Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 102[a]
The prayer of an oppressed man, as he grows faint and pours out his lament before the Lord.
102 O Lord, hear my prayer.
Pay attention to my cry for help.[b]
2 Do not ignore me in my time of trouble.[c]
Listen to me.[d]
When I call out to you, quickly answer me.
3 For my days go up in smoke,[e]
and my bones are charred as in a fireplace.[f]
4 My heart is parched[g] and withered like grass,
for I am unable[h] to eat food.[i]
5 Because of the anxiety that makes me groan,
my bones protrude from my skin.[j]
6 I am like an owl[k] in the wilderness;
I am like a screech owl[l] among the ruins.[m]
7 I stay awake;[n]
I am like a solitary bird on a roof.
8 All day long my enemies taunt me;
those who mock me use my name in their curses.[o]
9 For I eat ashes as if they were bread,[p]
and mix my drink with my tears,[q]
10 because of your anger and raging fury.
Indeed,[r] you pick me up and throw me away.
11 My days are coming to an end,[s]
and I am withered like grass.
12 But you, O Lord, rule forever,[t]
and your reputation endures.[u]
13 You will rise up and have compassion on Zion.[v]
For it is time to have mercy on her,
for the appointed time has come.
14 Indeed,[w] your servants take delight in her stones,
and feel compassion for[x] the dust of her ruins.[y]
15 The nations will respect the reputation of the Lord,[z]
and all the kings of the earth will respect[aa] his splendor,
16 when the Lord rebuilds Zion,
and reveals his splendor,
17 when he responds to the prayer of the destitute,[ab]
and does not reject[ac] their request.[ad]
18 The account of his intervention[ae] will be recorded for future generations;
people yet to be born[af] will praise the Lord.
19 For he will look down from his sanctuary above;[ag]
from heaven the Lord will look toward earth,[ah]
20 in order to hear the painful cries of the prisoners,
and to set free those condemned to die,[ai]
21 so they may proclaim the name of the Lord in Zion,
and praise him[aj] in Jerusalem,
22 when the nations gather together,
and the kingdoms pay tribute to the Lord.[ak]
23 He has taken away my strength in the middle of life;[al]
he has cut short my days.
24 I say, “O my God, please do not take me away in the middle of my life.[am]
You endure through all generations.[an]
25 In earlier times you established the earth;
the skies are your handiwork.
26 They will perish,
but you will endure.[ao]
They will wear out like a garment;
like clothes you will remove them and they will disappear.[ap]
27 But you remain;[aq]
your years do not come to an end.
28 The children of your servants will settle down here,
and their descendants[ar] will live securely in your presence.”[as]
Book 5 (Psalms 107-150)
Psalm 107[a]
107 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
and his loyal love endures.[b]
2 Let those delivered by the Lord speak out,[c]
those whom he delivered[d] from the power[e] of the enemy,
3 and gathered from foreign lands,[f]
from east and west,
from north and south.
4 They wandered through the wilderness, in a wasteland;[g]
they found no road to a city in which to live.
5 They were hungry and thirsty;
they fainted from exhaustion.[h]
6 They cried out to the Lord in their distress;
he delivered them from their troubles.
7 He led them on a level road,[i]
that they might find a city in which to live.
8 Let them give thanks to the Lord for his loyal love,
and for the amazing things he has done for people.[j]
9 For he has satisfied those who thirst,[k]
and those who hunger he has filled with food.[l]
10 They sat in utter darkness,[m]
bound in painful iron chains,[n]
11 because they had rebelled against God’s commands,[o]
and rejected the instructions of the Most High.[p]
12 So he used suffering to humble them;[q]
they stumbled and no one helped them up.
13 They cried out to the Lord in their distress;
he delivered them from their troubles.
14 He brought them out of the utter darkness,[r]
and tore off their shackles.
15 Let them give thanks to the Lord for his loyal love,
and for the amazing things he has done for people.[s]
16 For he shattered the bronze gates,
and hacked through the iron bars.[t]
17 They acted like fools in their rebellious ways,[u]
and suffered because of their sins.
18 They lost their appetite for all food,[v]
and they drew near the gates of death.
19 They cried out to the Lord in their distress;
he delivered them from their troubles.
20 He sent them an assuring word[w] and healed them;
he rescued them from the pits where they were trapped.[x]
21 Let them give thanks to the Lord for his loyal love,
and for the amazing things he has done for people.[y]
22 Let them present thank offerings,
and loudly proclaim what he has done.[z]
23 [aa] Some traveled on[ab] the sea in ships,
and carried cargo over the vast waters.[ac]
24 They witnessed the acts of the Lord,
his amazing feats on the deep water.
25 He gave the order for a windstorm,[ad]
and it stirred up the waves of the sea.[ae]
26 They[af] reached up to the sky,
then dropped into the depths.
The sailors’ strength[ag] left them[ah] because the danger was so great.[ai]
27 They swayed[aj] and staggered like drunks,
and all their skill proved ineffective.[ak]
28 They cried out to the Lord in their distress;
he delivered them from their troubles.
29 He calmed the storm,[al]
and the waves[am] grew silent.
30 The sailors[an] rejoiced because the waves[ao] grew quiet,
and he led them to the harbor[ap] they desired.
31 Let them give thanks to the Lord for his loyal love,
and for the amazing things he has done for people.[aq]
32 Let them exalt him in the assembly of the people.
Let them praise him in the place where the leaders preside.[ar]
19 1 When King Hezekiah heard this, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth, and went to the Lord’s temple. 2 He sent Eliakim the palace supervisor, Shebna the scribe, and the leading priests,[a] clothed in sackcloth, to the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz. 3 They told him, “This is what Hezekiah says: ‘This is a day of distress, insults,[b] and humiliation,[c] as when a baby is ready to leave the birth canal, but the mother lacks the strength to push it through.[d] 4 Perhaps the Lord your God will hear all these things the chief adviser has spoken on behalf of his master, the king of Assyria, who sent him to taunt the living God.[e] When the Lord your God hears, perhaps he will punish him for the things he has said.[f] So pray for this remnant that remains.’”[g]
5 When King Hezekiah’s servants came to Isaiah, 6 Isaiah said to them, “Tell your master this: ‘This is what the Lord has said: “Don’t be afraid because of the things you have heard, because the Assyrian king’s officers have insulted me. 7 Look, I will take control of his mind;[h] he will receive[i] a report and return to his own land. I will cut him down[j] with a sword in his own land.”’”
8 When the chief adviser heard the king of Assyria had departed from Lachish, he left and went to Libnah, where the king was campaigning.[k] 9 The king[l] heard that King Tirhakah of Ethiopia was marching out to fight him.[m] He again sent messengers to Hezekiah, ordering them: 10 “Tell King Hezekiah of Judah this: ‘Don’t let your God in whom you trust mislead you when he says, “Jerusalem will not be handed over[n] to the king of Assyria.” 11 Certainly you have heard how the kings of Assyria have annihilated all lands.[o] Do you really think you will be rescued?[p] 12 Were the nations whom my ancestors destroyed—the nations of Gozan, Haran, Rezeph, and the people of Eden in Telassar—rescued by their gods?[q] 13 Where are the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, and the kings of Lair,[r] Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah?’”
14 Hezekiah took the letter[s] from the messengers and read it.[t] Then Hezekiah went up to the Lord’s temple and spread it out before the Lord. 15 Hezekiah prayed before the Lord: “Lord God of Israel, who is enthroned above the cherubim![u] You alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You made the sky[v] and the earth. 16 Pay attention, Lord, and hear! Open your eyes, Lord, and observe! Listen to the message Sennacherib sent and how he taunts the living God![w] 17 It is true, Lord, that the kings of Assyria have destroyed the nations and their lands. 18 They have burned the gods of the nations,[x] for they are not really gods, but only the product of human hands manufactured from wood and stone. That is why the Assyrians could destroy them.[y] 19 Now, O Lord our God, rescue us from his power, so that all the kingdoms of the earth will know that you, Lord, are the only God.”
20 Isaiah son of Amoz sent this message to Hezekiah: “This is what the Lord God of Israel has said: ‘I have heard your prayer[z] concerning King Sennacherib of Assyria.
16 For if I preach the gospel, I have no reason for boasting, because I am compelled to do this. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel! 17 For if I do this voluntarily, I have a reward. But if I do it unwillingly, I am entrusted with a responsibility. 18 What then is my reward? That when I preach the gospel I may offer the gospel free of charge, and so not make full use of my rights in the gospel.
19 For since I am free from all I can make myself a slave to all, in order to gain even more people.[a] 20 To the Jews I became like a Jew to gain the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law)[b] to gain those under the law. 21 To those free from the law I became like one free from the law (though I am not free from God’s law but under the law of Christ) to gain those free from the law. 22 To the weak I became weak in order to gain the weak. I have become all things to all people, so that by all means I may save some.
23 I do all these things because of the gospel, so that I can be a participant in it.
24 Do you not know that all the runners in a stadium compete, but only one receives the prize? So run to win. 25 Each competitor must exercise self-control in everything. They do it to receive a perishable crown, but we an imperishable one.
26 So I do not run uncertainly or box like one who hits only air. 27 Instead I subdue my body and make it my slave, so that after preaching to others I myself will not be disqualified.
Cleansing a Leper
8 After he came down from the mountain, large crowds followed him. 2 And a leper[a] approached and bowed low before him,[b] saying, “Lord, if[c] you are willing, you can make me clean.” 3 He stretched out his hand and touched[d] him saying, “I am willing. Be clean!” Immediately his leprosy was cleansed. 4 Then Jesus said to him, “See that you do not speak to anyone,[e] but go, show yourself to the priest, and bring the offering[f] that Moses commanded,[g] as a testimony to them.”[h]
Healing the Centurion’s Servant
5 When he entered Capernaum,[i] a centurion[j] came to him asking for help:[k] 6 “Lord,[l] my servant[m] is lying at home paralyzed, in terrible anguish.” 7 Jesus[n] said to him, “I will come and heal him.” 8 But the centurion replied,[o] “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof! Instead, just say the word and my servant will be healed. 9 For I too am a man under authority, with soldiers under me.[p] I say to this one, ‘Go!’ and he goes,[q] and to another ‘Come!’ and he comes, and to my slave[r] ‘Do this!’ and he does it.”[s] 10 When[t] Jesus heard this he was amazed and said to those who followed him, “I tell you the truth,[u] I have not found such faith in anyone in Israel! 11 I tell you, many will come from the east and west to share the banquet[v] with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob[w] in the kingdom of heaven, 12 but the sons of the kingdom will be thrown out into the outer darkness,[x] where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”[y] 13 Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go; just as you believed, it will be done for you.” And the servant[z] was healed at that hour.
Healings at Peter’s House
14 Now[aa] when Jesus entered Peter’s house,[ab] he saw his[ac] mother-in-law lying down,[ad] sick with a fever. 15 He touched her hand, and the fever left her. Then[ae] she got up and began to serve them.[af] 16 When it was evening, many demon-possessed people were brought to him. He drove out the spirits with a word,[ag] and healed all who were sick.[ah] 17 In this way what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah was fulfilled:[ai]
“He took our weaknesses and carried our diseases.”[aj]
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