Book of Common Prayer
A Davidic Song of Ascents
Hope in the Lord
131 Lord, my heart is not arrogant,
nor do I look haughty.
I do not aspire[a] to great things,
nor concern myself with things beyond my ability.
2 Instead, I have composed and quieted myself
like a weaned child with its mother;
I am like a weaned child.
3 Place your hope in the Lord, Israel,
both now and forever.
A Song of Ascents
The Lord Lives in Zion
132 Lord, remember in David’s favor
all of his troubles;
2 how he swore an oath to the Lord,
vowing to the Mighty One of Jacob,
3 “I will not enter[b] my house,
or lie down on[c] my bed,
4 or let myself go to sleep[d]
or even take a nap,[e]
5 until I locate a place for the Lord,
a dwelling place for the Mighty One of Jacob.”
6 We heard about it[f] in Ephrata;[g]
we found it in the fields of Jaar.[h]
7 Let’s go to his dwelling place
and worship at his footstool.
8 Arise, Lord,
and go to your resting place,
you and the ark of your strength.
9 May your priests be clothed with righteousness
and may your godly ones shout for joy.
10 For the sake of your servant David,
don’t turn away the face of your anointed one.
11 The Lord made an oath to David
from which he will not retreat:
“One of your sons
I will set in place on your throne.
12 If your sons keep my covenant
and my statutes that I will teach them,
then their sons will also sit on your throne forever.”
13 For the Lord has chosen Zion,
desiring it as his dwelling place.
14 “This is my resting place forever.
Here I will live,
because I desire to do so.
15 I will bless its provisions abundantly;
I will satiate its poor with food.[i]
16 I will clothe its priests with salvation
and its godly ones will shout for joy.
17 There I will create a power base[j] for David—
I have prepared a lamp for my anointed one.
18 I will clothe his enemies with disgrace,
but on him his crown will shine.”
A Davidic Song of Ascents
The Significance of Unity
133 Look how good and how pleasant it is
when brothers live together in unity!
2 It is like precious oil on the head,
descending to the beard—
even to Aaron’s beard—
and flowing down to the edge of his robes.
3 It is like the dew of Hermon
falling on Zion’s mountains.
For there the Lord commanded his blessing—
life everlasting.
A Song of Ascents
Praise to the Creator
134 Now bless the Lord,
all you servants of the Lord
who serve[k] nightly in the Lord’s Temple.
2 Lift up your hands to the Holy Place
and bless the Lord.
3 May the Lord who fashions heaven and earth
bless you from Zion.
Praising God for His Graciousness
135 Hallelujah!
Praise the name of the Lord!
Give praise, you servants of the Lord,
2 you who are standing in the Lord’s Temple,
in the courtyards of the house of our God.
3 Praise the Lord,
because the Lord is good;
Sing to his name,
for he is gracious.
4 It is Jacob whom the Lord chose for himself—
Israel as his personal possession.
5 Indeed, I know that the Lord is great,
and that our Lord[l] surpasses all gods.
6 The Lord does whatever pleases him
in heaven and on earth,
in the seas and all its[m] deep regions.
7 He makes the clouds rise from the ends of the earth,
fashioning lightning for the rain,
bringing the wind from his storehouses.
8 It was the Lord[n] who struck down the firstborn of Egypt,
including both men and animals.
9 He sent signs and wonders among you, Egypt,
before[o] Pharaoh and all his servants.
10 He struck down many nations,
killing many kings—
11 Sihon, king of the Amorites,
Og, king of Bashan,
and every kingdom of Canaan—
12 and he gave their land as an inheritance,
an inheritance to his people Israel.
13 Your name, Lord, exists forever,
and your reputation, Lord, throughout the ages.
14 For the Lord will vindicate his people,
and he will show compassion on his servants.
15 The idols of the nations are silver and gold,
worked by[p] the hands of human beings.
16 Mouths are attributed to them,
but they cannot speak;
sight is attributed to them,
but they cannot see;
17 ears are attributed to them,
but they do not hear,
and there is no breath in their mouths.
18 Those who craft them—
and all[q] who trust in them—
will become like them.
19 House of Israel, bless the Lord!
House of Aaron, bless the Lord!
20 House of Levi, bless the Lord!
You who fear the Lord, bless the Lord!
21 Blessed be the Lord from Zion,
he who lives in Jerusalem.
Hallelujah!
3 “He will say, ‘Listen, you leaders of Jacob,
you officials of the house of Israel!
You should know justice, should you not?—
2 you who despise good and love evil,
who tear off the skin of my people,[a]
along with the flesh from their bones.
3 You eat the flesh of my people,
flaying their skin from them.
You break their bones,
chopping them in pieces like meat[b] for a pot,
like meat destined for a soup kettle.’
4 “Then they will cry to the Lord,
but he will not listen to them.
In fact, he will hide his face from them at that time,
because they were so wicked in what they were doing.”
God’s Judgment against False Prophets
5 “This is what the Lord says about the prophets
who are causing my people to go astray,
who are calling out ‘Peace’ when they’re being fed,[c]
but who declare war against those who won’t feed them:[d]
6 ‘You will have nights without visions,
and darkness without prophecy.
The sun will set on the prophets,
and the day will darken for them.
7 Those who see visions will be put to shame,
and the diviners will be disgraced—every one of them—
they will cover their faces,[e]
because there will be no answer from God.’”
The Message of God’s Prophet
8 “As for me, I am truly filled with power by the Spirit of the Lord,
filled[f] with judgment and power
to announce to Jacob his transgression,
and to Israel his sin.
Paul Presents His Case to Felix
24 Five days later, the high priest Ananias arrived with certain elders and Tertullus, an attorney, and they summarized their case against Paul before the governor. 2 When Paul[a] had been summoned, Tertullus opened the prosecution by saying:
“Your Excellency Felix, since we are enjoying lasting peace because of you, and since reforms for this nation are being brought about through your foresight, 3 we always and everywhere acknowledge it with profound gratitude. 4 But so as not to detain you any further, I beg you to hear us briefly with your customary graciousness. 5 For we have found this man a perfect pest and an agitator among all Jews throughout the world. He is a ringleader in the sect of the Nazarenes[b] 6 and even tried to profane the Temple, but we arrested him.[c] 8 By examining him for yourself, you will be able to find out from him everything of which we accuse him.”
9 The Jewish leaders[d] supported his accusations by asserting that these things were true. 10 When the governor motioned for Paul to speak, he replied:
“Since I know that you have been a judge over this nation for many years, I am pleased to present my defense. 11 You can verify for yourself that I went up to worship in Jerusalem no more than twelve days ago. 12 They never found me debating with anyone in the Temple or stirring up a crowd in the synagogues or throughout the city, 13 and they cannot prove to you the charges they are now bringing against me. 14 However, I admit to you that in accordance with the Way, which they call a heresy,[e] I worship the God of our ancestors and believe in everything written in the Law and the Prophets. 15 I have the same hope in God that they themselves cherish—that there is to be a resurrection of the righteous and the wicked. 16 Therefore, I always do my best to have a clear conscience before God and people. 17 After many years, I have come back to my people to bring gifts for the poor and to offer sacrifices. 18 They found me in the Temple doing these things just as I had completed the purification ceremony. No crowd or noisy mob was present. 19 But some Jews from Asia were there, and they should be here before you to accuse me if they have anything against me. 20 Otherwise, these men themselves should tell what wrong they found when I stood before the Council[f]— 21 unless it is for the one thing I shouted as I stood among them: ‘It is for the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial before you today.’”
22 Felix was rather well informed about the Way, and so he adjourned the trial with the comment, “When Tribune Lysias arrives, I’ll decide your case.” 23 He ordered the centurion to guard Paul[g] but to let him have some freedom and not to keep any of his friends from caring for his needs.
Jesus Forgives a Sinful Woman
36 Now one of the Pharisees invited Jesus[a] to eat with him. So he went to the Pharisee’s home and took his place at the table. 37 There was a woman who was a notorious[b] sinner in that city. When she learned that Jesus[c] was eating at the Pharisee’s home, she took an alabaster jar of perfume 38 and knelt at his feet behind him. She was crying and began to wash his feet with her tears and dry them with her hair.[d] Then she kissed his feet over and over again, anointing them constantly with the perfume.
39 Now the Pharisee who had invited Jesus[e] saw this and told himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would have known who is touching him and what kind of woman she is. She’s a sinner!”
40 Jesus told him, “Simon, I have something to ask you.”
“Teacher,” he replied, “ask it.”
41 “Two men were in debt to a moneylender. One owed him 500 denarii,[f] and the other 50. 42 When they couldn’t pay it back, he generously canceled the debts for both of them. Now which of them will love him more?”
43 Simon answered, “I suppose the one who had the larger debt canceled.”
Jesus[g] told him, “You have answered correctly.”
44 Then, turning to the woman, he told Simon, “Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You didn’t give me any water for my feet, but this woman has washed my feet with her tears and dried them with her hair. 45 You didn’t give me a kiss,[h] but this woman, from the moment I came in, has not stopped kissing my feet. 46 You didn’t anoint my head with oil, but this woman has anointed my feet with perfume. 47 So I’m telling you that her sins, as many as they are, have been forgiven, and that’s why she has shown such great love. But the one to whom little is forgiven loves little.”
48 Then Jesus[i] told her, “Your sins are forgiven!”
49 Those who were at the table with them began to say among themselves, “Who is this man who even forgives sins?”
50 But Jesus[j] told the woman, “Your faith has saved you. Go in peace.”
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