Book of Common Prayer
Qoph.
145
I cried with all my heart; answer me, O Lord!
I will observe Your statutes.
146
I cried to You; save me
And I will keep Your testimonies.
147
I rise before dawn and cry [in prayer] for help;
I wait for Your word.
148
My eyes anticipate the night watches and I awake before the call of the watchman,
That I may meditate on Your word.
149
Hear my voice according to Your [steadfast] lovingkindness;
O Lord, renew and refresh me according to Your ordinances.
150
Those who follow after wickedness approach;
They are far from Your law.
151
You are near, O Lord,
And all Your commandments are truth.
152
Of old I have known from Your testimonies
That You have founded them forever.(A)
Resh.
153
Look upon my agony and rescue me,
For I do not forget Your law.
154
Plead my cause and redeem me;
Revive me and give me life according to [the promise of] Your word.
155
Salvation is far from the wicked,
For they do not seek Your statutes.
156
Great are Your tender mercies and steadfast love, O Lord;
Revive me and give me life according to Your ordinances.
157
Many are my persecutors and my adversaries,
Yet I do not turn away from Your testimonies.
158
I see the treacherous and loathe them,
Because they do not respect Your law.
159
Consider how I love Your precepts;
Revive me and give me life, O Lord, according to Your lovingkindness.
160
The sum of Your word is truth [the full meaning of all Your precepts],
And every one of Your righteous ordinances endures forever.
Shin.
161
Princes persecute me without cause,
But my heart stands in [reverent] awe of Your words [so I can expect You to help me].(B)
162
I rejoice at Your word,
As one who finds great treasure.
163
I hate and detest falsehood,
But I love Your law.
164
[a]Seven times a day I praise You,
Because of Your righteous ordinances.
165
Those who love Your law have great peace;
Nothing makes them stumble.(C)
166
I hope and wait [with complete confidence] for Your salvation, O Lord,
And I do Your commandments.(D)
167
My soul keeps Your testimonies [hearing and accepting and obeying them];
I love them greatly.
168
I keep Your precepts and Your testimonies,
For all my ways are [fully known] before You.
Tav.
169
Let my [mournful] cry come before You, O Lord;
Give me understanding [the ability to learn and a teachable heart] according to Your word [of promise].
170
Let my supplication come before You;
Deliver me according to Your word.
171
Let my lips speak praise [with thanksgiving],
For You teach me Your statutes.
172
Let my tongue sing [praise for the fulfillment] of Your word,
For all Your commandments are righteous.
173
Let Your hand be ready to help me,
For I have chosen Your precepts.
174
I long for Your salvation, O Lord,
And Your law is my delight.
175
Let my soul live that it may praise You,
And let Your ordinances help me.
176
I have gone astray like a lost sheep;
Seek Your servant, for I do not forget Your commandments.(E)
Blessedness of the Fear of the Lord.
A Song of [a]Ascents.
128 Blessed [happy and sheltered by God’s favor] is everyone who fears the Lord [and worships Him with obedience],
Who walks in His ways and lives according to His commandments.(A)
2
For you shall eat the fruit of [the labor of] your hands,
You will be happy and blessed and it will be well with you.
3
Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine
Within the innermost part of your house;
Your children will be like olive plants
Around your table.
4
Behold, for so shall the man be blessed and divinely favored
Who fears the Lord [and worships Him with obedience].
5
May the Lord bless you from Zion [His holy mountain],
And may you see the prosperity of Jerusalem all the days of your life;
6
Indeed, may you see your [family perpetuated in your] children’s children.
Peace be upon Israel!
Prayer for the Overthrow of Zion’s Enemies.
A Song of [b]Ascents.
129 “Many times they have persecuted me (Israel) from my youth,”
Let Israel now say,
2
“Many times they have persecuted me from my youth,
Yet they have not prevailed against me.
3
“The [enemies, like] plowers plowed on my back;
They made their furrows [of suffering] long [in Israel].”
4
The Lord is righteous;
He has cut in two the [thick] cords of the wicked [which enslaved the people of Israel].
5
May all who hate Zion
Be put to shame and turned backward [in defeat].
6
Let them be like the grass on the housetops,
Which 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,
“The blessing of the Lord be upon you;
We bless you in the name of the Lord.”
Hope in the Lord’s Forgiving Love.
A Song of [c]Ascents.
130 Out of the [d]depths [of distress] I have cried to You, O Lord.
2
Lord, hear my voice!
Let Your ears be attentive
To the voice of my supplications.
3
If You, Lord, should keep an account of our sins and treat us accordingly,
O Lord, who could stand [before you in judgment and claim innocence]?(B)
4
But there is forgiveness with You,
That You may be feared and worshiped [with submissive wonder].(C)
5
I wait [patiently] for the Lord, my soul [expectantly] waits,
And in His word do I hope.
6
My soul waits for the Lord
More than the watchmen for the morning;
More than the watchmen for the morning.
7
O Israel, hope in the Lord;
For with the Lord there is lovingkindness,
And with Him is abundant redemption.
8
And He will redeem Israel
From all his sins.
The Day of the Lord and the Future
15
“For the [judgment] day of the Lord draws near on all the nations.
As you have done, it shall be done to you [in retribution];
Your [evil] dealings will return on your own head.(A)
16
“Because just as you [Edom] drank on My holy mountain [desecrating it in the revelry of the destroyers],
So shall all the nations drink continually [one by one, of My wrath];
Yes, they shall drink and swallow [the full measure of punishment]
And become as though they had never existed.(B)
17
“But on Mount Zion [in Jerusalem] there shall be [deliverance for] those who escape,
And it shall be holy [no pagan will defile it];
And the house of Jacob shall possess their [former] possessions.(C)
18
“Then the house of Jacob shall be a fire
And the house of Joseph a flame [in executing God’s wrath];
But the house of Esau will be like stubble.
They (Jacob) shall set them on fire and consume them (the Edomites),
So that there shall be no survivor of the house of Esau,”
For the Lord has spoken.(D)
19
Then those of the Negev shall possess the mountain of Esau,
And those of the Shephelah [shall possess] the Philistine plain;
Also, [they shall] possess the fields of Ephraim and the fields of Samaria,
And Benjamin will possess Gilead [across the Jordan River].(E)
20
And the exiles of this host of the sons (descendants) of Israel
Who are among the Canaanites as far as Zarephath,
And the exiles of Jerusalem who are in [a]Sepharad
Shall possess the cities of the Negev.
21
The deliverers shall go up on Mount Zion
To rule and judge the mountain of Esau,
And the kingdom and the kingship shall be the Lord’s.(F)
As Newborn Babes
2 So put aside every trace of malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander and hateful speech; 2 like newborn babies [you should] long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may be nurtured and grow in respect to salvation [its ultimate fulfillment], 3 if in fact you have [already] tasted [a]the goodness and gracious kindness of the Lord.(A)
As Living Stones
4 Come to Him [the risen Lord] as to a living Stone which men rejected and threw away, but which is choice and precious in the sight of God.(B) 5 You [believers], like living stones, are [b]being built up into a spiritual house for a holy and dedicated priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices [that are] acceptable and pleasing to God through Jesus Christ. 6 For this is contained in Scripture:
“Behold, I am laying in Zion a chosen stone, a precious (honored) Cornerstone,
And he who believes in Him [whoever adheres to, trusts in, and relies on Him] will never be disappointed [in his expectations].”(C)
7 This precious value, then, is for you who believe [in Him as God’s only Son—the Source of salvation]; but for those who disbelieve,
“The [very] stone which the builders rejected
Has become the chief Cornerstone,”(D)
8 and,
“A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense”;
for they stumble because they disobey the word [of God], and to this they [who reject Him as Savior] were also appointed.(E)
9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a consecrated nation, a [special] people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies [the wonderful deeds and virtues and perfections] of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.(F) 10 Once you were not a people [at all], but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.(G)
23 Jesus said to His disciples, “I assure you and most solemnly say to you, it is difficult for a rich man [who clings to possessions and status as security] to enter the kingdom of heaven. 24 Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man [who places his faith in wealth and status] to enter the kingdom of God.” 25 When the disciples heard this, they were completely [a]astonished and bewildered, saying, “Then who can be saved [from the wrath of God]?” 26 But Jesus looked at them and said, “With people [as far as it depends on them] it is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”(A)
The Disciples’ Reward
27 Then Peter answered Him, saying, “Look, we have given up everything and followed You [becoming Your disciples and accepting You as Teacher and Lord]; what then will there be for us?” 28 Jesus said to them, “I assure you and most solemnly say to you, in the renewal [that is, the Messianic restoration and regeneration of all things] when the Son of Man sits on His glorious throne, you [who have followed Me, becoming My disciples] will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 29 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother [b]or children or farms for My name’s sake will receive many times as much, and will inherit eternal life. 30 But many who are first [in this world] will be last [in the world to come]; and the last, first.
Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA 90631. All rights reserved.