Book of Common Prayer
A Prayer to Bring Israel Back
For the director of music. To the tune of “Lilies of the Agreement.” A psalm of Asaph [C a Levitical musician, a descendant of Gershon, at the time of David; 1 Chr. 6:39; 15:17; 2 Chr. 5:12].
80 Shepherd of Israel, ·listen to us [give ear].
You ·lead [guide] the people of Joseph [C the northern empire of Israel] like a flock.
You sit on your throne between the ·gold creatures with wings [L cherubim; Ex. 25:18–22; 1 Kin. 8:7].
·Show your greatness [L Shine forth] 2 to the people of Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh.
·Use [Arouse] your strength,
and come to ·save us [give us victory].
3 God, ·take us back [restore us].
·Show us your kindness [L Make your face shine on us; 31:16; 67:1; Num. 6:24–26] so we can ·be saved [have victory].
4 Lord God ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts],
how long will you ·be angry [L smoke/fume at us]
at the prayers of your people?
5 You have fed your people ·with tears [L the bread/food of tears];
you have made them drink ·many tears [tears by measure/L the third].
6 You made ·those around us fight over us [L us the strife of our neighbors],
and our enemies ·make fun of [ridicule] us.
7 God ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts], ·take us back [restore us].
·Show us your kindness [L Make your face shine on us; 31:16; 67:1; Num. 6:24–26] so we can ·be saved [have victory].
8 You brought ·us out of Egypt as if we were a vine [L a vine out of Egypt; Gen. 49:22; Is. 5:1–7; 27:2–6; Jer. 2:21; 12:10; Ezek. 15:1–8; 19:10–14; Hos. 10:1].
You ·forced out [dispossessed] other nations and planted us in the land.
9 You cleared the ground for us.
We took root and filled the land.
10 We covered the mountains with our shade.
We had branches like the mighty cedar tree.
11 Our branches reached the Mediterranean Sea,
and our shoots went to the Euphrates River.
12 So why did you ·pull [break] down our walls?
Now everyone who passes by ·steals from us [picks our fruit].
13 Like ·wild pigs [L boars of the forest] they ·walk over us [ravage us; gobble us up];
like ·wild animals [L creatures of the field] they feed on us.
14 God ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts], ·come back [restore us].
Look down from heaven and see.
Take care of us, your vine.
15 You planted this ·shoot [root] with your own hands
and strengthened this child [C the king].
16 Now it is cut down and burned with fire;
you destroyed us by ·your angry looks [L the rebuke of your face].
17 ·With your hand,
strengthen the one you have chosen for yourself [L Let your hand be on the man of your right hand; C the king].
18 Then we will not ·turn away from [deviate from; be disloyal to] you.
Give us life again, and we will call ·to you for help [L on your name].
19 Lord God ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts], ·take us back [restore us].
·Show us your kindness [L Make your face shine on us; 31:16; 67:1; Num. 6:24–26] so we can ·be saved [have victory].
Praise God Who Helps the Weak
146 Praise the Lord!
My ·whole being [soul; life], praise the Lord.
2 I will praise the Lord ·all [L with] my life;
I will ·sing praises [make a psalm] to my God as long as I live.
3 Do not put your ·trust [confidence] in princes
or other people, who cannot ·save you [give you victory; 118:8–9].
4 ·When people die [L Their spirit goes out], they ·are buried [L return to the ground].
·Then all of [L On that day] their plans ·come to an end [perish].
5 ·Happy [Blessed] are those who are helped by the God of Jacob [C another name for Israel].
Their hope is in the Lord their God.
6 He made heaven and earth,
the sea and everything in it [Gen. 1].
He ·remains [keeps; observes; guards] ·loyal [faithfulness; truth] forever.
7 He does ·what is fair [justice] for those who have been ·wronged [oppressed; exploited].
He gives food to the hungry.
The Lord sets the prisoners free.
8 The Lord ·gives sight to [opens the eyes of] the blind.
The Lord lifts up people who are ·in trouble [bowed down; 145:14].
The Lord loves ·those who do right [the righteous].
9 The Lord ·protects [guards] the ·foreigners [sojourners].
He ·defends [supports] the orphans and widows [C the socially vulnerable],
but he ·blocks [frustrates] the way of the wicked.
10 The Lord will ·be King [reign] forever [47:2; 93:1; 96:10; 97:1; 98:6; 99:1; Rev. 19:6].
·Jerusalem [L Zion; C the location of the Temple], your God is everlasting.
Praise the Lord!
Praise God Who Helps His People
147 Praise the Lord!
It is good to ·sing praises [make a psalm] to our God;
it is pleasant and ·good [L fitting] to praise him.
2 The Lord rebuilds Jerusalem [51:18; 102:16; Is. 64:8–12];
he ·brings back [gathers; assembles] the ·captured [scattered; dispersed] Israelites [C perhaps a reference to those who returned after the Babylonian exile; Deut. 30:1–4; Is. 11:12].
3 He heals the brokenhearted
and ·bandages [binds up] their wounds.
4 He ·counts [L measures the number of] the stars
and ·names [L assigns names to] each one [Is. 40:26].
5 Our Lord is great and very powerful.
There is no limit to ·what he knows [L his understanding].
6 The Lord ·defends [supports] the ·humble [needy],
but he throws the wicked to the ground.
7 Sing ·praises [thanksgiving] to the Lord;
·praise [make a psalm to] our God with harps.
8 He ·fills [covers] the ·sky [heavens] with clouds
and ·sends [sets; establishes] rain to the earth
and makes grass ·grow [sprout] on the ·hills [mountains].
9 He gives food to cattle
and to the ·little birds [L young ravens] that call.
10 He ·is not impressed with [does not delight in] the strength of a horse,
nor does he take pleasure in ·human might [L the thighs of a person].
11 The Lord ·is pleased with [takes pleasure in] those who ·respect [fear] him [Prov. 1:7],
with those who ·trust [wait for; hope in] his ·love [loyalty].
12 Jerusalem, ·praise [celebrate] the Lord;
·Jerusalem [L Zion; C the location of the Temple], praise your God.
13 He ·makes your city gates strong [L strengthens the bars of your gates]
and blesses your children ·inside [L within you].
14 He ·brings [sets] peace to your ·country [L boundaries]
and ·fills [satisfies; satiates] you with the finest ·grain [wheat].
15 He ·gives a command [L sends forth his word] to the earth,
and ·it quickly obeys him [L his word quickly runs].
16 He ·spreads [L gives] the snow like wool
and scatters the frost like ashes.
17 He throws down hail like ·rocks [L morsels; bits; pieces].
No one can stand ·the cold he sends [L before his cold].
18 Then he ·gives a command [L sends forth his word], and it melts.
He sends the breezes, and the waters flow.
19 He ·gave [announced] his word to Jacob [C another name for Israel],
his laws [statutes; requirements; ordinances] and ·demands [judgments] to Israel [Ex. 19–24].
20 He didn’t do this for ·any other [L all the] nation.
They don’t know his ·laws [judgments].
Praise the Lord!
David Prays to God
18 Then King David went in and sat ·in front of [before; in the presence of] the Lord. David said, “Lord God, who am I? What is my ·family [L house]? Why did you bring me ·to this point [this far]? 19 But even this ·is not enough for you [L was a small thing in your eyes], Lord God. You have also ·made promises about my future family [spoken about the future of my house]. ·This is extraordinary [So it is with humanity; or This is a decree/instruction/charter for the people/humanity], Lord God.
20 “What more can I say to you, Lord God, since you know me, your servant, so well! 21 You have done ·this great thing [L all this greatness] ·because you said you would [L for the sake of your word/promise] and ·because you wanted to [L according to your will/heart], and you have ·let me know about it [made it known to your servant]. 22 This is why you are great, Lord God! There is no one like you. There is no God except you. ·We have heard all this ourselves […that we have ever heard of]! 23 ·There is no nation like [L What other nation/people is like…?] your people Israel. ·They are the only [L What other…?] people on earth ·that God chose [did God choose] to be his own [Gen. 12:1–3]. ·You made your name well known. You did great and wonderful miracles for them […to make a name for himself by doing great and awesome things/miracles/wonders on their behalf?]. You went ahead of them and ·forced [drove] other nations and their gods out of the land. You ·freed [redeemed; ransomed] your people from ·slavery in Egypt [Egypt]. 24 You ·made [established] the people of Israel your very own people forever, and, Lord, you ·are [have become] their God.
25 “Now, Lord God, keep the ·promise forever that you made [word you have spoken] about my ·family [L house] and me, your servant. Do what you have said [promised]. 26 Then ·you [L your name] will be ·honored [magnified] ·always [forever], ·and people will say […by people saying], ‘The Lord ·All-Powerful [of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts] is God over Israel!’ And ·the family [L may the house] of your servant David will ·continue [be established/secure] before you.
27 “Lord ·All-Powerful [of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts], the God of Israel, you have ·said to me [revealed this to me, saying], ‘I will ·make your family great [L build a house/dynasty for you].’ So I, your servant, am ·brave [bold; courageous] enough to pray to you. 28 Lord God, you are God, and your words are ·true [truth; trustworthy]. And you have promised these good things to me, your servant. 29 Please, bless ·my family [L the house of your servant]. Let it ·continue [remain] before you always. Lord God, you have ·said so [spoken]. With your blessing let ·my family [L the house of your servant] always be blessed.”
Blessing Comes Through Faith
3 ·You [L O] ·foolish [stupid] Galatians! Who has ·tricked [or cast a spell on; bewitched] you? ·You were told very clearly about the death of Jesus Christ on the cross [L Before your eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed/announced as crucified]. 2 Tell me this one thing: How did you receive the Holy Spirit? Did you receive the Spirit by ·following [L the works of] the law? ·No, you received the Spirit [L …or] ·because you heard the Good News and believed it [by believing what you heard]. 3 ·Are you so foolish [How can you be so stupid]? You began ·your life in Christ by [L by; or through] the Spirit. Now are you trying to ·make it complete [finish; or be perfected] by ·your own power [human effort; L the flesh]? 4 ·Were all your experiences wasted [or Have you suffered so much for nothing]? ·I hope not [or Surely it was not for nothing; L —if indeed for nothing]! 5 Does God give you the Spirit and work miracles among you ·because you follow [L by the works of] the law? ·No, he does these things [L …or] ·because you heard the Good News and believed it [by your believing what you heard; v. 2].
6 ·The Scriptures say the same thing about Abraham [L Just as (it says)]: “Abraham believed God, and ·God accepted Abraham’s faith, and that faith made him right with God [L it (Abraham’s faith) was credited to him as righteousness; Gen. 15:6; Rom. 4].” 7 So you should know that the true children of Abraham are those who have faith. 8 ·The Scriptures, telling what would happen in the future, said [L Scripture foresaw; C Scripture is personified as foreseeing and speaking] that God would ·make the Gentiles right [justify the Gentiles] through their faith. This ·Good News was told [Gospel was proclaimed] to Abraham beforehand, as the Scripture says: “All nations will be blessed through you [Gen. 12:3; 18:18].” 9 So all who ·believe as Abraham believed [rely on faith; have faith; L are of faith] are blessed ·just as Abraham was [L with faithful Abraham; or with Abraham, the man of faith]. 10 ·But [L For] those who depend on ·following [L the works of] the law to make them right are under a curse, because the Scriptures say, “·Anyone [All; Everyone] will be cursed who does not ·always obey what [keep doing everything that] is written in the Book of the Law [Deut. 27:26].” 11 Now it is clear that no one can be ·made right with [justified/declared righteous before] God by the law, because the Scriptures say, “·Those who are right with God will live by faith [The righteous will live by faith; or Those made righteous by faith will live; Gen. 15:6; Hab. 2:4].” 12 The law is not based on faith. ·It says [L Rather; On the contrary], “A person who ·obeys [does; practices] these things will ·live because of [gain life by/in] them [Lev. 18:5].” 13 Christ ·took away [redeemed us from; bought our freedom from] the curse ·the law put on us [L of the law]. ·He changed places with us and put himself under that curse [L …by becoming a curse for us]. [L For; Because] It is written in the Scriptures, “Anyone ·whose body is displayed [L who is hung] on a tree is cursed [Deut. 21:23; C an executed man’s body was hung on a stake or tree for humiliation and warning; Paul here applies it to Christ’s crucifixion as the curse/judgment for our sin].” 14 Christ did this so that God’s blessing promised to Abraham [Gen. 12:2–3] might come through Jesus Christ to the Gentiles. ·Jesus died so that by our believing […so that by faith] we could receive the Spirit that God promised.
The Birth of John
57 When it was time for Elizabeth to give birth, she had a ·boy [L son]. 58 Her neighbors and relatives heard how ·good [greatly merciful] the Lord was to her, and they rejoiced with her.
59 When the baby was eight days old, they came to circumcise him [Gen. 17:12]. They ·wanted [were about] to name him Zechariah because this was his father’s name, 60 but his mother said, “No! He will be named John.”
61 The people said to Elizabeth, “But no one in your family has this name.” 62 Then they made ·signs [gestures; motions] to his father to find out what he would like to name him [C indicating that Zechariah was not only mute but also deaf].
63 Zechariah ·asked [motioned] for a writing tablet and wrote, “His name is John,” and everyone ·was surprised [marveled; was amazed]. 64 Immediately ·Zechariah could talk again [L his mouth was opened and his tongue freed], and he began ·praising [blessing] God. 65 All their neighbors ·became alarmed [were afraid/in awe], and in all the ·mountains [hill country] of Judea people continued talking about all these things. 66 The people who heard about them ·wondered [L kept/pondered them in their hearts], saying, “What will this child [turn out to] be?” because the [L hand of the; C a metaphor for empowering presence] Lord was with him.
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