Book of Common Prayer
ק Qoph
145 I call with all my heart;(A) answer me, Lord,
and I will obey your decrees.(B)
146 I call out to you; save me(C)
and I will keep your statutes.
147 I rise before dawn(D) and cry for help;
I have put my hope in your word.
148 My eyes stay open through the watches of the night,(E)
that I may meditate on your promises.
149 Hear my voice(F) in accordance with your love;(G)
preserve my life,(H) Lord, according to your laws.
150 Those who devise wicked schemes(I) are near,
but they are far from your law.
151 Yet you are near,(J) Lord,
and all your commands are true.(K)
152 Long ago I learned from your statutes(L)
that you established them to last forever.(M)
ר Resh
153 Look on my suffering(N) and deliver me,(O)
for I have not forgotten(P) your law.
154 Defend my cause(Q) and redeem me;(R)
preserve my life(S) according to your promise.(T)
155 Salvation is far from the wicked,
for they do not seek out(U) your decrees.
156 Your compassion, Lord, is great;(V)
preserve my life(W) according to your laws.(X)
157 Many are the foes who persecute me,(Y)
but I have not turned(Z) from your statutes.
158 I look on the faithless with loathing,(AA)
for they do not obey your word.(AB)
159 See how I love your precepts;
preserve my life,(AC) Lord, in accordance with your love.
160 All your words are true;
all your righteous laws are eternal.(AD)
ש Sin and Shin
161 Rulers persecute me(AE) without cause,
but my heart trembles(AF) at your word.
162 I rejoice(AG) in your promise
like one who finds great spoil.(AH)
163 I hate and detest(AI) falsehood
but I love your law.(AJ)
164 Seven times a day I praise you
for your righteous laws.(AK)
165 Great peace(AL) have those who love your law,
and nothing can make them stumble.(AM)
166 I wait for your salvation,(AN) Lord,
and I follow your commands.
167 I obey your statutes,
for I love them(AO) greatly.
168 I obey your precepts(AP) and your statutes,(AQ)
for all my ways are known(AR) to you.
ת Taw
169 May my cry come(AS) before you, Lord;
give me understanding(AT) according to your word.(AU)
170 May my supplication come(AV) before you;
deliver me(AW) according to your promise.(AX)
171 May my lips overflow with praise,(AY)
for you teach me(AZ) your decrees.
172 May my tongue sing(BA) of your word,
for all your commands are righteous.(BB)
173 May your hand be ready to help(BC) me,
for I have chosen(BD) your precepts.
174 I long for your salvation,(BE) Lord,
and your law gives me delight.(BF)
175 Let me live(BG) that I may praise you,
and may your laws sustain me.
176 I have strayed like a lost sheep.(BH)
Seek your servant,
for I have not forgotten(BI) your commands.
Psalm 128
A song of ascents.
1 Blessed are all who fear the Lord,(A)
who walk in obedience to him.(B)
2 You will eat the fruit of your labor;(C)
blessings and prosperity(D) will be yours.
3 Your wife will be like a fruitful vine(E)
within your house;
your children(F) will be like olive shoots(G)
around your table.
4 Yes, this will be the blessing(H)
for the man who fears the Lord.(I)
5 May the Lord bless you from Zion;(J)
may you see the prosperity of Jerusalem(K)
all the days of your life.
6 May you live to see your children’s children—(L)
peace be on Israel.(M)
Psalm 129
A song of ascents.
1 “They have greatly oppressed(N) me from my youth,”(O)
let Israel say;(P)
2 “they have greatly oppressed me from my youth,
but they have not gained the victory(Q) over me.
3 Plowmen have plowed my back
and made their furrows long.
4 But the Lord is righteous;(R)
he has cut me free(S) from the cords of the wicked.”(T)
5 May all who hate Zion(U)
be turned back in shame.(V)
6 May they be like grass on the roof,(W)
which withers(X) before it can grow;
7 a reaper cannot fill his hands with it,(Y)
nor one who gathers fill his arms.
8 May those who pass by not say to them,
“The blessing of the Lord be on you;
we bless you(Z) in the name of the Lord.”
Psalm 130
A song of ascents.
1 Out of the depths(AA) I cry to you,(AB) Lord;
2 Lord, hear my voice.(AC)
Let your ears be attentive(AD)
to my cry for mercy.(AE)
3 If you, Lord, kept a record of sins,
Lord, who could stand?(AF)
4 But with you there is forgiveness,(AG)
so that we can, with reverence, serve you.(AH)
The Lord Will Be Israel’s Shepherd
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 Sovereign Lord says: Woe to you shepherds of Israel who only take care of yourselves! Should not shepherds take care of the flock?(A) 3 You eat the curds, clothe yourselves with the wool and slaughter the choice animals, but you do not take care of the flock.(B) 4 You have not strengthened the weak or healed(C) the sick or bound up(D) the injured. You have not brought back the strays or searched for the lost. You have ruled them harshly and brutally.(E) 5 So they were scattered because there was no shepherd,(F) and when they were scattered they became food for all the wild animals.(G) 6 My sheep wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill.(H) They were scattered(I) over the whole earth, and no one searched or looked for them.(J)
7 “‘Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: 8 As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, because my flock lacks a shepherd and so has been plundered(K) and has become food for all the wild animals,(L) and because my shepherds did not search for my flock but cared for themselves rather than for my flock,(M) 9 therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: 10 This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am against(N) the shepherds and will hold them accountable for my flock. I will remove them from tending the flock so that the shepherds can no longer feed themselves. I will rescue(O) my flock from their mouths, and it will no longer be food for them.(P)
11 “‘For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I myself will search for my sheep(Q) and look after them. 12 As a shepherd(R) looks after his scattered flock when he is with them, so will I look after my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on a day of clouds and darkness.(S) 13 I will bring them out from the nations and gather(T) them from the countries, and I will bring them into their own land.(U) I will pasture them on the mountains of Israel, in the ravines and in all the settlements in the land.(V) 14 I will tend them in a good pasture, and the mountain heights of Israel(W) will be their grazing land. There they will lie down in good grazing land, and there they will feed in a rich pasture(X) on the mountains of Israel.(Y) 15 I myself will tend my sheep and have them lie down,(Z) declares the Sovereign Lord.(AA) 16 I will search for the lost and bring back the strays. I will bind up(AB) the injured and strengthen the weak,(AC) but the sleek and the strong I will destroy.(AD) I will shepherd the flock with justice.(AE)
Reasons for Writing
12 I am writing to you, dear children,(A)
because your sins have been forgiven on account of his name.(B)
13 I am writing to you, fathers,
because you know him who is from the beginning.(C)
I am writing to you, young men,
because you have overcome(D) the evil one.(E)
14 I write to you, dear children,(F)
because you know the Father.
I write to you, fathers,
because you know him who is from the beginning.(G)
I write to you, young men,
because you are strong,(H)
and the word of God(I) lives in you,(J)
and you have overcome the evil one.(K)
On Not Loving the World
15 Do not love the world or anything in the world.(L) If anyone loves the world, love for the Father[a] is not in them.(M) 16 For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh,(N) the lust of the eyes,(O) and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. 17 The world and its desires pass away,(P) but whoever does the will of God(Q) lives forever.
5 These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: “Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans.(A) 6 Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel.(B) 7 As you go, proclaim this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven(C) has come near.’ 8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy,[a] drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give.
9 “Do not get any gold or silver or copper to take with you in your belts(D)— 10 no bag for the journey or extra shirt or sandals or a staff, for the worker is worth his keep.(E) 11 Whatever town or village you enter, search there for some worthy person and stay at their house until you leave. 12 As you enter the home, give it your greeting.(F) 13 If the home is deserving, let your peace rest on it; if it is not, let your peace return to you. 14 If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, leave that home or town and shake the dust off your feet.(G) 15 Truly I tell you, it will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah(H) on the day of judgment(I) than for that town.(J)
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