Book of Common Prayer
How Shall We Sing the Lord's Song?
137 By the waters of Babylon,
there we sat down and wept,
when we remembered Zion.
2 On the willows[a] there
we hung up our lyres.
3 For there our captors
required of us songs,
and our tormentors, mirth, saying,
“Sing us one of the songs of Zion!”
4 (A)How shall we sing the Lord's song
in a foreign land?
5 If I forget you, O Jerusalem,
(B)let my right hand forget its skill!
6 Let my (C)tongue stick to the roof of my mouth,
if I do not remember you,
if I do not set Jerusalem
above my highest joy!
7 Remember, O Lord, against the (D)Edomites
(E)the day of Jerusalem,
how they said, (F)“Lay it bare, lay it bare,
down to its foundations!”
8 O daughter of Babylon, (G)doomed to be destroyed,
blessed shall he be who (H)repays you
with what you have done to us!
9 Blessed shall he be who takes your little ones
and (I)dashes them against the rock!
My Rock and My Fortress
Of David.
144 Blessed be the Lord, my (A)rock,
(B)who trains my hands for war,
and my fingers for battle;
2 he is my (C)steadfast love and my (D)fortress,
my (E)stronghold and my deliverer,
my (F)shield and he in whom I take refuge,
who (G)subdues peoples[a] under me.
3 O Lord, (H)what is man that you (I)regard him,
or the son of man that you think of him?
4 (J)Man is like a breath;
his days are like (K)a passing (L)shadow.
5 (M)Bow your heavens, O Lord, and come down!
(N)Touch the mountains so that they smoke!
6 (O)Flash forth the lightning and scatter them;
(P)send out your arrows and rout them!
7 (Q)Stretch out your hand from on high;
(R)rescue me and deliver me from the many waters,
from the hand (S)of foreigners,
8 whose mouths speak (T)lies
and whose right hand is (U)a right hand of falsehood.
9 I will sing (V)a new song to you, O God;
upon (W)a ten-stringed harp I will play to you,
10 who gives victory to kings,
who (X)rescues David his servant from the cruel sword.
11 Rescue me and deliver me
from the hand (Y)of foreigners,
whose mouths speak (Z)lies
and whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood.
12 May our sons in their youth
be like (AA)plants full grown,
our daughters like (AB)corner pillars
cut for the structure of a palace;
13 (AC)may our granaries be full,
(AD)providing all kinds of produce;
may our sheep bring forth thousands
and ten thousands in our fields;
14 may our cattle be heavy with young,
suffering no mishap or failure in bearing;[b]
may there be no (AE)cry of distress in our streets!
15 (AF)Blessed are the people to whom such blessings fall!
(AG)Blessed are the people whose God is the Lord!
O Lord My God, You Are Very Great
104 (A)Bless the Lord, O my soul!
O Lord my God, you are (B)very great!
(C)You are clothed with splendor and majesty,
2 covering yourself with light as with a garment,
(D)stretching out the heavens (E)like a tent.
3 He (F)lays the beams of his (G)chambers on the waters;
he makes (H)the clouds his chariot;
he rides on (I)the wings of the wind;
4 he (J)makes his messengers winds,
his (K)ministers (L)a flaming fire.
5 He (M)set the earth on its foundations,
so that it should never be moved.
6 You (N)covered it with the deep as with a garment;
the waters stood above the mountains.
7 At (O)your rebuke they fled;
at (P)the sound of your thunder they (Q)took to flight.
8 The mountains rose, the valleys sank down
to the place that you (R)appointed for them.
9 You set (S)a boundary that they may not pass,
so that they (T)might not again cover the earth.
10 You make springs gush forth in the valleys;
they flow between the hills;
11 they (U)give drink to every beast of the field;
the wild donkeys quench their thirst.
12 Beside them the birds of the heavens dwell;
they sing among the branches.
13 (V)From your lofty abode you (W)water the mountains;
the earth is satisfied with the fruit of your work.
14 You cause (X)the grass to grow for the livestock
and (Y)plants for man to cultivate,
that he may bring forth (Z)food from the earth
15 and (AA)wine to gladden the heart of man,
(AB)oil to make his face shine
and bread to (AC)strengthen man's heart.
16 The trees of the Lord are watered abundantly,
(AD)the cedars of Lebanon (AE)that he planted.
17 In them the birds build their nests;
the stork has her home in the fir trees.
18 The high mountains are for (AF)the wild goats;
the rocks are a refuge for (AG)the rock badgers.
19 He made the moon to mark the (AH)seasons;[a]
the sun knows its time for setting.
20 (AI)You make darkness, and it is night,
when all the beasts of the forest creep about.
21 (AJ)The young lions roar for their prey,
seeking their food from God.
22 When the sun rises, they steal away
and lie down in their (AK)dens.
23 (AL)Man goes out to his work
and to his labor until the evening.
24 O Lord, how manifold are your works!
In (AM)wisdom have you made them all;
the earth is full of your creatures.
25 Here is the sea, great and wide,
(AN)which teems with creatures innumerable,
living things both small and great.
26 There go the ships,
and (AO)Leviathan, which you formed to (AP)play in it.[b]
27 These (AQ)all look to you,
to (AR)give them their food in due season.
28 When you give it to them, they gather it up;
when you (AS)open your hand, they are filled with good things.
29 When you (AT)hide your face, they are (AU)dismayed;
when you (AV)take away their breath, they die
and (AW)return to their dust.
30 When you (AX)send forth your Spirit,[c] they are created,
and you (AY)renew the face of the ground.
31 May the glory of the Lord (AZ)endure forever;
may the Lord (BA)rejoice in his works,
32 who looks on the earth and it (BB)trembles,
who (BC)touches the mountains and they smoke!
33 I will sing to the Lord (BD)as long as I live;
I will sing praise to my God while I have being.
34 May my (BE)meditation be pleasing to him,
for I rejoice in the Lord.
35 Let (BF)sinners be consumed from the earth,
and let the wicked be no more!
(BG)Bless the Lord, O my soul!
(BH)Praise the Lord!
11 (A)A day for the building of your walls!
In that day the boundary shall be far extended.
12 In that day they[a] will come to you,
(B)from Assyria and the cities of Egypt,
and from Egypt to (C)the River,[b]
(D)from sea to sea and from mountain to mountain.
13 But (E)the earth will be desolate
because of its inhabitants,
for the fruit of their deeds.
14 (F)Shepherd your people (G)with your staff,
the flock of your inheritance,
who dwell alone in a forest
(H)in the midst of (I)a garden land;[c]
let them graze in Bashan and Gilead
as in the days of old.
15 (J)As in the days when you came out of the land of Egypt,
I will show them[d] marvelous things.
16 (K)The nations shall see and be ashamed of all their might;
(L)they shall lay their hands on their mouths;
their ears shall be deaf;
17 (M)they shall lick the dust like a serpent,
like the crawling things of the earth;
(N)they shall come trembling out of their strongholds;
(O)they shall turn in dread to the Lord our God,
and they shall be in fear of you.
God's Steadfast Love and Compassion
18 (P)Who is a God like you, (Q)pardoning iniquity
and passing over transgression
(R)for the remnant of his inheritance?
(S)He does not retain his anger forever,
because he delights in steadfast love.
19 He will (T)again have compassion on us;
(U)he will tread our iniquities underfoot.
(V)You will cast all our[e] sins
into the depths of the sea.
20 (W)You will show faithfulness to Jacob
and steadfast love to Abraham,
(X)as you have sworn to our fathers
from the days of old.
7 (A)The end of all things is at hand; therefore (B)be self-controlled and sober-minded (C)for the sake of your prayers. 8 Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since (D)love covers a multitude of sins. 9 (E)Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. 10 (F)As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, (G)as good stewards of God's varied grace: 11 whoever speaks, as one who speaks (H)oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves (I)by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything (J)God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. (K)To him belong glory and (L)dominion forever and ever. Amen.
Suffering as a Christian
12 Beloved, do not be surprised at (M)the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. 13 But rejoice (N)insofar as you share Christ's sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad (O)when his glory is revealed. 14 (P)If you are insulted (Q)for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory[a] and of God rests upon you. 15 But (R)let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or (S)as a meddler. 16 Yet (T)if anyone suffers as a (U)Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God (V)in that name. 17 For it is time for judgment (W)to begin at the household of God; and (X)if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who (Y)do not obey the gospel of God? 18 And
19 Therefore let those who suffer according to God's will (AA)entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good.
Jesus Heals Two Blind Men
29 (A)And as they went out of Jericho, a great crowd followed him. 30 And behold, there were two blind men sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was passing by, they cried out, “Lord,[a] have mercy on us, (B)Son of David!” 31 The crowd (C)rebuked them, telling them to be silent, but they cried out all the more, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!” 32 And stopping, Jesus called them and said, “What do you want me to do for you?” 33 They said to him, “Lord, let our eyes be opened.” 34 And Jesus in pity touched their eyes, and immediately they recovered their sight and followed him.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.