Book of Common Prayer
Sorrows of the exiles in Babylon.
137 By the rivers of Babylon,
There we sat down, yea, we wept,
When we remembered Zion.
2 Upon the willows in the midst thereof
We hanged up our harps.
3 For there they that led us captive required of us [a]songs,
And [b]they that wasted us required of us mirth, saying,
Sing us one of the songs of Zion.
4 How shall we sing Jehovah’s song
In a foreign land?
5 If I forget thee, O Jerusalem,
Let my right hand forget her skill.
6 Let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth,
If I remember thee not;
If I prefer not Jerusalem
Above my chief joy.
7 Remember, O Jehovah, against the children of Edom
The day of Jerusalem;
Who said, Rase it, rase it,
Even to the foundation thereof.
8 O daughter of Babylon, [c]that art to be destroyed,
Happy shall he be, that rewardeth thee
As thou hast served us.
9 Happy shall he be, that taketh and dasheth thy little ones
Against the rock.
Prayer for rescue. A happy people described.
A Psalm of David.
144 Blessed be Jehovah my rock,
Who teacheth my hands to war,
And my fingers to fight:
2 My lovingkindness, and my fortress,
My high tower, and my deliverer;
My shield, and he in whom I take refuge;
Who subdueth my people under me.
3 Jehovah, what is man, that thou takest knowledge of him?
Or the son of man, that thou makest account of him?
4 Man is like to [a]vanity:
His days are as a shadow that passeth away.
5 Bow thy heavens, O Jehovah, and come down:
Touch the mountains, and they shall smoke.
6 Cast forth lightning, and scatter them;
Send out thine arrows, and discomfit them.
7 Stretch forth thy hand from above;
Rescue me, and deliver me out of great waters,
Out of the hand of aliens;
8 Whose mouth speaketh deceit,
And whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood.
9 I will sing a new song unto thee, O God:
Upon a psaltery of ten strings will I sing praises unto thee.
10 Thou art he that giveth salvation unto kings;
Who rescueth David his servant from the hurtful sword.
11 Rescue me, and deliver me out of the hand of aliens,
Whose mouth speaketh deceit,
And whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood.
12 When our sons shall be as plants grown up in their youth,
And our daughters as corner-stones hewn after the fashion of a palace;
13 When our garners are full, affording all manner of store,
And our sheep bring forth thousands and ten thousands in our fields;
14 When our oxen are well laden;
When there is no breaking in, and no [b]going forth,
And no outcry in our streets:
15 Happy is the people that is in such a case;
Yea, happy is the people whose God is Jehovah.
Jehovah’s care over all his works.
104 Bless Jehovah, O my soul.
O Jehovah my God, thou art very great;
Thou art clothed with honor and majesty:
2 Who coverest thyself with light as with a garment;
Who stretchest out the heavens like a curtain;
3 Who layeth the beams of his chambers in the waters;
Who maketh the clouds his chariot;
Who walketh upon the wings of the wind;
4 Who maketh [a]winds his messengers;
Flames of fire his ministers;
5 [b]Who laid the foundations of the earth,
That it should not be moved for ever.
6 Thou coveredst it with the deep as with a vesture;
The waters stood above the mountains.
7 At thy rebuke they fled;
At the voice of thy thunder they hasted away
8 [c](The mountains rose, the valleys sank down)
Unto the place which thou hadst founded for them.
9 Thou hast set a bound that they may not pass over;
That they turn not again to cover the earth.
10 He sendeth forth springs into the valleys;
They run among the mountains;
11 They give drink to every beast of the field;
The wild asses quench their thirst.
12 By them the birds of the heavens have their habitation;
They [d]sing among the branches.
13 He watereth the mountains from his chambers:
The earth is filled with the fruit of thy works.
14 He causeth the grass to grow for the cattle,
And herb for the [e]service of man;
That he may bring forth [f]food out of the earth,
15 And wine that maketh glad the heart of man,
[g]And oil to make his face to shine,
And bread that strengtheneth man’s heart.
16 The trees of Jehovah are filled with moisture,
The cedars of Lebanon, which he hath planted;
17 Where the birds make their nests:
As for the stork, the fir-trees are her house.
18 The high mountains are for the wild goats;
The rocks are a refuge for the conies.
19 He appointed the moon for seasons:
The sun knoweth his going down.
20 Thou makest darkness, and it is night,
Wherein all the beasts of the forest creep forth.
21 The young lions roar after their prey,
And seek their food from God.
22 The sun ariseth, they get them away,
And lay them down in their dens.
23 Man goeth forth unto his work
And to his labor until the evening.
24 O Jehovah, how manifold are thy works!
In wisdom hast thou made them all:
The earth is full of thy [h]riches.
25 Yonder is the sea, great and wide,
Wherein are things creeping innumerable,
Both small and great beasts.
26 There go the ships;
There is leviathan, whom thou hast formed to play [i]therein.
27 These wait all for thee,
That thou mayest give them their food in due season.
28 Thou givest unto them, they gather;
Thou openest thy hand, they are satisfied with good.
29 Thou hidest thy face, they are troubled;
Thou [j]takest away their breath, they die,
And return to their dust.
30 Thou sendest forth thy Spirit, they are created;
And thou renewest the face of the ground.
31 Let the glory of Jehovah endure for ever;
Let Jehovah rejoice in his works:
32 Who looketh on the earth, and it trembleth;
He toucheth the mountains, and they smoke.
33 I will sing unto Jehovah as long as I live:
I will sing praise to my God while I have any being.
34 Let my meditation be sweet unto him:
I will rejoice in Jehovah.
35 Let sinners be consumed out of the earth.
And let the wicked be no more.
Bless Jehovah, O my soul.
[k]Praise ye Jehovah.
5 1 Now shalt thou gather thyself in troops, O daughter of troops: he hath laid siege against us; they shall smite the judge of Israel with a rod upon the cheek.
2 But thou, Beth-lehem Ephrathah, which art little to be among the [a]thousands of Judah, out of thee shall one come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth are from of old, [b]from everlasting. 3 Therefore will he give them up, until the time that she who travaileth hath brought forth: then the residue of his brethren shall return [c]unto the children of Israel. 4 And he shall stand, and shall feed his flock in the strength of Jehovah, in the majesty of the name of Jehovah his God: and they shall abide; for now shall he be great unto the ends of the earth.
10 And it shall come to pass in that day, saith Jehovah, that I will cut off thy horses out of the midst of thee, and will destroy thy chariots: 11 and I will cut off the cities of thy land, and will throw down all thy strongholds. 12 And I will cut off witchcrafts out of thy hand; and thou shalt have no more soothsayers: 13 and I will cut off thy graven images and thy [a]pillars out of the midst of thee; and thou shalt no more worship the work of thy hands; 14 and I will pluck up thine Asherim out of the midst of thee; and I will destroy thy [b]cities. 15 And I will execute vengeance in anger and wrath upon the nations [c]which hearkened not.
13 Now when certain days were passed, Agrippa the king and Bernice arrived at Caesarea, [a]and saluted Festus. 14 And as they tarried there many days, Festus laid Paul’s case before the king, saying, There is a certain man left a prisoner by Felix; 15 about whom, when I was at Jerusalem, the chief priests and the elders of the Jews informed me, asking for sentence against him. 16 To whom I answered, that it is not the custom of the Romans to [b]give up any man, before that the accused have the accusers face to face, and have had opportunity to make his defence concerning the matter laid against him. 17 When therefore they were come together here, I made no delay, but on the next day sat on the judgment-seat, and commanded the man to be brought. 18 Concerning whom, when the accusers stood up, they brought no charge of such evil things as I supposed; 19 but had certain questions against him of their own [c]religion, and of one Jesus, who was dead, whom Paul affirmed to be alive. 20 And I, being perplexed how to inquire concerning these things, asked whether he would go to Jerusalem and there be judged of these matters. 21 But when Paul had appealed to be kept for the decision of [d]the emperor, I commanded him to be kept till I should send him to Caesar. 22 And Agrippa said unto Festus, I also [e]could wish to hear the man myself. To-morrow, saith he, thou shalt hear him.
23 So on the morrow, when Agrippa was come, and Bernice, with great pomp, and they were entered into the place of hearing with the [f]chief captains and the principal men of the city, at the command of Festus Paul was brought in. 24 And Festus saith, King Agrippa, and all men who are here present with us, ye behold this man, about whom all the multitude of the Jews made suit to me, both at Jerusalem and here, crying that he ought not to live any longer. 25 But I found that he had committed nothing worthy of death: and as he himself appealed to [g]the emperor I determined to send him. 26 Of whom I have no certain thing to write unto my lord. Wherefore I have brought him forth before you, and specially before thee, king Agrippa, that, after examination had, I may have somewhat to write. 27 For it seemeth to me unreasonable, in sending a prisoner, not withal to signify the charges against him.
16 And no man, when he hath lighted a lamp, covereth it with a vessel, or putteth it under a bed; but putteth it on a stand, that they that enter in may see the light. 17 For nothing is hid, that shall not be made manifest; nor anything secret, that shall not be known and come to light. 18 Take heed therefore how ye hear: for whosoever hath, to him shall be given; and whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that which he [a]thinketh he hath.
19 And there came to him his mother and brethren, and they could not come at him for the crowd. 20 And it was told him, Thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring to see thee. 21 But he answered and said unto them, My mother and my brethren are these that hear the word of God, and do it.
22 Now it came to pass on one of those days, that he entered into a boat, himself and his disciples; and he said unto them, Let us go over unto the other side of the lake: and they launched forth. 23 But as they sailed he fell asleep: and there came down a storm of wind on the lake; and they were filling with water, and were in jeopardy. 24 And they came to him, and awoke him, saying, Master, master, we perish. And he awoke, and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water: and they ceased, and there was a calm. 25 And he said unto them, Where is your faith? And being afraid they marvelled, saying one to another, Who then is this, that he commandeth even the winds and the water, and they obey him?
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