Book of Common Prayer
70 Rescue me, O God! Lord, hurry to my aid! 2-3 They are after my life and delight in hurting me. Confuse them! Shame them! Stop them! Don’t let them keep on mocking me! 4 But fill the followers of God with joy. Let those who love your salvation exclaim, “What a wonderful God he is!” 5 But I am in deep trouble. Rush to my aid, for only you can help and save me. O Lord, don’t delay.
71 Lord, you are my refuge! Don’t let me down! 2 Save me from my enemies, for you are just! Rescue me! Bend down your ear and listen to my plea and save me. 3 Be to me a great protecting Rock, where I am always welcome, safe from all attacks. For you have issued the order to save me. 4 Rescue me, O God, from these unjust and cruel men. 5 O Lord, you alone are my hope; I’ve trusted you from childhood. 6 Yes, you have been with me from birth and have helped me constantly—no wonder I am always praising you! 7 My success—at which so many stand amazed—is because you are my mighty protector. 8 All day long I’ll praise and honor you, O God, for all that you have done for me.
9 And now, in my old age, don’t set me aside. Don’t forsake me now when my strength is failing. 10 My enemies are whispering, 11 “God has forsaken him! Now we can get him. There is no one to help him now!” 12 O God, don’t stay away! Come quickly! Help! 13 Destroy them! Cover them with failure and disgrace—these enemies of mine.
14 I will keep on expecting you to help me. I praise you more and more. 15 I cannot count the times when you have faithfully rescued me from danger. I will tell everyone how good you are, and of your constant, daily care. 16 I walk in the strength of the Lord God. I tell everyone that you alone are just and good. 17 O God, you have helped me from my earliest childhood—and I have constantly testified to others of the wonderful things you do. 18 And now that I am old and gray, don’t forsake me. Give me time to tell this new generation (and their children too) about all your mighty miracles. 19 Your power and goodness, Lord, reach to the highest heavens. You have done such wonderful things. Where is there another God like you? 20 You have let me sink down deep in desperate problems. But you will bring me back to life again, up from the depths of the earth. 21 You will give me greater honor than before and turn again and comfort me.
22 I will praise you with music, telling of your faithfulness to all your promises, O Holy One of Israel. 23 I will shout and sing your praises for redeeming me. 24 I will talk to others all day long about your justice and your goodness. For all who tried to hurt me have been disgraced and dishonored.
74 O God, why have you cast us away forever? Why is your anger hot against us—the sheep of your own pasture? 2 Remember that we are your people—the ones you chose in ancient times from slavery and made the choicest of your possessions. You chose Jerusalem[a] as your home on earth!
3 Walk through the awful ruins of the city and see what the enemy has done to your sanctuary. 4 There they shouted their battle cry and erected their idols to flaunt their victory. 5-6 Everything lies in shambles like a forest chopped to the ground. They came with their axes and sledgehammers and smashed and chopped the carved paneling; 7 they set the sanctuary on fire, and razed it to the ground—your sanctuary, Lord. 8 “Let’s wipe out every trace of God,” they said, and went through the entire country burning down the assembly places where we worshiped you.
9-10 There is nothing left to show that we are your people. The prophets are gone, and who can say when it all will end? How long, O God, will you allow our enemies to dishonor your name? Will you let them get away with this forever? 11 Why do you delay? Why hold back your power? Unleash your fist and give them a final blow.
12 God is my King from ages past; you have been actively helping me everywhere throughout the land. 13-14 You divided the Red Sea with your strength; you crushed the sea god’s heads! You gave him to the desert tribes to eat! 15 At your command the springs burst forth to give your people water; and then you dried a path for them across the ever-flowing Jordan. 16 Day and night alike belong to you; you made the starlight and the sun. 17 All nature is within your hands; you make the summer and the winter too. 18 Lord, see how these enemies scoff at you. O Jehovah, an arrogant nation has blasphemed your name.
19 O Lord, save me! Protect your turtledove from the hawks.[b] Save your beloved people from these beasts. 20 Remember your promise! For the land is full of darkness and cruel men. 21 O Lord, don’t let your downtrodden people be constantly insulted. Give cause for these poor and needy ones to praise your name! 22 Arise, O God, and state your case against our enemies. Remember the insults these rebels have hurled against you all day long. 23 Don’t overlook the cursing of these enemies of yours; it grows louder and louder.
12 This boasting is all so foolish, but let me go on. Let me tell about the visions I’ve had, and revelations from the Lord.
2-3 Fourteen years ago I[a] was taken up to heaven for a visit. Don’t ask me whether my body was there or just my spirit, for I don’t know; only God can answer that. But anyway, there I was in paradise, 4 and heard things so astounding that they are beyond a man’s power to describe or put in words (and anyway I am not allowed to tell them to others). 5 That experience is something worth bragging about, but I am not going to do it. I am going to boast only about how weak I am and how great God is to use such weakness for his glory. 6 I have plenty to boast about and would be no fool in doing it, but I don’t want anyone to think more highly of me than he should from what he can actually see in my life and my message.
7 I will say this: because these experiences I had were so tremendous, God was afraid I might be puffed up by them; so I was given a physical condition which has been a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan to hurt and bother me and prick my pride. 8 Three different times I begged God to make me well again.
9 Each time he said, “No. But I am with you; that is all you need. My power shows up best in weak people.” Now I am glad to boast about how weak I am; I am glad to be a living demonstration of Christ’s power, instead of showing off my own power and abilities. 10 Since I know it is all for Christ’s good, I am quite happy about “the thorn,” and about insults and hardships, persecutions and difficulties; for when I am weak, then I am strong—the less I have, the more I depend on him.
28 After telling this story, Jesus went on toward Jerusalem, walking along ahead of his disciples. 29 As they came to the towns of Bethphage and Bethany, on the Mount of Olives, he sent two disciples ahead, 30 with instructions to go to the next village, and as they entered they were to look for a donkey tied beside the road. It would be a colt, not yet broken for riding.
“Untie him,” Jesus said, “and bring him here. 31 And if anyone asks you what you are doing, just say, ‘The Lord needs him.’”
32 They found the colt as Jesus said, 33 and sure enough, as they were untying it, the owners demanded an explanation.
“What are you doing?” they asked. “Why are you untying our colt?”
34 And the disciples simply replied, “The Lord needs him!” 35 So they brought the colt to Jesus and threw some of their clothing across its back for Jesus to sit on.
36-37 Then the crowds spread out their robes along the road ahead of him, and as they reached the place where the road started down from the Mount of Olives, the whole procession began to shout and sing as they walked along, praising God for all the wonderful miracles Jesus had done.
38 “God has given us a King!” they exulted. “Long live the King! Let all heaven rejoice! Glory to God in the highest heavens!”
39 But some of the Pharisees among the crowd said, “Sir, rebuke your followers for saying things like that!”
40 He replied, “If they keep quiet, the stones along the road will burst into cheers!”
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.