Book of Common Prayer
A Plea for Personal and National Help
A prayer of one afflicted, when he grows faint
and pours out his lament before Yahweh.[a]
102 O Yahweh, hear my prayer,
and let my cry for help come to you.
2 Do not hide your face from me
in the day of my trouble.
Incline your ear to me.
In the day I call, answer me quickly,
3 for my days vanish in smoke,
and my bones are charred like a hearth.
4 My heart is struck like grass and withers.
Indeed, I forget to eat[b] my bread.
5 Because of the sound of my groaning
my bones[c] cling to my skin.[d]
6 I am like an owl[e] of the wilderness;
I am like a little owl of the ruins.
7 I lie awake and I am
like a lone bird on a roof.
8 All the day my enemies reproach me;
those who mock me swear oaths against me.
9 Indeed, I eat ashes like bread
and mix my drink with tears[f]
10 because of your indignation and anger,
for you have picked me up and thrown me away.
11 My days are like a lengthened shadow,
and I wither like grass.
12 But you, O Yahweh, abide[g] forever,
and your remembrance[h] from generation to generation.[i]
13 You rise up and take pity on Zion,
because it is time to favor it,
for the appointed time has come.
14 Your servants take pleasure in her stones,
and show favor to its dust.
15 Then the nations will fear the name of Yahweh,
and all the kings of the earth your glory.
16 For Yahweh will rebuild Zion;
he will appear in his glory.
17 He will turn his attention to the prayer of the destitute
and will not despise their prayer.
18 Let this be written for the next generation,
so that a people yet to be created may praise Yah,[j]
19 that he looked down from his holy height.
Yahweh looked from heaven over the earth
20 to hear the groaning of the prisoner,
to liberate those destined to die,[k]
21 so that they[l] may make known in Zion the name of Yahweh,
and his praise in Jerusalem,
22 when the peoples assemble,
together with[m] kingdoms, to serve Yahweh.
23 He has broken my strength along the way;
he has cut short my days.
24 I say, “My God, do not carry me off
from my life in the middle of my days.”
Your years continue throughout all generations.
25 Long ago you laid the foundation of the earth,
and the heavens are the work of your hands.
26 They will perish, but you will endure.
And like a garment they will all wear out,
you will replace them like clothing, and they will be set aside.
27 But you are the same,
and your years do not end.
28 The children of your servants will continue,
and their descendants[n] will be established before you.
Thanksgiving to Yahweh for His of Deliverance
107 Give thanks to Yahweh, for he is good,
for his loyal love is forever.
2 Let the redeemed of Yahweh declare[a] it,
those whom he has redeemed from the hand of the enemy
3 and gathered from the lands,
from east and from west, from north and from south.[b]
4 They wandered in the wilderness, in a desert.
They could find no way[c] to a city to inhabit.
5 Hungry and thirsty,
their soul grew faint within them.
6 Then they cried out to Yahweh in their trouble.
He delivered them from their distresses
7 and led them by a straight way
to get to a city to inhabit.
8 Let them give thanks to Yahweh for his loyal love,
and his wonderful deeds for the children of humankind,
9 for he satisfies the longing soul,[d]
and the hungry soul he fills with good.
10 Those who sat in darkness and gloom,
prisoners of misery and iron—
11 because they rebelled against the words of God
and spurned the counsel of the Most High,
12 he therefore humbled their heart with trouble.
They stumbled and there was no helper.
13 Then they called to Yahweh for help in their trouble;
he saved them from their distresses.
14 He brought them out of darkness and gloom,
and tore off their bonds.
15 Let them give thanks to Yahweh for his loyal love
and his wonderful deeds for the children of humankind,
16 for he shatters the doors of bronze,
and cuts through the bars of iron.
17 Fools, because of their rebellious way
and their iniquities, were afflicted.
18 Their soul abhorred all food,
and they approached the gates of death.
19 Then they called to Yahweh for help in their trouble.
He saved them from their distresses.
20 He sent his word and healed them,
and he delivered them from their pits.[e]
21 Let them give thanks to Yahweh for his loyal love,
and his wonderful deeds for the children of humankind,
22 and let them offer sacrifices of thanksgiving,
and tell of his works with rejoicing.
23 Those who went down to the sea into ships,
doing business on the high seas,[f]
24 they saw the works of Yahweh,
and his wonderful deeds in the deep.
25 For he spoke and raised up a stormy wind,
and it whipped up its waves.
26 They rose to the heavens; they plunged to the depths.
Their soul melted in their calamity.
27 They reeled and staggered like a drunkard,
and they were at their wits’ end.[g]
28 Then they cried out to Yahweh in their trouble,
and he brought them out of their distresses.
29 He made the storm be still
and their waves became calm.
30 Then they were glad because they grew silent,
so he guided them to their desired harbor.
31 Let them give thanks to Yahweh for his loyal love
and his wonderful deeds for the children of humankind,
32 and let them exalt him in the congregation of the people,
and praise him in the assembly of the elders.
Isaiah Sends Encouragement to Hezekiah
19 It happened that when King Hezekiah heard, he tore his clothes and covered himself with sackcloth and went to the temple of Yahweh. 2 He sent Eliakim who was over the palace, Shebna the secretary, the elders, and the priests, all clothed in sackcloth, to Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz. 3 They said to him, “Thus says Hezekiah, ‘A day of distress, rebuke, and disgrace is this day, for the children are about to be born,[a] but there is no strength to bear them. 4 Perhaps Yahweh your God will hear all of the words of the chief commander whom his master the king of Assyria has sent to insult the living God, and he will rebuke the words which Yahweh your God has heard. Therefore lift up a prayer for the remainder who are left.’” 5 So the servants of King Hezekiah came to Isaiah, 6 and Isaiah said to them, “Thus you must say to your master, ‘Thus says Yahweh, “You must not be afraid because the face of the words which you have heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have reviled me. 7 Look, I am putting in him a spirit. He will hear a rumor and return to his land. Then I will cause him to fall by the sword in his land.”’”
The Assyrians Defy God
8 When the chief commander returned, he found the king of Assyria fighting against Libnah, for he had heard that he had departed from Lachish. 9 He heard about Tirhakah, the king of Cush, saying, “Look, he has set out to fight with you,” so he again sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying, 10 “Thus you shall say to Hezekiah the king of Judah, ‘Let not your God whom you are trusting deceive you, by his saying, “Jerusalem shall not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria!” 11 Look, you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the lands, by utterly destroying them, and shall you be delivered? 12 Did the gods of the nations that my predecessors[b] destroyed deliver them? Not Gozan, Haran, Rezeph, nor the children of Eden who were in Tel Assar. 13 Where are the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, the king of the city of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah?’”
Hezekiah Prays to Yahweh
14 Hezekiah took the letters from the hand of the messengers and read them. Then he went up to the temple of Yahweh, and Hezekiah spread them out before the presence of Yahweh. 15 Then Hezekiah prayed before the face of Yahweh and said, “O Yahweh, God of Israel who lives above the cherubim. You are God, you alone, of all the kingdoms of the world; you have made the heavens and the earth. 16 Incline your ears and hear; open, O Yahweh, your eyes and see and hear the words of Sennacherib which he has sent to insult the living God. 17 Truly, O Yahweh, the kings of Assyria have utterly destroyed the nations and their land. 18 He has hurled their gods in the fire because they are not gods, but the work of the hands of a human made of wood and stone, so they destroyed them. 19 So then, O Yahweh our God, rescue us, please, from his hand, that all of the kingdoms of the earth may know that you, O Yahweh, you alone are God!”
Isaiah Brings a Prophetic Response
20 Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah, saying, “Thus says Yahweh the God of Israel, ‘What you have prayed to me about Sennacherib king of Assyria I have heard.
16 For if I proclaim the gospel, it is not to me a reason for boasting, for necessity is imposed on me. For woe is to me if I do not proclaim the gospel. 17 For if I do this voluntarily, I have a reward, but if I do so unwillingly, I have been entrusted with a stewardship. 18 What then is my reward? That when I[a] proclaim the gospel, I may offer the gospel free of charge, in order not to make full use of my right in the gospel.
19 For although I[b] am free from all people, I have enslaved myself to all, in order that I may gain more. 20 I have become like a Jew to the Jews, in order that I may gain the Jews. To those under the law I became as under the law (although I[c] myself am not under the law) in order that I may gain those under the law. 21 To those outside the law I became as outside the law (although I[d] am not outside the law of God, but subject to the law of Christ) in order that I may gain those outside the law. 22 To the weak I became weak, in order that I may gain the weak. I have become all things to all people, in order that by all means I may save some. 23 I do all this for the sake of the gospel, in order that I may become a participant with it.
24 Do you not know that those who run in the stadium all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win. 25 And everyone who competes exercises self-control in all things. Thus those do so in order that they may receive a perishable crown, but we an imperishable one. 26 Therefore I run in this way, not as running aimlessly; I box in this way, not as beating the air. 27 But I discipline my body and subjugate it, lest somehow after[e] preaching to others, I myself should become disqualified.
A Leper Cleansed
8 And when[a] he came down from the mountain, large crowds followed him. 2 And behold, a leper approached and[b] worshiped him, saying, “Lord, if you are willing, you are able to make me clean.” 3 And extending his hand he touched him, saying, “I am willing, be clean.” And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. 4 And Jesus said to him, “See that you tell no one, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a testimony to them.”
A Centurion’s Slave Healed
5 Now when[c] he entered Capernaum, a centurion approached him, appealing to him 6 and saying, “Lord, my slave[d] is lying paralyzed in my[e] house, terribly tormented!” 7 And he said to him, “I will come and[f] heal him.” 8 And the centurion answered and[g] said, “Lord, I am not worthy that you should come in under my roof. But only say the word and my slave will be healed. 9 For I also am a man under authority who has soldiers under me, and I say to this one, ‘Go!’ and he goes, and to another one, ‘Come!’ and he comes, and to my slave, ‘Do this!’ and he does it[h].”
10 Now when[i] Jesus heard this,[j] he was astonished, and said to those who were following him,[k] “Truly I say to you, I have found such great faith with no one in Israel. 11 But I say to you that many will come from east and west and be seated at the banquet[l] with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. 12 But the sons of the kingdom will be thrown out into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth!” 13 And Jesus said to the centurion, “Go, as you have believed it will be done for you.” And the slave[m] was healed at that hour.
Many at Capernaum Are Healed
14 And when[n] Jesus came into Peter’s house, he saw his mother-in-law lying down and suffering with a fever. 15 And he touched her hand and the fever left her, and she got up and began to serve him.
16 Now when it[o] was evening, they brought to him many who were demon-possessed, and he expelled the spirits with a word. And he healed all those who were sick,[p] 17 in order that what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah would be fulfilled, who said,
“He himself took away our sicknesses,
and carried away our diseases.”[q]
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