Book of Common Prayer
Qoph
145 I cried out (A)with all my heart; answer me, Lord!
I will (B)comply with Your statutes.
146 I cried to You; (C)save me
And I shall keep Your testimonies.
147 I [a](D)rise before dawn and cry for help;
I [b]wait for Your words.
148 My eyes anticipate the (E)night watches,
So that I may (F)meditate on Your [c]word.
149 Hear my voice (G)according to Your faithfulness;
(H)Revive me, Lord, according to Your judgments.
150 Those who follow after wickedness approach;
They are far from Your Law.
151 You are (I)near, Lord,
And all Your commandments are (J)truth.
152 From long ago I have (K)known from Your testimonies
That You have founded them (L)forever.
Resh
153 (M)Look at my (N)affliction and rescue me,
For I have not (O)forgotten Your Law.
154 (P)Plead my cause and (Q)redeem me;
Revive me according to Your [d]word.
155 Salvation is (R)far from the wicked,
For they (S)do not seek Your statutes.
156 [e](T)Great are Your mercies, Lord;
Revive me according to Your judgments.
157 Many are my (U)persecutors and my enemies,
Yet I do not (V)turn aside from Your testimonies.
158 I see the (W)treacherous and (X)loathe them,
Because they do not keep Your word.
159 Consider how I (Y)love Your precepts;
(Z)Revive me, Lord, according to Your faithfulness.
160 The (AA)sum of Your word is (AB)truth,
And every one of Your righteous judgments (AC)is everlasting.
Shin
161 (AD)Rulers persecute me without cause,
But my heart (AE)stands in awe of Your words.
162 I (AF)rejoice at Your [f]word,
Like one who (AG)finds great plunder.
163 I (AH)hate and loathe falsehood,
But I (AI)love Your Law.
164 Seven times a day I praise You
Because of Your (AJ)righteous judgments.
165 Those who love Your Law have (AK)great peace,
And [g](AL)nothing causes them to stumble.
166 I (AM)hope for Your salvation, Lord,
And do Your commandments.
167 My (AN)soul keeps Your testimonies,
And I (AO)love them exceedingly.
168 I (AP)keep Your precepts and Your testimonies,
For all my (AQ)ways are before You.
Plots against Jeremiah
18 Moreover, the Lord (A)made it known to me and I knew it;
Then You showed me their deeds.
19 But I was like a gentle (B)lamb led to the slaughter;
And I did not know that they had (C)devised plots against me, saying,
“Let’s destroy the tree with its [a]fruit,
And (D)let’s cut him off from the (E)land of the living,
So that his (F)name will no longer be remembered.”
20 But, Lord of armies, who (G)judges righteously,
Who (H)puts the [b]feelings and the heart to the test,
Let me see Your vengeance on them,
For to You I have [c]committed my cause.
21 Therefore this is what the Lord says concerning the people of (I)Anathoth, who are (J)seeking your life, saying: “(K)Do not prophesy in the name of the Lord, so that you do not (L)die by our hand”; 22 therefore, this is what the Lord of armies says: “Behold, I am going to (M)punish them! The (N)young men will die by the sword, their sons and daughters will die by famine; 23 and a remnant (O)will not be left to them, because I will (P)bring disaster on the people of Anathoth—(Q)the year of their punishment.”
A Hard Road Ahead of Them
16 “(A)Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be as (B)wary as serpents, and as (C)innocent as doves. 17 But be on guard against people, for they will hand you over to the (D)courts and flog you (E)in their synagogues; 18 and you will even be brought before governors and kings on My account, as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles. 19 (F)But when they hand you over, (G)do not worry about how or what you are to say; for what you are to say will be given you in that hour. 20 For (H)it is not you who are speaking, but it is the Spirit of your Father who is speaking [a]in you.
21 “Now (I)brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; and (J)children will rise up against parents and [b]cause them to be put to death. 22 And (K)you will be hated by all because of My name, but (L)it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved.
Prosperity of One Who Fears the Lord.
112 [a]Praise [b]the Lord!
(A)Blessed is a person who [c]fears the Lord,
Who greatly (B)delights in His commandments.
2 His [d](C)descendants will be mighty [e]on the earth;
The generation of the (D)upright will be blessed.
3 (E)Wealth and riches are in his house,
And his righteousness endures forever.
4 Light shines in the darkness (F)for the upright;
He is (G)gracious, compassionate, and righteous.
5 It goes well for a person who (H)is gracious and lends;
He will [f]maintain his cause in judgment.
6 For he will (I)never be shaken;
The (J)righteous will be [g]remembered forever.
The Lord Surrounds His People.
A Song of Ascents.
125 Those who trust in the Lord
Are like Mount Zion, which (A)cannot be moved but (B)remains forever.
2 As the mountains surround Jerusalem,
So (C)the Lord surrounds His people
(D)From this time and forever.
3 For the (E)scepter of wickedness will not rest upon the [a]land of the righteous,
So that the righteous (F)will not extend their hands to do wrong.
12 Therefore, [a](A)strengthen the hands that are weak and the knees that are feeble, 13 and (B)make straight paths for your feet, so that the limb which is impaired may not be dislocated, but rather (C)be healed.
14 (D)Pursue peace with all people, and the (E)holiness without which no one will (F)see the Lord. 15 See to it that no one (G)comes short of the grace of God; that no (H)root of bitterness springing up causes trouble, and by it many become (I)defiled; 16 that there be no (J)sexually immoral or (K)godless person like Esau, (L)who sold his own birthright for a single meal. 17 For you know that even afterward, (M)when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought for it with tears.
Contrast of Sinai and Zion
18 (N)For you have not come to (O)a mountain that can be touched and to a blazing fire, and to darkness and gloom and whirlwind, 19 and to the (P)blast of a trumpet and the (Q)sound of words, which sound was such that those who heard (R)begged that no further word be spoken to them. 20 For they could not [b]cope with the command, “(S)If even an animal touches the mountain, it shall be stoned.” 21 And so terrible was the sight, that Moses said, “(T)I am terrified and trembling.” 22 But (U)you have come to Mount Zion and to (V)the city of (W)the living God, (X)the heavenly Jerusalem, and to (Y)myriads of [c]angels, 23 to the general assembly and (Z)church of the firstborn who (AA)are enrolled in heaven, and to God, (AB)the Judge of all, and to the (AC)spirits of the righteous made perfect, 24 and to Jesus, the (AD)mediator of a new covenant, and to the (AE)sprinkled blood, which speaks better than (AF)the blood of Abel.
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