. Of David.
1 Lord, my heart is not haughty, nor my eyes lofty; neither do I exercise myself in matters too great or in things too wonderful for me.
2 Surely I have calmed and quieted my soul; like a weaned child with his mother, like a weaned child is my soul within me [ceased from fretting].
3 O Israel, hope in the Lord from this time forth and forever.
Psalm 132
A Song of [b]Ascents.
1 Lord, [earnestly] remember to David’s credit all his humiliations and hardships and endurance—
2 How he swore to the Lord and vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob:
3 Surely I will not enter my dwelling house or get into my bed—
4 I will not permit my eyes to sleep or my eyelids to slumber,
5 Until I have found a place for the Lord, a habitation for the Mighty One of Jacob.(A)
6 Behold, at Ephratah we [first] heard of [the discovered ark]; we found it in the fields of the wood [at Kiriath-jearim].(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 right standing with God); and let Your saints shout for joy!
10 For Your servant David’s sake, turn not away the face of Your anointed and reject not Your own king.
11 The Lord swore to David in truth; He will not turn back from it: One of the fruit of your body I will set upon your throne.(C)
12 If your children will keep My covenant and My testimony that I shall teach them, their children also shall sit upon your throne forever.
13 For the Lord has chosen Zion, He has desired it for His habitation:
14 This is My resting-place forever [says the Lord]; here will I dwell, for I have desired it.
15 I will surely and 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 a horn spring forth and bud for David; I have ordained and prepared a lamp for My anointed [fulfilling the promises of old].(D)
18 His enemies will I clothe with shame, but upon himself shall his crown flourish.
Psalm 133
A Song of [c]Ascents. Of David.
1 Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!
2 It is like the precious ointment poured on the head, that ran down on the beard, even the beard of Aaron [the first high priest], that came down upon the collar and skirts of his garments [consecrating the whole body].(E)
3 It is like the dew of [lofty] Mount Hermon and the dew that comes on the hills of Zion; for there the Lord has commanded the blessing, even life forevermore [upon the high and the lowly].
Psalm 140
To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.
1 Deliver me, O Lord, from evil men; preserve me from violent men;
2 They devise mischiefs in their heart; continually they gather together and stir up wars.
3 They sharpen their tongues like a serpent’s; adders’ poison is under their lips. Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]!(A)
4 Keep me, O Lord, from the hands of the wicked; preserve me from the violent men who have purposed to thrust aside my steps.
5 The proud have hidden a snare for me; they have spread cords as a net by the wayside, they have set traps for me. Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]!
6 I said to the Lord, You are my God; give ear to the voice of my supplications, O Lord.
7 O God the Lord, the Strength of my salvation, You have covered my head in the day of battle.
8 Grant not, O Lord, the desires of the wicked; further not their wicked plot and device, lest they exalt themselves. Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]!
9 Those who are fencing me in raise their heads; may the mischief of their own lips and the very things they desire for me come upon them.
10 Let burning coals fall upon them; let them be cast into the fire, into floods of water or deep water pits, from which they shall not rise.
11 Let not a man of slanderous tongue be established in the earth; let evil hunt the violent man to overthrow him [let calamity follow his evildoings].
12 I know and rest in confidence upon it that the Lord will maintain the cause of the afflicted, and will secure justice for the poor and needy [of His believing children].
13 Surely the [uncompromisingly] righteous shall give thanks to Your name; the upright shall dwell in Your presence (before Your very face).
Psalm 142
A skillful song, or a didactic or reflective poem, of David; when he was in the cave. A Prayer.
1 I cry to the Lord with my voice; with my voice to the Lord do I make supplication.
2 I pour out my complaint before Him; I tell before Him my trouble.
3 When my spirit was overwhelmed and fainted [throwing all its weight] upon me, then You knew my path. In the way where I walk they have hidden a snare for me.
4 Look on the right hand [the point of attack] and see; for there is no man who knows me [to appear for me]. Refuge has failed me and I have no way to flee; no man cares for my life or my welfare.
5 I cried to You, O Lord; I said, You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living.
6 Attend to my loud cry, for I am brought very low; deliver me from my persecutors, for they are stronger than I.
7 Bring my life out of prison, that I may confess, praise, and give thanks to Your name; the righteous will surround me and crown themselves because of me, for You will deal bountifully with me.
25 Seven days passed after the Lord had smitten the river.
8 Then the Lord said to Moses, Go to Pharaoh and say to him, Thus says the Lord, Let My people go, that they may serve Me.
2 And if you refuse to let them go, behold, I will smite your entire land with frogs;
3 And the river shall swarm with frogs which shall go up and come into your house, into your bedchamber and on your bed, and into the houses of your servants and upon your people, and into your ovens, your kneading bowls, and your dough.
4 And the frogs shall come up on you and on your people and all your servants.
5 And the Lord said to Moses, Say to Aaron, Stretch out your hand with your rod over the rivers, the streams and canals, and over the pools, and cause frogs to come up on the land of Egypt.
6 So Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt, and the frogs came up and covered the land.
7 But the magicians did the same thing with their enchantments and secret arts, and brought up [more] frogs upon the land of Egypt.
8 Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron, and said, Entreat the Lord, that He may take away the frogs from me and my people; and I will let the people go that they may sacrifice to the Lord.
9 Moses said to Pharaoh, Glory over me in this: dictate when I shall pray [to the Lord] for you, your servants, and your people, that the frogs may be destroyed from you and your houses and remain only in the river.
10 And [Pharaoh] said, Tomorrow. [Moses] said, Let it be as you say, that you may know that there is no one like the Lord our God.
11 And the frogs shall depart from you and your houses and from your servants and your people; they shall remain in the river only.
12 So Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh, and Moses cried to the Lord [as he had agreed with Pharaoh] concerning the frogs which He had brought against him.
13 And the Lord did according to the word of Moses, and the frogs died out of the houses, out of the courtyards and villages, and out of the fields.
14 [The people] gathered them together in heaps, and the land was loathsome and stank.
15 But when Pharaoh saw that there was temporary relief, he made his heart stubborn and hard and would not listen or heed them, just as the Lord had said.
16 Then the Lord said to Moses, Say to Aaron, Stretch out your rod and strike the dust of the ground, that it may become biting gnats or mosquitoes throughout all the land of Egypt.
17 And they did so; Aaron stretched out his hand with his rod and struck the dust of the earth, and there came biting gnats or mosquitoes on man and beast; all the dust of the land became biting gnats or mosquitoes throughout all the land of Egypt.
18 The magicians tried by their enchantments and secret arts to bring forth gnats or mosquitoes, but they could not; and there were gnats or mosquitoes on man and beast.
19 Then the magicians said to Pharaoh, This is the finger of God! But Pharaoh’s heart was hardened and strong and he would not listen to them, just as the Lord had said.
7 Now if the dispensation of death engraved in letters on stone [the ministration of the Law], was inaugurated with such glory and splendor that the Israelites were not able to look steadily at the face of Moses because of its brilliance, [a glory] that was to fade and pass away,(A)
8 Why should not the dispensation of the Spirit [this spiritual [a]ministry whose task it is to cause men to obtain and be governed by the Holy Spirit] be attended with much greater and more splendid glory?
9 For if the service that condemns [the ministration of doom] had glory, how infinitely more abounding in splendor and glory must be the service that makes righteous [the ministry that produces and fosters righteous living and right standing with God]!
10 Indeed, in view of this fact, what once had splendor [[b]the glory of the Law in the face of Moses] has come to have no splendor at all, because of the overwhelming glory that exceeds and excels it [[c]the glory of the Gospel in the face of Jesus Christ].
11 For if that which was but passing and fading away came with splendor, how much more must that which remains and is permanent abide in glory and splendor!
12 Since we have such [glorious] hope (such joyful and confident expectation), we speak very freely and openly and fearlessly.
13 Nor [do we act] like Moses, who put a veil over his face so that the Israelites might not gaze upon the finish of the vanishing [splendor which had been upon it].
14 In fact, their minds were grown hard and calloused [they had become dull and had lost the power of understanding]; for until this present day, when the Old Testament (the old covenant) is being read, that same veil still lies [on their hearts], not being lifted [to reveal] that in Christ it is made void and done away.
15 Yes, down to this [very] day whenever Moses is read, a veil lies upon their minds and hearts.
16 But whenever a person turns [in repentance] to the Lord, the veil is stripped off and taken away.
17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty (emancipation from bondage, freedom).(B)
18 And all of us, as with unveiled face, [because we] continued to behold [in the Word of God] as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are constantly being transfigured into His very own image in ever increasing splendor and from one degree of glory to another; [for this comes] from the Lord [Who is] the Spirit.
17 And as He was setting out on His journey, a man ran up and knelt before Him and asked Him, Teacher, [You are [a]essentially and perfectly [b]morally] good, what must I do to inherit eternal life [that is, [c]to partake of eternal salvation in the Messiah’s kingdom]?
18 And Jesus said to him, Why do you call Me [[d]essentially and perfectly [e]morally] good? There is no one [[f]essentially and perfectly [g]morally] good—except God alone.
19 You know the commandments: Do not kill, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not bear false witness, do not defraud, honor your father and mother.(A)
20 And he replied to Him, Teacher, I have carefully guarded and observed all these and taken care not to violate them from my boyhood.
21 And Jesus, looking upon him, loved him, and He said to him, You lack one thing; go and sell all you have and give [the money] to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come [and] accompany Me [[h]walking the same road that I walk].
22 At that saying the man’s countenance fell and was gloomy, and he went away grieved and sorrowing, for he was holding great possessions.
23 And Jesus looked around and said to His disciples, With what difficulty will those who possess wealth and [i]keep on holding it enter the kingdom of God!
24 And the disciples were amazed and bewildered and perplexed at His words. But Jesus said to them again, Children, how hard it is [j]for those who trust (place their confidence, their sense of safety) in riches to enter the kingdom of God!
25 It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.
26 And they were shocked and exceedingly astonished, and said to Him and [k]to one another, Then who can be saved?
27 Jesus glanced around at them and said, With men [it is] impossible, but not with God; for all things are possible with God.
28 Peter started to say to Him, Behold, we have [l]yielded up and abandoned everything [once and for all and [m]joined You as Your disciples, siding with Your party] and accompanied You [[n]walking the same road that You walk].
29 Jesus said, Truly I tell you, there is no one who has given up and left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands for My sake and for the Gospel’s
30 Who will not receive a hundred times as much now in this time—houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions—and in the age to come, eternal life.
31 But many [who are now] first will be last [then], and many [who are now] last will be first [then].
Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation