Book of Common Prayer
Longing for Zion in a Foreign Land
137 By the rivers of Babylon,
There we sat down, yea, we wept
When we remembered Zion.
2 We hung our harps
Upon the willows in the midst of it.
3 For there those who carried us away captive asked of us a song,
And those who (A)plundered us requested mirth,
Saying, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!”
4 How shall we sing the Lord’s song
In a foreign land?
5 If I forget you, O Jerusalem,
Let my right hand forget its skill!
6 If I do not remember you,
Let my (B)tongue cling to the roof of my mouth—
If I do not exalt Jerusalem
Above my chief joy.
A Song to the Lord Who Preserves and Prospers His People
A Psalm of David.
144 Blessed be the Lord my Rock,
(A)Who trains my hands for war,
And my fingers for battle—
2 My lovingkindness and my fortress,
My high tower and my deliverer,
My shield and the One in whom I take refuge,
Who subdues [a]my people under me.
3 (B)Lord, what is man, that You take knowledge of him?
Or the son of man, that You are mindful of him?
4 (C)Man is like a breath;
(D)His days are like a passing shadow.
5 (E)Bow down Your heavens, O Lord, and come down;
(F)Touch the mountains, and they shall smoke.
6 (G)Flash forth lightning and scatter them;
Shoot out Your arrows and destroy them.
7 Stretch out Your hand from above;
Rescue me and deliver me out of great waters,
From the hand of foreigners,
8 Whose mouth (H)speaks [b]lying words,
And whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood.
9 I will (I)sing a new song to You, O God;
On a harp of ten strings I will sing praises to You,
10 The One who gives [c]salvation to kings,
(J)Who delivers David His servant
From the deadly sword.
11 Rescue me and deliver me from the hand of foreigners,
Whose mouth speaks lying words,
And whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood—
12 That our sons may be (K)as plants grown up in their youth;
That our daughters may be as [d]pillars,
Sculptured in palace style;
13 That our barns may be full,
Supplying all kinds of produce;
That our sheep may bring forth thousands
And ten thousands in our fields;
14 That our oxen may be well laden;
That there be no [e]breaking in or going out;
That there be no outcry in our streets.
15 (L)Happy are the people who are in such a state;
Happy are the people whose God is the Lord!
Praise to the Sovereign Lord for His Creation and Providence(A)
104 Bless (B)the Lord, O my soul!
O Lord my God, You are very great:
You are clothed with honor and majesty,
2 Who cover Yourself with light as with a garment,
Who stretch out the heavens like a curtain.
3 (C)He lays the beams of His upper chambers in the waters,
Who makes the clouds His chariot,
Who walks on the wings of the wind,
4 Who makes His angels spirits,
His [a]ministers a flame of fire.
5 You who [b]laid the foundations of the earth,
So that it should not be moved forever,
6 You (D)covered it with the deep as with a garment;
The waters stood above the mountains.
7 At Your rebuke they fled;
At the voice of Your thunder they hastened away.
8 [c]They went up over the mountains;
They went down into the valleys,
To the place which You founded for them.
9 You have (E)set a boundary that they may not pass over,
(F)That they may not return to cover the earth.
10 He sends the springs into the valleys;
They flow among the hills.
11 They give drink to every beast of the field;
The wild donkeys quench their thirst.
12 By them the birds of the heavens have their home;
They sing among the branches.
13 (G)He waters the hills from His upper chambers;
The earth is satisfied with (H)the fruit of Your works.
14 (I)He causes the grass to grow for the cattle,
And vegetation for the service of man,
That he may bring forth (J)food from the earth,
15 And (K)wine that makes glad the heart of man,
Oil to make his face shine,
And bread which strengthens man’s heart.
16 The trees of the Lord are full of sap,
The cedars of Lebanon which He planted,
17 Where the birds make their nests;
The stork has her home in the fir trees.
18 The high hills are for the wild goats;
The cliffs are a refuge for the (L)rock[d] badgers.
19 (M)He appointed the moon for seasons;
The (N)sun knows its going down.
20 (O)You make darkness, and it is night,
In which all the beasts of the forest creep about.
21 (P)The young lions roar after their prey,
And seek their food from God.
22 When the sun rises, they gather together
And lie down in their dens.
23 Man goes out to (Q)his work
And to his labor until the evening.
24 (R)O Lord, how manifold are Your works!
In wisdom You have made them all.
The earth is full of Your (S)possessions—
25 This great and wide sea,
In which are innumerable teeming things,
Living things both small and great.
26 There the ships sail about;
There is that (T)Leviathan[e]
Which You have [f]made to play there.
27 (U)These all wait for You,
That You may give them their food in due season.
28 What You give them they gather in;
You open Your hand, they are filled with good.
29 You hide Your face, they are troubled;
(V)You take away their breath, they die and return to their dust.
30 (W)You send forth Your Spirit, they are created;
And You renew the face of the earth.
31 May the glory of the Lord endure forever;
May the Lord (X)rejoice in His works.
32 He looks on the earth, and it (Y)trembles;
(Z)He touches the hills, and they smoke.
33 (AA)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 (AB)meditation be sweet to Him;
I will be glad in the Lord.
35 May (AC)sinners be consumed from the earth,
And the wicked be no more.
Bless the Lord, O my soul!
[g]Praise the Lord!
12 So Balaam said to Balak, “Did I not also speak to your messengers whom you sent to me, saying, 13 ‘If Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not go beyond the word of the Lord, to do good or bad of my own will. What the Lord says, that I must speak’? 14 And now, indeed, I am going to my people. Come, (A)I will advise you what this people will do to your people in the (B)latter days.”
Balaam’s Fourth Prophecy
15 So he took up his oracle and said:
“The utterance of Balaam the son of Beor,
And the utterance of the man whose eyes are opened;
16 The utterance of him who hears the words of God,
And has the knowledge of the Most High,
Who sees the vision of the Almighty,
Who falls down, with eyes wide open:
17 “I(C) see Him, but not now;
I behold Him, but not near;
(D)A Star shall come out of Jacob;
(E)A Scepter shall rise out of Israel,
And [a]batter the brow of Moab,
And destroy all the sons of [b]tumult.
18 “And (F)Edom shall be a possession;
Seir also, his enemies, shall be a possession,
While Israel does [c]valiantly.
19 (G)Out of Jacob One [d]shall have dominion,
And destroy the remains of the city.”
20 Then he looked on Amalek, and he took up his oracle and said:
“Amalek was first among the nations,
But shall be last until he perishes.”
21 Then he looked on the Kenites, and he took up his oracle and said:
“Firm is your dwelling place,
And your nest is set in the rock;
22 Nevertheless Kain shall be burned.
How long until Asshur carries you away captive?”
23 Then he took up his oracle and said:
“Alas! Who shall live when God does this?
24 But ships shall come from the coasts of (H)Cyprus,[e]
And they shall afflict Asshur and afflict (I)Eber,
And so shall [f]Amalek, until he perishes.”
25 So Balaam rose and departed and (J)returned to his place; Balak also went his way.
From Suffering to Glory
18 For I consider that (A)the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. 19 For (B)the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. 20 For (C)the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; 21 because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of [a]corruption into the glorious (D)liberty of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation (E)groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. 23 Not only that, but we also who have (F)the firstfruits of the Spirit, (G)even we ourselves groan (H)within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the (I)redemption of our body. 24 For we were saved in this hope, but (J)hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance.
The Sadducees: What About the Resurrection?(A)
23 (B)The same day the Sadducees, (C)who say there is no resurrection, came to Him and asked Him, 24 saying: “Teacher, (D)Moses said that if a man dies, having no children, his brother shall marry his wife and raise up offspring for his brother. 25 Now there were with us seven brothers. The first died after he had married, and having no offspring, left his wife to his brother. 26 Likewise the second also, and the third, even to the seventh. 27 Last of all the woman died also. 28 Therefore, in the resurrection, whose wife of the seven will she be? For they all had her.”
29 Jesus answered and said to them, “You are [a]mistaken, (E)not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God. 30 For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but (F)are like angels [b]of God in heaven. 31 But concerning the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God, saying, 32 (G)‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.” 33 And when the multitudes heard this, (H)they were astonished at His teaching.
The Scribes: Which Is the First Commandment of All?(I)
34 (J)But when the Pharisees heard that He had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. 35 Then one of them, (K)a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, and saying, 36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?”
37 Jesus said to him, (L)“‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like it: (M)‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 (N)On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.