Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 70[a]
For the music director, by David; written to get God’s attention.[b]
70 O God, please be willing to rescue me.[c]
O Lord, hurry and help me.[d]
2 May those who are trying to take my life
be embarrassed and ashamed.[e]
May those who want to harm me
be turned back and ashamed.[f]
3 May those who say, “Aha! Aha!”
be driven back[g] and disgraced.[h]
4 May all those who seek you be happy and rejoice in you.
May those who love to experience[i] your deliverance say continually,[j]
“May God[k] be praised!”[l]
5 I am oppressed and needy.[m]
O God, hurry to me.[n]
You are my helper and my deliverer.
O Lord,[o] do not delay.
Psalm 71[p]
71 In you, O Lord, I have taken shelter.
Never let me be humiliated.
2 Vindicate me by rescuing me.[q]
Listen to me.[r] Deliver me.[s]
3 Be my protector and refuge,[t]
a stronghold where I can be safe.[u]
For you are my high ridge[v] and my stronghold.
4 My God, rescue me from the power[w] of the wicked,
from the hand of the cruel oppressor.
5 For you are my hope;
O Sovereign Lord, I have trusted in you since I was young.[x]
6 I have leaned on you since birth;[y]
you pulled me[z] from my mother’s womb.
I praise you continually.[aa]
7 Many are appalled when they see me,[ab]
but you are my secure shelter.
8 I praise you constantly
and speak of your splendor all day long.[ac]
9 Do not reject me in my old age.[ad]
When my strength fails, do not abandon me.
10 For my enemies talk about me;
those waiting for a chance to kill me plot my demise.[ae]
11 They say,[af] “God has abandoned him.
Run and seize him, for there is no one who will rescue him.”
12 O God, do not remain far away from me.
My God, hurry and help me.[ag]
13 May my accusers be humiliated and defeated.
May those who want to harm me[ah] be covered with scorn and disgrace.
14 As for me, I will wait continually,
and will continue to praise you.[ai]
15 I will tell about your justice,
and all day long proclaim your salvation,[aj]
though I cannot fathom its full extent.[ak]
16 I will come and tell about[al] the mighty acts of the Sovereign Lord.
I will proclaim your justice—yours alone.
17 O God, you have taught me since I was young,
and I am still declaring[am] your amazing deeds.
18 Even when I am old and gray,[an]
O God, do not abandon me,
until I tell the next generation about your strength,
and those coming after me about your power.[ao]
19 Your justice, O God, extends to the skies above;[ap]
you have done great things.[aq]
O God, who can compare to you?[ar]
20 Though you have allowed me to experience much trouble and distress,[as]
revive me once again.[at]
Bring me up once again[au] from the depths of the earth.
21 Raise me to a position of great honor.[av]
Turn and comfort me.[aw]
22 I will express my thanks to you with a stringed instrument,
praising[ax] your faithfulness, O my God.
I will sing praises to you accompanied by a harp,
O Holy One of Israel.[ay]
23 My lips will shout for joy. Yes,[az] I will sing your praises.
I will praise you when you rescue me.[ba]
24 All day long my tongue will also tell about your justice,
for those who want to harm me[bb] will be embarrassed and ashamed.[bc]
Psalm 74[a]
A well-written song[b] by Asaph.
74 Why, O God, have you permanently rejected us?[c]
Why does your anger burn[d] against the sheep of your pasture?
2 Remember your people[e] whom you acquired in ancient times,
whom you rescued[f] so they could be your very own nation,[g]
as well as Mount Zion, where you dwell.
3 Hurry[h] to the permanent ruins,
and to all the damage the enemy has done to the temple.[i]
4 Your enemies roar[j] in the middle of your sanctuary;[k]
they set up their battle flags.[l]
5 They invade like lumberjacks
swinging their axes in a thick forest.[m]
6 And now[n] they are tearing down[o] all its engravings[p]
with axes[q] and crowbars.[r]
7 They set your sanctuary on fire;
they desecrate your dwelling place by knocking it to the ground.[s]
8 They say to themselves,[t]
“We will oppress all of them.”[u]
They burn down all the places in the land where people worship God.[v]
9 We do not see any signs of God’s presence;[w]
there are no longer any prophets,[x]
and we have no one to tell us how long this will last.[y]
10 How long, O God, will the adversary hurl insults?
Will the enemy blaspheme your name forever?
11 Why do you remain inactive?
Intervene and destroy him.[z]
12 But God has been my[aa] king from ancient times,
performing acts of deliverance on the earth.[ab]
13 You destroyed[ac] the sea by your strength;
you shattered the heads of the sea monster[ad] in the water.
14 You crushed the heads of Leviathan;[ae]
you fed[af] him to the people who live along the coast.[ag]
15 You broke open the spring and the stream;[ah]
you dried up perpetually flowing rivers.[ai]
16 You established the cycle of day and night;[aj]
you put the moon[ak] and sun in place.[al]
17 You set up all the boundaries[am] of the earth;
you created the cycle of summer and winter.[an]
18 Remember how[ao] the enemy hurls insults, O Lord,[ap]
and how a foolish nation blasphemes your name.
19 Do not hand the life of your dove[aq] over to a wild animal.
Do not continue to disregard[ar] the lives of your oppressed people.
20 Remember your covenant promises,[as]
for the dark regions of the earth are full of places where violence rules.[at]
21 Do not let the afflicted be turned back in shame.
Let the oppressed and poor praise your name.[au]
22 Rise up, O God. Defend your honor.[av]
Remember how fools insult you all day long.[aw]
23 Do not disregard[ax] what your enemies say,[ay]
or the unceasing shouts of those who defy you.[az]
Paul’s Thorn in the Flesh
12 It is necessary to go on boasting.[a] Though it is not profitable, I will go on to visions and revelations from the Lord. 2 I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago (whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows) was caught up to the third heaven. 3 And I know that this man (whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, God knows) 4 was caught up into paradise[b] and heard things too sacred to be put into words,[c] things that a person[d] is not permitted to speak. 5 On behalf of such an individual I will boast, but on my own behalf I will not boast, except about my weaknesses. 6 For even if I wish to boast, I will not be a fool, for I would be telling[e] the truth, but I refrain from this so that no one may regard[f] me beyond what he sees in me or what he hears from me, 7 even because of the extraordinary character of the revelations. Therefore,[g] so that I would not become arrogant, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to trouble[h] me—so that I would not become arrogant.[i] 8 I asked the Lord three times about this, that it would depart from me. 9 But[j] he said to me, “My grace is enough[k] for you, for my[l] power is made perfect[m] in weakness.” So then, I will boast most gladly[n] about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may reside in[o] me. 10 Therefore I am content with[p] weaknesses, with insults, with troubles, with persecutions and difficulties[q] for the sake of Christ, for whenever I am weak, then I am strong.
The Triumphal Entry
28 After Jesus[a] had said this, he continued on ahead,[b] going up to Jerusalem.[c] 29 Now[d] when he approached Bethphage[e] and Bethany, at the place called the Mount of Olives,[f] he sent two of the disciples, 30 telling them,[g] “Go to the village ahead of you.[h] When[i] you enter it, you will find a colt tied there that has never been ridden.[j] Untie it and bring it here. 31 If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ just say, ‘The Lord needs[k] it.’” 32 So those who were sent ahead found[l] it exactly[m] as he had told them. 33 As[n] they were untying the colt, its owners asked them,[o] “Why are you untying that colt?” 34 They replied, “The Lord needs it.” 35 Then[p] they brought it to Jesus, threw their cloaks[q] on the colt,[r] and had Jesus get on[s] it. 36 As[t] he rode along, they[u] spread their cloaks on the road. 37 As he approached the road leading down from[v] the Mount of Olives,[w] the whole crowd of his[x] disciples began to rejoice[y] and praise[z] God with a loud voice for all the mighty works[aa] they had seen:[ab] 38 “Blessed is the king[ac] who comes in the name of the Lord![ad] Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” 39 But[ae] some of the Pharisees[af] in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.”[ag] 40 He answered,[ah] “I tell you, if they[ai] keep silent, the very stones[aj] will cry out!”
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