Book of Common Prayer
Qoph
145 With my (A)whole heart I cry; answer me, O Lord!
I will (B)keep your statutes.
146 I call to you; save me,
that I may observe your testimonies.
147 I rise before (C)dawn and cry for help;
I (D)hope in your words.
148 My eyes are awake before (E)the watches of the night,
that I may meditate on your promise.
149 Hear my voice according to your steadfast love;
O Lord, (F)according to your justice (G)give me life.
150 They draw near who persecute me with evil purpose;
they are far from your law.
151 But (H)you are near, O Lord,
and all your commandments are (I)true.
152 Long have I known from your testimonies
that you have (J)founded them forever.
Resh
153 Look on my (K)affliction and deliver me,
for (L)I do not forget your law.
154 (M)Plead my cause and redeem me;
(N)give me life according to your promise!
155 (O)Salvation is far from the wicked,
(P)for they do not seek your statutes.
156 (Q)Great is your mercy, O Lord;
(R)give me life according to your rules.
157 (S)Many are my persecutors and my adversaries,
but I do not (T)swerve from your testimonies.
158 I look at (U)the faithless with (V)disgust,
because they do not keep your commands.
159 Consider how I (W)love your precepts!
(X)Give me life according to your steadfast love.
160 (Y)The sum of your word is (Z)truth,
and every one of your (AA)righteous rules endures forever.
Sin and Shin
161 (AB)Princes persecute me (AC)without cause,
but my heart (AD)stands in awe of your words.
162 I (AE)rejoice at your word
like one who (AF)finds great spoil.
163 I hate and abhor falsehood,
but I love (AG)your law.
164 Seven times a day I praise you
for your (AH)righteous rules.
165 Great (AI)peace have those who love your law;
(AJ)nothing can make them stumble.
166 I (AK)hope for your salvation, O Lord,
and I do your commandments.
167 My soul keeps your testimonies;
I (AL)love them exceedingly.
168 I keep your precepts and testimonies,
(AM)for all my ways are before you.
Taw
169 Let my (AN)cry come before you, O Lord;
(AO)give me understanding (AP)according to your word!
170 Let my plea come before you;
(AQ)deliver me according to your word.
171 My lips will (AR)pour forth praise,
for you (AS)teach me your statutes.
172 My tongue will sing of your word,
for (AT)all your commandments are right.
173 Let your hand be ready to help me,
for I have (AU)chosen your precepts.
174 I (AV)long for your salvation, O Lord,
and your law is my (AW)delight.
175 Let my soul live and praise you,
and let your rules help me.
176 I have (AX)gone astray like a lost sheep; seek your servant,
for I do not (AY)forget your commandments.
Blessed Is Everyone Who Fears the Lord
A Song of (A)Ascents.
128 (B)Blessed is everyone who fears the Lord,
who (C)walks in his ways!
2 You (D)shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands;
you shall be blessed, and it shall be well with you.
3 Your wife will be like (E)a fruitful vine
within your house;
your children will be like (F)olive shoots
around your table.
4 Behold, thus shall the man be blessed
who fears the Lord.
5 (G)The Lord bless you (H)from Zion!
May you see (I)the prosperity of Jerusalem
all the days of your life!
6 May you see your (J)children's children!
(K)Peace be upon Israel!
They Have Afflicted Me from My Youth
A Song of (L)Ascents.
129 “Greatly[a] have they (M)afflicted me (N)from my youth”—
(O)let Israel now say—
2 “Greatly have they (P)afflicted me (Q)from my youth,
(R)yet they have not prevailed against me.
3 (S)The plowers plowed (T)upon my back;
they made long their furrows.”
4 The Lord is righteous;
he has cut (U)the cords of the wicked.
5 May all who hate Zion
be (V)put to shame and turned backward!
6 Let them be like (W)the grass on the housetops,
which (X)withers before it grows up,
7 with which the reaper does not fill his hand
nor the binder of sheaves his arms,
8 nor do those who pass by say,
(Y)“The blessing of the Lord be upon you!
We (Z)bless you in the name of the Lord!”
My Soul Waits for the Lord
A Song of (AA)Ascents.
130 Out of (AB)the depths I cry to you, O Lord!
2 O Lord, hear my voice!
(AC)Let your ears be attentive
to (AD)the voice of my pleas for mercy!
3 If you, O Lord, should (AE)mark iniquities,
O Lord, who could (AF)stand?
4 But with you there is (AG)forgiveness,
(AH)that you may be feared.
14 So Hilkiah the priest, and Ahikam, and Achbor, and Shaphan, and Asaiah went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of (A)Tikvah, son of (B)Harhas, keeper of the wardrobe (now she lived in Jerusalem in (C)the Second Quarter), and they talked with her. 15 And she said to them, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: ‘Tell the man who sent you to me, 16 Thus says the Lord, Behold, I will bring disaster upon this place and upon its inhabitants, all the words of the book that the king of Judah has read. 17 (D)Because they have forsaken me and have made offerings to other gods, that they might provoke me to anger with all the work of their hands, therefore (E)my wrath will be kindled against this place, and it will not be quenched. 18 But to the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of the Lord, thus shall you say to him, Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Regarding the words that you have heard, 19 (F)because your heart was penitent, and you (G)humbled yourself before the Lord, when you heard how I spoke against this place and against its inhabitants, that they should become (H)a desolation and (I)a curse, and you (J)have torn your clothes and wept before me, I also have heard you, declares the Lord. 20 Therefore, behold, I will gather you to your fathers, and (K)you shall be gathered to your grave in peace, and your eyes shall not see all the disaster that I will bring upon this place.’” And they brought back word to the king.
Josiah's Reforms
23 (L)Then the king sent, and all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem were gathered to him. 2 And the king went up to the house of the Lord, and with him all the men of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem and the priests and the prophets, all the people, both small and great. And (M)he read in their hearing all the words of the Book of the Covenant (N)that had been found in the house of the Lord. 3 And the king stood (O)by the pillar and (P)made a covenant before the Lord, (Q)to walk after the Lord and to keep his commandments and his testimonies and his statutes with all his heart and all his soul, to perform the words of this covenant that were written in this book. And all the people joined in the covenant.
23 For (A)I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that (B)the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for[a] you. Do this in remembrance of me.”[b] 25 In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. 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 (C)until he comes.
27 (D)Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord (E)in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning (F)the body and blood of the Lord. 28 (G)Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 29 For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. 30 That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some (H)have died.[c] 31 (I)But if we judged[d] ourselves truly, we would not be judged. 32 But when we are judged by the Lord, (J)we are disciplined[e] so that we may not be (K)condemned along with the world.
33 So then, my brothers,[f] when you come together to eat, wait for[g] one another— 34 (L)if anyone is hungry, (M)let him eat at home—so that when you come together it will not be for judgment. About the other things (N)I will give directions (O)when I come.
Jesus Calls Matthew
9 (A)As Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man called (B)Matthew sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he rose and followed him.
10 And as Jesus[a] reclined at table in the house, behold, many (C)tax collectors and sinners came and were reclining with Jesus and his disciples. 11 And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, (D)“Why does your teacher eat with (E)tax collectors and sinners?” 12 But when he heard it, he said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. 13 Go and learn (F)what this means: (G)‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For (H)I came not to call the righteous, (I)but sinners.”
A Question About Fasting
14 Then (J)the disciples of John came to him, saying, (K)“Why do we and (L)the Pharisees fast,[b] but your disciples do not fast?” 15 And Jesus said to them, (M)“Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? (N)The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and (O)then they will fast. 16 No one puts a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch tears away from the garment, and a worse tear is made. 17 Neither is new wine put into old (P)wineskins. If it is, the skins burst and the wine is spilled and the skins are destroyed. But new wine is put into fresh wineskins, and so both are preserved.”
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.