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 mirth, saying,
“Sing 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, O Jerusalem,
May my right hand [e]forget her 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, O Lord, against the sons of (K)Edom
The day of Jerusalem,
Who said, “Raze it, raze it
(L)To its very foundation.”
8 O daughter of Babylon, you [g](M)devastated one,
How blessed will be the one who (N)repays you
With [h]the recompense with which you have repaid us.
9 How blessed will be the one who seizes and (O)dashes your little ones
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 lovingkindness and (C)my fortress,
My (D)stronghold and my deliverer,
My (E)shield and He in whom I take refuge,
Who (F)subdues [a]my people under me.
3 O Lord, (G)what is man, that You take knowledge of him?
Or the son of man, that You think of him?
4 (H)Man is like a mere breath;
His (I)days are like a passing shadow.
5 (J)Bow Your heavens, O 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 Stretch forth Your hand (O)from on high;
Rescue me and (P)deliver me out of great waters,
Out of the hand of (Q)aliens
8 Whose mouths (R)speak deceit,
And whose (S)right hand is a right hand of falsehood.
9 I will sing a (T)new song to You, O God;
Upon a (U)harp of ten strings I will sing praises to You,
10 Who (V)gives salvation to kings,
Who (W)rescues David His servant from the evil sword.
11 Rescue me and deliver me out of the hand of (X)aliens,
Whose mouth (Y)speaks deceit
And whose (Z)right hand is a right hand of falsehood.
12 Let our sons in their youth be as (AA)grown-up plants,
And our daughters as (AB)corner pillars [b]fashioned as for a palace;
13 Let our (AC)garners be full, furnishing every kind of produce,
And our flocks bring forth thousands and ten thousands in our [c]fields;
14 Let our (AD)cattle [d]bear
Without [e](AE)mishap and without [f](AF)loss,
Let there be no (AG)outcry in our streets!
15 How blessed are the people who are so situated;
How (AH)blessed are the people whose God is the Lord!
The Lord’s Care over All His Works.
104 (A)Bless the Lord, O my soul!
O Lord my God, You are very great;
You are (B)clothed with splendor and majesty,
2 Covering Yourself with (C)light as with a cloak,
(D)Stretching out heaven like a tent curtain.
3 [a]He (E)lays the beams of His upper chambers in the waters;
[b]He makes the (F)clouds His chariot;
[c]He walks upon the (G)wings of the wind;
4 [d]He makes [e](H)the winds His messengers,
[f]Flaming (I)fire His ministers.
5 He (J)established the earth upon its foundations,
So that it will not [g]totter forever and ever.
6 You (K)covered it with the deep as with a garment;
The waters were standing above the mountains.
7 At Your (L)rebuke they fled,
At the (M)sound of Your thunder they hurried away.
8 The mountains rose; the valleys sank down
To the (N)place which You established for them.
9 You set a (O)boundary that they may not pass over,
So that they will not return to cover the earth.
10 [h]He sends forth (P)springs in the valleys;
They flow between the mountains;
11 They (Q)give drink to every beast of the field;
The (R)wild donkeys quench their thirst.
12 [i]Beside them the birds of the heavens (S)dwell;
They [j]lift up their voices among the branches.
13 [k]He (T)waters the mountains from His upper chambers;
(U)The earth is satisfied with the fruit of His works.
14 [l]He causes the (V)grass to grow for the [m]cattle,
And (W)vegetation for the [n]labor of man,
So that [o]he may bring forth [p]food (X)from the earth,
15 And (Y)wine which makes man’s heart glad,
(Z)So that he may make his face glisten with oil,
And [q]food which (AA)sustains man’s heart.
16 The trees of the Lord [r]drink their fill,
The cedars of Lebanon which He planted,
17 Where the (AB)birds build their nests,
And the (AC)stork, whose home is the [s]fir trees.
18 The high mountains are for the (AD)wild goats;
The (AE)cliffs are a refuge for the [t](AF)shephanim.
19 He made the moon (AG)for the seasons;
The (AH)sun knows the place of its setting.
20 You (AI)appoint darkness and it becomes night,
In which all the (AJ)beasts of the forest [u]prowl about.
21 The (AK)young lions roar after their prey
[v]And (AL)seek their food from God.
22 When the sun rises they withdraw
And lie down in their (AM)dens.
23 Man goes forth to (AN)his work
And to his labor until evening.
24 O Lord, how (AO)many are Your works!
[w]In (AP)wisdom You have made them all;
The (AQ)earth is full of Your [x]possessions.
25 [y]There is the (AR)sea, great and [z]broad,
In which are swarms without number,
Animals both small and great.
26 There the (AS)ships move along,
And [aa](AT)Leviathan, which You have formed to sport in it.
27 They all (AU)wait for You
To (AV)give them their food in [ab]due season.
28 You give to them, they gather it up;
You (AW)open Your hand, they are satisfied with good.
29 You (AX)hide Your face, they are dismayed;
You (AY)take away their [ac]spirit, they expire
And (AZ)return to their dust.
30 You send forth Your [ad](BA)Spirit, they are created;
And You renew the face of the ground.
31 Let the (BB)glory of the Lord endure forever;
Let the Lord (BC)be glad in His works;
32 [ae]He (BD)looks at the earth, and it (BE)trembles;
He (BF)touches the mountains, and they smoke.
33 [af]I will sing to the Lord [ag](BG)as long as I live;
[ah]I will (BH)sing praise to my God [ai]while I have my being.
34 Let my (BI)meditation be pleasing to Him;
As for me, I shall (BJ)be glad in the Lord.
35 Let sinners be (BK)consumed from the earth
And let the (BL)wicked be no more.
(BM)Bless the Lord, O my soul.
[aj](BN)Praise [ak]the Lord!
David’s Last Song
23 Now these are the last words of David.
David the son of Jesse declares,
(A)The man who was raised on high declares,
(B)The anointed of the God of Jacob,
And the sweet psalmist of Israel,
2 “(C)The Spirit of the Lord spoke by me,
And His word was on my tongue.
3 “The God of Israel said,
(D)The Rock of Israel spoke to me,
‘(E)He who rules over men righteously,
(F)Who rules in the fear of God,
4 (G)Is as the light of the morning when the sun rises,
A morning without clouds,
When the tender grass springs out of the earth,
Through sunshine after rain.’
5 “Truly is not my house so with God?
For (H)He has made an everlasting covenant with me,
Ordered in all things, and secured;
For all my salvation and all my desire,
Will He not indeed make it grow?
6 “(I)But the worthless, every one of them will be thrust away like thorns,
Because they cannot be taken in hand;
7 But the man who touches them
Must be [a]armed with iron and the shaft of a spear,
And (J)they will be completely burned with fire in their [b]place.”
13 Then three of the thirty chief men went down and came to David in the harvest time to the (A)cave of Adullam, while the troop of the Philistines was camping in (B)the valley of Rephaim. 14 David was then (C)in the stronghold, while the garrison of the Philistines was then in Bethlehem. 15 (D)David had a craving and said, “Oh that someone would give me water to drink from the well of Bethlehem which is by the gate!” 16 (E)So the three mighty men broke through the camp of the Philistines, and drew water from the well of Bethlehem which was by the gate, and took it and brought it to David. Nevertheless he would not drink it, but (F)poured it out to the Lord; 17 and he said, “Be it far from me, O Lord, that I should do this. (G)Shall I drink the blood of the men who went in jeopardy of their lives?” Therefore he would not drink it. These things the three mighty men did.
13 Now when several days had elapsed, King Agrippa and Bernice arrived at (A)Caesarea [a]and paid their respects to Festus. 14 While they were spending many days there, Festus laid Paul’s case before the king, saying, “There is a man who was (B)left as a prisoner by Felix; 15 and when I was at Jerusalem, the chief priests and the elders of the Jews (C)brought charges against him, asking for a sentence of condemnation against him. 16 I (D)answered them that it is not the custom of the Romans to hand over any man before (E)the accused meets his accusers face to face and has an opportunity to make his defense against the charges. 17 So after they had assembled here, I did not delay, but on the next day took my seat on (F)the tribunal and ordered the man to be brought before me. 18 When the accusers stood up, they began bringing charges against him not of such crimes as I was expecting, 19 but they simply had some (G)points of disagreement with him about their own [b](H)religion and about a dead man, Jesus, whom Paul asserted to be alive. 20 (I)Being at a loss how to investigate [c]such matters, I asked whether he was willing to go to Jerusalem and there stand trial on these matters. 21 But when Paul (J)appealed to be held in custody for [d]the Emperor’s decision, I ordered him to be kept in custody until I send him to Caesar.” 22 Then (K)Agrippa said to Festus, “I also would like to hear the man myself.” “Tomorrow,” he *said, “you shall hear him.”
Paul before Agrippa
23 So, on the next day when (L)Agrippa came [e]together with (M)Bernice amid great pomp, and entered the auditorium [f]accompanied by the [g]commanders and the prominent men of the city, at the command of Festus, Paul was brought in. 24 Festus *said, “King Agrippa, and all you gentlemen here present with us, you see this man about whom (N)all the people of the Jews appealed to me, both at Jerusalem and here, loudly declaring that (O)he ought not to live any longer. 25 But I found that he had committed (P)nothing worthy of death; and since he himself (Q)appealed to [h]the Emperor, I decided to send him. 26 [i]Yet I have nothing definite about him to write to my lord. Therefore I have brought him before you all and especially before you, King Agrippa, so that after the investigation has taken place, I may have something to write. 27 For it seems absurd to me in sending a prisoner, not to indicate also the charges against him.”
Things to Come
13 (A)As He was going out of the temple, one of His disciples *said to Him, “Teacher, behold [a]what wonderful stones and [b]what wonderful buildings!” 2 And Jesus said to him, “Do you see these great buildings? (B)Not one stone will be left upon another which will not be torn down.”
3 As He was sitting on (C)the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, (D)Peter and [c]James and John and Andrew were questioning Him privately, 4 “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the [d]sign when all these things are going to be fulfilled?” 5 And Jesus began to say to them, “See to it that no one misleads you. 6 Many will come in My name, saying, ‘(E)I am He!’ and will mislead many. 7 When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be frightened; those things must take place; but that is not yet the end. 8 For nation will rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be earthquakes in various places; there will also be famines. These things are merely the beginning of birth pangs.
9 “But [e]be on your guard; for they will (F)deliver you to the [f]courts, and you will be flogged (G)in the synagogues, and you will stand before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them. 10 (H)The gospel must first be preached to all the nations. 11 (I)When they [g]arrest you and hand you over, do not worry beforehand about what you are to say, but say whatever is given you in that hour; for it is not you who speak, but it is the Holy Spirit. 12 Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and [h]have them put to death. 13 (J)You will be hated by all because of My name, but the one who endures to the end, he will be saved.
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