Book of Common Prayer
Longing for Zion in a Foreign Land
137 By the rivers of Babylon,
There we sat down, yea, we wept
When we remembered Zion.
2 We hung our harps
Upon the willows in the midst of it.
3 For there those who carried us away captive asked of us a song,
And those who (A)plundered us requested mirth,
Saying, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!”
4 How shall we sing the Lord’s song
In a foreign land?
5 If I forget you, O Jerusalem,
Let my right hand forget its skill!
6 If I do not remember you,
Let my (B)tongue cling to the roof of my mouth—
If I do not exalt Jerusalem
Above my chief joy.
A Song to the Lord Who Preserves and Prospers His People
A Psalm of David.
144 Blessed be the Lord my Rock,
(A)Who trains my hands for war,
And my fingers for battle—
2 My lovingkindness and my fortress,
My high tower and my deliverer,
My shield and the One in whom I take refuge,
Who subdues [a]my people under me.
3 (B)Lord, what is man, that You take knowledge of him?
Or the son of man, that You are mindful of him?
4 (C)Man is like a breath;
(D)His days are like a passing shadow.
5 (E)Bow down Your heavens, O Lord, and come down;
(F)Touch the mountains, and they shall smoke.
6 (G)Flash forth lightning and scatter them;
Shoot out Your arrows and destroy them.
7 Stretch out Your hand from above;
Rescue me and deliver me out of great waters,
From the hand of foreigners,
8 Whose mouth (H)speaks [b]lying words,
And whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood.
9 I will (I)sing a new song to You, O God;
On a harp of ten strings I will sing praises to You,
10 The One who gives [c]salvation to kings,
(J)Who delivers David His servant
From the deadly sword.
11 Rescue me and deliver me from the hand of foreigners,
Whose mouth speaks lying words,
And whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood—
12 That our sons may be (K)as plants grown up in their youth;
That our daughters may be as [d]pillars,
Sculptured in palace style;
13 That our barns may be full,
Supplying all kinds of produce;
That our sheep may bring forth thousands
And ten thousands in our fields;
14 That our oxen may be well laden;
That there be no [e]breaking in or going out;
That there be no outcry in our streets.
15 (L)Happy are the people who are in such a state;
Happy are the people whose God is the Lord!
BOOK TWO
Psalms 42–72
Yearning for God in the Midst of Distresses
To the Chief Musician. A [a]Contemplation of the sons of Korah.
42 As the deer [b]pants for the water brooks,
So pants my soul for You, O God.
2 (A)My soul thirsts for God, for the (B)living God.
When shall I come and [c]appear before God?
3 (C)My tears have been my food day and night,
While they continually say to me,
(D)“Where is your God?”
4 When I remember these things,
(E)I pour out my soul within me.
For I used to go with the multitude;
(F)I went with them to the house of God,
With the voice of joy and praise,
With a multitude that kept a pilgrim feast.
5 (G)Why are you [d]cast down, O my soul?
And why are you disquieted within me?
(H)Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him
[e]For the help of His countenance.
6 [f]O my God, my soul is cast down within me;
Therefore I will remember You from the land of the Jordan,
And from the heights of Hermon,
From [g]the Hill Mizar.
7 Deep calls unto deep at the noise of Your waterfalls;
(I)All Your waves and billows have gone over me.
8 The Lord will (J)command His lovingkindness in the daytime,
And (K)in the night His song shall be with me—
A prayer to the God of my life.
9 I will say to God my Rock,
(L)“Why have You forgotten me?
Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?”
10 As with a [h]breaking of my bones,
My enemies [i]reproach me,
(M)While they say to me all day long,
“Where is your God?”
11 (N)Why are you cast down, O my soul?
And why are you disquieted within me?
Hope in God;
For I shall yet praise Him,
The [j]help of my countenance and my God.
Prayer to God in Time of Trouble
43 Vindicate (O)me, O God,
And (P)plead my cause against an ungodly nation;
Oh, deliver me from the deceitful and unjust man!
2 For You are the God of my strength;
Why do You cast me off?
(Q)Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?
The Ninth Plague: Darkness
21 Then the Lord said to Moses, (A)“Stretch out your hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, [a]darkness which may even be felt.” 22 So Moses stretched out his hand toward heaven, and there was (B)thick darkness in all the land of Egypt (C)three days. 23 They did not see one another; nor did anyone rise from his place for three days. (D)But all the children of Israel had light in their dwellings.
24 Then Pharaoh called to Moses and (E)said, “Go, serve the Lord; only let your flocks and your herds be kept back. Let your (F)little ones also go with you.”
25 But Moses said, “You must also give [b]us sacrifices and burnt offerings, that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God. 26 Our (G)livestock also shall go with us; not a hoof shall be left behind. For we must take some of them to serve the Lord our God, and even we do not know with what we must serve the Lord until we arrive there.”
27 But the Lord (H)hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he would not let them go. 28 Then Pharaoh said to him, (I)“Get away from me! Take heed to yourself and see my face no more! For in the day you see my face you shall die!”
29 So Moses said, “You have spoken well. (J)I will never see your face again.”
Death of the Firstborn Announced(K)
11 And the Lord said to Moses, “I will bring one more plague on Pharaoh and on Egypt. (L)Afterward he will let you go from here. (M)When he lets you go, he will surely drive you out of here altogether. 2 Speak now in the hearing of the people, and let every man ask from his neighbor and every woman from her neighbor, (N)articles of silver and articles of gold.” 3 (O)And the Lord gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians. Moreover the man (P)Moses was very great in the land of Egypt, in the sight of Pharaoh’s servants and in the sight of the people.
4 Then Moses said, “Thus says the Lord: (Q)‘About midnight I will go out into the midst of Egypt; 5 and (R)all the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sits on his throne, even to the firstborn of the female servant who is behind the handmill, and all the firstborn of the animals. 6 (S)Then there shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, (T)such as was not like it before, nor shall be like it again. 7 (U)But against none of the children of Israel (V)shall a dog [c]move its tongue, against man or beast, that you may know that the Lord does make a difference between the Egyptians and Israel.’ 8 And (W)all these your servants shall come down to me and bow down to me, saying, ‘Get out, and all the people who follow you!’ After that I will go out.” (X)Then he went out from Pharaoh in great anger.
13 And since we have (A)the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, (B)“I believed and therefore I spoke,” we also believe and therefore speak, 14 knowing that (C)He who raised up the Lord Jesus will also raise us up with Jesus, and will present us with you. 15 For (D)all things are for your sakes, that (E)grace, having spread through the many, may cause thanksgiving to abound to the glory of God.
Seeing the Invisible
16 Therefore we (F)do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is (G)being renewed day by day. 17 For (H)our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, 18 (I)while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.
Jesus Heals Blind Bartimaeus(A)
46 (B)Now they came to Jericho. As He went out of Jericho with His disciples and a great multitude, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the road begging. 47 And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, (C)Son of David, (D)have mercy on me!”
48 Then many warned him to be quiet; but he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”
49 So Jesus stood still and commanded him to be called.
Then they called the blind man, saying to him, “Be of good cheer. Rise, He is calling you.”
50 And throwing aside his garment, he rose and came to Jesus.
51 So Jesus answered and said to him, “What do you want Me to do for you?”
The blind man said to Him, [a]“Rabboni, that I may receive my sight.”
52 Then Jesus said to him, “Go your way; (E)your faith has [b]made you well.” And immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus on the road.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.