Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 137[a]
The Exiles’ Remembrance of Zion
1 By the rivers[b] of Babylon
we sat down and wept
when we remembered Zion.
2 [c]There on the poplars
we hung up our harps.
3 For it was there that our captors
asked us to sing them a song,
and, tormenting us, demanded a joyful song:
“Sing us one of the songs of Zion.”
4 But how could we sing songs of the Lord
while living in a foreign land?[d]
5 [e]If I forget you, O Jerusalem,
may my right hand fail me.
6 May my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth
if I do not remember you,
if I do not regard Jerusalem
as the greatest of my joys.
7 [f]Remember, O Lord, the cruelty of the Edomites
on the day when Jerusalem fell,[g]
how they shouted, “Tear it down!
Tear it down to its very foundations!”
8 O Daughter[h] of Babylon, you destroyer,
happy will he be who repays you
for the suffering you inflicted upon us!
9 Happy will he be who seizes your babies
and smashes them against a rock![i]
Psalm 144[a]
Prayer for Victory and Peace
1 [b]Of David.
Blessed be the Lord,[c] my Rock,
who trains my hands for war
and my fingers for battle.
2 You are my safeguard[d] and my fortress,
my stronghold and my deliverer,
my shield in whom I take refuge,
the one who subdues nations under me.
3 O Lord, what is man that you care for him,
or the son of man that you think of him?[e]
4 Man is nothing more than a breath;
his days are like a fleeting shadow.[f]
5 [g]Part the heavens, O Lord, and descend;
touch the mountains so that they smoke.[h]
6 Flash forth lightning bolts and scatter my foes;
rout them with your arrows.[i]
7 Reach forth your hand[j] from on high;
deliver me and rescue me
from the mighty waters
and from the power of foreign foes
8 whose mouths utter lies[k]
and whose right hands are raised to swear to untruths.
9 [l]I will sing a new song to you, my God;
on a ten-stringed lyre I will play music for you.[m]
10 You grant victory to kings
and deliverance to your servant David from the cruel sword.[n]
11 Deliver me and rescue me
from the hands of foreign foes
whose mouths utter lies
and whose right hands are raised to swear to untruths.[o]
12 [p]May our sons in their youth
be like carefully nurtured plants,
and may our daughters be like pillars
designed to adorn a palace.[q]
13 May our barns be filled
with every kind of crop.
May our sheep increase by thousands,
by tens of thousands in our fields,[r]
14 and may our cattle be well fed.[s]
May there be no breach in our walls,
no going into exile,
no cries of distress in our streets.
15 Blessed are the people for whom this is true;
blessed[t] are the people whose God is the Lord.
Psalm 104[a]
Praise of God the Creator
1 Bless the Lord, O my soul.
O Lord, my God, you are indeed very great.
You are clothed in majesty and splendor,
2 wrapped in light[b] as in a robe.
You have stretched out the heavens like a tent;
3 you have established your palace[c] upon the waters.
You make the clouds serve as your chariot;
you ride forth on the wings of the wind.
4 You have appointed the winds as your messengers
and flames of fire[d] as your ministers.
5 You established the earth on its foundations
so that it will remain unshaken forever.[e]
6 You covered it with the deep like a cloak;
the waters rose above the mountains.
7 At your rebuke[f] the waters took to flight;
at the sound of your thunder they fled in terror.
8 They rose up to the mountains
and flowed down to the valleys,[g]
to the place that you had designated for them.
9 You established a boundary that they were not to cross
so that they would never again cover the earth.
10 [h]You made springs gush forth in the valleys
and flow between the mountains.
11 They supply water to every beast of the field,
and from them the wild asses quench their thirst.
12 On the banks the birds of the air build nests
and sing among the branches.
13 [i]From your dwelling you water the mountains,
enriching the earth with the fruit of your labor.
14 You provide grass for the cattle,
and the plants for man to cultivate.
You bring forth food from the earth
15 and wine to gladden the heart[j] of man,
oil to make his face shine
and bread to strengthen his body.
16 The trees of the Lord have fruit in abundance,
the cedars of Lebanon[k] that he planted.
17 In them the birds build their nests;
in the fir trees the stork makes its home.
18 The high mountains are inhabited by the wild goats;
in the rocky crags the badgers[l] find refuge.
19 You created the moon that marks the seasons
and the sun that knows its time for setting.[m]
20 You bring on darkness, and it is night,
when all the beasts of the forests go on the prowl.
21 The young lions[n] roar for their prey,
seeking their food from God.
22 When the sun rises, they steal away
and return to their lairs to rest.
23 People go forth to their work
and to their labor until darkness descends.
24 [o]How countless are your works, O Lord;
by your wisdom you have made them all;
the earth abounds with your creatures.
25 There is the sea, vast and broad,
filled with numberless species,
living creatures both great and small.
26 There the ships sail forth,
and the Leviathan[p] that you formed to play therein.
27 [q]All of them look to you
to give them their food at the appropriate time.[r]
28 [s]When you provide it for them,
they gather it up;
when you open your hand,
they are filled with good things.
29 When you turn away your face,[t]
they are dismayed;
when you take away their breath,
they die and return to the dust.
30 When you send forth your Spirit,[u]
they are created,
and you renew the face of the earth.
31 [v]May the glory of the Lord abide forever,
and may the Lord rejoice in his works.[w]
32 When he looks at the earth, it quakes;
when he touches the mountains, they smoke.[x]
33 I will sing to the Lord as long as I live;[y]
I will sing praise to my God while I have life.
34 May my meditation be pleasing to him,
for I find my joy in the Lord.
35 May sinners be banished from the earth,
and may the wicked no longer exist.
Bless the Lord, O my soul.[z]
Alleluia.
12 But Balaam said to Balak, “Did I not tell your messengers who sent for me, 13 ‘If Balak were to give me a house full of silver and gold, I could not go beyond the word of the Lord on my own either for good or for bad. Whatever the Lord proclaims, that I must speak!’ 14 Now I am going back to my own people; come, allow me to let you know what this people will do to your people in the future.”
15 Balaam’s Fourth Oracle. So he took up the oracle and said,
“Balaam, the son of Beor,
the man whose eyes are open says,
16 The oracle of he
who has heard the words of God,
who has knowledge of the Most High,
who sees the vision of the Almighty,
who falls down with his eyes open:
17 [a]I see him, but not now.
I behold him, but not near.
A star comes forth from Jacob,
and a scepter rises out of Israel.
He will crush the brow of Moab,
he will destroy the children of Seth.
18 Edom[b] will become a possession,
and Seir also will become a possession of its enemies,
but Israel will grow strong.
19 A ruler will come out of Jacob,
he will destroy the remnant of the city.”
20 He then looked toward Amalek and said,
“Amalek was the first of the nations,
but he will be the last until he perishes.”
21 He looked upon the Kenites[c] and took up his oracle and said,
“Strong is your dwelling place,
and your nest is in the rock;
22 but Kain will be consumed.
How long until Asshur[d] carries you away as a captive?”
23 He continued his oracle saying,
“Alas, who can live when God does this?
24 Ships will come from Kittim,
and will humble Asshur and Eber.
They, too, will face destruction.”
25 Then Balaam got up and went home, and Balak also went his way.
18 The Future Glory That Shall Be Revealed.[a] I consider that the sufferings we presently endure are not worth comparing with the glory to be revealed in us. 19 Indeed, creation itself eagerly awaits the revelation of the children of God. 20 For creation was subjected to frustration, not of its own choice but by the will of the one who subjected it, in the hope 21 that creation itself will be freed from its slavery to corruption and share in the glorious freedom of the children of God.
22 As we know, the entire creation has been groaning in labor pains until now— 23 and not only creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait for our adoption as children, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in hope we were saved. Now to see something does not involve hope. For why should we hope for what we have already seen? 25 But if we hope for what we do not yet see, then we wait for it with patience.
23 Marriage and the Resurrection.[a] On that same day, the Sadducees, who assert that there is no resurrection, approached him and posed this question, 24 “Teacher, Moses said that if a man dies without having children, his brother[b] is to marry his brother’s wife and raise up children for his brother. 25 Now there were seven brothers who belonged to our group. The first one married and died without issue, and therefore left his wife to his brother. 26 The same result occurred with the second brother and the third, right down to the seventh. 27 Finally, the woman herself died. 28 Now at the resurrection, whose wife of the seven will she be, inasmuch as all of them had her?”
29 Jesus answered them, “You are in error, for you do not understand the Scriptures or the power of God. 30 At the resurrection they will neither marry nor be given in marriage. They are like the angels in heaven.
31 “And in regard to the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what God himself said to you: 32 ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not the God of the dead but of the living.”
33 When the crowds heard this, they were astonished at his teaching.
34 The Greatest Commandment.[c] When the Pharisees learned that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together, 35 and, to test him, one of them, a lawyer, asked this question, 36 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”
37 Jesus said to him, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the greatest and the first commandment. 39 The second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 Everything in the Law and the Prophets depends on these two commandments.”
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