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.
Jeremiah’s Life is Threatened
18 The Lord made it known to me,
and so I understood.
Then you showed me their malicious deeds.
19 I was like a gentle lamb
led to the slaughter.
I didn’t know that they had devised schemes
against me. They told themselves,[a]
“Let’s destroy the tree with its fruit.
Let’s eliminate him from the land of the living,
so his name won’t be remembered again.”
20 Lord of the Heavenly Armies, the righteous judge,
the one who tests feelings and the heart,
let me see your vengeance on them,
for I’ve committed my case to you.
21 Therefore, this is what the Lord says about the men of Anathoth who seek to kill you, all the while threatening you, “Don’t prophesy in the name of the Lord so you won’t die by our hand!” 22 Therefore, this is what the Lord of the Heavenly Armies says: “I’m about to punish them. The young men will die by the sword. Their sons and daughters will die by famine. 23 Not one of them will be left,[b] for I’ll bring disaster on the men of Anathoth when I punish them.”
Future Persecutions(A)
16 “Pay attention, now! I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. So be as cunning as serpents and as innocent as doves. 17 Watch out for people who will hand you over to the local councils and whip you in their synagogues. 18 You will be brought before governors and kings because of me, to testify to them and to unbelievers.[a] 19 When they hand you over, don’t worry about how you are to speak[b] or what you are to say, because in that hour what you are to say will be given to you. 20 It won’t be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through[c] you.
21 “Brother will hand brother over for execution, and a father his child. Children will rebel against parents and have them put to death. 22 You will be hated by everyone because of my name. But the person who endures to the end will be saved.
The Gracious Person[a]
112 Hallelujah!
How happy is the person who fears the Lord,
who truly delights in his commandments.
2 His descendants will be powerful in the land,
a generation of the upright who will be blessed.
3 Wealth and riches are in his house,
and his righteousness endures forever.
4 A light shines in the darkness for the upright,
for the one who is gracious, compassionate, and just.
5 It is good for the person who lends generously,
conducting his affairs with fairness.
6 He will never be shaken;
the one who is just will always be remembered.
7 He need not fear a bad report,
for his heart is unshaken, since he trusts in the Lord.
8 His heart is steadfast, he will not fear.
In the end he will look in triumph over his enemy.
9 He gives generously to the poor;
his righteousness endures forever;
his horn is exalted in honor.
10 The wicked person sees this and flies into a rage;
his teeth gnash and wear away.
The desire of the wicked will amount to nothing.
A Song of Ascents
God is Secure
125 Those who are trusting in the Lord
are like Mount Zion, which cannot be overthrown.
They remain forever.
2 Just as mountains encircle Jerusalem,
so the Lord encircles his people,
from now to eternity.
3 For evil’s scepter will not rest
on the land that has been allotted to the righteous,
and so the righteous will not direct themselves[a] to do wrong.
4 Lord, do good to those who are good,
and to those who are upright in heart.[b]
5 But for those who choose their own devious paths,
the Lord will lead them away,
along with those who practice evil.
Peace be upon Israel.
Live as God’s People
12 Therefore, strengthen your tired arms and your weak knees, 13 and straighten the paths of your life,[a] so that your lameness may not become worse, but instead may be healed.
14 Pursue peace with everyone, as well as holiness, without which no one will see the Lord. 15 See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up and causes you trouble, or many of you will become defiled. 16 No one should be immoral or godless like Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal. 17 For you know that afterwards, when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected because he could not find any opportunity to repent, even though he begged to repent[b] with tears.
18 You have not come to something[c] that can be touched, to a blazing fire, to darkness, to gloom, 19 to a trumpet’s blast, or to a voice that made the hearers beg that not another word be spoken to them. 20 For they could not endure the command that was given: “If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned to death.”[d] 21 Indeed, the sight was so terrifying that Moses said, “I am trembling with fear.”[e] 22 Instead, you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, to the heavenly Jerusalem, to tens of thousands of angels joyfully gathered together, 23 to the assembly[f] of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, to a judge who is the God of all, to the spirits of righteous people who have been made perfect, 24 to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better message than Abel’s.
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