Book of Common Prayer
The Lord’s Eternal Love
A Prayer of the afflicted, (A)when he is overwhelmed and pours out his complaint before the Lord.
102 Hear my prayer, O Lord,
And let my cry come to You.
2 (B)Do not hide Your face from me in the day of my trouble;
Incline Your ear to me;
In the day that I call, answer me speedily.
3 For my days [a]are (C)consumed like smoke,
And my bones are burned like a hearth.
4 My heart is stricken and withered like grass,
So that I forget to eat my bread.
5 Because of the sound of my groaning
My bones cling to my [b]skin.
6 I am like a pelican of the wilderness;
I am like an owl of the desert.
7 I lie awake,
And am like a sparrow alone on the housetop.
8 My enemies reproach me all day long;
Those who deride me swear an oath against me.
9 For I have eaten ashes like bread,
And mingled my drink with weeping,
10 Because of Your indignation and Your wrath;
For You have lifted me up and cast me away.
11 My days are like a shadow that lengthens,
And I wither away like grass.
12 But You, O Lord, shall endure forever,
And the remembrance of Your name to all generations.
13 You will arise and have mercy on Zion;
For the time to favor her,
Yes, the set time, has come.
14 For Your servants take pleasure in her stones,
And show favor to her dust.
15 So the [c]nations shall (D)fear the name of the Lord,
And all the kings of the earth Your glory.
16 For the Lord shall build up Zion;
(E)He shall appear in His glory.
17 (F)He shall regard the prayer of the destitute,
And shall not despise their prayer.
18 This will be (G)written for the generation to come,
That (H)a people yet to be created may praise the Lord.
19 For He (I)looked down from the height of His sanctuary;
From heaven the Lord viewed the earth,
20 (J)To hear the groaning of the prisoner,
To release those appointed to death,
21 To (K)declare the name of the Lord in Zion,
And His praise in Jerusalem,
22 (L)When the peoples are gathered together,
And the kingdoms, to serve the Lord.
23 He weakened my strength in the way;
He (M)shortened my days.
24 (N)I said, “O my God,
Do not take me away in the midst of my days;
(O)Your years are throughout all generations.
25 (P)Of old You laid the foundation of the earth,
And the heavens are the work of Your hands.
26 (Q)They will perish, but You will [d]endure;
Yes, they will all grow old like a garment;
Like a cloak You will change them,
And they will be changed.
27 But (R)You are the same,
And Your years will have no end.
28 (S)The children of Your servants will continue,
And their descendants will be established before You.”
A Plea for Relief from Persecutors
A (A)Contemplation[a] of David. A Prayer (B)when he was in the cave.
142 I cry out to the Lord with my voice;
With my voice to the Lord I make my supplication.
2 I pour out my complaint before Him;
I declare before Him my trouble.
3 When my spirit [b]was (C)overwhelmed within me,
Then You knew my path.
In the way in which I walk
They have secretly (D)set a snare for me.
4 Look on my right hand and see,
For there is no one who acknowledges me;
Refuge has failed me;
No one cares for my soul.
5 I cried out to You, O Lord:
I said, “You are my refuge,
My portion in the land of the living.
6 [c]Attend to my cry,
For I am brought very low;
Deliver me from my persecutors,
For they are stronger than I.
7 Bring my soul out of prison,
That I may (E)praise Your name;
The righteous shall surround me,
For You shall deal bountifully with me.”
An Earnest Appeal for Guidance and Deliverance
A Psalm of David.
143 Hear my prayer, O Lord,
Give ear to my supplications!
In Your faithfulness answer me,
And in Your righteousness.
2 Do not enter into judgment with Your servant,
(F)For in Your sight no one living is righteous.
3 For the enemy has persecuted my soul;
He has crushed my life to the ground;
He has made me dwell in [d]darkness,
Like those who have long been dead.
4 (G)Therefore my spirit is overwhelmed within me;
My heart within me is distressed.
5 (H)I remember the days of old;
I meditate on all Your works;
I [e]muse on the work of Your hands.
6 I spread out my hands to You;
(I)My soul longs for You like a thirsty land. Selah
7 Answer me speedily, O Lord;
My spirit fails!
Do not hide Your face from me,
(J)Lest I [f]be like those who [g]go down into the pit.
8 Cause me to hear Your lovingkindness (K)in the morning,
For in You do I trust;
(L)Cause me to know the way in which I should walk,
For (M)I lift up my soul to You.
10 The elders of the daughter of Zion
(A)Sit on the ground and keep silence;
[a]They (B)throw dust on their heads
And (C)gird themselves with sackcloth.
The virgins of Jerusalem
Bow their heads to the ground.
11 (D)My eyes fail with tears,
My [b]heart is troubled;
(E)My [c]bile is poured on the ground
Because of the destruction of the daughter of my people,
Because (F)the children and the infants
Faint in the streets of the city.
12 They say to their mothers,
“Where is grain and wine?”
As they swoon like the wounded
In the streets of the city,
As their life is poured out
In their mothers’ bosom.
13 How shall I (G)console[d] you?
To what shall I liken you,
O daughter of Jerusalem?
What shall I compare with you, that I may comfort you,
O virgin daughter of Zion?
For your ruin is spread wide as the sea;
Who can heal you?
14 Your (H)prophets have seen for you
False and deceptive visions;
They have not (I)uncovered your iniquity,
To bring back your captives,
But have envisioned for you false (J)prophecies and delusions.
15 All who [e]pass by (K)clap their hands at you;
They hiss (L)and shake their heads
At the daughter of Jerusalem:
“Is this the city that is called
(M)‘The perfection of beauty,
The joy of the whole earth’?”
16 (N)All your enemies have opened their mouth against you;
They hiss and gnash their teeth.
They say, (O)“We have swallowed her up!
Surely this is the (P)day we have waited for;
We have found it, (Q)we have seen it!”
Flee from Idolatry
14 Therefore, my beloved, (A)flee from idolatry. 15 I speak as to (B)wise men; judge for yourselves what I say. 16 (C)The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the [a]communion of the blood of Christ? (D)The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? 17 For (E)we, though many, are one bread and one body; for we all partake of that one bread.
Examine Yourself
27 Therefore whoever eats (A)this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and [a]blood of the Lord. 28 But (B)let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 29 For he who eats and drinks [b]in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the [c]Lord’s body. 30 For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many [d]sleep. 31 For (C)if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged. 32 But when we are judged, (D)we are chastened by the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world.
Jesus Celebrates the Passover with His Disciples(A)
12 (B)Now on the first day of Unleavened Bread, when they [a]killed the Passover lamb, His disciples said to Him, “Where do You want us to go and prepare, that You may eat the Passover?”
13 And He sent out two of His disciples and said to them, “Go into the city, and a man will meet you carrying a pitcher of water; follow him. 14 Wherever he goes in, say to the master of the house, ‘The Teacher says, “Where is the guest room in which I may eat the Passover with My disciples?” ’ 15 Then he will show you a large upper room, furnished and prepared; there make ready for us.”
16 So His disciples went out, and came into the city, and found it just as He had said to them; and they prepared the Passover.
17 (C)In the evening He came with the twelve. 18 Now as they sat and ate, Jesus said, “Assuredly, I say to you, (D)one of you who eats with Me will betray Me.”
19 And they began to be sorrowful, and to say to Him one by one, “Is it I?” [b]And another said, “Is it I?”
20 He answered and said to them, “It is one of the twelve, who dips with Me in the dish. 21 (E)The Son of Man indeed goes just as it is written of Him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had never been born.”
Jesus Institutes the Lord’s Supper(F)
22 (G)And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them and said, “Take, [c]eat; this is My (H)body.”
23 Then He took the cup, and when He had given thanks He gave it to them, and they all drank from it. 24 And He said to them, “This is My blood of the [d]new covenant, which is shed for many. 25 Assuredly, I say to you, I will no longer drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.