Book of Common Prayer
An Experience of the Captivity.
137 By the rivers of Babylon,
There we [captives] sat down and wept,
When we remembered Zion [the city God imprinted on our hearts].
2
On the willow trees in the midst of Babylon
We hung our harps.
3
For there they who took us captive demanded of us a song with words,
And our tormentors [who made a mockery of us demanded] amusement, saying,
“Sing us one of the songs of Zion.”
4
How can we sing the Lord’s song
In a strange and foreign land?
5
If I forget you, O Jerusalem,
Let my right hand forget [her skill with the harp].
6
Let my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth
If I do not remember you,
If I do not prefer Jerusalem
Above my chief joy.(A)
7
Remember, O Lord, against the sons of Edom,
The day of [the fall of] Jerusalem,
Who said “Down, down [with her]
To her very foundation.”
8
O daughter of Babylon, you devastator,
How blessed will be the one
Who repays you [with destruction] as you have repaid us.(B)
9
How blessed will be the one who seizes and dashes your little ones
Against the rock.
Prayer for Rescue and Prosperity.
A Psalm of David.
144 Blessed be the Lord, my Rock and my great strength,
Who trains my hands for war
And my fingers for battle;
2
My [steadfast] lovingkindness and my fortress,
My high tower and my rescuer,
My shield and He in whom I take refuge,
Who subdues my people under me.
3
Lord, what is man that You take notice of him?
Or the son of man that You think of him?(A)
4
Man is like a mere breath;
His days are like a shadow that passes away.
5
Bow Your heavens, O Lord, and come down;
Touch the mountains, and they will smoke.
6
Flash lightning and scatter my enemies;
Send out Your arrows and confuse and embarrass and frustrate them.
7
Stretch out Your hand from above;
Set me free and rescue me from great waters,
Out of the hands of [hostile] foreigners [who surround us]
8
Whose mouths speak deceit [without restraint],
And whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood.
9
I will sing a new song to You, O God;
Upon a harp of ten strings I will sing praises to You,
10
Who gives salvation to kings,
Who sets David His servant free from the evil sword.
11
Set me free and rescue me from the hand of [hostile] foreigners,
Whose mouth speaks deceit [without restraint],
And whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood.
12
Let our sons in their youth be like plants full grown,
And our daughters like corner pillars fashioned for a palace;
13
Let our barns be full, supplying every kind of produce,
And our flocks bring forth thousands and ten thousands in our fields;
14
Let our cattle bear
Without mishap and without loss,
And let there be no outcry in our streets!
15
How blessed and favored are the people in such circumstance;
How blessed [fortunate, prosperous, and favored] are the people whose God is the Lord!
The Lord’s Care over All His Works.
104 Bless and affectionately praise the Lord, O my soul!
O Lord my God, You are very great;
You are clothed with splendor and majesty,
2
[You are the One] who covers Yourself with light as with a garment,
Who stretches out the heavens like a tent curtain,
3
Who lays the beams of His upper chambers in the waters [above the firmament],
Who makes the clouds His chariot,
Who walks on the wings of the wind,
4
Who makes winds His messengers,
Flames of fire His ministers.(A)
5
He established the earth on its foundations,
So that it will not be moved forever and ever.(B)
6
You covered it with the deep as with a garment;
The waters were standing above the mountains.(C)
7
At Your rebuke they fled;
At the sound of Your thunder they hurried away.
8
The mountains rose, the valleys sank down
To the place which You established for them.
9
You set a boundary [for the waters] that they may not cross over,
So that they will not return to cover the earth.
10
You send springs into the valleys;
Their waters flow among the mountains.
11
They give drink to every beast of the field;
The wild donkeys quench their thirst there.
12
Beside them the birds of the heavens have their nests;
They lift up their voices and sing among the branches.(D)
13
He waters the mountains from His upper chambers;
The earth is satisfied with the fruit of His works.
14
He causes grass to grow for the cattle,
And all that the earth produces for cultivation by man,
So that he may bring food from the earth—
15
And wine which makes the heart of man glad,
So that he may make his face glisten with oil,
And bread to sustain and strengthen man’s heart.
16
The trees of the Lord drink their fill,
The cedars of Lebanon which He has planted,
17
Where the birds make their nests;
As for the stork, the fir trees are her house.
18
The high mountains are for the wild goats;
The rocks are a refuge for the [a]shephanim.
19
He made the moon for the seasons;
The sun knows the [exact] place of its setting.
20
You [O Lord] make darkness and it becomes night,
In which prowls about every wild beast of the forest.
21
The young lions roar after their prey
And seek their food from God.
22
When the sun arises, they withdraw
And lie down in their dens.
23
Man goes out to his work
And remains at his labor until evening.
24
O Lord, how many and varied are Your works!
In wisdom You have made them all;
The earth is full of Your riches and Your creatures.
25
There is the sea, great and broad,
In which are swarms without number,
Creatures both small and great.
26
There the ships [of the sea] sail,
And Leviathan [the sea monster], which You have formed to play there.
27
They all wait for You
To give them their food in its appointed season.
28
You give it to them, they gather it up;
You open Your hand, they are filled and satisfied with good [things].
29
You hide Your face, they are dismayed;
You take away their breath, they die
And return to their dust.
30
You send out Your Spirit, they are created;
You renew the face of the ground.
31
May the glory of the Lord endure forever;
May the Lord rejoice and be glad in His works—
32
He looks at the earth, and it trembles;
He touches the mountains, and they smoke.
33
I will sing to the Lord as long as I live;
I will sing praise to my God while I have my being.
34
May my meditation be sweet and pleasing to Him;
As for me, I will rejoice and be glad in the Lord.
35
Let sinners be consumed from the earth,
And let the wicked be no more.
Bless and affectionately praise the Lord, O my soul.
Praise the Lord! (Hallelujah!)
The Rechabites’ Obedience
35 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah: 2 “Go to the house of the [a]Rechabites and speak to them, and bring them into the house of the Lord, into one of the [side] chambers; then give them [who are pledged not to drink wine] some wine to drink.” 3 So I took Jaazaniah the son of Jeremiah, the son of Habazziniah, and his brothers and all his sons and the whole house of the Rechabites, 4 and I brought them into the house of the Lord, into the chamber of the sons of Hanan the son of Igdaliah, the man of God, which was near the chamber of the princes, above the chamber of Maaseiah the son of Shallum the doorkeeper. 5 Then I set before the men of the house of the Rechabites pitchers full of wine, and cups, and I said to them, “Drink wine.” 6 But they said, “We will not drink wine, for Jonadab the son of Rechab, our father, commanded us: ‘You shall not drink wine, neither you nor your sons, forever. 7 Nor shall you build a house or sow seed or plant a vineyard or own one; but you shall live in tents all your days, that you may live many days in the land where you are sojourners (temporary residents).’ 8 We have obeyed the words of Jonadab the son of Rechab, our father, in all that he commanded us, in all our days we have never drunk wine, nor have our wives, our sons, or our daughters, 9 nor have we built ourselves houses to live in; nor do we have vineyards or fields or seed. 10 We have lived only in tents, and have obeyed and done [everything] according to all that Jonadab our father commanded us. 11 But when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up against the land, we said, ‘Come and let us go to Jerusalem for fear of the army of the Chaldeans [who rule Babylon] and for fear of the army of the Arameans.’ So we have lived in Jerusalem.”
Judah Rebuked
12 Then came the word of the Lord to Jeremiah, saying, 13 “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, ‘Go and say to the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, “Will you not receive instruction by listening to My words and honoring them?” says the Lord. 14 “The command which Jonadab the son of Rechab gave to his sons not to drink wine has been observed [as a custom for more than two hundred years]. To this day they do not drink wine, for they have obeyed their father’s command. But I have repeatedly spoken to you, yet you have not listened to Me. 15 I have also sent to you all My servants the prophets, sending them repeatedly, saying, ‘Let every one of you turn now from his evil way and alter your behavior, and do not follow other gods to worship and serve them; and then you will live in the land which I have given to you and to your forefathers. But you have not submitted or listened to Me. 16 Indeed, the sons of Jonadab the son of Rechab have observed the command of their father which he gave them, but this people has not listened to Me.’”’ 17 Therefore thus says the Lord God of hosts, the God of Israel, ‘Behold (hear this), I am bringing on Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem all the disaster that I have pronounced against them, because I have spoken to them, but they have not listened, and I have called to them, but they have not answered.’”
18 Then Jeremiah said to the house of the Rechabites, “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, ‘Because you have obeyed the command of Jonadab your father and have kept all his commands and have done according to all that he commanded you, 19 therefore thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, “Jonadab the son of Rechab shall never fail to have a man (descendant) to stand before Me always.”’”
27 Now you [collectively] are Christ’s body, and individually [you are] members of it [each with his own special purpose and function]. 28 So God has appointed and placed in the church [for His own use]: first apostles [chosen by Christ], second prophets [those who foretell the future, those who speak a new message from God to the people], third teachers, then those who work miracles, then those with the gifts of healings, the helpers, the administrators, and speakers in various kinds of [unknown] tongues. 29 Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Are all workers of miracles? 30 Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? 31 But earnestly desire and strive for the greater gifts [if acquiring them is going to be your goal].
And yet I will show you a still more excellent way [one of the choicest graces and the highest of them all: unselfish love].
The Excellence of Love
13 If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not [a]love [for others growing out of God’s love for me], then I have become only a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal [just an annoying distraction]. 2 And if I have the gift of prophecy [and speak a new message from God to the people], and understand all mysteries, and [possess] all knowledge; and if I have all [sufficient] faith so that I can remove mountains, but do not have love [reaching out to others], I am nothing. 3 If I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body [b]to be burned, but do not have love, it does me no good at all.
35 Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages [in Galilee], teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the good news (gospel) of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness [His words and His works reflecting His Messiahship].
36 When He saw the crowds, He was moved with compassion and pity for them, because they were dispirited and distressed, like sheep without a shepherd.(A) 37 Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest is [indeed] plentiful, but the workers are few. 38 So pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.”
The Twelve Disciples; Instructions for Service
10 Jesus summoned His twelve disciples and gave them authority and power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every kind of disease and every kind of sickness.(B)
2 Now these are the names of the twelve [a]apostles (special messengers, personally chosen representatives): first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew, his brother; [b]James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother;(C) 3 Philip and Bartholomew (Nathanael); Thomas and Matthew (Levi) the tax collector; [c]James the son of [d]Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus (Judas, not Iscariot); 4 Simon the Cananaean (Zealot), and Judas Iscariot, the one who betrayed Him.
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