Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 120
A Cry for Truth and Peace
A song of ascents.
1 In my distress I called to the Lord,
and he answered me.(A)
2 “Lord, rescue me from lying lips
and a deceitful tongue.”(B)
3 What will he give you,
and what will he do to you,
you deceitful tongue?(C)
4 A warrior’s sharp arrows
with burning charcoal
5 What misery that I have stayed in Meshech,[b](E)
that I have lived among the tents of Kedar
6 I have dwelt too long
with those who hate peace.(G)
7 I am for peace; but when I speak,
they are for war.(H)
Psalm 121
The Lord Our Protector
A song of ascents.
1 I lift my eyes toward the mountains.
Where will my help come from?(I)
2 My help comes from the Lord,
the Maker of heaven and earth.(J)
3 He will not allow your foot to slip;
your Protector will not slumber.(K)
4 Indeed, the Protector of Israel
does not slumber or sleep.(L)
5 The Lord protects you;
the Lord is a shelter right by your side.[d](M)
6 The sun will not strike you by day
or the moon by night.(N)
7 The Lord will protect you from all harm;
he will protect your life.(O)
8 The Lord will protect your coming and going
both now and forever.(P)
Psalm 122
A Prayer for Jerusalem
A song of ascents. Of David.
1 I rejoiced with those who said to me,
“Let’s go to the house of the Lord.”(Q)
2 Our feet were standing
within your gates, Jerusalem(R)—
3 Jerusalem, built as a city should be,
solidly united,(S)
4 where the tribes, the Lord’s tribes, go up
to give thanks to the name of the Lord.(T)
(This is an ordinance for Israel.(U))
5 There, thrones for judgment are placed,
thrones of the house of David.(V)
6 Pray for the well-being[e] of Jerusalem:
“May those who love you be secure;(W)
7 may there be peace within your walls,
security within your fortresses.”(X)
8 Because of my brothers and friends,
I will say, “May peace be in you.”[f](Y)
9 Because of the house of the Lord our God,
I will pursue your prosperity.(Z)
Psalm 123
Looking for God’s Favor
A song of ascents.
1 I lift my eyes to you,
the one enthroned in heaven.(AA)
2 Like a servant’s eyes on his master’s hand,
like a servant girl’s eyes on her mistress’s hand,
so our eyes are on the Lord our God
until he shows us favor.(AB)
3 Show us favor, Lord, show us favor,
for we’ve had more than enough contempt.(AC)
4 We’ve had more than enough
scorn from the arrogant
and contempt from the proud.(AD)
Psalm 124
The Lord Is on Our Side
A song of ascents. Of David.
1 If the Lord had not been on our side—
let Israel say—
2 if the Lord had not been on our side(AE)
when people attacked us,(AF)
3 then they would have swallowed us alive
in their burning anger against us.(AG)
4 Then the water would have engulfed us;
the torrent would have swept over us;
5 the raging water would have swept over us.(AH)
6 Blessed be the Lord,
who has not let us be ripped apart by their teeth.(AI)
7 We have escaped like a bird from the hunter’s net;
the net is torn, and we have escaped.(AJ)
8 Our help is in the name of the Lord,
the Maker of heaven and earth.(AK)
Psalm 125
Israel’s Stability
A song of ascents.
1 Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion.
It cannot be shaken; it remains forever.(AL)
2 The mountains surround Jerusalem
and the Lord surrounds his people,
both now and forever.(AM)
3 The scepter of the wicked will not remain
over the land allotted to the righteous,
so that the righteous will not apply their hands to injustice.(AN)
4 Do what is good, Lord, to the good,
to those whose hearts are upright.(AO)
5 But as for those who turn aside to crooked ways,
the Lord will banish them with the evildoers.(AP)
Peace be with Israel.(AQ)
Psalm 126
Zion’s Restoration
A song of ascents.
1 When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion,[g]
we were like those who dream.(AR)
2 Our mouths were filled with laughter then,(AS)
and our tongues with shouts of joy.(AT)
Then they said among the nations,
“The Lord has done great things for them.”(AU)
3 The Lord had done great things for us;
we were joyful.(AV)
4 Restore our fortunes,[h] Lord,
like watercourses in the Negev.(AW)
5 Those who sow in tears
will reap with shouts of joy.(AX)
6 Though one goes along weeping,
carrying the bag of seed,
he will surely come back with shouts of joy,
carrying his sheaves.(AY)
Psalm 127
The Blessing of the Lord
A song of ascents. Of Solomon.
Saul’s Deliverance of Jabesh-gilead
11 Nahash[a](A) the Ammonite came up and laid siege to Jabesh-gilead.(B) All the men of Jabesh said to him, “Make a treaty(C) with us, and we will serve you.”
2 Nahash the Ammonite replied, “I’ll make one with you on this condition: that I gouge out everyone’s right eye(D) and humiliate all Israel.”(E)
3 “Don’t do anything to us for seven days,” the elders of Jabesh said to him, “and let us send messengers throughout the territory of Israel. If no one saves us, we will surrender to you.”
4 When the messengers came to Gibeah,(F) Saul’s hometown, and told the terms to the people, all wept aloud.(G) 5 Just then Saul was coming in from the field behind his oxen. “What’s the matter with the people? Why are they weeping?” Saul inquired, and they repeated to him the words of the men from Jabesh.
6 When Saul heard these words, the Spirit of God suddenly came powerfully on him,(H) and his anger burned furiously. 7 He took a team of oxen, cut them in pieces,(I) and sent them throughout the territory of Israel by messengers who said, “This is what will be done to the ox of anyone who doesn’t march behind Saul and Samuel.”(J) As a result, the terror of the Lord fell on the people, and they went out united.(K)
8 Saul counted them at Bezek.(L) There were three hundred thousand[b](M) Israelites and thirty thousand[c] men from Judah. 9 He told the messengers who had come, “Tell this to the men of Jabesh-gilead: ‘Deliverance will be yours tomorrow by the time the sun is hot.’” So the messengers told the men of Jabesh, and they rejoiced.
10 Then the men of Jabesh said to Nahash, “Tomorrow we will come out, and you can do whatever you want to us.”
11 The next day Saul organized the troops into three divisions.(N) During the morning watch, they invaded the Ammonite camp and slaughtered them until the heat of the day. There were survivors, but they were so scattered that no two of them were left together.
Saul’s Confirmation as King
12 Afterward, the people said to Samuel, “Who said that Saul should not[d] reign over us?(O) Give us those men so we can kill them!” (P)
13 But Saul ordered, “No one will be executed this day, for today the Lord has provided deliverance in Israel.”(Q)
14 Then Samuel said to the people, “Come, let’s go to Gilgal, so we can renew the kingship there.” 15 So all the people went to Gilgal, and there in the Lord’s presence(R) they made Saul king. There they sacrificed fellowship offerings(S) in the Lord’s presence, and Saul and all the men of Israel rejoiced greatly.
Saul the Persecutor
8 Saul agreed with putting him to death.
On that day a severe persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout the land of Judea and Samaria.(A) 2 Devout men buried Stephen and mourned deeply over him. 3 Saul,(B) however, was ravaging the church. He would enter house after house, drag off men and women, and put them in prison.(C)
Philip in Samaria
4 So those who were scattered went on their way preaching the word. 5 Philip went down to a[a] city in Samaria and proclaimed the Messiah to them.(D) 6 The crowds were all paying attention to what Philip said, as they listened and saw the signs he was performing. 7 For unclean spirits, crying out with a loud voice, came out of many who were possessed, and many who were paralyzed and lame were healed.(E) 8 So there was great joy in that city.
The Response of Simon
9 A man named Simon had previously practiced sorcery in that city and amazed the Samaritan people, while claiming to be somebody great.(F) 10 They all paid attention to him, from the least of them to the greatest, and they said, “This man is called the Great Power of God.”[b](G) 11 They were attentive to him because he had amazed them with his sorceries for a long time. 12 But when they believed Philip, as he proclaimed the good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, both men and women were baptized.(H) 13 Even Simon himself believed. And after he was baptized, he followed Philip everywhere and was amazed as he observed the signs and great miracles(I) that were being performed.
Jesus Mocked and Beaten
63 The men who were holding Jesus started mocking and beating him.(A) 64 After blindfolding him, they kept[a] asking, “Prophesy! Who was it that hit you?” 65 And they were saying many other blasphemous(B) things to him.
Jesus Faces the Sanhedrin
66 When daylight came,(C) the elders[b] of the people, both the chief priests and the scribes,(D) convened and brought him before their Sanhedrin.(E) 67 They said,(F) “If you are the Messiah, tell us.”
But he said to them, “If I do tell you, you will not believe. 68 And if I ask you, you will not answer. 69 But from now on, the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the power of God.”(G)
70 They all asked, “Are you, then, the Son of God?” (H)
And he said to them, “You say that I am.”(I)
71 “Why do we need any more testimony,” they said, “since we’ve heard it ourselves from his mouth?”
The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.