Book of Common Prayer
145 I have called out with all my heart. Answer me, O Yahweh.
I want to obey your laws.
146 I have called out.
Save me, so that I can obey your written instructions.
147 I got up before dawn, and I cried out for help.
My hope is based on your word.
148 My eyes are wide-open throughout the nighttime hours
to reflect on your word.
149 In keeping with your mercy, hear my voice.
O Yahweh, give me a new life guided by your regulations.
150 Those who carry out plots against me are near,
yet they are far away from your teachings.
151 You are near, O Yahweh,
and all your commandments are reliable.
152 Long ago I learned from your written instructions
that you made them to last forever.
153 Look at my misery, and rescue me,
because I have never forgotten your teachings.
154 Plead my case for me, and save me.
Give me a new life as you promised.
155 Wicked people are far from being saved,
because they have not searched for your laws.
156 Your acts of compassion are many in number, O Yahweh.
Give me a new life guided by your regulations.
157 I have many persecutors and opponents,
yet I have not turned away from your written instructions.
158 I have seen traitors,
and I am filled with disgust.
They have not accepted your promise.
159 See how I have loved your guiding principles!
O Yahweh, in keeping with your mercy, give me a new life.
160 There is nothing but truth in your word,
and all of your righteous regulations endure forever.
161 Influential people have persecuted me for no reason,
but it is only your words that fill my heart with terror.
162 I find joy in your promise
like someone who finds a priceless treasure.
163 I hate lying; I am disgusted with it.
I love your teachings.
164 Seven times a day I praise you
for your righteous regulations.
165 There is lasting peace for those who love your teachings.
Nothing can make those people stumble.
166 I have waited with hope for you to save me, O Yahweh.
I have carried out your commandments.
167 I have obeyed your written instructions.
I have loved them very much.
168 I have followed your guiding principles and your written instructions,
because my whole life is in front of you.
Jeremiah’s Life Is Threatened
18 Yahweh revealed their plot to me so that I would understand. He showed me what they were doing. 19 I was like a trusting lamb brought to the slaughter. I didn’t know that they were plotting against me. They were saying, “Let’s destroy the tree with its fruit. Let’s cut Jeremiah off from this world of the living so that we won’t be reminded of him anymore.”
20 O Yahweh Tsebaoth, you judge fairly
and test motives and thoughts.
I want to see you take revenge on them,
because I’ve brought my case to you.
21 This is what Yahweh says: The people of Anathoth want to kill you. They say, “Don’t prophesy in the name of Yahweh, or we’ll kill you.”
22 This is what Yahweh Tsebaoth says: I’m going to punish them. The young men will die because of war. Their sons and daughters will die because of famine. 23 I will bring a disaster on the people of Anathoth. It will be a year of punishment. There will be no survivors.
16 “I’m sending you out like sheep among wolves. So be as cunning as snakes but as innocent as doves. 17 Watch out for people who will hand you over to the Jewish courts and whip you in their synagogues. 18 Because of me you will even be brought in front of governors and kings to testify to them and to everyone in the world. 19 When they hand you over to the authorities, don’t worry about what to say or how to say it. When the time comes, you will be given what to say. 20 Indeed, you’re not the ones who will be speaking. The Spirit of your Father will be speaking through you.
21 “Brother will hand over brother to death; a father will hand over his child. Children will rebel against their parents and kill them. 22 Everyone will hate you because you are committed to me. But the person who patiently endures to the end will be saved.
Psalm 112[a]
1 Hallelujah!
Blessed is the person who fears Yahweh
and is happy to obey his commands.
2 His descendants will grow strong on the earth.
The family of a decent person will be blessed.
3 Wealth and riches will be in his home.
His righteousness continues forever.
4 Light will shine in the dark for a decent person.
He is merciful, compassionate, and fair.
5 All goes well for the person who is generous and lends willingly.
He earns an honest living.
6 He will never fail.
A righteous person will always be remembered.
7 He is not afraid of bad news.
His heart remains secure, full of confidence in Yahweh.
8 His heart is steady, and he is not afraid.
In the end he will look triumphantly at his enemies.
9 He gives freely to poor people.
His righteousness continues forever.
His head is raised in honor.
10 The wicked person sees this and becomes angry.
He angrily grits his teeth and disappears.
The hope that wicked people have will vanish.
Psalm 125
A song for going up to worship.
1 Those who trust Yahweh are like Mount Zion,
which can never be shaken.
It remains firm forever.
2 As the mountains surround Jerusalem,
so Yahweh surrounds his people now and forever.
3 A wicked ruler will not be allowed to govern
the land set aside for righteous people.
That is why righteous people do not use their power to do wrong.
4 Do good, O Yahweh, to those who are good,
to those whose motives are decent.
5 But when people become crooked,
Yahweh will lead them away with troublemakers.
Let there be peace in Israel!
12 Strengthen your tired arms and weak knees. 13 Keep walking along straight paths so that your injured leg won’t get worse. Instead, let it heal.
14 Try to live peacefully with everyone, and try to live holy lives, because if you don’t, you will not see the Lord. 15 Make sure that everyone has kindness[a] from God so that bitterness doesn’t take root and grow up to cause trouble that corrupts many of you. 16 Make sure that no one commits sexual sin or is as concerned about earthly things as Esau was. He sold his rights as the firstborn son for a single meal. 17 You know that afterwards, when he wanted to receive the blessing that the firstborn son was to receive, he was rejected. Even though he begged and cried for the blessing, he couldn’t do anything to change what had happened.
18 You have not come to something that you can feel, to a blazing fire, to darkness, to gloom, to a storm, 19 to a trumpet’s blast, and to a voice. When your ancestors heard that voice, they begged not to hear it say another word. 20 They couldn’t obey the command that was given, “If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned to death.” 21 The sight was so terrifying that even Moses said he was trembling and afraid.
22 Instead, you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, to the heavenly Jerusalem. You have come to tens of thousands of angels joyfully gathered together 23 and to the assembly of God’s firstborn children (whose names are written in heaven). You have come to a judge (the God of all people) and to the spirits of people who have God’s approval and have gained eternal life. 24 You have come to Yeshua, who brings the new promise[b] from God, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better message than Abel’s.
The Names of God Bible (without notes) © 2011 by Baker Publishing Group.