Book of Common Prayer
ק Qoph
145 Lord, I call out to you with all my heart.
Answer me, and I will obey your orders.
146 I call out to you.
Save me, and I will keep your covenant laws.
147 I get up before the sun rises. I cry out for help.
I’ve put my hope in your word.
148 My eyes stay open all night long.
I spend my time thinking about your promises.
149 Listen to me, because you love me.
Lord, keep me alive as you have promised.
150 Those who think up evil plans are near.
They have wandered far away from your law.
151 But Lord, you are near.
All your commands are true.
152 Long ago I learned from your covenant laws
that you made them to last forever.
ר Resh
153 Look at how I’m suffering!
Save me, because I haven’t forgotten to obey your law.
154 Stand up for me and set me free.
Keep me alive as you have promised.
155 Those who are evil are far from being saved.
They don’t want to obey your orders.
156 Lord, you have deep concern for me.
Keep me alive as you have promised.
157 Many enemies attack me.
But I haven’t turned away from your covenant laws.
158 I get very angry when I see people who aren’t faithful to you.
They don’t obey your word.
159 See how I love your rules!
Lord, keep me alive, because you love me.
160 All your words are true.
All your laws are right. They last forever.
ש Sin and Shin
161 Rulers attack me for no reason.
But I tremble because of your word.
162 I’m filled with joy because of your promise.
It’s like finding a great fortune.
163 I hate lies with a deep hatred.
But I love your law.
164 Seven times a day I praise you
for your laws, because they are right.
165 Those who love your law enjoy great peace.
Nothing can make them trip and fall.
166 Lord, I wait for you to save me.
I follow your commands.
167 I obey your covenant laws,
because I love them greatly.
168 I obey your rules and your covenant laws,
because you know all about how I live.
ת Taw
169 Lord, may you hear my cry.
Give me understanding, just as you said you would.
170 May you hear my prayer.
Save me, just as you promised.
171 May my lips pour out praise to you,
because you teach me your orders.
172 May my tongue sing about your word,
because all your commands are right.
173 May your hand be ready to help me,
because I have chosen to obey your rules.
174 Lord, I long for you to save me.
Your law gives me delight.
175 Let me live so that I can praise you.
May your laws keep me going.
176 Like a lost sheep, I’ve gone down the wrong path.
Come and look for me,
because I haven’t forgotten to obey your commands.
A song for those who go up to Jerusalem to worship the Lord.
128 Blessed are all those who have respect for the Lord.
They live as he wants them to live.
2 Your work will give you what you need.
Blessings and good things will come to you.
3 As a vine bears a lot of fruit,
so may your wife have many children by you.
May they sit around your table
like young olive trees.
4 Only a man who has respect for the Lord
will be blessed like that.
5 May the Lord bless you from Zion.
May you enjoy the good things that come to Jerusalem
all the days of your life.
6 May you live to see your grandchildren.
May Israel enjoy peace.
A song for those who go up to Jerusalem to worship the Lord.
129 Here is what Israel should say.
“My enemies have treated me badly ever since I was a young nation.
2 My enemies have treated me badly ever since I was a young nation.
But they haven’t won the battle.
3 They have made deep wounds in my back.
It looks like a field a farmer has plowed.
4 The Lord does what is right.
Sinners had tied me up with ropes. But the Lord has set me free.”
5 May all those who hate Zion
be driven back in shame.
6 May they be like grass that grows on the roof of a house.
It dries up before it can grow.
7 There isn’t enough of it to fill a person’s hand.
There isn’t enough to tie up and carry away.
8 May no one who passes by say to those who hate Zion,
“May the blessing of the Lord be on you.
We bless you in the name of the Lord.”
A song for those who go up to Jerusalem to worship the Lord.
130 Lord, I cry out to you
because I’m suffering so deeply.
2 Lord, listen to me.
Pay attention to my cry for your mercy.
3 Lord, suppose you kept a close watch on sins.
Lord, who then wouldn’t be found guilty?
4 But you forgive.
So we can serve you with respect.
5 With all my heart I wait for the Lord to help me.
I put my hope in his word.
6 I wait for the Lord to help me.
I want his help more than night watchmen want the morning to come.
I’ll say it again.
I want his help more than night watchmen want the morning to come.
7 Israel, put your hope in the Lord,
because the Lord’s love never fails.
He sets his people completely free.
8 He himself will set Israel
free from all their sins.
Warnings Against Foolish Acts
6 My son, don’t promise to pay for what your neighbor owes.
Don’t agree to pay a stranger’s bill.
2 Don’t be trapped by what you have said.
Don’t be caught by the words of your mouth.
3 Instead, my son, do something to free yourself.
Don’t fall into your neighbor’s hands.
Go until you can’t go anymore.
Don’t let your neighbor rest.
4 Don’t let your eyes go to sleep.
Don’t let your eyelids close.
5 As a deer frees itself from a hunter, free yourself.
As a bird frees itself from a trapper, free yourself.
6 You people who don’t want to work, think about the ant!
Consider its ways and be wise!
7 It has no commander.
It has no leader or ruler.
8 But it stores up its food in summer.
It gathers its food at harvest time.
9 You lazy people, how long will you lie there?
When will you get up from your sleep?
10 You might sleep a little or take a little nap.
You might even fold your hands and rest.
11 Then you would be poor, as if someone had robbed you.
You would have little, as if someone had stolen from you.
12 An evil troublemaker
goes around saying twisted things with his mouth.
13 He winks with his eyes.
He makes signals with his feet.
He motions with his fingers.
14 His plans are evil, and he has lies in his heart.
He is always stirring up fights.
15 Trouble will catch up with him in an instant.
He will suddenly be destroyed, and nothing can save him.
16 There are six things the Lord hates.
In fact, he hates seven things.
17 The Lord hates proud eyes,
a lying tongue,
and hands that kill those who aren’t guilty.
18 He also hates hearts that make evil plans
and feet that are quick to do evil.
19 He hates any witness who pours out lies
and anyone who stirs up conflict in the community.
Faith in God’s Son Who Became a Human Being
5 Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is a child of God. And everyone who loves the Father loves his children as well. 2 Here is how we know that we love God’s children. We know it when we love God and obey his commands. 3 In fact, here is what it means to love God. We love him by obeying his commands. And his commands are not hard to obey. 4 That’s because everyone who is a child of God has won the battle over the world. Our faith has won the battle for us. 5 Who is it that has won the battle over the world? Only the person who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.
6 Jesus Christ was born as we are, and he died on the cross. He wasn’t just born as we are. He also died on the cross. The Holy Spirit is a truthful witness about him. That’s because the Spirit is the truth. 7 There are three that are witnesses about Jesus. 8 They are the Holy Spirit, the birth of Jesus, and the death of Jesus. And the three of them agree. 9 We accept what people say when they are witnesses. But it’s more important when God is a witness. That’s because it is what God says about his Son. 10 Whoever believes in the Son of God accepts what God says about him. Whoever does not believe God is calling him a liar. That’s because they have not believed what God said about his Son. 11 Here is what God says about the Son. God has given us eternal life. And this life is found in his Son. 12 Whoever belongs to the Son has life. Whoever doesn’t belong to the Son of God doesn’t have life.
The Plan to Kill Jesus
45 Many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary saw what Jesus did. So they believed in him. 46 But some of them went to the Pharisees. They told the Pharisees what Jesus had done. 47 Then the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the Sanhedrin.
“What can we do?” they asked. “This man is performing many signs. 48 If we let him keep on doing this, everyone will believe in him. Then the Romans will come. They will take away our temple and our nation.”
49 One of the Jewish leaders spoke up. His name was Caiaphas. He was high priest at that time. He said, “You don’t know anything at all! 50 You don’t realize what is good for you. It is better if one man dies for the people than if the whole nation is destroyed.”
51 He did not say this on his own because he was high priest at that time. He prophesied that Jesus would die for the Jewish nation. 52 He also prophesied that Jesus would die for God’s children scattered everywhere. He would die to bring them together and make them one. 53 So from that day on, the Jewish rulers planned to kill Jesus.
54 Jesus no longer moved around openly among the people of Judea. Instead, he went away to an area near the desert. He went to a village called Ephraim. There he stayed with his disciples.
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