Book of Common Prayer
A psalm of David. A prayer.
38 Lord, don’t correct me when you are angry.
Don’t punish me when you are burning with anger.
2 You have wounded me with your arrows.
You have struck me with your hand.
3 Because of your anger, my whole body is sick.
Because of my sin, I’m not healthy.
4 My guilt has become too much for me.
It is a load too heavy to carry.
5 My wounds are ugly. They stink.
I’ve been foolish. I have sinned.
6 I am bent over. I’ve been brought very low.
All day long I go around weeping.
7 My back is filled with burning pain.
My whole body is sick.
8 I am weak and feel as if I’ve been broken in pieces.
I groan because of the great pain in my heart.
9 Lord, everything I really want is clearly known to you.
You always hear me when I sigh.
10 My heart pounds, and my strength is gone.
My eyes can hardly see.
11 My friends and companions avoid me because of my wounds.
My neighbors stay far away from me.
12 Those who are trying to kill me set their traps.
Those who want to harm me talk about destroying me.
All day long they make their plans and tell their lies.
13 Like a deaf person, I can’t hear.
Like someone who can’t speak, I can’t say a word.
14 I’m like someone who doesn’t hear.
I’m like someone whose mouth can’t make any reply.
15 Lord, I wait for you to help me.
Lord my God, I know you will answer.
16 I said, “Don’t let my enemies have the joy of seeing me fall.
Don’t let them brag when my feet slip.”
17 I am about to fall.
My pain never leaves me.
18 I admit that I have done wrong.
I am troubled by my sin.
19 Though I have done nothing to cause it, many people have become my enemies.
They hate me without any reason.
20 They pay me back with evil, even though I was good to them.
They bring charges against me, though I try only to do what is good.
21 Lord, don’t desert me.
My God, don’t be far away from me.
22 Lord my Savior,
come quickly to help me.
ד Daleth
25 I lie in the dust. I’m about to die.
Keep me alive as you have promised.
26 I told you how I’ve lived, and you gave me your answer.
Teach me your orders.
27 Help me understand how your rules direct me to live.
Then I may think deeply about the wonderful things you have done.
28 My sadness has worn me out.
Give me strength as you have promised.
29 Keep me from cheating and telling lies.
Be kind to me and teach me your law.
30 I have chosen to be faithful to you.
I put my trust in your laws.
31 Lord, I’m careful to obey your covenant laws.
Don’t let me be put to shame.
32 I am quick to follow your commands,
because you have added to my understanding.
ה He
33 Lord, teach me how your orders direct me to live.
Then I will live that way to the very end.
34 Help me understand your law so that I may follow it.
I will obey it with all my heart.
35 Teach me to live as you command,
because that makes me very happy.
36 Make me want to follow your covenant laws
instead of wanting to gain things only for myself.
37 Turn my eyes away from things that are worthless.
Keep me alive as you have promised.
38 Keep your promise to me.
Then other people will have respect for you.
39 Please don’t let me be put to shame.
Your laws are good.
40 I really want to follow your rules.
Keep me alive, because you do what is right.
ו Waw
41 Lord, show me your faithful love.
Save me as you have promised.
42 Then I can answer anyone who makes fun of me,
because I trust in your word.
43 Help me always to tell the truth about how faithful you are.
I have put my hope in your laws.
44 I will always obey your law,
for ever and ever.
45 I will lead a full and happy life,
because I’ve tried to obey your rules.
46 I will talk about your covenant laws to kings.
I will not be put to shame.
47 I take delight in obeying your commands
because I love them.
48 I reach out for your commands that I love.
I do this so that I may think deeply about your orders.
8 The Lord decided to tear down
the walls around the city of Zion.
He measured out what he wanted to destroy.
Then he destroyed Jerusalem by his power.
He made even her towers and walls sing songs of sadness.
All of them fell down.
9 Her gates sank down into the ground.
He broke the metal bars that locked her gates, and he destroyed them.
Her king and princes were taken away to other nations.
There is no law anymore.
Jerusalem’s prophets no longer receive
visions from the Lord.
10 The elders of the city of Zion
sit silently on the ground.
They have sprinkled dust on their heads.
They’ve put on the clothes of sadness.
The young women of Jerusalem
have bowed their heads toward the ground.
11 I’ve cried so much I can’t see very well.
I’m suffering deep down inside.
My heart is broken
because my people are destroyed.
Children and babies are fainting
in the streets of the city.
12 They say to their mothers,
“Where can we find something to eat and drink?”
They faint like wounded soldiers
in the streets of the city.
Their lives are slipping away
in their mothers’ arms.
13 City of Jerusalem, what can I say about you?
What can I compare you to?
People of Zion, what are you like?
I want to comfort you.
Your wound is as deep as the ocean.
Who can heal you?
14 The visions of your prophets were lies.
They weren’t worth anything.
They didn’t show you the sins you had committed.
So that’s why you were captured.
The messages they gave you were lies.
They led you astray.
15 All those who pass by
clap their hands and make fun of you.
They laugh at you and shake their heads
at the city of Jerusalem.
They say, “Could that be the city
that was called perfect and beautiful?
Is that the city that brought joy to everyone on earth?”
51 Listen! I am telling you a mystery. We will not all die. But we will all be changed. 52 That will happen in a flash, as quickly as you can wink an eye. It will happen at the blast of the last trumpet. Then the dead will be raised to live forever. And we will be changed. 53 Our natural bodies don’t last forever. They must be dressed with what does last forever. What dies must be dressed with what does not die. 54 In fact, that is going to happen. What does not last will be dressed with what lasts forever. What dies will be dressed with what does not die. Then what is written will come true. It says, “Death has been swallowed up. It has lost the battle.” (Isaiah 25:8)
55 “Death, where is the victory you thought you had?
Death, where is your sting?” (Hosea 13:14)
56 The sting of death is sin. And the power of sin is the law. 57 But let us give thanks to God! He gives us the victory because of what our Lord Jesus Christ has done.
58 My dear brothers and sisters, remain strong in the faith. Don’t let anything move you. Always give yourselves completely to the work of the Lord. Because you belong to the Lord, you know that your work is not worthless.
Jesus Is Lord of the Sabbath Day
12 One Sabbath day Jesus walked through the grainfields. His disciples were hungry. So they began to break off some heads of grain and eat them. 2 The Pharisees saw this. They said to Jesus, “Look! It is against the Law to do this on the Sabbath day. But your disciples are doing it anyway!”
3 Jesus answered, “Haven’t you read about what David did? He and his men were hungry. 4 So he entered the house of God. He and his men ate the holy bread. Only priests were allowed to eat it. 5 Haven’t you read the Law? It tells how every Sabbath day the priests in the temple have to do their work on that day. But they are not considered guilty. 6 I tell you that something more important than the temple is here. 7 Scripture says, ‘I want mercy and not sacrifice.’ (Hosea 6:6) You don’t know what those words mean. If you did, you would not bring charges against those who are not guilty. 8 The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath day.”
9 Going on from that place, Jesus went into their synagogue. 10 A man with a weak and twisted hand was there. The Pharisees were trying to accuse Jesus of a crime. So they asked him, “Does the Law allow us to heal on the Sabbath day?”
11 He said to them, “What if one of your sheep falls into a pit on the Sabbath day? Won’t you take hold of it and lift it out? 12 A person is worth more than sheep! So the Law allows us to do good on the Sabbath day.”
13 Then Jesus said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” So he stretched it out. It had been made as good as new. It was just as good as the other hand. 14 But the Pharisees went out and planned how to kill Jesus.
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