Book of Common Prayer
ק Qoph
145 I call with all my heart; answer me, Lord.
I will obey your statutes.(A)
146 I call to you; save me,
and I will keep your decrees.(B)
147 I rise before dawn and cry out for help;(C)
I put my hope in your word.
148 I am awake through each watch of the night
to meditate on your promise.(D)
149 In keeping with your faithful love, hear my voice.
Lord, give me life in keeping with your justice.(E)
150 Those who pursue evil plans[a](F) come near;
they are far from your instruction.
151 You are near, Lord,(G)
and all your commands are true.(H)
152 Long ago I learned from your decrees
that you have established them forever.(I)
ר Resh
153 Consider my affliction and rescue me,(J)
for I have not forgotten your instruction.(K)
154 Champion my cause and redeem me;(L)
give me life as you promised.
155 Salvation is far from the wicked
because they do not study your statutes.(M)
156 Your compassions are many, Lord;(N)
give me life according to your judgments.
157 My persecutors and foes are many.(O)
I have not turned from your decrees.(P)
158 I have seen the disloyal(Q) and feel disgust(R)
because they do not keep your word.
159 Consider how I love your precepts;
Lord, give me life according to your faithful love.(S)
160 The entirety of your word is truth,
each of your righteous judgments endures forever.(T)
שׂ Sin
161 Princes have persecuted me without cause,
but my heart fears only your word.(U)
162 I rejoice over your promise(V)
like one who finds vast treasure.
163 I hate and abhor falsehood,(W)
but I love your instruction.(X)
164 I praise you seven times a day
for your righteous judgments.(Y)
165 Abundant peace belongs to those(Z)
who love your instruction;
nothing makes them stumble.(AA)
166 Lord, I hope for your salvation(AB)
and carry out your commands.
167 I obey your decrees
and love them greatly.(AC)
168 I obey your precepts and decrees,
for all my ways are before you.(AD)
ת Taw
169 Let my cry reach you, Lord;(AE)
give me understanding according to your word.(AF)
170 Let my plea reach you;(AG)
rescue me according to your promise.(AH)
171 My lips pour out praise,(AI)
for you teach me your statutes.(AJ)
172 My tongue sings about your promise,(AK)
for all your commands are righteous.(AL)
173 May your hand be ready to help me,(AM)
for I have chosen your precepts.(AN)
174 I long for your salvation, Lord,
and your instruction is my delight.(AO)
175 Let me live, and I will praise you;(AP)
may your judgments help me.
176 I wander like a lost sheep;(AQ)
seek your servant,(AR)
for I do not forget your commands.(AS)
Psalm 128
Blessings for Those Who Fear God
A song of ascents.
1 How happy is everyone who fears the Lord,
who walks in his ways!(A)
2 You will surely eat
what your hands have worked for.(B)
You will be happy,
and it will go well for you.(C)
3 Your wife will be like a fruitful vine
within your house,
your children, like young olive trees
around your table.(D)
4 In this very way
the man who fears the Lord
will be blessed.(E)
5 May the Lord bless you from Zion,
so that you will see the prosperity of Jerusalem
all the days of your life(F)
6 and will see your children’s children!
Peace be with Israel.(G)
Psalm 129
Protection of the Oppressed
A song of ascents.
1 Since my youth they have often attacked me—
let Israel say—
2 since my youth they have often attacked me,
but they have not prevailed against me.(H)
3 Plowmen plowed over my back;
they made their furrows long.(I)
4 The Lord is righteous;
he has cut the ropes of the wicked.(J)
5 Let all who hate Zion
be driven back in disgrace.(K)
6 Let them be like grass on the rooftops,
which withers before it grows up[a](L)
7 and can’t even fill the hands of the reaper
or the arms of the one who binds sheaves.(M)
8 Then none who pass by will say,
“May the Lord’s blessing be on you.
We bless you in the name of the Lord.”(N)
Psalm 130
Awaiting Redemption
A song of ascents.
1 Out of the depths I call to you, Lord!(O)
2 Lord, listen to my voice;
let your ears be attentive
to my cry for help.(P)
3 Lord, if you kept an account of iniquities,
Lord, who could stand?(Q)
4 But with you there is forgiveness,
so that you may be revered.(R)
Huldah’s Prophecy of Judgment
14 So(A) the priest Hilkiah, Ahikam, Achbor, Shaphan, and Asaiah went to the prophetess(B) Huldah, wife of Shallum son of Tikvah,(C) son of Harhas, keeper of the wardrobe. She lived in Jerusalem in the Second District.(D) They spoke with her.
15 She said to them, “This is what the Lord God of Israel says: Say to the man who sent you to me, 16 ‘This is what the Lord says: I am about to bring disaster on this place and on its inhabitants, fulfilling[a] all the words of the book that the king of Judah has read,(E) 17 because they have abandoned me and burned incense to other gods in order to anger me with all the work of their hands. My wrath will be kindled against this place, and it will not be quenched.’(F) 18 Say this to the king of Judah who sent you to inquire of the Lord: ‘This is what the Lord God of Israel says: As for the words that you heard,(G) 19 because your heart was tender and you humbled yourself before the Lord(H) when you heard what I spoke against this place and against its inhabitants, that they would become a desolation and a curse,(I) and because you have torn your clothes and wept before me, I myself have heard’—this is the Lord’s declaration. 20 ‘Therefore, I will indeed gather you to your ancestors, and you will be gathered to your grave in peace.(J) Your eyes will not see all the disaster that I am bringing on this place.’”
Then they reported[b] to the king.
Covenant Renewal
23 So the king sent messengers,(K) and they gathered all the elders(L) of Judah and Jerusalem to him. 2 Then the king went to the Lord’s temple with all the men of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, as well as the priests and the prophets—all the people from the youngest to the oldest. He read in their hearing all the words of the book of the covenant(M) that had been found in the Lord’s temple.(N) 3 Next, the king stood by the pillar[c](O) and made a covenant(P) in the Lord’s presence to follow the Lord and to keep his commands, his decrees, and his statutes with all his heart and with all his soul(Q) in order to carry out the words of this covenant that were written in this book; all the people agreed to[d] the covenant.(R)
23 For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you:(A) On the night when he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, broke it, and said,[a] “This is my body, which is[b] for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”(B)
25 In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, and said, “This cup is the new covenant(C) in my blood.(D) Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death(E) until he comes.(F)
Self-Examination
27 So, then, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sin against the body[c] and blood of the Lord. 28 Let a person examine himself; in this way let him eat the bread and drink from the cup. 29 For whoever eats and drinks without recognizing the body,[d] eats and drinks judgment(G) on himself. 30 This is why many are sick and ill among you, and many have fallen asleep.(H) 31 If we were properly judging ourselves, we would not be judged, 32 but when we are judged(I) by the Lord, we are disciplined, so that we may not be condemned(J) with the world.
33 Therefore, my brothers and sisters, when you come together to eat, welcome one another.[e] 34 If anyone is hungry, he should eat at home, so that when you gather together you will not come under judgment. I will give instructions about the other matters whenever I come.(K)
The Call of Matthew
9 As Jesus went on from there,(A) he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax office, and he said to him, “Follow me,” and he got up and followed him.(B)
10 While he was reclining at the table in the house, many tax collectors and sinners came to eat with Jesus and his disciples.(C) 11 When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” (D)
12 Now when he heard this, he said, “It is not those who are well who need a doctor, but those who are sick.(E) 13 Go and learn what this means: I desire mercy and not sacrifice.[a](F) For I didn’t come to call the righteous, but sinners.”[b]
A Question about Fasting
14 Then John’s disciples came to him, saying, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but your disciples do not fast?” (G)
15 Jesus said to them, “Can the wedding guests[c] be sad while the groom is with them? The time[d] will come when the groom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast. 16 No one patches an old garment with unshrunk cloth, because the patch pulls away from the garment and makes the tear worse. 17 And no one puts[e] new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the skins burst, the wine spills out, and the skins are ruined. No, they put new wine into fresh wineskins, and both are preserved.”
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