Psalm 69
1Save me, O God,
for the waters have risen up to my neck.
2I am sinking in deep mire,
and there is no firm ground for my feet.
3I have come into deep waters,
and the torrent washes over me.
4I have grown weary with my crying;
my throat is inflamed;
my eyes have failed from looking for my God.
5Those who hate me without a cause are more than the hairs
of my head;
my lying foes who would destroy me are mighty.
Must I then give back what I never stole?
6O God, you know my foolishness,
and my faults are not hidden from you.
7Let not those who hope in you be put to shame through me,
Lord GOD of hosts;
let not those who seek you be disgraced because of me,
O God of Israel.
8Surely, for your sake have I suffered reproach,
and shame has covered my face.
9I have become a stranger to my own kindred,
an alien to my mother’s children.
10Zeal for your house has eaten me up;
the scorn of those who scorn you has fallen upon me.
11I humbled myself with fasting,
but that was turned to my reproach.
12I put on sack-cloth also,
and became a byword among them.
13Those who sit at the gate murmur against me,
and the drunkards make songs about me.
14But as for me, this is my prayer to you,
at the time you have set, O LORD:
15″In your great mercy, O God,
answer me with your unfailing help.
16Save me from the mire; do not let me sink;
let me be rescued from those who hate me
and out of the deep waters.
17Let not the torrent of waters wash over me,
neither let the deep swallow me up;
do not let the Pit shut its mouth upon me.
18Answer me, O LORD, for your love is kind;
in your great compassion, turn to me.”
19″Hide not your face from your servant;
be swift and answer me, for I am in distress.
20Draw near to me and redeem me;
because of my enemies deliver me.
21You know my reproach, my shame, and my dishonor;
my adversaries are all in your sight.”
22Reproach has broken my heart, and it cannot be healed;
I looked for sympathy, but there was none,
for comforters, but I could find no one.
23They gave me gall to eat,
and when I was thirsty, they gave me vinegar to drink.
24Let the table before them be a trap
and their sacred feasts a snare.
25Let their eyes be darkened, that they may not see,
and give them continual trembling in their loins.
26Pour out your indignation upon them,
and let the fierceness of your anger overtake them.
27Let their camp be desolate,
and let there be none to dwell in their tents.
28For they persecute him whom you have stricken
and add to the pain of those whom you have pierced.
29Lay to their charge guilt upon guilt,
and let them not receive your vindication.
30Let them be wiped out of the book of the living
and not be written among the righteous.
31As for me, I am afflicted and in pain;
your help, O God, will lift me up on high.
32I will praise the Name of God in song;
I will proclaim his greatness with thanksgiving.
33This will please the LORD more than an offering of oxen,
more than bullocks with horns and hoofs.
34The afflicted shall see and be glad;
you who seek God, your heart shall live.
35For the LORD listens to the needy,
and his prisoners he does not despise.
36Let the heavens and the earth praise him,
the seas and all that moves in them;
37For God will save Zion and rebuild the cities of Judah;
they shall live there and have it in possession.
38The children of his servants will inherit it,
and those who love his Name will dwell therein.
A Collect for Saturdays
Almighty God, who after the creation of the world rested from all your works and sanctified a day of rest for all your creatures: Grant that we, putting away all earthly anxieties, may be duly prepared for the service of your sanctuary, and that our rest here upon earth may be a preparation for the eternal rest promised to your people in heaven; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
