Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 137
Lament of the Exiles
1 By the rivers of Babylon—
there we sat down and wept
when we remembered Zion.(A)
2 There we hung up our lyres
on the poplar trees,(B)
3 for our captors there asked us for songs,
and our tormentors, for rejoicing:
“Sing us one of the songs of Zion.”(C)
Psalm 144
A King’s Prayer
Davidic.
1 May the Lord, my rock, be praised,(A)
who trains my hands for battle
and my fingers for warfare.(B)
2 He is my faithful love and my fortress,
my stronghold and my deliverer.
He is my shield,(C) and I take refuge in Him;(D)
He subdues my people[a] under me.(E)
3 Lord, what is man, that You care for him,
the son of man, that You think of him?(F)
4 Man is like a breath;
his days are like a passing shadow.(G)
5 Lord, part Your heavens and come down.(H)
Touch the mountains, and they will smoke.(I)
6 Flash Your lightning and scatter the foe;[b]
shoot Your arrows and rout them.(J)
7 Reach down[c] from heaven;(K)
rescue me from deep water, and set me free
from the grasp of foreigners(L)
8 whose mouths speak lies,
whose right hands are deceptive.(M)
9 God, I will sing a new song to You;
I will play on a ten-stringed harp for You(N)—
10 the One who gives victory to kings,
who frees His servant David
from the deadly sword.(O)
11 Set me free and rescue me
from the grasp of foreigners(P)
whose mouths speak lies,
whose right hands are deceptive.(Q)
12 Then our sons will be like plants
nurtured in their youth,
our daughters, like corner pillars
that are carved in the palace style.(R)
13 Our storehouses will be full,
supplying all kinds of produce;(S)
our flocks will increase by thousands
and tens of thousands in our open fields.(T)
14 Our cattle will be well fed.[d]
There will be no breach in the walls,
no going into captivity,[e]
and no cry of lament in our public squares.(U)
15 Happy are the people with such blessings.
Happy are the people whose God is Yahweh.(V)
Psalm 104
God the Creator
1 My soul, praise Yahweh!
Lord my God, You are very great;
You are clothed with majesty and splendor.(A)
2 He wraps Himself in light as if it were a robe,
spreading out the sky like a canopy,(B)
3 laying the beams of His palace
on the waters above,(C)
making the clouds His chariot,(D)
walking on the wings of the wind,(E)
4 and making the winds His messengers,[a]
flames of fire His servants.(F)
5 He established the earth on its foundations;
it will never be shaken.(G)
6 You covered it with the deep
as if it were a garment;
the waters stood above the mountains.(H)
7 At Your rebuke the waters fled;
at the sound of Your thunder they hurried away(I)—
8 mountains rose and valleys sank[b]—
to the place You established for them.(J)
9 You set a boundary they cannot cross;
they will never cover the earth again.(K)
10 He causes the springs to gush into the valleys;
they flow between the mountains.(L)
11 They supply water for every wild beast;
the wild donkeys quench their thirst.(M)
12 The birds of the sky live beside the springs;
they sing among the foliage.(N)
13 He waters the mountains from His palace;
the earth is satisfied by the fruit of Your labor.(O)
14 He causes grass to grow for the livestock
and provides crops for man to cultivate,
producing food from the earth,(P)
15 wine that makes man’s heart glad—
making his face shine with oil—
and bread that sustains man’s heart.(Q)
16 The trees of the Lord flourish,[c]
the cedars of Lebanon that He planted.(R)
17 There the birds make their nests;
the stork makes its home in the pine trees.(S)
18 The high mountains are for the wild goats;
the cliffs are a refuge for hyraxes.(T)
19 He made the moon to mark the[d] festivals;[e]
the sun knows when to set.(U)
20 You bring darkness, and it becomes night,
when all the forest animals stir.(V)
21 The young lions roar for their prey
and seek their food from God.(W)
22 The sun rises; they go back
and lie down in their dens.(X)
23 Man goes out to his work
and to his labor until evening.(Y)
24 How countless are Your works, Lord!
In wisdom You have made them all;
the earth is full of Your creatures.[f](Z)
25 Here is the sea, vast and wide,
teeming with creatures beyond number—
living things both large and small.(AA)
26 There the ships move about,
and Leviathan, which You formed to play there.(AB)
27 All of them wait for You
to give them their food at the right time.(AC)
28 When You give it to them,
they gather it;
when You open Your hand,
they are satisfied with good things.(AD)
29 When You hide Your face,
they are terrified;
when You take away their breath,
they die and return to the dust.(AE)
30 When You send Your breath,[g]
they are created,
and You renew the face of the earth.(AF)
31 May the glory of the Lord endure forever;
may the Lord rejoice in His works.(AG)
32 He looks at the earth, and it trembles;
He touches the mountains,
and they pour out smoke.(AH)
33 I will sing to the Lord all my life;
I will sing praise to my God while I live.(AI)
34 May my meditation be pleasing to Him;
I will rejoice in the Lord.(AJ)
35 May sinners vanish from the earth
and wicked people be no more.(AK)
My soul, praise Yahweh!
Hallelujah!
11 A day will come for rebuilding your walls;(A)
on that day your boundary will be extended.(B)
12 On that day people will come to you(C)
from Assyria and the cities of Egypt,
even from Egypt to the Euphrates River
and from sea to sea
and mountain to mountain.
13 Then the earth will become a wasteland(D)
because of its inhabitants
and as a result of their actions.(E)
Micah’s Prayer Answered
14 Shepherd Your people(F) with Your staff,(G)
the flock that is Your possession.
They live alone(H) in a woodland
surrounded by pastures.
Let them graze in Bashan and Gilead(I)
as in ancient times.(J)
15 I will perform miracles for them[a]
as in the days of your exodus
from the land of Egypt.(K)
16 Nations will see and be ashamed
of[b] all their power.
They will put their hands over their mouths,(L)
and their ears will become deaf.
17 They will lick the dust like a snake;(M)
they will come trembling out of their hiding places(N)
like reptiles slithering on the ground.(O)
They will tremble in the presence of Yahweh our God;(P)
they will stand in awe of You.
18 Who is a God like You,(Q)
removing iniquity and passing over rebellion(R)
for the remnant of His inheritance?(S)
He does not hold on to His anger forever,(T)
because He delights in faithful love.(U)
19 He will again have compassion on us;
He will vanquish our iniquities.(V)
You will cast all our[c] sins
into the depths of the sea.(W)
20 You will show loyalty to Jacob(X)
and faithful love to Abraham,
as You swore to our fathers(Y)
from days long ago.
End-Time Ethics
7 Now the end of all things is near;(A) therefore, be serious and disciplined(B) for prayer. 8 Above all, maintain an intense love(C) for each other, since love covers a multitude of sins.(D)[a] 9 Be hospitable(E) to one another without complaining. 10 Based on the gift each one has received, use it to serve others,(F) as good managers of the varied grace of God. 11 If anyone speaks, it should be as one who speaks God’s words; if anyone serves, it should be from the strength God provides,(G) so that God may be glorified through Jesus Christ in everything. To Him belong the glory and the power forever and ever. Amen.
Christian Suffering
12 Dear friends, don’t be surprised when the fiery ordeal[b] comes among you to test you as if something unusual were happening to you.(H) 13 Instead, rejoice as you share in the sufferings of the Messiah,(I) so that you may also rejoice with great joy at the revelation(J) of His glory. 14 If you are ridiculed for the name of Christ,(K) you are blessed, because the Spirit(L) of glory and of God rests on you.[c] 15 None of you, however, should suffer as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or a meddler.[d] 16 But if anyone suffers as a “Christian,” he should not be ashamed but should glorify God in having that name. 17 For the time has come for judgment(M) to begin with God’s household,(N) and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who disobey the gospel of God?
18 And if a righteous person is saved with difficulty,
what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?(O)[e]
19 So those who suffer according to God’s will should, while doing what is good, entrust themselves(P) to a faithful Creator.
Two Blind Men Healed
29 As they were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed Him.(A) 30 There were two blind men sitting by the road. When they heard that Jesus was passing by, they cried out, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!” 31 The crowd told them to keep quiet, but they cried out all the more, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!”(B)
32 Jesus stopped, called them, and said, “What do you want Me to do for you?”
33 “Lord,” they said to Him, “open our eyes!” 34 Moved with compassion, Jesus touched their eyes. Immediately they could see, and they followed Him.
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