Book of Common Prayer
Prayer of an Afflicted Man for Mercy on Himself and on Zion.
A Prayer of the Afflicted when he is faint and [a]pours out his complaint before the Lord.
102 (A)Hear my prayer, O Lord!
And let my cry for help (B)come to You.
2 (C)Do not hide Your face from me in the day of my distress;
(D)Incline Your ear to me;
In the day when I call (E)answer me quickly.
3 For my days (F)have been [b]consumed in smoke,
And my (G)bones have been scorched like a hearth.
4 My heart (H)has been smitten like [c]grass and has (I)withered away,
Indeed, I (J)forget to eat my bread.
5 Because of the [d]loudness of my groaning
My (K)bones [e]cling to my flesh.
6 I [f]resemble a (L)pelican of the wilderness;
I have become like an owl of the waste places.
7 I (M)lie awake,
I have become like a lonely bird on a housetop.
8 My enemies (N)have reproached me all day long;
Those who [g](O)deride me [h]have used my name as a (P)curse.
9 For I have eaten ashes like bread
And (Q)mingled my drink with weeping
10 (R)Because of Your indignation and Your wrath,
For You have (S)lifted me up and cast me away.
11 My days are like a [i](T)lengthened shadow,
And [j]I (U)wither away like [k]grass.
12 But You, O Lord, [l](V)abide forever,
And Your [m](W)name to all generations.
13 You will (X)arise and have (Y)compassion on Zion;
For (Z)it is time to be gracious to her,
For the (AA)appointed time has come.
14 Surely Your servants [n]find pleasure in her stones
And feel pity for her dust.
15 [o]So the [p](AB)nations will fear the name of the Lord
And (AC)all the kings of the earth Your glory.
16 For the Lord has (AD)built up Zion;
He has (AE)appeared in His glory.
17 He has (AF)regarded the prayer of the [q]destitute
And has not despised their prayer.
18 [r]This will be (AG)written for the (AH)generation to come,
[s]That (AI)a people yet to be created [t]may praise [u]the Lord.
19 For He (AJ)looked down from His holy height;
(AK)From heaven the Lord gazed [v]upon the earth,
20 To hear the (AL)groaning of the prisoner,
To (AM)set free [w]those who were doomed to death,
21 That men may (AN)tell of the name of the Lord in Zion
And His praise in Jerusalem,
22 When (AO)the peoples are gathered together,
And the kingdoms, to serve the Lord.
23 He has weakened my strength in the way;
He has (AP)shortened my days.
24 I say, “O my God, (AQ)do not take me away in the [x]midst of my days,
Your (AR)years are throughout all generations.
25 “Of old You (AS)founded the earth,
And the (AT)heavens are the work of Your hands.
26 “[y]Even they will (AU)perish, but You endure;
And all of them will wear out like a garment;
Like clothing You will change them and they will be changed.
27 “But You are [z](AV)the same,
And Your years will not come to an end.
28 “The (AW)children of Your servants will continue,
And their [aa](AX)descendants will be established before You.”
BOOK 5
The Lord Delivers Men from Manifold Troubles.
107 Oh (A)give thanks to the Lord, for (B)He is good,
For His lovingkindness is everlasting.
2 Let (C)the redeemed of the Lord say so,
Whom He has (D)redeemed from the hand of the adversary
3 And (E)gathered from the lands,
From the east and from the west,
From the north and from the [a]south.
4 They (F)wandered in the wilderness in a [b]desert region;
They did not find a way to [c]an inhabited (G)city.
5 They were hungry [d]and thirsty;
Their (H)soul fainted within them.
6 Then they (I)cried out to the Lord in their trouble;
He delivered them out of their distresses.
7 He led them also by a [e](J)straight way,
To go to [f](K)an inhabited city.
8 (L)Let them give thanks to the Lord for His lovingkindness,
And for His [g]wonders to the sons of men!
9 For He has (M)satisfied the [h]thirsty soul,
And the (N)hungry soul He has filled with what is good.
10 There were those who (O)dwelt in darkness and in the shadow of death,
(P)Prisoners in [i]misery and [j]chains,
11 Because they had (Q)rebelled against the words of God
And (R)spurned the (S)counsel of the Most High.
12 Therefore He humbled their heart with labor;
They stumbled and there was (T)none to help.
13 Then they (U)cried out to the Lord in their trouble;
He saved them out of their distresses.
14 He (V)brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death
And (W)broke their bands apart.
15 (X)Let them give thanks to the Lord for His lovingkindness,
And for His [k]wonders to the sons of men!
16 For He has (Y)shattered gates of bronze
And cut bars of iron asunder.
17 Fools, because of [l]their rebellious way,
And (Z)because of their iniquities, were afflicted.
18 Their (AA)soul abhorred all kinds of food,
And they (AB)drew near to the (AC)gates of death.
19 Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble;
He saved them out of their distresses.
20 He (AD)sent His word and (AE)healed them,
And (AF)delivered them from their [m]destructions.
21 (AG)Let them give thanks to the Lord for His lovingkindness,
And for His [n]wonders to the sons of men!
22 Let them also offer (AH)sacrifices of thanksgiving,
And (AI)tell of His works with joyful singing.
23 Those who (AJ)go down to the sea in ships,
Who do business on great waters;
24 They have seen the works of the Lord,
And His [o]wonders in the deep.
25 For He (AK)spoke and raised up a (AL)stormy wind,
Which (AM)lifted up the waves [p]of the sea.
26 They rose up to the heavens, they went down to the depths;
Their soul (AN)melted away in their misery.
27 They reeled and (AO)staggered like a drunken man,
And [q]were at their wits’ end.
28 Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
And He brought them out of their distresses.
29 He (AP)caused the storm to be still,
So that the waves [r]of the sea were hushed.
30 Then they were glad because they were quiet,
So He guided them to their desired haven.
31 (AQ)Let them give thanks to the Lord for His lovingkindness,
And for His [s](AR)wonders to the sons of men!
32 Let them (AS)extol Him also (AT)in the congregation of the people,
And (AU)praise Him at the seat of the elders.
17 “As for you, My flock, thus says the Lord God, ‘Behold, I will (A)judge between one [a]sheep and another, between the rams and the male goats. 18 Is it too (B)slight a thing for you that you should feed in the good pasture, that you must tread down with your feet the rest of your pastures? Or that you should drink of the clear waters, that you must [b]foul the rest with your feet? 19 As for My flock, they must eat what you tread down with your feet and drink what you [c]foul with your feet!’”
20 Therefore, thus says the Lord God to them, “Behold, I, even I, will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep. 21 Because you push with side and with shoulder, and (C)thrust at all the [d]weak with your horns until you have scattered them [e]abroad, 22 therefore, I will (D)deliver My flock, and they will no longer be a prey; and I will judge between one sheep and another.
23 “Then I will (E)set over them one (F)shepherd, My servant (G)David, and he will feed them; he will feed them himself and be their shepherd. 24 And I, the Lord, will be their God, and My servant (H)David will be prince among them; I the Lord have spoken.
25 “I will make a (I)covenant of peace with them and (J)eliminate harmful beasts from the land so that they may (K)live securely in the wilderness and sleep in the woods. 26 I will make them and the places around My hill a (L)blessing. And I will cause (M)showers to come down in their season; they will be showers of (N)blessing. 27 Also the tree of the field will yield its fruit and the earth will yield its increase, and they will be (O)secure on their land. Then they will know that I am the Lord, when I have (P)broken the bars of their yoke and have delivered them from the hand of those who enslaved them. 28 They will no longer be a prey to the nations, and the beasts of the earth will not devour them; but they will (Q)live securely, and no one will make them afraid. 29 I will establish for them a (R)renowned planting place, and they will (S)not again be [f]victims of famine in the land, and they will not (T)endure the insults of the nations anymore. 30 Then they will know that (U)I, the Lord their God, am with them, and that they, the house of Israel, are My people,” declares the Lord God. 31 “As for you, My (V)sheep, the (W)sheep of My pasture, you are men, and I am your God,” declares the Lord God.
A Better Ministry
8 Now the main point in what has been said is this: we have such a (A)high priest, who has taken His seat at (B)the right hand of the throne of the (C)Majesty in the heavens, 2 a (D)minister [a]in the sanctuary and [b]in the (E)true [c]tabernacle, which the Lord (F)pitched, not man. 3 For every (G)high priest is appointed (H)to offer both gifts and sacrifices; so it is necessary that this high priest also have something to offer. 4 Now if He were on earth, He would not be a priest at all, since there are those who (I)offer the gifts according to the Law; 5 who serve (J)a copy and (K)shadow of the heavenly things, just as Moses [d]was (L)warned by God when he was about to erect the [e]tabernacle; for, “(M)See,” He says, “that you make all things according to the pattern which was shown you on the mountain.” 6 But now He has obtained a more excellent ministry, by as much as He is also the (N)mediator of (O)a better covenant, which has been enacted on better promises.
A New Covenant
7 For (P)if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion sought for a second. 8 For finding fault with them, He says,
“(Q)Behold, days are coming, says the Lord,
[f]When I will effect (R)a new covenant
With the house of Israel and with the house of Judah;
9 (S)Not like the covenant which I made with their fathers
On the day when I took them by the hand
To lead them out of the land of Egypt;
For they did not continue in My covenant,
And I did not care for them, says the Lord.
10 “(T)For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel
After those days, says the Lord:
[g]I will put My laws into their minds,
And I will write them (U)on their hearts.
And I will be their God,
And they shall be My people.
11 “(V)And they shall not teach everyone his fellow citizen,
And everyone his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’
For (W)all will know Me,
From [h]the least to the greatest of them.
12 “(X)For I will be merciful to their iniquities,
(Y)And I will remember their sins no more.”
13 [i]When He said, “(Z)A new covenant,” He has made the first obsolete. (AA)But whatever is becoming obsolete and growing old is [j]ready to disappear.
Martha and Mary
38 Now as they were traveling along, He entered a village; and a woman named (A)Martha welcomed Him into her home. 39 She had a sister called (B)Mary, who was (C)seated at the Lord’s feet, listening to His word. 40 But (D)Martha was distracted with [a]all her preparations; and she came up to Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to do all the serving alone? Then tell her to help me.” 41 But the Lord answered and said to her, “(E)Martha, Martha, you are (F)worried and bothered about so many things; 42 (G)but only one thing is necessary, for (H)Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.”
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