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, jubilation, saying,
“Sing for 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, Jerusalem,
May my right hand [e]forget its 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, Lord, against the sons of (K)Edom
The day of Jerusalem,
Those who said, “Lay it bare, lay it bare
(L)To its foundation!”
8 Daughter of Babylon, you [g](M)devastated one,
Blessed will be one who (N)repays you
With [h]the retribution with which you have repaid us.
9 Blessed will be one who seizes and (O)dashes your children
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 faithfulness and (C)my fortress,
My (D)stronghold and my savior,
My (E)shield and He in whom I take refuge,
Who (F)subdues [a]my people under me.
3 Lord, (G)what is man, that You look after him?
Or a son of man, that You think of him?
4 (H)Man is like the breath;
His (I)days are like a passing shadow.
5 (J)Bend down Your heavens, 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 Reach out with Your hand (O)from on high;
Rescue me and (P)save me from great waters,
From the hand of (Q)foreigners
8 Whose mouth (R)speaks deceit,
And whose (S)right hand is a right hand of falsehood.
9 God, I will sing a (T)new song to You;
On a (U)harp of ten strings I will sing praises to You,
10 Who (V)gives salvation to kings,
Who (W)rescues His servant David from the evil sword.
11 Rescue me and save me from the hand of (X)foreigners,
Whose mouth (Y)speaks deceit
And whose (Z)right hand is a right hand of falsehood.
12 When our sons in their youth are like (AA)growing plants,
And our daughters like (AB)corner pillars [b]fashioned for a palace,
13 Our (AC)granaries are full, providing every kind of produce,
And our flocks deliver thousands and ten thousands in our [c]fields;
14 May our (AD)cattle [d]be bred
Without [e](AE)mishap and without [f](AF)loss,
May there be no (AG)outcry in our streets!
15 Blessed are the people who are so situated;
(AH)Blessed are the people whose God is the Lord!
BOOK 2
Thirsting for God in Trouble and Exile.
For the music 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, 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 I remember these things and (G)pour out my soul within me.
For I (H)used to go over with the multitude and walk them to the house of God,
With a voice of (I)joy and thanksgiving, a multitude celebrating a festival.
5 (J)Why are you [e](K)in despair, my soul?
And why are you (L)restless within me?
(M)Wait for God, for I will [f]again praise [g]Him
For the [h](N)help of His [i]presence, my God.
6 My soul is [j]in despair within me;
Therefore I (O)remember You from (P)the land of the Jordan
And the [k]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 passed over me.
8 The Lord will (S)send His goodness 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 about (W)mourning [l]because of the (X)oppression of the enemy?”
10 As a shattering of my bones, my adversaries taunt me,
While they (Y)say to me all day long, “Where is your God?”
11 (Z)Why are you [m]in despair, my soul?
And why are you restless within me?
Wait for God, for I will again praise [n]Him
For the [o]help of His presence, my God.
Prayer for Help.
43 (AA)Vindicate me, God, and (AB)plead my case against an ungodly nation;
[p]Save me from (AC)the deceitful and unjust person!
2 For You are the (AD)God of my strength; why have You (AE)rejected me?
Why do I go about (AF)mourning [q]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 mankind and the seed of animals. 28 And just as I have (B)watched over them to (C)uproot them, tear them down, ruin, destroy, and bring disaster on them, so I will watch over them to (D)build and to plant them,” declares the Lord.
29 “In those days they will no longer say,
‘(E)The fathers have eaten sour grapes,
[a]But it is the children’s teeth that have become blunt.’
30 But (F)everyone will die for his own wrongdoing; each person who eats the sour grapes, his own teeth will become blunt.
31 “(G)Behold, days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will make a (H)new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, 32 not like the (I)covenant which I made with their fathers on 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 “For (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 write it on their heart; and (N)I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 34 They will (O)not teach again, each one his neighbor and each one 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 wrongdoing, and their (R)sin I will no longer remember.”
25 For (A)I do not want you, brothers and sisters, 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 In relation to the gospel they are (I)enemies on your account, but in relation to God’s choice they are beloved (J)on account 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, [b]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, [c]that it would be paid back to him? 36 For (S)from Him, and through Him, and to Him are all things. (T)To Him be the glory [d]forever. Amen.
28 When she had said this, she (A)left and called Mary her sister, saying secretly, “(B)The Teacher is here and is calling for you.” 29 And when she heard this, she *got up quickly and came to Him.
30 Now Jesus had not yet come into the village, but (C)was still at the place where Martha met Him. 31 (D)Then the Jews who were with her in the house and were (E)consoling her, when they saw that Mary had gotten up quickly and left, they followed her, thinking that she was going to the tomb to weep there. 32 So when Mary came to the place 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 Therefore when Jesus 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 He 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 this Man, who (N)opened the eyes of the man who was blind, not have also [b]kept this man 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. And Jesus (S)raised His eyes, and said, “(T)Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. 42 But I knew that You always hear Me; nevertheless, (U)because of the [d]people standing around I said it, so that they may believe that (V)You sent Me.” 43 And when He had said these things, He cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” 44 Out came the man who had died, (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 in their sight, they still were not believing in Him. 38 This happened so that the word of Isaiah the prophet which he spoke would be fulfilled: “(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 will not see with their eyes and understand with their heart, and [b]be converted, and so I will not heal them.” 41 These things Isaiah said because (D)he saw His glory, and (E)he spoke about Him. 42 Nevertheless (F)many, even of (G)the rulers, believed in Him, but (H)because of the Pharisees they were not confessing Him, so that they would not be (I)excommunicated from the synagogue; 43 (J)for they loved the [c]approval of people rather than the [d]approval of God.
44 Now Jesus cried out and said, “(K)The one who believes in Me, does not believe only in Me, but also in Him who sent Me. 45 And (L)the one who sees Me sees Him who sent Me. 46 (M)I have come as Light into the world, so that no one who believes in Me will remain in darkness. 47 If anyone hears My [e]teachings 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)The one who rejects Me and does not [f]accept My [g]teachings has one who judges him: (P)the word which I spoke. That will judge him on (Q)the last day. 49 (R)For I did not speak [h]on My own, but the Father Himself who sent Me (S)has given Me a commandment as to what to say and what to speak. 50 And I know that (T)His commandment is eternal life; therefore the things I speak, I speak (U)just as the Father has told Me.”
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