Book of Common Prayer
A prayer for a time of suffering, when anyone feels weak and wants to tell their complaints to the Lord.
102 Lord, hear my prayer.
Listen to my cry for help.
2 Don’t turn away from me when I have troubles.
Listen to me, and answer me quickly when I cry for help.
3 My life is passing away like smoke.
My life is like a fire slowly burning out.
4 My strength is gone—
I am like dry, dying grass.
I even forget to eat.
5 Because of my sadness, I am losing so much weight
that my skin hangs from my bones.
6 I am lonely, like an owl living in the desert,
like an owl living among old ruined buildings.
7 I cannot sleep.
I am like a lonely bird on the roof.
8 My enemies insult me all the time.
They make fun of me and use me as an example in their curses.
9 My great sadness is my only food.
My tears fall into my drink.
10 You were angry with me,
so you picked me up and threw me away.
11 My life is almost finished, like the long shadows at the end of the day.
I am like dry and dying grass.
12 But you, Lord, will rule as king forever!
Your name will continue forever and ever!
13 You will rise up and comfort Zion.
The time has come for you to be kind to Zion.
14 Your servants love her stones.
They love even the dust of that city!
15 The nations will worship the Lord’s name.
All the kings on earth will honor you.
16 The Lord will rebuild Zion,
and people will again see her glory.
17 He will listen to the prayers of those in poverty.
He will not ignore them.
18 Write these things for future generations,
so that they will praise the Lord.
19 The Lord will look down from his Holy Place above.
He will look down at the earth from heaven.
20 And he will hear the prisoner’s prayers.
He will free those who were condemned to die.
21 Then people in Zion will tell about the Lord.
They will praise his name in Jerusalem
22 when nations gather together
and kingdoms come to serve the Lord.
23 My strength failed me.
My life is cut short.
24 So I said, “Don’t let me die while I am still young.
God, you will live forever and ever!
25 Long ago, you made the world.
You made the sky with your own hands!
26 The earth and sky will end,
but you will live forever!
They will wear out like clothes,
and like clothes, you will change them.
27 But you never change.
You will live forever!
28 We are your servants today.
Our children will live here,
and their descendants will come here to worship you.”
A maskil of David written when he was in the cave. A prayer.
142 I cry out to the Lord.
I beg the Lord to help me.
2 I tell him my problems;
I tell him about my troubles.
3 I am ready to give up.
But you, Lord, know the path I am on,
and you know that my enemies have set a trap for me.
4 I look around,
and I don’t see anyone I know.
I have no place to run.
There is no one to save me.
5 Lord, I cry out to you for help:
“You are my place of safety.
You are all I need in life.”
6 Listen to my prayer.
I am so weak.
Save me from those who are chasing me.
They are stronger than I am.
7 Help me escape this trap,[a]
so that I can praise your name.
Then good people will celebrate with me,
because you took care of me.
A praise song of David.
143 Lord, hear my prayer.
Listen to my call for help and answer my prayer.
Show me how good and loyal you are.
2 Don’t judge me, your servant.
No one alive could be judged innocent by your standards.
3 My enemies are chasing me.
They have crushed me into the dirt.
They are pushing me into the dark grave,
like people who died long ago.
4 I am ready to give up.
I am losing my courage.
5 But I remember what happened long ago.
I am thinking about all you have done.
I am talking about what you made with your hands!
6 I lift my hands in prayer to you.
I am waiting for your help, like a dry land waiting for rain. Selah
7 Hurry and answer me, Lord!
I have lost my courage.
Don’t turn away from me.
Don’t let me die and become like the people lying in the grave.
8 Show me your faithful love this morning.
I trust in you.
Show me what I should do.
I put my life in your hands!
9 Lord, I come to you for protection.
Save me from my enemies.
10 Show me what you want me to do.
You are my God.
Let your good Spirit lead me over level ground.
11 Lord, let me live
so that people will praise your name.
Show me how good you are
and save me from my trouble.
12 Show me your love
and defeat my enemies.
Destroy those who are trying to kill me
because I am your servant.
10 The elders of Zion sit on the ground.
They sit on the ground and are quiet.
They pour dust on their heads.
They put on sackcloth.
The young women of Jerusalem
bow their heads to the ground in sorrow.
11 My eyes are worn out with tears,
and my insides are upset.
My heart feels like it has been poured on the ground;
I feel this way because of the destruction of my people.
Children and babies are fainting
in the public squares of the city.
12 They ask their mothers,
“Where is the bread and wine?”
as they pour out their life in their mother’s laps.
13 My dear Jerusalem, what can I say about you?
What can I compare you to?
What can I say you are like?
How can I comfort you, city of Zion?
You have been hurt much too badly
for anyone to heal.
14 Your prophets saw visions for you,
but their visions were only worthless lies.
They didn’t speak against your sins.
They didn’t try to make things better.
They spoke messages for you,
but they were false messages that fooled you.
15 Those who pass by on the road
clap their hands and laugh at you.
They make fun of Jerusalem,
shaking their heads at the sight of her.
They ask, “Is this the city that people called
‘The Most Beautiful City’
and ‘The Joy of all the Earth’?”
16 All your enemies laugh at you.
They whistle and grind their teeth at you.
They say, “We have swallowed them up!
This is the day we were hoping for.
We have finally seen this happen!”
17 The Lord did what he planned to do.
He did what he said he would do.
He did what he commanded a long time ago.
He destroyed, and he had no pity.
He made your enemies happy because of what happened to you.
He made your enemies strong.
18 Cry out with all your heart[a] to the Lord!
Jerusalem, let tears roll down your walls.
Let your tears flow like a stream day and night.
Don’t stop crying
or let your eyes dry.
14 So, my dear friends, stay away from worshiping idols. 15 You are intelligent people. Judge for yourselves the truth of what I say now. 16 The cup of blessing[a] that we give thanks for is a sharing in the blood sacrifice of Christ, isn’t it? And the bread that we break is a sharing in the body of Christ, isn’t it? 17 There is one loaf of bread, so we who are many are one body, because we all share in that one loaf.
27 So if you eat the bread or drink the cup of the Lord in a way that does not fit its meaning, you are sinning against the body and the blood of the Lord. 28 Before you eat the bread and drink the cup, you should examine your own attitude. 29 If you eat and drink without paying attention to those who are the Lord’s body, your eating and drinking will cause you to be judged guilty. 30 That is why many in your group are sick and weak, and many have died. 31 But if we judged ourselves in the right way, then God would not judge us. 32 But when the Lord judges us, he punishes us to show us the right way. He does this so that we will not be condemned with the world.
The Passover Meal(A)
12 It was now the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread—the day the lambs were killed for the Passover. Jesus’ followers came to him and said, “We will go and prepare everything for you to eat the Passover meal. Where do you want us to have the meal?”
13 Jesus sent two of his followers into the city. He said to them, “Go into the city. You will see a man carrying a jar of water. He will come to you. Follow him. 14 He will go into a house. Tell the owner of the house, ‘The Teacher asks that you show us the room where he and his followers can eat the Passover meal.’ 15 The owner will show you a large room upstairs that is ready for us. Prepare the meal for us there.”
16 So the followers left and went into the city. Everything happened the way Jesus said. So the followers prepared the Passover meal.
17 In the evening Jesus went to that house with the twelve apostles. 18 While they were all at the table eating, he said, “Believe me when I say that one of you will hand me over to my enemies—one of you eating with me now.”
19 The followers were very sad to hear this. Each one said to Jesus, “Surely I am not the one!”
20 Jesus answered, “It is one of you twelve—the one who is dipping his bread in the same bowl with me. 21 The Son of Man will suffer what the Scriptures say will happen to him. But it will be very bad for the one who hands over the Son of Man to be killed. It would be better for him if he had never been born.”
The Lord’s Supper(B)
22 While they were eating, Jesus took some bread and thanked God for it. He broke off some pieces, gave them to his followers and said, “Take and eat this bread. It is my body.”
23 Then he took a cup of wine, thanked God for it, and gave it to them. They all drank from the cup. 24 Then he said, “This wine is my blood, which will be poured out for many to begin the new agreement from God to his people. 25 I want you to know, I will not drink this wine again until that day when I drink it in God’s kingdom and the wine is new.”
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International