Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 102[a]
The prayer of an oppressed man, as he grows faint and pours out his lament before the Lord.
102 O Lord, hear my prayer.
Pay attention to my cry for help.[b]
2 Do not ignore me in my time of trouble.[c]
Listen to me.[d]
When I call out to you, quickly answer me.
3 For my days go up in smoke,[e]
and my bones are charred as in a fireplace.[f]
4 My heart is parched[g] and withered like grass,
for I am unable[h] to eat food.[i]
5 Because of the anxiety that makes me groan,
my bones protrude from my skin.[j]
6 I am like an owl[k] in the wilderness;
I am like a screech owl[l] among the ruins.[m]
7 I stay awake;[n]
I am like a solitary bird on a roof.
8 All day long my enemies taunt me;
those who mock me use my name in their curses.[o]
9 For I eat ashes as if they were bread,[p]
and mix my drink with my tears,[q]
10 because of your anger and raging fury.
Indeed,[r] you pick me up and throw me away.
11 My days are coming to an end,[s]
and I am withered like grass.
12 But you, O Lord, rule forever,[t]
and your reputation endures.[u]
13 You will rise up and have compassion on Zion.[v]
For it is time to have mercy on her,
for the appointed time has come.
14 Indeed,[w] your servants take delight in her stones,
and feel compassion for[x] the dust of her ruins.[y]
15 The nations will respect the reputation of the Lord,[z]
and all the kings of the earth will respect[aa] his splendor,
16 when the Lord rebuilds Zion,
and reveals his splendor,
17 when he responds to the prayer of the destitute,[ab]
and does not reject[ac] their request.[ad]
18 The account of his intervention[ae] will be recorded for future generations;
people yet to be born[af] will praise the Lord.
19 For he will look down from his sanctuary above;[ag]
from heaven the Lord will look toward earth,[ah]
20 in order to hear the painful cries of the prisoners,
and to set free those condemned to die,[ai]
21 so they may proclaim the name of the Lord in Zion,
and praise him[aj] in Jerusalem,
22 when the nations gather together,
and the kingdoms pay tribute to the Lord.[ak]
23 He has taken away my strength in the middle of life;[al]
he has cut short my days.
24 I say, “O my God, please do not take me away in the middle of my life.[am]
You endure through all generations.[an]
25 In earlier times you established the earth;
the skies are your handiwork.
26 They will perish,
but you will endure.[ao]
They will wear out like a garment;
like clothes you will remove them and they will disappear.[ap]
27 But you remain;[aq]
your years do not come to an end.
28 The children of your servants will settle down here,
and their descendants[ar] will live securely in your presence.”[as]
Psalm 142[a]
A well-written song[b] by David, when he was in the cave;[c] a prayer.
142 To the Lord I cry out;[d]
to the Lord I plead for mercy.[e]
2 I pour out my lament before him;
I tell him about[f] my troubles.
3 Even when my strength leaves me,[g]
you watch my footsteps.[h]
In the path where I walk
they have hidden a trap for me.
4 Look to the right and see.
No one cares about me.[i]
I have nowhere to run;[j]
no one is concerned about my life.[k]
5 I cry out to you, O Lord;
I say, “You are my shelter,
my security[l] in the land of the living.”
6 Listen to my cry for help,
for I am in serious trouble.[m]
Rescue me from those who chase me,
for they are stronger than I am.
7 Free me[n] from prison,
that I may give thanks to your name.
Because of me the godly will assemble,[o]
for you will vindicate me.[p]
Psalm 143[q]
A psalm of David.
143 O Lord, hear my prayer.
Pay attention to my plea for help.
Because of your faithfulness and justice, answer me.
2 Do not sit in judgment on[r] your servant,
for no one alive is innocent before you.[s]
3 Certainly[t] my enemies[u] chase me.
They smash me into the ground.[v]
They force me to live[w] in dark regions,[x]
like those who have been dead for ages.
4 My strength leaves me;[y]
I am absolutely shocked.[z]
5 I recall the old days.[aa]
I meditate on all you have done;
I reflect on your accomplishments.[ab]
6 I spread my hands out to you in prayer;[ac]
my soul thirsts for you in a parched[ad] land.[ae] (Selah)
7 Answer me quickly, Lord.
My strength is fading.[af]
Do not reject me,[ag]
or I will join[ah] those descending into the grave.[ai]
8 May I hear about your loyal love in the morning,[aj]
for I trust in you.
Show me the way I should go,[ak]
because I long for you.[al]
9 Rescue me from my enemies, O Lord.
I run to you for protection.[am]
10 Teach me to do what pleases you,[an]
for you are my God.
May your kind presence[ao]
lead me[ap] into a level land.[aq]
11 O Lord, for the sake of your reputation,[ar] revive me.[as]
Because of your justice, rescue me from trouble.[at]
12 As a demonstration of your loyal love,[au] destroy my enemies.
Annihilate[av] all who threaten my life,[aw]
for I am your servant.
Jeremiah Complains about the Reaction to His Ministry
7 Lord, you coerced me into being a prophet,
and I allowed you to do it.
You overcame my resistance and prevailed over me.[a]
Now I have become a constant laughingstock.
Everyone ridicules me.
8 For whenever I prophesy,[b] I must cry out,[c]
“Violence and destruction are coming!”[d]
This message from the Lord[e] has made me
an object of continual insults and derision.
9 Sometimes I think, “I will make no mention of his message.
I will not speak as his messenger[f] anymore.”
But then[g] his message becomes like a fire
locked up inside of me, burning in my heart and soul.[h]
I grow weary of trying to hold it in;
I cannot contain it.
10 I[i] hear many whispering words of intrigue against me.
Those who would cause me terror are everywhere![j]
They are saying, “Come on, let’s publicly denounce him!”[k]
All my so-called friends[l] are just watching for
something that would lead to my downfall.[m]
They say, “Perhaps he can be enticed into slipping up,
so we can prevail over[n] him and get our revenge on him.”
11 But the Lord is with me to help me like an awe-inspiring warrior.[o]
Therefore those who persecute me will fail and will not prevail over me.
They will be thoroughly disgraced because they did not succeed.
Their disgrace will never be forgotten.
Avoid Idol Feasts
14 So then, my dear friends, flee from idolatry. 15 I am speaking to thoughtful people. Consider what I say. 16 Is not the cup of blessing that we bless a sharing in the blood of Christ? Is not the bread that we break a sharing in the body of Christ? 17 Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all share the one bread.
27 For this reason, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. 28 A person should examine himself first,[a] and in this way[b] let him eat the bread and drink of the cup. 29 For the one who eats and drinks without careful regard[c] for the body eats and drinks judgment against himself. 30 That is why many of you are weak and sick, and quite a few are dead.[d] 31 But if we examined ourselves, we would not be judged. 32 But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned with the world.
Jesus Prays for the Father to Glorify Him
17 When Jesus had finished saying these things, he looked upward[a] to heaven[b] and said, “Father, the time[c] has come. Glorify your Son, so that your[d] Son may glorify you— 2 just as you have given him authority over all humanity,[e] so that he may give eternal life to everyone you have given him.[f] 3 Now this[g] is eternal life[h]—that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ,[i] whom you sent. 4 I glorified you on earth by completing[j] the work you gave me to do.[k] 5 And now, Father, glorify me at your side[l] with the glory I had with you before the world was created.[m]
Jesus Prays for the Disciples
6 “I have revealed[n] your name[o] to the men[p] you gave me out of the world. They belonged to you,[q] and you gave them to me, and they have obeyed[r] your word. 7 Now they understand[s] that everything[t] you have given me comes from you, 8 because I have given them the words you have given me. They[u] accepted[v] them[w] and really[x] understand[y] that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me. 9 I am praying[z] on behalf of them. I am not praying[aa] on behalf of the world, but on behalf of those you have given me, because they belong to you.[ab] 10 Everything[ac] I have belongs to you,[ad] and everything you have belongs to me,[ae] and I have been glorified by them.[af] 11 I[ag] am no longer in the world, but[ah] they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them safe[ai] in your name[aj] that you have given me, so that they may be one just as we are one.[ak] 12 When I was with them I kept them safe[al] and watched over them[am] in your name[an] that you have given me. Not one[ao] of them was lost except the one destined for destruction,[ap] so that the scripture could be fulfilled.[aq] 13 But now I am coming to you, and I am saying these things in the world, so they may experience[ar] my joy completed[as] in themselves. 14 I have given them your word,[at] and the world has hated them, because they do not belong to the world,[au] just as I do not belong to the world.[av] 15 I am not asking you to take them out of the world, but that you keep them safe[aw] from the evil one.[ax] 16 They do not belong to the world[ay] just as I do not belong to the world.[az] 17 Set them apart[ba] in the truth; your word is truth. 18 Just as you sent me into the world, so I sent them into the world.[bb] 19 And I set myself apart[bc] on their behalf,[bd] so that they too may be truly set apart.[be]
Jesus Prays for Believers Everywhere
20 “I am not praying[bf] only on their behalf, but also on behalf of those who believe[bg] in me through their testimony,[bh] 21 that they will all be one, just as you, Father, are in me and I am in you. I pray[bi] that they will be in us, so that the world will believe that you sent me. 22 The glory[bj] you gave to me I have given to them, that they may be one just as we are one— 23 I in them and you in me—that they may be completely one,[bk] so that the world will know that you sent me, and you have loved them just as you have loved me.
24 “Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am,[bl] so that they can see my glory that you gave me because you loved me before the creation of the world[bm] . 25 Righteous Father, even if the world does not know you, I know you, and these men[bn] know that you sent me. 26 I made known your name[bo] to them, and I will continue to make it known,[bp] so that the love you have loved me with may be in them, and I may be in them.”
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