Book of Common Prayer
A Prayer of the poor in spirit, when he is overwhelmed, and pours out his complaint before the LORD.
1 ¶ Hear my prayer, O LORD, and let my cry come unto thee.
2 Hide not thy face from me in the day when I am in trouble; incline thine ear unto me; in the day when I call, answer me speedily.
3 For my days are consumed like smoke, and my bones are burned as in a hearth.
4 My heart is smitten and withered like grass so that I forget to eat my bread.
5 By reason of the voice of my groaning, my bones cleave to my skin.
6 I am like a pelican of the wilderness; I am like an owl of the desert.
7 I watch and am as a sparrow alone upon the house top.
8 My enemies reproach me all the day, and those that are mad against me are sworn against me.
9 For I have eaten ashes like bread and mingled my drink with weeping,
10 because of thine indignation and thy wrath; for thou hast lifted me up and cast me down.
11 My days are like a shadow that declines, and I am withered like grass.
12 ¶ But thou, O LORD, shalt endure for ever and thy remembrance unto all generations.
13 Thou shalt arise and have mercy upon Zion; for the time to favour her, the set time, is come.
14 For thy slaves love her stones and have compassion on the dust thereof.
15 So the Gentiles shall fear the name of the LORD, and all the kings of the earth thy glory
16 because the LORD shall have built up Zion, and he shall be seen in his glory.
17 He shall have regarded the prayer of those who are alone and destitute and not despised their prayer.
18 This shall be written for the generation to come, and the people who shall be created shall praise JAH.
19 For he has looked down from the height of his sanctuary; from the heavens the LORD beheld the earth
20 to hear the groaning of the prisoner; to loose those that are appointed to death,
21 that they might declare the name of the LORD in Zion and his praise in Jerusalem,
22 when the people are gathered together as one and the kingdoms, to serve the LORD.
23 ¶ He weakened my strength in the way; he shortened my days.
24 I said, O my God, do not cut me off in the midst of my days; thy years are from generation to generation.
25 Of old thou hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the work of thy hands.
26 They shall perish, but thou shalt endure: yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment; as a vesture thou shalt change them, and they shall be changed:
27 But thou art the same, and thy years shall have no end.
28 The sons of thy slaves shall continue, and their seed shall be established before thee.
1 ¶ O give thanks unto the LORD, for he is good; for his mercy endures for ever.
2 Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, whom he has redeemed from the hand of the enemy
3 and gathered them out of the lands, from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south.
4 They wandered lost in the wilderness, alone and out of the way; they found no city to dwell in.
5 Hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted in them.
6 Then they cried unto the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them out of their distresses.
7 And he led them forth by the right way, that they might go to a city of habitation.
8 Oh that men would praise the LORD for his mercy and for his wonderful works unto the sons of Adam!
9 For he satisfies the soul that is destitute and fills the hungry soul with goodness.
10 ¶ Such as sat in darkness and in the shadow of death, being bound in affliction and in irons,
11 because they rebelled against the words of God and condemned the counsel of the most High:
12 Therefore he brought down their heart with labour; they fell down, and there was no one to help.
13 Then they cried unto the LORD in their trouble, and he saved them out of their distresses.
14 He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death and broke their bonds asunder.
15 Oh that men would praise the LORD for his mercy and for his wonderful works unto the sons of Adam!
16 For he has broken the gates of brass and cut the bars of iron asunder.
17 ¶ The fools, because of the way of their rebellion, and because of their iniquities, were afflicted.
18 Their soul abhorred all manner of food, and they drew near unto the gates of death.
19 Then they cried unto the LORD in their trouble, and he saved them out of their distresses.
20 He sent his word and healed them and delivered them from their graves.
21 Oh that men would praise the LORD for his mercy and for his wonderful works unto the sons of Adam!
22 And let them offer the sacrifices of praise and publish his works with singing.
23 ¶ Those that go down to the sea in ships that do work in many waters,
24 these have seen the works of the LORD and his wonders in the deep.
25 For he commands and raises the stormy wind, which lifts up its waves.
26 They mount up to the heavens; they go down again to the depths; their soul is melted because of trouble.
27 They reel to and fro and stagger like a drunken man, and all of their knowledge is of no avail.
28 Then they cry unto the LORD in their trouble, and he delivers them out of their afflictions.
29 He makes the storm a calm, so that its waves are still.
30 Then they are glad because they are at rest; so he brings them into the haven of his will.
31 Oh that men would praise the LORD for his mercy and for his wonderful works unto the sons of Adam!
32 Let them exalt him also in the congregation of the people and praise him in the assembly of the elders.
17 ¶ For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind.
18 But ye shall be glad and rejoice from age to age in the things which I shall create; for, behold, I create joy unto Jerusalem and unto her people joy.
19 And I will be glad with Jerusalem and rejoice with my people: and the voice of weeping shall no longer be heard in her, nor the voice of crying.
20 There shall no longer be there an infant of days, nor an old man that has not filled his days, for the child shall die one hundred years old; and he who sins at one hundred years of age shall be accursed.
21 And they shall build houses and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards and eat the fruit of them.
22 They shall not build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant, and another eat: for as the days of the trees shall be the days of my people, and my elect shall perpetuate the work of their hands.
23 They shall not labour in vain, nor give birth with fear; for their births are the seed of the blessed of the LORD, and their offspring shall be with them.
24 And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.
25 The wolf and the lamb shall be fed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the ox; and dust shall be the serpent’s food. They shall not afflict nor do evil in all my holy mountain, said the LORD.
17 ¶ Let the elders that govern well be counted worthy of double honour, especially those who labour in the word and doctrine.
18 For the scripture saith, Thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treads out the grain. And, The labourer is worthy of his reward.
19 Against an elder do not receive an accusation, unless there are two or three witnesses.
20 Those that persist in sin rebuke before all, that the others may also fear.
21 I charge thee before God and the Lord Jesus Christ and the elect angels, that thou observe these things without preferring one before another, doing nothing by partiality.
22 Lay hands suddenly on no one, neither be partaker of the sins of others; keep thyself pure.
23 Drink no longer water, but use a little wine for thy stomach’s sake and thine often infirmities.
24 Some men’s sins are manifest beforehand, before they come unto judgment, but to others they follow after.
25 Likewise also the good works of some are manifest beforehand, and those that are otherwise cannot be hid.
28 ¶ And one of the scribes came, having heard their dispute and knowing that he had given a good response unto them, asked him, Which is the principal commandment of all?
29 And Jesus responded unto him, The principal of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel, The Lord our God, the Lord is one;
30 and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul and with all thy thought and with all thy strength: this is the principal commandment.
31 And the second is like it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is no other commandment greater than these.
32 Then the scribe said unto him, Well, Master, thou hast said the truth, that God is one, and there is none other outside of him;
33 and to love him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the soul and with all the strength and to love his neighbour as himself is more than all the burnt offerings and sacrifices.
34 Then Jesus, seeing that he responded wisely, said unto him, Thou art not far from the kingdom of God. And no man after that dared ask him any question.
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