Book of Common Prayer
God the Help of Those Who Seek Him
A Song of Ascents.
121 I (A)will lift up my eyes to the hills—
From whence comes my help?
2 (B)My help comes from the Lord,
Who made heaven and earth.
3 (C)He will not allow your foot to [a]be moved;
(D)He who keeps you will not slumber.
4 Behold, He who keeps Israel
Shall neither slumber nor sleep.
5 The Lord is your [b]keeper;
The Lord is (E)your shade (F)at your right hand.
6 (G)The sun shall not strike you by day,
Nor the moon by night.
7 The Lord shall [c]preserve you from all evil;
He shall (H)preserve your soul.
8 The Lord shall (I)preserve[d] your going out and your coming in
From this time forth, and even forevermore.
The Joy of Going to the House of the Lord
A Song of Ascents. Of David.
122 I was glad when they said to me,
(J)“Let us go into the house of the Lord.”
2 Our feet have been standing
Within your gates, O Jerusalem!
3 Jerusalem is built
As a city that is (K)compact together,
4 (L)Where the tribes go up,
The tribes of the Lord,
[e]To (M)the Testimony of Israel,
To give thanks to the name of the Lord.
5 (N)For thrones are set there for judgment,
The thrones of the house of David.
6 (O)Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:
“May they prosper who love you.
7 Peace be within your walls,
Prosperity within your palaces.”
8 For the sake of my brethren and companions,
I will now say, “Peace be within you.”
9 Because of the house of the Lord our God
I will (P)seek your good.
Prayer for Relief from Contempt
A Song of Ascents.
123 Unto You (Q)I lift up my eyes,
O You (R)who dwell in the heavens.
2 Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their masters,
As the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress,
(S)So our eyes look to the Lord our God,
Until He has mercy on us.
3 Have mercy on us, O Lord, have mercy on us!
For we are exceedingly filled with contempt.
4 Our soul is exceedingly filled
With the scorn of those who are at ease,
With the contempt of the proud.
Simple Trust in the Lord
A Song of Ascents. Of David.
131 Lord, my heart is not [a]haughty,
Nor my eyes [b]lofty.
(A)Neither do I [c]concern myself with great matters,
Nor with things too [d]profound for me.
2 Surely I have calmed and quieted my soul,
(B)Like a weaned child with his mother;
Like a weaned child is my soul within me.
3 (C)O Israel, hope in the Lord
From this time forth and forever.
The Eternal Dwelling of God in Zion
A Song of Ascents.
132 Lord, remember David
And all his afflictions;
2 How he swore to the Lord,
(D)And vowed to (E)the Mighty One of Jacob:
3 “Surely I will not go into the chamber of my house,
Or go up to the comfort of my bed;
4 I will (F)not give sleep to my eyes
Or slumber to my eyelids,
5 Until I (G)find a place for the Lord,
A dwelling place for the Mighty One of Jacob.”
6 Behold, we heard of it (H)in Ephrathah;
(I)We found it (J)in the fields of [e]the woods.
7 Let us go into His tabernacle;
(K)Let us worship at His footstool.
8 (L)Arise, O Lord, to Your resting place,
You and (M)the ark of Your strength.
9 Let Your priests (N)be clothed with righteousness,
And let Your saints shout for joy.
10 For Your servant David’s sake,
Do not turn away the face of Your [f]Anointed.
11 (O)The Lord has sworn in truth to David;
He will not turn from it:
“I will set upon your throne (P)the [g]fruit of your body.
12 If your sons will keep My covenant
And My testimony which I shall teach them,
Their sons also shall sit upon your throne forevermore.”
13 (Q)For the Lord has chosen Zion;
He has desired it for His [h]dwelling place:
14 “This(R) is My resting place forever;
Here I will dwell, for I have desired it.
15 (S)I will abundantly bless her [i]provision;
I will satisfy her poor with bread.
16 (T)I will also clothe her priests with salvation,
(U)And her saints shall shout aloud for joy.
17 (V)There I will make the [j]horn of David grow;
(W)I will prepare a lamp for My [k]Anointed.
18 His enemies I will (X)clothe with shame,
But upon Himself His crown shall flourish.”
The Lord, the Only Savior
14 Thus says the Lord:
(A)“The labor of Egypt and merchandise of Cush
And of the Sabeans, men of stature,
Shall come over to you, and they shall be yours;
They shall walk behind you,
They shall come over (B)in chains;
And they shall bow down to you.
They will make supplication to you, saying, (C)‘Surely God is in you,
And there is no other;
(D)There is no other God.’ ”
15 Truly You are God, (E)who hide Yourself,
O God of Israel, the Savior!
16 They shall be (F)ashamed
And also disgraced, all of them;
They shall go in confusion together,
Who are makers of idols.
17 (G)But Israel shall be saved by the Lord
With an (H)everlasting salvation;
You shall not be ashamed or (I)disgraced
Forever and ever.
18 For thus says the Lord,
(J)Who created the heavens,
Who is God,
Who formed the earth and made it,
Who has established it,
Who did not create it [a]in vain,
Who formed it to be (K)inhabited:
(L)“I am the Lord, and there is no other.
19 I have not spoken in (M)secret,
In a dark place of the earth;
I did not say to the seed of Jacob,
‘Seek Me [b]in vain’;
(N)I, the Lord, speak righteousness,
I declare things that are right.
Sacrificial Service for Christ
24 (A)I now rejoice in my sufferings (B)for you, and fill up in my flesh (C)what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ, for (D)the sake of His body, which is the church, 25 of which I became a minister according to (E)the [a]stewardship from God which was given to me for you, to fulfill the word of God, 26 (F)the [b]mystery which has been hidden from ages and from generations, (G)but now has been revealed to His saints. 27 (H)To them God willed to make known what are (I)the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: [c]which is (J)Christ in you, (K)the hope of glory. 28 Him we preach, (L)warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, (M)that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus. 29 To this end I also labor, striving according to His working which works in me (N)mightily.
Not Philosophy but Christ
2 For I want you to know what a great (O)conflict[d] I have for you and those in Laodicea, and for as many as have not seen my face in the flesh, 2 that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, and attaining to all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the knowledge of the mystery of God, [e]both of the Father and of Christ, 3 (P)in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
4 Now this I say (Q)lest anyone should deceive you with persuasive words. 5 For (R)though I am absent in the flesh, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing [f]to see (S)your good order and the (T)steadfastness of your faith in Christ.
6 (U)As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, 7 (V)rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding [g]in it with thanksgiving.
12 Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, (A)“I am the light of the world. He who (B)follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”
Jesus Defends His Self-Witness
13 The Pharisees therefore said to Him, (C)“You bear witness of Yourself; Your witness is not [a]true.”
14 Jesus answered and said to them, “Even if I bear witness of Myself, My witness is true, for I know where I came from and where I am going; but (D)you do not know where I come from and where I am going. 15 (E)You judge according to the flesh; (F)I judge no one. 16 And yet if I do judge, My judgment is true; for (G)I am not alone, but I am with the Father who sent Me. 17 (H)It is also written in your law that the testimony of two men is true. 18 I am One who bears witness of Myself, and (I)the Father who sent Me bears witness of Me.”
19 Then they said to Him, “Where is Your Father?”
Jesus answered, (J)“You know neither Me nor My Father. (K)If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.