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.
2 Ahaziah had fallen through the lattice of his upstairs room in Samaria, and he was injured. So he sent messengers and told them, “Go, inquire of Baal Zebub,[a] the god of Ekron, whether I will survive this injury.”
3 But an angel of the Lord said to Elijah from Tishbe, “Get up. Go meet the messengers of the king of Samaria and say to them, ‘Is there no God in Israel, so that you are going to seek out Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron? 4 Therefore, this is what the Lord says. You will not get up from the bed you have gotten into. You will certainly die.’” So Elijah went.
5 The messengers returned to the king, so he said to them, “Why have you come back?”
6 They told him, “A man came up to meet us and told us, ‘Go back to the king who sent you and tell him: This is what the Lord says. Is there no God in Israel, so that you are sending men to inquire of Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron? Therefore, you will not get up from the bed you have gotten into. You will surely die.’”
7 He said to them, “How would you describe the man who came up to meet you and said these words to you?”
8 They told him, “He was dressed in clothing made of hair,[b] with a leather belt tied around his waist.”
Then Ahaziah said, “That was Elijah from Tishbe!”
9 So he sent a captain of fifty men to Elijah. He went up to him, and there Elijah was, sitting on top of a hill. Then the captain said to him, “Man of God, the king says, ‘Come down!’”
10 Then Elijah answered the captain, “If I am a man of God, let fire fall from the sky[c] and consume you and your fifty men!” Then fire fell from the sky and consumed him and his fifty men.
11 Then the king sent another captain of fifty men to him, and the captain said, “Man of God, this is what the king says: ‘Come down at once!’”
12 Elijah answered, “If I am a man of God, then let fire fall from the sky and consume you and your fifty men!” Then the fire of God fell from the sky and consumed him and his fifty men.
13 So the king sent a third captain with his fifty men. The third captain went and got down on his knees before Elijah and begged for mercy. He said to Elijah, “Man of God, let my life and the lives of these fifty servants of yours be precious in your eyes. 14 Look, fire from the sky fell and consumed the first two captains and their companies of fifty men. But now, let the lives of your servants be precious.”
15 Then the angel of the Lord said to Elijah, “Go down with him. Do not fear him.” So Elijah stood up and went down with him to the king. 16 Then Elijah told the king, “This is what the Lord says. Because you sent messengers to inquire of Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron—Is there no God in Israel to inquire of?—therefore, you will not get up from the bed you have gotten into. You will certainly die.”
17 Then he died according to the word of the Lord which Elijah had spoken. Because Ahaziah did not have a son, Jehoram[d] became king in his place in the second year of Jehoram son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah.
16 Do you not know that you yourselves are God’s temple, and that God’s Spirit lives in[a] you? 17 If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy, and that is what you are.
18 Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you thinks that he is wise in this world, let him become a fool so that he may become wise. 19 To be sure, the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight. For it is written, “He catches the wise in their craftiness,”[b] 20 and again, “The Lord knows the reasoning of the wise; he knows that it is worthless.”[c] 21 Therefore let no one boast about men. For all things belong to you— 22 whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come. All things belong to you, 23 and you belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God.
11 “Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven. In fact, that is how they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
Salt and Light
13 “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its flavor, how will it become salty again? Then it is no good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled on by people. 14 You are the light of the world. A city located on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 People do not light a lamp and put it under a basket. No, they put it on a stand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16 In the same way let your light shine in people’s presence, so that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.