Book of Common Prayer
Israelites in Captivity
137 By the rivers in Babylon we sat and cried
when we remembered Jerusalem.
2 On the poplar trees nearby
we hung our harps.
3 Those who captured us asked us to sing;
our enemies wanted happy songs.
They said, “Sing us a song about Jerusalem!”
4 But we cannot sing songs about the Lord
while we are in this foreign country!
5 Jerusalem, if I forget you,
let my right hand lose its skill.
6 Let my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth
if I do not remember you,
if I do not think about Jerusalem
as my greatest joy.
7 Lord, remember what the Edomites did
on the day Jerusalem fell.
They said, “Tear it down!
Tear it down to its foundations!”
8 People of Babylon, you will be destroyed.
The people who pay you back for what you did to us will be happy.
9 They will grab your babies
and throw them against the rocks.
A Prayer for Victory
Of David.
144 Praise the Lord, my Rock,
who trains me for war,
who trains me for battle.
2 He protects me like a strong, walled city, and he loves me.
He is my defender and my Savior,
my shield and my protection.
He helps me keep my people under control.
3 Lord, why are people important to you?
Why do you even think about human beings?
4 People are like a breath;
their lives are like passing shadows.
5 Lord, tear open the sky and come down.
Touch the mountains so they will smoke.
6 Send the lightning and scatter my enemies.
Shoot your arrows and force them away.
7 Reach down from above.
Save me and rescue me out of this sea of enemies,
from these foreigners.
8 They are liars;
they are dishonest.
9 God, I will sing a new song to you;
I will play to you on the ten-stringed harp.
10 You give victory to kings.
You save your servant David from cruel swords.
11 Save me, rescue me from these foreigners.
They are liars; they are dishonest.
12 Let our sons in their youth
grow like plants.
Let our daughters be
like the decorated stones in the Temple.
13 Let our barns be filled
with crops of all kinds.
Let our sheep in the fields have
thousands and tens of thousands of lambs.
14 Let our cattle be strong.
Let no one break in.
Let there be no war,
no screams in our streets.
15 Happy are those who are like this;
happy are the people whose God is the Lord.
Praise to God Who Made the World
104 My whole being, praise the Lord.
Lord my God, you are very great.
You are clothed with glory and majesty;
2 you wear light like a robe.
You stretch out the skies like a tent.
3 You build your room above the clouds.
You make the clouds your chariot,
and you ride on the wings of the wind.
4 You make the winds your messengers,
and flames of fire are your servants.
5 You built the earth on its foundations
so it can never be moved.
6 You covered the earth with oceans;
the water was above the mountains.
7 But at your command, the water rushed away.
When you thundered your orders, it hurried away.
8 The mountains rose; the valleys sank.
The water went to the places you made for it.
9 You set borders for the seas that they cannot cross,
so water will never cover the earth again.
10 You make springs pour into the ravines;
they flow between the mountains.
11 They water all the wild animals;
the wild donkeys come there to drink.
12 Wild birds make nests by the water;
they sing among the tree branches.
13 You water the mountains from above.
The earth is full of the things you made.
14 You make the grass for cattle
and vegetables for the people.
You make food grow from the earth.
15 You give us wine that makes happy hearts
and olive oil that makes our faces shine.
You give us bread that gives us strength.
16 The Lord’s trees have plenty of water;
they are the cedars of Lebanon, which he planted.
17 The birds make their nests there;
the stork’s home is in the fir trees.
18 The high mountains belong to the wild goats.
The rocks are hiding places for the badgers.
19 You made the moon to mark the seasons,
and the sun always knows when to set.
20 You make it dark, and it becomes night.
Then all the wild animals creep around.
21 The lions roar as they attack.
They look to God for food.
22 When the sun rises, they leave
and go back to their dens to lie down.
23 Then people go to work
and work until evening.
24 Lord, you have made many things;
with your wisdom you made them all.
The earth is full of your riches.
25 Look at the sea, so big and wide,
with creatures large and small that cannot be counted.
26 Ships travel over the ocean,
and there is the sea monster Leviathan,
which you made to play there.
27 All these things depend on you
to give them their food at the right time.
28 When you give it to them,
they gather it up.
When you open your hand,
they are filled with good food.
29 When you turn away from them,
they become frightened.
When you take away their breath,
they die and turn to dust.
30 When you breathe on them,
they are created,
and you make the land new again.
31 May the glory of the Lord be forever.
May the Lord enjoy what he has made.
32 He just looks at the earth, and it shakes.
He touches the mountains, and they smoke.
33 I will sing to the Lord all my life;
I will sing praises to my God as long as I live.
34 May my thoughts please him;
I am happy in the Lord.
35 Let sinners be destroyed from the earth,
and let the wicked live no longer.
My whole being, praise the Lord.
Praise the Lord.
Israel Will Return
11 The time will come when your walls will be built again,
when your country will grow.
12 At that time your people will come back to you
from Assyria and the cities of Egypt,
and from Egypt to the Euphrates River,
and from sea to sea and mountain to mountain.
13 The earth will be ruined for the people who live in it
because of their deeds.
A Prayer to God
14 So shepherd your people with your stick;
tend the flock of people who belong to you.
That flock now lives alone in the forest
in the middle of a garden land.
Let them feed in Bashan and Gilead
as in days long ago.
15 “As in the days when I brought you out of Egypt,
I will show them miracles.”
16 When the nations see those miracles,
they will no longer brag about their power.
They will put their hands over their mouths,
refusing to listen.
17 They will crawl in the dust like a snake,
like insects crawling on the ground.
They will come trembling from their holes to the Lord our God
and will turn in fear before you.
18 There is no God like you.
You forgive those who are guilty of sin;
you don’t look at the sins of your people
who are left alive.
You will not stay angry forever,
because you enjoy being kind.
19 You will have mercy on us again;
you will conquer our sins.
You will throw away all our sins
into the deepest part of the sea.
20 You will be true to the people of Jacob,
and you will be kind to the people of Abraham
as you promised to our ancestors long ago.
Use God’s Gifts Wisely
7 The time is near when all things will end. So think clearly and control yourselves so you will be able to pray. 8 Most importantly, love each other deeply, because love will cause people to forgive each other for many sins. 9 Open your homes to each other, without complaining. 10 Each of you has received a gift to use to serve others. Be good servants of God’s various gifts of grace. 11 Anyone who speaks should speak words from God. Anyone who serves should serve with the strength God gives so that in everything God will be praised through Jesus Christ. Power and glory belong to him forever and ever. Amen.
Suffering as a Christian
12 My friends, do not be surprised at the terrible trouble which now comes to test you. Do not think that something strange is happening to you. 13 But be happy that you are sharing in Christ’s sufferings so that you will be happy and full of joy when Christ comes again in glory. 14 When people insult you because you follow Christ, you are blessed, because the glorious Spirit, the Spirit of God, is with you. 15 Do not suffer for murder, theft, or any other crime, nor because you trouble other people. 16 But if you suffer because you are a Christian, do not be ashamed. Praise God because you wear that name. 17 It is time for judgment to begin with God’s family. And if that judging begins with us, what will happen to those people who do not obey the Good News of God?
18 “If it is very hard for a good person to be saved,
the wicked person and the sinner will surely be lost!”[a]
19 So those who suffer as God wants should trust their souls to the faithful Creator as they continue to do what is right.
Jesus Heals Two Blind Men
29 When Jesus and his followers were leaving Jericho, a great many people followed him. 30 Two blind men sitting by the road heard that Jesus was going by, so they shouted, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!”
31 The people warned the blind men to be quiet, but they shouted even more, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!”
32 Jesus stopped and said to the blind men, “What do you want me to do for you?”
33 They answered, “Lord, we want to see.”
34 Jesus felt sorry for the blind men and touched their eyes, and at once they could see. Then they followed Jesus.
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.