Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 102
The Afflicted Ruler
Heading
A prayer for an afflicted person who is weary and pours out his complaints before the Lord.
Opening Plea
1 O Lord, hear my prayer,
and let my cry for help come to you.
2 Do not hide your face from me on the day when I am distressed.
Turn your ear to me on the day I call.
Hurry! Answer me!
The Shortness of His Days
3 For my days go up in smoke,
and my bones are burned like hot coals.
4 My heart is cut down and withered like grass,
so I forget to eat my food.
5 Because of the sound of my groaning, my bones stick out of my flesh.
6 I am like an owl in the wilderness,
like a screech owl[a] among the ruins.
7 I lie awake.
I have become like a lonely bird on a roof.
8 All day long my enemies taunt me.
Those who ridicule me use my name as a curse,
9 because I eat ashes like bread,
and I mix tears with my drinks.
10 Because of your rage and your wrath,
you have picked me up and thrown me away.
11 My days are being stretched out like a shadow,
and I am dried up like grass.
God’s Endless Years
12 But you, Lord, sit on your throne forever,
and you will be remembered through all generations.
13 You will rise and have compassion on Zion.
Yes, it is time to be gracious to her,
because the appointed time has come.
14 Yes, your servants will show favor to her stones,
and they will have compassion on her dust.
15 Then the nations will fear the name of the Lord,
and all the kings of the earth will fear your glory.
16 For the Lord will rebuild Zion.
He will appear in his glory.
17 He will respond to the prayer of the naked.
He will not despise their prayer.
18 Let this be written till the last generation,
so that a people not yet created may praise the Lord.[b]
19 For the Lord looked down from his high, holy place.
From heaven he viewed the earth
20 to hear the groans of the prisoner,
to release those condemned to death.
21 So the name of the Lord will be recorded in Zion
and his praise in Jerusalem,
22 when the peoples and the kingdoms are gathered together
to serve the Lord.
The Plea Repeated
23 He took away my strength during my lifetime.
He cut short my days.
24 I said, “My God, do not take me away in the middle of my days.”
The Eternal King
Your years go on through all generations.
25 Long ago you laid a foundation for the earth,
and the heavens are the work of your hands.
26 They will perish, but you remain.
All of them wear out like a garment.
Like clothing you will change them,
and they will be changed.
27 But you are the same,
and your years will never end.
28 The children of your servants will dwell with you,
and their descendants will be established before you.
Book V
Psalms 107–150
Psalm 107
He Redeemed Them From Trouble
Invocation to Give Thanks
1 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
for his mercy endures forever.
2 Let the redeemed of the Lord say this,
those he redeemed from the hand of the foe,
3 those he gathered from the lands,
from the east and from the west,
from the north and from the south.[a]
First Crisis: The Wilderness
4 They wandered in the wilderness, in the wasteland.
They did not find the way to a city where they could live.
5 They were hungry and also thirsty,
so their lives were draining away.
Refrain
6 Then they cried out to the Lord in their distress.
He delivered them from their troubles.
7 He led them by a straight way to come to a city where they could live.
8 Let them give thanks to the Lord
for his mercy and his wonderful deeds for all people,[b]
9 because he satisfies the desire of the thirsty,
and he fills the desire of the hungry with good things.
Second Crisis: Imprisonment
10 They were sitting in darkness and the shadow of death,
prisoners, bound in misery and chains,
11 because they had rebelled against the words of God,
and they despised the plan of the Most High.
12 So he broke their hearts with hard labor.
They stumbled, and there was no helper.
Refrain
13 Then they cried out to the Lord in their distress.
He saved them from their troubles.
14 He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death,
and he tore off their chains.
15 Let them give thanks to the Lord
for his mercy and his wonderful deeds for all people,
16 because he shatters bronze doors,
and he cuts through iron bars.
Third Crisis: Rebellion
17 They became fools through their rebellious way,
and they brought affliction on themselves by their guilt.
18 They lost their appetite for food,
so they approached the gates of death.
Refrain
19 Then they cried out to the Lord in their distress.
He saved them from their troubles.
20 He sent his word and healed them.
He rescued them from the pits that trapped them.
21 Let them give thanks to the Lord
for his mercy and his wonderful deeds for all people,
22 so let them sacrifice thank offerings
and tell about his works with a joyful shout.
Fourth Crisis: On the Sea
23 They went down to the sea in ships.
They conducted trade on many waters.
24 They saw the deeds of the Lord
and his wonders on the deep.
25 For he spoke and stirred up a violent storm,
which produced large waves.
26 They were raised up to the sky.
They sank down into the depths.
In their danger their courage melted.
27 They reeled and staggered like a drunk.
All their skill disappeared.
Refrain
28 Then they cried out to the Lord in their distress.
He brought them out of their troubles.
29 He calmed the storm. Its waves were hushed.
30 They were glad when it grew quiet,
and he guided them to the port they desired.
31 Let them give thanks to the Lord
for his mercy and his wonderful deeds for all people.
32 Let them exalt him in the assembly of the people
and praise him in the session of the elders.
The Death of Miriam
20 The people of Israel, the entire community, came to the Wilderness of Zin in the first month, and the people stayed at Kadesh. Miriam died there and was buried there.
Water From the Rock
2 There was no water for the community, so they assembled together against Moses and Aaron. 3 The people quarreled with Moses and said, “If only we had perished when our brothers perished before the Lord! 4 Why have you brought the Lord’s assembly into this wilderness for us and our livestock to die here? 5 Why have you taken us up out of Egypt to bring us into this horrible place? This place does not have grain, figs, vines, or pomegranates. There is no water to drink!”
6 Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. They fell facedown. The Glory of the Lord appeared to them. 7 The Lord spoke to Moses: 8 “Take the staff and assemble the community. You and Aaron, your brother, speak to the rock before their eyes, and it will pour out its water. You will bring water for them from the rock and provide water for the community and their livestock.”
9 Moses took the staff from the Lord’s presence just as the Lord commanded him. 10 Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly together before the rock, and he said to them, “Listen now, you rebels! Must we bring water out of this rock for you?” 11 Moses lifted up his hand and struck the rock with his staff two times, and a great amount of water gushed out. The congregation and their livestock drank.
12 Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not trust me enough to honor me as holy in the eyes of the Israelites, therefore you will not bring this assembly into this land which I have given to them.”
13 These are the waters of Meribah,[a] because there the Israelites quarreled with the Lord, and through them he showed himself to be holy.
Both Adam and Christ Had an Effect on All People
12 So then, just as sin entered the world through one man and death through sin, so also death spread to all people because all sinned. 13 For even before the law was given, sin was in the world. Now, sin is not charged to one’s account if there is no law, 14 and yet death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those whose sin was not like the transgression of Adam, who is a pattern[a] of the one who was to come.
15 But the gracious gift is not like Adam’s trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of this one man, it is even more certain that God’s grace, and the gift given by the grace of the one man Jesus Christ, overflowed to the many!
16 And the gift is not like the effect of the one man’s sin, for the judgment that followed the one trespass resulted in a verdict of condemnation, but the gracious gift that followed many trespasses resulted in a verdict of justification.
17 Indeed, if by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through the one man, it is even more certain that those who receive the overflowing grace of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ!
18 So then, just as one trespass led to a verdict of condemnation for all people, so also one righteous verdict led to life-giving justification[b] for all people. 19 For just as through the disobedience of one man the many became sinners, so also through the obedience of one man the many will become righteous.
20 The law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace overflowed much more, 21 so that just as sin reigned in death, so also grace would reign through righteousness, resulting in eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Jesus Heals Two Blind Men
29 As they were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed him. 30 There were two blind men sitting by the road. When they heard that Jesus was passing by, they shouted, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!” 31 The crowd rebuked them, telling them to be quiet. But they shouted even louder, “Have mercy on us, Lord, Son of David!”
32 Jesus stopped and called them. “What do you want me to do for you?”
33 They told him, “Lord, open our eyes.”
34 Jesus was moved with compassion and touched their eyes. Immediately they regained their sight, and they followed him.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.