Book of Common Prayer
1 ¶ By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion.
2 We hanged our harps upon the willows in the midst thereof;
3 when there, those that carried us away captive asked us for the words of the song; with our harps of joy hung upon the willows saying, Sing us one of the songs of Zion.
4 How shall we sing the song of the LORD in the land of strangers?
5 If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, my right hand shall be forgotten.
6 If I do not remember thee, my tongue shall cleave to the roof of my mouth; if I do not prefer to lift up Jerusalem as my chief joy.
7 ¶ Remember, O LORD, the sons of Edom in the day of Jerusalem; who said, Raze it, raze it, even to the foundation thereof.
8 O daughter of Babylon, who art to be destroyed; happy shall he be, that rewards thee as thou hast served us.
9 Happy shall he be, that takes and dashes thy offspring against the stones.
A Psalm of David.
1 ¶ Blessed be the LORD my strength, who trains my hands for the battle and my fingers for the war:
2 My mercy and my fortress; my high tower and my deliverer; my shield and he in whom I trust, who subdues my people under me.
3 LORD, what is man that thou knowest him? or the son of man, that thou esteemeth him?
4 Man is like unto vanity; his days are as a shadow that passes away.
5 Bow thy heavens, O LORD, and come down; touch the mountains, and they shall smoke.
6 Cast forth lightning and scatter them; shoot out thine arrows and destroy them.
7 Send thine hand from above; redeem me and deliver me out of many waters, from the hand of the strange sons,
8 whose mouth speaks vanity, and their right hand is a right hand of falsehood.
9 ¶ I will sing a new song unto thee, O God; upon a psaltery and an instrument of ten strings I will sing praises unto thee.
10 Thou, he who gives salvation unto kings, who redeems David his slave from the evil sword.
11 Redeem me, and save me from the hand of strange sons, whose mouth speaks vanity, and their right hand is a right hand of falsehood:
12 That our sons may be as plants grown up in their youth; that our daughters may be as corner stones, polished after the similitude of a palace;
13 that our garners may be full, affording all manner of store; that our sheep may bring forth thousands and ten thousands in our streets;
14 that our oxen may be strong to labour; that there be no breaking in nor going out; that there be no shout of alarm in our streets.
15 Blessed is that people, that is in such a case; yea, blessed is that people, whose God is the LORD.
1 ¶ Bless the LORD, O my soul. O LORD my God, thou art very great; thou art clothed with honour and majesty,
2 who dost cover thyself with light as with a garment, who stretchest out the heavens like a curtain,
3 who dost establish his chambers between the waters, who makes the clouds his chariot, who walks upon the wings of the wind,
4 who makes his angels spirits, his ministers a flaming fire,
5 who laid the foundations of the earth, that it should not be moved by any age.
6 Thou didst cover it with the deep as with a garment; the waters stood above the mountains.
7 At thy rebuke they fled; at the voice of thy thunder they hasted away.
8 The mountains were exposed; they descended through the valleys unto the place which thou hast founded for them.
9 Thou hast set a bound that they may not pass over, that they not turn again to cover the earth.
10 ¶ Thou art he who sends the springs into the valleys, which run among the mountains.
11 They give drink to every beast of the field; the wild asses quench their thirst.
12 Next to them the fowls of the heavens have their habitation; they sing among the leaves.
13 He waters the mountains from his chambers; the earth is satisfied with the fruit of thy works.
14 He causes the hay to grow for the cattle and grass for the service of man, that he may bring forth bread out of the earth
15 and wine that makes glad the heart of man, making his face to shine with oil and bread which sustains man’s heart.
16 The trees of the LORD are satisfied; the cedars of Lebanon, which he has planted,
17 that the birds may make their nests there: the stork makes her house among the fir trees.
18 The high mountains are a refuge for the wild goats, and the rocks for the conies.
19 ¶ He appointed the moon for times and seasons; the sun knows his going down.
20 Thou makest darkness, and it is night, wherein all the beasts of the forest move.
21 The young lions roar after their prey and seek their food from God.
22 The sun arises, they withdraw and lay themselves down in their dens.
23 Man goes forth unto his work and to his labour until the evening.
24 O LORD, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom thou hast made them all; the earth is full of thy riches.
25 So is this great and wide sea, wherein are innumerable creeping things, both small and great beasts.
26 There go the ships; there is that leviathan, whom thou didst make to play therein.
27 These wait all upon thee, that thou may give them their food in due season.
28 Thou givest unto them, they gather; thou openest thine hand, they are filled with good.
29 Thou hidest thy face, they are troubled; thou takest away their spirit, they cease to exist and return to their dust.
30 Thou sendest forth thy spirit, they are created; and thou renewest the face of the earth.
31 ¶ Let the glory of the LORD endure for ever; let the LORD rejoice in his works.
32 He looks on the earth, and it trembles: he touches the mountains, and they smoke.
33 I will sing unto the LORD as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have my being.
34 My meditation of him shall be sweet; I will be glad in the LORD.
35 Let the sinners be consumed out of the earth, and let the wicked be no more. Bless thou the LORD, O my soul. Halelu- JAH (Praise ye the LORD).
4 ¶ And Boaz went up to the gate and sat down there, and, behold, the redeemer of whom Boaz spoke came by unto whom he said, Ho, such a one! Come here and sit down. And he came and sat down.
2 Then he took ten men of the elders of the city and said, Sit down here. And they sat down.
3 And he said unto the redeemer, Naomi, that is come again out of the field of Moab, sold a parcel of land, which was our brother Elimelech’s,
4 and I decided to cause thee to know this and tell thee to take it before the inhabitants and before the elders of my people. If thou wilt redeem it, redeem it, but if thou wilt not redeem it, then tell me that I may know, for there is no one to redeem it besides thee, and I after thee. And he said, I will redeem it.
5 Then Boaz replied, The day that thou dost receive the field of the hand of Naomi, thou must also receive Ruth, the Moabitess, the wife of the dead, to raise up the name of the dead upon his inheritance.
6 And the redeemer said, I cannot redeem it for myself lest I ruin my own inheritance; redeem thou; I cede my right to you, for I shall not be able to redeem it.
7 Now for a long time in Israel there had been this custom concerning redemption or contracts, that for the confirmation of all matters: one plucked off his shoe and gave it to his neighbour, and this was a testimony in Israel.
8 Therefore, the former owner of the right of redemption said unto Boaz, Buy it thyself. So he drew off his shoe.
9 ¶ And Boaz said unto the elders and unto all the people, Ye are witnesses this day that I have bought all that was Elimelech’s and all that was Chilion’s and Mahlon’s, of the hand of Naomi.
10 Moreover, I also take Ruth, the Moabitess, the wife of Mahlon, as my wife, to raise up the name of the dead upon his inheritance that the name of the dead not be cut off from among his brethren and from the gate of his place. Ye shall be witnesses of this today.
11 And all the people that were in the gate and the elders, said, We are witnesses. The LORD make the woman that is come into thy house like Rachel and like Leah, who built the house of Israel; and be thou a man of valour in Ephratah, and be famous in Bethlehem;
12 let thy house be like the house of Pharez, whom Tamar bore unto Judah, of the seed which the LORD shall give thee of this young woman.
13 ¶ So Boaz took Ruth, and she was his wife, and when he went in unto her, the LORD gave her conception, and she bore a son.
14 And the women said unto Naomi, Blessed be the LORD, who has not left thee this day without a redeemer, whose name shall be famous in Israel.
15 And he shall be unto thee a restorer of thy soul and a sustainer in thy old age, for thy daughter-in-law, whom thou doth love, who is better to thee than seven sons, has given birth.
16 And Naomi took the child and laid it in her bosom and was his nurse.
17 And the women, her neighbours, named him, saying, There is a son born to Naomi, and they called his name Obed. This is the father of Jesse, the father of David.
13 We having the same Spirit of faith, according as it is written, I believed and, therefore, I have spoken; we also believe and, therefore, speak;
14 knowing that he who raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise us up also by Jesus and shall present us with you.
15 For we suffer all these things for your sakes that the grace abounding through many may in the thanksgiving redound to the glory of God.
16 Therefore we fault not; but though our outward man is wearing out, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.
17 For our tribulation, which is momentary and light, prepares an exceeding and eternal weight of glory unto us;
18 while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen, for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.
5 ¶ For we know that if the earthly house of this our habitation were dissolved, we have a building of God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.
2 For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven,
3 if so be that we shall be found clothed and not naked.
4 For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened, for we do not desire to be unclothed, but to be clothed upon with life swallowing up that which is mortal.
5 Now he that has made us for this same thing is God, who has likewise given unto us the earnest of the Spirit.
6 Therefore we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord
7 (for we walk by faith, not by sight).
8 We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord.
9 Therefore we also procure, whether present or absent, that we may please him.
10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ that each one may receive according to that which they have done in the body, good or evil.
6 ¶ Take heed not to do your alms {lit. acts of mercy} before men, to be seen of them; otherwise, ye have no reward of your Father who is in the heavens.
2 Therefore, when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They already have their reward.
3 But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth
4 that thine alms may be in secret; and thy Father who sees in secret, he shall reward thee openly.
5 ¶ And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They already have their reward.
6 But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy chamber, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father who is in secret; and thy Father who sees in secret shall reward thee openly.
7 But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions as the worldly do, for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.
8 Be not ye therefore like unto them, for your Father knows what things ye have need of before ye ask him.
9 ¶ Ye, therefore, are to pray like this: Our Father who art in the heavens, Hallowed be thy name.
10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
11 Give us this day our daily bread.
12 And set us free from our debts, as we set free our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
14 For if ye set men free from their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also set you free;
15 but if ye do not set men free from their trespasses, neither will your Father set you free from your trespasses.
16 ¶ Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance, for they disfigure their faces that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They already have their reward.
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