Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 69
A Plea for Rescue
For the choir director: according to “The Lilies.”(A) Of David.
1 Save me, God,
for the water has risen to my neck.(B)
2 I have sunk in deep mud, and there is no footing;
I have come into deep water,
and a flood sweeps over me.(C)
3 I am weary from my crying;
my throat is parched.
My eyes fail, looking for my God.(D)
4 Those who hate me without cause
are more numerous than the hairs of my head;
my deceitful enemies, who would destroy me,
are powerful.(E)
Though I did not steal, I must repay.(F)
5 God, you know my foolishness,
and my guilty acts are not hidden from you.(G)
6 Do not let those who put their hope in you
be disgraced because of me,
Lord God of Armies;
do not let those who seek you
be humiliated because of me,
God of Israel.(H)
7 For I have endured insults because of you,
and shame has covered my face.(I)
8 I have become a stranger to my brothers
and a foreigner to my mother’s sons(J)
9 because zeal for your house has consumed me,(K)
and the insults of those who insult you
have fallen on me.(L)
10 I mourned and fasted,
but it brought me insults.(M)
11 I wore sackcloth as my clothing,
and I was a joke to them.
12 Those who sit at the city gate talk about me,
and drunkards make up songs about me.(N)
13 But as for me, Lord,
my prayer to you is for a time of favor.
In your abundant, faithful love, God,
answer me with your sure salvation.(O)
14 Rescue me from the miry mud; don’t let me sink.
Let me be rescued from those who hate me
and from the deep water.(P)
15 Don’t let the floodwaters sweep over me
or the deep swallow me up;
don’t let the Pit close its mouth over me.(Q)
16 Answer me, Lord,
for your faithful love is good.
In keeping with your abundant compassion,
turn to me.(R)
17 Don’t hide your face from your servant,
for I am in distress.
Answer me quickly!(S)
18 Come near to me and redeem me;
ransom me because of my enemies.(T)
19 You know the insults I endure—
my shame and disgrace.
You are aware of all my adversaries.(U)
20 Insults have broken my heart,
and I am in despair.
I waited for sympathy,
but there was none;
for comforters, but found no one.(V)
21 Instead, they gave me gall for my food,
and for my thirst
they gave me vinegar to drink.(W)
22 Let their table set before them be a snare,
and let it be a trap for their allies.(X)
23 Let their eyes grow too dim to see,
and let their hips continually quake.(Y)
24 Pour out your rage on them,
and let your burning anger overtake them.(Z)
25 Make their fortification desolate;
may no one live in their tents.(AA)
26 For they persecute the one you struck
and talk about the pain of those you wounded.(AB)
27 Charge them with crime on top of crime;
do not let them share in your righteousness.(AC)
28 Let them be erased from the book of life
and not be recorded with the righteous.(AD)
29 But as for me—poor and in pain—
let your salvation protect me, God.(AE)
30 I will praise God’s name with song
and exalt him with thanksgiving.(AF)
31 That will please the Lord more than an ox,
more than a bull with horns and hooves.(AG)
32 The humble will see it and rejoice.
You who seek God, take heart!(AH)
33 For the Lord listens to the needy
and does not despise
his own who are prisoners.(AI)
BOOK III
(Psalms 73–89)
Psalm 73
God’s Ways Vindicated
A psalm of Asaph.(A)
1 God is indeed good to Israel,
to the pure in heart.(B)
2 But as for me, my feet almost slipped;
my steps nearly went astray.(C)
3 For I envied the arrogant;
I saw the prosperity of the wicked.(D)
4 They have an easy time until they die,[a]
and their bodies are well fed.[b](E)
5 They are not in trouble like others;
they are not afflicted like most people.(F)
6 Therefore, pride is their necklace,
and violence covers them like a garment.(G)
7 Their eyes bulge out from fatness;
the imaginations of their hearts run wild.(H)
8 They mock, and they speak maliciously;
they arrogantly threaten oppression.(I)
9 They set their mouths against heaven,
and their tongues strut across the earth.(J)
10 Therefore his people turn to them[c]
and drink in their overflowing words.[d](K)
11 The wicked say, “How can God know?
Does the Most High know everything?” (L)
12 Look at them—the wicked!
They are always at ease,
and they increase their wealth.(M)
13 Did I purify my heart
and wash my hands in innocence for nothing?(N)
14 For I am afflicted all day long
and punished every morning.(O)
15 If I had decided to say these things aloud,
I would have betrayed your people.[e](P)
16 When I tried to understand all this,
it seemed hopeless[f](Q)
17 until I entered God’s sanctuary.
Then I understood their destiny.(R)
18 Indeed, you put them in slippery places;
you make them fall into ruin.(S)
19 How suddenly they become a desolation!
They come to an end, swept away by terrors.(T)
20 Like one waking from a dream,
Lord, when arising, you will despise their image.(U)
21 When I became embittered
and my innermost being[g] was wounded,(V)
22 I was stupid and didn’t understand;
I was an unthinking animal toward you.(W)
23 Yet I am always with you;
you hold my right hand.(X)
24 You guide me with your counsel,
and afterward you will take me up in glory.[h](Y)
25 Who do I have in heaven but you?
And I desire nothing on earth but you.(Z)
26 My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength[i] of my heart,
my portion forever.(AA)
27 Those far from you will certainly perish;
you destroy all who are unfaithful to you.(AB)
28 But as for me, God’s presence is my good.
I have made the Lord God my refuge,
so I can tell about all you do.(AC)
Deborah’s Song
5 On that day Deborah and Barak son of Abinoam sang:
2 When the leaders lead[a] in Israel,
when the people volunteer,
blessed be the Lord.
3 Listen, kings! Pay attention, princes!
I will sing to the Lord;
I will sing praise to the Lord God of Israel.
4 Lord, when you came from Seir,(A)
when you marched from the fields of Edom,
the earth trembled,(B)
the skies poured(C) rain,
and the clouds poured water.
5 The mountains melted before the Lord,
even Sinai,[b] before the Lord, the God of Israel.(D)
6 In the days of Shamgar(E) son of Anath,
in the days of Jael,(F)
the main roads were deserted
because travelers kept to the side roads.
7 Villages were deserted,[c]
they were deserted in Israel,
until I,[d] Deborah, arose,
a mother in Israel.
8 Israel chose new gods,
then there was war in the city gates.
Not a shield or spear was seen
among forty thousand in Israel.
9 My heart is with the leaders of Israel,
with the volunteers of the people.
Blessed be the Lord!
10 You who ride on white[e] donkeys,
who sit on saddle blankets,
and who travel on the road, give praise!
11 Let them tell the righteous acts(G) of the Lord,
the righteous deeds of his villagers in Israel,
with the voices of the singers at the watering places.[f]
Then the Lord’s people went down to the city gates.
12 “Awake! Awake, Deborah!
Awake! Awake, sing a song!
Arise, Barak,
and take your prisoners,
son of Abinoam!”
13 Then the survivors(H) came down to the nobles;(I)
the Lord’s people came down to me[g] against the warriors.
14 Those with their roots in Amalek[h] came from Ephraim;
Benjamin came with your people after you.
The leaders came down from Machir,(J)
and those who carry a marshal’s staff came from Zebulun.
15 The princes of Issachar were with Deborah;
Issachar was with Barak;
they were under his leadership[i](K) in the valley.
There was great searching[j] of heart
among the clans of Reuben.
16 Why did you sit among the sheep pens[k]
listening to the playing of pipes for the flocks?
There was great searching of heart
among the clans of Reuben.
17 Gilead(L) remained beyond the Jordan.
Dan, why did you linger at the ships?
Asher remained at the seashore
and stayed in his harbors.
18 The people of Zebulun defied death,
Naphtali also, on the heights of the battlefield.
Pentecost
2 When the day of Pentecost had arrived, they were all together in one place.(A) 2 Suddenly a sound like that of a violent rushing wind(B) came from heaven, and it filled the whole house where they were staying.(C) 3 They saw tongues like flames of fire that separated and rested on each one of them. 4 Then they were all filled(D) with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues,[a] as the Spirit enabled them.(E)
5 Now there were Jews staying in Jerusalem, devout people from every nation(F) under heaven. 6 When this sound occurred, a crowd came together and was confused because each one heard them speaking in his own language. 7 They were astounded and amazed, saying,[b] “Look, aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans?(G) 8 How is it that each of us can hear them in our own native language? 9 Parthians, Medes, Elamites; those who live in Mesopotamia, in Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia,(H) 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome (both Jews and converts),(I) 11 Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the magnificent acts of God in our own tongues.” 12 They were all astounded and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” 13 But some sneered and said, “They’re drunk on new wine.”(J)
Peter’s Sermon
14 Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice, and proclaimed to them, “Fellow Jews and all you residents of Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and pay attention to my words. 15 For these people are not drunk, as you suppose, since it’s only nine in the morning.[c] 16 On the contrary, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel:
17 And it will be in the last days, says God,
that I will pour out my Spirit on all people;
then your sons and your daughters will prophesy,
your young men will see visions,
and your old men will dream dreams.(K)
18 I will even pour out my Spirit
on my servants in those days, both men and women
and they will prophesy.(L)
19 I will display wonders in the heaven above
and signs on the earth below:
blood and fire and a cloud of smoke.
20 The sun will be turned to darkness
and the moon to blood(M)
before the great and glorious day of the Lord(N) comes.
21 Then everyone who calls
on the name of the Lord will be saved.[d](O)
Resurrection Morning
28 After the Sabbath,(A) as the first day of the week was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to view the tomb. 2 There was a violent earthquake, because an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and approached the tomb. He rolled back the stone and was sitting on it.(B) 3 His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing was as white as snow.(C) 4 The guards were so shaken by fear of him that they became like dead men.
5 The angel told the women, “Don’t be afraid, because I know you are looking for Jesus who was crucified.(D) 6 He is not here. For he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay.(E) 7 Then go quickly and tell his disciples,(F) ‘He has risen from the dead and indeed he is going ahead of you to Galilee; you will see him there.’ Listen, I have told you.”(G)
8 So, departing quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, they ran to tell his disciples the news. 9 Just then[a] Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” They came up, took hold of his feet, and worshiped him.(H) 10 Then Jesus told them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to leave for Galilee, and they will see me there.”(I)
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