Book of Common Prayer
Qof
Waiting in Hope
145 I have cried out with all of my heart.
Answer me, Lord!
I will observe your statutes.
146 I have called out to you, “Save me,
so I may keep your decrees.”
147 I get up before dawn and cry for help;
I place my hope in your word.
148 I look forward to the night watches,
when I may meditate on what you have said.
149 Hear my voice according to your gracious love.
Lord, revive me in keeping with your justice.
150 Those who pursue wickedness draw near;
they remain far from your instruction.[a]
151 You are near, Lord,
and all of your commands are true.
152 I discovered long ago about your decrees
that you have confirmed them forever.
Resh
God’s Word is Truth
153 Look on my misery, and rescue me,
for I do not ignore your instruction.[b]
154 Defend my case and redeem me;
revive me according to your promise.
155 Deliverance remains remote from the wicked,
for they do not seek your statutes.
156 Your mercies are magnificent, Lord;
revive me according to your judgments.
157 Though my persecutors and adversaries are numerous,
I do not turn aside from your decrees.
158 I watch the treacherous, and despise them,
because they do not do what you have said.
159 Look how I love your precepts, Lord;
revive me according to your gracious love.
160 The sum[c] of your word[d] is truth,
and each righteous ordinance of yours is everlasting.
Sin/Shin
Loving God’s Instruction
161 Though nobles persecute me for no reason,
my heart stands in awe of your words.
162 I find joy at what you have said
like one who has discovered a great treasure.
163 I despise and hate falsehood,
but[e] I love your instruction.[f]
164 I praise you seven times a day
because of your righteous ordinances.
165 Great peace belongs to those who love your instruction,[g]
and nothing makes them stumble.
166 I am looking in hope for your deliverance, Lord,
as I carry out your commands.
167 My soul treasures[h] your decrees,
and I love them deeply.
168 I keep your precepts and your decrees
because all of my ways are before you.
Tav
The Joy of God’s Word
169 May my cry arise before you, Lord;
give me understanding according to your word.
170 Let my request come before you;
deliver me, as you have promised.
171 May my lips utter praise,
for you teach me your statutes.
172 May my tongue sing about your promise,
for all of your commands are right.
173 May your hand stand ready to assist me,
for I have chosen your precepts.
174 I am longing for your deliverance, Lord,
and your instruction[i] is my joy.
175 Let me live, and I will praise you;
let your ordinances[j] help me.
176 I have wandered away like a lost sheep;
come find your servant,
for I do not forget your commands.
A Song of Ascents
The Blessings of Fearing God
128 How blessed[a] are all who fear the Lord
as they follow in his ways.
2 You will eat from the work of your hands;
you will be happy, and it will go well for you.
3 Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house;
your children[b] like olive shoots surrounding your table.
4 See how the man will be blessed
who fears the Lord.
5 May the Lord bless you from Zion,
and may you observe the prosperity of Jerusalem
every day that you live!
6 And may you see your children’s children!
Peace be on Israel!
A Song of Ascents
God Defeats Israel’s Enemies
129 “Since my youth they have often persecuted me,”
let Israel repeat it,
2 “Since my youth they have often persecuted me,
yet they haven’t defeated me.
3 Wicked people[c] plowed over my back,
creating long-lasting wounds.”[d]
4 The Lord is righteous—
he has cut me free from the cords of the wicked.
5 Let all who hate Zion
be turned away and be ashamed.
6 May they become like a tuft of grass on a roof top,
that withers before it takes root—
7 not enough to fill one’s hand
or to bundle in one’s arms.
8 And may those who pass by never tell them,
“May the Lord’s blessing be upon you.
We bless you in the name of the Lord.”
A Song of Ascents
A Prayer for Mercy
130 I cry to you from the depths, Lord,
2 Lord, listen to my voice;
let your ears pay attention
to what I ask of you![e]
3 Lord,[f] if you were to record iniquities,
Lord, who could remain standing?
4 But with you there is forgiveness,
so that you may be feared.
5 I wait for the Lord;
my soul waits,
and I will hope in his word.
6 My soul looks to the Lord
more than watchmen look for the morning—
more, indeed, than[g] watchmen for the morning.
7 Israel, hope in the Lord!
For with the Lord there is gracious love,
along with abundant redemption.
8 And he will redeem Israel
from all its sins.
41 The next day, Balak brought Balaam up to Bamoth-baal, where he could see part of the community of Israel.
Balaam’s First Sacrifice
23 Balaam told Balak, “Build for me here seven altars and prepare here for me seven bulls and seven rams.”
2 So Balak did just as Balaam instructed. Balak and Balaam offered a bull and a ram on each altar. 3 Then Balaam instructed Balak, “Stand by your offering and leave me alone by myself. Perhaps the Lord will come to meet me. I’ll tell you whatever he reveals to me.”
And so he went to a high place, 4 where the Lord met with Balaam, who told him, “I’ve prepared seven altars and offered bulls and rams on an altar.”
5 Then the Lord gave Balaam this message. “Return to Balak and speak to him.”
6 So Balaam returned to where Balak had been standing, that is, next to his offerings, accompanied by all the Moabite officials.
Balaam’s First Prophecy
7 Then Balaam uttered this prophetic statement:
“King Balak of Moab brought me from Aram,
from the eastern mountains,
and told me,
‘Come and curse Jacob for me.
Come and curse Israel.’
8 But how can I curse those whom God hasn’t cursed?
How can I denounce
those whom the Lord hasn’t denounced?
9 I saw them from the top of the rocks.
I watched them from the hills.
Truly this is a people that lives by itself
and doesn’t matter[a] among the nations.
10 Who can count the dust of Jacob?
Who can number the dust of Israel?
Let me die the death of the righteous,
and may I end up like him.”
11 “What are you doing to me?” Balak asked Balaam. “I brought you to curse my enemies, not pronounce a blessing!”
12 But in response, Balaam asked, “Shouldn’t I be careful to communicate only what the Lord puts in my mouth?”
The Problem of the Sin that Lives in Us
13 Now, did something good bring me death? Of course not! But in order that sin might be recognized as being sin, it used something good to cause my death, so that through the rule, sin might become more exposed as being[a] sinful than ever before. 14 For we know that the Law is spiritual, but I am merely human,[b] sold as a slave to sin.[c] 15 I don’t understand what I am doing. For I don’t practice what I want to do, but instead do what I hate. 16 Now if I practice what I don’t want to do, I am admitting that the Law is good. 17 As it is, I am no longer the one who is doing it, but it is the sin that is living in me.
18 For I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but I cannot carry it out. 19 For I don’t do the good I want to do, but instead do the evil that I don’t want to do. 20 But if I do what I don’t want to do, I am no longer the one who is doing it, but it is the sin that is living in me.
21 So I find this to be a principle:[d] when I want to do what is good, evil is right there with me. 22 For I delight in the Law of God in my inner being, 23 but I see in my body[e] a different principle[f] waging war with the Law in my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin that exists in my body.[g] 24 What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is infected by[h] death? 25 Thank God through Jesus the Messiah,[i] our Lord, because with my mind I myself can serve the Law of God, even while with my human nature[j] I serve the law of sin.
The Parable about the Tenant Farmers(A)
33 “Listen to another parable. There was a landowner who planted a vineyard, put a wall around it, dug a wine press in it, and built a watchtower. Then he leased it to tenant farmers and went abroad. 34 When harvest time approached, he sent his servants to the tenant farmers to collect his produce. 35 But the farmers took his servants and beat one, killed another, and attacked another with stones. 36 Again, he sent other servants to them, a greater number than the first, but the tenant farmers[a] treated them the same way. 37 Finally, he sent his son to them, thinking, ‘They will respect my son.’ 38 But when the tenant farmers saw his son, they told one another, ‘This is the heir. Come on, let’s kill him and get his inheritance!’ 39 So they grabbed him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him. 40 Now when the owner of the vineyard returns, what will he do to those farmers?”
41 They told him, “He will put those horrible men to a horrible death. Then he will lease the vineyard to other farmers who will give him his produce at harvest time.”
42 Jesus asked them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures,
‘The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone.[b]
This was the Lord’s[c] doing,
and it is amazing in our eyes.’?[d]
43 That is why I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce fruit for it. 44 The person who falls over this stone will be broken to pieces, but it will crush anyone on whom it falls.”[e]
45 When the high priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they knew that he was talking about them. 46 Although they wanted to arrest him, they were afraid of the crowds, who considered Jesus[f] to be a prophet.
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