Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 51[a]
For the music director, a psalm of David, written when Nathan the prophet confronted him after David’s affair with Bathsheba.[b]
51 Have mercy on me, O God, because of[c] your loyal love.
Because of[d] your great compassion, wipe away my rebellious acts.[e]
2 Wash away my wrongdoing.[f]
Cleanse me of my sin.[g]
3 For I am aware of[h] my rebellious acts;
I am forever conscious of my sin.[i]
4 Against you—you above all[j]—I have sinned;
I have done what is evil in your sight.
So[k] you are just when you confront me;[l]
you are right when you condemn me.[m]
5 Look, I was guilty of sin from birth,
a sinner the moment my mother conceived me.[n]
6 Look,[o] you desire[p] integrity in the inner man;[q]
you want me to possess wisdom.[r]
7 Cleanse me[s] with hyssop[t] and I will be pure;[u]
wash me[v] and I will be whiter than snow.[w]
8 Grant me the ultimate joy of being forgiven.[x]
May the bones[y] you crushed rejoice.[z]
9 Hide your face[aa] from my sins.
Wipe away[ab] all my guilt.
10 Create for me a pure heart, O God.[ac]
Renew a resolute spirit within me.[ad]
11 Do not reject me.[ae]
Do not take your holy Spirit[af] away from me.[ag]
12 Let me again experience the joy of your deliverance.
Sustain me by giving me the desire to obey.[ah]
13 Then I will teach[ai] rebels your merciful ways,[aj]
and sinners will turn[ak] to you.
14 Rescue me from the guilt of murder,[al] O God, the God who delivers me.
Then my tongue will shout for joy because of your righteousness.[am]
15 O Lord, give me the words.[an]
Then my mouth will praise you.[ao]
16 Certainly[ap] you do not want a sacrifice, or else I would offer it;[aq]
you do not desire a burnt sacrifice.[ar]
17 The sacrifice God desires is a humble spirit[as]—
O God, a humble and repentant heart[at] you will not reject.[au]
18 Because you favor Zion, do what is good for her.[av]
Fortify[aw] the walls of Jerusalem.
19 Then you will accept[ax] the proper sacrifices, burnt sacrifices and whole offerings;
then bulls will be sacrificed[ay] on your altar.[az]
Psalm 69[a]
For the music director, according to the tune of “Lilies”;[b] by David.
69 Deliver me, O God,
for the water has reached my neck.[c]
2 I sink into the deep mire
where there is no solid ground;[d]
I am in[e] deep water,
and the current overpowers me.
3 I am exhausted from shouting for help.
My throat is sore;[f]
my eyes grow tired from looking for my God.[g]
4 Those who hate me without cause
are more numerous than the hairs of my head.
Those who want to destroy me,
my enemies for no reason,[h]
outnumber me.[i]
They make me repay what I did not steal.[j]
5 O God, you are aware of my foolish sins;[k]
my guilt is not hidden from you.[l]
6 Let none who rely on you be disgraced because of me,
O Sovereign Lord of Heaven’s Armies.[m]
Let none who seek you be ashamed because of me,
O God of Israel.
7 For I suffer[n] humiliation for your sake[o]
and am thoroughly disgraced.[p]
8 My own brothers treat me like a stranger;
they act as if I were a foreigner.[q]
9 Certainly[r] zeal for[s] your house[t] consumes me;
I endure the insults of those who insult you.[u]
10 I weep and refrain from eating food,[v]
which causes others to insult me.[w]
11 I wear sackcloth
and they ridicule me.[x]
12 Those who sit at the city gate gossip about me;
drunkards mock me in their songs.[y]
13 O Lord, may you hear my prayer and be favorably disposed to me.[z]
O God, because of your great loyal love,
answer me with your faithful deliverance.[aa]
14 Rescue me from the mud. Don’t let me sink.
Deliver me[ab] from those who hate me,
from the deep water.
15 Don’t let the current overpower me.
Don’t let the deep swallow me up.
Don’t let the Pit[ac] devour me.[ad]
16 Answer me, O Lord, for your loyal love is good.[ae]
Because of your great compassion, turn toward me.
17 Do not ignore[af] your servant,
for I am in trouble. Answer me right away.[ag]
18 Come near me and redeem me.[ah]
Because of my enemies, rescue me.
19 You know how I am insulted, humiliated, and disgraced;
you can see all my enemies.[ai]
20 Their insults are painful[aj] and make me lose heart;[ak]
I look[al] for sympathy, but receive none,[am]
for comforters, but find none.
21 They put bitter poison[an] into my food,
and to quench my thirst they give me vinegar to drink.[ao]
22 May their dining table become a trap before them.
May it be a snare for that group of friends.[ap]
23 May their eyes be blinded.[aq]
Make them shake violently.[ar]
ו (Vav)
6 All of Daughter Zion’s[a] splendor[b]
has departed.[c]
Her leaders became like deer;
they found no pasture,
so they were too exhausted to escape[d]
from the hunter.[e]
ז (Zayin)
7 Jerusalem remembers,[f]
when[g] she became a poor homeless person,[h]
all her treasures
that she owned in days of old.[i]
When her people fell into an enemy’s grip,[j]
none of her allies came to her rescue.[k]
Her enemies[l] gloated over[m] her;
they sneered[n] at her downfall.[o]
ח (Khet)
8 Jerusalem committed terrible sin;[p]
therefore she became an object of scorn.[q]
All who admired[r] her have despised her[s]
because they have seen her nakedness.[t]
She groans aloud[u]
and turns away in shame.[v]
ט (Tet)
9 Her menstrual flow[w] has soiled[x] her clothing;[y]
she did not consider[z] the consequences of her sin.[aa]
Her demise[ab] was astonishing,[ac]
and there was no one to comfort her.
She cried, “Look,[ad] O Lord, on my[ae] affliction
because my[af] enemy boasts!”
י (Yod)
10 An enemy grabbed[ag]
all her valuables.[ah]
Indeed she watched in horror[ai] as Gentiles[aj]
invaded her holy temple[ak]—
those whom you[al] had commanded:
“They must not enter[am] your assembly place.”[an]
כ (Kaf)
11 All her people groaned
as they searched for a morsel of bread.[ao]
They exchanged[ap] their valuables[aq]
for[ar] just enough food
to stay alive.[as]
Jerusalem Speaks
“Look, O Lord! Consider[at]
that I have become worthless!”
ל (Lamed)
Salutation
1 From Paul,[a] an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, to the church of God that is in Corinth, with all the saints who are in all Achaia.[b] 2 Grace and peace to you[c] from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ!
Thanksgiving for God’s Comfort
3 Blessed is[d] the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our troubles[e] so that we may be able to comfort those experiencing any trouble[f] with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. 5 For just as the sufferings[g] of Christ[h] overflow[i] toward us, so also our comfort through Christ overflows to you.[j] 6 But if we are afflicted,[k] it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort that you experience in your patient endurance of the same sufferings that we also suffer. 7 And our hope for you is steadfast because we know that as you share in[l] our sufferings, so also you will share in[m] our comfort.
Cursing of the Fig Tree
12 Now[a] the next day, as they went out from Bethany, he was hungry. 13 After noticing in the distance a fig tree with leaves, he went to see if he could find any fruit[b] on it. When he came to it he found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. 14 He said to it,[c] “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And his disciples heard it.[d]
Cleansing the Temple
15 Then[e] they came to Jerusalem. Jesus[f] entered the temple area[g] and began to drive out those who were selling and buying in the temple courts.[h] He turned over the tables of the money changers and the chairs of those selling doves, 16 and he would not permit anyone to carry merchandise[i] through the temple courts.[j] 17 Then he began to teach[k] them and said, “Is it not written: ‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations’?[l] But you have turned it into a den[m] of robbers!”[n] 18 The chief priests and the experts in the law[o] heard it and they considered how they could assassinate[p] him, for they feared him, because the whole crowd was amazed by his teaching. 19 When evening came, Jesus and his disciples[q] went out of the city.
The Withered Fig Tree
20 In the morning as they passed by, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots. 21 Peter remembered and said to him, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree you cursed has withered.” 22 Jesus said to them, “Have faith in God. 23 I tell you the truth,[r] if someone says to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. 24 For this reason I tell you, whatever you pray and ask for, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. 25 Whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven will[s] also forgive you your sins.”[t]
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