Book of Common Prayer
Prayer of an afflicted one for mercy on himself and on Zion.
A Prayer of the afflicted, when he [a]is overwhelmed, and poureth out his complaint before Jehovah.
102 Hear my prayer, O Jehovah,
And let my cry come unto thee.
2 Hide not thy face from me in the day of my distress:
Incline thine ear unto me;
In the day when I call answer me speedily.
3 For my days consume away [b]like smoke,
And my bones are burned [c]as a firebrand.
4 My heart is smitten like grass, and withered;
For I forget to eat my bread.
5 By reason of the voice of my groaning
My bones cleave to my flesh.
6 I am like a pelican of the wilderness;
I am become as an owl of the waste places.
7 I watch, and am become like a sparrow
That is alone upon the house-top.
8 Mine enemies reproach me all the day;
They that are mad against me do curse by me.
9 For I have eaten ashes like bread,
And mingled my drink with weeping,
10 Because of thine indignation and thy wrath:
For thou hast taken me up, and cast me away.
11 My days are like a shadow that [d]declineth;
And I am withered like grass.
12 But thou, O Jehovah, [e]wilt abide for ever;
And thy memorial name unto all generations.
13 Thou wilt arise, and have mercy upon Zion;
For it is time to have pity upon her,
Yea, the set time is come.
14 For thy servants take pleasure in her stones,
And have pity upon her dust.
15 So the nations shall fear the name of Jehovah,
And all the kings of the earth thy glory.
16 For Jehovah hath built up Zion;
He hath appeared in his glory.
17 He hath regarded the prayer of the destitute,
And hath not despised their prayer.
18 This shall be written for the generation to come;
And a people which shall be created shall praise [f]Jehovah.
19 For he hath looked down from the height of his sanctuary;
From heaven did Jehovah behold the earth;
20 To hear the sighing of the prisoner;
To loose [g]those that are appointed to death;
21 That men may declare the name of Jehovah in Zion,
And his praise in Jerusalem;
22 When the peoples are gathered together,
And the kingdoms, to serve Jehovah.
23 He [h]weakened my strength in the way;
He shortened my days.
24 I said, O my God, take me not away in the midst of my days:
Thy years are throughout all generations.
25 Of old didst thou lay the foundation of the earth;
And the heavens are the work of thy hands.
26 They shall perish, but thou shalt endure;
Yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment;
As a vesture shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed:
27 But thou art the same,
And thy years shall have no end.
28 The children of thy servants shall continue,
And their seed shall be established before thee.
Book V
Jehovah delivers men from manifold troubles.
107 Oh give thanks unto Jehovah; for he is good;
For his lovingkindness endureth for ever.
2 Let the redeemed of Jehovah say so,
Whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the adversary,
3 And gathered out of the lands,
From the east and from the west,
From the north and [a]from the south.
4 They wandered in the wilderness in a desert way;
They found no city of habitation.
5 Hungry and thirsty,
Their soul fainted in them.
6 Then they cried unto Jehovah in their trouble,
And he delivered them out of their distresses,
7 He led them also by a straight way,
That they might go to a city of habitation.
8 Oh that men would praise Jehovah for his lovingkindness,
And for his wonderful works to the children of men!
9 For he satisfieth the longing soul,
And the hungry soul he filleth with good.
10 Such as sat in darkness and in the shadow of death,
Being bound in affliction and iron,
11 Because they rebelled against the words of God,
And contemned the counsel of the Most High:
12 Therefore he brought down their heart with labor;
They fell down, and there was none to help.
13 Then they cried unto Jehovah in their trouble,
And he saved them out of their distresses.
14 He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death,
And brake their bonds in sunder.
15 Oh that men would praise Jehovah for his lovingkindness,
And for his wonderful works to the children of men!
16 For he hath broken the gates of brass,
And cut the bars of iron in sunder.
17 Fools because of [b]their transgression,
And because of their iniquities, are afflicted.
18 Their soul abhorreth all manner of food;
And they draw near unto the gates of death.
19 Then they cry unto Jehovah in their trouble,
And he saveth them out of their distresses.
20 He sendeth his word, and healeth them,
And delivereth them from their [c]destructions.
21 Oh that men would praise Jehovah for his lovingkindness,
And for his wonderful works to the children of men!
22 And let them offer the sacrifices of thanksgiving,
And declare his works with singing.
23 They that go down to the sea in ships,
That do business in great waters;
24 These see the works of Jehovah,
And his wonders in the deep.
25 For he commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind,
Which lifteth up the waves thereof.
26 They mount up to the heavens, they go down again to the depths:
Their soul melteth away because of trouble.
27 They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man,
And [d]are at their wits’ end.
28 Then they cry unto Jehovah in their trouble,
And he bringeth them out of their distresses.
29 He maketh the storm a calm,
So that the waves thereof are still.
30 Then are they glad because they are quiet;
So he bringeth them unto their desired haven.
31 Oh that men would praise Jehovah for his lovingkindness,
And for his wonderful works to the children of men!
32 Let them exalt him also in the assembly of the people,
And praise him in the seat of the elders.
17 And as for you, O my flock, thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Behold, I judge between sheep and sheep, the rams and the he-goats. 18 Seemeth it a small thing unto you to have fed upon the good pasture, but ye must tread down with your feet the residue of your pasture? and to have drunk of the clear waters, but ye must foul the residue with your feet? 19 And as for my sheep, they eat that which ye have trodden with your feet, and they drink that which ye have fouled with your feet.
20 Therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah unto them: Behold, I, even I, will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep. 21 Because ye thrust with side and with shoulder, and push all the diseased with your horns, till ye have scattered them abroad; 22 therefore will I save my flock, and they shall no more be a prey; and I will judge between sheep and sheep. 23 And I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even my servant David; he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd. 24 And I, Jehovah, will be their God, and my servant David prince among them; I, Jehovah, have spoken it.
25 And I will make with them a covenant of peace, and will cause evil beasts to cease out of the land; and they shall dwell securely in the wilderness, and sleep in the woods. 26 And I will make them and the places round about my hill a blessing; and I will cause the shower to come down in its season; there shall be showers of blessing. 27 And the tree of the field shall yield its fruit, and the earth shall yield its increase, and they shall be secure in their land; and they shall know that I am Jehovah, when I have broken the bars of their yoke, and have delivered them out of the hand of those that made bondmen of them. 28 And they shall no more be a prey to the nations, neither shall the beasts of the earth devour them; but they shall dwell securely, and none shall make them afraid. 29 And I will raise up unto them a [a]plantation for renown, and they shall be no more [b]consumed with famine in the land, neither bear the shame of the nations any more. 30 And they shall know that I, Jehovah, their God am with them, and that they, the house of Israel, are my people, saith the Lord Jehovah. 31 And ye my sheep, the sheep of my pasture, are men, and I am your God, saith the Lord Jehovah.
8 [a]Now [b]in the things which we are saying the chief point is this: We have such a high priest, who sat down on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens, 2 a minister of [c]the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, not man. 3 For every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices: wherefore it is necessary that this high priest also have somewhat to offer. 4 Now if he were on earth, he would not be a priest at all, seeing there are those who offer the gifts according to the law; 5 who serve that which is a copy and shadow of the heavenly things, even as Moses is warned of God when he is about to [d]make the tabernacle: for, [e]See, saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern that was showed thee in the mount. 6 But now hath he obtained a ministry the more excellent, by so much as he is also the mediator of a better covenant, which hath been enacted upon better promises. 7 For if that first covenant had been faultless, then would no place have been sought for a second. 8 For [f]finding fault with them, he saith,
[g]Behold, the days come, saith the Lord,
That I will [h]make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah;
9 Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers
In the day that I took them by the hand to lead them forth out of the land of Egypt;
For they continued not in my covenant,
And I regarded them not, saith the Lord.
10 For this is the covenant that [i]I will make with the house of Israel
After those days, saith the Lord;
I will put my laws into their mind,
And on their heart also will I write them:
And I will be to them a God,
And they shall be to me a people:
11 And they shall not teach every man his fellow-citizen,
And every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord:
For all shall know me,
From the least to the greatest of them.
12 For I will be merciful to their iniquities,
And their sins will I remember no more.
13 In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first old. But that which is becoming old and waxeth aged is nigh unto vanishing away.
38 Now as they went on their way, he entered into a certain village: and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house. 39 And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at the Lord’s feet, and heard his word. 40 But Martha was [a]cumbered about much serving; and she came up to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister did leave me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me. 41 But the Lord answered and said unto her, [b]Martha, Martha, thou art anxious and troubled about many things: 42 [c]but one thing is needful: for Mary hath chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.
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