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.
19 Then the king said to (A)Ittai the Gittite, “Why are you also going with us? Return and remain with the king. For you are a foreigner and also an exile from your own place. 20 In fact, you came only yesterday. Should I make you wander up and down with us today, since I go (B)I know not where? Return, and take your brethren back. Mercy and truth be with you.”
21 But Ittai answered the king and said, (C)“As the Lord lives, and as my lord the king lives, surely in whatever place my lord the king shall be, whether in death or life, even there also your servant will be.”
22 So David said to Ittai, “Go, and cross over.” Then Ittai the Gittite and all his men and all the little ones who were with him crossed over. 23 And all the country wept with a loud voice, and all the people crossed over. The king himself also crossed over the Brook Kidron, and all the people crossed over toward the way of the (D)wilderness.
24 There was (E)Zadok also, and all the Levites with him, bearing the (F)ark of the covenant of God. And they set down the ark of God, and (G)Abiathar went up until all the people had finished crossing over from the city. 25 Then the king said to Zadok, “Carry the ark of God back into the city. If I find favor in the eyes of the Lord, He (H)will bring me back and show me both it and (I)His dwelling place. 26 But if He says thus: ‘I have no (J)delight in you,’ here I am, (K)let Him do to me as seems good to Him.” 27 The king also said to Zadok the priest, “Are you not a (L)seer?[a] Return to the city in peace, and (M)your two sons with you, Ahimaaz your son, and Jonathan the son of Abiathar. 28 See, (N)I will wait in the plains of the wilderness until word comes from you to inform me.” 29 Therefore Zadok and Abiathar carried the ark of God back to Jerusalem. And they remained there.
30 So David went up by the Ascent of the Mount of Olives, and wept as he went up; and he (O)had his head covered and went (P)barefoot. And all the people who were with him (Q)covered their heads and went up, (R)weeping as they went up. 31 Then someone told David, saying, (S)“Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom.” And David said, “O Lord, I pray, (T)turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness!”
32 Now it happened when David had come to the top of the mountain, where he worshiped God—there was Hushai the (U)Archite coming to meet him (V)with his robe torn and dust on his head. 33 David said to him, “If you go on with me, then you will become (W)a burden to me. 34 But if you return to the city, and say to Absalom, (X)‘I will be your servant, O king; as I was your father’s servant previously, so I will now also be your servant,’ then you may defeat the counsel of Ahithophel for me. 35 And do you not have Zadok and Abiathar the priests with you there? Therefore it will be that whatever you hear from the king’s house, you shall tell to (Y)Zadok and Abiathar the priests. 36 Indeed they have there (Z)with them their two sons, Ahimaaz, Zadok’s son, and Jonathan, Abiathar’s son; and by them you shall send me everything you hear.”
37 So Hushai, (AA)David’s friend, went into the city. (AB)And Absalom came into Jerusalem.
Addressing the Jerusalem Mob(A)
37 Then as Paul was about to be led into the barracks, he said to the commander, “May I speak to you?”
He replied, “Can you speak Greek? 38 (B)Are you not the Egyptian who some time ago stirred up a rebellion and led the four thousand assassins out into the wilderness?”
39 But Paul said, (C)“I am a Jew from Tarsus, in Cilicia, a citizen of no [a]mean city; and I implore you, permit me to speak to the people.”
40 So when he had given him permission, Paul stood on the stairs and (D)motioned with his hand to the people. And when there was a great silence, he spoke to them in the (E)Hebrew language, saying,
Paul’s Defense at Jerusalem
22 “Brethren(F) and fathers, hear my defense before you now.” 2 And when they heard that he spoke to them in the (G)Hebrew language, they kept all the more silent.
Then he said: 3 (H)“I am indeed a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city (I)at the feet of (J)Gamaliel, taught (K)according to the strictness of our fathers’ law, and (L)was zealous toward God (M)as you all are today. 4 (N)I persecuted this Way to the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women, 5 as also the high priest bears me witness, and (O)all the council of the elders, (P)from whom I also received letters to the brethren, and went to Damascus (Q)to bring in chains even those who were there to Jerusalem to be punished.
6 “Now (R)it happened, as I journeyed and came near Damascus at about noon, suddenly a great light from heaven shone around me. 7 And I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?’ 8 So I answered, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And He said to me, ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting.’
9 “And (S)those who were with me indeed saw the light [b]and were afraid, but they did not hear the voice of Him who spoke to me. 10 So I said, ‘What shall I do, Lord?’ And the Lord said to me, ‘Arise and go into Damascus, and there you will be told all things which are appointed for you to do.’ 11 And since I could not see for the glory of that light, being led by the hand of those who were with me, I came into Damascus.
12 “Then (T)a certain Ananias, a devout man according to the law, (U)having a good testimony with all the (V)Jews who dwelt there, 13 came to me; and he stood and said to me, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight.’ And at that same hour I looked up at him. 14 Then he said, (W)‘The God of our fathers (X)has chosen you that you should (Y)know His will, and (Z)see the Just One, (AA)and hear the voice of His mouth. 15 (AB)For you will be His witness to all men of (AC)what you have seen and heard. 16 And now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, (AD)and wash away your sins, (AE)calling on the name of the Lord.’
Jesus Heals Blind Bartimaeus(A)
46 (B)Now they came to Jericho. As He went out of Jericho with His disciples and a great multitude, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the road begging. 47 And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, (C)Son of David, (D)have mercy on me!”
48 Then many warned him to be quiet; but he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”
49 So Jesus stood still and commanded him to be called.
Then they called the blind man, saying to him, “Be of good cheer. Rise, He is calling you.”
50 And throwing aside his garment, he rose and came to Jesus.
51 So Jesus answered and said to him, “What do you want Me to do for you?”
The blind man said to Him, [a]“Rabboni, that I may receive my sight.”
52 Then Jesus said to him, “Go your way; (E)your faith has [b]made you well.” And immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus on the road.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.