Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 102
A prayer of an oppressed person, when weak and pouring out grief to the Lord.
102 Lord, hear my prayer!
Let my cry reach you!
2 Don’t hide your face from me
in my time of trouble!
Listen to me!
Answer me quickly as I cry out!
3 Because my days disappear like smoke,
my bones are burned up as if in an oven;
4 my heart is smashed like dried-up grass.
I even forget to eat my food
5 because of my intense groans.
My bones are protruding from my skin.
6 I’m like some wild owl—
like some screech owl in the desert.
7 I lie awake all night.
I’m all alone like a bird on a roof.
8 All day long my enemies make fun of me;
those who mock me curse using my name!
9 I’ve been eating ashes instead of bread.
I’ve been mixing tears into my drinks
10 because of your anger and wrath,
because you picked me up and threw me away.
11 My days are like a shadow soon gone.
I’m dried up like dead grass.
12 But you, Lord, rule forever!
Your fame lasts from one generation to the next!
13 You will stand up—
you’ll have compassion on Zion
because it is time to have mercy on her—
the time set for that has now come!
14 Your servants cherish Zion’s stones;
they show mercy even to her dirt.
15 The nations will honor the Lord’s name;
all the earth’s rulers will honor your glory
16 because the Lord will rebuild Zion;
he will be seen there in his glory.
17 God will turn to the prayer of the impoverished;
he won’t despise their prayers.
18 Let this be written down for the next generation
so that people not yet created will praise the Lord:
19 The Lord looked down from his holy summit,
surveyed the earth from heaven,
20 to hear the prisoners’ groans,
to set free those condemned to death,
21 that the Lord’s name may be declared in Zion
and his praise declared in Jerusalem,
22 when all people are gathered together—
all kingdoms—to serve the Lord.
23 God broke my strength in midstride,
cutting my days short.
24 I said, “My God, don’t take me away in the prime of life—
your years go on from one generation to the next!
25 You laid the earth’s foundations long ago;
the skies are your handiwork.
26 These things will pass away, but you will last.
All of these things will wear out like clothing;
you change them like clothes, and they pass on.
27 But you are the one!
Your years never end!
28 Let your servants’ children live safe;
let your servants’ descendants live secure in your presence.”
BOOK V
(Psalms 107–150)
Psalm 107
107 “Give thanks to the Lord because he is good,
because his faithful love lasts forever!”
2 That’s what those who are redeemed by the Lord say,
the ones God redeemed from the power of their enemies,
3 the ones God gathered from various countries,
from east and west, north and south.
4 Some of the redeemed had wandered into the desert, into the wasteland.
They couldn’t find their way to a city or town.
5 They were hungry and thirsty;
their lives were slipping away.
6 So they cried out to the Lord in their distress,
and God delivered them from their desperate circumstances.
7 God led them straight to human habitation.
8 Let them thank the Lord for his faithful love
and his wondrous works for all people,
9 because God satisfied the one who was parched with thirst,
and he filled up the hungry with good things!
10 Some of the redeemed had been sitting in darkness and deep gloom;
they were prisoners suffering in chains
11 because they had disobeyed God’s instructions
and rejected the Most High’s plans.
12 So God humbled them with hard work.
They stumbled, and there was no one to help them.
13 So they cried out to the Lord in their distress,
and God saved them from their desperate circumstances.
14 God brought them out from the darkness and deep gloom;
he shattered their chains.
15 Let them thank the Lord for his faithful love
and his wondrous works for all people,
16 because God has shattered bronze doors
and split iron bars in two!
17 Some of the redeemed were fools because of their sinful ways.
They suffered because of their wickedness.
18 They had absolutely no appetite for food;
they had arrived at death’s gates.
19 So they cried out to the Lord in their distress,
and God saved them from their desperate circumstances.
20 God gave the order and healed them;
he rescued them from their pit.
21 Let them thank the Lord for his faithful love
and his wondrous works for all people.
22 Let them offer thanksgiving sacrifices
and declare what God has done in songs of joy!
23 Some of the redeemed had gone out on the ocean in ships,
making their living on the high seas.
24 They saw what the Lord had made;
they saw his wondrous works in the depths of the sea.
25 God spoke and stirred up a storm
that brought the waves up high.
26 The waves went as high as the sky;
they crashed down to the depths.
The sailors’ courage melted at this terrible situation.
27 They staggered and stumbled around like they were drunk.
None of their skill was of any help.
28 So they cried out to the Lord in their distress,
and God brought them out safe from their desperate circumstances.
29 God quieted the storm to a whisper;
the sea’s waves were hushed.
30 So they rejoiced because the waves had calmed down;
then God led them to the harbor they were hoping for.
31 Let them thank the Lord for his faithful love
and his wondrous works for all people.
32 Let them exalt God in the congregation of the people
and praise God in the assembly of the elders.
Cleansing and dedication of the temple
36 At that time Judas and his brothers said, “Look, our enemies have been crushed. Let’s go up to cleanse and rededicate the sanctuary.” 37 All the army gathered together and went up to Mount Zion. 38 They found the sanctuary deserted, the altar treated with disrespect, and the gates burned. In the courts, bushes had sprung up like in an open field or on one of the mountains. They saw that the priests’ chambers were in ruins as well. 39 So they tore their clothes and mourned with great sorrow. They sprinkled their heads with ashes 40 and fell facedown on the ground. When the trumpets sounded a signal, they cried out to heaven.
41 Then Judas chose some soldiers to fight against those stationed in the elevated fortress until he completed cleansing the sanctuary. 42 He selected priests who were blameless and devoted to the Law. 43 They cleansed the sanctuary and took the polluted stones to a ritually unclean place. 44 They discussed what to do about the altar for entirely burned offerings, since it had been polluted. 45 They decided it was best to tear it down so that it wouldn’t be a lasting shameful reminder to them that the Gentiles had defiled it. So they tore down the altar. 46 They stored the stones in a convenient place on the temple mount until a prophet should arise who could say what to do with them. 47 They then took unfinished stones, in keeping with the Law, and built a new altar like the former one.
48 They also restored the sanctuary and the temple interior, and dedicated the courtyards. 49 They fashioned new holy equipment and brought the lampstand, the incense altar, and the table into the temple. 50 Then they offered incense on the altar and lit the lamps on the lampstand, which illuminated the temple. 51 They placed bread on the table and hung curtains. Finally, they completed all the work that they had started.
52 They rose early in the morning of the twenty-fifth day of the ninth month, the month of Kislev.[a] It was the year 148. 53 They offered sacrifice, following the Law, on the new altar for entirely burned offerings that they had made. 54 In the very season, on the exact day that the Gentiles had polluted it, it was dedicated with songs, harps, lutes, and cymbals. 55 All the people bowed to the ground and worshipped and blessed heaven, which had given them success.
56 So they celebrated the rededication of the altar for eight days and joyfully made entirely burned offerings. They offered a sacrifice of deliverance and praise. 57 They decorated the front of the temple with gold crowns and small shields. They restored the gates and the priests’ chambers, furnishing them with doors. 58 The people were extremely glad, and the disgrace the Gentiles brought was lifted.
59 Then Judas, with his brothers and all the assembly of Israel, laid down a law that every year at that season the dedication of the altar should be observed with joy and happiness for eight days, beginning with the twenty-fifth day of Kislev.[b]
Jesus is coming soon
6 Then he said to me, “These words are trustworthy and true. The Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, sent his angel to show his servants what must soon take place.
7 “Look! I’m coming soon. Favored is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy contained in this scroll.”
8 I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. When I heard and saw them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who had shown them to me. 9 But he said to me, “Don’t do that! I’m a servant just like you and your brothers and sisters, the prophets, and those who keep the words of this scroll. Worship God!” 10 Then he said to me, “Don’t seal up the words of the prophecy contained in this scroll, because the time is near. 11 Let those who do wrong keep doing what is wrong. Let the filthy still be filthy. Let those who are righteous keep doing what is right. Let those who are holy still be holy.
12 “Look! I’m coming soon. My reward is with me, to repay all people as their actions deserve. 13 I am the alpha and the omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.
Parable of the lost sheep
10 “Be careful that you don’t look down on one of these little ones. I say to you that their angels in heaven are always looking into the face of my Father who is in heaven.[a] 12 What do you think? If someone had one hundred sheep and one of them wandered off, wouldn’t he leave the ninety-nine on the hillsides and go in search for the one that wandered off? 13 If he finds it, I assure you that he is happier about having that one sheep than about the ninety-nine who didn’t wander off. 14 In the same way, my Father who is in heaven doesn’t want to lose one of these little ones.
Sinning brother or sister
15 “If your brother or sister sins against you, go and correct them when you are alone together. If they listen to you, then you’ve won over your brother or sister. 16 But if they won’t listen, take with you one or two others so that every word may be established by the mouth of two or three witnesses.[b] 17 But if they still won’t pay attention, report it to the church. If they won’t pay attention even to the church, treat them as you would a Gentile and tax collector. 18 I assure you that whatever you fasten on earth will be fastened in heaven. And whatever you loosen on earth will be loosened in heaven. 19 Again I assure you that if two of you agree on earth about anything you ask, then my Father who is in heaven will do it for you. 20 For where two or three are gathered in my name, I’m there with them.”
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible