Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 102[a]
Prayer in Time of Distress
1 The prayer of one afflicted and wasting away whose anguish is poured out before the Lord.
I
2 Lord, hear my prayer;
let my cry come to you.
3 Do not hide your face from me
in the day of my distress.(A)
Turn your ear to me;
when I call, answer me quickly.
4 For my days vanish like smoke;(B)
my bones burn away as in a furnace.
5 My heart is withered, dried up like grass,
too wasted to eat my food.
6 From my loud groaning
I become just skin and bones.
7 I am like a desert owl,
like an owl among the ruins.
8 I lie awake and moan,
like a lone sparrow on the roof.
9 All day long my enemies taunt me;
in their rage, they make my name a curse.[b]
10 I eat ashes like bread,
mingle my drink with tears.(C)
11 Because of your furious wrath,
you lifted me up just to cast me down.
12 (D)My days are like a lengthening shadow;(E)
I wither like the grass.
II
13 But you, Lord, are enthroned forever;
your renown is for all generations.(F)
14 You will again show mercy to Zion;
now is the time for pity;
the appointed time has come.
15 Its stones are dear to your servants;
its dust moves them to pity.
16 The nations shall fear your name, Lord,
all the kings of the earth, your glory,(G)
17 Once the Lord has rebuilt Zion
and appeared in glory,
18 Heeding the plea of the lowly,
not scorning their prayer.
19 Let this be written for the next generation,
for a people not yet born,
that they may praise the Lord:(H)
20 [c]“The Lord looked down from the holy heights,
viewed the earth from heaven,(I)
21 To attend to the groaning of the prisoners,
to release those doomed to die.”(J)
22 Then the Lord’s name will be declared on Zion,
his praise in Jerusalem,
23 When peoples and kingdoms gather
to serve the Lord.(K)
III
24 He has shattered my strength in mid-course,
has cut short my days.
25 I plead, O my God,
do not take me in the midst of my days.[d](L)
Your years last through all generations.
26 Of old you laid the earth’s foundations;(M)
the heavens are the work of your hands.
27 They perish, but you remain;
they all wear out like a garment;
Like clothing you change them and they are changed,
28 but you are the same, your years have no end.
29 May the children of your servants live on;
may their descendants live in your presence.(N)
Fifth Book—Psalms 107–150
Psalm 107[a]
God the Savior of Those in Distress
1 “Give thanks to the Lord for he is good,
his mercy endures forever!”(A)
2 Let that be the prayer of the Lord’s redeemed,
those redeemed from the hand of the foe,(B)
3 Those gathered from foreign lands,
from east and west, from north and south.(C)
I
4 Some had lost their way in a barren desert;
found no path toward a city to live in.
5 They were hungry and thirsty;
their life was ebbing away.(D)
6 In their distress they cried to the Lord,
who rescued them in their peril,
7 (E)Guided them by a direct path
so they reached a city to live in.(F)
8 Let them thank the Lord for his mercy,
such wondrous deeds for the children of Adam.
9 For he satisfied the thirsty,
filled the hungry with good things.(G)
II
10 Some lived in darkness and gloom,
imprisoned in misery and chains.
11 Because they rebelled against God’s word,
and scorned the counsel of the Most High,(H)
12 He humbled their hearts through hardship;
they stumbled with no one to help.(I)
13 In their distress they cried to the Lord,
who saved them in their peril;
14 He brought them forth from darkness and the shadow of death
and broke their chains asunder.(J)
15 Let them thank the Lord for his mercy,
such wondrous deeds for the children of Adam.
16 For he broke down the gates of bronze
and snapped the bars of iron.
III
17 Some fell sick from their wicked ways,
afflicted because of their sins.
18 They loathed all manner of food;(K)
they were at the gates of death.
19 In their distress they cried to the Lord,
who saved them in their peril,
20 Sent forth his word to heal them,(L)
and snatched them from the grave.
21 Let them thank the Lord for his mercy,
such wondrous deeds for the children of Adam.
22 Let them offer a sacrifice in thanks,
recount his works with shouts of joy.
IV
23 Some went off to sea in ships,
plied their trade on the deep waters.(M)
24 They saw the works of the Lord,
the wonders of God in the deep.
25 He commanded and roused a storm wind;
it tossed the waves on high.(N)
26 They rose up to the heavens, sank to the depths;
their hearts trembled at the danger.
27 They reeled, staggered like drunkards;
their skill was of no avail.(O)
28 In their distress they cried to the Lord,
who brought them out of their peril;
29 He hushed the storm to silence,
the waves of the sea were stilled.(P)
30 They rejoiced that the sea grew calm,
that God brought them to the harbor they longed for.
31 Let them thank the Lord for his mercy,
such wondrous deeds for the children of Adam.
32 Let them extol him in the assembly of the people,
and praise him in the council of the elders.
19 the king said to Ittai the Gittite: “Why should you also go with us? Go back and stay with the king, for you are a foreigner and you, too, are an exile from your own country. 20 You came only yesterday, and today shall I have you wander off with us wherever I have to go? Return and take your brothers with you, and may the Lord show you kindness and fidelity.” 21 But Ittai answered the king, “As the Lord lives, and as my lord the king lives, your servant shall be wherever my lord the king is, whether for death or for life.”(A) 22 So the king said to Ittai, “Go, then, march on.” And Ittai the Gittite, with all his men and all the dependents that were with him, marched on. 23 The whole land wept aloud as the last of the soldiers went by, and the king crossed the Wadi Kidron with all the soldiers moving on ahead of him by way of the ascent of the Mount of Olives, toward the wilderness.
David and the Priests. 24 Zadok, too, and all the Levites bearing the ark of the covenant of God set down the ark of God until the whole army had finished marching out of the city; and Abiathar came up. 25 Then the king said to Zadok: “Take the ark of God back to the city. If I find favor with the Lord, he will bring me back and permit me to see it and its lodging place. 26 But if he should say, ‘I am not pleased with you,’ I am ready; let him do to me as he sees fit.”(B) 27 The king also said to Zadok the priest: “Look, you and Abiathar return to the city in peace, and both your sons with you, your own son Ahimaaz, and Abiathar’s son Jonathan. 28 Remember, I shall be waiting at the fords near the wilderness until a report from you comes to me.” 29 So Zadok and Abiathar took the ark of God back to Jerusalem and remained there.
30 As David went up the ascent of the Mount of Olives, he wept without ceasing. His head was covered, and he was walking barefoot. All those who were with him also had their heads covered and were weeping as they went.(C) 31 When David was told, “Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom,” he said, “O Lord, turn the counsel of Ahithophel to folly!”(D)
David and Hushai. 32 When David reached the top, where God was worshiped, Hushai the Archite was there to meet him, with garments torn and dirt upon his head.(E) 33 David said to him: “If you come with me, you will be a burden to me; 34 but if you return to the city and say to Absalom, ‘Let me be your servant, O king; I was formerly your father’s servant, but now I will be yours,’ you will thwart for me the counsel of Ahithophel.(F) 35 You will have the priests Zadok and Abiathar there with you. If you hear anything from the king’s house, you shall report it to the priests Zadok and Abiathar, 36 who have there with them their two sons, Zadok’s son Ahimaaz and Abiathar’s son Jonathan. Through them you shall send on to me whatever you hear.” 37 So David’s friend Hushai went into the city, Jerusalem, as Absalom was about to enter it.
37 Just as Paul was about to be taken into the compound, he said to the cohort commander, “May I say something to you?” He replied, “Do you speak Greek? 38 So then you are not the Egyptian[a] who started a revolt some time ago and led the four thousand assassins into the desert?”(A) 39 Paul answered, “I am a Jew, of Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen of no mean city; I request you to permit me to speak to the people.” 40 When he had given his permission, Paul stood on the steps and motioned with his hand to the people; and when all was quiet he addressed them in Hebrew.[b]
Chapter 22
Paul’s Defense Before the Jerusalem Jews.[c] 1 “My brothers and fathers, listen to what I am about to say to you in my defense.” 2 When they heard him addressing them in Hebrew they became all the more quiet. And he continued, 3 “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up in this city. At the feet of Gamaliel I was educated strictly in our ancestral law and was zealous for God, just as all of you are today.(B) 4 I persecuted this Way to death, binding both men and women and delivering them to prison.(C) 5 Even the high priest and the whole council of elders can testify on my behalf. For from them I even received letters to the brothers and set out for Damascus to bring back to Jerusalem in chains for punishment those there as well.
6 “On that journey as I drew near to Damascus, about noon a great light from the sky suddenly shone around me.(D) 7 I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’(E) 8 I replied, ‘Who are you, sir?’ And he said to me, ‘I am Jesus the Nazorean whom you are persecuting.’(F) 9 My companions saw the light but did not hear the voice of the one who spoke to me.(G) 10 I asked, ‘What shall I do, sir?’ The Lord answered me, ‘Get up and go into Damascus, and there you will be told about everything appointed for you to do.’(H) 11 Since I could see nothing because of the brightness of that light, I was led by hand by my companions and entered Damascus.(I)
12 (J)“A certain Ananias, a devout observer of the law, and highly spoken of by all the Jews who lived there, 13 came to me and stood there and said, ‘Saul, my brother, regain your sight.’ And at that very moment I regained my sight and saw him. 14 Then he said, ‘The God of our ancestors designated you to know his will, to see the Righteous One, and to hear the sound of his voice; 15 for you will be his witness[d] before all to what you have seen and heard. 16 Now, why delay? Get up and have yourself baptized and your sins washed away, calling upon his name.’
46 They came to Jericho.(A) And as he was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a sizable crowd, Bartimaeus, a blind man, the son of Timaeus, sat by the roadside begging. 47 On hearing that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, son of David, have pity on me.” 48 And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he kept calling out all the more, “Son of David, have pity on me.” 49 Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” So they called the blind man, saying to him, “Take courage; get up, he is calling you.” 50 He threw aside his cloak, sprang up, and came to Jesus. 51 Jesus said to him in reply, “What do you want me to do for you?” The blind man replied to him, “Master, I want to see.” 52 Jesus told him, “Go your way; your faith has saved you.” Immediately he received his sight and followed him on the way.
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