Book of Common Prayer
The Lord’s Eternal Love
A Prayer of the afflicted, (A)when he is overwhelmed and pours out his complaint before the Lord.
102 Hear my prayer, O Lord,
And let my cry come to You.
2 (B)Do not hide Your face from me in the day of my trouble;
Incline Your ear to me;
In the day that I call, answer me speedily.
3 For my days [a]are (C)consumed like smoke,
And my bones are burned like a hearth.
4 My heart is stricken and withered like grass,
So that I forget to eat my bread.
5 Because of the sound of my groaning
My bones cling to my [b]skin.
6 I am like a pelican of the wilderness;
I am like an owl of the desert.
7 I lie awake,
And am like a sparrow alone on the housetop.
8 My enemies reproach me all day long;
Those who deride me swear an oath against me.
9 For I have eaten ashes like bread,
And mingled my drink with weeping,
10 Because of Your indignation and Your wrath;
For You have lifted me up and cast me away.
11 My days are like a shadow that lengthens,
And I wither away like grass.
12 But You, O Lord, shall endure forever,
And the remembrance of Your name to all generations.
13 You will arise and have mercy on Zion;
For the time to favor her,
Yes, the set time, has come.
14 For Your servants take pleasure in her stones,
And show favor to her dust.
15 So the [c]nations shall (D)fear the name of the Lord,
And all the kings of the earth Your glory.
16 For the Lord shall build up Zion;
(E)He shall appear in His glory.
17 (F)He shall regard the prayer of the destitute,
And shall not despise their prayer.
18 This will be (G)written for the generation to come,
That (H)a people yet to be created may praise the Lord.
19 For He (I)looked down from the height of His sanctuary;
From heaven the Lord viewed the earth,
20 (J)To hear the groaning of the prisoner,
To release those appointed to death,
21 To (K)declare the name of the Lord in Zion,
And His praise in Jerusalem,
22 (L)When the peoples are gathered together,
And the kingdoms, to serve the Lord.
23 He weakened my strength in the way;
He (M)shortened my days.
24 (N)I said, “O my God,
Do not take me away in the midst of my days;
(O)Your years are throughout all generations.
25 (P)Of old You laid the foundation of the earth,
And the heavens are the work of Your hands.
26 (Q)They will perish, but You will [d]endure;
Yes, they will all grow old like a garment;
Like a cloak You will change them,
And they will be changed.
27 But (R)You are the same,
And Your years will have no end.
28 (S)The children of Your servants will continue,
And their descendants will be established before You.”
BOOK FIVE
Psalms 107–150
Thanksgiving to the Lord for His Great Works of Deliverance
107 Oh, (A)give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!
For His [a]mercy endures forever.
2 Let the redeemed of the Lord say so,
Whom He has redeemed from the hand of the enemy,
3 And (B)gathered out of the lands,
From the east and from the west,
From the north and from the south.
4 They wandered in (C)the wilderness in a desolate way;
They found no city to dwell in.
5 Hungry and thirsty,
Their soul fainted in them.
6 (D)Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble,
And He delivered them out of their distresses.
7 And He led them forth by the (E)right way,
That they might go to a city for a dwelling place.
8 (F)Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness,
And for His wonderful works to the children of men!
9 For (G)He satisfies the longing soul,
And fills the hungry soul with goodness.
10 Those who (H)sat in darkness and in the shadow of death,
(I)Bound[b] in affliction and irons—
11 Because they (J)rebelled against the words of God,
And [c]despised (K)the counsel of the Most High,
12 Therefore He brought down their heart with labor;
They fell down, and there was (L)none to help.
13 Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble,
And He saved them out of their distresses.
14 (M)He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death,
And broke their chains in pieces.
15 Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness,
And for His wonderful works to the children of men!
16 For He has (N)broken the gates of bronze,
And cut the bars of iron in two.
17 Fools, (O)because of their transgression,
And because of their iniquities, were afflicted.
18 (P)Their soul abhorred all manner of food,
And they (Q)drew near to the gates of death.
19 Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble,
And He saved them out of their distresses.
20 (R)He sent His word and (S)healed them,
And (T)delivered them from their destructions.
21 Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness,
And for His wonderful works to the children of men!
22 (U)Let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving,
And (V)declare His works with [d]rejoicing.
23 Those who go down to the sea in ships,
Who do business on great waters,
24 They see the works of the Lord,
And His wonders in the deep.
25 For He commands and (W)raises the stormy wind,
Which lifts up the waves of the sea.
26 They mount up to the heavens,
They go down again to the depths;
(X)Their soul melts because of trouble.
27 They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man,
And [e]are at their wits’ end.
28 Then they cry out to the Lord in their trouble,
And He brings them out of their distresses.
29 (Y)He calms the storm,
So that its waves are still.
30 Then they are glad because they are quiet;
So He guides them to their desired haven.
31 (Z)Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness,
And for His wonderful works to the children of men!
32 Let them exalt Him also (AA)in the assembly of the people,
And praise Him in the company of the elders.
Moses’ Error at Kadesh(A)
20 Then(B) the children of Israel, the whole congregation, came into the Wilderness of Zin in the first month, and the people stayed in (C)Kadesh; and (D)Miriam died there and was buried there.
2 (E)Now there was no water for the congregation; (F)so they gathered together against Moses and Aaron. 3 And the people (G)contended with Moses and spoke, saying: “If only we had died (H)when our brethren died before the Lord! 4 (I)Why have you brought up the assembly of the Lord into this wilderness, that we and our animals should die here? 5 And why have you made us come up out of Egypt, to bring us to this evil place? It is not a place of grain or figs or vines or pomegranates; nor is there any water to drink.” 6 So Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly to the door of the tabernacle of meeting, and (J)they [a]fell on their faces. And (K)the glory of the Lord appeared to them.
7 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 8 (L)“Take the rod; you and your brother Aaron gather the congregation together. Speak to the rock before their eyes, and it will yield its water; thus (M)you shall bring water for them out of the rock, and give drink to the congregation and their animals.” 9 So Moses took the rod (N)from before the Lord as He commanded him.
10 And Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly together before the rock; and he said to them, (O)“Hear now, you rebels! Must we bring water for you out of this rock?” 11 Then Moses lifted his hand and struck the rock twice with his rod; (P)and water came out abundantly, and the congregation and their animals drank.
12 Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, “Because (Q)you did not believe Me, to (R)hallow Me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them.”
13 (S)This was the water of [b]Meribah, because the children of Israel contended with the Lord, and He was hallowed among them.
Death in Adam, Life in Christ(A)
12 Therefore, just as (B)through one man sin entered the world, and (C)death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned— 13 (For until the law sin was in the world, but (D)sin is not imputed when there is no law. 14 Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned according to the likeness of the transgression of Adam, (E)who is a type of Him who was to come. 15 But the free gift is not like the [a]offense. For if by the one man’s offense many died, much more the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abounded (F)to many. 16 And the gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned. For the judgment which came from one offense resulted in condemnation, but the free gift which came from many [b]offenses resulted in justification. 17 For if by the one man’s [c]offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.)
18 Therefore, as through [d]one man’s offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through (G)one[e] Man’s righteous act the free gift came (H)to all men, resulting in justification of life. 19 For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by (I)one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous.
20 Moreover (J)the law entered that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace (K)abounded much more, 21 so that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Two Blind Men Receive Their Sight(A)
29 (B)Now as they went out of Jericho, a great multitude followed Him. 30 And behold, (C)two blind men sitting by the road, when they heard that Jesus was passing by, cried out, saying, “Have mercy on us, O Lord, (D)Son of David!”
31 Then the multitude (E)warned them that they should be quiet; but they cried out all the more, saying, “Have mercy on us, O Lord, Son of David!”
32 So Jesus stood still and called them, and said, “What do you want Me to do for you?”
33 They said to Him, “Lord, that our eyes may be opened.” 34 So Jesus had (F)compassion and touched their eyes. And immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed Him.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.