Book of Common Prayer
A Cry of Distress and Imprecation on Adversaries.
To the Chief Musician; set to [the tune of] “Lilies.” A Psalm of David.
69 Save me, O God,
For the waters have threatened my life [they have come up to my neck].
2
I have sunk in deep mire, where there is no foothold;
I have come into deep waters, where a flood overwhelms me.
3
I am weary with my crying; my throat is parched;
My eyes fail while I wait [with confident expectation] for my God.
4
Those who hate me without cause are more than the hairs of my head;
Those who would destroy me are powerful, being my enemies wrongfully;
I am forced to restore what I did not steal.(A)
5
O God, You know my folly;
My wrongs are not hidden from You.
6
Do not let those who wait [confidently] for You be [a]ashamed through me, O Lord [b]God of hosts;
Do not let those who seek You [as necessary for life itself] be dishonored through me, O God of Israel,
7
Because for Your sake I have borne reproach;
Confusion and dishonor have covered my face.
8
I have become estranged from my brothers
And an alien to my mother’s sons.(B)
9
For zeal for Your house has consumed me,
And the [mocking] insults of those who insult You have fallen on me.(C)
10
When I wept and humbled myself with fasting,
It became my reproach.
11
When I made sackcloth my clothing [as one in mourning],
I became a byword [a mere object of scorn] to them.
12
They who sit in the [city’s] gate talk about me and mock me,
And I am the song of the drunkards.
13
But as for me, my prayer is to You, O Lord, at an acceptable and opportune time;
O God, in the greatness of Your favor and in the abundance of Your lovingkindness,
Answer me with truth [that is, the faithfulness of Your salvation].
14
Rescue me from the mire and do not let me sink;
Let me be rescued from those who hate me and from the deep waters.
15
Do not let the floodwater overwhelm me,
Nor the deep waters swallow me up,
Nor the pit [of Sheol] shut its mouth over me.
16
Answer me, O Lord, for Your lovingkindness is sweet and good and comforting;
According to the greatness of Your compassion, turn to me.
17
Do not hide Your face from Your servant,
For I am in distress; answer me quickly.
18
Draw near to my soul and redeem it;
Ransom me because of my enemies [so that they do not delight in my distress].
19
You know my reproach and my shame and my dishonor [how I am insulted];
My adversaries are all before You [each one fully known].
20
Reproach and insults have broken my heart and I am so sick.
I looked for sympathy, but there was none,
And for comforters, but I found none.
21
They (self-righteous hypocrites) also gave me gall [poisonous and bitter] for my food,
And for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.(D)
22
May their table [with all its abundance and luxury] become a snare [to them];
And when they are in peace [secure at their sacrificial feasts], may it become a trap.
23
May their eyes be dimmed so that they cannot see,
And make their loins shake continually [in terror and weakness].
24
Pour out Your indignation on them,
And let [the fierceness of] Your burning anger overtake them.
25
May their encampment be desolate;
May no one dwell in their tents.(E)
26
For they have persecuted him whom You have struck,
And they tell of the pain of those whom You have pierced and wounded.
27
Add [unforgiven] iniquity to their iniquity [in Your book],
And may they not come into Your [c]righteousness.
28
May they be blotted out of the book of life [and their lives come to an end]
And may they not be recorded with the righteous (those in right standing with God).(F)
29
But I am sorrowful and in pain;
May Your salvation, O God, set me [securely] on high.
30
I will praise the name of God with song
And magnify Him with thanksgiving.
31
And it will please the Lord better than an ox
Or a young bull with horns and hoofs.
32
The humble have seen it and are glad;
You who seek God [requiring Him as your greatest need], let your heart revive and live.(G)
33
For the Lord hears the needy
And does not despise His who are prisoners.
34
Let heaven and earth praise Him,
The seas and everything that moves in them.
35
For God will save Zion and rebuild the cities of Judah,
That His servants may remain there and possess it.
36
The descendants of His servants will inherit it,
And those who love His name will dwell in it.
Book Three
The End of the Wicked Contrasted with That of the Righteous.
A Psalm of Asaph.
73 Truly God is good to Israel,
To those who are pure in heart.
2
But as for me, my feet came close to stumbling,
My steps had almost slipped.
3
For I was envious of the arrogant
As I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
4
For there are no pains in their death,
Their body is fat and pampered.
5
They are not in trouble as other men,
Nor are they plagued like mankind.
6
Therefore pride is their necklace;
Violence covers them like a garment [like a long, luxurious robe].
7
Their eye bulges from fatness [they have more than the heart desires];
The imaginations of their mind run riot [with foolishness].
8
They mock and wickedly speak of oppression;
They speak loftily [with malice].
9
They set their mouth against the heavens,
And their tongue swaggers through the earth.(A)
10
Therefore his people return to this place,
And waters of abundance [offered by the irreverent] are [blindly] drunk by them.
11
They say, “How does God know?
Is there knowledge [of us] with the Most High?”
12
Behold, these are the ungodly,
Who always prosper and are at ease [in the world]; they have increased in wealth.
13
Surely then in vain I have cleansed my heart
And washed my hands in innocence.(B)
14
For all the day long have I been stricken,
And punished every morning.
15
If I had said, “I will say this,” [and expressed my feelings],
I would have betrayed the generation of Your children.
16
When I considered how to understand this,
It was too great an effort for me and too painful
17
Until I came into the sanctuary of God;
Then I understood [for I considered] their end.
18
Surely You set the wicked-minded and immoral on slippery places;
You cast them down to destruction.
19
How they are destroyed in a moment!
They are completely swept away by sudden terrors!
20
Like a dream [which seems real] until one awakens,
O Lord, when stirred, [You observe the wicked], You will despise their image.
21
When my heart was embittered
And I was pierced within [as with the fang of an adder],
22
Then I was senseless and ignorant;
I was like a beast before You.
23
Nevertheless I am continually with You;
You have taken hold of my right hand.
24
You will guide me with Your counsel,
And afterward receive me to honor and glory.
25
Whom have I in heaven [but You]?
And besides You, I desire nothing on earth.
26
My flesh and my heart may fail,
But God is the rock and strength of my heart and my portion forever.
27
For behold, those who are far from You will perish;
You have destroyed all those who are unfaithful and have abandoned You.
28
But as for me, it is good for me to draw near to God;
I have made the Lord God my refuge and placed my trust in Him,
That I may tell of all Your works.
The King’s Kindness
27 Blessed be the Lord, the God of our fathers [said Ezra], who put such a thing as this in the king’s heart, to adorn and glorify the house of the Lord in Jerusalem, 28 and has extended His mercy and lovingkindness to me before the king, his advisers, and all the king’s mighty officials. I was strengthened and encouraged, for the hand of the Lord my God was upon me, and I gathered together outstanding men of Israel to go up with me [to Jerusalem].
Protection of God Invoked
21 Then I proclaimed a fast there at the river Ahava, so that we might humble ourselves before our God to seek from Him a safe journey for us, our [a]children, and all our possessions. 22 For I was ashamed to request troops and horsemen from the king to protect us from the enemy along the way, because we had told the king, “The hand of our God is favorable toward all those who seek Him, but His power and His anger are against all those who abandon (turn away from) Him.” 23 So we fasted and sought [help from] our God concerning this [matter], and He heard our plea.
24 Then I set apart twelve leading priests, Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and ten of their brothers (relatives), 25 and I weighed out to them the silver, the gold, and the utensils, the offering for the house of our God which the king, his advisers, his officials, and all Israel who were present there had offered. 26 I weighed into their hands 650 talents of silver, and silver utensils worth 100 talents, and 100 talents of gold; 27 also 20 bowls of gold worth 1,000 darics, and two utensils of fine [b]shiny bronze, precious as gold. 28 Then I said to them, “You are holy to the Lord, the utensils are holy, and the silver and the gold are a freewill offering to the Lord God of your fathers. 29 Guard and keep them until you weigh them before the leading priests and the Levites and the leaders of the fathers’ households of Israel in Jerusalem, in the chambers of the house of the Lord.” 30 So the priests and the Levites received the weighed out silver and gold, and the utensils, to bring them to Jerusalem to the house of our God.
31 We set out from the river Ahava on the twelfth [day] of the first month to go to Jerusalem; and the hand of our God was upon us, and He rescued us from the hand of the enemy and those who lay in ambushes along the way. 32 So we came to Jerusalem and remained there for three days.
Treasure Placed in the Temple
33 On the fourth day the silver and the gold and the utensils were weighed out in the house of our God into the hand of Meremoth the son of Uriah the priest, and with him was Eleazar the son of Phinehas; and with them were the Levites—Jozabad the son of Jeshua and Noadiah the son of Binnui. 34 Every piece was counted and weighed, and all the weight was recorded at that time.
35 Also the [former] exiles who had come from the captivity offered burnt offerings to the God of Israel: 12 bulls for all Israel, 96 rams, 77 lambs, and 12 male goats for a sin offering. All this was a burnt offering to the Lord. 36 And they delivered the king’s edicts to the king’s satraps (lieutenants) and to the governors [c]west of the [Euphrates] River, and they supported the people and God’s house.
A Scene of Heaven
15 Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and wonderful [a warning of terrifying and horrible events]: seven angels who had seven plagues (afflictions, calamities), which are the last, because with them the wrath of God is finished [that is, it is completely expressed and reaches its zenith].(A)
2 Then I saw something like a sea or large expanse of glass mixed with fire, and those who were victorious over the beast and over his image and over the number corresponding to his name were standing on the sea or large expanse of glass, holding harps of God [worshiping Him].(B) 3 And they [a]sang the song of Moses, the bond-servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying,
“Great and wonderful and awe-inspiring are Your works [in judgment],
O Lord God, the Almighty [the Omnipotent, the Ruler of all];
Righteous and true are Your ways,
O King of the [b]nations!(C)
4
“Who will not fear [reverently] and glorify Your name, O Lord [giving You honor and praise in worship]?
For You alone are holy;
For all the nations shall come and worship before You,
For Your righteous acts [Your just decrees and judgments] have been revealed and displayed.”(D)
5 After these things I looked, and the temple (sanctuary) of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened, 6 and the seven angels who had the seven plagues (afflictions, calamities) came out of the temple, arrayed in linen, pure and gleaming, and wrapped around their chests were golden sashes. 7 Then one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden bowls full of the wrath and indignation of God, who lives forever and ever.(E) 8 And the temple was filled with [c]smoke from the glory and radiance and splendor of God and from His power; and no one was able to enter the temple until the seven plagues of the seven angels were finished.(F)
Five Thousand Fed
13 When Jesus heard about John, He left there privately in a boat and went to a secluded place. But when the crowds heard of this, they followed Him on foot from the cities.(A) 14 When He went ashore, He saw a large crowd, and felt [profound] compassion for them and healed their sick.
15 When evening came, the disciples came to Him and said, “This is an isolated place and the hour is already late; send the crowds away so that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves.” 16 But Jesus said to them, “They do not need to go away; you give them something to eat!” 17 They replied, “We have nothing here except five loaves and two fish.” 18 He said, “Bring them here to Me.” 19 Then He ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass, and He took the five loaves and the two fish and, looking up toward heaven, He blessed and broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people, 20 and they all ate and were satisfied. They picked up twelve full baskets of the leftover broken pieces. 21 There were about 5,000 men who ate, besides women and children.
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