Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 38
Prayer of a Suffering Sinner
A Davidic psalm for remembrance.(A)
1 Lord, do not punish me in Your anger
or discipline me in Your wrath.(B)
2 For Your arrows have sunk into me,
and Your hand has pressed down on me.(C)
3 There is no health in my body
because of Your indignation;
there is no strength[a] in my bones
because of my sin.(D)
4 For my sins have flooded over my head;
they are a burden too heavy for me to bear.(E)
5 My wounds are foul and festering
because of my foolishness.(F)
6 I am bent over and brought low;
all day long I go around in mourning.(G)
7 For my loins are full of burning pain,
and there is no health in my body.(H)
8 I am faint and severely crushed;
I groan because of the anguish of my heart.(I)
9 Lord, my every desire is known to[b] You;
my sighing is not hidden from You.(J)
10 My heart races, my strength leaves me,
and even the light of my eyes has faded.[c](K)
11 My loved ones and friends stand back from my affliction,
and my relatives stand at a distance.(L)
12 Those who seek my life set traps,
and those who want to harm me threaten to destroy me;
they plot treachery all day long.(M)
13 I am like a deaf person; I do not hear.
I am like a speechless person
who does not open his mouth.(N)
14 I am like a man who does not hear
and has no arguments in his mouth.(O)
15 I put my hope in You, Lord;
You will answer, Lord my God.(P)
16 For I said, “Don’t let them rejoice over me—
those who are arrogant toward me when I stumble.”(Q)
17 For I am about to fall,
and my pain is constantly with me.(R)
18 So I confess my guilt;
I am anxious because of my sin.(S)
19 But my enemies are vigorous and powerful;[d]
many hate me for no reason.(T)
20 Those who repay evil for good
attack me for pursuing good.(U)
ד Dalet
25 My life is down in the dust;(A)
give me life(B) through Your word.
26 I told You about my life,
and You listened to me;
teach me Your statutes.(C)
27 Help me understand
the meaning of Your precepts
so that I can meditate on Your wonders.(D)
28 I am weary[a] from grief;
strengthen me through Your word.(E)
29 Keep me from the way of deceit
and graciously give me Your instruction.
30 I have chosen the way of truth;
I have set Your ordinances before me.(F)
31 I cling to Your decrees;
Lord, do not put me to shame.(G)
32 I pursue the way of Your commands,
for You broaden my understanding.[b](H)
ה He
33 Teach me, Lord, the meaning[c] of Your statutes,
and I will always keep them.[d](I)
34 Help me understand Your instruction,(J)
and I will obey it
and follow it with all my heart.(K)
35 Help me stay on the path of Your commands,(L)
for I take pleasure in it.(M)
36 Turn my heart to Your decrees(N)
and not to material gain.(O)
37 Turn my eyes
from looking at what is worthless;(P)
give me life in Your ways.[e](Q)
38 Confirm what You said to Your servant,(R)
for it produces reverence for You.
39 Turn away the disgrace I dread;(S)
indeed, Your judgments are good.
40 How I long for Your precepts!(T)
Give me life through Your righteousness.
ו Vav
41 Let Your faithful love come to me, Lord,(U)
Your salvation, as You promised.(V)
42 Then I can answer the one who taunts me,(W)
for I trust in Your word.
43 Never take the word of truth from my mouth,
for I hope in Your judgments.(X)
44 I will always obey Your instruction,
forever and ever.(Y)
45 I will walk freely in an open place(Z)
because I seek Your precepts.(AA)
46 I will speak of Your decrees before kings
and not be ashamed.(AB)
47 I delight in Your commands,
which I love.(AC)
48 I will lift up my hands(AD) to Your commands,
which I love,
and will meditate on Your statutes.(AE)
ח Khet
8 The Lord determined to destroy
the wall of Daughter Zion.
He stretched out a measuring line(A)
and did not restrain Himself from destroying.
He made the ramparts and walls grieve;
together they waste away.
ט Tet
9 Zion’s gates have fallen to the ground;(B)
He has destroyed and shattered the bars on her gates.
Her king and her leaders live among the nations,
instruction[a] is no more,
and even her prophets receive
no vision from the Lord.(C)
י Yod
10 The elders of Daughter Zion
sit on the ground in silence.
They have thrown dust on their heads(D)
and put on sackcloth.
The young women of Jerusalem
have bowed their heads to the ground.(E)
כ Kaf
11 My eyes are worn out from weeping;(F)
I am churning within.
My heart is poured out in grief[b](G)
because of the destruction of my dear people,(H)
because children and infants faint
in the streets of the city.(I)
ל Lamed
12 They cry out to their mothers:
Where is the grain and wine?(J)
as they faint like the wounded
in the streets of the city,
as their lives fade away
in the arms of their mothers.
מ Mem
13 What can I say on your behalf?
What can I compare you to, Daughter Jerusalem?
What can I liken you to,
so that I may console you, Virgin Daughter Zion?
For your ruin is as vast as the sea.
Who can heal you?(K)
נ Nun
14 Your prophets saw visions for you
that were empty and deceptive;(L)
they did not reveal your guilt
and so restore your fortunes.(M)
They saw oracles for you
that were empty and misleading.
ס Samek
51 Listen! I am telling you a mystery:
We will not all fall asleep,
but we will all be changed,
52 in a moment, in the blink of an eye,
at the last trumpet.(A)
For the trumpet will sound,
and the dead will be raised incorruptible,
and we will be changed.
53 For this corruptible must be clothed(B)
with incorruptibility,(C)
and this mortal must be clothed
with immortality.
54 When this corruptible is clothed
with incorruptibility,
and this mortal is clothed
with immortality,
then the saying that is written will take place:
Death has been swallowed up(D) in victory.(E)[a]
55 Death, where is your victory?
Death, where is your sting?(F)[b]
56 Now the sting of death is sin,
and the power of sin(G) is the law.(H)
57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory(I)
through our Lord Jesus Christ!
58 Therefore, my dear brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the Lord’s work,(J) knowing that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.
Lord of the Sabbath
12 At that time Jesus passed through the grainfields on the Sabbath.(A) His disciples(B) were hungry and began to pick and eat some heads of grain. 2 But when the Pharisees saw it, they said to Him, “Look, Your disciples are doing what is not lawful(C) to do on the Sabbath!”
3 He said to them, “Haven’t you read what David did when he and those who were with him were hungry— 4 how he entered the house of God, and they ate[a] the sacred bread, which is not lawful for him or for those with him to eat, but only for the priests?(D) 5 Or haven’t you read in the Law[b] that on Sabbath days the priests in the temple violate the Sabbath and are innocent?(E) 6 But I tell you that something greater than the temple is here!(F) 7 If you had known what this means: I desire mercy and not sacrifice,(G)[c] you would not have condemned the innocent. 8 For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”(H)
The Man with the Paralyzed Hand
9 Moving on from there, He entered their synagogue.(I) 10 There He saw a man who had a paralyzed hand. And in order to accuse Him they asked Him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”(J)
11 But He said to them, “What man among you, if he had a sheep[d] that fell into a pit on the Sabbath, wouldn’t take hold of it and lift it out?(K) 12 A man is worth far more than a sheep,(L) so it is lawful to do what is good on the Sabbath.”
13 Then He told the man, “Stretch out your hand.” So he stretched it out, and it was restored,(M) as good as the other. 14 But the Pharisees went out and plotted against Him, how they might destroy Him.(N)
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