Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 70[a]
Prayer for Divine Help
1 For the leader; of David. For remembrance.
2 Graciously rescue me, God!(A)
Come quickly to help me, Lord!(B)
3 Let those who seek my life
be confused and put to shame.(C)
Let those who desire my ruin
turn back in disgrace.
4 Let those who say “Aha!”(D)
turn back in their shame.
5 But may all who seek you
rejoice and be glad in you,
Those who long for your help
always say, “God be glorified!”(E)
6 I am miserable and poor.
God, come to me quickly!
You are my help and deliverer.
Lord, do not delay!
Psalm 71[b]
Prayer in Time of Old Age
I
1 In you, Lord, I take refuge;(F)
let me never be put to shame.(G)
2 In your justice rescue and deliver me;
listen to me and save me!
3 Be my rock of refuge,
my stronghold to give me safety;
for you are my rock and fortress.(H)
4 My God, rescue me from the hand of the wicked,
from the clutches of the evil and violent.(I)
5 You are my hope, Lord;
my trust, God, from my youth.
6 On you I have depended since birth;
from my mother’s womb you are my strength;(J)
my hope in you never wavers.
7 [c]I have become a portent to many,
but you are my strong refuge!
8 My mouth shall be filled with your praise,
shall sing your glory every day.
II
9 Do not cast me aside in my old age;
as my strength fails, do not forsake me.
10 For my enemies speak against me;
they watch and plot against me.(K)
11 They say, “God has abandoned him.
Pursue, and seize him!
No one will come to the rescue!”
12 God, be not far from me;
my God, hasten to help me.(L)
13 Bring to a shameful end
those who attack me;
Cover with contempt and scorn
those who seek my ruin.(M)
14 I will always hope in you
and add to all your praise.
15 My mouth shall proclaim your just deeds,
day after day your acts of deliverance,
though I cannot number them all.(N)
16 I will speak of the mighty works of the Lord;
O God, I will tell of your singular justice.
III
17 God, you have taught me from my youth;
to this day I proclaim your wondrous deeds.
18 Now that I am old and gray,(O)
do not forsake me, God,
That I may proclaim your might
to all generations yet to come,(P)
Your power 19 and justice, God,
to the highest heaven.
You have done great things;(Q)
O God, who is your equal?(R)
20 Whatever bitter afflictions you sent me,
you would turn and revive me.
From the watery depths of the earth
once more raise me up.
21 Restore my honor;
turn and comfort me,
22 That I may praise you with the lyre
for your faithfulness, my God,
And sing to you with the harp,
O Holy One of Israel!
23 My lips will shout for joy as I sing your praise;
my soul, too, which you have redeemed.
24 Yes, my tongue shall recount
your justice day by day.
For those who sought my ruin
have been shamed and disgraced.
Psalm 74[a]
Prayer at the Destruction of the Temple
1 A maskil of Asaph.
I
Why, God, have you cast us off forever?[b](A)
Why does your anger burn against the sheep of your pasture?(B)
2 Remember your people, whom you acquired of old,
the tribe you redeemed as your own heritage,
Mount Zion where you dwell.(C)
3 Direct your steps toward the utter destruction,
everything the enemy laid waste in the sanctuary.
4 Your foes roared triumphantly in the place of your assembly;
they set up their own tokens of victory.
5 They hacked away like a forester gathering boughs,
swinging his ax in a thicket of trees.
6 They smashed all its engraved work,
struck it with ax and pick.
7 They set your sanctuary on fire,
profaned your name’s abode by razing it to the ground.(D)
8 They said in their hearts, “We will destroy them all!
Burn all the assembly-places of God in the land!”
9 [c]Even so we have seen no signs for us,
there is no prophet any more,(E)
no one among us who knows for how long.
10 How long, O God, will the enemy jeer?(F)
Will the enemy revile your name forever?
11 Why draw back your hand,
why hold back your right hand within your bosom?[d]
II
12 [e]Yet you, God, are my king from of old,
winning victories throughout the earth.
13 You stirred up the sea by your might;(G)
you smashed the heads of the dragons on the waters.(H)
14 You crushed the heads of Leviathan,(I)
gave him as food to the sharks.
15 You opened up springs and torrents,
brought dry land out of the primeval waters.[f]
16 Yours the day and yours the night too;
you set the moon and sun in place.
17 You fixed all the limits of the earth;
summer and winter you made.(J)
18 Remember how the enemy has jeered, Lord,
how a foolish people has reviled your name.
19 Do not surrender to wild animals those who praise you;
do not forget forever the life of your afflicted.
20 Look to your covenant,
for the recesses of the land
are full of the haunts of violence.
21 Let not the oppressed turn back in shame;
may the poor and needy praise your name.
22 Arise, God, defend your cause;
remember the constant jeering of the fools.
23 Do not forget the clamor of your foes,
the unceasing uproar of your enemies.
Chapter 11
1 [a]Send forth your bread upon the face of the waters;
after a long time you may find it again.
2 Make seven, or even eight portions;
you know not what misfortune may come upon the earth.
No One Knows What Good Will Come
3 [b]When the clouds are full,
they pour out rain upon the earth.
Whether a tree falls to the south or to the north,
wherever it falls, there shall it lie.
4 One who pays heed to the wind will never sow,
and one who watches the clouds will never reap.
5 Just as you do not know how the life breath
enters the human frame in the mother’s womb,
So you do not know the work of God,
who is working in everything.(A)
6 In the morning sow your seed,
and at evening do not let your hand be idle:
For you do not know which of the two will be successful,
or whether both alike will turn out well.
Poem on Youth and Old Age. 7 [c]Light is sweet! and it is pleasant for the eyes to see the sun. 8 However many years mortals may live, let them, as they enjoy them all, remember that the days of darkness will be many. All that is to come is vanity.
16 (A)I say, then: live by the Spirit and you will certainly not gratify the desire of the flesh.[a] 17 For the flesh has desires against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; these are opposed to each other, so that you may not do what you want.(B) 18 But if you are guided by the Spirit, you are not under the law.(C) 19 [b]Now the works of the flesh are obvious: immorality, impurity, licentiousness,(D) 20 idolatry, sorcery, hatreds, rivalry, jealousy, outbursts of fury, acts of selfishness, dissensions, factions,(E) 21 occasions of envy,[c] drinking bouts, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 In contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness,(F) 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.(G) 24 Now those who belong to Christ [Jesus] have crucified their flesh with its passions and desires.(H)
13 (A)When Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi[a] he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” 14 (B)They replied, “Some say John the Baptist,[b] others Elijah, still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16 [c](C)Simon Peter said in reply, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” 17 Jesus said to him in reply, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood[d] has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father. 18 (D)And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church,[e] and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. 19 (E)I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven.[f] Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” 20 [g](F)Then he strictly ordered his disciples to tell no one that he was the Messiah.
The First Prediction of the Passion.[h]
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.