Book of Common Prayer
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)
22 Let their table set before them be a snare,
and let it be a trap for their allies.(W)
23 Let their eyes grow too dim to see,
and let their loins continually shake.(X)
24 Pour out Your rage on them,
and let Your burning anger overtake them.(Y)
25 Make their fortification desolate;
may no one live in their tents.(Z)
26 For they persecute the one You struck
and talk about the pain of those You wounded.(AA)
27 Add guilt to their guilt;
do not let them share in Your righteousness.(AB)
28 Let them be erased from the book of life
and not be recorded with the righteous.(AC)
29 But as for me—poor and in pain—
let Your salvation protect me, God.(AD)
30 I will praise God’s name with song
and exalt Him with thanksgiving.(AE)
31 That will please Yahweh more than an ox,
more than a bull with horns and hooves.(AF)
32 The humble will see it and rejoice.
You who seek God, take heart!(AG)
33 For the Lord listens to the needy
and does not despise
His own who are prisoners.(AH)
BOOK III
(Psalms 73–89)
Psalm 73
God’s Ways Vindicated
A psalm of Asaph.(A)
1 God is indeed good to Israel,
to the pure in heart.(B)
2 But as for me, my feet almost slipped;
my steps nearly went astray.(C)
3 For I envied the arrogant;
I saw the prosperity of the wicked.(D)
4 They have an easy time until they die,[a]
and their bodies are well fed.[b](E)
5 They are not in trouble like others;
they are not afflicted like most people.(F)
6 Therefore, pride is their necklace,
and violence covers them like a garment.(G)
7 Their eyes bulge out from fatness;
the imaginations of their hearts run wild.(H)
8 They mock, and they speak maliciously;
they arrogantly threaten oppression.(I)
9 They set their mouths against heaven,
and their tongues strut across the earth.(J)
10 Therefore His people turn to them[c]
and drink in their overflowing words.[d](K)
11 The wicked say, “How can God know?
Does the Most High know everything?”(L)
12 Look at them—the wicked!
They are always at ease,
and they increase their wealth.(M)
13 Did I purify my heart
and wash my hands in innocence for nothing?(N)
14 For I am afflicted all day long
and punished every morning.(O)
15 If I had decided to say these things aloud,
I would have betrayed Your people.[e](P)
16 When I tried to understand all this,
it seemed hopeless[f](Q)
17 until I entered God’s sanctuary.
Then I understood their destiny.(R)
18 Indeed, You put them in slippery places;
You make them fall into ruin.(S)
19 How suddenly they become a desolation!
They come to an end, swept away by terrors.(T)
20 Like one waking from a dream,
Lord, when arising, You will despise their image.(U)
21 When I became embittered
and my innermost being[g] was wounded,(V)
22 I was stupid and didn’t understand;
I was an unthinking animal toward You.(W)
23 Yet I am always with You;
You hold my right hand.(X)
24 You guide me with Your counsel,
and afterward You will take me up in glory.[h](Y)
25 Who do I have in heaven but You?
And I desire nothing on earth but You.(Z)
26 My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength[i] of my heart,
my portion forever.(AA)
27 Those far from You will certainly perish;
You destroy all who are unfaithful to You.(AB)
28 But as for me, God’s presence is my good.
I have made the Lord God my refuge,
so I can tell about all You do.(AC)
Signs of an Apostle
11 I have become a fool; you forced it on me. I should have been endorsed by you, since I am not in any way inferior to the “super-apostles,” even though I am nothing.(A) 12 The signs(B) of an apostle(C) were performed with great endurance among you—not only signs but also wonders(D) and miracles.(E) 13 So in what way were you treated worse than the other churches, except that I personally did not burden you? Forgive me this wrong!
Paul’s Concern for the Corinthians
14 Now I am ready to come to you this third time.(F) I will not burden you, for I am not seeking what is yours, but you. For children are not obligated to save up for their parents, but parents for their children. 15 I will most gladly spend and be spent for you.[a](G) If I love you more, am I to be loved less? 16 Now granted, I have not burdened(H) you; yet sly as I am, I took you in by deceit!(I) 17 Did I take advantage of you by anyone I sent you? 18 I urged Titus(J) to come, and I sent the brother with him. Did Titus take advantage of you? Didn’t we walk in the same spirit(K) and in the same footsteps?
19 You have thought all along that we were defending ourselves to you.[b] No, in the sight of God we are speaking in Christ, and everything, dear friends, is for building you up.(L) 20 For I fear that perhaps when I come I will not find you to be what I want, and I may not be found by you to be what you want;[c] there may be quarreling,(M) jealousy,(N) outbursts of anger, selfish ambitions,(O) slander,(P) gossip, arrogance, and disorder.(Q) 21 I fear that when I come my God will again[d] humiliate me in your presence, and I will grieve for many who sinned before and have not repented(R) of the moral impurity, sexual immorality,(S) and promiscuity(T) they practiced.
Jesus’ Love for Jerusalem
41 As He approached and saw the city, He wept(A) over it, 42 saying, “If you knew(B) this day what would bring peace—but now it is hidden(C) from your eyes. 43 For the days will come on you(D) when your enemies will build an embankment against you, surround you, and hem you in on every side.(E) 44 They will crush you and your children within you to the ground,(F) and they will not leave one stone on another(G) in you, because you did not recognize the time of your visitation.”(H)
Cleansing the Temple Complex
45 He(I) went into the temple complex and began to throw out those who were selling,[a] 46 and He said, “It is written, My house will be a house of prayer,(J) but you have made it a den of thieves!”(K)[b]
47 Every day He was teaching(L) in the temple complex. The chief priests, the scribes, and the leaders of the people were looking for a way to destroy(M) Him, 48 but they could not find a way to do it, because all the people(N) were captivated by what they heard.[c]
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