Book of Common Prayer
A Song of degrees.
1 ¶ In my distress I cried unto the LORD, and he answered me.
2 Deliver my soul, O LORD, from lying lips and from a deceitful tongue.
3 What shall be given unto thee? or what shall be done unto thee, thou false tongue?
4 Sharp arrows of the mighty, with coals of juniper.
5 ¶ Woe is me, that I sojourn in Mesech, that I dwell in the tents of Kedar!
6 My soul has long dwelt with those that hate peace.
7 I am for peace; but when I speak, they are for war.
A Song of degrees.
1 ¶ I will lift up mine eyes unto the mountains, from whence cometh my help.
2 My help comes from the LORD, who made the heavens and earth.
3 He will not suffer thy foot to be moved; he that keeps thee will not slumber.
4 Behold, he that keeps Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.
5 The LORD is thy keeper: the LORD is thy shade upon thy right hand.
6 The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night.
7 The LORD shall preserve thee from all evil; he shall preserve thy soul.
8 The LORD shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.
A Song of degrees of David.
1 ¶ I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the LORD.
2 Our feet stood within thy gates, O Jerusalem.
3 Jerusalem, that one which is built as a city that is well united together
4 Because the tribes went up there, the tribes of JAH, the testimony to Israel, to praise the name of the LORD.
5 For there are set thrones of the judgment, the thrones of the house of David.
6 ¶ Pray for the peace of Jerusalem; those that love thee shall be brought into rest.
7 Peace be within thy walls and rest within thy palaces.
8 For my brethren and companions’ sakes, I will now say, Peace be within thee.
9 Because of the house of the LORD our God, I will seek thy good.
A Song of degrees.
1 ¶ Unto thee I lift up mine eyes, O thou that dwellest in the heavens.
2 Behold, as the eyes of slaves look unto the hand of their masters and as the eyes of a maiden unto the hand of her mistress, so our eyes wait upon the LORD our God, until he shall have mercy upon us.
3 Have mercy upon us, O LORD, have mercy upon us, for we are exceedingly weary of being held in contempt.
4 Our soul is exceedingly weary of the scorning of those that are at ease and of the contempt of the proud.
A Song of degrees of David.
1 ¶ If the LORD had not been for us, now may Israel say,
2 If the LORD had not been for us, when men rose up against us,
3 then they would have swallowed us up alive, when their wrath was kindled against us;
4 then the waters would have overwhelmed us; the flood would have gone over our soul;
5 then the proud waters would have gone over our soul.
6 ¶ Blessed be the LORD, who did not give us as a prey to their teeth.
7 Our soul has escaped as a bird out of the snare of the fowlers; the snare has broken, and we are escaped.
8 Our help is in the name of the LORD, who made the heaven and the earth.
A Song of degrees.
1 ¶ Those that trust in the LORD are as Mount Zion, which cannot be removed but abides for ever.
2 As the mountains are round about Jerusalem, so the LORD is round about his people from now on even for ever.
3 For the rod of wickedness shall not rest upon the lot of the righteous because the righteous shall not put forth their hands unto iniquity.
4 ¶ Do good, O LORD, unto those that are good and to those that are upright in their hearts.
5 As for such as turn aside unto their crooked ways, the LORD shall take them away with the workers of iniquity; and peace shall be upon Israel.
A Song of degrees.
1 ¶ When the LORD shall turn again the captivity of Zion, we shall be like those that dream.
2 Then our mouth shall be filled with laughter and our tongue with singing; then they shall say among the Gentiles, The LORD has done great things with them.
3 The LORD has done great things with us, of which we shall be glad.
4 ¶ Turn again our captivity, O LORD, as the streams in the south.
5 Those that sow with tears shall reap with joy.
6 He that goes forth and weeps, bearing the precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.
A Song of degrees for Solomon.
1 ¶ Unless the LORD builds the house, they labour in vain that build it; unless the LORD keeps the city, the watchmen watch in vain.
2 It is vain for you to rise up early, to come home late, to eat the bread of sorrows, because he shall give his beloved sleep.
3 Behold, sons are a heritage of the LORD, and the fruit of the womb is to be desired.
4 As arrows in the hand of a mighty man, so are the young men.
5 Happy is the man that has filled his quiver with them: he shall not be ashamed when he speaks with the enemies in the gate.
11 ¶ Then Nahash, the Ammonite, came up and encamped against Jabeshgilead. And all the men of Jabesh said unto Nahash, Make a covenant with us, and we will serve thee.
2 And Nahash, the Ammonite, answered them, On this condition will I make a covenant with you, that I may thrust out all your right eyes and lay it for a reproach upon all Israel.
3 And the elders of Jabesh said unto him, Give us seven days’ respite, that we may send messengers unto all the borders of Israel, and then, if there is no one to save us, we will come out to thee.
4 Then the messengers came to Gibeah of Saul and told the tidings in the ears of the people, and all the people lifted up their voices and wept.
5 ¶ And, behold, Saul came after the oxen out of the field, and Saul said, What ails the people that they weep? And they told him the tidings of the men of Jabesh.
6 And the Spirit of God prospered Saul when he heard those tidings, and his anger was kindled greatly.
7 And he took a yoke of oxen and hewed them in pieces and sent them throughout all the borders of Israel by the hands of messengers, saying, Whoever does not come forth after Saul and after Samuel, so shall it be done unto his oxen. And the fear of the LORD fell on the people, and they came out with one consent.
8 And when he numbered them in Bezek, the sons of Israel were three hundred thousand and the men of Judah thirty thousand.
9 And they said unto the messengers that came, Thus shall ye say unto the men of Jabeshgilead, Tomorrow, by the time the sun is hot, ye shall have salvation. And the messengers came and declared it to the men of Jabesh, and they were glad.
10 Therefore the men of Jabesh said, Tomorrow we will come out unto you, and ye shall do with us all that seems good unto you.
11 And it was so on the next day that Saul put the people in order in three companies, and they came into the midst of the host in the morning watch and slew the Ammonites until the heat of the day, and it came to pass that those who remained were scattered so that two of them were not left together.
12 ¶ Then the people said unto Samuel, Who were those that said, Shall Saul reign over us? Bring the men, that we may put them to death.
13 And Saul said, There shall not a man be put to death this day, for today the LORD has wrought salvation in Israel.
14 Then Samuel said to the people, Come, and let us go to Gilgal and renew the kingdom there.
15 And all the people went to Gilgal, and there they made Saul king before the LORD in Gilgal, and there they sacrificed sacrifices of peace offerings before the LORD, and there Saul and all the men of Israel rejoiced greatly.
8 ¶ And Saul was consenting unto his death. And at that time there was a great persecution against the congregation {Gr. ekklesia – called out ones} which was at Jerusalem, and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judaea and Samaria, except the apostles.
2 And devout men carried Stephen to his burial and made great lamentation over him.
3 As for Saul, he made havoc of the congregation; {Gr. ekklesia – called out ones} entering into the houses and dragging out men and women, he committed them to prison.
4 ¶ But those that were scattered abroad went everywhere preaching the word of the gospel.
5 Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria and preached the Christ unto them.
6 And the people with one accord gave heed unto those things which Philip spoke, hearing and seeing the signs which he did.
7 For many unclean spirits, crying with a loud voice, came out of those who were possessed with them, and many paralytics and that were lame were healed.
8 And there was great joy in that city.
9 But there was a certain man called Simon, who before this in the same city used magic arts and amazed the people of Samaria, giving out that he himself was some great one,
10 to whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, This is the great virtue of God.
11 And to him they had regard because for a long time he had amazed them with magic arts.
12 But when they believed Philip preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.
13 Then Simon himself believed also; and when he was baptized, he continued with Philip and wondered, beholding the miracles and signs which were being done.
63 ¶ And the men that held Jesus mocked him and smote him.
64 And when they had blindfolded him, they struck him on the face and asked him, saying, Prophesy, who is it that smote thee?
65 And they spoke many other things blasphemously against him.
66 And as soon as it was day, the elders of the people and the princes of the priests and the scribes came together and led him into their council, saying,
67 Art thou the Christ? tell us. And he said unto them, If I tell you, ye will not believe;
68 and if I also ask you, ye will not answer me nor let me go;
69 but from now on the Son of man shall sit on the right hand of the power of God.
70 Then they all said, Art thou then the Son of God? And he said unto them, Ye say that I AM.
71 And they said, What need we any further witness? for we ourselves have heard of his own mouth.
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