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, jubilation, saying,
“Sing for 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, Jerusalem,
May my right hand [e]forget its 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, Lord, against the sons of (K)Edom
The day of Jerusalem,
Those who said, “Lay it bare, lay it bare
(L)To its foundation!”
8 Daughter of Babylon, you [g](M)devastated one,
Blessed will be one who (N)repays you
With [h]the retribution with which you have repaid us.
9 Blessed will be one who seizes and (O)dashes your children
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 faithfulness and (C)my fortress,
My (D)stronghold and my savior,
My (E)shield and He in whom I take refuge,
Who (F)subdues [a]my people under me.
3 Lord, (G)what is man, that You look after him?
Or a son of man, that You think of him?
4 (H)Man is like the breath;
His (I)days are like a passing shadow.
5 (J)Bend down Your heavens, 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 Reach out with Your hand (O)from on high;
Rescue me and (P)save me from great waters,
From the hand of (Q)foreigners
8 Whose mouth (R)speaks deceit,
And whose (S)right hand is a right hand of falsehood.
9 God, I will sing a (T)new song to You;
On a (U)harp of ten strings I will sing praises to You,
10 Who (V)gives salvation to kings,
Who (W)rescues His servant David from the evil sword.
11 Rescue me and save me from the hand of (X)foreigners,
Whose mouth (Y)speaks deceit
And whose (Z)right hand is a right hand of falsehood.
12 When our sons in their youth are like (AA)growing plants,
And our daughters like (AB)corner pillars [b]fashioned for a palace,
13 Our (AC)granaries are full, providing every kind of produce,
And our flocks deliver thousands and ten thousands in our [c]fields;
14 May our (AD)cattle [d]be bred
Without [e](AE)mishap and without [f](AF)loss,
May there be no (AG)outcry in our streets!
15 Blessed are the people who are so situated;
(AH)Blessed are the people whose God is the Lord!
The Lord’s Care over All His Works.
104 (A)Bless the Lord, my soul!
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 on 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 sea as with a garment;
The waters were standing above the mountains.
7 They fled from Your (L)rebuke,
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 so that they will 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 animal of the field;
The (R)wild donkeys quench their thirst.
12 The birds of the sky (S)dwell [i]beside them;
They [j]lift up their voices from 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 labor of mankind,
So that [n]they may produce [o]food (X)from the earth,
15 And (Y)wine, which makes a human heart cheerful,
(Z)So that he makes his face gleam with oil,
And [p]food, which (AA)sustains a human heart.
16 The trees of the Lord [q]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 juniper trees.
18 The high mountains are for the (AD)wild goats;
The (AE)cliffs are a refuge for the (AF)rock hyrax.
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)animals of the forest [r]prowl about.
21 The (AK)young lions roar for their prey
[s]And (AL)seek their food from God.
22 When the sun rises they withdraw,
And they lie down in their (AM)dens.
23 A person goes out to (AN)his work
And to his labor until evening.
24 Lord, how (AO)many are Your works!
[t]In (AP)wisdom You have made them all;
The (AQ)earth is full of Your [u]possessions.
25 [v]There is the (AR)sea, great and [w]broad,
In which are swarms without number,
Animals both small and great.
26 The (AS)ships move along there,
And [x](AT)Leviathan, which You have formed to have fun in it.
27 They all (AU)wait for You
To (AV)give them their food in [y]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 terrified;
You (AY)take away their breath, they perish
And (AZ)return to their dust.
30 You send forth Your [z](BA)Spirit, they are created;
And You renew the face of the ground.
31 May the (BB)glory of the Lord endure forever;
May the Lord (BC)rejoice in His works;
32 [aa]He (BD)looks at the earth, and it (BE)trembles;
He (BF)touches the mountains, and they smoke.
33 [ab]I will sing to the Lord [ac](BG)as long as I live;
[ad]I will (BH)sing praise to my God [ae]while I have my being.
34 May my (BI)praise be pleasing to Him;
As for me, I shall (BJ)rejoice in the Lord.
35 May sinners be (BK)removed from the earth
And may the (BL)wicked be no more.
(BM)Bless the Lord, my soul.
[af](BN)Praise [ag]the Lord!
The Rechabites’ Obedience
35 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord in the days of (A)Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, saying, 2 “Go to the house of the (B)Rechabites and speak to them, and bring them into the house of the Lord, into one of the (C)chambers, and give them wine to drink.” 3 So I took Jaazaniah the son of Jeremiah, son of Habazziniah, and his brothers and all his sons, and all the household 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 (D)man of God, which was next to the chamber of the officials, which was above the chamber of Maaseiah the son of Shallum, (E)the doorkeeper. 5 Then I set before the [a]men of the house of the Rechabites pitchers full of wine, and cups; and I said to them, “(F)Drink wine!” 6 But they said, “We will not drink wine, for (G)Jonadab the son of (H)Rechab, our father, commanded us, saying, ‘You shall (I)not drink wine, you or your sons, forever. 7 You shall not build a house, and you shall not sow seed nor plant a vineyard, nor [b]own one; but you shall live in (J)tents all your days, so that you may live (K)many days [c]in the land where you (L)live as strangers.’ 8 And we have (M)obeyed the voice of Jonadab the son of Rechab, our father, in all that he commanded us, not to drink wine all our days, we, our wives, our sons, or our daughters, 9 nor to build ourselves houses to live in; and we (N)do not have a vineyard, a field, or seed. 10 But we have (O)lived only in tents, and have obeyed and have done according to all that our father (P)Jonadab commanded us. 11 However, when (Q)Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up against the land, we said, ‘Come, and let’s (R)go to Jerusalem away from the army of the Chaldeans and the army of the Arameans.’ So we have lived in Jerusalem.”
Judah Rebuked
12 Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying, 13 “This is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel says: ‘Go and say to the people of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, “(S)Will you not accept instruction by listening to My words?” declares the Lord. 14 “The (T)words of Jonadab the son of Rechab have been followed, which he commanded his sons: not to drink wine. And they do not drink wine to this day, for they have obeyed their father’s command. But I have spoken to you (U)again and again, yet you have (V)not listened to Me. 15 Also I have sent to you all My (W)servants the prophets, sending them again and again, saying: ‘(X)Turn now every person from his evil way and amend your deeds, and (Y)do not follow other gods to worship them. Then you will (Z)live in the land which I have given to you and to your forefathers; but you have not (AA)inclined your ear or listened to Me. 16 Indeed, the sons of Jonadab the son of Rechab have (AB)followed the command of their father which he commanded them, but this people has not listened to Me.’”’ 17 Therefore this is what the Lord says, the God of armies, the God of Israel: ‘Behold, (AC)I am bringing on Judah and on all the inhabitants of Jerusalem all the disaster that I have pronounced against them; because I (AD)spoke to them but they did not listen, and I have called them but they did not answer.’”
18 Then Jeremiah said to the house of the Rechabites, “This is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel says: ‘Because you have (AE)obeyed the command of Jonadab your father, kept all his commands, and done according to all that he commanded you, 19 therefore this is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel says: “Jonadab the son of Rechab (AF)will not lack a man to (AG)stand before Me [d]always.”’”
27 Now you are (A)Christ’s body, and (B)individually parts of it. 28 And God has [a](C)appointed in (D)the church, first (E)apostles, second (F)prophets, third (G)teachers, then [b](H)miracles, then (I)gifts of healings, helps, (J)administrations, and various (K)kinds of tongues. 29 All are not apostles, are they? All are not prophets, are they? All are not teachers, are they? All are not workers of [c]miracles, are they? 30 All do not have gifts of healings, do they? All do not speak with tongues, do they? All do not (L)interpret, do they? 31 But (M)earnestly desire the greater gifts.
And yet, I am going to show you a far better way.
The Excellence of Love
13 If I speak with the (N)tongues of mankind and of (O)angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a (P)clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of (Q)prophecy and know all (R)mysteries and all (S)knowledge, and if I have (T)all faith so as to (U)remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 And if I (V)give away all my possessions to charity, and if I (W)surrender my body so that I may [d]glory, but do not have love, it does me no good.
35 Jesus was going through all the cities and villages, (A)teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every disease and every sickness.
36 (B)Seeing the crowds, He felt compassion for them, (C)because they were [a]distressed and downcast, like sheep [b]without a shepherd. 37 Then He *said to His disciples, “(D)The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. 38 Therefore, plead with the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.”
The Twelve Disciples; Instructions for Service
10 Jesus (E)summoned His twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to (F)heal every disease and every sickness.
2 (G)Now the names of the twelve apostles are these: The first, (H)Simon, who is called Peter, and his brother (I)Andrew; and [c](J)James the son of Zebedee, and his brother [d]John; 3 (K)Philip and [e]Bartholomew; (L)Thomas and (M)Matthew the tax collector; [f](N)James the son of Alphaeus, and (O)Thaddaeus; 4 Simon the [g]Zealot, and (P)Judas Iscariot, the one who also betrayed Him.
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