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Book of Common Prayer

Daily Old and New Testament readings based on the Book of Common Prayer.

Duration: 861 days

Psalm 102

Psalm 102^[a]

Prayer of an Exile

¹The 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.
³Do 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.
⁴For my days are fading away like smoke,
    and my bones are burning like live coals.
⁵My heart^[e] is stricken, withered like grass;
    I am too exhausted to eat my bread.
⁶As a result of my incessant groaning,
    I am now nothing more than skin and bones.
⁷I am like a pelican^[f] of the wilderness,
    like an owl among the ruins.
⁸I am sleepless^[g] and I moan
    like a lone sparrow on a rooftop.
⁹All 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.
¹¹Because of your indignation and wrath,
    you have raised me up only to cast me down.
¹²My 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.
¹⁴You will arise and show mercy to Zion,
    for it is time for you to have pity on her;
    the appointed time^[k] has come.
¹⁵For her stones are precious to your servants,
    and her dust causes them to weep.^[l]
¹⁶The nations will revere your name,^[m] O Lord,
    and all the kings of the earth will sing of your glory.
¹⁷For the Lord will rebuild Zion
    and reveal himself in all his glory.^[n]
¹⁸He will answer the prayer of the destitute,
    and he will not ignore their petition.
¹⁹Let 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,
²¹to hear the sighs of the prisoners
    and to set free those under sentence of death.”^[p]
²²Then the name of the Lord will be proclaimed in Zion,
    and his praise^[q] in Jerusalem
²³when 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.
²⁵So 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.
²⁷They 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]
²⁹The children of your servants will be secure,
    and their descendants will dwell in your presence.”^[x]

Footnotes

Psalm 102:1 Known as the fifth of the seven Penitential Psalms (Pss 6; 32; 38; 51; 102; 130; 143), this psalm combines the lament of an afflicted person overwhelmed with pain and the prayer of the community of poor returned exiles waiting to be able to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem, their holy city. It shows that humanity and the universe pass away, while God remains (vv. 12-13, 26, 28). This is the proof of the Lord’s power and the reason for their hopes.
It is also the reason for the hopes of Christians, since we know that in Jesus and in his Church, God has built an imperishable dwelling place for his people, a point emphasized by the Letter to the Hebrews (Heb 1:10-12) when it comments on verses 26-28 of this psalm.
Psalm 102:1 This superscription is unique, giving neither author nor liturgical or historical note; instead it assigns the prayer to a life situation—when one afflicted is close to giving up, i.e., wasting away (see Pss 61:3; 77:4; 142:4; 143:4).
Psalm 102:2 One day, possibly during a grave sickness, the psalmist reaches the bitter conclusion of the inconsistency of human life. And the supreme outrage is that all who see him attribute his sad state to punishment sent by God, for his prayer and repentance receive no answer. The poor man experiences the depths of anguish where everything is falling apart; he can do nothing except cry out to God.
Psalm 102:3 Conceal your face: see note on Ps 13:2.
Psalm 102:5 Heart: see note on Ps 4:8. Withered like grass: see note on Ps 90:5.
Psalm 102:7 Pelican: a bird that in Christian times became a symbol of Christ all alone in Gethsemane and of the Eucharist. The word is also translated as “owl.” Owl: a symbol of desolateness and destruction (see Isa 34:11, 15; Jer 50:39; Zep 2:14).
Psalm 102:8 I am sleepless: some translations omit the words: “and I moan.”
Psalm 102:9 Enemies revile me: see note on Ps 5:10; see also Ps 109:25. Use my name as a curse: his enemies point him out as an example of divine malediction, saying: “May you become as wretched as so-and-so.”
Psalm 102:10 The Israelites indicated their penance externally by covering their heads with ashes and uttering lamentation accompanied by copious tears. To obtain God’s pity, the sick psalmist does not hold back. He covers himself with such an abundance of ashes that they are interspersed with his food, and he gives way to so many tears that they mingle with his drink. All the same, he is inexorably on his way toward death.
Psalm 102:13 The people thus experience a time of scorn. Uprooted from their temple and their land, they are too overwhelmed by the loss of what they most cherish for them to think of revenge. They have recourse to God’s tender mercies. In their misfortune, they fall back on a single certitude—the goodness of the Lord. At once, hope of restoration begins shining forth, for “the appointed time has come” (v. 14)—so much so that they do not stop at imagining the sole reestablishment of Israel, but their perspective of renewed happiness embraces all humanity.
Psalm 102:14 Appointed time: the time established by God for judgment and salvation (see Ps 75:3; Ex 9:5; 2 Sam 24:15; Dan 11:27, 35).
Psalm 102:15 The psalmist intimates that Zion must be highly cherished by the Lord for she is so dear to his servants.
Psalm 102:16 See note on Ps 46:11. Name: see note on Ps 5:12.
Psalm 102:17 And reveal himself in all his glory: may also be translated as: “and thus appear in his glory” (see v. 16 and note on Ps 46:11; see also Isa 40:1-5). The ultimate fulfillment of this hope will occur in the “new Jerusalem” (see Rev 21).
Psalm 102:19 Written: this is the only place in the Psalter that calls for a written record of God’s saving deed. The usual reference is to an oral record (see Pss 22:32; 44:2; 78:1-4).
Psalm 102:21 Prisoners . . . those under sentence of death: see note on Ps 79:11.
Psalm 102:22 Name . . . praise: see notes on Pss 5:12; 9:2.
Psalm 102:23 See notes on Pss 46:11; 47:10; see also Pss 96; 98; 100; Isa 2:2-4; Mic 4:1-3.
Psalm 102:24 Here the individual lament and the national supplication are combined. Upon meditating on the precariousness of existence before the God who endures forever, a hope arises, the hope of not being abandoned. The Letter to the Hebrews (Heb 13:8) will proclaim: “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.”
Psalm 102:25 Before half my days are done: when the normal life span is only half-completed (see Isa 38:10; Jer 17:11).
Psalm 102:26 This passage is inspired by Isa 51:6-8 and applied to the Messiah (Heb 1:10-12). The restoration of Israel and the coming of the Messiah will be the preface to the eschatological renewal or regeneration that will accompany the end of time (see Isa 65:17; 66:22; Rev 20:11; 21:1).
Psalm 102:27 Both the “foundations of the earth” and the “heavens” (v. 26, which the ever-living God has made) will perish (see Pss 1:6; 90:4; 2 Pet 3:8ff) and be of no use, like discarded clothing (see Isa 51:6).
Psalm 102:28 By contrast, the Lord remains forever the same (see Heb 13:8); he is the “first and the last” (see Deut 32:39; Isa 41:4; 46:4; 48:12).
Psalm 102:29 Because God does not change, the children of his people will be secure in the Lord (see Mal 3:6). Dwell in your presence: another translation is: “dwell in the [Promised] Land” (see Pss 25:13; 69:37; see also Ps 37:3, 29; Isa 65:9).

Psalm 142-143

Psalm 142^[a]

Prayer in Time of Abandonment

¹A maskil^[b] of David. When he was in the cave. A prayer.

²^[c]I cry out to the Lord with my plea;
    I entreat the Lord to grant me mercy.
³Before him I pour out my complaint
    and tell my troubles in his presence.
⁴^[d]No matter how faint my spirit is within me,
    you are there to guide my steps.
Along the path on which I travel^[e]
    they have hidden a trap for me.
⁵I look to my right,
    but there is no friend who knows me.
There is no refuge available to me;
    no one cares whether I live or perish.^[f]
⁶^[g]I cry out to you, O Lord;
    I say, “You are my refuge,
    my portion in the land of the living.”^[h]
⁷Listen to my plea for help,
    for I am in desperate straits.
Rescue me from those who seek to persecute me,
    for they are too strong for me.^[i]
⁸Set me free from my prison,^[j]
    so that I may praise your name.
Then the righteous will assemble around me
    because of your great generosity to me.

Psalm 143^[k]

Prayer of a Penitent in Distress

¹^[l]A psalm of David.

O Lord, hear my prayer,
    incline your ear to my supplications.
In your faithfulness respond to me
    with your righteousness.
²Do not subject your servant to your judgment,
    for no one living is righteous before you.^[m]
³^[n]An enemy has stalked me unrelentingly
    and crushed me into the ground;
he has left me to live in darkness^[o]
    like those long dead.
⁴My spirit is faint within me,
    and my heart^[p] has succumbed to fear.
⁵I remember the days of old,
    reflecting on all your actions
    and meditating on the works of your hands.^[q]
⁶I stretch out my hands^[r] to you;
    my soul thirsts for you like a parched land. Selah
⁷^[s]Answer me quickly, O Lord,
    for my spirit grows faint.
Do not hide your face from me
    or I will be like those who go down to the pit.^[t]
⁸At dawn^[u] let me experience your kindness,
    for in you I place my trust.
Show me the path I must walk,
    for to you I lift up my soul.
⁹Deliver me from my enemies, O Lord,
    for in you I seek refuge.
¹⁰Teach me to do your will,
    for you are my God.^[v]
Let your gracious Spirit lead me
    along a level path.
¹¹For your name’s sake,^[w] O Lord, preserve my life;
    in your righteousness deliver me from distress.
¹²In your kindness, destroy my enemies,
    and annihilate all those who oppress me,
    for I am your servant.^[x]

Footnotes

Psalm 142:1 The psalmist issues a prayer for deliverance from powerful enemies. Whether he is King David (see 1 Sam 22:10) or someone unknown, he has been trodden upon by everyone and is undergoing the agony and passion of so many others. He is also an image of Christ, isolated and suffering without protest.
Often we too find ourselves exhausted on our journey through life, strewn as it is with many snares. For some, it is social or political oppression that prevents us from leading a fully human and Christian existence. For others, religious persecution itself intervenes to restrain or destroy our goods and freedom. Upon each one, our spiritual enemies (the world and the devil) impose a continuous struggle, both fierce and treacherous, that each must wage practically without human help. In these struggles, we can make use of this psalm to direct to God an ardent and confident appeal.
Psalm 142:1 Maskil: see note on Ps 32; When he was in the cave: see Ps 57:1; 1 Sam 22:10; 24:1f.
Psalm 142:2 The psalmist uses the formal third person (customary when addressing kings) to pour out his troubles to God.
Psalm 142:4 The psalmist is at the point of spiritual exhaustion (see Pss 76:13; 77:3; 143:4; Jon 2:8), and only God can help for he knows the faithful’s destiny, his present and future life (see Ps 139:24). Yet the Lord is not present to help him along this path of his enemies, which is filled with snares. My right: i.e., the place where one’s witness or legal counsel stood (see Pss 16:8; 109:31; 110:5; 121:5).
Psalm 142:4 Along the path on which I travel: the present path on which the psalmist is traveling, i.e., the path of his opponents, which is covered with such snares as to fill him with dread, in contrast to the path of the Lord, which leads to such salvation as to fill him with hope (vv. 7-8).
Psalm 142:5 No one cares whether I live or perish: the psalmist is like an outcast for whom no one cares and whom no one comes forward to protect. He is alone and extremely vulnerable.
Psalm 142:6 The psalmist reiterates his distress and his plea for deliverance, confessing that the Lord is his refuge (see Ps 91:2; Jer 17:17) and his hope (my portion in the land of the living: see Pss 16:5; 73:26; 119:57; Lam 3:24). In turn, he will give thanks for his deliverance (see note on Ps 7:18), and the righteous will rejoice in the Lord with him (see Pss 22:25; 34:3; 64:10; 107:42).
Psalm 142:6 Hence, the psalmist cries out to the Lord for help. The Lord is his Covenant God; he most of all should be solicitous for his servant. In the land of the living: i.e., here below, during his earthly life (see Ps 27:13).
Psalm 142:7 The enemies of the psalmist are too strong for him. Unless the Lord comes to his aid, the afflicted man is lost. There is no one else who can save him.
Psalm 142:8 Prison: a word that may denote actual imprisonment or may be a metaphor for the psalmist’s desperate plight characterized by adversity and isolation (see Ps 107:10; Isa 42:7). Assemble around me: the Greek and Syriac translate this phrase as “hope [or wait] around me” (see Job 36:2). All the friends of God are united in praise and joy (see Pss 22:26; 34:4; 64:11; 107:42).
Psalm 143:1 This is the seventh and last of the Penitential Psalms (Pss 6; 32; 38; 51; 102; 130; 143), probably because of verse 2, with its admission of universal guilt, the only reference to sin and forgiveness in it. Throughout the Psalter, amid praise and joy, there is the lament of the poor person who is dependent on God for everything. Here is the last pressing supplication of the sufferer who cannot despair of God, of his love and his righteousness. The true Israel, the community of the poor of the Lord, understood it even unto suffering. As Paul indicates (Rom 3:20ff), no one merits to be delivered from evil, not even the person who observes the law; one can only rely on the Lord’s unfailing love for human beings. Those who truly pray will experience the Lord’s deliverance.
There are many occasions on which we, too, can pray this simple and ardent psalm to implore divine aid. The demons and all those whom they incite never cease to threaten us, either in our material sustenance or in our physical and spiritual life.
Psalm 143:1 The psalmist cries out to God to have mercy because of his faithfulness and righteousness, for he knows that God’s judgment could find him guilty of sin and condemn him to remain afflicted (see 130:3).
Psalm 143:2 For no one living is righteous before you: this text is used in Rom 3:20 (see Pss 51:7; 130:3; Job 9:2; 14:3f; 15:14; Eccl 7:20).
Psalm 143:3 The psalmist sketches the distress he suffers and is encouraged by the memory of God’s past acts of deliverance.
Psalm 143:3 The same images are found in Ps 7:6; Lam 3:6; Mic 7:8. Darkness: see note on Ps 27:1.
Psalm 143:4 Heart: see note on Ps 4:8.
Psalm 143:5 See Pss 42:5; 77:6, 12f.
Psalm 143:6 Stretch out my hands: in supplication (see Pss 44:21; 88:10; Ex 9:29). Soul: see note on Ps 6:4. Thirsts for you: see Ps 63:2.
Psalm 143:7 The psalmist here appends a mosaic of prayers for deliverance, guidance, and commitment to the Lord.
Psalm 143:7 See similar phrases in Pss 10:1; 28:1; 69:18; 84:3; 88:5; 102:3; 141:1.
Psalm 143:8 At dawn: see notes on Pss 57; 57:9; see also Pss 17:15; 90:14; 101:8; 108:3. Kindness: see note on Ps 6:5. I lift up my soul: see Pss 25:1; 27:8; 32:6; 33:22; 86:4.
Psalm 143:10 Teach me . . . my God: see Pss 25:4f; 118:28. Spirit: the divine Spirit was regarded as a force and not yet as a person (see Ps 51:13; Neh 9:20; Ezek 36:27). Lead . . . path: see note on Ps 26:12 (see also Pss 27:11; 139:24).
Psalm 143:11 For your name’s sake: see Ps 25:11. Deliver me from distress: see Pss 31:5; 119:25, 88; 142:8.
Psalm 143:12 The psalmist calls upon the Lord to deal righteously with his adversaries, reflecting a hope that is expressed in the imprecatory psalms (see notes on Pss 5:11; 35; see also Ps 54:5). Kindness: see note on Ps 6:5.

Jeremiah 20:7-11

Jeremiah’s Confession^[a]

⁷O Lord, you deceived me,
    and I allowed myself to be deceived.
You were too powerful for me,
    and you have prevailed.
All day long I am an object of ridicule;
    everyone mocks me.
⁸Whenever I speak, I must cry out;
    my message is violence and destruction.
For the word of the Lord has caused me to endure
    reproach and derision all day long.
⁹If I say, “I will not mention him
    or speak any longer in his name,”
within me I experience a fire burning in my heart
    and imprisoned in my bones.
I am weary holding it in,
    and I can no longer do so.
¹⁰For I hear many whispering,
    “Terror surrounds us.
    Denounce him! Let us denounce him!”
All those who were my close friends
    are waiting for me to stumble, saying,
“Perhaps we can trick him,
    and we will be able to prevail
    and take our revenge against him.”
¹¹But the Lord is at my side
    like a mighty warrior.
Therefore, my persecutors will stumble,
    and they will not prevail.
Because of their failure,
    they will be greatly shamed,
and the disgrace that they will endure
    will be everlasting and unforgettable.

1 Corinthians 10:14-17

¹⁴The Eucharist Versus Pagan Sacrifices.^[a] Therefore, my dear friends, avoid idolatry at all costs.^[b] ¹⁵I am talking to you as sensible people. Judge for yourselves what I say. ¹⁶The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a sharing in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a sharing in the body of Christ? ¹⁷Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread.

1 Corinthians 11:27-32

²⁷God’s Judgment on the Community.^[a] Therefore, anyone who eats the bread and drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner is guilty of an offense against the body and blood of the Lord. ²⁸Everyone should examine himself about eating the bread and drinking from the cup. ²⁹For a person who eats and drinks without discerning the body of the Lord is eating and drinking judgment on himself.

³⁰That is why many of you are weak and ill, and a number of you have fallen asleep. ³¹If we were to examine ourselves, we would not be condemned. ³²However, when we are judged by the Lord, he is disciplining us to save us from being condemned together with the world.

John 17

The Priestly Prayer of Jesus^[a]

Chapter 17

Knowledge of the Father and the Son.^[b] ¹After saying this, Jesus raised his eyes to heaven and said,

“Father, the hour has come.
Glorify your Son,
so that your Son may glorify you,
²since you have given him authority
over all people,
so that he may give eternal life
to all those you have given him.
³And eternal life is this:
to know you,
the only true God,
and the one you have sent,
Jesus Christ.
⁴“I have glorified you on earth
by completing the work
that you entrusted to me.
⁵So now, Father,
glorify me in your presence
with the glory I had with you
before the world began.

The Son and the Disciples^[c]

⁶“I have made your name known
to those whom you gave me from the world.
They were yours,
and you gave them to me,
and they have kept your word.
⁷Now they have come to understand
that everything you gave me is from you.
⁸For the words you gave to me
I have given to them,
and they have accepted them
and know with certainty
that I have come from you,
and they have believed that you sent me.
⁹“It is for them that I pray.
I do not pray for the world,
but for those you gave me
because they are yours
¹⁰Everything I have is yours,
and everything you have is mine,
and through them I have been glorified.
¹¹I will remain no longer in the world,
but they will still be in the world
while I will be coming to you.
“Holy Father,
protect by the power of your name
those you have given me,
so that they may be one,
even as we are one.
¹²While I was with them
I protected them by your name
that you have given me,
and I kept them safe.
Not one of them was lost,
except the one destined to be lost,^[d]
so that the Scripture might be fulfilled.
¹³“Now I am coming to you,
and I say these things
while I am still in the world
so that my joy may come
to full measure in them.
¹⁴I have given them your word,
and the world has hated them
because they do not belong to the world
any more than I belong to the world.
¹⁵I am not asking you
to take them out of the world,
but I do ask you
to protect them from the evil one.
¹⁶They do not belong to the world
any more than I belong to the world.
¹⁷“Consecrate them in the truth.
Your word is truth.
¹⁸As you sent me into the world,
so have I sent them into the world.
¹⁹And for their sakes I consecrate myself,
so that they too may be consecrated in truth.

The Disciples and the Church To Come^[e]

²⁰“I pray not only on behalf of these,
but also for those who through their word
will come to believe in me.
²¹May they all be one.
As you, Father, are in me
and I in you,
may they also be in us
so that the world may believe
that you have sent me.
²²“The glory that you have given me
I have given to them,
so that they may be one,
as we are one,
²³I in them and you in me,
that they may become completely one,
and thus the world may know
that you have sent me
and that you have loved them
even as you have loved me.
²⁴“Father, allow those you have given me
to be with me where I am,
so that they may behold my glory,
which you have bestowed on me
because you loved me
before the foundation of the world.
²⁵“Righteous Father,
the world has not known you;
I have known you,
and they have known that you have sent me.
²⁶I have made your name known to them,
and I will make it known,
so that the love with which you loved me
may be in them, and I in them.”

Footnotes

John 17:1 The hour has come for Jesus to do the final action that shows how far his union with the Father reaches and how great is the gift he makes of himself to human beings for their salvation. This sublime prayer reveals the ultimate meaning of his sacrifice; the title that has been given to the chapter, the “priestly prayer,” is well deserved. But it is also a “missionary” prayer, since at the moment when there seems to be nothing but failure and isolation, Jesus adheres to God’s plan. He is entirely the One Sent, who completes the mission given to him by the Father. He thinks only of this mission that his disciples must continue.
John 17:1 The word “glory” speaks of the greatness of God, of his final intervention, of his presence that gives strength, meaning, and fulfillment to people. Paradoxically, this glory is revealed in the destiny of Jesus, glory that is manifested during the Passion. One observes the love that was given to Christ for all eternity, love that became eternal life, shared by believers.
John 17:6 People who have accepted his word and recognized his truth live in close union with Jesus, which is a wonderful gift from the Father. Jesus calls for their fidelity.
People who have accepted the words of Jesus are no longer trapped in worthlessness, emptiness, and falsehood—in everything that is a denial of God and what is here called “the world.” Their future is not in running away but in being insulted and giving testimony. The trial of Jesus continues in these people. May they remain in truth and faith; may they not become a prey of the falsehood, worthlessness, and unbelief that are the face of the Evil One or of Evil.
John 17:12 The one destined to be lost (literally, “The son of perdition”): Judas the traitor (see Jn 13:18). The literal translation reflects a Hebraism, meaning one who is destined for destruction, and this by his own free action. It is by this free choice that the Scripture is fulfilled.
John 17:20 The prayer of Jesus indicates the destiny of his followers for all times and places. He asks what is essential for them: that they live in the bonds of peace and unity that express their union with Christ. Here is the mystery of the Church in the light of the sacrifice of Christ: the Church is anchored in the inexpressible love of the Son and the Father; this is the mystery of communion. Christians testify to this communion when they live in it. Hence, they will discover more and more, in terms of experience, who Christ is and who the Father is: the glory of Christ and the name of the Father will be unveiled to their eyes as the highest realities.

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Book of Common Prayer

Psalm 102[a]

Prayer of an Exile

Footnotes

Psalm 142[a]

Prayer in Time of Abandonment

Psalm 143[k]

Prayer of a Penitent in Distress

Footnotes

Jeremiah’s Confession[a]

Footnotes

Footnotes

Footnotes

The Priestly Prayer of Jesus[a]

Chapter 17

The Son and the Disciples[c]

The Disciples and the Church To Come[e]

Footnotes

Psalm 102^[a]

Psalm 142^[a]

Psalm 143^[k]

Jeremiah’s Confession^[a]

The Priestly Prayer of Jesus^[a]

The Son and the Disciples^[c]

The Disciples and the Church To Come^[e]