Book of Common Prayer
A Cry of Distress and Imprecation on Adversaries.
For the choir director; according to [a]Shoshannim. A Psalm of David.
69 Save me, O God,
For the (A)waters have [b]threatened my life.
2 I have sunk in deep (B)mire, and there is no foothold;
I have come into deep waters, and a [c](C)flood overflows me.
3 I am (D)weary with my crying; my throat is parched;
My (E)eyes fail while I wait for my God.
4 Those (F)who hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of my head;
Those who would [d]destroy me (G)are powerful, being wrongfully my enemies;
(H)What I did not steal, I then have to restore.
5 O God, it is You who knows (I)my folly,
And (J)my wrongs are not hidden from You.
6 May those who wait for You not (K)be ashamed through me, O Lord [e]God of hosts;
May those who seek You not be dishonored through me, O God of Israel,
7 Because (L)for Your sake I have borne reproach;
(M)Dishonor has covered my face.
8 I have become (N)estranged [f]from my brothers
And an alien to my mother’s sons.
9 For (O)zeal for Your house has consumed me,
And (P)the reproaches of those who reproach You have fallen on me.
10 When I wept (Q)in my soul with fasting,
It became my reproach.
11 When I made (R)sackcloth my clothing,
I became (S)a byword to them.
12 Those who (T)sit in the gate talk about me,
And I am the [g](U)song of the drunkards.
13 But as for me, my prayer is to You, O Lord, (V)at an acceptable time;
O God, in the (W)greatness of Your lovingkindness,
Answer me with [h]Your saving truth.
14 Deliver me from the (X)mire and do not let me sink;
May I be (Y)delivered from [i]my foes and from the [j](Z)deep waters.
15 May the [k](AA)flood of water not overflow me
Nor the deep swallow me up,
Nor the (AB)pit shut its mouth on me.
16 Answer me, O Lord, for (AC)Your lovingkindness is good;
(AD)According to the greatness of Your compassion, (AE)turn to me,
17 And (AF)do not hide Your face from Your servant,
For I am (AG)in distress; answer me quickly.
18 Oh draw near to my soul and (AH)redeem it;
(AI)Ransom me because of my enemies!
19 You know my (AJ)reproach and my shame and my dishonor;
All my adversaries are [l]before You.
20 Reproach has (AK)broken my heart and I am so sick.
And (AL)I looked for sympathy, but there was none,
And for (AM)comforters, but I found none.
21 They also gave me [m](AN)gall [n]for my food
And for my thirst they (AO)gave me vinegar to drink.
22 May (AP)their table before them become a snare;
And [o](AQ)when they are in peace, may it become a trap.
23 May their (AR)eyes grow dim so that they cannot see,
And make their (AS)loins shake continually.
24 (AT)Pour out Your indignation on them,
And may Your burning anger overtake them.
25 May their [p](AU)camp be desolate;
May none dwell in their tents.
26 For they have (AV)persecuted him whom (AW)You Yourself have smitten,
And they tell of the pain of those whom (AX)You have [q]wounded.
27 Add (AY)iniquity to their iniquity,
And (AZ)may they not come into (BA)Your righteousness.
28 May they be (BB)blotted out of the (BC)book of life
And may they not be [r](BD)recorded with the righteous.
29 But I am (BE)afflicted and in pain;
[s]May Your salvation, O God, (BF)set me securely on high.
30 I will (BG)praise the name of God with song
And (BH)magnify Him with (BI)thanksgiving.
31 And it will (BJ)please the Lord better than an ox
Or a young bull with horns and hoofs.
32 The (BK)humble [t]have seen it and are glad;
You who seek God, (BL)let your heart [u]revive.
33 For (BM)the Lord hears the needy
And (BN)does not despise His who are prisoners.
34 Let (BO)heaven and earth praise Him,
The seas and (BP)everything that moves in them.
35 For God will (BQ)save Zion and (BR)build the cities of Judah,
That they may dwell there and (BS)possess it.
36 The [v](BT)descendants of His servants will inherit it,
And those who love His name (BU)will dwell in it.
BOOK 3
The End of the Wicked Contrasted with That of the Righteous.
A Psalm of Asaph.
73 Surely God is (A)good to Israel,
To those who are (B)pure in heart!
2 But as for me, (C)my feet came close to stumbling,
My steps [a]had almost slipped.
3 For I was (D)envious of the [b]arrogant
As I saw the (E)prosperity of the wicked.
4 For there are no pains in their death,
And their [c]body is fat.
5 They are (F)not [d]in trouble as other [e]men,
Nor are they (G)plagued [f]like mankind.
6 Therefore pride is (H)their necklace;
The (I)garment of violence covers them.
7 Their eye [g]bulges from (J)fatness;
The imaginations of their heart [h]run riot.
8 They (K)mock and [i]wickedly speak of oppression;
They (L)speak from on high.
9 They have (M)set their mouth [j]against the heavens,
And their tongue [k]parades through the earth.
10 Therefore [l]his people return to this place,
And waters of (N)abundance are [m]drunk by them.
11 They say, “(O)How does God know?
And is there knowledge [n]with the Most High?”
12 Behold, (P)these are the wicked;
And always (Q)at ease, they have increased in wealth.
13 Surely (R)in vain I have [o]kept my heart pure
And (S)washed my hands in innocence;
14 For I have been stricken (T)all day long
And [p](U)chastened every morning.
15 If I had said, “I will speak thus,”
Behold, I would have betrayed the (V)generation of Your children.
16 When I (W)pondered to understand this,
It was [q]troublesome in my sight
17 Until I came into the [r](X)sanctuary of God;
Then I perceived their (Y)end.
18 Surely You set them in (Z)slippery places;
You cast them down to [s](AA)destruction.
19 How they are [t](AB)destroyed in a moment!
They are utterly swept away by (AC)sudden terrors!
20 Like a (AD)dream when one awakes,
O Lord, when (AE)aroused, You will (AF)despise their [u]form.
21 When my (AG)heart was embittered
And I was (AH)pierced [v]within,
22 Then I was (AI)senseless and ignorant;
I was like [w]a (AJ)beast [x]before You.
23 Nevertheless (AK)I am continually with You;
You have taken hold of my right hand.
24 With Your counsel You will (AL)guide me,
And afterward (AM)receive me [y]to glory.
25 (AN)Whom have I in heaven but You?
And [z]besides You, I desire nothing on earth.
26 My (AO)flesh and my heart may fail,
But God is the [aa]strength of my heart and my (AP)portion forever.
27 For, behold, (AQ)those who are far from You will (AR)perish;
You have [ab]destroyed all those who [ac](AS)are unfaithful to You.
28 But as for me, (AT)the nearness of God is my good;
I have made the Lord [ad]God my (AU)refuge,
That I may (AV)tell of all Your works.
The Doom of Babylon
17 (A)Then one of the (B)seven angels who had the (C)seven bowls came and spoke with me, saying, “Come here, I will show you (D)the judgment of the (E)great harlot who (F)sits on many waters, 2 with whom (G)the kings of the earth committed acts of immorality, and (H)those who dwell on the earth were (I)made drunk with the wine of her immorality.” 3 And (J)he carried me away [a](K)in the Spirit (L)into a wilderness; and I saw a woman sitting on a (M)scarlet beast, full of (N)blasphemous names, having (O)seven heads and ten horns. 4 The woman (P)was clothed in purple and scarlet, and [b]adorned with gold and precious [c]stones and pearls, having in her hand (Q)a gold cup full of abominations and of the unclean things of her immorality, 5 and on her forehead a name was written, a (R)mystery, “(S)BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF (T)THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.” 6 And I saw the woman drunk with (U)the blood of the [d]saints, and with the blood of the witnesses of Jesus. When I saw her, I wondered [e]greatly. 7 And the angel said to me, “Why [f]do you wonder? I will tell you the (V)mystery of the woman and of the beast that carries her, which has the (W)seven heads and the ten horns.
8 “(X)The beast that you saw (Y)was, and is not, and is about to (Z)come up out of the (AA)abyss and [g](AB)go to destruction. And (AC)those who dwell on the earth, (AD)whose name has not been written in the book of life (AE)from the foundation of the world, will (AF)wonder when they see the beast, that he was and is not and will come. 9 (AG)Here is the mind which has wisdom. The (AH)seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits, 10 and they are seven (AI)kings; five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; and when he comes, he must remain a little while. 11 The beast which (AJ)was and is not, is himself also an eighth and is one of the seven, and he (AK)goes to destruction. 12 The (AL)ten horns which you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but they receive authority as kings with the beast (AM)for one hour. 13 These have (AN)one [h]purpose, and they give their power and authority to the beast.
Victory for the Lamb
14 These will wage (AO)war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will (AP)overcome them, because He is (AQ)Lord of lords and (AR)King of kings, and (AS)those who are with Him are the (AT)called and chosen and faithful.”
15 And he *said to me, “The (AU)waters which you saw where the harlot sits, are (AV)peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues. 16 And the (AW)ten horns which you saw, and the beast, these will hate the harlot and will make her (AX)desolate and (AY)naked, and will (AZ)eat her flesh and will (BA)burn her up with fire. 17 For (BB)God has put it in their hearts to execute His [i]purpose [j]by (BC)having a common purpose, and by giving their kingdom to the beast, until the (BD)words of God will be fulfilled. 18 The woman whom you saw is (BE)the great city, which [k]reigns over the kings of the earth.”
31 Just at that time some Pharisees approached, saying to Him, “Go away, leave here, for (A)Herod wants to kill You.” 32 And He said to them, “Go and tell that fox, ‘Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I [a](B)reach My goal.’ 33 Nevertheless (C)I must journey on today and tomorrow and the next day; for it cannot be that a (D)prophet would perish outside of Jerusalem. 34 (E)O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, (F)just as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not have it! 35 Behold, your house is left to you desolate; and I say to you, you will not see Me until the time comes when you say, ‘(G)Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’”
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