Book of Common Prayer
Qoph.
145 I cried (A)with all my heart; answer me, O Lord!
I will (B)observe Your statutes.
146 I cried to You; (C)save me
And I shall keep Your testimonies.
147 I [a](D)rise before dawn and cry for help;
I [b]wait for Your words.
148 My eyes anticipate the (E)night watches,
That I may (F)meditate on Your [c]word.
149 Hear my voice (G)according to Your lovingkindness;
(H)Revive me, O Lord, according to Your ordinances.
150 Those who follow after wickedness draw near;
They are far from Your law.
151 You are (I)near, O Lord,
And all Your commandments are (J)truth.
152 Of old I have (K)known from Your testimonies
That You have founded them (L)forever.
Resh.
153 (M)Look upon my (N)affliction and rescue me,
For I do not (O)forget Your law.
154 (P)Plead my cause and (Q)redeem me;
Revive me according to Your [d]word.
155 Salvation is (R)far from the wicked,
For they (S)do not seek Your statutes.
156 [e](T)Great are Your mercies, O Lord;
Revive me according to Your ordinances.
157 Many are my (U)persecutors and my adversaries,
Yet I do not (V)turn aside from Your testimonies.
158 I behold the (W)treacherous and (X)loathe them,
Because they do not keep Your [f]word.
159 Consider how I (Y)love Your precepts;
(Z)Revive me, O Lord, according to Your lovingkindness.
160 The (AA)sum of Your word is (AB)truth,
And every one of Your righteous ordinances (AC)is everlasting.
Shin.
161 (AD)Princes persecute me without cause,
But my heart (AE)stands in awe of Your words.
162 I (AF)rejoice at Your [g]word,
As one who (AG)finds great spoil.
163 I (AH)hate and despise falsehood,
But I (AI)love Your law.
164 Seven times a day I praise You,
Because of Your (AJ)righteous ordinances.
165 Those who love Your law have (AK)great peace,
And [h](AL)nothing causes them to stumble.
166 I (AM)hope for Your salvation, O Lord,
And do Your commandments.
167 My (AN)soul keeps Your testimonies,
And I (AO)love them exceedingly.
168 I (AP)keep Your precepts and Your testimonies,
For all my (AQ)ways are before You.
Tav.
169 Let my (AR)cry [i]come before You, O Lord;
(AS)Give me understanding (AT)according to Your word.
170 Let my (AU)supplication come before You;
(AV)Deliver me according to Your [j]word.
171 Let my (AW)lips utter praise,
For You (AX)teach me Your statutes.
172 Let my (AY)tongue sing of Your [k]word,
For all Your (AZ)commandments are righteousness.
173 Let Your (BA)hand be [l]ready to help me,
For I have (BB)chosen Your precepts.
174 I (BC)long for Your salvation, O Lord,
And Your law is my (BD)delight.
175 Let my (BE)soul live that it may praise You,
And let Your ordinances help me.
176 I have (BF)gone astray like a lost sheep; seek Your servant,
For I do (BG)not forget Your commandments.
Blessedness of the Fear of the Lord.
A Song of Ascents.
128 (A)How blessed is everyone who fears the Lord,
Who (B)walks in His ways.
2 When you shall (C)eat of the [a](D)fruit of your hands,
You will be happy and (E)it will be well with you.
3 Your wife shall be like a (F)fruitful vine
[b]Within your house,
Your children like (G)olive plants
Around your table.
4 Behold, for thus shall the man be blessed
Who fears the Lord.
5 (H)The Lord bless you (I)from Zion,
And may you see the prosperity of Jerusalem all the days of your life.
6 Indeed, may you see your (J)children’s children.
(K)Peace be upon Israel!
Prayer for the Overthrow of Zion’s Enemies.
A Song of Ascents.
129 “[c]Many times they have [d](L)persecuted me from my (M)youth up,”
(N)Let Israel now say,
2 “[e]Many times they have [f]persecuted me from my youth up;
Yet they have (O)not prevailed against me.
3 “The plowers plowed upon my back;
They lengthened their furrows.”
4 The Lord (P)is righteous;
He has cut in two the (Q)cords of the wicked.
5 May all who (R)hate Zion
Be (S)put to shame and turned backward;
6 Let them be like (T)grass upon the housetops,
Which withers before it [g]grows up;
7 With which the reaper does not fill his [h]hand,
Or the binder of sheaves his (U)bosom;
8 Nor do those who pass by say,
“The (V)blessing of the Lord be upon you;
We bless you in the name of the Lord.”
Hope in the Lord’s Forgiving Love.
A Song of Ascents.
130 Out of the (W)depths I have cried to You, O Lord.
2 Lord, (X)hear my voice!
Let (Y)Your ears be attentive
To the (Z)voice of my supplications.
3 If You, [i]Lord, should mark iniquities,
O Lord, who could (AA)stand?
4 But there is (AB)forgiveness with You,
That You may be (AC)feared.
5 I wait for the Lord, my (AD)soul does wait,
And [j](AE)in His word do I hope.
6 My soul waits for the Lord
More than the watchmen (AF)for the morning;
Indeed, more than the watchmen for the morning.
7 O Israel, (AG)hope in the Lord;
For with the Lord there is (AH)lovingkindness,
And with Him is (AI)abundant redemption.
8 And He will (AJ)redeem Israel
From all his iniquities.
Prophecy against the Shepherds of Israel
34 Then the word of the Lord came to me saying, 2 “Son of man, prophesy against the (A)shepherds of Israel. Prophesy and say to [a]those shepherds, ‘Thus says the Lord [b]God, “Woe, shepherds of Israel who have been [c](B)feeding themselves! Should not the shepherds [d](C)feed the flock? 3 You (D)eat the fat and clothe yourselves with the wool, you (E)slaughter the fat sheep without [e]feeding the flock. 4 Those who are sickly you have not strengthened, the [f]diseased you have not healed, (F)the broken you have not bound up, the scattered you have not brought back, nor have you (G)sought for the lost; but with force and with severity you have dominated them. 5 They were (H)scattered for lack of a shepherd, and they became (I)food for every beast of the field and were scattered. 6 My flock (J)wandered through all the mountains and on every high hill; (K)My flock was scattered over all the surface of the earth, and there was (L)no one to search or seek for them.”’”
7 Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: 8 “As I live,” declares the Lord God, “surely because My flock has become a (M)prey, My flock has even become food for all the beasts of the field for lack of a shepherd, and My shepherds did not search for My flock, but rather the shepherds fed themselves and did not feed My flock; 9 therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: 10 ‘Thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I am (N)against the shepherds, and I will demand My [g]sheep [h]from them and make them (O)cease from feeding [i]sheep. So the shepherds will not [j]feed themselves anymore, but I will (P)deliver My flock from their mouth, so that they will not be food for them.”’”
The Restoration of Israel
11 For thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I Myself will (Q)search for My sheep and seek them out. 12 (R)As a shepherd [k]cares for his herd in the day when he is among his scattered [l]sheep, so I will [m](S)care for My [n]sheep and will deliver them from all the places to which they were scattered on a (T)cloudy and gloomy day. 13 I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries and bring them to their own land; and I will (U)feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the (V)streams, and in all the inhabited places of the land. 14 I will feed them in a (W)good pasture, and their grazing ground will be on the mountain heights of Israel. There they will lie down on good grazing ground and feed in [o](X)rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. 15 I will (Y)feed My flock and I will [p]lead them to rest,” declares the Lord God. 16 “I will seek the lost, bring back the scattered, bind up the broken and strengthen the sick; but the (Z)fat and the strong I will destroy. I will (AA)feed them with judgment.
12 I am writing to you, (A)little children, because (B)your sins have been forgiven you for His name’s sake. 13 I am writing to you, fathers, because you know Him (C)who has been from the beginning. I am writing to you, young men, because (D)you have overcome (E)the evil one. I have written to you, children, because (F)you know the Father. 14 I have written to you, fathers, because you know Him (G)who has been from the beginning. I have written to you, young men, because you are (H)strong, and the (I)word of God abides in you, and (J)you have overcome the evil one.
Do Not Love the World
15 Do not love (K)the world nor the things in the world. (L)If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world, (M)the lust of the flesh and (N)the lust of the eyes and (O)the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. 17 (P)The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who (Q)does the will of God lives forever.
5 (A)These twelve Jesus sent out after instructing them: “Do not [a]go [b]in the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter any city of the (B)Samaritans; 6 but rather go to (C)the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 7 And as you go, [c]preach, saying, ‘(D)The kingdom of heaven [d]is at hand.’ 8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. Freely you received, freely give. 9 (E)Do not acquire gold, or silver, or copper for your money belts, 10 or a [e]bag for your journey, or even two [f]coats, or sandals, or a staff; for (F)the worker is worthy of his [g]support. 11 And whatever city or village you enter, inquire who is worthy in it, and stay [h]at his house until you leave that city. 12 As you enter the [i]house, (G)give it your [j]greeting. 13 If the house is worthy, [k]give it your blessing of peace. But if it is not worthy, [l]take back your blessing of peace. 14 Whoever does not receive you, nor heed your words, as you go out of that house or that city, (H)shake the dust off your feet. 15 Truly I say to you, (I)it will be more tolerable for the land of (J)Sodom and Gomorrah in (K)the day of judgment than for that city.
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