Book of Common Prayer

Israel in a Strange Land

137 We sat down and cried by the rivers of Babylon when we remembered Zion. ² There upon the trees we put our harps. ³ For those who held us there made us sing. And those who made it hard for us asked for joy. They said, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion.”

⁴ How can we sing the song of the Lord in a strange land? ⁵ If I forget you, O Jerusalem, may my right hand forget what it is able to do. ⁶ May my tongue hold to the roof of my mouth if I do not remember you, if I do not honor Jerusalem above my highest joy.

⁷ O Lord, remember what the sons of Edom did on the day Jerusalem fell. “Knock it down,” they said, “Knock it down to the ground.” ⁸ O daughter of Babylon, you who will be destroyed, how honored will be the one who pays you back for what you have done to us! ⁹ How honored will be the one who catches your children and throws them against the rock!

A Song of Thanks

144 Praise and thanks be to the Lord, my rock. He makes my hands ready for war, and my fingers for battle. ² He is my loving-kindness and my walls of strength, my strong place and the One Who sets me free, my safe-covering and the One in Whom I trust. He brings my people under my rule. ³ O Lord, what is man that You think of him, the son of man that You remember him? ⁴ Man is like a breath. His days are like a passing shadow. ⁵ O Lord, divide Your heavens and come down. Touch the mountains so they will smoke. ⁶ Send out lightning and divide them. Send out Your arrows and trouble them. ⁷ Put out Your hand from above. Take me out of trouble and away from the many waters, from the power of those from other lands. ⁸ Their mouths speak lies. And their right hand is a right hand that is false.

⁹ I will sing a new song to You, O God. I will sing praises to You on a harp of ten strings. ¹⁰ You save kings. You take Your servant David away from the sharp sword. ¹¹ Take me out of trouble and away from the power of those from other lands. Their mouths speak lies. And their right hand is a right hand that is false.

¹² May our young sons be like plants that are full-grown. And may our daughters be like the corner pieces of a great house. ¹³ May our store-houses be full of all kinds of food. And may our sheep grow by the thousands and ten thousands in our fields. ¹⁴ Let our cattle give birth without trouble and without loss. And may there be no cry of trouble in our streets. ¹⁵ Happy are the people who have all this. Yes, happy are the people whose God is the Lord!

The Lord Watches Over All His Works

104 Praise the Lord, O my soul! O Lord my God, You are very great. You are dressed with great honor and wonderful power. ² He covers Himself with light as with a coat. He spreads out the heavens like a tent. ³ He makes His home on the waters. He makes the clouds His wagon. He rides on the wings of the wind. ⁴ He makes the winds carry His news. He makes His helpers a burning fire.

⁵ He set the earth in its place so that it will stay that way forever. ⁶ You covered it with the sea as with a coat. The waters stood above the mountains. ⁷ The waters left at Your strong words. They went away in a hurry at the sound of Your thunder. ⁸ The mountains went up and the valleys went down to the place that You made for them. ⁹ You set a place that they may not pass over. The waters will never cover the earth again.

¹⁰ He sends rivers into the valleys. They flow between the mountains. ¹¹ They give water to all the animals of the field. The wild donkeys drink until they are no longer thirsty. ¹² The birds of the sky nest beside them. They sing among the branches. ¹³ He waters the mountains from His home above. The earth is filled with the fruit of His works.

¹⁴ He makes the grass grow for the cattle, and plants for man to use. So He may bring food from the earth, ¹⁵ wine that makes man’s heart glad, oil to make his face shine, and food to make his heart strong. ¹⁶ The tall cedar trees that the Lord planted in Lebanon drink their fill. ¹⁷ The birds make their nests there. The stork has its nest in the green trees.

¹⁸ The high mountains are for the wild goats. The rocks are a safe place for the badgers. ¹⁹ He made the moon to mark the time of year. And the sun knows when to go down. ²⁰ You make darkness and it becomes night. Then all the wild animals among the trees come out. ²¹ The young lions make a loud noise as they go after meat. And they get their food from God. ²² They go to their homes and lie down when the sun rises. ²³ Then man goes out to his work and works until evening.

²⁴ O Lord, how many are Your works! You made them all in wisdom. The earth is full of what You have made. ²⁵ There is the wide sea full of both large and small animals. There are too many for us to number. ²⁶ The ships sail there. And the very large sea animal You have made plays in it.

²⁷ They all wait for You to give them their food at the right time. ²⁸ You give it to them and they gather it up. You open Your hand and they are filled with good things. ²⁹ They are troubled and afraid when You hide Your face. And when You take away their breath, they die and return to the dust. ³⁰ They are made when You send Your Spirit. And You make the land of the earth new again.

³¹ May the shining-greatness of the Lord last forever. May the Lord be glad in His works. ³² He looks at the earth and it shakes with fear. He touches the mountains and they smoke. ³³ I will sing to the Lord all my life. I will sing praise to my God as long as I live. ³⁴ May the words of my heart be pleasing to Him. As for me, I will be glad in the Lord. ³⁵ Let sinners be destroyed from the earth. And let the sinful be no more. Honor the Lord, O my soul! Praise the Lord!

5 “Now gather yourselves into armies, people of Israel. They are all around us with their army. They will hit the judge of Israel on the face.

God’s Chosen One Will Come from Bethlehem

² “Bethlehem Ephrathah, you are too little to be among the family groups of Judah. But from you One will come who will rule for Me in Israel. His coming was planned long ago, from the beginning.” ³ He will give them up until the time when the woman in pain gives birth to a child. Then the rest of His brothers will return to the people of Israel. ⁴ And He will come and feed His flock in the strength of the Lord, in the great power of the name of the Lord His God. His people will live there and be safe, because at that time He will be great to the ends of the earth.

¹⁰ “In that day,” says the Lord, “I will destroy your horses and your war-wagons from among you. ¹¹ I will destroy the cities of your land and tear down all your strong-places. ¹² I will put an end to your witchcraft, and you will not have people telling your future any more. ¹³ I will destroy your false gods and your pillars of worship, so that you will no longer bow down to the work of your hands. ¹⁴ I will pull up your wooden, female goddesses Asherah, and destroy your cities. ¹⁵ And in My anger I will punish the nations that have not obeyed.”

Festus Tells King Agrippa about Paul

¹³ After a few days, King Agrippa and his wife, Bernice, came down to Caesarea. They went to Festus to greet him. ¹⁴ They stayed there a few days. Festus told them about Paul. He said, “There is a man here who was left in prison by Felix. ¹⁵ When I was at Jerusalem, the head religious leaders and the leaders of the people told me about him and asked me to say that he is guilty. ¹⁶ I told them it was against the Roman law to hand over a man to be put to death before he stood face to face with those who had something against him and could speak for himself. ¹⁷ When they came here, I took my seat in the courtroom at once. I had the man brought in. ¹⁸ When the others spoke, they had nothing against him that I thought they had. ¹⁹ They did not agree with him about their own religion, and they argued about someone called Jesus. He had died but Paul kept saying He was alive. ²⁰ I did not know what to do. Then I asked him if he would go on trial about these things at Jerusalem. ²¹ But Paul asked to go on trial in front of Caesar. I said that he should be kept in prison until he could be sent to Caesar.” ²² Agrippa said to Festus, “I would like to hear this man.” Festus said, “Tomorrow you will hear him.”

Paul Stands in Front of King Agrippa

²³ The next day Agrippa and Bernice came into the courtroom. They were dressed to show their greatness as king and queen. Army leaders and leading men of the city came in with them. Festus had Paul brought in.

²⁴ Festus said, “King Agrippa and all of you who are here with us, you see this man. All of the Jews both here and at Jerusalem are saying that Paul should be put to death. ²⁵ I have heard nothing against him that would be reason to put him to death. But he asked for a trial in front of Caesar. I have agreed to send Paul to him. ²⁶ When I write to Caesar, I have nothing to say against him. For this reason, I brought him in front of you all and in front of you, King Agrippa. After we ask him questions, I may have something to write about. ²⁷ It is foolish for me to send a man up for trial without writing what is against him.”

The Picture-Story of the Lamp

¹⁶ “No man lights a lamp and puts it under a pail or under a bed. He puts it on a lamp-stand so all who come into the room may see it. ¹⁷ Nothing is secret but what will be known. Anything that is hidden will be brought into the light. ¹⁸ Be careful how you listen! Whoever has, to him will be given. Whoever does not have, even the little he has will be taken from him.”

The New Kind of Family ^(A)

¹⁹ The mother of Jesus and His brothers came to Him. They could not get near Him because of so many people. ²⁰ Someone said to Jesus, “Your mother and brothers are standing outside. They want to see You.” ²¹ Jesus said to them, “My mother and brothers are these who hear the Word of God and do it.”

The Wind and Waves Obey Jesus ^(B)

²² On one of those days Jesus and His followers got into a boat. Jesus said to them, “Let us go over to the other side of the lake.” Then they pushed out into the water. ²³ As they were going, Jesus fell asleep. A wind storm came over the lake. The boat was filling with water and they were in danger. ²⁴ The followers came to awake Jesus. They said, “Teacher! Teacher! We are going to die!” Then Jesus got up and spoke sharp words to the wind and the high waves. The wind stopped blowing and there were no more waves. ²⁵ He said to them, “Where is your faith?” The followers were surprised and afraid. They said to each other, “What kind of a man is He? He speaks to the wind and the waves and they obey Him.”