Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 69
Prayer of an Innocent Sufferer: Save Me, O God
Heading
For the choir director. According to “Lilies.”[a] By David.
Prayer of an Innocent Sufferer
1 Save me, O God, for the waters have come up to my neck.
2 I sink into the deep mud, where there is no place to stand.
I have entered deep waters, and the rapids rush over me.
3 I am worn out from my crying. My throat is sore.
My eyes are blurry, as I wait for my God.
The Unfairness of His Enemies
4 Those who hate me without reason outnumber the hairs on my head.
Those who want to destroy me, my lying enemies, are strong.
I must repay things I did not steal.
His Guilt and Shame
5 God, you know my folly,
and my guilt is not hidden from you.
6 May those who place their confidence in you[b]
not be put to shame because of me,
O Lord, the Lord of Armies.
May those who seek you not be disgraced because of me,
O God of Israel.
7 It is for your sake that I bear scorn.
Shame covers my face.
8 I have become a stranger to my brothers,
a foreigner to my mother’s sons.
9 Yes, zeal for your house consumes me.
The scorn of those who scorn you falls on me.
10 I wept as I fasted,
but this only brought insults to me.
11 When I wore sackcloth as my clothing,
I was a joke to them.
12 Those who sit in the gatehouse gossip about me,
and the songs of the drunks are about me.
An Interlude of Prayer
13 But I direct my prayer to you, O Lord, for a time of favor.
God, in the greatness of your mercy,
answer me with the certainty of salvation from you.
14 Rescue me from the mud, so I do not sink.
Let me escape from those who hate me and from the deep waters.
15 Do not let the rapids rush over me.
Do not let the deep swallow me up.
Do not let the pit close its mouth over me.
16 Answer me, Lord, for your mercy is good.
According to your great compassion, turn to me.
17 Do not hide your face from your servant.
Because I am in distress, hurry, answer me.
18 Come near. Redeem my soul.
Ransom me because of my enemies.
His Shame
19 You know my disgrace, my shame, and my confusion.
All my foes are in front of you.
20 Disgrace has broken my heart, and I am helpless.
I waited for sympathy, but there was none.
I waited for comforters, but I did not find any.
21 Instead they put bitter poison in my food.
For my thirst they gave me sour wine to drink.
His Curse
22 May the table set before them become a snare.
May it be a trap to them and their allies.[c]
23 May their eyes be darkened so they cannot see.
Make their legs always tremble.
24 Pour out your wrath on them.
Let the heat of your anger catch up with them.
25 May their camp be desolate.
May there be no one dwelling in their tents.
26 For they pursue those you have disciplined, O God,
and they talk about the pain of those you wound.
27 Add guilt to their guilt.
Do not let them enter into your righteousness.
28 May they be erased from the book of life.
May they not be listed among the righteous.
His Closing Prayer
29 But I am afflicted and in pain.
O God, may salvation from you set me on high.
30 I will praise God’s name in song.
I will proclaim his greatness with thanksgiving.
31 For the Lord this is better than an ox,
than a bull that has horns and hoofs.
32 The poor will see and be glad.
You who seek God, may your hearts live!
33 For the Lord listens to the needy,
and he does not despise the captives who belong to him.
34 Let heaven and earth praise him,
the seas and all that move in them,
35 for God will save Zion,
and he will build the cities of Judah.
Then people will settle there and possess it.
36 Then the descendants of his servants will inherit it,
and those who love his name will dwell in it.
Book III
Psalms 73–89
Psalm 73
Why Do the Wicked Prosper?
Heading
A psalm by Asaph.[a]
The Problem
1 Surely God is good to Israel, to the pure in heart.
2 But as for me, my feet almost slipped out from under me.
I almost lost my footing.[b]
3 I even envied the arrogant when I observed the peace of the wicked.
The Prosperity of the Wicked
4 For there are no struggles at their death.
Their bodies are sturdy.
5 They do not have the trouble common to people.
They are not plagued along with the rest of mankind.
6 Therefore pride is their necklace.
They wear violence like clothing.
7 Their eyes bulge out of their fat.[c]
The schemes of their hearts step over boundaries.
8 They mock. They speak maliciously.
From a high perch they threaten oppression.
9 They set their mouths against the heavens.
Their tongues strut around on earth.
10 Therefore God’s people turn to them,
and they drink it all in.[d]
11 They say, “How can God know?
Does the Most High have knowledge?”
12 See, this is what the wicked are like—
secure forever, they increase in strength.
The Turning Point
13 Have I really kept my heart pure for nothing?
Have I kept my hands clean in vain?
14 I have been plagued all day.
My punishment comes every morning.
15 If I had said, “I will speak like this,”
I would certainly have betrayed the circle of your children.
16 When I tried to understand this, it was very troubling to me,
17 until I went to the sanctuary of God.
Then I understood their end.
The Solution
18 Surely you place them on slippery places.
You cause them to fall into destruction.
19 How quickly they come to ruin,
completely destroyed by terrors!
20 They are like a dream when someone wakes up.
So when you arise, O Lord,
you will despise them like an illusion.
21 Yes, my heart was bitter,
and I was torn up inside.
22 I was unthinking and ignorant.
I was a dumb animal before you.
23 Yet I am always with you.
You hold me by my right hand.
24 With your guidance you lead me,
and afterward, you will take me to glory.
25 Who else is there for me in heaven?
And besides you, I desire no one else on earth.
26 My flesh and my heart fail,
but God is the rock of my heart and my portion forever.
27 No doubt about it!
Those who are far from you will perish.
You destroy all who commit adultery against you.
28 As for me, God’s nearness is good for me.
I have made the Lord God my refuge,
so that I can tell about all your works.
Advice to the Young
9 Young man, be happy while you are a child, and let your heart make you glad during the days of your youth. Walk down the roads on which your heart leads you and on the way your eyes see—but know that for all these, God will bring you into judgment.
10 Put frustration out of your mind, and ignore the troubles of your body, because youth and the dawn of life are vapor.[a]
12 So remember your Creator in the days of your youth,
before the bad days come and the years arrive when you will say,
“I have no delight in them,”
2 before the sun and the light of the moon and the stars are darkened,
before the clouds return after the rain,
3 before the day when the watchmen of the house tremble,
and the strong men are bent over,
and the women who grind grain cease because they are few,
and those watching through the windows can barely see.
4 Then the double doors to the street are shut,
as the grinding of the mill grows quiet.
A person wakes up at the sound of a bird,
but all the sounds of music are muffled.
5 Then they fear heights and terrors along the road.
The almond blossoms become white.
The grasshopper drags himself along,
and the caperberry has no effect.[b]
Why? Because the man is heading to his eternal home.
Then the wailing mourners will go around in the street.
6 Remember your Creator
before the silver cord is snapped,
and the golden bowl is broken,
before the jar is shattered by the spring,
and the waterwheel is broken by the well,
7 and the dust goes back into the ground—just as it was before,
and the spirit goes back to God who gave it.
8 “Nothing but vapor,” said Ecclesiastes, the speaker.[c] “It is all vapor.”
9 Besides being wise, Ecclesiastes taught the people knowledge, and he weighed, collected, and arranged many proverbs. 10 Ecclesiastes searched to find just the right words. What was written was honest—they were true words. 11 Sayings of wise men are like cattle prods, and those sayings collected by experts are like firmly fixed nails, given by one Shepherd.
12 My son, beware of anything in addition to these. There is no end of making many books, and much study wears out the body.
13 This is the conclusion of the matter. Everything has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments. For mankind, this is everything.[d]
14 Yes, God will bring everything that is done into judgment, including everything that is hidden, whether good or evil.
25 If we live by the spirit, let us also walk in step with it. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another and envying one another.
Bear One Another’s Burdens
6 Brothers, if a person is caught in some trespass, you who are spiritual should restore such a person in a spirit of humility, carefully watching yourself so that you are not also tempted. 2 Bear one another’s burdens, and in this way fulfill[a] the law of Christ. 3 For if someone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. 4 Let each person test his own work, and then he will take pride in regard to himself and not his neighbor. 5 For each man will bear his own burden.
6 Let the one who is taught the word share all good things with his teacher.
7 Do not be deceived. God is not mocked. To be sure, whatever a man sows, he will also reap. 8 Indeed, the one who sows for his own sinful flesh will reap destruction from the sinful flesh. But the one who sows for the spirit will reap eternal life from the spirit. 9 Let us not become weary of doing good, because at the appointed time we will reap, if we do not give up.[b] 10 So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, and especially to those who belong to the household of faith.
Jesus Predicts His Death and Resurrection
21 From that time, Jesus began to show his disciples that he had to go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders, chief priests, and experts in the law, and be killed, and on the third day be raised again.
22 Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “May you receive mercy, Lord! This will never happen to you.”
23 But Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a snare[a] to me because you are not thinking the things of God, but the things of men.”
Take Up the Cross
24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone wants to follow me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. 25 In fact whoever wants to save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. 26 After all, what will it benefit a person if he gains the whole world, but forfeits his soul? Or what can a person give in exchange for his soul? 27 For the Son of Man will come in the glory of his Father together with his angels, and then he will repay everyone according to his actions. 28 Amen I tell you: Some who are standing here will certainly not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.