Psalm
69 Prayed
Finding strength and comfort in the sacrifices of Jesus
Save me, O Jesus, my God,
for
the waters have come up to my neck.
I sink in the miry depths of my
sin,
where
there is no foothold.
I have come into the deep
waters of my
foolishness;
floods
of consequences engulf me.
I am worn out calling for help;
my
throat is parched.
My eyes fail,
looking
for you, my God.
Those who hate me without
reason
outnumber
the hairs of my head;
many are my spiritual enemies
without cause,
those
who seek to destroy me.
I am forced to restore
what
I did not steal.
You know my folly, O Jesus, my
God;
my
guilt is not hidden from you.
May those who hope in you
not
be disgraced because of me,
O
Lord, the Lord Jesus Christ;
may those who seek you
not
be put to shame because of me,
O
God of the Church.
For you, O Lord Jesus, endured
scorn for my sake,
and
shame covered your face.
You were a stranger to your
brothers,
an
alien to your own mother’s sons.
When you entered a house, a
crowd gathered,
so
that you and your disciples were not even
able
to eat.
When your family heard about
this,
they
went to take charge of you,
for
they said, “He is out of his mind.”
When your mother and brothers arrived,
standing
outside, they sent someone in to call
you.
A
crowd was sitting around you, and they told
you,
“Your
mother and brothers are outside looking
for
you.”
“Who are my mother and my
brothers?” you
asked.
Then you looked at those seated
in a circle
around
you and said,
“Here are my mother and my
brothers!
Whoever
does God’s will is my brother and
sister
and mother.”
When
it was almost time for the Jewish Passover,
you
went up to Jerusalem.
In the temple courts you found
men selling cattle,
sheep
and doves,
and
others sitting at tables exchanging money.
So
you made a whip out of cords.
and
drove all from the temple area, both sheep
and
cattle;
You scattered the coins of the
money changers
and
overturned their tables.
To those who sold doves you
said,
“Get
these out of here!
How
dare you turn my Father’s house into a
market!”
Your disciples remembered that
it is written:
“Zeal
for your house consumes me.”
The insults of those who
insulted your Father there
fell
on you, O Christ.
When the chief priests and the
teachers of the law
heard
this,
they began looking for a way to
kill you,
for
they feared you,
because the whole crowd
was
amazed at your teaching.
When
you wept and fasted,
you
had to endure scorn;
when you put on
sackcloth,
people
made sport of you.
Those who sat at the gate
mocked you,
and
you were the song of the drunkards.
So
I can pray to you, O Lord Jesus,
for
you have experienced my anguish.
In the time of your favour;
in
your great love, O Christ,
answer
me with your sure salvation.
Rescue me from the mire of my
self-pity,
do
not let me sink into despair;
deliver me from those who hate
me,
from
the deep waters.
Do not let the floodwaters
engulf me
or
the depths swallow me up
or
the pit close its mouth over me.
Answer me, O Lord Jesus, out of
the goodness of
your
love;
in
your great mercy turn to me.
Do not hide your face from your
servant;
answer
me quickly, for I am in trouble.
Come near and rescue me;
redeem
me because of my spiritual foes.
As you were led to your
execution,
when
you were hung upon the cross,
you were scorned, disgraced and
shamed;
all
your enemies were before you.
Scorn had broken your
heart
and
left you helpless;
You looked for sympathy, but
there was none,
for
comforters, but you found none.
They put gall in your food
and
gave you vinegar for your thirst.
When
the soldiers came up and mocked you.
They
offered you wine vinegar to drink.
Lord Jesus, you know my frailty
and weakness,
you
understand my temptations.
Since I am only flesh and
blood,
you
too shared in my humanity
so that by your death you might
destroy
him
who holds the power of death:
that
is, the devil.
Satan exploits me in my
weakness,
all
that he represents continues to assault me.
May the table set before them
become a snare;
may
it become retribution and a trap.
May their eyes be darkened so
they cannot see,
and
their backs be bent forever.
Pour out your wrath on them;
let
your fierce anger overtake them.
May their place be deserted;
let
there be no one to dwell in their tents.
For they persecute those you
wound
and
talk about the pain of those you hurt.
Charge them with crime upon
crime;
do
not let them share in your salvation.
May they be blotted out of the
book of life
and
not be listed with the righteous.
I am in pain and distress;
may
your salvation, O Jesus, protect me.
I will praise your name in song
and
glorify you with thanksgiving.
This will please you more than
an ox,
more
than a bull with its horns and hoofs,
sacrificed
on an ancient altar,
because it is impossible for
the blood
of
bulls and goats to take away sins.
For you sacrificed for my sins
once
for all when you offered yourself.
The poor will see and be glad—
you
who seek God, may your hearts live!
The Lord hears the needy
and
does not despise his captive people.
Let heaven and earth praise
you,
the
seas and all that move in them,
for you will save your people
and
rebuild your Church.
Then people of God will settle
here and possess it;
the
children of your servants will inherit it,
and
those who love your name will dwell here.
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Psalm 69 Prayed
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