Book of Common Prayer
A prayer by someone who is suffering, when he is weary and pours out his troubles in the Lord’s presence.
102 O Lord, hear my prayer,
and let my cry for help come to you.
2 Do not hide your face from me when I am in trouble.
Turn your ear toward me.
Answer me quickly when I call.
3 My days disappear like smoke.
My bones burn like hot coals.
4 My heart is beaten down and withered like grass
because I have forgotten about eating.
5 I am nothing but skin and bones
because of my loud groans.
6 I am like a desert owl,
like an owl living in the ruins.
7 I lie awake.
I am like a lonely bird on a rooftop.
8 All day long my enemies insult me.
Those who ridicule me use my name as a curse.
9 I eat ashes like bread
and my tears are mixed with my drink
10 because of your hostility and anger,
because you have picked me up and thrown me away.
11 My days are like a shadow that is getting longer,
and I wither away like grass.
12 But you, O Lord, remain forever.
You are remembered throughout every generation.
13 You will rise and have compassion on Zion,
because it is time to grant a favor to it.
Indeed, the appointed time has come.
14 Your servants value Zion’s stones,
and they pity its rubble.
15 The nations will fear the Lord’s name.
All the kings of the earth will fear your glory.
16 When the Lord builds Zion,
he will appear in his glory.
17 He will turn his attention to the prayers
of those who have been abandoned.
He will not despise their prayers.
18 This will be written down for a future generation
so that a people yet to be created may praise the Lord:
19 “The Lord looked down from his holy place high above.
From heaven he looked at the earth.
20 He heard the groans of the prisoners
and set free those who were condemned to death.
21 The Lord’s name is announced in Zion
and his praise in Jerusalem
22 when nations and kingdoms gather
to worship the Lord.”
23 He has weakened my strength along the way.
He has reduced ⌞the number of⌟ my days.
24 I said, “My God, don’t take me now in the middle of my life.
Your years ⌞continue on⌟ throughout every generation.
25 Long ago you laid the foundation of the earth.
Even the heavens are the works of your hands.
26 They will come to an end, but you will still go on.
They will all wear out like clothing.
You will change them like clothes,
and they will be thrown away.
27 But you remain the same, and your life will never end.
28 The children of your servants will go on living ⌞here⌟.
Their descendants will be secure in your presence.”
BOOK FIVE
(Psalms 107–150)
107 Give thanks to the Lord because he is good,
because his mercy endures forever.
2 Let the people the Lord defended repeat these words.
They are the people he defended from the power of their enemies
3 and gathered from other countries,
from the east and from the west,
from the north and from the south.
4 They wandered around the desert on a deserted road
without finding an inhabited city.
5 They were hungry and thirsty.
They began to lose hope.
6 In their distress they cried out to the Lord.
He rescued them from their troubles.
7 He led them on a road that went straight to an inhabited city.
8 Let them give thanks to the Lord because of his mercy.
He performed his miracles for Adam’s descendants.
9 He gave plenty to drink to those who were thirsty.
He filled those who were hungry with good food.
10 Those who lived in the dark, in death’s shadow
were prisoners in misery.
They were held in iron chains
11 because they had rebelled against God’s words and had despised the advice given by the Most High.
12 So he humbled them with hard work.
They fell down, but no one was there to help them.
13 In their distress they cried out to the Lord.
He saved them from their troubles.
14 He brought them out of the dark, out of death’s shadow.
He broke apart their chains.
15 Let them give thanks to the Lord because of his mercy.
He performed his miracles for Adam’s descendants.
16 He shattered bronze gates
and cut iron bars in two.
17 Fools suffered because of their disobedience
and because of their crimes.
18 All food was disgusting to them,
and they came near death’s gates.
19 In their distress they cried out to the Lord.
He saved them from their troubles.
20 He sent his message and healed them.
He rescued them from the grave.
21 Let them give thanks to the Lord because of his mercy.
He performed his miracles for Adam’s descendants.
22 Let them bring songs of thanksgiving as their sacrifice.
Let them tell in joyful songs what he has done.
23 Those who sail on the sea in ships,
who do business on the high seas,
24 have seen what the Lord can do,
the miracles he performed in the depths of the sea.
25 He spoke, and a storm began to blow,
and it made the waves rise high.
26 The sailors aboard ship rose toward the sky.
They plunged into the depths.
Their courage melted in ⌞the face of⌟ disaster.
27 They reeled and staggered like drunks,
and all their skills as sailors became useless.
28 In their distress they cried out to the Lord.
He led them from their troubles.
29 He made the storm calm down,
and the waves became still.
30 The sailors were glad that the storm was quiet.
He guided them to the harbor they had longed for.
31 Let them give thanks to the Lord because of his mercy.
He performed his miracles for Adam’s descendants.
32 Let them glorify him when the people are gathered for worship.
Let them praise him in the company of respected leaders.
Jesus Says: I’m Coming Soon
6 He said to me, “These words are trustworthy and true. The Lord God of the spirits of the prophets has sent his angel to show his servants the things that must happen soon. 7 I’m coming soon! Blessed is the one who follows the words of the prophecy in this book.”
8 I, John, heard and saw these things. When I had heard and seen them, I bowed to worship at the feet of the angel who had been showing me these things. 9 He told me, “Don’t do that! I am your coworker. I work with other Christians, the prophets, and those who follow the words in this book. Worship God!”
10 Then the angel said to me, “Don’t seal up the words of the prophecy in this book because the time is near. 11 Let those who don’t have God’s approval go without it, and let filthy people continue to be filthy. Let those who have God’s approval continue to have it, and let holy people continue to be holy.”
12 “I’m coming soon! I will bring my reward with me to pay all people based on what they have done. 13 I am the A and the Z,[a] the first and the last, the beginning and the end.
10 “Be careful not to despise these little ones. I can guarantee that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father, who is in heaven.[a]
The Lost Sheep(A)
12 “What do you think? Suppose a man has 100 sheep and one of them strays. Won’t he leave the 99 sheep in the hills to look for the one that has strayed? 13 I can guarantee this truth: If he finds it, he is happier about it than about the 99 that have not strayed. 14 In the same way, your Father in heaven does not want one of these little ones to be lost.
Dealing with Believers When They Do Wrong
15 “If a believer does something wrong,[b] go, confront him when the two of you are alone. If he listens to you, you have won back that believer. 16 But if he does not listen, take one or two others with you so that every accusation may be verified by two or three witnesses. 17 If he ignores these witnesses, tell it to the community of believers. If he also ignores the community, deal with him as you would a heathen or a tax collector. 18 I can guarantee this truth: Whatever you imprison, God will imprison. And whatever you set free, God will set free.
19 “I can guarantee again that if two of you agree on anything here on earth, my Father in heaven will accept it. 20 Where two or three have come together in my name, I am there among them.”
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