Book of Common Prayer
For the director of music. A maskil of David to be played on stringed instruments.
55 God, listen to my prayer.
Pay attention to my cry for help.
2 Hear me and answer me.
My thoughts upset me. I’m very troubled.
3 I’m troubled by what my enemies say about me.
I’m upset because they say they will harm me.
They cause me all kinds of suffering.
When they are angry, they attack me with their words.
4 I feel great pain deep down inside me.
The terrors of death have fallen on me.
5 Fear and trembling have taken hold of me.
Panic has overpowered me.
6 I said, “I wish I had wings like a dove!
Then I would fly away and be at rest.
7 I would escape to a place far away.
I would stay out in the desert.
8 I would hurry to my place of safety.
It would be far away from the winds and storms I’m facing.”
9 Lord, confuse the sinners and keep them from understanding one another.
I see people destroying things and fighting in the city.
10 Day and night they prowl around on top of its walls.
The city is full of crime and trouble.
11 Forces that destroy are at work inside it.
Its streets are full of people who cheat others and take advantage of them.
12 If an enemy were making fun of me,
I could stand it.
If he were getting ready to oppose me,
I could hide.
13 But it’s you, someone like myself.
It’s my companion, my close friend.
14 We used to enjoy good friendship at the house of God.
We used to walk together among those who came to worship.
15 Let death take my enemies by surprise.
Let them be buried alive,
because their hearts and homes are full of evil.
16 But I call out to God.
And the Lord saves me.
17 Evening, morning and noon
I groan and cry out.
And he hears my voice.
18 Even though many enemies are fighting against me,
he brings me safely back from the battle.
19 God has been on his throne since ancient times and does not change.
He will hear my enemies and make them humble.
That’s because they have no respect for God.
20 My companion attacks his friends.
He breaks his promise.
21 His talk is as smooth as butter.
But he has war in his heart.
His words flow like olive oil.
But they are like swords ready for battle.
22 Turn your worries over to the Lord.
He will keep you going.
He will never let godly people be shaken.
23 God, you will bring sinners
down to the grave.
Murderers and liars
won’t live out even half of their lives.
But I trust in you.
A maskil of Asaph.
74 God, why have you turned your back on us for so long?
Why are you so angry with us? We are your very own sheep.
2 Remember the nation that you chose as your own so long ago.
Remember that you set us free from slavery to be your very own people.
Remember Mount Zion, where you lived.
3 Walk through this place that has been torn down beyond repair.
See how completely your enemies have destroyed the temple!
4 In the place where you used to meet with us,
your enemies have shouted, “We’ve won the battle!”
They have set up their flags to show they have beaten us.
5 They acted like people cutting down a forest with axes.
6 They smashed all the beautiful wooden walls
with their axes and hatchets.
7 They burned your temple to the ground.
They polluted the place where your Name is.
8 They had said in their hearts, “We will crush them completely!”
They burned every place where you were worshiped in the land.
9 We don’t get signs from God anymore.
There aren’t any prophets left.
None of us knows how long that will last.
10 God, how long will your enemies make fun of you?
Will they attack you with their words forever?
11 Why don’t you help us? Why do you hold back your power?
Use your strong power to destroy your enemies!
12 God, you have been my king for a long time.
You are the only God who can save anyone on earth.
13 You parted the waters of the Red Sea by your power.
You broke the heads of that sea monster in Egypt.
14 You crushed the heads of the sea monster Leviathan.
You fed it to the creatures of the desert.
15 You opened up streams and springs.
You dried up rivers that flow all year long.
16 You rule over the day and the night.
You created the sun and the moon.
17 You decided where the borders of the earth would be.
You made both summer and winter.
18 Lord, remember how your enemies have made fun of you.
Remember how foolish people have attacked you with their words.
19 Don’t hand over Israel, your dove, to those wild animals.
Don’t forget your suffering people forever.
20 Honor the covenant you made with us.
Horrible things are happening in every dark corner of the land.
21 Don’t let your suffering people be put to shame.
May those who are poor and needy praise you.
22 God, rise up. Stand up for your cause.
Remember how foolish people make fun of you all day long.
23 Pay close attention to the shouts of your enemies.
The trouble they cause never stops.
2 See how the Lord covered the city of Zion
with the cloud of his anger!
He threw Israel’s glory down
from heaven to earth.
When he was angry, he turned his back
on his own city.
2 Without pity the Lord swallowed up
all the homes of Jacob’s people.
When he was angry, he tore down
the forts of the people of Judah.
He brought down their kingdom and princes
to the ground in dishonor.
3 When he was very angry,
he took away Israel’s power.
He pulled back his powerful right hand
as the enemy approached.
His burning anger blazed out in Jacob’s land.
It burned up everything near it.
4 Like an enemy the Lord got his bow ready to use.
He had a sword in his right hand.
Like an enemy he destroyed
everything that used to be pleasing to him.
His anger blazed out like fire.
It burned up the homes in the city of Zion.
5 The Lord was like an enemy.
He swallowed up Israel.
He swallowed up all of its palaces.
He destroyed its forts.
He filled the people of Judah
with sorrow and sadness.
6 The Lord’s temple was like a garden.
But he completely destroyed it.
He destroyed the place
where he used to meet with his people.
He made Zion’s people forget
their appointed feasts and Sabbath days.
When he was very angry, he turned his back on
king and priest alike.
7 The Lord deserted his altar.
He left his temple.
He gave the walls of Jerusalem’s palaces
into the hands of her enemies.
They shouted loudly in the house of the Lord.
You would have thought it was the day
of an appointed feast.
8 The Lord decided to tear down
the walls around the city of Zion.
He measured out what he wanted to destroy.
Then he destroyed Jerusalem by his power.
He made even her towers and walls sing songs of sadness.
All of them fell down.
9 Her gates sank down into the ground.
He broke the metal bars that locked her gates, and he destroyed them.
Her king and princes were taken away to other nations.
There is no law anymore.
Jerusalem’s prophets no longer receive
visions from the Lord.
14 The visions of your prophets were lies.
They weren’t worth anything.
They didn’t show you the sins you had committed.
So that’s why you were captured.
The messages they gave you were lies.
They led you astray.
15 All those who pass by
clap their hands and make fun of you.
They laugh at you and shake their heads
at the city of Jerusalem.
They say, “Could that be the city
that was called perfect and beautiful?
Is that the city that brought joy to everyone on earth?”
16 All your enemies open their mouths
wide against you.
They laugh at you and grind their teeth.
They say, “We have swallowed up Jerusalem’s people.
This is the day we’ve waited for.
And we’ve lived to see it.”
17 The Lord has done what he planned to do.
He has made what he said come true.
He gave the command long ago.
He has destroyed you without pity.
He has let your enemies laugh at you.
He has made them stronger than you are.
23 I call God to be my witness. May he take my life if I’m lying. I wanted to spare you, so I didn’t return to Corinth. 24 Your faith is not under our control. You remain strong in your own faith. But we work together with you for your joy. 2 1 So I made up my mind that I would not make another painful visit to you. 2 If I make you sad, who is going to make me glad? Only you, the people I made sad. 3 What I wrote to you I wrote for a special reason. When I came, I didn’t want to be troubled by those who should make me glad. I was sure that all of you would share my joy. 4 I was very troubled when I wrote to you. My heart was sad. My eyes were full of tears. I didn’t want to make you sad. I wanted to let you know that I love you very deeply.
Forgive Those Who Make You Sad
5 Suppose someone has made us sad. In some ways, he hasn’t made me sad so much as he has made all of you sad. But I don’t want to put this too strongly. 6 He has been punished because most of you decided he should be. This punishment is enough. 7 Now you should forgive him and comfort him. Then he won’t be sad more than he can stand. 8 So I’m asking you to tell him again that you still love him. 9 I wrote to you for another special reason. I wanted to see if you could stand the test. I wanted to see if you could obey everything asked of you. 10 Anyone you forgive I also forgive. Was there anything to forgive? If so, I have forgiven it for your benefit, knowing that Christ is watching. 11 We don’t want Satan to outsmart us. We know how he does his evil work.
The Story of the Renters
12 Jesus began to speak to the people using stories. He said, “A man planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it. He dug a pit for a winepress. He also built a lookout tower. He rented the vineyard out to some farmers. Then he went to another place. 2 At harvest time he sent a servant to the renters. He told the servant to collect from them some of the fruit of the vineyard. 3 But they grabbed the servant and beat him up. Then they sent him away with nothing. 4 So the man sent another servant to the renters. They hit this one on the head and treated him badly. 5 The man sent still another servant. The renters killed him. The man sent many others. The renters beat up some of them. They killed the others.
6 “The man had one person left to send. It was his son, and he loved him. He sent him last of all. He said, ‘They will respect my son.’
7 “But the renters said to each other, ‘This is the one who will receive all the owner’s property someday. Come, let’s kill him. Then everything will be ours.’ 8 So they took him and killed him. They threw him out of the vineyard.
9 “What will the owner of the vineyard do then? He will come and kill those renters. He will give the vineyard to others. 10 Haven’t you read what this part of Scripture says,
“ ‘The stone the builders didn’t accept
has become the most important stone of all.
11 The Lord has done it.
It is wonderful in our eyes’?” (Psalm 118:22,23)
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