Book of Common Prayer
Prayer of an Afflicted Man for Mercy on Himself and on Zion.
A Prayer of the afflicted; when he is overwhelmed and pours out his complaint to God.
102 Hear my prayer, O Lord,
And let my cry for help come to You!
2
Do not hide Your face from me in the day of my distress!
Incline Your ear to me;
In the day when I call, answer me quickly.
3
For my days have vanished in smoke,
And my bones have been scorched like a hearth.
4
My heart has been struck like grass and withered,
Indeed, [absorbed by my heartache] I forget to eat my food.
5
Because of the sound of my groaning [in suffering and trouble]
My bones cling to my flesh.
6
I am like a [mournful] [a]vulture of the wilderness;
I am like a [desolate] owl of the wasteland.
7
I am sleepless and lie awake [mourning],
I have become like a lonely bird on a housetop.
8
My enemies taunt me all day long;
Those who ridicule me use my name as a curse.
9
For I have eaten ashes like bread,
And have mingled my drink with tears(A)
10
Because of Your indignation and Your wrath,
For You have lifted me up and thrown me away.
11
My days are like an evening shadow that lengthens and vanishes [with the sun];
And as for me, I wither away like grass.
12
But You, O Lord, are enthroned forever [ruling eternally as sovereign];
And [the fame and glory of] Your name [endures] to all generations.
13
You will arise and have compassion on Zion,
For it is time to be gracious and show favor to her;
Yes, the appointed time [the moment designated] has come.(B)
14
For Your servants find [melancholy] pleasure in the stones [of her ruins]
And feel pity for her dust.
15
So the nations will fear the name of the Lord,
And all the kings of the earth [will recognize] Your glory.(C)
16
For the Lord has built up Zion;
He has appeared in His glory and brilliance;
17
He has regarded the prayer of the destitute,
And has not despised their prayer.
18
Let this be recorded for the generation to come,
That a people yet to be created will praise the Lord.
19
For He looked down from His holy height [of His sanctuary],
From heaven the Lord gazed on the earth,
20
To hear the sighing of the prisoner,
To set free those who were doomed to death,
21
So that people may declare the name of the Lord in Zion
And His praise in Jerusalem,
22
When the peoples are gathered together,
And the kingdoms, to serve the Lord.
23
He has exhausted my strength [humbling me with sorrow] in the way;
He has shortened my days.
24
I said, “O my God, do not take me away in the midst of my days;
Your years are [eternal] throughout all generations.
25
“At the beginning You founded the earth;
The heavens are the work of Your hands.
26
“Even they will perish, but You endure;
Yes, all of them will wear out like a garment.
Like clothing You will change them and they shall be changed.
27
“But You remain the same,
And Your years will never end.(D)
28
“The children of Your servants will continue,
And their descendants will be established before You.”
Book Five
The Lord Rescues People from Many Troubles.
107 O give thanks to the Lord, for He is good;
For His compassion and lovingkindness endure forever!
2
Let the redeemed of the Lord say so,
Whom He has redeemed from the hand of the adversary,
3
And gathered them from the lands,
From the east and from the west,
From the north and from the [a]south.
4
They wandered in the wilderness in a [solitary] desert region;
And did not find a way to an inhabited city.
5
Hungry and thirsty,
They fainted.
6
Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble,
And He rescued them from their distresses.
7
He led them by the straight way,
To an inhabited city [where they could establish their homes].
8
Let them give thanks to the Lord for His lovingkindness,
And for His wonderful acts to the children of men!
9
For He satisfies the parched throat,
And fills the hungry appetite with what is good.
10
Some dwelt in darkness and in the deep (deathly) darkness,
Prisoners [bound] in misery and chains,(A)
11
Because they had rebelled against the precepts of God
And spurned the counsel of the Most High.
12
Therefore He humbled their heart with hard labor;
They stumbled and there was no one to help.
13
Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble,
And He saved them from their distresses.
14
He brought them out of darkness and the deep (deathly) darkness
And broke their bonds apart.(B)
15
Let them give thanks to the Lord for His lovingkindness,
And for His wonderful acts to the children of men!
16
For He has shattered the gates of bronze
And cut the bars of iron apart.
17
Fools, because of their rebellious way,
And because of their sins, were afflicted.
18
They detested all kinds of food,
And they drew near to the gates of death.
19
Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble,
And He saved them from their distresses.
20
He sent His word and healed them,
And rescued them from their destruction.(C)
21
Let them give thanks to the Lord for His lovingkindness,
And for His wonderful acts to the children of men!(D)
22
And let them offer the sacrifices of thanksgiving,
And speak of His deeds with shouts of joy!
23
Those who go down to the sea in ships,
Who do business on great waters;
24
They have seen the works of the Lord,
And His wonders in the deep.
25
For He spoke and raised up a stormy wind,
Which lifted up the waves of the sea.
26
They went up toward the heavens [on the crest of the wave], they went down again to the depths [of the watery trough];
Their courage melted away in their misery.
27
They staggered and trembled like a drunken man,
And were at their wits’ end [all their wisdom was useless].
28
Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble,
And He brought them out of their distresses.
29
He hushed the storm to a gentle whisper,
So that the waves of the sea were still.(E)
30
Then they were glad because of the calm,
And He guided them to their desired haven (harbor).
31
Let them give thanks to the Lord for His lovingkindness,
And for His wonderful acts to the children of men!
32
Let them exalt Him also in the congregation of the people,
And praise Him at the seat of the elders.
17 “And as for you, My flock, thus says the Lord God, ‘Behold, I judge between one sheep and another, between the rams and the male goats [between the righteous and the unrighteous]. 18 Is it too little a thing for you that you [unrighteous ones who are well-fed] feed in the best pasture, yet you must trample down with your feet [of wickedness] the rest of your pastures? Or that you drink clear [still] water, yet you must muddy with your feet [of wickedness] the rest [of the water]? 19 As for My flock (the righteous), they must feed on what you trample with your feet and drink what you muddy with your feet!’”
20 Therefore thus says the Lord God to them, “Behold, I Myself will judge between the [well-fed] fat sheep and the lean sheep. 21 Because you push with side and shoulder, and gore with your horns all those that have become weak and sick until you have scattered them away, 22 therefore, I will rescue My flock, and they shall no longer be prey; and I will judge between one sheep [ungodly] and another [godly].
23 “Then I will appoint over them one shepherd and he will feed them, [a ruler like] My servant [a]David; he will feed them and be their shepherd.(A) 24 And I the Lord will be their God, and My servant David will be a prince among them; I the Lord have spoken.
25 “I will make a covenant of peace with them and will eliminate the predatory animals from the land so that they may live securely in the wilderness and sleep [safely] in the woods.(B) 26 I will make them and the places around My hill (Jerusalem, Zion) a blessing. And I will make showers come down in their season; there will be [abundant] showers of blessing (divine favor). 27 Also the tree of the field will yield its fruit and the earth will yield its produce; and My people will be secure on their land. Then they will know [with confidence] that I am the Lord, when I have broken the bars of their yoke and have rescued them from the hand of those who made them slaves. 28 They will no longer be prey to the nations, and the predators of the earth will not devour them; but they will live safely, and no one will make them afraid [in the [b]day of the Messiah’s reign].(C) 29 I will prepare for them a place renowned for planting [crops], and they will not again be victims of famine in the land, and they will not endure the insults of the nations any longer. 30 Then they will know [with assurance] that I the Lord their God, am with them and that they, the house of Israel, are My people,” says the Lord God. 31 “As for you, My flock, the flock of My pasture, you are men, and I am your God,” says the Lord God.
A Better Ministry
8 Now the main point of what we have to say is this: we have such a High Priest, [the Christ] who is seated [in the place of honor] at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty (God) in heaven,(A) 2 a Minister (Officiating Priest) in the holy places and in the true tabernacle, which is erected not by man, but by the Lord. 3 For every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices; so it is essential for this One also to have something to offer. 4 Now if He were [still living] on earth, He would not be a priest at all, for there are priests who offer the gifts [to God] in accordance with the Law. 5 They serve as a pattern and foreshadowing of [what has its true existence and reality in] the heavenly things (sanctuary). For when Moses was about to erect the tabernacle, he was warned by God, saying, “See that you make it all [exactly] according to the pattern which was shown to you on the mountain.”(B) 6 But as it is, Christ has acquired a [priestly] ministry which is more excellent [than the old Levitical priestly ministry], for He is the Mediator (Arbiter) of a better covenant [uniting God and man], which has been enacted and rests on better promises.
A New Covenant
7 For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion for a second one or an attempt to institute another one [the new covenant]. 8 However, God finds fault with them [showing its inadequacy] when He says,
“Behold, the days will come, says the Lord,
When I will make and ratify a new covenant
With the house of Israel and with the house of Judah;
9
Not like the covenant that I made with their fathers
On the day when I took them by the hand
To lead them out of the land of Egypt;
For they did not abide in My covenant,
And so I withdrew My favor and disregarded them, says the Lord.
10
“For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel
After those days, says the Lord:
I will imprint My laws upon their minds [even upon their innermost thoughts and understanding],
And engrave them upon their hearts [effecting their regeneration].
And I will be their God,
And they shall be My people.
11
“And it will not be [necessary] for each one to teach his fellow citizen,
Or each one his brother, saying, ‘Know [by experience, have knowledge of] the Lord,’
For all will know [Me by experience and have knowledge of] Me,
From the least to the greatest of them.
12
“For I will be merciful and gracious toward their wickedness,
And I will remember their sins no more.”(C)
13 When God speaks of “A new covenant,” He makes the first one obsolete. And whatever is becoming obsolete (out of use, annulled) and growing old is ready to disappear.
Martha and Mary
38 Now while they were on their way, Jesus entered a village [called Bethany], and a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her home.(A) 39 She had a sister named Mary, who seated herself at the Lord’s feet and was continually listening to His teaching. 40 But Martha was very busy and distracted with all of her serving responsibilities; and she approached Him and said, “Lord, is it of no concern to You that my sister has left me to do the serving alone? Tell her to help me and do her part.” 41 But the Lord replied to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered and anxious about so many things; 42 but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part [that which is to her advantage], which will not be taken away from her.”
Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA 90631. All rights reserved.