Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 95[a]
A Call to Praise and Obedience
I
1 Come, let us sing joyfully to the Lord;
cry out to the rock of our salvation.(A)
2 Let us come before him with a song of praise,
joyfully sing out our psalms.
3 For the Lord is the great God,
the great king over all gods,(B)
4 Whose hand holds the depths of the earth;
who owns the tops of the mountains.
5 The sea and dry land belong to God,
who made them, formed them by hand.(C)
II
6 Enter, let us bow down in worship;
let us kneel before the Lord who made us.
7 For he is our God,
we are the people he shepherds,
the sheep in his hands.(D)
III
Oh, that today you would hear his voice:(E)
8 Do not harden your hearts as at Meribah,
as on the day of Massah in the desert.[b]
9 There your ancestors tested me;
they tried me though they had seen my works.(F)
10 Forty years I loathed that generation;
I said: “This people’s heart goes astray;
they do not know my ways.”(G)
11 Therefore I swore in my anger:
“They shall never enter my rest.”[c]
Psalm 102[a]
Prayer in Time of Distress
1 The prayer of one afflicted and wasting away whose anguish is poured out before the Lord.
I
2 Lord, hear my prayer;
let my cry come to you.
3 Do not hide your face from me
in the day of my distress.(A)
Turn your ear to me;
when I call, answer me quickly.
4 For my days vanish like smoke;(B)
my bones burn away as in a furnace.
5 My heart is withered, dried up like grass,
too wasted to eat my food.
6 From my loud groaning
I become just skin and bones.
7 I am like a desert owl,
like an owl among the ruins.
8 I lie awake and moan,
like a lone sparrow on the roof.
9 All day long my enemies taunt me;
in their rage, they make my name a curse.[b]
10 I eat ashes like bread,
mingle my drink with tears.(C)
11 Because of your furious wrath,
you lifted me up just to cast me down.
12 (D)My days are like a lengthening shadow;(E)
I wither like the grass.
II
13 But you, Lord, are enthroned forever;
your renown is for all generations.(F)
14 You will again show mercy to Zion;
now is the time for pity;
the appointed time has come.
15 Its stones are dear to your servants;
its dust moves them to pity.
16 The nations shall fear your name, Lord,
all the kings of the earth, your glory,(G)
17 Once the Lord has rebuilt Zion
and appeared in glory,
18 Heeding the plea of the lowly,
not scorning their prayer.
19 Let this be written for the next generation,
for a people not yet born,
that they may praise the Lord:(H)
20 [c]“The Lord looked down from the holy heights,
viewed the earth from heaven,(I)
21 To attend to the groaning of the prisoners,
to release those doomed to die.”(J)
22 Then the Lord’s name will be declared on Zion,
his praise in Jerusalem,
23 When peoples and kingdoms gather
to serve the Lord.(K)
III
24 He has shattered my strength in mid-course,
has cut short my days.
25 I plead, O my God,
do not take me in the midst of my days.[d](L)
Your years last through all generations.
26 Of old you laid the earth’s foundations;(M)
the heavens are the work of your hands.
27 They perish, but you remain;
they all wear out like a garment;
Like clothing you change them and they are changed,
28 but you are the same, your years have no end.
29 May the children of your servants live on;
may their descendants live in your presence.(N)
Fifth Book—Psalms 107–150
Psalm 107[a]
God the Savior of Those in Distress
1 “Give thanks to the Lord for he is good,
his mercy endures forever!”(A)
2 Let that be the prayer of the Lord’s redeemed,
those redeemed from the hand of the foe,(B)
3 Those gathered from foreign lands,
from east and west, from north and south.(C)
I
4 Some had lost their way in a barren desert;
found no path toward a city to live in.
5 They were hungry and thirsty;
their life was ebbing away.(D)
6 In their distress they cried to the Lord,
who rescued them in their peril,
7 (E)Guided them by a direct path
so they reached a city to live in.(F)
8 Let them thank the Lord for his mercy,
such wondrous deeds for the children of Adam.
9 For he satisfied the thirsty,
filled the hungry with good things.(G)
II
10 Some lived in darkness and gloom,
imprisoned in misery and chains.
11 Because they rebelled against God’s word,
and scorned the counsel of the Most High,(H)
12 He humbled their hearts through hardship;
they stumbled with no one to help.(I)
13 In their distress they cried to the Lord,
who saved them in their peril;
14 He brought them forth from darkness and the shadow of death
and broke their chains asunder.(J)
15 Let them thank the Lord for his mercy,
such wondrous deeds for the children of Adam.
16 For he broke down the gates of bronze
and snapped the bars of iron.
III
17 Some fell sick from their wicked ways,
afflicted because of their sins.
18 They loathed all manner of food;(K)
they were at the gates of death.
19 In their distress they cried to the Lord,
who saved them in their peril,
20 Sent forth his word to heal them,(L)
and snatched them from the grave.
21 Let them thank the Lord for his mercy,
such wondrous deeds for the children of Adam.
22 Let them offer a sacrifice in thanks,
recount his works with shouts of joy.
IV
23 Some went off to sea in ships,
plied their trade on the deep waters.(M)
24 They saw the works of the Lord,
the wonders of God in the deep.
25 He commanded and roused a storm wind;
it tossed the waves on high.(N)
26 They rose up to the heavens, sank to the depths;
their hearts trembled at the danger.
27 They reeled, staggered like drunkards;
their skill was of no avail.(O)
28 In their distress they cried to the Lord,
who brought them out of their peril;
29 He hushed the storm to silence,
the waves of the sea were stilled.(P)
30 They rejoiced that the sea grew calm,
that God brought them to the harbor they longed for.
31 Let them thank the Lord for his mercy,
such wondrous deeds for the children of Adam.
32 Let them extol him in the assembly of the people,
and praise him in the council of the elders.
Chapter 2
Birth and Adoption of Moses. 1 Now a man[a] of the house of Levi married a Levite woman,(A) 2 and the woman conceived and bore a son. Seeing what a fine child he was, she hid him for three months.(B) 3 But when she could no longer hide him, she took a papyrus basket,[b] daubed it with bitumen and pitch, and putting the child in it, placed it among the reeds on the bank of the Nile. 4 His sister stationed herself at a distance to find out what would happen to him.
5 Then Pharaoh’s daughter came down to bathe at the Nile, while her attendants walked along the bank of the Nile. Noticing the basket among the reeds, she sent her handmaid to fetch it. 6 On opening it, she looked, and there was a baby boy crying! She was moved with pity for him and said, “It is one of the Hebrews’ children.” 7 Then his sister asked Pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and summon a Hebrew woman to nurse the child for you?” 8 Pharaoh’s daughter answered her, “Go.” So the young woman went and called the child’s own mother. 9 Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this child and nurse him for me, and I will pay your wages.”[c] So the woman took the child and nursed him. 10 When the child grew,[d] she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became her son.(C) She named him Moses; for she said, “I drew him out of the water.”
Moses’ Flight to Midian. 11 (D)On one occasion, after Moses had grown up,[e] when he had gone out to his kinsmen and witnessed their forced labor, he saw an Egyptian striking a Hebrew, one of his own kinsmen. 12 Looking about and seeing no one, he struck down the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. 13 The next day he went out again, and now two Hebrews were fighting! So he asked the culprit, “Why are you striking your companion?” 14 But he replied, “Who has appointed you ruler and judge over us? Are you thinking of killing me as you killed the Egyptian?” Then Moses became afraid and thought, “The affair must certainly be known.” 15 When Pharaoh heard of the affair, he sought to kill Moses. But Moses fled from Pharaoh and went to the land of Midian.[f](E) There he sat down by a well.
16 Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters, and they came to draw water and fill the troughs to water their father’s flock. 17 But shepherds came and drove them away. So Moses rose up in their defense and watered their flock. 18 When they returned to their father Reuel,[g] he said to them, “How is it you have returned so soon today?” 19 They answered, “An Egyptian[h] delivered us from the shepherds. He even drew water for us and watered the flock!” 20 “Where is he?” he asked his daughters. “Why did you leave the man there? Invite him to have something to eat.” 21 Moses agreed to stay with him, and the man gave Moses his daughter Zipporah in marriage. 22 She conceived and bore a son, whom he named Gershom;[i] for he said, “I am a stranger residing in a foreign land.”(F)
27 Now you are Christ’s body, and individually parts of it.(A) 28 Some people God has designated in the church to be, first, apostles;[a] second, prophets; third, teachers; then, mighty deeds; then, gifts of healing, assistance, administration, and varieties of tongues.(B) 29 Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work mighty deeds? 30 Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? 31 Strive eagerly for the greatest spiritual gifts.
The Way of Love. But I shall show you a still more excellent way.
Chapter 13[b]
1 If I speak in human and angelic tongues[c] but do not have love, I am a resounding gong or a clashing cymbal.(C) 2 And if I have the gift of prophecy and comprehend all mysteries and all knowledge; if I have all faith so as to move mountains but do not have love, I am nothing.(D) 3 If I give away everything I own, and if I hand my body over so that I may boast but do not have love, I gain nothing.(E)
2 After six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John and led them up a high mountain apart by themselves.(A) And he was transfigured before them, 3 and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no fuller on earth could bleach them. 4 Then Elijah appeared to them along with Moses, and they were conversing with Jesus. 5 [a]Then Peter said to Jesus in reply, “Rabbi, it is good that we are here! Let us make three tents: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” 6 He hardly knew what to say, they were so terrified. 7 Then a cloud came, casting a shadow over them;[b] then from the cloud came a voice, “This is my beloved Son. Listen to him.” 8 Suddenly, looking around, they no longer saw anyone but Jesus alone with them.
The Coming of Elijah.[c] 9 As they were coming down from the mountain, he charged them not to relate what they had seen to anyone, except when the Son of Man had risen from the dead.(B) 10 So they kept the matter to themselves, questioning what rising from the dead meant. 11 (C)Then they asked him, “Why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?” 12 He told them, “Elijah will indeed come first and restore all things, yet how is it written regarding the Son of Man that he must suffer greatly and be treated with contempt? 13 But I tell you that Elijah has come and they did to him whatever they pleased, as it is written of him.”(D)
The Healing of a Boy with a Demon.[d]
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.