Book of Common Prayer
Sorrows of the exiles in Babylon.
137 By the rivers of Babylon,
There we sat down, yea, we wept,
When we remembered Zion.
2 Upon the willows in the midst thereof
We hanged up our harps.
3 For there they that led us captive required of us [a]songs,
And [b]they that wasted us required of us mirth, saying,
Sing us one of the songs of Zion.
4 How shall we sing Jehovah’s song
In a foreign land?
5 If I forget thee, O Jerusalem,
Let my right hand forget her skill.
6 Let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth,
If I remember thee not;
If I prefer not Jerusalem
Above my chief joy.
7 Remember, O Jehovah, against the children of Edom
The day of Jerusalem;
Who said, Rase it, rase it,
Even to the foundation thereof.
8 O daughter of Babylon, [c]that art to be destroyed,
Happy shall he be, that rewardeth thee
As thou hast served us.
9 Happy shall he be, that taketh and dasheth thy little ones
Against the rock.
Prayer for rescue. A happy people described.
A Psalm of David.
144 Blessed be Jehovah my rock,
Who teacheth my hands to war,
And my fingers to fight:
2 My lovingkindness, and my fortress,
My high tower, and my deliverer;
My shield, and he in whom I take refuge;
Who subdueth my people under me.
3 Jehovah, what is man, that thou takest knowledge of him?
Or the son of man, that thou makest account of him?
4 Man is like to [a]vanity:
His days are as a shadow that passeth away.
5 Bow thy heavens, O Jehovah, and come down:
Touch the mountains, and they shall smoke.
6 Cast forth lightning, and scatter them;
Send out thine arrows, and discomfit them.
7 Stretch forth thy hand from above;
Rescue me, and deliver me out of great waters,
Out of the hand of aliens;
8 Whose mouth speaketh deceit,
And whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood.
9 I will sing a new song unto thee, O God:
Upon a psaltery of ten strings will I sing praises unto thee.
10 Thou art he that giveth salvation unto kings;
Who rescueth David his servant from the hurtful sword.
11 Rescue me, and deliver me out of the hand of aliens,
Whose mouth speaketh deceit,
And whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood.
12 When our sons shall be as plants grown up in their youth,
And our daughters as corner-stones hewn after the fashion of a palace;
13 When our garners are full, affording all manner of store,
And our sheep bring forth thousands and ten thousands in our fields;
14 When our oxen are well laden;
When there is no breaking in, and no [b]going forth,
And no outcry in our streets:
15 Happy is the people that is in such a case;
Yea, happy is the people whose God is Jehovah.
Book II
Thirsting for God in trouble and exile.
For the Chief Musician. Maschil of the sons of Korah.
42 As the hart panteth after the water brooks,
So panteth my soul after thee, O God.
2 My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God:
When shall I come and appear before God?
3 My tears have been my food day and night,
While they [a]continually say unto me, Where is thy God?
4 These things I remember, and pour out my soul [b]within me,
How I went with the throng, and [c]led them to the house of God,
With the voice of joy and praise, a multitude keeping holyday.
5 Why art thou [d]cast down, O my soul?
And why art thou disquieted within me?
Hope thou in God; for I shall yet praise him
For the help of his countenance.
6 O my God, my soul is cast down within me:
Therefore do I remember thee from the land of the Jordan,
And the Hermons, from [e]the hill Mizar.
7 Deep calleth unto deep at the noise of thy waterfalls:
All thy waves and thy billows are gone over me.
8 Yet Jehovah will command his lovingkindness in the day-time;
And in the night his song shall be with me,
Even a prayer unto the God of my life.
9 I will say unto God my rock, Why hast thou forgotten me?
Why go I mourning [f]because of the oppression of the enemy?
10 As with [g]a sword in my bones, mine adversaries reproach me,
While they continually say unto me, Where is thy God?
11 Why art thou cast down, O my soul?
And why art thou disquieted within me?
Hope thou in God; for I shall yet praise him,
Who is the help of my countenance, and my God.
Prayer for deliverance.
43 Judge me, O God, and plead my cause against an ungodly nation:
Oh deliver me from the deceitful and unjust man.
2 For thou art the God of my strength; why hast thou cast me off?
Why go I mourning [h]because of the oppression of the enemy?
3 Oh send out thy light and thy truth; let them lead me:
Let them bring me unto thy holy hill,
And to thy tabernacles.
4 Then will I go unto the altar of God,
Unto God [i]my exceeding joy;
And upon the harp will I praise thee, O God, my God.
5 Why art thou cast down, O my soul?
And why art thou disquieted within me?
Hope thou in God; for I shall yet praise him,
Who is the help of my countenance, and my God.
21 And Jehovah said unto Moses, Stretch out thy hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, [a]even darkness which may be felt. 22 And Moses stretched forth his hand toward heaven; and there was a thick darkness in all the land of Egypt three days; 23 they saw not one another, neither rose any one from his place for three days: but all the children of Israel had light in their dwellings. 24 And Pharaoh called unto Moses, and said, Go ye, serve Jehovah; only let your flocks and your herds be stayed: let your little ones also go with you. 25 And Moses said, Thou must also give into our hand sacrifices and burnt-offerings, that we may sacrifice unto Jehovah our God. 26 Our cattle also shall go with us; there shall not a hoof be left behind; for thereof must we take to serve Jehovah our God; and we know not with what we must serve Jehovah, until we come thither. 27 But Jehovah [b]hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he would not let them go. 28 And Pharaoh said unto him, Get thee from me, take heed to thyself, see my face no more; for in the day thou seest my face thou shalt die. 29 And Moses said, Thou hast spoken well; I will see thy face again no more.
11 And Jehovah said unto Moses, Yet one plague more will I bring upon Pharaoh, and upon Egypt; afterwards he will let you go hence: [c]when he shall let you go, he shall surely thrust you out hence altogether. 2 Speak now in the ears of the people, and let them ask every man of his neighbor, and every woman of her neighbor, jewels of silver, and jewels of gold. 3 And Jehovah gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians. Moreover the man Moses was very great in the land of Egypt, in the sight of Pharaoh’s servants, and in the sight of the people.
4 And Moses said, Thus saith Jehovah, About midnight will I go out into the midst of Egypt: 5 and all the first-born in the land of Egypt shall die, from the first-born of Pharaoh that sitteth upon his throne, even unto the first-born of the maid-servant that is behind the mill; and all the first-born of cattle. 6 And there shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as there hath not been, nor shall be any more. 7 But against any of the children of Israel shall not a dog [d]move his tongue, against man or beast: that ye may know how that Jehovah doth make a distinction between the Egyptians and Israel. 8 And all these thy servants shall come down unto me, and bow down themselves unto me, saying, Get thee out, and all the people that follow thee: and after that I will go out. And he went out from Pharaoh in hot anger.
13 But having the same spirit of faith, according to that which is written, [a]I believed, and therefore did I speak; we also believe, and therefore also we speak; 14 knowing that he that raised up [b]the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also with Jesus, and shall present us with you. 15 For all things are for your sakes, that the grace, being multiplied through [c]the many, may cause the thanksgiving to abound unto the glory of God.
16 Wherefore we faint not; but though our outward man is decaying, yet our inward man is renewed day by day. 17 For our light affliction, which is for the moment, worketh for us more and more exceedingly an eternal weight of glory; 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.
46 And they come to Jericho: and as he went out from Jericho, with his disciples and a great multitude, the son of Timaeus, Bartimaeus, a blind beggar, was sitting by the way side. 47 And when he heard that it was Jesus the Nazarene, he began to cry out, and say, Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy on me. 48 And many rebuked him, that he should hold his peace: but he cried out the more a great deal, Thou son of David, have mercy on me. 49 And Jesus stood still, and said, Call ye him. And they call the blind man, saying unto him, Be of good cheer: rise, he calleth thee. 50 And he, casting away his garment, sprang up, and came to Jesus. 51 And Jesus answered him, and said, What wilt thou that I should do unto thee? And the blind man said unto him, [a]Rabboni, that I may receive my sight. 52 And Jesus said unto him, Go thy way; thy faith hath [b]made thee whole. And straightway he received his sight, and followed him in the way.
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