Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 102[a]
Prayer of an Exile
1 The prayer of one afflicted. When he is wasting away[b] and pours out his anguish before the Lord.
2 [c]O Lord, give heed to my prayer;
let my plea for help reach you.
3 Do not conceal your face[d] from my sight
in the time of my distress.
Incline your ear to me;
on the day when I call out to you, answer me speedily.
4 For my days are fading away like smoke,
and my bones are burning like live coals.
5 My heart[e] is stricken, withered like grass;
I am too exhausted to eat my bread.
6 As a result of my incessant groaning,
I am now nothing more than skin and bones.
7 I am like a pelican[f] of the wilderness,
like an owl among the ruins.
8 I am sleepless[g] and I moan
like a lone sparrow on a rooftop.
9 All day long my enemies revile me;[h]
those who rage against me use my name as a curse.
10 [i]I eat ashes as though they were bread,
and I mingle tears with my drink.
11 Because of your indignation and wrath,
you have raised me up only to cast me down.
12 My days are like a lengthening shadow,
and I am withering away like grass.
13 [j]But, you, O Lord, are enthroned forever,
and your renown will endure for all generations.
14 You will arise and show mercy to Zion,
for it is time for you to have pity on her;
the appointed time[k] has come.
15 For her stones are precious to your servants,
and her dust causes them to weep.[l]
16 The nations will revere your name,[m] O Lord,
and all the kings of the earth will sing of your glory.
17 For the Lord will rebuild Zion
and reveal himself in all his glory.[n]
18 He will answer the prayer of the destitute,
and he will not ignore their petition.
19 Let this be written[o] for future generations
so that a people yet unborn may praise the Lord:
20 “The Lord looked down from his sanctuary on high
and gazed on the earth from heaven,
21 to hear the sighs of the prisoners
and to set free those under sentence of death.”[p]
22 Then the name of the Lord will be proclaimed in Zion,
and his praise[q] in Jerusalem
23 when all peoples and kingdoms come together
to worship the Lord.[r]
24 [s]He has taken away my strength on my life’s journey;
he has cut short my days.
25 So I said: “Do not carry me off, O my God,
before half my days are done,[t]
for your years endure from age to age.
26 [u]“Long ago you laid the foundations of the earth,
and the heavens are the work of your hands.
27 They will pass away but you endure;
they will all wear out like a garment.
You will change them like clothing,
and they will perish.[v]
28 “However, you remain always the same,
and your years will have no end.[w]
29 The children of your servants will be secure,
and their descendants will dwell in your presence.”[x]
Book V—Psalms 107–150[a]
Psalm 107[b]
God, Savior of Those in Distress
1 “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
his kindness[c] endures forever.”
2 Let this be the prayer of the redeemed of the Lord,
those he redeemed from the hand of the foe
3 and gathered together from the lands,[d]
from east and west, north and south.
4 [e]Some wandered in a barren wilderness,
unable to discover a path to an inhabited city.
5 They were hungry and thirsty,
and their life was wasting away.
6 Then they cried out to the Lord in their anguish,
and he saved them from their distress.
7 He led them by a direct route
to a city in which they could dwell.
8 Let them give thanks to the Lord for his kindness[f]
and for the wonders he does for people.
9 He has satisfied the thirsty
and filled the hungry with good things.
10 [g]Some sat in darkness and the shadow of death,[h]
bound in misery and in chains,
11 because they had rebelled against the words of God
and spurned the plan of the Most High.
12 He humbled their hearts with hard labor;[i]
when they stumbled, no one was there to offer help.
13 Then they cried out to the Lord in their need,
and he rescued them from their distress.
14 He brought them forth from darkness and the shadow of death
and tore their chains to pieces.
15 Let them give thanks to the Lord for his kindness
and for the wonders he does for people.
16 He has broken down gates of bronze
and cut through iron bars.
17 [j]Some were made foolish by their wicked ways
and were afflicted because of their iniquities.
18 All types of food became loathsome to them,
and they were nearing the gates of death.[k]
19 Then they cried out to the Lord in their anguish,
and he rescued them from their distress.
20 He sent forth his word[l] and healed them,
saving them from the grave.
21 Let them give thanks to the Lord for his kindness
and for the wonders he does for people.
22 Let them offer sacrifices in thanksgiving
and recount his deeds with jubilation.
23 [m]Some went down to the sea in ships
and engaged in commerce on the mighty waters.
24 [n]They beheld the works of the Lord
and his wonders in the deep.
25 He spoke and raised up a storm wind
that stirred up the waves of the sea.
26 They were lifted up to the heavens, then cast down to the depths;
their courage melted away in their plight.
27 They reeled and staggered like drunkards,
and they were at their wits’ end.
28 They cried out to the Lord in their anguish,
and he delivered them from their distress.
29 He reduced the storm to a whisper,
and the waves of the sea were hushed.
30 They rejoiced because of the calm,
and he guided them to the port they sought.
31 Let them give thanks to the Lord for his kindness
and for the wonders he does for people.
32 Let them exalt him in the assembly of the people
and praise him in the council of the elders.[o]
Chapter 19
Hezekiah and Isaiah. 1 When King Hezekiah heard this, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth, and went into the temple of the Lord.
2 He sent Eliakim, the major-domo, Shebna, the scribe, and all of the elders of the priests, all wearing sackcloth, to Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz. 3 They said to him, “This is what Hezekiah says: Today is a day of trouble and rebuke and disgrace, as when children come to term but there is not enough strength to deliver them. 4 Perhaps the Lord, your God, will hear the words of the commander whom the king of Assyria, his master, has sent to taunt the living God. Perhaps he will rebuke him for the words which the Lord, your God, has heard. Therefore, raise up a prayer for the survivors who still remain.”
5 When King Hezekiah’s servants came to Isaiah, 6 Isaiah said to them, “This is what you are to tell your master: Thus says the Lord: Do not let the words you have heard, the words by which the king of Assyria blasphemed me, do not let them frighten you. 7 Behold, I will send a spirit into him so that when he hears a certain rumor, he will return to his own land. I will have him cut down by the sword in his own land.”
8 When the commander returned, he heard that the king of Assyria had withdrawn from Lachish and he found him in Libnah. 9 He had heard a report concerning Tirhakah, the king of Ethiopia, saying, “Behold, he has come to fight against you.”
So he once again sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying, 10 “Say this to Hezekiah, the king of Judah: ‘Do not let your God in whom you trust deceive you when he tells you that Jerusalem will be delivered out of the hands of the king of Assyria. 11 You have heard what the king of Assyria has done to every land, totally destroying them. Will you then be delivered? 12 Did the gods of the nations that were destroyed by my ancestors deliver them, the gods of Gozan, Haran, Rezeph, and the Edomites who were in Telassar? 13 Where is the king of Hamath? The king of Arpad? The king of the city of Shepharvaim? Of Hena? Of Ivvah?’ ”
14 Hezekiah took the letter from the hand of the messenger and he read it. He then went to the temple of the Lord and he spread it out before the Lord.
15 Hezekiah prayed to the Lord, saying, “O Lord, God of Israel, who dwells between the cherubim, you alone are the God of all of the nations on the earth. You made the heavens and the earth. 16 Bend your ear, O Lord, and hear. Open your eyes, O Lord, and see. Hear the words that Sennacherib has sent to taunt the living God. 17 It is true, O Lord, that the kings of Assyria have destroyed the nations and their lands. 18 They have cast their gods into the flames, for they were not really gods. They were only the work of human hands, made from wood and stone. 19 Now, O Lord, our God, deliver us from out of his hands so that all of the kingdoms upon the earth might know that you, O Lord, are the only God.”
20 Punishment of Sennacherib. Isaiah, the son of Amoz, then sent to Hezekiah, saying, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: ‘I have heard your prayer to me concerning Sennacherib, the king of Assyria.’
16 If I proclaim the gospel, that is no reason for me to boast, for the obligation to do so has been given to me, and woe to me if I fail to fulfill it.
17 If I proclaimed the gospel of my own volition, I would deserve a reward; but if I do not do so voluntarily, I am simply discharging the commission that has been given to me. 18 What then is my reward? It is simply that in my preaching I may offer the gospel free of charge and not make use of the rights that the gospel affords me.
19 Although I am free and belong to no man, I have made myself a slave to all so as to win over as many as possible. 20 To the Jews, I became like a Jew in order to win the Jews. To those under the Law, I became like one under the Law—although I myself am not under the Law—in order to win over those under the Law. 21 To those outside the Law, I became like one outside the Law—although I am not outside the Law of God but am subject to the Law of Christ—in order to win over those outside the Law. 22 To the weak, I have become weak in order to win over the weak. I have become all things to all, so that by every possible means I might save some. 23 I do all this for the sake of the gospel so that I might share it with you.
Flee from Idolatry[a]
24 Discipline Yourself So As Not To Be Disqualified. You are well aware that while all the runners in the stadium compete in the race, only one wins the prize. Run in such a way as to win the prize. 25 Everyone who seeks a prize submits himself to rigorous self-discipline in every respect. They do so to win a perishable crown, while we seek an imperishable one. 26 Therefore, I do not run without purpose, nor do I fight like a man beating the air. 27 Rather, I discipline my body and bring it under control, for fear that after preaching to others I myself may be disqualified.
The Signs of the Kingdom of God[a]
Ten Miracles[b]
Chapter 8
Jesus Heals a Man with Leprosy.[c] 1 When he had come down from the mountain, large crowds followed him. 2 Suddenly, a man with leprosy approached, knelt before him, and said, “Lord, if you choose to do so, you can make me clean.” 3 He stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I do choose. Be made clean.” Immediately, his leprosy was cured. 4 Then Jesus said to him, “See that you tell no one, but go and show yourself to the priest and offer the gift that Moses prescribed. That will be proof for them.”
Jesus Heals the Centurion’s Servant.[d] 5 When Jesus entered Capernaum, a centurion approached him and pleaded for his help. 6 “Lord,” he said, “my servant is lying at home paralyzed and enduring agonizing sufferings.” 7 Jesus said to him, “I will come and cure him.” 8 The centurion replied, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof. But simply say the word and my servant will be healed.[e] 9 For I myself am a man subject to authority, with soldiers who are subject to me. I say to one ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come here,’ and he comes, and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”
10 When Jesus heard this, he was amazed, and he said to those who were following him, “Amen, I say to you, in no one throughout Israel have I found faith as great as this. 11 Many, I tell you, will come from the east and the west to sit with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob at the banquet in the kingdom of heaven. 12 But the heirs of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
13 Jesus then said to the centurion, “Return home. Your petition has been granted because of your faith.” And at that very hour the servant was healed.
14 Jesus Heals Peter’s Mother-in-Law. Jesus then entered the house of Peter and found Peter’s mother-in-law lying in bed with a fever. 15 He touched her hand and the fever left her, and she got up and began to serve him.
16 Jesus Drives Out the Evil Spirits.[f] That evening they brought to him many who were possessed by demons. He cast out the spirits with a command and cured all who were sick. 17 This was to fulfill the words of the prophet Isaiah:
“He took away our infirmities and bore our diseases.”
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