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.
169 Hear my cry to you, Lord.
Let your word help me understand.
170 Listen to my prayer;
save me as you promised.
171 Let me speak your praise,
because you have taught me your demands.
172 Let me sing about your promises,
because all your commands are fair.
173 Give me your helping hand,
because I have chosen your commands.
174 I want you to save me, Lord.
I love your teachings.
175 Let me live so I can praise you,
and let your laws help me.
176 I have wandered like a lost sheep.
Look for your servant, because I have not forgotten your commands.
The Happy Home
A song for going up to worship.
128 Happy are those who respect the Lord and obey him.
2 You will enjoy what you work for,
and you will be blessed with good things.
3 Your wife will give you many children,
like a vine that produces much fruit.
Your children will bring you much good,
like olive branches that produce many olives.
4 This is how the man who respects the Lord
will be blessed.
5 May the Lord bless you from Mount Zion;
may you enjoy the good things of Jerusalem all your life.
6 May you see your grandchildren.
Let there be peace in Israel.
A Prayer Against the Enemies
A song for going up to worship.
129 They have treated me badly all my life.
(Let Israel repeat this.)
2 They have treated me badly all my life,
but they have not defeated me.
3 Like farmers plowing, they plowed over my back,
making long wounds.
4 But the Lord does what is right;
he has set me free from those wicked people.
5 Let those who hate Jerusalem
be turned back in shame.
6 Let them be like the grass on the roof
that dries up before it has grown.
7 There is not enough of it to fill a hand
or to make into a bundle to fill one’s arms.
8 Let those who pass by them not say,
“May the Lord bless you.
We bless you by the power of the Lord.”
A Prayer for Mercy
A song for going up to worship.
130 Lord, I am in great trouble,
so I call out to you.
2 Lord, hear my voice;
listen to my prayer for help.
3 Lord, if you punished people for all their sins,
no one would be left, Lord.
4 But you forgive us,
so you are respected.
5 I wait for the Lord to help me,
and I trust his word.
6 I wait for the Lord to help me
more than night watchmen wait for the dawn,
more than night watchmen wait for the dawn.
7 People of Israel, put your hope in the Lord
because he is loving
and able to save.
8 He will save Israel
from all their sins.
Jerusalem Will Be Saved
12 This message is the word of the Lord to Israel. This is what the Lord says, who stretched out the skies, and laid the foundations of the earth, and put the human spirit within: 2 “I will make Jerusalem like a cup of poison to the nations around her. They will come and attack Jerusalem and Judah. 3 One day all the nations on earth will come together to attack Jerusalem, but I will make it like a heavy rock; anyone who tries to move it will get hurt. 4 At that time I will confuse every horse and cause its rider to go crazy,” says the Lord. “I will watch over Judah, but I will blind all the horses of the enemies. 5 Then the leaders of Judah will say to themselves, ‘The people of Jerusalem are strong, because the Lord All-Powerful is their God.’
6 “At that time I will make the leaders of Judah like a fire burning a stack of wood or like a fire burning straw. They will destroy all the people around them left and right. But the people of Jerusalem will remain safe.
7 “The Lord will save the homes of Judah first so that the honor given to David’s family and to the people of Jerusalem won’t be greater than the honor given to Judah. 8 At that time the Lord will protect the people in Jerusalem. Then even the weakest of them will be strong like David. And the family of David will be like God, like an angel of the Lord in front of them. 9 At that time I will go to destroy all the nations that attack Jerusalem.
Crying for the One They Stabbed
10 “I will pour out on David’s family and the people in Jerusalem a spirit of kindness and mercy. They will look at me, the one they have stabbed, and they will cry like someone crying over the death of an only child. They will be as sad as someone who has lost a firstborn son.
Spiritual Blessings in Christ
3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. In Christ, God has given us every spiritual blessing in the heavenly world. 4 That is, in Christ, he chose us before the world was made so that we would be his holy people—people without blame before him. 5 Because of his love, God had already decided to make us his own children through Jesus Christ. That was what he wanted and what pleased him, 6 and it brings praise to God because of his wonderful grace. God gave that grace to us freely, in Christ, the One he loves. 7 In Christ we are set free by the blood of his death, and so we have forgiveness of sins. How rich is God’s grace, 8 which he has given to us so fully and freely. God, with full wisdom and understanding, 9 let us know his secret purpose. This was what God wanted, and he planned to do it through Christ. 10 His goal was to carry out his plan, when the right time came, that all things in heaven and on earth would be joined together in Christ as the head.
11 In Christ we were chosen to be God’s people, because from the very beginning God had decided this in keeping with his plan. And he is the One who makes everything agree with what he decides and wants. 12 We are the first people who hoped in Christ, and we were chosen so that we would bring praise to God’s glory. 13 So it is with you. When you heard the true teaching—the Good News about your salvation—you believed in Christ. And in Christ, God put his special mark of ownership on you by giving you the Holy Spirit that he had promised. 14 That Holy Spirit is the guarantee that we will receive what God promised for his people until God gives full freedom to those who are his—to bring praise to God’s glory.
Zacchaeus Meets Jesus
19 Jesus was going through the city of Jericho. 2 A man was there named Zacchaeus, who was a very important tax collector, and he was wealthy. 3 He wanted to see who Jesus was, but he was not able because he was too short to see above the crowd. 4 He ran ahead to a place where Jesus would come, and he climbed a sycamore tree so he could see him. 5 When Jesus came to that place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down! I must stay at your house today.”
6 Zacchaeus came down quickly and welcomed him gladly. 7 All the people saw this and began to complain, “Jesus is staying with a sinner!”
8 But Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “I will give half of my possessions to the poor. And if I have cheated anyone, I will pay back four times more.”
9 Jesus said to him, “Salvation has come to this house today, because this man also belongs to the family of Abraham. 10 The Son of Man came to find lost people and save them.”
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.