Book of Common Prayer
A Plea for Personal and National Help
A prayer of one afflicted, when he grows faint
and pours out his lament before Yahweh.[a]
102 O Yahweh, hear my prayer,
and let my cry for help come to you.
2 Do not hide your face from me
in the day of my trouble.
Incline your ear to me.
In the day I call, answer me quickly,
3 for my days vanish in smoke,
and my bones are charred like a hearth.
4 My heart is struck like grass and withers.
Indeed, I forget to eat[b] my bread.
5 Because of the sound of my groaning
my bones[c] cling to my skin.[d]
6 I am like an owl[e] of the wilderness;
I am like a little owl of the ruins.
7 I lie awake and I am
like a lone bird on a roof.
8 All the day my enemies reproach me;
those who mock me swear oaths against me.
9 Indeed, I eat ashes like bread
and mix my drink with tears[f]
10 because of your indignation and anger,
for you have picked me up and thrown me away.
11 My days are like a lengthened shadow,
and I wither like grass.
12 But you, O Yahweh, abide[g] forever,
and your remembrance[h] from generation to generation.[i]
13 You rise up and take pity on Zion,
because it is time to favor it,
for the appointed time has come.
14 Your servants take pleasure in her stones,
and show favor to its dust.
15 Then the nations will fear the name of Yahweh,
and all the kings of the earth your glory.
16 For Yahweh will rebuild Zion;
he will appear in his glory.
17 He will turn his attention to the prayer of the destitute
and will not despise their prayer.
18 Let this be written for the next generation,
so that a people yet to be created may praise Yah,[j]
19 that he looked down from his holy height.
Yahweh looked from heaven over the earth
20 to hear the groaning of the prisoner,
to liberate those destined to die,[k]
21 so that they[l] may make known in Zion the name of Yahweh,
and his praise in Jerusalem,
22 when the peoples assemble,
together with[m] kingdoms, to serve Yahweh.
23 He has broken my strength along the way;
he has cut short my days.
24 I say, “My God, do not carry me off
from my life in the middle of my days.”
Your years continue throughout all generations.
25 Long ago you laid the foundation of the earth,
and the heavens are the work of your hands.
26 They will perish, but you will endure.
And like a garment they will all wear out,
you will replace them like clothing, and they will be set aside.
27 But you are the same,
and your years do not end.
28 The children of your servants will continue,
and their descendants[n] will be established before you.
Thanksgiving to Yahweh for His of Deliverance
107 Give thanks to Yahweh, for he is good,
for his loyal love is forever.
2 Let the redeemed of Yahweh declare[a] it,
those whom he has redeemed from the hand of the enemy
3 and gathered from the lands,
from east and from west, from north and from south.[b]
4 They wandered in the wilderness, in a desert.
They could find no way[c] to a city to inhabit.
5 Hungry and thirsty,
their soul grew faint within them.
6 Then they cried out to Yahweh in their trouble.
He delivered them from their distresses
7 and led them by a straight way
to get to a city to inhabit.
8 Let them give thanks to Yahweh for his loyal love,
and his wonderful deeds for the children of humankind,
9 for he satisfies the longing soul,[d]
and the hungry soul he fills with good.
10 Those who sat in darkness and gloom,
prisoners of misery and iron—
11 because they rebelled against the words of God
and spurned the counsel of the Most High,
12 he therefore humbled their heart with trouble.
They stumbled and there was no helper.
13 Then they called to Yahweh for help in their trouble;
he saved them from their distresses.
14 He brought them out of darkness and gloom,
and tore off their bonds.
15 Let them give thanks to Yahweh for his loyal love
and his wonderful deeds for the children of humankind,
16 for he shatters the doors of bronze,
and cuts through the bars of iron.
17 Fools, because of their rebellious way
and their iniquities, were afflicted.
18 Their soul abhorred all food,
and they approached the gates of death.
19 Then they called to Yahweh for help in their trouble.
He saved them from their distresses.
20 He sent his word and healed them,
and he delivered them from their pits.[e]
21 Let them give thanks to Yahweh for his loyal love,
and his wonderful deeds for the children of humankind,
22 and let them offer sacrifices of thanksgiving,
and tell of his works with rejoicing.
23 Those who went down to the sea into ships,
doing business on the high seas,[f]
24 they saw the works of Yahweh,
and his wonderful deeds in the deep.
25 For he spoke and raised up a stormy wind,
and it whipped up its waves.
26 They rose to the heavens; they plunged to the depths.
Their soul melted in their calamity.
27 They reeled and staggered like a drunkard,
and they were at their wits’ end.[g]
28 Then they cried out to Yahweh in their trouble,
and he brought them out of their distresses.
29 He made the storm be still
and their waves became calm.
30 Then they were glad because they grew silent,
so he guided them to their desired harbor.
31 Let them give thanks to Yahweh for his loyal love
and his wonderful deeds for the children of humankind,
32 and let them exalt him in the congregation of the people,
and praise him in the assembly of the elders.
Israel Is Punished
10 Israel is a luxuriant vine;[a]
he yields fruit for himself.
The more his fruit increased,
the more he made numerous altars.
The more his land prospered,
the more he[b] improved[c] his stone pillars.
2 Their heart is false;
now they must bear their guilt.
He himself[d] will break down their altars;
he will destroy their stone pillars.
3 For now they will say,
“We have no king;
indeed, we did not fear Yahweh,
and what can a king do for us?”
4 They utter words of vain oaths
when making covenants,[e]
and judgment blossoms like a poisonous plant
on the furrows of the field.
5 The inhabitants[f] of Samaria tremble
for the calf[g] of Beth-aven.
Indeed, his people will mourn for it,
and his idolatrous priests will wail[h] over it—
over its glory because it has departed from it.
6 It will also be brought to Assyria,
as tribute to the great king.[i]
Ephraim will obtain disgrace
and Israel will be ashamed from his advice.[j]
7 Samaria will be destroyed;
her king is like a chip on the surface of the water.
8 The high places of Aven,
the sin of Israel, will be destroyed.
Thorn and thistle will grow
on their altars.
They will say to the mountains, “Cover us,”
and to the hills, “Fall on us.”
9 From the days of Gibeah you have sinned, O Israel;
there they have remained.[k]
Will not war in Gibeah overtake them
against the children of evil?
10 In my desire[l] I will punish them;
nations will be gathered against them
when they are punished for their double iniquities.[m]
11 Ephraim was a trained heifer,
that loved to thresh grain,
and I myself spared[n]
the fairness of her neck;
I will make Ephraim break the ground,
Judah will plow,
Jacob must till for himself.
12 Sow for yourselves righteousness;
reap loyal love.[o]
Break up for yourself fallow ground;
it is time to seek Yahweh
so he will come and rain
righteousness upon you.
13 You have plowed wickedness,
you have reaped injustice,
you have eaten the fruit of lies,[p]
because you have trusted in your strength,
in the multitude of your warriors.
14 The tumult of war will rise up against your people,
and all your fortresses will be destroyed,
as Shalman destroyed Beth-arbel;
on the day of war
mothers were dashed to pieces with their children.[q]
15 So it will be done to you, O Bethel,
because of the evil of your wickedness;
at dawn, the king of Israel
will be utterly destroyed.
Paul Permitted to Address the Crowd
37 And as he[a] was about to be brought into the barracks,[b] Paul said to the military tribune, “Is it permitted for me to say something to you?” And he said, “Do you know Greek? 38 Then you are not the Egyptian who before these days raised a revolt and led out into the wilderness the four thousand men of the Assassins?”[c] 39 But Paul said, “I am a Jewish man from Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen of no unimportant city. Now I ask you, allow me to speak to the people.” 40 So when[d] he permitted him,[e] Paul, standing there on the steps, motioned with his[f] hand to the people. And when there[g] was a great silence, he addressed them[h] in the Aramaic language, saying,
22 “Men—brothers and fathers—listen to my defense to you now!” 2 And when they[i] heard that he was addressing them in the Aramaic language, they became even more silent.[j] And he said, 3 “I am a Jewish man born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, educated according to the exactness of the law received from our fathers, being zealous for God, just as all of you are today. 4 I[k] persecuted this Way to the death, tying up and delivering to prison both men and women, 5 as indeed the high priest and the whole council of elders can testify about me, from whom also I received letters to the brothers in Damascus, and[l] was traveling there[m] to lead away those who were there also tied up to Jerusalem so that they could be punished.
Paul Tells of His Conversion on the Damascus Road
6 “And it happened that as[n] I was traveling and approaching Damascus around noon, suddenly a very bright light from heaven flashed around me, 7 and I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’ 8 And I answered, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ And he said to me, ‘I am Jesus the Nazarene whom you are persecuting.’ 9 (Now those who were with me saw the light but did not hear the voice of the one who was speaking to me.) 10 So I said, ‘What should I do, Lord?’ And the Lord said to me, ‘Get up and[o] proceed to Damascus, and there it will be told to you about all the things that have been appointed for you to do.’ 11 And as I could not see as a result of the brightness of that light, I arrived in Damascus led by the hand of those who were with me. 12 And a certain Ananias, a devout man according to the law, well spoken of by all the Jews who live there, 13 came to me and stood by me[p] and[q] said to me, ‘Brother Saul, regain your sight!’ And at that same time I looked up at him and saw him.[r] 14 And he said, ‘The God of our fathers has appointed you to know his will, and to see the Righteous One and to hear a voice from his mouth, 15 because you will be a witness for him[s] to all people of what you have seen and heard. 16 And now why are you delaying? Get up, be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on his name!’
The Selection of the Twelve Apostles
12 Now it happened that in these days he went away to the mountain to pray, and was spending the whole night in prayer to God. 13 And when day came, he summoned his disciples and chose from them twelve, whom he also named apostles: 14 Simon (whom he also named Peter) and his brother Andrew, and James, and John, and Philip, and Bartholomew, 15 and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon who was called the Zealot, 16 and Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.
The Sermon on the Plain: The Beatitudes
17 And he came down with them and[a] stood on a level place, and a large crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people from all of Judea and Jerusalem and the seacoast district of Tyre and Sidon, 18 who came to hear him and to be healed of their diseases, and those who were troubled by unclean spirits were cured. 19 And the whole crowd was seeking to touch him, because power was going out from him and healing them all.
20 And he lifted up his eyes to his disciples and[b] said,
“Blessed are the poor,
because yours is the kingdom of God.
21 Blessed are those who are hungry now,
because you will be satisfied.
Blessed are those who weep now,
Because you will laugh.
22 Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you and revile you and spurn your name as evil on account of the Son of Man. 23 Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven. For their fathers used to do the same things to the prophets.
The Sermon on the Plain: Woes
24 “But woe to you who are rich,
because you have received your comfort.
25 Woe to you who are satisfied now,
because you will be hungry.
Woe, you who laugh now,
because you will mourn and weep.
26 Woe whenever all people speak well of you,
for their fathers used to do the same things to the false prophets.
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