Book of Common Prayer
ק Qoph
145 I call with all my heart; answer me, Lord.
I will obey your statutes.(A)
146 I call to you; save me,
and I will keep your decrees.(B)
147 I rise before dawn and cry out for help;(C)
I put my hope in your word.
148 I am awake through each watch of the night
to meditate on your promise.(D)
149 In keeping with your faithful love, hear my voice.
Lord, give me life in keeping with your justice.(E)
150 Those who pursue evil plans[a](F) come near;
they are far from your instruction.
151 You are near, Lord,(G)
and all your commands are true.(H)
152 Long ago I learned from your decrees
that you have established them forever.(I)
ר Resh
153 Consider my affliction and rescue me,(J)
for I have not forgotten your instruction.(K)
154 Champion my cause and redeem me;(L)
give me life as you promised.
155 Salvation is far from the wicked
because they do not study your statutes.(M)
156 Your compassions are many, Lord;(N)
give me life according to your judgments.
157 My persecutors and foes are many.(O)
I have not turned from your decrees.(P)
158 I have seen the disloyal(Q) and feel disgust(R)
because they do not keep your word.
159 Consider how I love your precepts;
Lord, give me life according to your faithful love.(S)
160 The entirety of your word is truth,
each of your righteous judgments endures forever.(T)
שׂ Sin
161 Princes have persecuted me without cause,
but my heart fears only your word.(U)
162 I rejoice over your promise(V)
like one who finds vast treasure.
163 I hate and abhor falsehood,(W)
but I love your instruction.(X)
164 I praise you seven times a day
for your righteous judgments.(Y)
165 Abundant peace belongs to those(Z)
who love your instruction;
nothing makes them stumble.(AA)
166 Lord, I hope for your salvation(AB)
and carry out your commands.
167 I obey your decrees
and love them greatly.(AC)
168 I obey your precepts and decrees,
for all my ways are before you.(AD)
ת Taw
169 Let my cry reach you, Lord;(AE)
give me understanding according to your word.(AF)
170 Let my plea reach you;(AG)
rescue me according to your promise.(AH)
171 My lips pour out praise,(AI)
for you teach me your statutes.(AJ)
172 My tongue sings about your promise,(AK)
for all your commands are righteous.(AL)
173 May your hand be ready to help me,(AM)
for I have chosen your precepts.(AN)
174 I long for your salvation, Lord,
and your instruction is my delight.(AO)
175 Let me live, and I will praise you;(AP)
may your judgments help me.
176 I wander like a lost sheep;(AQ)
seek your servant,(AR)
for I do not forget your commands.(AS)
Psalm 128
Blessings for Those Who Fear God
A song of ascents.
1 How happy is everyone who fears the Lord,
who walks in his ways!(A)
2 You will surely eat
what your hands have worked for.(B)
You will be happy,
and it will go well for you.(C)
3 Your wife will be like a fruitful vine
within your house,
your children, like young olive trees
around your table.(D)
4 In this very way
the man who fears the Lord
will be blessed.(E)
5 May the Lord bless you from Zion,
so that you will see the prosperity of Jerusalem
all the days of your life(F)
6 and will see your children’s children!
Peace be with Israel.(G)
Psalm 129
Protection of the Oppressed
A song of ascents.
1 Since my youth they have often attacked me—
let Israel say—
2 since my youth they have often attacked me,
but they have not prevailed against me.(H)
3 Plowmen plowed over my back;
they made their furrows long.(I)
4 The Lord is righteous;
he has cut the ropes of the wicked.(J)
5 Let all who hate Zion
be driven back in disgrace.(K)
6 Let them be like grass on the rooftops,
which withers before it grows up[a](L)
7 and can’t even fill the hands of the reaper
or the arms of the one who binds sheaves.(M)
8 Then none who pass by will say,
“May the Lord’s blessing be on you.
We bless you in the name of the Lord.”(N)
Psalm 130
Awaiting Redemption
A song of ascents.
1 Out of the depths I call to you, Lord!(O)
2 Lord, listen to my voice;
let your ears be attentive
to my cry for help.(P)
3 Lord, if you kept an account of iniquities,
Lord, who could stand?(Q)
4 But with you there is forgiveness,
so that you may be revered.(R)
The Shepherds and God’s Flock
34 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy, and say to them, ‘This is what the Lord God says to the shepherds: Woe to the shepherds of Israel, who have been feeding themselves!(A) Shouldn’t the shepherds feed their flock? 3 You eat the fat, wear the wool, and butcher the fattened animals, but you do not tend the flock.(B) 4 You have not strengthened the weak, healed the sick, bandaged the injured, brought back the strays, or sought the lost.(C) Instead, you have ruled them with violence and cruelty. 5 They were scattered for lack of a shepherd;(D) they became food for all the wild animals(E) when they were scattered. 6 My flock went astray on all the mountains and every high hill.(F) My flock was scattered over the whole face of the earth, and there was no one searching or seeking for them.
7 “‘Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord. 8 As I live—this is the declaration of the Lord God—because my flock, lacking a shepherd, has become prey and food for every wild animal, and because my shepherds do not search for my flock, and because the shepherds feed themselves rather than my flock, 9 therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord!
10 “‘This is what the Lord God says: Look, I am against the shepherds.(G) I will demand my flock from them[a] and prevent them from shepherding the flock. The shepherds will no longer feed themselves, for I will rescue my flock from their mouths so that they will not be food for them.
11 “‘For this is what the Lord God says: See, I myself will search for my flock and look for them. 12 As a shepherd looks for his sheep on the day he is among his scattered flock, so I will look for my flock. I will rescue them from all the places where they have been scattered(H) on a day of clouds and total darkness. 13 I will bring them out from the peoples, gather them from the countries, and bring them to their own soil. I will shepherd them on the mountains of Israel, in the ravines, and in all the inhabited places of the land. 14 I will tend them in good pasture, and their grazing place will be on Israel’s lofty mountains. There they will lie down in a good grazing place; they will feed in rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. 15 I will tend my flock and let them lie down.(I) This is the declaration of the Lord God. 16 I will seek the lost,(J) bring back the strays, bandage the injured,(K) and strengthen the weak, but I will destroy[b] the fat and the strong. I will shepherd them with justice.
Reasons for Writing
12 I am writing to you, little children,
since your sins have been forgiven
on account of his name.(A)
13 I am writing to you, fathers,
because you have come to know
the one who is from the beginning.(B)
I am writing to you, young men,
because you have conquered the evil one.(C)
14 I have written to you, children,
because you have come to know the Father.
I have written to you, fathers,
because you have come to know
the one who is from the beginning.
I have written to you, young men,
because you are strong,
God’s word(D) remains in you,
and you have conquered the evil one.
A Warning about the World
15 Do not love the world(E) or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh,(F) the lust of the eyes,(G) and the pride(H) in one’s possessions—is not from the Father, but is from the world. 17 And the world with its lust is passing away,(I) but the one who does the will of God(J) remains forever.(K)
5 Jesus sent out these twelve after giving them instructions: “Don’t take the road that leads to the Gentiles, and don’t enter any Samaritan(A) town. 6 Instead, go to the lost sheep(B) of the house of Israel.(C) 7 As you go, proclaim, ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’(D) 8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those with leprosy,[a] drive out demons.(E) Freely you received, freely give. 9 Don’t acquire gold, silver, or copper for your money-belts.(F) 10 Don’t take a traveling bag for the road, or an extra shirt, sandals, or a staff, for the worker(G) is worthy of his food. 11 When you enter any town or village, find out who is worthy, and stay there until you leave. 12 Greet a household when you enter it,(H) 13 and if the household is worthy, let your peace be on it; but if it is unworthy, let your peace return to you.(I) 14 If anyone does not welcome you or listen to your words, shake the dust off your feet(J) when you leave that house or town. 15 Truly I tell you, it will be more tolerable on the day of judgment(K) for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for that town.(L)
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