Book of Common Prayer
Qoph
145 Lord, I call to you with all my heart.
Answer me, and I will obey your laws.
146 I call to you.
Save me, and I will obey your rules.
147 I get up early in the morning to pray to you.
I trust what you say.
148 Late into the night I stay awake
to think about your word.
149 I know your love is true, so listen to me.
Lord, you always do what is right, so let me live.
150 Here come those who have evil plans to hurt me.
They live far away from your teachings.
151 But you are near me, Lord,
and all your commands can be trusted.
152 Long ago, I learned from your rules
that you made them to last forever.
Resh
153 Look at my suffering and rescue me.
I have not forgotten your teachings.
154 Argue my case, and set me free.
Let me live, as you promised.
155 The wicked have no hope of being saved,
because they don’t follow your laws.
156 Lord, you are very kind.
You always do what is right, so let me live.
157 I have many enemies trying to hurt me,
but I have not stopped following your rules.
158 I look at those traitors and hate what I see,
because they refuse to do what you say.
159 See how much I love your instructions!
Lord, I know your love is true, so let me live.
160 Every word you say can be trusted.
Your laws are fair and will last forever.
Shin
161 Powerful leaders attack me for no reason,
but the only thing I fear is your command.
162 Your word makes me happy,
like someone who has found a great treasure.
163 I hate lies; they make me sick!
But I love your teachings.
164 Seven times a day I praise you
because your laws are fair.
165 Those who love your teachings will find true peace.
Nothing can make them fall.
166 Lord, I am waiting for you to save me.
I obey your commands.
167 I follow your rules.
I love them very much.
168 I obey all your instructions and rules,
because you know everything I do.
Taw
169 Lord, listen to my cry for help.
Make me wise, as you promised.
170 Listen to my prayer.
Save me, as you promised.
171 I will burst into songs of praise,
because you have taught me your laws.
172 Let my voice sing about your word,
because all your commands are good.
173 I have chosen to follow your instructions,
so reach out and help me!
174 Lord, I want you to save me.
Your teachings make me happy.
175 Let me live to praise you.
Let me find the help I need in your laws.
176 I have wandered away like a lost sheep.
Come and find me.
I am your servant,
and I have not forgotten your commands.
A song for going up to the Temple.
128 Great blessings belong to those who fear and respect the Lord
and live the way he wants.
2 You will get what you work for.
You will enjoy the Lord’s blessings, and all will go well for you.
3 At home, your wife will have many children, like a vine full of grapes.
The children around your table will be like an orchard full of olive trees.
4 Yes, the Lord will really bless those who respect him.
5 May the Lord bless you from Mount Zion.
May you enjoy the blessings of Jerusalem all your life.
6 And may you live to see your grandchildren.
Let Israel always enjoy peace!
A song for going up to the Temple.
129 All my life enemies have attacked me.
Say it again, Israel.
2 All my life enemies have attacked me,
but they have never defeated me.
3 They beat me until I had deep cuts.
My back looked like a freshly plowed field.
4 But the Lord does what is right;
he cut the ropes and set me free from those wicked people.
5 May those who hate Zion be put to shame.
May they be stopped and chased away.
6 They will be like grass on a flat roof
that dies before it has time to grow.
7 The one who goes to harvest it
will not find enough to cut and stack.
8 May no one walking by those wicked people ever say,
“May the Lord bless you!
We bless you in the name of the Lord.”
A song for going up to the Temple.
130 Lord, I am in deep trouble,
so I am calling to you for help.
2 My Lord, listen to me.
Listen to my cry for help.
3 Lord, if you punished people for all their sins,
no one would be left alive.
4 But you forgive people,
so they fear and respect you.
5 I am waiting for the Lord to help me.
My soul waits for him.
I trust what he says.
6 I am waiting for my Lord,
like a guard waiting and waiting for the morning to come.
7 Israel, trust in the Lord.
The Lord is the one who is faithful and true.
He saves us again and again,
8 and he is the one who will save the people of Israel from all their sins.
15 The Day of the Lord is coming soon
to all the nations.
And the evil you did to others will happen to you.
The same bad things will fall down on your own head.
16 You spilled[a] blood on my holy mountain,[b]
so other nations will spill your blood.[c]
You will be finished.
It will be as if you never existed.
17 But there will be survivors on Mount Zion.
They will be my special people.
The nation of Jacob[d] will take back
what belongs to it.
18 The family of Jacob will be like a fire.
The nation of Joseph will be like a flame.
But the nation of Esau[e] will be like ashes.
The people of Judah will burn Edom,
and they will destroy it.
Then there will be no survivors in the nation of Esau.”
This will happen because the Lord said it would.
19 Then people from the Negev will live on the mountain of Esau.
And people from the foothills will take the Philistine lands.
They will live in the land of Ephraim and Samaria.
Gilead will belong to Benjamin.
20 People from Israel were forced to leave their homes,
but they will take back the land of Canaan, all the way to Zarephath.
People from Judah were forced to leave Jerusalem and live in Sepharad.[f]
But they will take back the cities of the Negev.
21 The winners[g] will go up on Mount Zion
to rule the people who live on Esau’s mountain.
And the kingdom will belong to the Lord.
The Living Stone and the Holy Nation
2 So then, stop doing anything to hurt others. Don’t lie anymore, and stop trying to fool people. Don’t be jealous or say bad things about others. 2 Like newborn babies hungry for milk, you should want the pure teaching that feeds your spirit. With it you can grow up and be saved. 3 You have already tasted the goodness of the Lord.
4 The Lord Jesus is the living stone.[a] The people of the world decided that they did not want this stone. But he is the one God chose as one of great value. So come to him. 5 You also are like living stones, and God is using you to build a spiritual house.[b] You are to serve God in this house as holy priests, offering him spiritual sacrifices that he will accept because of Jesus Christ. 6 The Scriptures say,
“Look, I have chosen a cornerstone of great value,
and I put that stone in Zion.
Anyone who trusts in him will never be disappointed.” (A)
7 So, that stone brings honor for you who believe. But for those who don’t believe he is
“the stone that the builders refused to accept,
which became the most important stone.” (B)
8 For them he is also
“a stone that makes people stumble,
a rock that makes people fall.” (C)
People stumble because they don’t obey what God says. This is what God planned to happen to those people.
9 But you are his chosen people, the King’s priests. You are a holy nation, people who belong to God. He chose you to tell about the wonderful things he has done. He brought you out of the darkness of sin into his wonderful light.
10 In the past you were not a special people,
but now you are God’s people.
Once you had not received mercy,
but now God has given you his mercy.[c]
23 Then Jesus said to his followers, “The truth is, it will be very hard for a rich person to enter God’s kingdom. 24 Yes, I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter God’s kingdom.”
25 The followers were amazed to hear this. They asked, “Then who can be saved?”
26 Jesus looked at them and said, “This is something that people cannot do. But God can do anything.”
27 Peter said to him, “We left everything we had and followed you. So what will we have?”
28 Jesus said to them, “When the time of the new world comes, the Son of Man will sit on his great and glorious throne. And I can promise that you who followed me will sit on twelve thrones, and you will judge the twelve tribes of Israel. 29 Everyone who has left houses, brothers, sisters, father, mother, children, or farms to follow me will get much more than they left. And they will have eternal life. 30 Many people who are first now will be last in the future. And many who are last now will be first in the future.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International