Book of Common Prayer
Qoph
145 Lord, I call to you with all my heart.
Answer me, and I will obey your laws.
146 I call to you.
Save me, and I will obey your rules.
147 I get up early in the morning to pray to you.
I trust what you say.
148 Late into the night I stay awake
to think about your word.
149 I know your love is true, so listen to me.
Lord, you always do what is right, so let me live.
150 Here come those who have evil plans to hurt me.
They live far away from your teachings.
151 But you are near me, Lord,
and all your commands can be trusted.
152 Long ago, I learned from your rules
that you made them to last forever.
Resh
153 Look at my suffering and rescue me.
I have not forgotten your teachings.
154 Argue my case, and set me free.
Let me live, as you promised.
155 The wicked have no hope of being saved,
because they don’t follow your laws.
156 Lord, you are very kind.
You always do what is right, so let me live.
157 I have many enemies trying to hurt me,
but I have not stopped following your rules.
158 I look at those traitors and hate what I see,
because they refuse to do what you say.
159 See how much I love your instructions!
Lord, I know your love is true, so let me live.
160 Every word you say can be trusted.
Your laws are fair and will last forever.
Shin
161 Powerful leaders attack me for no reason,
but the only thing I fear is your command.
162 Your word makes me happy,
like someone who has found a great treasure.
163 I hate lies; they make me sick!
But I love your teachings.
164 Seven times a day I praise you
because your laws are fair.
165 Those who love your teachings will find true peace.
Nothing can make them fall.
166 Lord, I am waiting for you to save me.
I obey your commands.
167 I follow your rules.
I love them very much.
168 I obey all your instructions and rules,
because you know everything I do.
Taw
169 Lord, listen to my cry for help.
Make me wise, as you promised.
170 Listen to my prayer.
Save me, as you promised.
171 I will burst into songs of praise,
because you have taught me your laws.
172 Let my voice sing about your word,
because all your commands are good.
173 I have chosen to follow your instructions,
so reach out and help me!
174 Lord, I want you to save me.
Your teachings make me happy.
175 Let me live to praise you.
Let me find the help I need in your laws.
176 I have wandered away like a lost sheep.
Come and find me.
I am your servant,
and I have not forgotten your commands.
A song for going up to the Temple.
128 Great blessings belong to those who fear and respect the Lord
and live the way he wants.
2 You will get what you work for.
You will enjoy the Lord’s blessings, and all will go well for you.
3 At home, your wife will have many children, like a vine full of grapes.
The children around your table will be like an orchard full of olive trees.
4 Yes, the Lord will really bless those who respect him.
5 May the Lord bless you from Mount Zion.
May you enjoy the blessings of Jerusalem all your life.
6 And may you live to see your grandchildren.
Let Israel always enjoy peace!
A song for going up to the Temple.
129 All my life enemies have attacked me.
Say it again, Israel.
2 All my life enemies have attacked me,
but they have never defeated me.
3 They beat me until I had deep cuts.
My back looked like a freshly plowed field.
4 But the Lord does what is right;
he cut the ropes and set me free from those wicked people.
5 May those who hate Zion be put to shame.
May they be stopped and chased away.
6 They will be like grass on a flat roof
that dies before it has time to grow.
7 The one who goes to harvest it
will not find enough to cut and stack.
8 May no one walking by those wicked people ever say,
“May the Lord bless you!
We bless you in the name of the Lord.”
A song for going up to the Temple.
130 Lord, I am in deep trouble,
so I am calling to you for help.
2 My Lord, listen to me.
Listen to my cry for help.
3 Lord, if you punished people for all their sins,
no one would be left alive.
4 But you forgive people,
so they fear and respect you.
5 I am waiting for the Lord to help me.
My soul waits for him.
I trust what he says.
6 I am waiting for my Lord,
like a guard waiting and waiting for the morning to come.
7 Israel, trust in the Lord.
The Lord is the one who is faithful and true.
He saves us again and again,
8 and he is the one who will save the people of Israel from all their sins.
Visions About the Nations Around Judah
12 This is a message from the Lord about Israel. The Lord is the one who made the earth and the sky, and he put the human spirit in people. And this is what the Lord said: 2 “Look, I will make Jerusalem like a cup of poison to the nations around her. The nations will come and attack that city, and all of Judah will be caught in the trap. 3 But I will make Jerusalem like a heavy rock—those who try to take it will hurt themselves. They will be cut and scratched. All the nations on earth will come together to fight against Jerusalem. 4 But at that time I will scare the horse, and the soldier riding it will panic. I will make all the enemy horses blind, but my eyes will be open—and I will be watching over Judah’s family. 5 The leaders of Judah will encourage the people and say, ‘The Lord All-Powerful is your God. He makes us strong.’ 6 At that time I will make the leaders of Judah like a fire burning in a forest. They will destroy their enemies like fire burning straw. They will destroy the enemy all around them, and the people in Jerusalem will again be able to sit back and relax.”
7 The Lord will save the people of Judah first, so the people in Jerusalem will not be able to brag too much. David’s family and the other people who live in Jerusalem will not be able to brag that they are better than the other people in Judah. 8 But the Lord will protect the people in Jerusalem. Even the man who trips and falls will become a great soldier like David. And the men from David’s family will be like gods—like the Lord’s own angel leading the people.
9 The Lord says, “At that time I will destroy the nations that came to fight against Jerusalem. 10 I will fill David’s family and the people living in Jerusalem with a spirit of kindness and mercy. They will look to me, the one they stabbed, and they will be very sad. They will be as sad as someone crying over the death of their only son, as sad as someone crying over the death of their firstborn son.
Spiritual Blessings in Christ
3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. In Christ, God has given us every spiritual blessing in heaven. 4 In Christ, he chose us before the world was made. He chose us in love to be his holy people—people who could stand before him without any fault. 5 And before the world was made, God decided to make us his own children through Jesus Christ. This was what God wanted, and it pleased him to do it. 6 And this brings praise to God because of his wonderful grace. God gave that grace to us freely. He gave us that grace in Christ, the one he loves.
7 In Christ we are made free by his blood sacrifice. We have forgiveness of sins because of God’s rich grace. 8 God gave us that grace fully and freely. With full wisdom and understanding 9 he let us know his secret plan. This was what God wanted, and he planned to do it through Christ. 10 God’s goal was to finish his plan when the right time came. He planned that all things in heaven and on earth be joined together with Christ as the head.
11 In Christ we were chosen to be God’s people. God had already planned for us to be his people, because that is what he wanted. And he is the one who makes everything agree with what he decides and wants. 12 We Jews were the first to hope in Christ. And we were chosen so that we would bring praise to God in all his glory. 13 It is the same with you. You heard the true message, the Good News about the way God saves you. When you heard that Good News, you believed in Christ. And in Christ, God put his special mark on you by giving you the Holy Spirit that he promised. 14 The Spirit is the first payment that guarantees we will get all that God has for us. Then we will enjoy complete freedom as people who belong to him. The goal for all of us is the praise of God in all his glory.
Zacchaeus
19 Jesus was going through the city of Jericho. 2 In Jericho there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a wealthy, very important tax collector. 3 He wanted to see who Jesus was. There were many others who wanted to see Jesus too. Zacchaeus was too short to see above the people. 4 So he ran to a place where he knew Jesus would come. Then he climbed a sycamore tree so he could see him.
5 When Jesus came to where Zacchaeus was, he looked up and saw him in the tree. Jesus said, “Zacchaeus, hurry! Come down! I must stay at your house today.”
6 Zacchaeus hurried and came down. He was happy to have Jesus in his house. 7 Everyone saw this. They began to complain, “Look at the kind of man Jesus is staying with. Zacchaeus is a sinner!”
8 Zacchaeus said to the Lord, “I want to do good. I will give half of my money to the poor. If I have cheated anyone, I will pay them back four times more.”
9 Jesus said, “Today is the day for this family to be saved from sin. Yes, even this tax collector is one of God’s chosen people.[a] 10 The Son of Man came to find lost people and save them.”
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International