Book of Common Prayer
An Experience of the Captivity.
137 By the (A)rivers of Babylon,
There we sat down and (B)wept,
When we remembered Zion.
2 Upon the [a](C)willows in the midst of it
We (D)hung our [b]harps.
3 For there our captors [c](E)demanded of us [d]songs,
And (F)our tormentors mirth, saying,
“Sing us one of the songs of Zion.”
4 How can we sing (G)the Lord’s song
In a foreign land?
5 If I (H)forget you, O Jerusalem,
May my right hand [e]forget her skill.
6 May my (I)tongue cling to the roof of my mouth
If I do not remember you,
If I do not [f](J)exalt Jerusalem
Above my chief joy.
7 Remember, O Lord, against the sons of (K)Edom
The day of Jerusalem,
Who said, “Raze it, raze it
(L)To its very foundation.”
8 O daughter of Babylon, you [g](M)devastated one,
How blessed will be the one who (N)repays you
With [h]the recompense with which you have repaid us.
9 How blessed will be the one who seizes and (O)dashes your little ones
Against the rock.
Prayer for Rescue and Prosperity.
A Psalm of David.
144 Blessed be the Lord, (A)my rock,
Who (B)trains my hands for war,
And my fingers for battle;
2 My lovingkindness and (C)my fortress,
My (D)stronghold and my deliverer,
My (E)shield and He in whom I take refuge,
Who (F)subdues [a]my people under me.
3 O Lord, (G)what is man, that You take knowledge of him?
Or the son of man, that You think of him?
4 (H)Man is like a mere breath;
His (I)days are like a passing shadow.
5 (J)Bow Your heavens, O Lord, and (K)come down;
(L)Touch the mountains, that they may smoke.
6 Flash forth (M)lightning and scatter them;
Send out Your (N)arrows and confuse them.
7 Stretch forth Your hand (O)from on high;
Rescue me and (P)deliver me out of great waters,
Out of the hand of (Q)aliens
8 Whose mouths (R)speak deceit,
And whose (S)right hand is a right hand of falsehood.
9 I will sing a (T)new song to You, O God;
Upon a (U)harp of ten strings I will sing praises to You,
10 Who (V)gives salvation to kings,
Who (W)rescues David His servant from the evil sword.
11 Rescue me and deliver me out of the hand of (X)aliens,
Whose mouth (Y)speaks deceit
And whose (Z)right hand is a right hand of falsehood.
12 Let our sons in their youth be as (AA)grown-up plants,
And our daughters as (AB)corner pillars [b]fashioned as for a palace;
13 Let our (AC)garners be full, furnishing every kind of produce,
And our flocks bring forth thousands and ten thousands in our [c]fields;
14 Let our (AD)cattle [d]bear
Without [e](AE)mishap and without [f](AF)loss,
Let there be no (AG)outcry in our streets!
15 How blessed are the people who are so situated;
How (AH)blessed are the people whose God is the Lord!
BOOK 2
Thirsting for God in Trouble and Exile.
For the choir director. A [a]Maskil of the sons of Korah.
42 As the deer [b]pants for the water brooks,
So my soul [c](A)pants for You, O God.
2 My soul (B)thirsts for God, for the (C)living God;
When shall I come and [d](D)appear before God?
3 My (E)tears have been my food day and night,
While they (F)say to me all day long, “Where is your God?”
4 These things I remember and I (G)pour out my soul within me.
For I (H)used to go along with the throng and [e]lead them in procession to the house of God,
With the voice of (I)joy and thanksgiving, a multitude keeping festival.
5 (J)Why are you [f](K)in despair, O my soul?
And why have you become (L)disturbed within me?
[g](M)Hope in God, for I shall [h]again praise [i]Him
For the [j](N)help of His presence.
6 O my God, my soul is [k]in despair within me;
Therefore I (O)remember You from (P)the land of the Jordan
And the [l]peaks of (Q)Hermon, from Mount Mizar.
7 Deep calls to deep at the sound of Your waterfalls;
All Your (R)breakers and Your waves have rolled over me.
8 The Lord will (S)command His lovingkindness in the daytime;
And His song will be with me (T)in the night,
A prayer to (U)the God of my life.
9 I will say to God (V)my rock, “Why have You forgotten me?
Why do I go (W)mourning [m]because of the (X)oppression of the enemy?”
10 As a shattering of my bones, my adversaries revile me,
While they (Y)say to me all day long, “Where is your God?”
11 (Z)Why are you [n]in despair, O my soul?
And why have you become disturbed within me?
[o]Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him,
The [p]help of my countenance and my God.
Prayer for Deliverance.
43 (AA)Vindicate me, O God, and (AB)plead my case against an ungodly nation;
[q]O deliver me from (AC)the deceitful and unjust man!
2 For You are the (AD)God of my strength; why have You (AE)rejected me?
Why do I go (AF)mourning [r]because of the oppression of the enemy?
A New Covenant
27 “Behold, days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will (A)sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man and with the seed of beast. 28 As I have (B)watched over them to (C)pluck up, to break down, to overthrow, to destroy and to bring disaster, so I will watch over them to (D)build and to plant,” declares the Lord.
29 “In those days they will not say again,
‘(E)The fathers have eaten sour grapes,
And the children’s teeth are [a]set on edge.’
30 But (F)everyone will die for his own iniquity; each man who eats the sour grapes, his teeth will be [b]set on edge.
31 “(G)Behold, days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will make a (H)new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, 32 not like the (I)covenant which I made with their fathers in the day I (J)took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My (K)covenant which they broke, although I was a husband to them,” declares the Lord. 33 “But (L)this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” declares the Lord, “(M)I will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it; and (N)I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 34 They will (O)not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they will all (P)know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them,” declares the Lord, “for I will (Q)forgive their iniquity, and their (R)sin I will remember no more.”
25 For (A)I do not want you, brethren, to be uninformed of this (B)mystery—so that you will not be (C)wise in your own estimation—that a partial (D)hardening has happened to Israel until the (E)fullness of the Gentiles has come in; 26 and so all Israel will be saved; just as it is written,
“(F)The Deliverer will come from Zion,
He will remove ungodliness from Jacob.”
27 “(G)This is [a]My covenant with them,
(H)When I take away their sins.”
28 [b]From the standpoint of the gospel they are (I)enemies for your sake, but [c]from the standpoint of God’s choice they are beloved for (J)the sake of the fathers; 29 for the gifts and the (K)calling of God (L)are irrevocable. 30 For just as you once were disobedient to God, but now have been shown mercy because of their disobedience, 31 so these also now have been disobedient, that because of the mercy shown to you they also may now be shown mercy. 32 For (M)God has shut up all in disobedience so that He may show mercy to all.
33 Oh, the depth of (N)the riches [d]both of the (O)wisdom and knowledge of God! (P)How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways! 34 For (Q)who has known the mind of the Lord, or who became His counselor? 35 Or (R)who has first given to Him [e]that it might be paid back to him again? 36 For (S)from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. (T)To Him be the glory [f]forever. Amen.
28 When she had said this, she (A)went away and called Mary her sister, saying secretly, “(B)The Teacher is here and is calling for you.” 29 And when she heard it, she *got up quickly and was coming to Him.
30 Now Jesus had not yet come into the village, but (C)was still in the place where Martha met Him. 31 (D)Then the Jews who were with her in the house, and (E)consoling her, when they saw that Mary got up quickly and went out, they followed her, supposing that she was going to the tomb to weep there. 32 Therefore, when Mary came where Jesus was, she saw Him, and fell at His feet, saying to Him, “(F)Lord, (G)if You had been here, my brother would not have died.” 33 When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and (H)the Jews who came with her also weeping, He (I)was deeply moved in spirit and [a](J)was troubled, 34 and said, “Where have you laid him?” They *said to Him, “Lord, come and see.” 35 Jesus (K)wept. 36 So (L)the Jews were saying, “See how He (M)loved him!” 37 But some of them said, “Could not this man, who (N)opened the eyes of the blind man, [b]have kept this man also from dying?”
38 So Jesus, again being deeply moved within, *came to the tomb. Now it was a (O)cave, and a stone was lying against it. 39 Jesus *said, “Remove the stone.” Martha, the sister of the deceased, *said to Him, “Lord, by this time [c]there will be a stench, for he has been dead (P)four days.” 40 Jesus *said to her, “(Q)Did I not say to you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?” 41 So they removed the (R)stone. Then Jesus (S)raised His eyes, and said, “(T)Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. 42 I knew that You always hear Me; but (U)because of the [d]people standing around I said it, so that they may believe that (V)You sent Me.” 43 When He had said these things, He cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth.” 44 The man who had died came forth, (W)bound hand and foot with wrappings, and (X)his face was wrapped around with a cloth. Jesus *said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”
37 But though He had performed so many [a]signs before them, yet they were not believing in Him. 38 This was to fulfill the word of Isaiah the prophet which he spoke: “(A)Lord, who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?” 39 For this reason they could not believe, for Isaiah said again, 40 “(B)He has blinded their eyes and He (C)hardened their heart, so that they would not see with their eyes and perceive with their heart, and [b]be converted and I heal them.” 41 These things Isaiah said because (D)he saw His glory, and (E)he spoke of Him. 42 Nevertheless (F)many even of (G)the rulers believed in Him, but (H)because of the Pharisees they were not confessing Him, for fear that they would be [c](I)put out of the synagogue; 43 (J)for they loved the [d]approval of men rather than the [e]approval of God.
44 And Jesus cried out and said, “(K)He who believes in Me, does not believe in Me but in Him who sent Me. 45 (L)He who sees Me sees the One who sent Me. 46 (M)I have come as Light into the world, so that everyone who believes in Me will not remain in darkness. 47 If anyone hears My sayings and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for (N)I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world. 48 (O)He who rejects Me and does not receive My sayings, has one who judges him; (P)the word I spoke is what will judge him at (Q)the last day. 49 (R)For I did not speak [f]on My own initiative, but the Father Himself who sent Me (S)has given Me a commandment as to what to say and what to speak. 50 I know that (T)His commandment is eternal life; therefore the things I speak, I speak (U)just as the Father has told Me.”
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.