Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 102[a]
Prayer of an Exile
1 The prayer of one afflicted. When he is wasting away[b] and pours out his anguish before the Lord.
2 [c]O Lord, give heed to my prayer;
let my plea for help reach you.
3 Do not conceal your face[d] from my sight
in the time of my distress.
Incline your ear to me;
on the day when I call out to you, answer me speedily.
4 For my days are fading away like smoke,
and my bones are burning like live coals.
5 My heart[e] is stricken, withered like grass;
I am too exhausted to eat my bread.
6 As a result of my incessant groaning,
I am now nothing more than skin and bones.
7 I am like a pelican[f] of the wilderness,
like an owl among the ruins.
8 I am sleepless[g] and I moan
like a lone sparrow on a rooftop.
9 All day long my enemies revile me;[h]
those who rage against me use my name as a curse.
10 [i]I eat ashes as though they were bread,
and I mingle tears with my drink.
11 Because of your indignation and wrath,
you have raised me up only to cast me down.
12 My days are like a lengthening shadow,
and I am withering away like grass.
13 [j]But, you, O Lord, are enthroned forever,
and your renown will endure for all generations.
14 You will arise and show mercy to Zion,
for it is time for you to have pity on her;
the appointed time[k] has come.
15 For her stones are precious to your servants,
and her dust causes them to weep.[l]
16 The nations will revere your name,[m] O Lord,
and all the kings of the earth will sing of your glory.
17 For the Lord will rebuild Zion
and reveal himself in all his glory.[n]
18 He will answer the prayer of the destitute,
and he will not ignore their petition.
19 Let this be written[o] for future generations
so that a people yet unborn may praise the Lord:
20 “The Lord looked down from his sanctuary on high
and gazed on the earth from heaven,
21 to hear the sighs of the prisoners
and to set free those under sentence of death.”[p]
22 Then the name of the Lord will be proclaimed in Zion,
and his praise[q] in Jerusalem
23 when all peoples and kingdoms come together
to worship the Lord.[r]
24 [s]He has taken away my strength on my life’s journey;
he has cut short my days.
25 So I said: “Do not carry me off, O my God,
before half my days are done,[t]
for your years endure from age to age.
26 [u]“Long ago you laid the foundations of the earth,
and the heavens are the work of your hands.
27 They will pass away but you endure;
they will all wear out like a garment.
You will change them like clothing,
and they will perish.[v]
28 “However, you remain always the same,
and your years will have no end.[w]
29 The children of your servants will be secure,
and their descendants will dwell in your presence.”[x]
Book V—Psalms 107–150[a]
Psalm 107[b]
God, Savior of Those in Distress
1 “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
his kindness[c] endures forever.”
2 Let this be the prayer of the redeemed of the Lord,
those he redeemed from the hand of the foe
3 and gathered together from the lands,[d]
from east and west, north and south.
4 [e]Some wandered in a barren wilderness,
unable to discover a path to an inhabited city.
5 They were hungry and thirsty,
and their life was wasting away.
6 Then they cried out to the Lord in their anguish,
and he saved them from their distress.
7 He led them by a direct route
to a city in which they could dwell.
8 Let them give thanks to the Lord for his kindness[f]
and for the wonders he does for people.
9 He has satisfied the thirsty
and filled the hungry with good things.
10 [g]Some sat in darkness and the shadow of death,[h]
bound in misery and in chains,
11 because they had rebelled against the words of God
and spurned the plan of the Most High.
12 He humbled their hearts with hard labor;[i]
when they stumbled, no one was there to offer help.
13 Then they cried out to the Lord in their need,
and he rescued them from their distress.
14 He brought them forth from darkness and the shadow of death
and tore their chains to pieces.
15 Let them give thanks to the Lord for his kindness
and for the wonders he does for people.
16 He has broken down gates of bronze
and cut through iron bars.
17 [j]Some were made foolish by their wicked ways
and were afflicted because of their iniquities.
18 All types of food became loathsome to them,
and they were nearing the gates of death.[k]
19 Then they cried out to the Lord in their anguish,
and he rescued them from their distress.
20 He sent forth his word[l] and healed them,
saving them from the grave.
21 Let them give thanks to the Lord for his kindness
and for the wonders he does for people.
22 Let them offer sacrifices in thanksgiving
and recount his deeds with jubilation.
23 [m]Some went down to the sea in ships
and engaged in commerce on the mighty waters.
24 [n]They beheld the works of the Lord
and his wonders in the deep.
25 He spoke and raised up a storm wind
that stirred up the waves of the sea.
26 They were lifted up to the heavens, then cast down to the depths;
their courage melted away in their plight.
27 They reeled and staggered like drunkards,
and they were at their wits’ end.
28 They cried out to the Lord in their anguish,
and he delivered them from their distress.
29 He reduced the storm to a whisper,
and the waves of the sea were hushed.
30 They rejoiced because of the calm,
and he guided them to the port they sought.
31 Let them give thanks to the Lord for his kindness
and for the wonders he does for people.
32 Let them exalt him in the assembly of the people
and praise him in the council of the elders.[o]
Restoration of the Temple[a]
36 Then Judas and his brothers said: “Behold, our enemies have been crushed; let us go up to purify the sanctuary and rededicate it.” 37 And so the entire army assembled, and they went up to Mount Zion. 38 There they found the sanctuary desolate, the altar desecrated, the gates burned to the ground, the courts overgrown with weeds as in a thicket or on some mountain, and the chambers of the priests in ruins. 39 Then they tore their garments and uttered loud cries of mourning; they sprinkled their heads with ashes 40 and fell prostrate, with their faces to the ground. And when the signal was given with the trumpets, they cried out to Heaven.
41 Then Judas designated men to engage in combat with those in the citadel while he purified the sanctuary. 42 He appointed blameless priests who were devoted to the law; 43 these purified the sanctuary and carried off the stones of the Abomination to an unclean place. 44 They discussed what should be done about the altar of burnt offerings that had been desecrated, 45 and they made the proper decision to demolish it so that it would not be a source of lasting shame to them inasmuch as the Gentiles had defiled it.[b]
Therefore, they tore down the altar 46 and stored the stones in a suitable place on the temple hill until a prophet should appear on the scene to determine what should be done with them. 47 They took unhewn stones, according to the law, and built a new altar fashioned after the former one. 48 They also repaired the sanctuary and the interior of the temple and purified the courts. 49 They made new sacred vessels and brought the lampstand, the altar of incense, and the table into the temple. 50 Then they burned incense on the altar, and they lit the lamp on the lampstands to illuminate the temple. 51 Finally, they placed loaves of bread on the table and hung the curtains, thereby bringing to completion all of the work they had undertaken.
52 Early in the morning on the twenty-fifth day of the ninth month, that is, the month of Chislev, in the year one hundred and forty-eight, 53 they arose and offered sacrifice, in accordance with the law, on the new altar of burnt offerings that they had constructed. 54 On the anniversary of the day on which the Gentiles had desecrated it, on that very day it was dedicated with hymns, harps, flutes, and cymbals. 55 All the people prostrated themselves in adoration and praised Heaven, who had granted success to their endeavors.
56 They celebrated the dedication of the altar for eight days and joyfully offered burnt offerings and sacrifices of praise and thanksgiving. 57 They decorated the front of the temple with gold crowns and shields; they restored the gates and the chambers for the priests and furnished them with doors. 58 There was great rejoicing among the people inasmuch as the disgrace inflicted by the Gentiles had been removed. 59 Then Judas, his brothers, and the entire congregation of Israel decreed that the days marking the rededication of the altar should be observed with joy and gladness for eight days every year on the anniversary, beginning on the twenty-fifth day of the month Chislev.
Epilogue: My Return Is Near[a]
Worship God Alone. The angel said to me, “These words are trustworthy and true, for the Lord God who inspires the prophets has sent his angel to show his servants what soon must take place.7 “ ‘Behold, I am coming soon!’[b] Blessed is the one who observes the words of prophecy contained in this book.”
8 I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I had heard and seen them, I knelt at the feet of the angel who had shown them to me to worship him. 9 However, he said to me, “You must not do that. I am a fellow servant of you and of your brethren the prophets and of those who observe the words of this book. Worship God!”
10 The Great Separation.[c] Then he said to me, “Do not seal up the words of prophecy that are in this book, for the time is near. 11 Let the wicked persist in acting wickedly, and let the vile continue in their vileness, but let the righteous persevere in righteousness, and let the holy continue to be holy.”
12 “ ‘Behold, I am coming soon, and I will bring with me my reward to repay everyone as his deeds deserve. 13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.’
10 “Take care that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I tell you that their angels in heaven gaze continually on the face of my heavenly Father. [ 11 For the Son of Man has come to save what was lost.][a]
12 The Parable of the Lost Sheep.[b]“Tell me your opinion. If a man owns a hundred sheep and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the other ninety-nine on the hillside and go off in search of the one who went astray? 13 And if he finds it, amen, I say to you, he is more filled with joy over it than over the ninety-nine who did not wander off. 14 In the same way, it is not the will of your Father in heaven that a single one of these little ones should be lost.
15 The Church: Community of Love, Prayer, and Pardon.[c]“If your brother wrongs you, go and take up the matter with him when the two of you are alone. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over. 16 But if he will not listen, take one or two others along with you, so that every detail may be confirmed by the testimony of two or three witnesses. 17 If he refuses to listen to them, report it to the Church. And if he refuses to listen to the Church, treat him as you would a Gentile or a tax collector.
18 “Amen, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. 19 [Amen,] I say to you, further, if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be granted to you by my Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three are gathered together in my name, I am there in their midst.”
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