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.
10 Israel was a spreading[a] vine.
He produced fruit for himself.
The more fruit he produced, the more altars he made.
The richer the land became, the richer he made his sacred memorial stones.
2 Their hearts are insincere,[b]
so now they will suffer for their guilt.
The Lord will break down their altars
and destroy their sacred memorial stones.
Kings Cannot Save You
3 Certainly now they will say, “We have no king
because we did not fear the Lord,
but what could such a king do for us anyway?”
4 They speak empty words.
With empty oaths, they make agreements.
That is why disputes sprout like poisonous weeds in the furrows of a field.
5 The inhabitants of Samaria will be terrified because of the calf[c] of Beth Aven.
Yes, its people will mourn over it,
and its idolatrous priests will cry out over it,
over its lost glory, because it has gone into exile.
6 It will be carried to Assyria as tribute to the Great King.[d]
Ephraim will be gripped with shame,
and Israel will be ashamed of its own idol.[e]
7 Samaria, like her king, will be carried off
like a twig on the surface of the water.
8 The high places of Aven, the sin of Israel, will become unusable.
Thorns and thistles will grow on their altars.
They will say to the mountains, “Cover us!”
and to the hills, “Fall on us!”
Learn the Lesson of Gibeah
9 Israel, you have sinned ever since the days of Gibeah,
where the evildoers took their stand.
The war against the evildoers caught up with them at Gibeah, did it not?
10 When I see fit, I will discipline them.[f]
Peoples will be gathered against them
to bind them for their double guilt.[g]
11 Ephraim is a trained heifer that loves to thresh.
I will put a yoke on her beautiful neck.[h]
I will harness Ephraim.
Judah will plow.
Jacob will break up the ground.
12 Sow righteousness for yourselves,
and reap mercy.
Break up your fallow ground.
It is time to seek the Lord,
until he comes and rains righteousness on you.
13 You have plowed wickedness.
You have reaped injustice.
You have eaten the fruit of your lies,
because you trusted in your own way,
in the large number of your strong warriors.
14 Therefore the roar of battle will rise against your people,
and all your fortresses will be destroyed,
as Shalman[i] devastated Beth Arbel on the day of battle.
Mothers were dashed to the ground with their children.
15 This is what will be done to you, Bethel,
because of your great wickedness.
At dawn the king of Israel will be completely destroyed.
Paul Makes His Defense
37 As Paul was about to be brought into the barracks, he asked the commander, “May I say something to you?”
He replied, “Do you know Greek? 38 Are you not the Egyptian who started a revolt some time ago and led four thousand men of the Assassins[a] into the wilderness?”
39 Paul said, “I am a Jew, from Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen of no insignificant city. I beg you, allow me to speak to the people.”
40 When the commander had given him permission, Paul stood on the steps and motioned with his hand to the people. When they were all silent, Paul addressed them in the Hebrew dialect.[b]
22 “Gentlemen, brothers, and fathers, listen to my defense, which I am now going to make to you.”
2 When they heard that he was addressing them in the Hebrew dialect,[c] they became even more quiet.
Then he said, 3 “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city and trained at the feet of Gamaliel, according to the strict ways of the law of our fathers. I am just as zealous for God as all of you are today. 4 I persecuted this Way to the death, tying up and throwing both men and women into prisons, 5 as also the high priest and the whole council of elders can testify about me. I even received letters from them to the brothers, and I was going to Damascus to bring back those who were there as prisoners to Jerusalem so that they could be punished.
6 “While I was on the way and approaching Damascus, about noon a very bright light from heaven suddenly flashed around me. 7 I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’
8 “I answered, ‘Who are you, Lord?’
“He said to me, ‘I am Jesus the Nazarene, whom you are persecuting.’
9 “Those who were with me saw the light,[d] but they did not understand the voice of the one who was speaking to me.
10 “I said, ‘What shall I do, Lord?’
“The Lord said to me, ‘Get up and go into Damascus. There you will be told about everything you have been assigned to do.’ 11 Since I could not see because of the brightness of that light, those who were with me took me by the hand and led me into Damascus.
12 “A man named Ananias lived there. He was a devout observer of the law and highly recommended by all the Jews living there. 13 He came to me, and as he stood beside me, he said, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight!’ At that very moment I was able to see him.
14 “Then he said, ‘The God of our fathers has chosen you to know his will and to see the Righteous One and to hear the sound of his voice. 15 For you will be his witness to all people of what you have seen and heard. 16 Now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on his name.’
Jesus Sends Out the Twelve
12 It happened in those days that Jesus went up on the mountain to pray, and he spent all night in prayer to God. 13 When it was day, he summoned his disciples and chose twelve of them, whom he also called apostles: 14 Simon, whom he also named Peter, and his brother Andrew; James and John; Philip and Bartholomew; 15 Matthew and Thomas; James the son of Alphaeus, also Simon, who was called the Zealot; 16 Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.
Jesus Heals Many
17 He went down with them and stood on a level place with a large crowd of his disciples and a large number of people from all Judea and Jerusalem, as well as from the coastal area of Tyre and Sidon. These people came to listen to him and to be healed of their diseases. 18 Those who were troubled by unclean spirits were also cured. 19 The whole crowd kept trying to touch him, because power was going out from him and healing them all.
Blessings and Woes
20 He lifted up his eyes to his disciples and said:
Blessed are you who are poor,
because yours is the kingdom of God.
21 Blessed are you who hunger now,
because you will be satisfied.
Blessed are you who weep now,
because you will laugh.
22 Blessed are you whenever people hate you,
and whenever they exclude and insult you
and reject your name as evil because of the Son of Man.
23 “Rejoice in that day and leap for joy because of this: Your reward is great in heaven! The fact is, their fathers constantly did the same things to the prophets.”
24 But woe to you who are rich,
because you are receiving your comfort now.
25 Woe to you who are well fed now,
because you will be hungry.
Woe to you who laugh now,
because you will be mourning and weeping.
26 Woe to you when all people speak well of you,
because that is how their fathers constantly treated the
false prophets.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.