Book of Common Prayer
Qof
Waiting in Hope
145 I have cried out with all of my heart.
Answer me, Lord!
I will observe your statutes.
146 I have called out to you, “Save me,
so I may keep your decrees.”
147 I get up before dawn and cry for help;
I place my hope in your word.
148 I look forward to the night watches,
when I may meditate on what you have said.
149 Hear my voice according to your gracious love.
Lord, revive me in keeping with your justice.
150 Those who pursue wickedness draw near;
they remain far from your instruction.[a]
151 You are near, Lord,
and all of your commands are true.
152 I discovered long ago about your decrees
that you have confirmed them forever.
Resh
God’s Word is Truth
153 Look on my misery, and rescue me,
for I do not ignore your instruction.[b]
154 Defend my case and redeem me;
revive me according to your promise.
155 Deliverance remains remote from the wicked,
for they do not seek your statutes.
156 Your mercies are magnificent, Lord;
revive me according to your judgments.
157 Though my persecutors and adversaries are numerous,
I do not turn aside from your decrees.
158 I watch the treacherous, and despise them,
because they do not do what you have said.
159 Look how I love your precepts, Lord;
revive me according to your gracious love.
160 The sum[c] of your word[d] is truth,
and each righteous ordinance of yours is everlasting.
Sin/Shin
Loving God’s Instruction
161 Though nobles persecute me for no reason,
my heart stands in awe of your words.
162 I find joy at what you have said
like one who has discovered a great treasure.
163 I despise and hate falsehood,
but[e] I love your instruction.[f]
164 I praise you seven times a day
because of your righteous ordinances.
165 Great peace belongs to those who love your instruction,[g]
and nothing makes them stumble.
166 I am looking in hope for your deliverance, Lord,
as I carry out your commands.
167 My soul treasures[h] your decrees,
and I love them deeply.
168 I keep your precepts and your decrees
because all of my ways are before you.
Tav
The Joy of God’s Word
169 May my cry arise before you, Lord;
give me understanding according to your word.
170 Let my request come before you;
deliver me, as you have promised.
171 May my lips utter praise,
for you teach me your statutes.
172 May my tongue sing about your promise,
for all of your commands are right.
173 May your hand stand ready to assist me,
for I have chosen your precepts.
174 I am longing for your deliverance, Lord,
and your instruction[i] is my joy.
175 Let me live, and I will praise you;
let your ordinances[j] help me.
176 I have wandered away like a lost sheep;
come find your servant,
for I do not forget your commands.
A Song of Ascents
The Blessings of Fearing God
128 How blessed[a] are all who fear the Lord
as they follow in his ways.
2 You will eat from the work of your hands;
you will be happy, and it will go well for you.
3 Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house;
your children[b] like olive shoots surrounding your table.
4 See how the man will be blessed
who fears the Lord.
5 May the Lord bless you from Zion,
and may you observe the prosperity of Jerusalem
every day that you live!
6 And may you see your children’s children!
Peace be on Israel!
A Song of Ascents
God Defeats Israel’s Enemies
129 “Since my youth they have often persecuted me,”
let Israel repeat it,
2 “Since my youth they have often persecuted me,
yet they haven’t defeated me.
3 Wicked people[c] plowed over my back,
creating long-lasting wounds.”[d]
4 The Lord is righteous—
he has cut me free from the cords of the wicked.
5 Let all who hate Zion
be turned away and be ashamed.
6 May they become like a tuft of grass on a roof top,
that withers before it takes root—
7 not enough to fill one’s hand
or to bundle in one’s arms.
8 And may those who pass by never tell them,
“May the Lord’s blessing be upon you.
We bless you in the name of the Lord.”
A Song of Ascents
A Prayer for Mercy
130 I cry to you from the depths, Lord,
2 Lord, listen to my voice;
let your ears pay attention
to what I ask of you![e]
3 Lord,[f] if you were to record iniquities,
Lord, who could remain standing?
4 But with you there is forgiveness,
so that you may be feared.
5 I wait for the Lord;
my soul waits,
and I will hope in his word.
6 My soul looks to the Lord
more than watchmen look for the morning—
more, indeed, than[g] watchmen for the morning.
7 Israel, hope in the Lord!
For with the Lord there is gracious love,
along with abundant redemption.
8 And he will redeem Israel
from all its sins.
Moses’ Staff Becomes a Snake
8 Then the Lord told Moses and Aaron, 9 “When Pharaoh says to you, ‘Perform a miraculous sign,’ then you are to say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and throw it in front of Pharaoh.’ It will become a serpent.”
10 So Moses and Aaron went in to Pharaoh and did what the Lord had commanded them. Aaron threw his staff in front of Pharaoh and his officials, and it became a serpent. 11 Then Pharaoh also called for the wise men and sorcerers, and they—along with the Egyptian magicians—did the same thing with their secret arts. 12 So each one threw down his staff and it became a serpent, but Aaron’s staff swallowed up their staffs. 13 Yet Pharaoh’s heart was stubborn[a] and he did not listen to them, just as the Lord had said would happen.
Water is Turned into Blood
14 Then the Lord told Moses, “Pharaoh’s heart is hard. He has refused to let the people go. 15 Go to Pharaoh in the morning as he’s going down to the water. Stand on the bank of the Nile River[b] and meet him. Be sure to take with you[c] the staff that was turned into a snake. 16 Then say to him, ‘The Lord God of the Hebrews, has sent me to you. He says, “Let my people go so they may serve[d] me in the desert, but until now you haven’t obeyed.”’[e]
17 “‘This is what the Lord says: “This is how you’ll know that I am the Lord: Right now I’m going to strike the water of the Nile River[f] with the staff that’s in my hand, and it will be turned to blood. 18 The fish in the Nile River[g] will die and the river[h] will stink. The Egyptians will be unable[i] to drink water from the Nile River.[j]”’”
19 The Lord also told Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Take your staff and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt, over their rivers, over their Nile River[k], over their ponds, and over their reservoirs,[l] and they’ll become blood. There will be blood throughout the land of Egypt, even in their[m] wood and stone containers.’”[n]
20 Moses and Aaron did just what the Lord had commanded. Aaron[o] raised his staff and struck the water in the Nile River[p] in front of[q] Pharaoh and his[r] officials,[s] and all the water in the Nile River[t] turned to blood. 21 The fish in the Nile River[u] died and the river[v] stank. The Egyptians were not able to drink water from the Nile River,[w] and blood was throughout the land of Egypt. 22 But the Egyptian magicians did the same thing[x] with their secret arts. Pharaoh’s heart was stubborn,[y] and he did not listen to them, just as the Lord had said. 23 Then Pharaoh turned away, went to his palace, and paid no attention to any of this. 24 All the Egyptians dug around the Nile River[z] for water to drink because they could not drink from the water in the Nile River.[aa]
14 But thanks be to God! He always leads us triumphantly by the Messiah[a] and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of knowing him. 15 To God we are the aroma of the Messiah[b] among those who are being saved and among those who are being lost. 16 To some people we are a deadly fragrance,[c] while to others we are a living fragrance.[d] Who is qualified for this? 17 At least we are not commercializing God’s word like so many others. Instead, we speak with sincerity in the Messiah’s[e] name,[f] like people who are sent from God and are accountable to God.[g]
Ministers of the New Covenant
3 Are we beginning to recommend ourselves again? Unlike some people, we do not need letters of recommendation to you or from you, do we? 2 You are our letter, written in our hearts and known and read by everyone. 3 You are demonstrating that you are the Messiah’s[h] letter, produced by our service, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.
4 Such is the confidence that we have in God through the Messiah.[i] 5 By ourselves we are not qualified to claim that anything comes from us. Rather, our credentials come from God, 6 who has also qualified us to be ministers of a new covenant, which is not written but spiritual, because the written text[j] brings death, but the Spirit gives life.
Teaching about Divorce(A)
10 Then Jesus[a] left that place and went into the territory of Judea on the other side[b] of the Jordan. Crowds gathered around him as usual, and he began to teach them again as was his custom. 2 Some Pharisees came to test him. They asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?”
3 “What did Moses command you?” he responded.
4 They said, “Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of divorce and to divorce her.”[c]
5 But Jesus told them, “It was because of your hardness of heart that he wrote this command for you. 6 But from the beginning of creation, ‘God[d] made them male and female.’[e] 7 That’s why ‘a man will leave his father and mother and be united with his wife, 8 and the two will become one flesh.’[f] So they’re no longer two, but one flesh. 9 Therefore, what God has joined together, man must never separate.”
10 Back in the house, the disciples asked him about this again. 11 So he told them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against her. 12 And if a woman[g] divorces her husband and marries another man, she commits adultery.”
Jesus Blesses the Little Children(B)
13 Some people[h] were bringing little children to Jesus[i] to have him touch them. But the disciples rebuked those who brought[j] them. 14 When Jesus saw this, he became furious and told them, “Let the little children come to me, and stop keeping them away, because the kingdom of God belongs to people like these. 15 I tell all of you[k] with certainty, whoever doesn’t receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it.” 16 Then after he had hugged the children,[l] he tenderly blessed them as he laid his hands on them.
Copyright © 1995-2014 by ISV Foundation. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. Used by permission of Davidson Press, LLC.