Book of Common Prayer
To the Director: To the tune of[a] “The Lilies”. Davidic.
When God Seems Distant
69 Deliver me, God,
because the waters are up to my neck.[b]
2 I am sinking in deep mire,
and there is no solid ground.[c]
I have come into deep water,
and the flood overwhelms me.
3 I am exhausted from calling for help.
My throat is parched.
My eyes are strained from looking for God.
4 Those who hate me without cause
are more than the hairs of my head.
My persecutors are mighty,
and they want to destroy me.
Must I be forced to return what I did not steal?
5 God, you know my sins,
and my guilt is not hidden from you.
6 Do not let those who look up to you be ashamed
because of me,
Lord God of the Heavenly Armies.
Let not those who seek you be humiliated
because of me,
God of Israel.
7 I am being mocked because of you.
Dishonor overwhelms me.
8 I am a stranger to my brothers,
a foreigner to my mother’s sons.
9 Zeal for your house consumes me,
and the mockeries of those who insult you fall on me.
10 I weep and fast,
and I am mocked for it.
11 When I dressed in sackcloth,
I became an object of gossip among them.
12 The prominent people mock me,
composing drinking songs.
Seeking God for Deliverance
13 As for me, Lord, may my prayer to you come at a favorable time.
God, in the abundance of your gracious love,
answer me with your sure deliverance.
14 Rescue me from the mud
and do not let me sink.
Rescue me from those who hate me,
and from the deep waters.
15 Let neither the floodwaters overwhelm me
nor let the deep swallow me up,
nor the mouth of the well close over me.
16 Answer me, Lord, for your gracious love is good;
Turn to me in keeping with your great compassion,
17 and[d] do not ignore your servant,
because I am in distress.
Hurry to answer me!
18 Draw near and redeem me;
ransom me because of my enemies.
19 Truly you know my reproach, shame, and disgrace.
All my enemies are known to[e] you.
20 Insults broke my heart.
I despaired and looked for sympathy;
but there was none,
for comforters, but I found none.
21 They put poison in my food,
in my thirst they forced me to drink vinegar.
22 May their dining[f] tables entrap them,
and become a snare for their allies.
23 May their eyes be blinded
and may their bodies tremble continuously.
24 May you pour out your fury on them.
May your burning anger overtake them.
25 May their camp become desolate
and their tents remain unoccupied.
26 For they persecute those whom you have struck,
and they brag about the pain of those you have wounded.
27 May you punish them for their crimes;
may they receive no verdict of innocence[g] from you.
28 May they be erased from the Book of Life,
and their names not be written with the righteous.
29 As for me, I am afflicted and hurting;
may your deliverance, God, establish me on high.
30 Let me praise the name of God with a song
that I may magnify him with thanksgiving.
31 That will please the Lord
more than oxen and bulls with horns and hooves.
32 The afflicted will watch and rejoice.
May you who seek God take courage.
33 For the Lord listens to the needy
and doesn’t despise those in bondage.
34 Let the heavens and earth praise him,
along with the sea and its swarming creatures.[h]
35 For God will deliver Zion
and will rebuild the cities of Judah
so they may live there and possess them.
36 The descendants of his servants will inherit it,
and those who cherish his name will live there.
BOOK III (Psalms 73-89)
A song of Asaph.
A Plea for Deliverance
73 God is indeed good to Israel,
to those pure in heart.
2 Now as for me, my feet nearly stumbled,
as I almost lost my step.
3 For I was envious of the proud
when I observed the prosperity of the wicked.
4 For there is no struggle at their deaths,
and their bodies are healthy.
5 They do not experience problems common to ordinary people;
they aren’t afflicted as others[a] are.
6 Therefore pride is their necklace
and violence covers them like a garment.
7 Their eyes bulge from obesity
and the imaginations of their mind cross the border into sin.[b]
8 In their mockery they speak evil;
from their arrogant position they speak oppression.
9 They choose to speak[c] against heaven;
while they talk about things on earth.
10 Therefore God’s[d] people return there
and drink it all in like water until they’re satiated.
11 Then they say,
“How can God know?
Does the Most High have knowledge?”
12 Just look at these wicked people!
They’re perpetually carefree
as they increase their wealth.
13 I kept my heart pure for nothing
and kept my hands clean from guilt.
14 For I suffer all day long
and I am punished every morning.
15 If I say, “I will talk like this,”
I would betray a generation of your children.
16 When I tried to understand this,
it was too difficult for me
17 until I entered the sanctuaries of God.
Then I understood their destiny.
18 You have certainly set them in slippery places;
you will make them fall to their ruin.
19 How desolate they quickly become,
completely destroyed by calamities.
20 Like a dream when one awakens, Lord,
you will despise their image when you arise.
21 When I chose to be bitter
I was emotionally pained.
22 Then, I was too stupid
and didn’t realize I was acting like[e] a wild animal with you.
23 But now I am always with you,
for you keep holding my right hand.
24 You will guide me with your wise advice,
and later you will receive me with honor.
25 Whom do I have in heaven but you?
I desire nothing on this [f]earth.
26 My body and mind may fail,
but God is my strength[g] and my portion forever.
27 Those far from you will perish;
you will destroy those who are unfaithful to you.
28 As for me, how good for me it is that God is near!
I have made the Lord God my refuge
so I can tell about all your deeds.
The Vision of Babylon the Great
17 Then one of the seven angels who held the seven bowls came and told me, “Come, I will show you how the notorious prostitute who sits on many waters will be judged. 2 The kings of the earth committed sexual immorality with her, and those living on earth became drunk with the wine of her immorality.”
3 Then the angel[a] carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness. I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was controlled by blasphemy.[b] It had seven heads and ten horns. 4 The woman wore purple and scarlet clothes and was adorned with gold, gems, and pearls. In her hand she was holding a gold cup filled with detestable things and the impurities of her immorality. 5 On her forehead was written a secret name:
Babylon the Great,
the Mother of Prostitutes
and Detestable Things of the Earth
6 I saw that the woman was drunk with the blood of the saints and the blood of the witnesses to Jesus. I was very surprised when I saw her.
7 “Why are you surprised?” The angel asked me. “I will tell you the secret of the woman and the beast with the seven heads and the ten horns that carries her. 8 The beast that you saw existed once, but is no longer, and is going to crawl out of the bottomless pit[c] and then proceed to its destruction. Those living on earth, whose names were not written in the Book of Life from the foundation of the world, will be surprised when they see the beast because it was, is no longer, and will come again. 9 This calls for a mind that has wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman is sitting. They are also seven kings. 10 Five of them have fallen, one is living, and the other has not yet come. When he comes, he must remain in power[d] for a little while. 11 The beast that was and is no longer is the eighth king,[e] but it belongs with the seven kings[f] and goes to its destruction. 12 The ten horns that you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom. They will receive authority to rule[g] as kings with the beast for one hour. 13 They have one purpose: to give their power and authority to the beast. 14 They will wage war against the lamb, but the lamb will conquer them because he is Lord of lords and King of kings. Those who are called, chosen, and faithful are with him.”
15 The angel[h] also told me, “The bodies of water you saw, on which the prostitute is sitting, are people, multitudes, nations, and languages. 16 The ten horns and the beast you saw will hate the prostitute. They will leave her abandoned and naked. They will eat her flesh and burn her up with fire, 17 for God has placed within them a desire to carry out his purpose by uniting to give their kingdom to the beast until God’s words are fulfilled. 18 The woman you saw is the great city that rules over the kings of the earth.”
Jesus Rebukes Jerusalem(A)
31 At that hour some Pharisees came and told Jesus,[a] “Leave and get away from here, because Herod wants to kill you!”
32 He told them, “Go and tell that fox, ‘Listen! I am driving out demons and healing today and tomorrow, and on the third day I will finish my work. 33 But I must be on my way today, tomorrow, and the next day, because it’s not possible for a prophet to be killed outside of Jerusalem.’ 34 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones to death those who have been sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you people were unwilling! 35 Look! Your house is left vacant to you. I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘How blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!’”[b]
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