Book of Common Prayer
145 Lord, I call to you with all my heart.
Answer me, and I will keep your demands.
146 I call to you.
Save me so I can obey your rules.
147 I wake up early in the morning and cry out.
I hope in your word.
148 I stay awake all night
so I can think about your promises.
149 Listen to me because of your love;
Lord, give me life by your laws.
150 Those who love evil are near,
but they are far from your teachings.
151 But, Lord, you are also near,
and all your commands are true.
152 Long ago I learned from your rules
that you made them to continue forever.
153 See my suffering and rescue me,
because I have not forgotten your teachings.
154 Argue my case and save me.
Let me live by your promises.
155 Wicked people are far from being saved,
because they do not want your demands.
156 Lord, you are very kind;
give me life by your laws.
157 Many enemies are after me,
but I have not rejected your rules.
158 I see those traitors, and I hate them,
because they do not obey what you say.
159 See how I love your orders.
Lord, give me life by your love.
160 Your words are true from the start,
and all your laws will be fair forever.
161 Leaders attack me for no reason,
but I fear your law in my heart.
162 I am as happy over your promises
as if I had found a great treasure.
163 I hate and despise lies,
but I love your teachings.
164 Seven times a day I praise you
for your fair laws.
165 Those who love your teachings will find true peace,
and nothing will defeat them.
166 I am waiting for you to save me, Lord.
I will obey your commands.
167 I obey your rules,
and I love them very much.
168 I obey your orders and rules,
because you know everything I do.
Evil Plans Against Jeremiah
18 The Lord showed me that people were making plans against me. Because he showed me what they were doing, I knew they were against me. 19 Before this, I was like a gentle lamb waiting to be butchered. I did not know they had made plans against me, saying:
“Let us destroy the tree and its fruit.
Let’s kill him so people will forget him.”
20 But, Lord All-Powerful, you are a fair judge.
You know how to test peoples’ hearts and minds.
I have told you what I have against them.
So let me see you give them the punishment they deserve.
21 So the Lord speaks about the people from Anathoth who plan to kill Jeremiah and say, “Don’t prophesy in the name of the Lord, or we will kill you!” 22 So this is what the Lord All-Powerful says: “I will soon punish the men from Anathoth. Their young men will die in war. Their sons and daughters will die from hunger. 23 No one from the city of Anathoth will be left alive, because I will cause a disaster to happen to them that year.”
Jesus Warns His Apostles
16 “Listen, I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. So be as clever as snakes and as innocent as doves. 17 Be careful of people, because they will arrest you and take you to court and whip you in their synagogues. 18 Because of me you will be taken to stand before governors and kings, and you will tell them and the non-Jewish people about me. 19 When you are arrested, don’t worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given the things to say. 20 It will not really be you speaking but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.
21 “Brothers will give their own brothers to be killed, and fathers will give their own children to be killed. Children will fight against their own parents and have them put to death. 22 All people will hate you because you follow me, but those people who keep their faith until the end will be saved.
Honest People Are Blessed
112 Praise the Lord!
Happy are those who respect the Lord,
who want what he commands.
2 Their descendants will be powerful in the land;
the children of honest people will be blessed.
3 Their houses will be full of wealth and riches,
and their goodness will continue forever.
4 A light shines in the dark for honest people,
for those who are merciful and kind and good.
5 It is good to be merciful and generous.
Those who are fair in their business
6 will never be defeated.
Good people will always be remembered.
7 They won’t be afraid of bad news;
their hearts are steady because they trust the Lord.
8 They are confident and will not be afraid;
they will look down on their enemies.
9 They give freely to the poor.
The things they do are right and will continue forever.
They will be given great honor.
10 The wicked will see this and become angry;
they will grind their teeth in anger and then disappear.
The wishes of the wicked will come to nothing.
God Protects Those Who Trust Him
A song for going up to worship.
125 Those who trust the Lord are like Mount Zion,
which sits unmoved forever.
2 As the mountains surround Jerusalem,
the Lord surrounds his people
now and forever.
3 The wicked will not rule
over those who do right.
If they did, the people who do right
might use their power to do evil.
4 Lord, be good to those who are good,
whose hearts are honest.
5 But, Lord, when you remove those who do evil,
also remove those who stop following you.
Let there be peace in Israel.
Be Careful How You Live
12 You have become weak, so make yourselves strong again. 13 Keep on the right path, so the weak will not stumble but rather be strengthened.
14 Try to live in peace with all people, and try to live free from sin. Anyone whose life is not holy will never see the Lord. 15 Be careful that no one fails to receive God’s grace and begins to cause trouble among you. A person like that can ruin many of you. 16 Be careful that no one takes part in sexual sin or is like Esau and never thinks about God. As the oldest son, Esau would have received everything from his father, but he sold all that for a single meal. 17 You remember that after Esau did this, he wanted to get his father’s blessing, but his father refused. Esau could find no way to change what he had done, even though he wanted the blessing so much that he cried.
18 You have not come to a mountain that can be touched and that is burning with fire. You have not come to darkness, sadness, and storms. 19 You have not come to the noise of a trumpet or to the sound of a voice like the one the people of Israel heard and begged not to hear another word. 20 They did not want to hear the command: “If anything, even an animal, touches the mountain, it must be put to death with stones.”[a] 21 What they saw was so terrible that Moses said, “I am shaking with fear.”[b]
22 But you have come to Mount Zion,[c] to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. You have come to thousands of angels gathered together with joy. 23 You have come to the meeting of God’s firstborn[d] children whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the judge of all people, and to the spirits of good people who have been made perfect. 24 You have come to Jesus, the One who brought the new agreement from God to his people, and you have come to the sprinkled blood[e] that has a better message than the blood of Abel.[f]
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.