Book of Common Prayer
Qoph.
145 I cried (A)with all my heart; answer me, O Lord!
I will (B)observe 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,
That I may (F)meditate on Your [c]word.
149 Hear my voice (G)according to Your lovingkindness;
(H)Revive me, O Lord, according to Your ordinances.
150 Those who follow after wickedness draw near;
They are far from Your law.
151 You are (I)near, O Lord,
And all Your commandments are (J)truth.
152 Of old I have (K)known from Your testimonies
That You have founded them (L)forever.
Resh.
153 (M)Look upon my (N)affliction and rescue me,
For I do not (O)forget 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, O Lord;
Revive me according to Your ordinances.
157 Many are my (U)persecutors and my adversaries,
Yet I do not (V)turn aside from Your testimonies.
158 I behold the (W)treacherous and (X)loathe them,
Because they do not keep Your [f]word.
159 Consider how I (Y)love Your precepts;
(Z)Revive me, O Lord, according to Your lovingkindness.
160 The (AA)sum of Your word is (AB)truth,
And every one of Your righteous ordinances (AC)is everlasting.
Shin.
161 (AD)Princes persecute me without cause,
But my heart (AE)stands in awe of Your words.
162 I (AF)rejoice at Your [g]word,
As one who (AG)finds great spoil.
163 I (AH)hate and despise falsehood,
But I (AI)love Your law.
164 Seven times a day I praise You,
Because of Your (AJ)righteous ordinances.
165 Those who love Your law have (AK)great peace,
And [h](AL)nothing causes them to stumble.
166 I (AM)hope for Your salvation, O 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 us destroy the tree with its [a]fruit,
And (D)let us cut him off from the (E)land of the living,
That his (F)name be remembered no more.”
20 But, O Lord of hosts, who (G)judges righteously,
Who (H)tries the [b]feelings and the heart,
Let me see Your vengeance on them,
For to You have I [c]committed my cause.
21 Therefore thus says the Lord concerning the men of (I)Anathoth, who (J)seek your life, saying, “(K)Do not prophesy in the name of the Lord, so that you will not (L)die at our hand”; 22 therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts, “Behold, I am about 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, for I will (P)bring disaster on the men of Anathoth—(Q)the year of their punishment.”
A Hard Road before Them
16 “(A)Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so [a]be (B)shrewd as serpents and (C)innocent as doves. 17 But beware of men, for they will hand you over to the (D)courts and scourge you (E)in their synagogues; 18 and you will even be brought before governors and kings for My sake, 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 it will be given you in that hour what you are to say. 20 For (H)it is not you who speak, but it is the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you.
21 “(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 (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 the One Who Fears the Lord.
112 [a]Praise [b]the Lord!
How (A)blessed is the man who [c]fears the Lord,
Who greatly (B)delights in His commandments.
2 His [d](C)descendants will be mighty [e]on 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 arises in the darkness (F)for the upright;
He is (G)gracious and compassionate and righteous.
5 It is well with the man 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 as Mount Zion, which (A)cannot be moved but (B)abides forever.
2 As the mountains surround Jerusalem,
So (C)the Lord surrounds His people
(D)From this time forth and forever.
3 For the (E)scepter of wickedness shall not rest upon the [a]land of the righteous,
So that the righteous (F)will not put forth 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 lame may not be put out of joint, but rather (C)be healed.
14 (D)Pursue peace with all men, and the (E)sanctification 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 be (I)defiled; 16 that there be no (J)immoral or (K)godless person like Esau, (L)who sold his own birthright for a single meal. 17 For you know that even afterwards, (M)when he desired 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 bear the command, “(S)If even a beast touches the mountain, it will be stoned.” 21 And so terrible was the sight, that Moses said, “(T)I am full of fear 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 [b]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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