Book of Common Prayer
Prayer of an Afflicted Man for Mercy on Himself and on Zion.
A Prayer of the afflicted when he is weak and [a]pours out his complaint before the Lord.
102 (A)Hear my prayer, Lord!
And let my cry for help (B)come to You.
2 (C)Do not hide Your face from me on the day of my distress;
(D)Incline Your ear to me;
On the day when I call (E)answer me quickly.
3 For my days (F)have ended in smoke,
And my (G)bones have been scorched like a hearth.
4 My heart (H)has been struck like [b]grass and has (I)withered,
Indeed, I (J)forget to eat my bread.
5 Because of the [c]loudness of my groaning
My (K)bones [d]cling to my flesh.
6 I resemble a (L)pelican of the wilderness;
I have become like an owl of the ruins.
7 I (M)lie awake,
I have become like a solitary bird on a housetop.
8 My enemies (N)have taunted me all day long;
Those who [e](O)deride me [f]have used my name as a (P)curse.
9 For I have eaten ashes like bread,
And (Q)mixed my drink with weeping
10 (R)Because of Your indignation and Your wrath;
For You have (S)lifted me up and thrown me away.
11 My days are like a [g](T)lengthened shadow,
And [h]I (U)wither away like [i]grass.
12 But You, Lord, [j](V)remain forever,
And Your [k](W)name remains to all generations.
13 You will (X)arise and have (Y)compassion on Zion;
For (Z)it is time to be gracious to her,
For the (AA)appointed time has come.
14 Surely Your servants [l]take pleasure in her stones,
And feel pity for her dust.
15 [m]So the [n](AB)nations will fear the name of the Lord,
And (AC)all the kings of the earth, Your glory.
16 For the Lord has (AD)built up Zion;
He has (AE)appeared in His glory.
17 He has (AF)turned His attention to the prayer of the [o]destitute
And has not despised their prayer.
18 [p]This will be (AG)written for the (AH)generation to come,
[q]That (AI)a people yet to be created [r]may praise [s]the Lord:
19 For He (AJ)looked down from His holy height;
(AK)From heaven the Lord looked [t]upon the earth,
20 To hear the (AL)groaning of the prisoner,
To (AM)set free [u]those who were doomed to death,
21 So that people may (AN)tell of the name of the Lord in Zion,
And His praise in Jerusalem,
22 When (AO)the peoples are gathered together,
And the kingdoms, to serve the Lord.
23 He has broken my strength in the way;
He has (AP)shortened my days.
24 I say, “My God, (AQ)do not take me away in the middle of my days,
Your (AR)years are [v]throughout all generations.
25 In time of old You (AS)founded the earth,
And the (AT)heavens are the work of Your hands.
26 [w]Even they will (AU)perish, but You endure;
All of them will wear out like a garment;
Like clothing You will change them and they will pass away.
27 But You are [x](AV)the same,
And Your years will not come to an end.
28 The (AW)children of Your servants will continue,
And their [y](AX)descendants will be established before You.”
BOOK 5
The Lord Rescues People from Many Troubles.
107 (A)Give thanks to the Lord, for (B)He is good,
For His mercy is everlasting.
2 (C)The redeemed of the Lord shall say so,
Those whom He has (D)redeemed from the hand of the enemy
3 And (E)gathered from the lands,
From the east and from the west,
From the north and from the [a]south.
4 They (F)wandered in the wilderness in a [b]desert region;
They did not find a way to [c]an inhabited (G)city.
5 They were hungry [d]and thirsty;
Their (H)souls felt weak within them.
6 Then they (I)cried out to the Lord in their trouble;
He saved them from their distresses.
7 He also had them walk on a [e](J)straight way,
To go to [f](K)an inhabited city.
8 (L)They shall give thanks to the Lord for His mercy,
And for His [g]wonders to the sons of mankind!
9 For He has (M)satisfied the [h]thirsty soul,
And He has filled the (N)hungry soul with what is good.
10 There were those who (O)lived in darkness and in [i]the shadow of death,
(P)Prisoners in misery and [j]chains,
11 Because they had (Q)rebelled against the words of God
And (R)rejected the (S)plan of the Most High.
12 Therefore He humbled their heart with labor;
They stumbled and there was (T)no one to help.
13 Then they (U)cried out to the Lord in their trouble;
He saved them from their distresses.
14 He (V)brought them out of darkness and [k]the shadow of death
And (W)broke their bands apart.
15 (X)They shall give thanks to the Lord for His mercy,
And for His [l]wonders to the sons of mankind!
16 For He has (Y)shattered gates of bronze
And cut off bars of iron.
17 Fools, because of [m]their rebellious way,
And (Z)because of their guilty deeds, were afflicted.
18 Their (AA)souls loathed all kinds of food,
And they (AB)came close to the (AC)gates of death.
19 Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble;
He saved them from their distresses.
20 He (AD)sent His word and (AE)healed them,
And (AF)saved them from their [n]destruction.
21 (AG)They shall give thanks to the Lord for His mercy,
And for His [o]wonders to the sons of mankind!
22 They shall also offer (AH)sacrifices of thanksgiving,
And (AI)tell of His works with joyful singing.
23 Those who (AJ)go down to the sea in ships,
Who do business on great waters;
24 They have seen the works of the Lord,
And His [p]wonders in the deep.
25 For He (AK)spoke and raised a (AL)stormy wind,
Which (AM)lifted the waves [q]of the sea.
26 They rose up to the heavens, they went down to the depths;
Their soul (AN)melted away in their misery.
27 They reeled and (AO)staggered like a drunken person,
And [r]were at their wits’ end.
28 Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble,
And He brought them out of their distresses.
29 He (AP)caused the storm to be still,
So that the waves [s]of the sea were hushed.
30 Then they were glad because they were quiet,
So He guided them to their desired harbor.
31 (AQ)They shall give thanks to the Lord for His mercy,
And for His [t](AR)wonders to the sons of mankind!
32 They shall also (AS)exalt Him (AT)in the congregation of the people,
And (AU)praise Him at the seat of the elders.
6 And (A)he said to me, “(B)These words are faithful and true”; and the Lord, the (C)God of the spirits of the prophets, (D)sent His angel to show His bond-servants the things which must soon take place.
7 “And behold, (E)I am coming quickly. (F)Blessed is the one who [a]keeps (G)the words of the prophecy of this book.”
8 (H)I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I heard and saw them, (I)I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed me these things. 9 And (J)he *said to me, “[b]Do not do that; I am a (K)fellow servant of yours and of your brothers the prophets, and of those who [c]keep the words of (L)this book. Worship God!”
The Final Message
10 And he *said to me, “(M)Do not seal up (N)the words of the prophecy of this book, (O)for the time is near. 11 (P)Let the one who does wrong still do wrong, and the one who is filthy still be filthy; and let the one who is righteous still practice righteousness, and the one who is holy still keep himself holy.”
12 “Behold, (Q)I am coming quickly, and My (R)reward is with Me, (S)to reward each one as his work [d]deserves. 13 I am the (T)Alpha and the Omega, (U)the first and the last, (V)the beginning and the end.”
10 “See that you do not look down on one of these little ones; for I say to you that (A)their angels in heaven continually see the face of My Father who is in heaven.[a]
Ninety-nine Plus One
12 “What do you think? (B)If any man has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains, and go and search for the one that is lost? 13 And if it turns out that he finds it, truly I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that have not gone astray. 14 So it is not the will [b]of your Father who is in heaven for one of these little ones to perish.
Discipline and Prayer
15 “Now (C)if your brother sins[c], go and [d]show him his fault [e]in private; if he listens to you, you have gained your brother. 16 But if he does not listen to you, take one or two more with you, so that (D)on the [f]testimony of two or three witnesses every [g]matter may be confirmed. 17 And if he refuses to listen to them, (E)tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, (F)he is to be to you as [h]a Gentile and [i]a tax collector. 18 Truly I say to you, (G)whatever you [j]bind on earth [k]shall have been bound in heaven; and whatever you [l]loose on earth [m]shall have been loosed in heaven.
19 “Again I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask, (H)it shall be done for them [n]by My Father who is in heaven. 20 For where two or three have gathered together in My name, (I)I am there in their midst.”
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