Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 102[a]
Prayer in Time of Distress
1 The prayer of one afflicted and wasting away whose anguish is poured out before the Lord.
I
2 Lord, hear my prayer;
let my cry come to you.
3 Do not hide your face from me
in the day of my distress.(A)
Turn your ear to me;
when I call, answer me quickly.
4 For my days vanish like smoke;(B)
my bones burn away as in a furnace.
5 My heart is withered, dried up like grass,
too wasted to eat my food.
6 From my loud groaning
I become just skin and bones.
7 I am like a desert owl,
like an owl among the ruins.
8 I lie awake and moan,
like a lone sparrow on the roof.
9 All day long my enemies taunt me;
in their rage, they make my name a curse.[b]
10 I eat ashes like bread,
mingle my drink with tears.(C)
11 Because of your furious wrath,
you lifted me up just to cast me down.
12 (D)My days are like a lengthening shadow;(E)
I wither like the grass.
II
13 But you, Lord, are enthroned forever;
your renown is for all generations.(F)
14 You will again show mercy to Zion;
now is the time for pity;
the appointed time has come.
15 Its stones are dear to your servants;
its dust moves them to pity.
16 The nations shall fear your name, Lord,
all the kings of the earth, your glory,(G)
17 Once the Lord has rebuilt Zion
and appeared in glory,
18 Heeding the plea of the lowly,
not scorning their prayer.
19 Let this be written for the next generation,
for a people not yet born,
that they may praise the Lord:(H)
20 [c]“The Lord looked down from the holy heights,
viewed the earth from heaven,(I)
21 To attend to the groaning of the prisoners,
to release those doomed to die.”(J)
22 Then the Lord’s name will be declared on Zion,
his praise in Jerusalem,
23 When peoples and kingdoms gather
to serve the Lord.(K)
III
24 He has shattered my strength in mid-course,
has cut short my days.
25 I plead, O my God,
do not take me in the midst of my days.[d](L)
Your years last through all generations.
26 Of old you laid the earth’s foundations;(M)
the heavens are the work of your hands.
27 They perish, but you remain;
they all wear out like a garment;
Like clothing you change them and they are changed,
28 but you are the same, your years have no end.
29 May the children of your servants live on;
may their descendants live in your presence.(N)
Fifth Book—Psalms 107–150
Psalm 107[a]
God the Savior of Those in Distress
1 “Give thanks to the Lord for he is good,
his mercy endures forever!”(A)
2 Let that be the prayer of the Lord’s redeemed,
those redeemed from the hand of the foe,(B)
3 Those gathered from foreign lands,
from east and west, from north and south.(C)
I
4 Some had lost their way in a barren desert;
found no path toward a city to live in.
5 They were hungry and thirsty;
their life was ebbing away.(D)
6 In their distress they cried to the Lord,
who rescued them in their peril,
7 (E)Guided them by a direct path
so they reached a city to live in.(F)
8 Let them thank the Lord for his mercy,
such wondrous deeds for the children of Adam.
9 For he satisfied the thirsty,
filled the hungry with good things.(G)
II
10 Some lived in darkness and gloom,
imprisoned in misery and chains.
11 Because they rebelled against God’s word,
and scorned the counsel of the Most High,(H)
12 He humbled their hearts through hardship;
they stumbled with no one to help.(I)
13 In their distress they cried to the Lord,
who saved them in their peril;
14 He brought them forth from darkness and the shadow of death
and broke their chains asunder.(J)
15 Let them thank the Lord for his mercy,
such wondrous deeds for the children of Adam.
16 For he broke down the gates of bronze
and snapped the bars of iron.
III
17 Some fell sick from their wicked ways,
afflicted because of their sins.
18 They loathed all manner of food;(K)
they were at the gates of death.
19 In their distress they cried to the Lord,
who saved them in their peril,
20 Sent forth his word to heal them,(L)
and snatched them from the grave.
21 Let them thank the Lord for his mercy,
such wondrous deeds for the children of Adam.
22 Let them offer a sacrifice in thanks,
recount his works with shouts of joy.
IV
23 Some went off to sea in ships,
plied their trade on the deep waters.(M)
24 They saw the works of the Lord,
the wonders of God in the deep.
25 He commanded and roused a storm wind;
it tossed the waves on high.(N)
26 They rose up to the heavens, sank to the depths;
their hearts trembled at the danger.
27 They reeled, staggered like drunkards;
their skill was of no avail.(O)
28 In their distress they cried to the Lord,
who brought them out of their peril;
29 He hushed the storm to silence,
the waves of the sea were stilled.(P)
30 They rejoiced that the sea grew calm,
that God brought them to the harbor they longed for.
31 Let them thank the Lord for his mercy,
such wondrous deeds for the children of Adam.
32 Let them extol him in the assembly of the people,
and praise him in the council of the elders.
Purification and Rededication of the Temple. 36 (A)Then Judas and his brothers said, “Now that our enemies have been crushed, let us go up to purify the sanctuary[a] and rededicate it.” 37 So the whole army assembled, and went up to Mount Zion. 38 They found the sanctuary desolate, the altar desecrated, the gates burnt, weeds growing in the courts as in a thicket or on some mountain, and the priests’ chambers demolished.(B) 39 Then they tore their garments and made great lamentation; they sprinkled their heads with ashes 40 and prostrated themselves. And when the signal was given with trumpets, they cried out to Heaven.
41 Judas appointed men to attack those in the citadel, while he purified the sanctuary. 42 He chose blameless priests, devoted to the law; 43 these purified the sanctuary and carried away the stones of the defilement to an unclean place. 44 They deliberated what ought to be done with the altar for burnt offerings that had been desecrated.(C) 45 They decided it best to tear it down, lest it be a lasting shame to them that the Gentiles had defiled it; so they tore down the altar. 46 They stored the stones in a suitable place on the temple mount, until the coming of a prophet who could determine what to do with them.(D) 47 Then they took uncut stones, according to the law, and built a new altar like the former one.(E) 48 They also repaired the sanctuary and the interior of the temple and consecrated the courts. 49 They made new sacred vessels and brought the lampstand, the altar of incense, and the table into the temple.(F) 50 Then they burned incense on the altar and lighted the lamps on the lampstand, and these illuminated the temple. 51 They also put loaves on the table and hung up the curtains. Thus they finished all the work they had undertaken.
52 They rose early on the morning of the twenty-fifth day of the ninth month, that is, the month of Kislev, in the year one hundred and forty-eight,[b] 53 and offered sacrifice according to the law on the new altar for burnt offerings that they had made.(G) 54 On the anniversary of the day on which the Gentiles had desecrated it, on that very day it was rededicated with songs, harps, lyres, and cymbals. 55 All the people prostrated themselves and adored and praised Heaven, who had given them success.
56 For eight days they celebrated the dedication of the altar and joyfully offered burnt offerings and sacrifices of deliverance and praise. 57 They ornamented the facade of the temple with gold crowns and shields; they repaired the gates and the priests’ chambers and furnished them with doors. 58 There was great joy among the people now that the disgrace brought by the Gentiles was removed. 59 Then Judas and his brothers and the entire assembly of Israel decreed that every year for eight days, from the twenty-fifth day of the month Kislev,(H) the days of the dedication[c] of the altar should be observed with joy and gladness on the anniversary.
VII. Epilogue[a]
6 And he said to me, “These words are trustworthy and true, and the Lord, the God of prophetic spirits, sent his angel to show his servants what must happen soon.”(A) 7 [b]“Behold, I am coming soon.”[c] Blessed is the one who keeps the prophetic message of this book.(B)
8 It is I, John, who heard and saw these things, and when I heard and saw them I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed them to me. 9 But he said to me, “Don’t! I am a fellow servant of yours and of your brothers the prophets and of those who keep the message of this book. Worship God.”(C)
10 Then he said to me, “Do not seal up the prophetic words of this book, for the appointed time[d] is near. 11 Let the wicked still act wickedly, and the filthy still be filthy. The righteous must still do right, and the holy still be holy.”
12 “Behold, I am coming soon. I bring with me the recompense I will give to each according to his deeds.(D) 13 I am the Alpha and the Omega,(E) the first and the last, the beginning and the end.”[e]
10 (A)“See that you do not despise one of these little ones,[a] for I say to you that their angels in heaven always look upon the face of my heavenly Father. [11 ][b](B) 12 What is your opinion? If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them goes astray, will he not leave the ninety-nine in the hills and go in search of the stray? 13 And if he finds it, amen, I say to you, he rejoices more over it than over the ninety-nine that did not stray. 14 In just the same way, it is not the will of your heavenly Father that one of these little ones be lost.
A Brother Who Sins.[c] 15 (C)“If your brother[d] sins [against you], go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have won over your brother. 16 [e](D)If he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, so that ‘every fact may be established on the testimony of two or three witnesses.’ 17 (E)If he refuses to listen to them, tell the church.[f] If he refuses to listen even to the church, then treat him as you would a Gentile or a tax collector. 18 [g](F)Amen, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. 19 [h](G)Again, [amen,] I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything for which they are to pray, it shall be granted to them by my heavenly Father. 20 [i](H)For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.”
The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant.[j]
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