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.
Absalom’s Death
9 Absalom was riding on his mule when he happened to meet David’s soldiers. When the mule went under the tangled branches of a large oak tree, Absalom’s head was caught fast in the tree. The mule under him kept going, so he was suspended in midair.[a] 10 One of the men saw him and informed Joab. He said, “I just saw Absalom hanging in an oak tree!”
11 “You just saw him!” Joab exclaimed.[b] “Why didn’t you strike him to the ground right there? I would have given you ten silver pieces[c] and a belt!”
12 The man replied to Joab, “Even if I had the weight of a thousand pieces of silver[d] in my hand, I would not raise my hand against the king’s son. For we heard the king command you, Abishai, and Ittai, ‘Protect the young man Absalom for me.’[e](A) 13 If I had jeopardized my own[f] life—and nothing is hidden from the king—you would have abandoned me.”
14 Joab said, “I’m not going to waste time with you!” He then took three spears[g] in his hand and thrust them into Absalom’s chest. While Absalom was still alive in the oak tree, 15 ten young men who were Joab’s armor-bearers surrounded Absalom, struck him, and killed him. 16 Joab blew the ram’s horn, and the troops broke off their pursuit of Israel because Joab restrained them. 17 They took Absalom, threw him into a large pit in the forest, and raised up a huge mound of stones over him.(B) And all Israel fled, each to his tent.(C)
18 When he was alive, Absalom had taken a pillar and raised it up(D) for himself in the King’s Valley,(E) since he thought, “I have no son(F) to preserve the memory of my name.” So he named the pillar after himself. It is still called Absalom’s Monument today.
The Plot against Paul
12 When it was morning, the Jews formed a conspiracy and bound themselves under a curse not to eat or drink until they had killed Paul.(A) 13 There were more than forty who had formed this plot. 14 These men went to the chief priests and elders and said, “We have bound ourselves under a solemn curse that we won’t eat anything until we have killed Paul. 15 So now you, along with the Sanhedrin, make a request to the commander that he bring him down to you[a] as if you were going to investigate his case more thoroughly. But, before he gets near, we are ready to kill him.”(B)
16 But the son of Paul’s sister, hearing about their ambush, came and entered the barracks and reported it to Paul. 17 Paul called one of the centurions and said, “Take this young man to the commander, because he has something to report to him.”
18 So he took him, brought him to the commander, and said, “The prisoner Paul called me and asked me to bring this young man to you, because he has something to tell you.”
19 The commander took him by the hand, led him aside, and inquired privately, “What is it you have to report to me?”
20 “The Jews,” he said, “have agreed to ask you to bring Paul down to the Sanhedrin tomorrow, as though they are going to hold a somewhat more careful inquiry about him. 21 Don’t let them persuade you, because there are more than forty of them lying in ambush—men who have bound themselves under a curse not to eat or drink until they have killed him. Now they are ready, waiting for your consent.”(C)
22 So the commander dismissed the young man and instructed him, “Don’t tell anyone that you have informed me about this.”
To Caesarea by Night
23 He summoned two of his centurions and said, “Get two hundred soldiers ready with seventy cavalry and two hundred spearmen to go to Caesarea at nine tonight.[b](D) 24 Also provide mounts to ride so that Paul may be brought safely to Felix the governor.”
The Authority of Jesus Challenged
27 They(A) came again to Jerusalem.(B) As he was walking in the temple,(C) the chief priests, the scribes,(D) and the elders(E) came 28 and asked him, “By what authority(F) are you doing these things? Who gave you this authority to do these things?”
29 Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one question;(G) then answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things. 30 Was John’s baptism(H) from heaven or of human origin? Answer me.”
31 They discussed it among themselves: “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘Then why didn’t you believe(I) him?’ 32 But if we say, ‘Of human origin’”—they were afraid of the crowd, because everyone thought that John was truly a prophet.(J) 33 So they answered Jesus, “We don’t know.”
And Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”
The Parable of the Vineyard Owner
12 He(K) began to speak to them in parables: “A man planted a vineyard,(L) put a fence around it, dug out a pit for a winepress, and built a watchtower. Then he leased it to tenant farmers and went away. 2 At harvest time he sent(M) a servant(N) to the farmers to collect some of the fruit(O) of the vineyard from them. 3 But they took him, beat(P) him, and sent him away empty-handed.(Q) 4 Again he sent another servant to them, and they[a] hit him on the head and treated him shamefully.[b] 5 Then he sent another, and they killed that one. He also sent many others; some they beat, and others they killed. 6 He still had one to send, a beloved(R) son. Finally(S) he sent him to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ 7 But those tenant farmers said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ 8 So they seized him, killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard. 9 What then will the owner[c](T) of the vineyard do? He will come and kill the farmers and give the vineyard to others. 10 Haven’t you read this Scripture:(U)
The(V) stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone.(W)
11 This came about from the Lord(X)
and is wonderful in our eyes?”[d]
12 They were looking for a way to arrest him but feared the crowd because they knew he had spoken this parable against them. So they left him and went away.
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