Book of Common Prayer
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]
24 Pour out your judgment[as] on them.
May your raging anger[at] overtake them.
25 May their camp become desolate,
their tents uninhabited.[au]
26 For they harass[av] the one whom you discipline;[aw]
they spread the news about the suffering of those whom you punish.[ax]
27 Hold them accountable for all their sins.[ay]
Do not vindicate them.[az]
28 May their names be deleted from the scroll of the living.[ba]
Do not let their names be listed with the godly.[bb]
29 I am oppressed and suffering.
O God, deliver and protect me.[bc]
30 I will sing praises to God’s name.[bd]
I will magnify him as I give him thanks.[be]
31 That will please the Lord more than an ox or a bull
with horns and hooves.
32 The oppressed look on—let them rejoice.
You who seek God,[bf] may you be encouraged.[bg]
33 For the Lord listens to the needy;
he does not despise his captive people.[bh]
34 Let the heavens and the earth praise him,
along with the seas and everything that swims in them.
35 For God will deliver Zion
and rebuild the cities of Judah,
and his people[bi] will again live in them and possess Zion.[bj]
36 The descendants of his servants will inherit it,
and those who are loyal to him[bk] will live in it.[bl]
Book 3 (Psalms 73-89)
Psalm 73[a]
A psalm by Asaph.
73 Certainly God is good to Israel,[b]
and to those whose motives are pure.[c]
2 But as for me, my feet almost slipped;
my feet almost slid out from under me.[d]
3 For I envied those who are proud,
as I observed[e] the prosperity[f] of the wicked.
4 For they suffer no pain;[g]
their bodies[h] are strong and well fed.[i]
5 They are immune to the trouble common to men;
they do not suffer as other men do.[j]
6 Arrogance is their necklace,[k]
and violence covers them like clothing.[l]
7 Their prosperity causes them to do wrong;[m]
their thoughts are sinful.[n]
8 They mock[o] and say evil things;[p]
they proudly threaten violence.[q]
9 They speak as if they rule in heaven,
and lay claim to the earth.[r]
10 Therefore they have more than enough food to eat,
and even suck up the water of the sea.[s]
11 They say, “How does God know what we do?
Is the Most High aware of what goes on?”[t]
12 Take a good look. This is what the wicked are like,[u]
those who always have it so easy and get richer and richer.[v]
13 I concluded,[w] “Surely in vain I have kept my motives[x] pure
and maintained a pure lifestyle.[y]
14 I suffer all day long,
and am punished every morning.”
15 If I had publicized these thoughts,[z]
I would have betrayed your people.[aa]
16 When I tried to make sense of this,
it was troubling to me.[ab]
17 Then I entered the precincts of God’s temple,[ac]
and understood the destiny of the wicked.[ad]
18 Surely[ae] you put them in slippery places;
you bring them down[af] to ruin.
19 How desolate they become in a mere moment.
Terrifying judgments make their demise complete.[ag]
20 They are like a dream after one wakes up.[ah]
O Lord, when you awake[ai] you will despise them.[aj]
21 Yes,[ak] my spirit was bitter,[al]
and my insides felt sharp pain.[am]
22 I was ignorant[an] and lacked insight;[ao]
I was as senseless as an animal before you.[ap]
23 But I am continually with you;
you hold my right hand.
24 You guide[aq] me by your wise advice,
and then you will lead me to a position of honor.[ar]
25 Whom do I have in heaven but you?
On earth there is no one I desire but you.[as]
26 My flesh and my heart may grow weak,[at]
but God always[au] protects my heart and gives me stability.[av]
27 Yes,[aw] look! Those far from you[ax] die;
you destroy everyone who is unfaithful to you.[ay]
28 But as for me, God’s presence is all I need.[az]
I have made the Sovereign Lord my shelter,
as[ba] I declare all the things you have done.
Enjoy Life to the Fullest under the Fear of God
9 Rejoice, young man, while you are young,[a]
and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth.
Follow the impulses[b] of your heart and the desires[c] of your eyes,
but know that God will judge your motives and actions.[d]
10 Banish[e] emotional stress[f] from your mind.[g]
and put away pain[h] from your body;[i]
for youth[j] and the prime of life[k] are fleeting.[l]
Fear God Now Because Old Age and Death Come Quickly
12 So remember[m] your Creator in the days of your youth—
before[n] the difficult[o] days come,
and the years draw near when you will say, “I have no pleasure in them”;
2 before the sun and the light[p] of the moon and the stars grow dark,
and the clouds disappear[q] after the rain;
3 when those who keep watch over the house[r] begin to tremble,[s]
and the virile men begin to stoop over,[t]
and the grinders[u] begin to cease because they grow few,
and those who look through the windows grow dim,[v]
4 and the doors along the street are shut;
when the sound of the grinding mill[w] grows low,
and one is awakened[x] by the sound of a bird,
and all their[y] songs[z] grow faint,[aa]
5 and they are afraid of heights and the dangers[ab] in the street;
the almond blossoms[ac] grow white,[ad]
and the grasshopper[ae] drags itself along,[af]
and the caper berry[ag] shrivels up[ah]—
because man goes to his eternal home,[ai]
and the mourners go about in the streets—
6 before the silver cord is removed,
or the golden bowl is broken,
or the pitcher is shattered at the well,[aj]
or the water wheel[ak] is broken at the cistern—
7 and the dust returns to the earth as it was,
and the life’s breath[al] returns to God who gave it.
Concluding Refrain: The Teacher Restates His Thesis
Concluding Epilogue: The Teacher’s Advice is Wise
9 Not only was the Teacher wise,[aq]
but he also taught knowledge to the people;
he carefully evaluated[ar] and arranged[as] many proverbs.
10 The Teacher sought to find delightful[at] words,
and to write[au] accurately truthful sayings.[av]
11 The words of the sages are like prods,[aw]
and the collected sayings are like firmly fixed nails;
they are given by one shepherd.
Concluding Exhortation: Fear God and Obey His Commands
12 Be warned, my son, of anything in addition to them.[ax]
There is no end to the making[ay] of many books,
and much study is exhausting to the body.[az]
13 Having heard everything, I have reached this conclusion:[ba]
Fear God and keep his commandments,
because this is the whole duty[bb] of man.
14 For God will evaluate every deed,[bc]
including every secret thing, whether good or evil.
25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also behave in accordance with[a] the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited,[b] provoking[c] one another, being jealous[d] of one another.
Support One Another
6 Brothers and sisters,[e] if a person[f] is discovered in some sin,[g] you who are spiritual[h] restore such a person in a spirit of gentleness.[i] Pay close attention[j] to yourselves, so that you are not tempted too. 2 Carry one another’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. 3 For if anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. 4 Let each one examine[k] his own work. Then he can take pride[l] in himself and not compare himself with[m] someone else. 5 For each one will carry[n] his own load.
6 Now the one who receives instruction in the word must share all good things with the one who teaches[o] it. 7 Do not be deceived. God will not be made a fool.[p] For a person[q] will reap what he sows, 8 because the person who sows to his own flesh[r] will reap corruption[s] from the flesh,[t] but the one who sows to the Spirit will reap eternal life from the Spirit. 9 So we must not grow weary[u] in doing good, for in due time we will reap, if we do not give up.[v] 10 So then,[w] whenever we have an opportunity, let us do good to all people, and especially to those who belong to the family of faith.[x]
First Prediction of Jesus’ Death and Resurrection
21 From that time on[a] Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer[b] many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests, and experts in the law,[c] and be killed, and on the third day be raised. 22 So Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him:[d] “God forbid,[e] Lord! This must not happen to you!” 23 But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me, because you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but on man’s.”[f] 24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone wants to become my follower,[g] he must deny[h] himself, take up his cross,[i] and follow me. 25 For whoever wants to save his life[j] will lose it,[k] but whoever loses his life because of me[l] will find it. 26 For what does it benefit a person[m] if he gains the whole world but forfeits his life? Or what can a person give in exchange for his life? 27 For the Son of Man will come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done.[n] 28 I tell you the truth,[o] there are some standing here who will not[p] experience[q] death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”[r]
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