Book of Common Prayer
ק Qoph
145 Lord, I call out to you with all my heart.
Answer me, and I will obey your orders.
146 I call out to you.
Save me, and I will keep your covenant laws.
147 I get up before the sun rises. I cry out for help.
I’ve put my hope in your word.
148 My eyes stay open all night long.
I spend my time thinking about your promises.
149 Listen to me, because you love me.
Lord, keep me alive as you have promised.
150 Those who think up evil plans are near.
They have wandered far away from your law.
151 But Lord, you are near.
All your commands are true.
152 Long ago I learned from your covenant laws
that you made them to last forever.
ר Resh
153 Look at how I’m suffering!
Save me, because I haven’t forgotten to obey your law.
154 Stand up for me and set me free.
Keep me alive as you have promised.
155 Those who are evil are far from being saved.
They don’t want to obey your orders.
156 Lord, you have deep concern for me.
Keep me alive as you have promised.
157 Many enemies attack me.
But I haven’t turned away from your covenant laws.
158 I get very angry when I see people who aren’t faithful to you.
They don’t obey your word.
159 See how I love your rules!
Lord, keep me alive, because you love me.
160 All your words are true.
All your laws are right. They last forever.
ש Sin and Shin
161 Rulers attack me for no reason.
But I tremble because of your word.
162 I’m filled with joy because of your promise.
It’s like finding a great fortune.
163 I hate lies with a deep hatred.
But I love your law.
164 Seven times a day I praise you
for your laws, because they are right.
165 Those who love your law enjoy great peace.
Nothing can make them trip and fall.
166 Lord, I wait for you to save me.
I follow your commands.
167 I obey your covenant laws,
because I love them greatly.
168 I obey your rules and your covenant laws,
because you know all about how I live.
ת Taw
169 Lord, may you hear my cry.
Give me understanding, just as you said you would.
170 May you hear my prayer.
Save me, just as you promised.
171 May my lips pour out praise to you,
because you teach me your orders.
172 May my tongue sing about your word,
because all your commands are right.
173 May your hand be ready to help me,
because I have chosen to obey your rules.
174 Lord, I long for you to save me.
Your law gives me delight.
175 Let me live so that I can praise you.
May your laws keep me going.
176 Like a lost sheep, I’ve gone down the wrong path.
Come and look for me,
because I haven’t forgotten to obey your commands.
A song for those who go up to Jerusalem to worship the Lord.
128 Blessed are all those who have respect for the Lord.
They live as he wants them to live.
2 Your work will give you what you need.
Blessings and good things will come to you.
3 As a vine bears a lot of fruit,
so may your wife have many children by you.
May they sit around your table
like young olive trees.
4 Only a man who has respect for the Lord
will be blessed like that.
5 May the Lord bless you from Zion.
May you enjoy the good things that come to Jerusalem
all the days of your life.
6 May you live to see your grandchildren.
May Israel enjoy peace.
A song for those who go up to Jerusalem to worship the Lord.
129 Here is what Israel should say.
“My enemies have treated me badly ever since I was a young nation.
2 My enemies have treated me badly ever since I was a young nation.
But they haven’t won the battle.
3 They have made deep wounds in my back.
It looks like a field a farmer has plowed.
4 The Lord does what is right.
Sinners had tied me up with ropes. But the Lord has set me free.”
5 May all those who hate Zion
be driven back in shame.
6 May they be like grass that grows on the roof of a house.
It dries up before it can grow.
7 There isn’t enough of it to fill a person’s hand.
There isn’t enough to tie up and carry away.
8 May no one who passes by say to those who hate Zion,
“May the blessing of the Lord be on you.
We bless you in the name of the Lord.”
A song for those who go up to Jerusalem to worship the Lord.
130 Lord, I cry out to you
because I’m suffering so deeply.
2 Lord, listen to me.
Pay attention to my cry for your mercy.
3 Lord, suppose you kept a close watch on sins.
Lord, who then wouldn’t be found guilty?
4 But you forgive.
So we can serve you with respect.
5 With all my heart I wait for the Lord to help me.
I put my hope in his word.
6 I wait for the Lord to help me.
I want his help more than night watchmen want the morning to come.
I’ll say it again.
I want his help more than night watchmen want the morning to come.
7 Israel, put your hope in the Lord,
because the Lord’s love never fails.
He sets his people completely free.
8 He himself will set Israel
free from all their sins.
30 “Jeremiah, prophesy against them. Tell them,
“ ‘The Lord will roar from heaven like a lion.
His voice will sound like thunder
from his holy temple there.
He will roar loudly against his land.
He will shout like those who stomp on grapes in winepresses.
He will shout against everyone who lives on earth.
31 The noise of battle will be heard
from one end of the earth to the other.
That’s because the Lord will bring charges against the nations.
He will judge every human being.
He will kill sinful people with his sword,’ ”
announces the Lord.
32 The Lord who rules over all says,
“Look! Horrible trouble is spreading
from one nation to another.
A mighty storm is rising.
It is coming from a place
that is very far away.”
33 At that time those the Lord kills will be lying around everywhere. They will be found from one end of the earth to the other. No one will mourn for them. Their dead bodies will not be gathered up or buried. Instead, they will be like human waste lying there on the ground.
34 Weep and cry, you shepherds.
Roll in the dust, you leaders of the flock.
Your time to be killed has come.
You will fall like the best of the rams.
35 The shepherds won’t have any place to run to.
The leaders of the flock won’t be able to escape.
36 Listen to the cries of the shepherds.
Hear the weeping of the leaders of the flock.
The Lord is destroying their grasslands.
37 Their peaceful meadows will be completely destroyed
because of the Lord’s great anger.
38 Like a lion he will leave his den.
The land of those leaders will become a desert.
That’s because the sword of the Lord brings great harm.
His anger will burn against them.
14 How can they call on him unless they believe in him? How can they believe in him unless they hear about him? How can they hear about him unless someone preaches to them? 15 And how can anyone preach without being sent? It is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!” (Isaiah 52:7)
16 But not all the people of Israel accepted the good news. Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our message?” (Isaiah 53:1) 17 So faith comes from hearing the message. And the message that is heard is the message about Christ. 18 But I ask, “Didn’t the people of Israel hear?” Of course they did. It is written,
“Their voice has gone out into the whole earth.
Their words have gone out from one end of the world to the other.” (Psalm 19:4)
19 Again I ask, “Didn’t Israel understand?” First, Moses says,
“I will use people who are not a nation to make you jealous.
I will use a nation that has no understanding to make you angry.” (Deuteronomy 32:21)
20 Then Isaiah boldly speaks about what God says. God said,
“I was found by those who were not trying to find me.
I made myself known to those who were not asking for me.” (Isaiah 65:1)
21 But Isaiah also speaks about what God says concerning Israel. God said,
“All day long I have held out my hands.
I have held them out to a stubborn people who do not obey me.” (Isaiah 65:2)
The Good Shepherd and His Sheep
10 “What I’m about to tell you Pharisees is true. What if someone does not enter the sheep pen through the gate but climbs in another way? That person is a thief and a robber. 2 The one who enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 The gatekeeper opens the gate for him. The sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own sheep, he goes on ahead of them. His sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5 But they will never follow a stranger. In fact, they will run away from him. They don’t recognize a stranger’s voice.” 6 Jesus told this story. But the Pharisees didn’t understand what he was telling them.
7 So Jesus said again, “What I’m about to tell you is true. I am like a gate for the sheep. 8 All who have come before me are thieves and robbers. But the sheep have not listened to them. 9 I’m like a gate. Anyone who enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out. And they will find plenty of food. 10 A thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I have come so they may have life. I want them to have it in the fullest possible way.
11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives his life for the sheep. 12 The hired man is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when the hired man sees the wolf coming, he leaves the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. 13 The man runs away because he is a hired man. He does not care about the sheep.
14 “I am the good shepherd. I know my sheep, and my sheep know me. 15 They know me just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. And I give my life for the sheep. 16 I have other sheep that do not belong to this sheep pen. I must bring them in too. They also will listen to my voice. Then there will be one flock and one shepherd. 17 The reason my Father loves me is that I give up my life. But I will take it back again. 18 No one takes it from me. I give it up myself. I have the authority to give it up. And I have the authority to take it back again. I received this command from my Father.”
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