Book of Common Prayer
A Cry of Distress and a Curse on Adversaries.
For the music director; according to [a]Shoshannim. A Psalm of David.
69 Save me, God,
For the (A)waters have [b]threatened my life.
2 I have sunk in deep (B)mud, 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, those who oppose me with lies;
(H)What I did not steal, I then have to restore.
5 God, You know (I)my foolishness,
And (J)my guilt is not hidden from You.
6 May those who wait for You not (K)be ashamed because of me, Lord [e]God of armies;
May those who seek You not be dishonored because of me, God of Israel,
7 Because (L)for Your sake I have endured disgrace;
(M)Dishonor has covered my face.
8 I have become (N)estranged [f]from my brothers,
And a stranger to my mother’s sons.
9 For (O)zeal for Your house has consumed me,
And (P)the taunts of those who taunt You have fallen on me.
10 When I wept (Q)in my soul with fasting,
It became my (R)disgrace.
11 When I made (S)sackcloth my clothing,
I became (T)a proverb to them.
12 Those who (U)sit in the gate talk about me,
And (V)songs of mockery by those habitually drunk are about me.
13 But as for me, my prayer is to You, Lord, (W)at an acceptable time;
God, in the (X)greatness of Your mercy,
Answer me with [g]Your saving truth.
14 Rescue me from the (Y)mud and do not let me sink;
May I be (Z)rescued from those who hate me, and from the (AA)depths of water.
15 May the [h](AB)flood of water not overflow me
Nor the deep swallow me up,
Nor the (AC)pit close its mouth on me.
16 Answer me, Lord, for (AD)Your mercy is good;
(AE)According to the greatness of Your compassion, (AF)turn to me,
17 And (AG)do not hide Your face from Your servant,
For I am (AH)in distress; answer me quickly.
18 Come near to my soul and (AI)redeem it;
(AJ)Ransom me because of my enemies!
19 You know my (AK)disgrace, my shame, and my dishonor;
All my enemies are [i]known to You.
20 Disgrace has (AL)broken my heart, and I am so sick.
And (AM)I waited for sympathy, but there was none;
And for (AN)comforters, but I found none.
21 They also gave me [j](AO)a bitter herb in my food,
And for my thirst they (AP)gave me vinegar to drink.
22 May (AQ)their table before them become a snare;
And [k](AR)when they are at peace, may it become a trap.
23 May their (AS)eyes grow dim so that they cannot see,
And make their (AT)hips shake continually.
24 (AU)Pour out Your indignation on them,
And may Your burning anger overtake them.
25 May their [l](AV)camp be desolated;
May there be none living in their tents.
26 For they have (AW)persecuted him whom (AX)You Yourself struck,
And they tell of the pain of those whom (AY)You have [m]wounded.
27 Add (AZ)guilt to their guilt,
And (BA)may they not come into (BB)Your righteousness.
28 May they be (BC)wiped out of the (BD)book of life,
And may they not be [n](BE)recorded with the righteous.
29 But I am (BF)afflicted and in pain;
[o]May Your salvation, God, (BG)set me safely on high.
30 I will (BH)praise the name of God with song,
And (BI)exalt Him with (BJ)thanksgiving.
31 And it will (BK)please the Lord better than an ox
Or bull with horns and hoofs.
32 The (BL)humble [p]have seen it and are glad;
You who seek God, (BM)let your heart [q]revive.
33 For (BN)the Lord hears the needy,
And (BO)does not despise those of His who are prisoners.
34 (BP)Heaven and earth shall praise Him,
The seas and (BQ)everything that moves in them.
35 For God will (BR)save Zion and (BS)build the cities of Judah,
So that they may live there and (BT)possess it.
36 The [r](BU)descendants of His servants will inherit it,
And those who love His name (BV)will live in it.
BOOK 3
The End of the Wicked Contrasted with That of the Righteous.
A Psalm of Asaph.
73 God certainly 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 belly is fat.
5 They are (F)not [c]in trouble like other people,
Nor are they (G)tormented together with the rest of mankind.
6 Therefore arrogance is (H)their necklace;
The (I)garment of violence covers them.
7 Their eye [d]bulges from (J)fatness;
The imaginations of their heart overflow.
8 They (K)mock and [e]wickedly speak of oppression;
They (L)speak from on high.
9 They have (M)set their mouth [f]against the heavens,
And their tongue [g]parades through the earth.
10 Therefore [h]his people return here,
And (N)abundant waters are drunk by them.
11 They say, “(O)How does God know?
And is there knowledge [i]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 [j]kept my heart pure
And (S)washed my hands in innocence;
14 For I have been stricken (T)all day long,
And [k](U)punished every morning.
15 If I had said, “I will speak this way,”
Behold, I would have betrayed the (V)generation of Your children.
16 When I (W)thought of understanding this,
It was [l]troublesome in my sight
17 Until I entered the [m](X)sanctuary of God;
Then I perceived their (Y)end.
18 You indeed put them on (Z)slippery ground;
You dropped them into [n](AA)ruin.
19 How they are [o](AB)destroyed in a moment!
They are utterly swept away by (AC)sudden terrors!
20 Like a (AD)dream when one awakes,
Lord, when (AE)stirred, You will (AF)despise their image.
21 When my (AG)heart was embittered
And I was (AH)pierced [p]within,
22 Then I was (AI)stupid and ignorant;
I was like an (AJ)animal [q]before You.
23 Nevertheless (AK)I am continually with You;
You have taken hold of my right hand.
24 You will (AL)guide me with Your plan,
And afterward (AM)receive me [r]to glory.
25 (AN)Whom do I have in heaven but You?
And with You, I desire nothing on earth.
26 My (AO)flesh and my heart may fail,
But God is the [s]strength of my heart and my (AP)portion forever.
27 For, behold, (AQ)those who are far from You will (AR)perish;
You have destroyed all those who [t](AS)are unfaithful to You.
28 But as for me, (AT)the nearness of God is good for me;
I have made the Lord [u]God my (AU)refuge,
So that I may (AV)tell of all Your works.
Rewards for Obedience to God
56 This is what the Lord says:
“(A)Guard justice and do righteousness,
For My (B)salvation is about to come
And My righteousness to be revealed.
2 (C)Blessed is a man who does this,
And a son of man who (D)takes hold of it;
Who (E)keeps from profaning the Sabbath,
And keeps his hand from doing any evil.”
3 Let not the (F)foreigner who has joined himself to the Lord say,
“The Lord will certainly separate me from His people.”
Nor let the (G)eunuch say, “Behold, I am a dry tree.”
4 For this is what the Lord says:
“To the eunuchs who (H)keep My Sabbaths,
And choose what pleases Me,
And (I)hold firmly to My covenant,
5 To them I will give in My (J)house and within My (K)walls a memorial,
And a name better than that of sons and daughters;
I will give [a]them an everlasting (L)name which (M)will not be eliminated.
6 “Also the (N)foreigners who join themselves to the Lord,
To attend to His service and to love the name of the Lord,
To be His servants, every one who (O)keeps the Sabbath so as not to profane it,
And holds firmly to My covenant;
7 Even (P)those I will bring to My (Q)holy mountain,
And (R)make them joyful in My house of prayer.
Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be acceptable on (S)My altar;
For (T)My house will be called a house of prayer for all the peoples.”
8 The Lord [b]God, who (U)gathers the dispersed of Israel, declares,
“I will yet gather (V)others to [c]them, to those already gathered.”
16 But I say, (A)walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out (B)the desire of the flesh. 17 For (C)the desire of the flesh is against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, (D)in order to keep you from doing whatever you want. 18 But if you are (E)led by the Spirit, (F)you are not under the Law. 19 Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: (G)sexual immorality, impurity, indecent behavior, 20 idolatry, (H)witchcraft, hostilities, (I)strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, (J)selfish ambition, dissensions, (K)factions, 21 envy, (L)drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not (M)inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But (N)the fruit of the Spirit is (O)love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, (P)self-control; against such things (Q)there is no law. 24 Now those who [a]belong to (R)Christ Jesus (S)crucified the flesh with its passions and (T)desires.
2 (A)And six days later Jesus *took with Him (B)Peter, [a]James, and John, and *brought them up on a high mountain by themselves. And He was [b]transfigured before them; 3 and (C)His garments became radiant and exceedingly white, as no launderer on earth can whiten them. 4 And Elijah appeared to them along with Moses; and they were talking with Jesus. 5 Peter responded and *said to Jesus, “(D)Rabbi, it is good that we are here; (E)let’s make three [c]tabernacles, one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” 6 For he did not know how to reply; for they became terrified. 7 Then a cloud [d]formed, overshadowing them, and (F)a voice [e]came out of the cloud: “(G)This is My beloved Son; [f]listen to Him!” 8 And suddenly they looked around and saw no one with them anymore, except Jesus alone.
9 (H)As they were coming down from the mountain, He (I)gave them orders not to relate to anyone what they had seen, [g]until the Son of Man rose from the dead. 10 They [h]seized upon [i]that statement, discussing with one another [j]what rising from the dead meant. 11 And they asked Him, saying, “Why is it that the scribes say that (J)Elijah must come first?” 12 And He said to them, “Elijah does come first and he restores all things. And yet how is it written of (K)the Son of Man that (L)He will suffer many things and be treated with contempt? 13 But I say to you that Elijah has [k]indeed come, and they did to him whatever they wanted, just as it is written of him.”
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