Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 51
A Prayer for Restoration
For the choir director. A Davidic psalm, when Nathan the prophet came to him after he had gone to Bathsheba.(A)
1 Be gracious to me, God,
according to Your faithful love;
according to Your abundant compassion,
blot out my rebellion.(B)
2 Wash away my guilt
and cleanse me from my sin.(C)
3 For I am conscious of my rebellion,
and my sin is always before me.(D)
4 Against You—You alone—I have sinned
and done this evil in Your sight.(E)
So You are right when You pass sentence;
You are blameless when You judge.(F)
5 Indeed, I was guilty when I was born;
I was sinful when my mother conceived me.(G)
6 Surely You desire integrity in the inner self,
and You teach me wisdom deep within.(H)
7 Purify me with hyssop, and I will be clean;
wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.(I)
8 Let me hear joy and gladness;
let the bones You have crushed rejoice.(J)
9 Turn Your face away[a] from my sins
and blot out all my guilt.(K)
10 God, create a clean heart for me
and renew a steadfast[b] spirit within me.(L)
11 Do not banish me from Your presence
or take Your Holy Spirit from me.(M)
12 Restore the joy of Your salvation to me,
and give me a willing spirit.[c](N)
13 Then I will teach the rebellious Your ways,
and sinners will return to You.(O)
14 Save me from the guilt of bloodshed, God,(P)
the God of my salvation,
and my tongue will sing of Your righteousness.(Q)
15 Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth will declare Your praise.(R)
16 You do not want a sacrifice, or I would give it;
You are not pleased with a burnt offering.(S)
17 The sacrifice pleasing to God is[d] a broken spirit.
God, You will not despise a broken and humbled heart.(T)
Psalm 69
A Plea for Rescue
For the choir director: according to “The Lilies.”[a] Davidic.
1 Save me, God,
for the water has risen to my neck.(A)
2 I have sunk in deep mud, and there is no footing;
I have come into deep waters,
and a flood sweeps over me.(B)
3 I am weary from my crying;
my throat is parched.
My eyes fail, looking for my God.(C)
4 Those who hate me without cause
are more numerous than the hairs of my head;
my deceitful enemies, who would destroy me,
are powerful.(D)
Though I did not steal, I must repay.(E)
5 God, You know my foolishness,
and my guilty acts are not hidden from You.(F)
6 Do not let those who put their hope in You
be disgraced because of me,
Lord God of Hosts;
do not let those who seek You
be humiliated because of me,
God of Israel.(G)
7 For I have endured insults because of You,
and shame has covered my face.(H)
8 I have become a stranger to my brothers
and a foreigner to my mother’s sons(I)
9 because zeal for Your house has consumed me,(J)
and the insults of those who insult You
have fallen on me.(K)
10 I mourned and fasted,
but it brought me insults.(L)
11 I wore sackcloth as my clothing,
and I was a joke to them.
12 Those who sit at the city gate talk about me,
and drunkards make up songs about me.(M)
13 But as for me, Lord,
my prayer to You is for a time of favor.
In Your abundant, faithful love, God,
answer me with Your sure salvation.(N)
14 Rescue me from the miry mud; don’t let me sink.
Let me be rescued from those who hate me
and from the deep waters.(O)
15 Don’t let the floodwaters sweep over me
or the deep swallow me up;
don’t let the Pit close its mouth over me.(P)
16 Answer me, Lord,
for Your faithful love is good;
in keeping with Your great compassion,
turn to me.(Q)
17 Don’t hide Your face from Your servant,
for I am in distress.
Answer me quickly!(R)
18 Draw near to me and redeem me;
ransom me because of my enemies.(S)
19 You know the insults I endure—
my shame and disgrace.
You are aware of all my adversaries.(T)
20 Insults have broken my heart,
and I am in despair.
I waited for sympathy,
but there was none;
for comforters, but found no one.(U)
21 Instead, they gave me gall[b] for my food,
and for my thirst
they gave me vinegar to drink.(V)
ו Vav
6 All her splendor(A) has vanished
from Daughter Zion.(B)
Her leaders are like stags
that find no pasture;
they walk away exhausted
before the hunter.(C)
ז Zayin
7 During the days of her affliction and homelessness(D)
Jerusalem remembers all her precious belongings
that were hers in days of old.
When her people fell into the adversary’s hand,
she had no one to help.
The adversaries looked at her,
laughing over her downfall.
ח Khet
8 Jerusalem has sinned grievously;
therefore, she has become an object of scorn.[a]
All who honored her now despise her,
for they have seen her nakedness.
She herself groans and turns away.
ט Tet
9 Her uncleanness stains her skirts.(E)
She never considered her end.
Her downfall was astonishing;(F)
there was no one to comfort her.
Lord, look on my affliction,
for the enemy triumphs!
י Yod
10 The adversary has seized
all her precious belongings.
She has even seen the nations
enter her sanctuary—
those You had forbidden
to enter Your assembly.(G)
כ Kaf
11 All her people groan
while they search for bread.(H)
They have traded their precious belongings for food
in order to stay alive.(I)
Lord, look and see
how I have become despised.
ל Lamed
Greeting
1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by God’s will,(A) and Timothy(B) our[a] brother:
To God’s church at Corinth,(C) with all the saints who are throughout Achaia.(D)
2 Grace to you and peace(E) from God our Father(F) and the Lord Jesus Christ.
The God of Comfort
3 Praise(G) the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies(H) and the God of all comfort.(I) 4 He comforts us in all our affliction,[b] so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any kind of affliction, through the comfort we ourselves receive from God. 5 For as the sufferings(J) of Christ(K) overflow to us, so through Christ our comfort also overflows.(L) 6 If we are afflicted,(M) it is for your comfort and salvation. If we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which is experienced in your endurance of the same sufferings that we suffer.(N) 7 And our hope(O) for you is firm, because we know that as you share(P) in the sufferings, so you will share in the comfort.
The Barren Fig Tree Is Cursed
12 The(A) next day when they came out from Bethany, He was hungry. 13 After seeing in the distance a fig(B) tree with leaves, He went to find out if there was anything on it. When He came to it, He found nothing but leaves, because it was not the season for figs. 14 He said to it, “May no one ever eat fruit(C) from you again!”(D) And His disciples(E) heard it.
Cleansing the Temple Complex
15 They came to Jerusalem,(F) and He went into the temple complex(G) and began to throw out those buying and selling in the temple. He overturned the money changers’(H) tables and the chairs of those selling doves, 16 and would not permit anyone to carry goods through the temple complex.
17 Then He began to teach them: “Is it not written,(I) My house(J) will be called a house of prayer(K) for all nations?[a] But you have made it a den of thieves!”(L)[b] 18 Then the chief priests and the scribes(M) heard it and started looking for a way to destroy Him. For they were afraid(N) of Him, because the whole crowd was astonished by His teaching.
19 And whenever evening came, they would go out of the city.
The Barren Fig Tree Is Withered
20 Early(O) in the morning, as they were passing by, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots up. 21 Then Peter(P) remembered and said to Him, “Rabbi,(Q) look! The fig tree that You cursed(R) is withered.”
22 Jesus replied to them, “Have faith in God.(S) 23 I assure you:(T) If anyone says to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt(U) in his heart, but believes(V) that what he says will happen, it will be done for him.(W) 24 Therefore I tell you, all the things you pray(X) and ask for(Y)—believe that you have received[c](Z) them, and you will have them. 25 And whenever you stand(AA) praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive(AB) him, so that your Father(AC) in heaven(AD) will also forgive(AE) you your wrongdoing.
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