Book of Common Prayer
A Prayer of the poor in spirit, when he is overwhelmed, and pours out his complaint before the LORD.
1 ¶ Hear my prayer, O LORD, and let my cry come unto thee.
2 Hide not thy face from me in the day when I am in trouble; incline thine ear unto me; in the day when I call, answer me speedily.
3 For my days are consumed like smoke, and my bones are burned as in a hearth.
4 My heart is smitten and withered like grass so that I forget to eat my bread.
5 By reason of the voice of my groaning, my bones cleave to my skin.
6 I am like a pelican of the wilderness; I am like an owl of the desert.
7 I watch and am as a sparrow alone upon the house top.
8 My enemies reproach me all the day, and those that are mad against me are sworn against me.
9 For I have eaten ashes like bread and mingled my drink with weeping,
10 because of thine indignation and thy wrath; for thou hast lifted me up and cast me down.
11 My days are like a shadow that declines, and I am withered like grass.
12 ¶ But thou, O LORD, shalt endure for ever and thy remembrance unto all generations.
13 Thou shalt arise and have mercy upon Zion; for the time to favour her, the set time, is come.
14 For thy slaves love her stones and have compassion on the dust thereof.
15 So the Gentiles shall fear the name of the LORD, and all the kings of the earth thy glory
16 because the LORD shall have built up Zion, and he shall be seen in his glory.
17 He shall have regarded the prayer of those who are alone and destitute and not despised their prayer.
18 This shall be written for the generation to come, and the people who shall be created shall praise JAH.
19 For he has looked down from the height of his sanctuary; from the heavens the LORD beheld the earth
20 to hear the groaning of the prisoner; to loose those that are appointed to death,
21 that they might declare the name of the LORD in Zion and his praise in Jerusalem,
22 when the people are gathered together as one and the kingdoms, to serve the LORD.
23 ¶ He weakened my strength in the way; he shortened my days.
24 I said, O my God, do not cut me off in the midst of my days; thy years are from generation to generation.
25 Of old thou hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the work of thy hands.
26 They shall perish, but thou shalt endure: yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment; as a vesture thou shalt change them, and they shall be changed:
27 But thou art the same, and thy years shall have no end.
28 The sons of thy slaves shall continue, and their seed shall be established before thee.
Maschil of David; A Prayer when he was in the cave.
1 ¶ I shall cry unto the LORD with my voice; with my voice shall I ask the LORD for mercy.
2 I shall pour out my complaint before him; before him I shall tell of my trouble.
3 When my spirit was overwhelmed within me, then thou didst know my path. In the way in which I walked have they secretly laid a snare for me.
4 ¶ I looked on my right hand, and beheld, but there was no one that would know me; I had no refuge; no one cared for my soul.
5 I cried unto thee, O LORD; I said, Thou art my hope and my portion in the land of the living.
6 Attend unto my cry, for I am brought very low; deliver me from my persecutors; for they are stronger than I.
7 Bring my soul out of prison, that I may praise thy name; the righteous shall feast with me; when thou shalt have weaned me.
A Psalm of David.
1 ¶ Hear my prayer, O LORD; give ear to my supplications for the sake of thy truth; answer me for the sake of thy righteousness.
2 And enter not into judgment with thy slave; for in thy sight shall no man living be justified.
3 For the enemy has persecuted my soul; he has smitten my life down to the ground; he has made me to dwell in darkness, as those that have been long dead.
4 Therefore my spirit has become overwhelmed within me; my heart within me has become desolate.
5 I remembered the days of old; I meditated on all thy works; I mused on the work of thy hands.
6 I stretched forth my hands unto thee; my soul thirsted after thee, as a thirsty land. Selah.
7 ¶ Hear me speedily, O LORD; my spirit fails; hide not thy face from me lest I be like those that go down into the grave.
8 Cause me to hear thy mercy in the morning, for in thee do I trust; cause me to know the way in which I should walk, for I lift up my soul unto thee.
9 Deliver me, O LORD, from my enemies; I flee unto thee.
10 Teach me to do thy will, for thou art my God. Let thy good Spirit lead me into the land of uprightness.
11 By thy name, O LORD, thou shalt give me life; by thy righteousness thou shalt bring my soul out of trouble.
12 And by thy mercy thou shalt scatter my enemies and destroy all the adversaries of my soul; for I am thy slave.
Jod
10 ¶ The elders of the daughter of Zion sat upon the ground and are silent: they have cast up dust upon their heads; they have girded themselves with sackcloth; the daughters of Jerusalem hung their heads down to the ground.
Caph
11 My eyes fail with tears; my bowels are troubled; my liver is poured upon the earth, for the destruction of the daughter of my people because the children and the sucklings faint in the streets of the city.
Lamed
12 They said to their mothers, Where is the wheat and the wine? fainting as the dead in the streets of the city, pouring out their souls into their mothers’ bosom.
Mem
13 What witness shall I take to thee? Or unto whom shall I liken thee, O daughter of Jerusalem? Unto whom shall I compare thee, that I may comfort thee, O virgin daughter of Zion? for thy breach is as great as the sea: who shall heal thee?
Nun
14 Thy prophets have preached vanity and foolishness unto thee; and they have not uncovered thine iniquity to turn away thy captivity but have preached unto thee vain prophecies and digressions.
Samech
15 All that passed by clapped their hands over thee and whistled and wagged their heads over the daughter of Jerusalem, saying, Is this the city that men called The perfection of beauty, The joy of the whole earth?
Pe
16 All thine enemies opened their mouths regarding thee; they whistled and gnashed their teeth; they said, Swallow her up; certainly this is the day that we looked for; we have found it, we have seen it.
Ain
17 The LORD has done that which he had determined; he has fulfilled his word that he had commanded from the time of old; he has destroyed and has not forgiven; and he has caused thine enemy to rejoice over thee; he has raised up the horn of thine adversaries.
18 Tsade Their heart cried unto the Lord, O wall of the daughter of Zion; let tears run down like a river day and night; give thyself no rest; let not the apple of thine eye cease.
14 Therefore, my dearly beloved, flee from idolatry.
15 ¶ I speak as to wise men; judge ye what I say.
16 The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the fellowship of the blood of the Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the fellowship of the body of the Christ?
17 For one loaf of bread means that many are one body, for we are all partakers of that one loaf.
27 Therefore whoever shall eat this bread and drink this cup of the Lord unworthily shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord.
28 But let each man prove himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup.
29 For he that eats and drinks unworthily, eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body.
30 For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep.
31 For if we would examine ourselves, we should not be judged.
32 But being judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.
12 ¶ And the first day of the feast of unleavened bread, when they sacrificed the passover, his disciples said unto him, Where wilt thou that we go and prepare that thou may eat the passover?
13 And he sends forth two of his disciples and said unto them, Go into the city, and a man shall meet you bearing a pitcher of water; follow him.
14 And wherever he shall go in, say to the husband of the house, The Master says, Where is the guestchamber where I shall eat the passover with my disciples?
15 And he will show you a large upper room furnished and prepared: there make ready for us.
16 And his disciples went forth and came into the city and found as he had said unto them, and they made ready the passover.
17 And in the evening he went with the twelve.
18 And when they sat at the table and ate, Jesus said, Verily I say unto you, One of you who eats with me shall betray me.
19 And they began to be sorrowful and to say unto him one by one, shall it be I? and another said, shall it be I?
20 And he, answering, said unto them, It is one of the twelve, that dips with me in the dish.
21 The Son of man indeed goes, as it is written of him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! good were it for that man if he had never been born.
22 And as they were eating, Jesus took bread and, blessing it, broke it and gave to them and said, Take, eat: this is my body.
23 And taking the cup, having given thanks, he gave it to them; and they all drank of it.
24 And he said unto them, This is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many.
25 Verily I say unto you, I will drink no more of the fruit of the vine until that day that I drink it new in the kingdom of God.
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