Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 121
A song of ascents.
1 I lift up my eyes to the mountains—
where does my help come from?
2 My help comes from the Lord,
the Maker of heaven(A) and earth.(B)
3 He will not let your foot slip—
he who watches over you will not slumber;
4 indeed, he who watches(C) over Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.
5 The Lord watches over(D) you—
the Lord is your shade at your right hand;
6 the sun(E) will not harm you by day,
nor the moon by night.
7 The Lord will keep you from all harm(F)—
he will watch over your life;
8 the Lord will watch over your coming and going
both now and forevermore.(G)
Psalm 122
A song of ascents. Of David.
1 I rejoiced with those who said to me,
“Let us go to the house of the Lord.”
2 Our feet are standing
in your gates, Jerusalem.
3 Jerusalem is built like a city
that is closely compacted together.
4 That is where the tribes go up—
the tribes of the Lord—
to praise the name of the Lord
according to the statute given to Israel.
5 There stand the thrones for judgment,
the thrones of the house of David.
6 Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:
“May those who love(H) you be secure.
7 May there be peace(I) within your walls
and security within your citadels.(J)”
8 For the sake of my family and friends,
I will say, “Peace be within you.”
9 For the sake of the house of the Lord our God,
I will seek your prosperity.(K)
Psalm 123
A song of ascents.
1 I lift up my eyes to you,
to you who sit enthroned(L) in heaven.
2 As the eyes of slaves look to the hand of their master,
as the eyes of a female slave look to the hand of her mistress,
so our eyes look to the Lord(M) our God,
till he shows us his mercy.
3 Have mercy on us, Lord, have mercy on us,
for we have endured no end of contempt.
4 We have endured no end
of ridicule from the arrogant,
of contempt from the proud.
Psalm 131
A song of ascents. Of David.
1 My heart is not proud,(A) Lord,
my eyes are not haughty;(B)
I do not concern myself with great matters(C)
or things too wonderful for me.(D)
2 But I have calmed and quieted myself,(E)
I am like a weaned child with its mother;
like a weaned child I am content.(F)
Psalm 132(I)
A song of ascents.
1 Lord, remember David
and all his self-denial.(J)
2 He swore an oath to the Lord,
he made a vow to the Mighty One of Jacob:(K)
3 “I will not enter my house(L)
or go to my bed,
4 I will allow no sleep to my eyes
or slumber to my eyelids,
5 till I find a place(M) for the Lord,
a dwelling for the Mighty One of Jacob.”
6 We heard it in Ephrathah,(N)
we came upon it in the fields of Jaar:[a](O)
7 “Let us go to his dwelling place,(P)
let us worship at his footstool,(Q) saying,
8 ‘Arise, Lord,(R) and come to your resting place,
you and the ark of your might.
9 May your priests be clothed with your righteousness;(S)
may your faithful people(T) sing for joy.’”
10 For the sake of your servant David,
do not reject your anointed one.
11 The Lord swore an oath to David,(U)
a sure oath he will not revoke:
“One of your own descendants(V)
I will place on your throne.
12 If your sons keep my covenant(W)
and the statutes I teach them,
then their sons will sit
on your throne(X) for ever and ever.”
13 For the Lord has chosen Zion,(Y)
he has desired it for his dwelling,(Z) saying,
14 “This is my resting place for ever and ever;(AA)
here I will sit enthroned,(AB) for I have desired it.
15 I will bless her with abundant provisions;
her poor I will satisfy with food.(AC)
16 I will clothe her priests(AD) with salvation,
and her faithful people will ever sing for joy.(AE)
14 This is what the Lord says:
“The products(A) of Egypt and the merchandise of Cush,[a]
and those tall Sabeans(B)—
they will come over to you(C)
and will be yours;
they will trudge behind you,(D)
coming over to you in chains.(E)
They will bow down before you
and plead(F) with you, saying,
‘Surely God is with you,(G) and there is no other;
there is no other god.(H)’”
15 Truly you are a God who has been hiding(I) himself,
the God and Savior(J) of Israel.
16 All the makers of idols will be put to shame and disgraced;(K)
they will go off into disgrace together.
17 But Israel will be saved(L) by the Lord
with an everlasting salvation;(M)
you will never be put to shame or disgraced,(N)
to ages everlasting.
18 For this is what the Lord says—
he who created the heavens,
he is God;
he who fashioned and made the earth,(O)
he founded it;
he did not create it to be empty,(P)
but formed it to be inhabited(Q)—
he says:
“I am the Lord,
and there is no other.(R)
19 I have not spoken in secret,(S)
from somewhere in a land of darkness;(T)
I have not said to Jacob’s descendants,(U)
‘Seek(V) me in vain.’
I, the Lord, speak the truth;
I declare what is right.(W)
Paul’s Labor for the Church
24 Now I rejoice(A) in what I am suffering for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions,(B) for the sake of his body, which is the church.(C) 25 I have become its servant(D) by the commission God gave me(E) to present to you the word of God(F) in its fullness— 26 the mystery(G) that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the Lord’s people. 27 To them God has chosen to make known(H) among the Gentiles the glorious riches(I) of this mystery, which is Christ in you,(J) the hope of glory.
28 He is the one we proclaim, admonishing(K) and teaching everyone with all wisdom,(L) so that we may present everyone fully mature(M) in Christ. 29 To this end I strenuously(N) contend(O) with all the energy Christ so powerfully works in me.(P)
2 I want you to know how hard I am contending(Q) for you and for those at Laodicea,(R) and for all who have not met me personally. 2 My goal is that they may be encouraged in heart(S) and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery(T) of God, namely, Christ, 3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.(U) 4 I tell you this so that no one may deceive you by fine-sounding arguments.(V) 5 For though I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit(W) and delight to see how disciplined(X) you are and how firm(Y) your faith in Christ(Z) is.
Spiritual Fullness in Christ
6 So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord,(AA) continue to live your lives in him, 7 rooted(AB) and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught,(AC) and overflowing with thankfulness.
Dispute Over Jesus’ Testimony
12 When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am(A) the light of the world.(B) Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”(C)
13 The Pharisees challenged him, “Here you are, appearing as your own witness; your testimony is not valid.”(D)
14 Jesus answered, “Even if I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is valid, for I know where I came from and where I am going.(E) But you have no idea where I come from(F) or where I am going. 15 You judge by human standards;(G) I pass judgment on no one.(H) 16 But if I do judge, my decisions are true, because I am not alone. I stand with the Father, who sent me.(I) 17 In your own Law it is written that the testimony of two witnesses is true.(J) 18 I am one who testifies for myself; my other witness is the Father, who sent me.”(K)
19 Then they asked him, “Where is your father?”
“You do not know me or my Father,”(L) Jesus replied. “If you knew me, you would know my Father also.”(M)
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