Book of Common Prayer

³ My days disappear like smoke,
and my bones are burning
    as though in a furnace.
⁴ I am wasting away like grass,
    and my appetite is gone.
⁵ My groaning never stops,
and my bones can be seen
    through my skin.
⁶ I am like a lonely owl
    in the desert
⁷ or a restless sparrow
    alone on a roof.

⁸ My enemies insult me all day,
and they use my name
    for a curse word.
⁹ Instead of food,
I have ashes to eat
    and tears to drink,
¹⁰ because you are furious
    and have thrown me aside.
¹¹ My life fades like a shadow
at the end of day
    and withers like grass.

¹² Our Lord, you are King forever
    and will always be famous.
¹³ You will show pity to Zion
    because the time has come.
¹⁴ We, your servants,
    love each stone in the city,
and we are sad to see them
    lying in the dirt.

¹⁵ Our Lord, the nations
    will honor you,
and all kings on earth
    will praise your glory.
¹⁶ You will rebuild
    the city of Zion.
Your glory will be seen,
¹⁷ and the prayers of the homeless
    will be answered.

¹⁸ Future generations must also
praise the Lord,
    so write this for them:
¹⁹ “From his holy temple,
the Lord looked down
    at the earth.
²⁰ He listened to the groans
    of prisoners,
and he rescued everyone
    who was doomed to die.”

²¹ All Jerusalem should praise
    you, our Lord,
²² when people from every nation
    meet to worship you.

²³ I should still be strong,
but you, Lord, have made
    an old person of me.
²⁴ You will live forever!
Years mean nothing to you.
    Don't cut my life in half!

^25 (A) In the beginning, Lord,
you laid the earth's foundation
    and created the heavens.
²⁶ They will all disappear
    and wear out like clothes.
You change them,
as you would a coat,
    but you last forever.
²⁷ You are always the same.
    You are God for all time.
²⁸ Every generation of those
who serve you
    will live in your presence.

⁴ Some of you were lost
in the scorching desert,
    far from a town.
⁵ You were hungry and thirsty
    and about to give up.
⁶ You were in serious trouble,
but you prayed to the Lord,
    and he rescued you.
⁷ At once he brought you
    to a town.
⁸ You should praise the Lord
    for his love
and for the wonderful things
    he does for all of us.
⁹ To everyone who is thirsty,
    he gives something to drink;
to everyone who is hungry,
    he gives good things to eat.

¹⁰ Some of you were prisoners
suffering in deepest darkness
    and bound by chains,
¹¹ because you had rebelled
against God Most High
    and refused his advice.
¹² You were worn out
from working like slaves,
    and no one came to help.
¹³ You were in serious trouble,
but you prayed to the Lord,
    and he rescued you.
¹⁴ He brought you out
of the deepest darkness
    and broke your chains.

¹⁵ You should praise the Lord
    for his love
and for the wonderful things
    he does for all of us.
¹⁶ He breaks down bronze gates
    and shatters iron locks.

¹⁷ Some of you had foolishly
committed a lot of sins
    and were in terrible pain.
¹⁸ The very thought of food
was disgusting to you,
    and you were almost dead.
¹⁹ You were in serious trouble,
but you prayed to the Lord,
    and he rescued you.
²⁰ By the power of his own word,
he healed you and saved you
    from destruction.

²¹ You should praise the Lord
    for his love
and for the wonderful things
    he does for all of us.
²² You should celebrate
    by offering sacrifices
and singing joyful songs
    to tell what he has done.

²³ Some of you made a living
    by sailing the mighty sea,
²⁴ and you saw the miracles
    the Lord performed there.
²⁵ At his command a storm arose,
    and waves covered the sea.
²⁶ You were tossed to the sky
    and to the ocean depths,
until things looked so bad
    that you lost your courage.
²⁷ You staggered like drunkards
    and gave up all hope.
²⁸ You were in serious trouble,
but you prayed to the Lord,
    and he rescued you.
²⁹ He made the storm stop
    and the sea be quiet.
³⁰ You were happy because of this,
and he brought you to the port
    where you wanted to go.

³¹ You should praise the Lord
    for his love
and for the wonderful things
    he does for all of us.
³² Honor the Lord
when you and your leaders
    meet to worship.

¹⁰ “But now I tell the people
of Israel
    this is my new agreement:
‘The time will come
    when I, the Lord,
will write my laws
    on their minds and hearts.
I will be their God,
and they will be
    my people.
¹¹ Not one of them
will have to teach another
    to know me, their Lord.’

“All of them will know me,
    no matter who they are.
¹² I will treat them with kindness,
even though they are wicked.
    I will forget their sins.”