Book of Common Prayer
The Lord’s Eternal Love
A Prayer of the afflicted, (A)when he is overwhelmed and pours out his complaint before the Lord.
102 Hear my prayer, O Lord,
And let my cry come to You.
2 (B)Do not hide Your face from me in the day of my trouble;
Incline Your ear to me;
In the day that I call, answer me speedily.
3 For my days [a]are (C)consumed like smoke,
And my bones are burned like a hearth.
4 My heart is stricken and withered like grass,
So that I forget to eat my bread.
5 Because of the sound of my groaning
My bones cling to my [b]skin.
6 I am like a pelican of the wilderness;
I am like an owl of the desert.
7 I lie awake,
And am like a sparrow alone on the housetop.
8 My enemies reproach me all day long;
Those who deride me swear an oath against me.
9 For I have eaten ashes like bread,
And mingled my drink with weeping,
10 Because of Your indignation and Your wrath;
For You have lifted me up and cast me away.
11 My days are like a shadow that lengthens,
And I wither away like grass.
12 But You, O Lord, shall endure forever,
And the remembrance of Your name to all generations.
13 You will arise and have mercy on Zion;
For the time to favor her,
Yes, the set time, has come.
14 For Your servants take pleasure in her stones,
And show favor to her dust.
15 So the [c]nations shall (D)fear the name of the Lord,
And all the kings of the earth Your glory.
16 For the Lord shall build up Zion;
(E)He shall appear in His glory.
17 (F)He shall regard the prayer of the destitute,
And shall not despise their prayer.
18 This will be (G)written for the generation to come,
That (H)a people yet to be created may praise the Lord.
19 For He (I)looked down from the height of His sanctuary;
From heaven the Lord viewed the earth,
20 (J)To hear the groaning of the prisoner,
To release those appointed to death,
21 To (K)declare the name of the Lord in Zion,
And His praise in Jerusalem,
22 (L)When the peoples are gathered together,
And the kingdoms, to serve the Lord.
23 He weakened my strength in the way;
He (M)shortened my days.
24 (N)I said, “O my God,
Do not take me away in the midst of my days;
(O)Your years are throughout all generations.
25 (P)Of old You laid the foundation of the earth,
And the heavens are the work of Your hands.
26 (Q)They will perish, but You will [d]endure;
Yes, they will all grow old like a garment;
Like a cloak You will change them,
And they will be changed.
27 But (R)You are the same,
And Your years will have no end.
28 (S)The children of Your servants will continue,
And their descendants will be established before You.”
BOOK FIVE
Psalms 107–150
Thanksgiving to the Lord for His Great Works of Deliverance
107 Oh, (A)give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!
For His [a]mercy endures forever.
2 Let the redeemed of the Lord say so,
Whom He has redeemed from the hand of the enemy,
3 And (B)gathered out of the lands,
From the east and from the west,
From the north and from the south.
4 They wandered in (C)the wilderness in a desolate way;
They found no city to dwell in.
5 Hungry and thirsty,
Their soul fainted in them.
6 (D)Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble,
And He delivered them out of their distresses.
7 And He led them forth by the (E)right way,
That they might go to a city for a dwelling place.
8 (F)Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness,
And for His wonderful works to the children of men!
9 For (G)He satisfies the longing soul,
And fills the hungry soul with goodness.
10 Those who (H)sat in darkness and in the shadow of death,
(I)Bound[b] in affliction and irons—
11 Because they (J)rebelled against the words of God,
And [c]despised (K)the counsel of the Most High,
12 Therefore He brought down their heart with labor;
They fell down, and there was (L)none to help.
13 Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble,
And He saved them out of their distresses.
14 (M)He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death,
And broke their chains in pieces.
15 Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness,
And for His wonderful works to the children of men!
16 For He has (N)broken the gates of bronze,
And cut the bars of iron in two.
17 Fools, (O)because of their transgression,
And because of their iniquities, were afflicted.
18 (P)Their soul abhorred all manner of food,
And they (Q)drew near to the gates of death.
19 Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble,
And He saved them out of their distresses.
20 (R)He sent His word and (S)healed them,
And (T)delivered them from their destructions.
21 Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness,
And for His wonderful works to the children of men!
22 (U)Let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving,
And (V)declare His works with [d]rejoicing.
23 Those who go down to the sea in ships,
Who do business on great waters,
24 They see the works of the Lord,
And His wonders in the deep.
25 For He commands and (W)raises the stormy wind,
Which lifts up the waves of the sea.
26 They mount up to the heavens,
They go down again to the depths;
(X)Their soul melts because of trouble.
27 They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man,
And [e]are at their wits’ end.
28 Then they cry out to the Lord in their trouble,
And He brings them out of their distresses.
29 (Y)He calms the storm,
So that its waves are still.
30 Then they are glad because they are quiet;
So He guides them to their desired haven.
31 (Z)Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness,
And for His wonderful works to the children of men!
32 Let them exalt Him also (AA)in the assembly of the people,
And praise Him in the company of the elders.
17 ‘And as for you, O My flock, thus says the Lord God: (A)“Behold, I shall judge between sheep and sheep, between rams and goats. 18 Is it too little for you to have eaten up the good pasture, that you must tread down with your feet the [a]residue of your pasture—and to have drunk of the clear waters, that you must foul the residue with your feet? 19 And as for My flock, they eat what you have trampled with your feet, and they drink what you have fouled with your feet.”
20 ‘Therefore thus says the Lord God to them: (B)“Behold, I Myself will judge between the fat and the lean sheep. 21 Because you have pushed with side and shoulder, butted all the weak ones with your horns, and scattered them abroad, 22 therefore I will save My flock, and they shall no longer be a prey; and I will judge between sheep and sheep. 23 I will establish one (C)shepherd over them, and he shall feed them—(D)My servant David. He shall feed them and be their shepherd. 24 And (E)I, the Lord, will be their God, and My servant David (F)a prince among them; I, the Lord, have spoken.
25 (G)“I will make a covenant of peace with them, and (H)cause wild beasts to cease from the land; and they (I)will dwell safely in the wilderness and sleep in the woods. 26 I will make them and the places all around (J)My hill (K)a blessing; and I will (L)cause showers to come down in their season; there shall be (M)showers of blessing. 27 Then (N)the trees of the field shall yield their fruit, and the earth shall yield her increase. They shall be safe in their land; and they shall know that I am the Lord, when I have (O)broken the bands of their yoke and delivered them from the hand of those who (P)enslaved them. 28 And they shall no longer be a prey for the nations, nor shall beasts of the land devour them; but (Q)they shall dwell safely, and no one shall make them afraid. 29 I will raise up for them a (R)garden[b] of renown, and they shall (S)no longer be consumed with hunger in the land, (T)nor bear the shame of the Gentiles anymore. 30 Thus they shall know that (U)I, the Lord their God, am with them, and they, the house of Israel, are (V)My people,” says the Lord God.’
31 “You are My (W)flock, the flock of My pasture; you are men, and I am your God,” says the Lord God.
The New Priestly Service
8 Now this is the main point of the things we are saying: We have such a High Priest, (A)who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens, 2 a Minister of (B)the [a]sanctuary and of (C)the true tabernacle which the Lord erected, and not man.
3 For (D)every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices. Therefore (E)it is necessary that this One also have something to offer. 4 For if He were on earth, He would not be a priest, since there are priests who offer the gifts according to the law; 5 who serve (F)the copy and (G)shadow of the heavenly things, as Moses was divinely instructed when he was about to make the tabernacle. For He said, (H)“See that you make all things according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.” 6 But now (I)He has obtained a more excellent ministry, inasmuch as He is also Mediator of a (J)better covenant, which was established on better promises.
A New Covenant(K)
7 For if that (L)first covenant had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second. 8 Because finding fault with them, He says: (M)“Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah— 9 not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they did not continue in My covenant, and I disregarded them, says the Lord. 10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the (N)Lord: I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and (O)I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 11 (P)None of them shall teach his neighbor, and none his brother, saying, ‘Know the (Q)Lord,’ for all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them. 12 For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, (R)and their sins [b]and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.”
13 (S)In that He says, “A new covenant,” He has made the first obsolete. Now what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.
Mary and Martha Worship and Serve
38 Now it happened as they went that He entered a certain village; and a certain woman named (A)Martha welcomed Him into her house. 39 And she had a sister called Mary, (B)who also (C)sat at [a]Jesus’ feet and heard His word. 40 But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me.”
41 And [b]Jesus answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. 42 But (D)one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.