Book of Common Prayer
50 (0) A psalm of Asaf:
(1) The Mighty One, God, Adonai, is speaking,
summoning the world from east to west.
2 Out of Tziyon, the perfection of beauty,
God is shining forth.
3 Our God is coming and not staying silent.
With a fire devouring ahead of him
and a great storm raging around him,
4 he calls to the heavens above and to earth,
in order to judge his people.
5 “Gather to me my faithful,
those who made a covenant with me by sacrifice.”
6 The heavens proclaim his righteousness,
for God himself is judge. (Selah)
7 “Listen, my people, I am speaking:
Isra’el, I am testifying against you,
I, God, your God.
8 I am not rebuking you for your sacrifices;
your burnt offerings are always before me.
9 I have no need for a bull from your farm
or for male goats from your pens;
10 for all forest creatures are mine already,
as are the animals on a thousand hills;
11 I know all the birds in the mountains;
whatever moves in the fields is mine.
12 If I were hungry, I would not tell you;
for the world is mine, and everything in it.
13 Do I eat the flesh of bulls
or drink the blood of goats?
14 Offer thanksgiving as your sacrifice to God,
pay your vows to the Most High,
15 and call on me when you are in trouble;
I will deliver you, and you will honor me.”
16 But to the wicked God says:
“What right do you have to proclaim my laws
or take my covenant on your lips,
17 when you so hate to receive instruction
and fling my words behind you?
18 When you see a thief, you join up with him,
you throw in your lot with adulterers,
19 you give your mouth free rein for evil
and harness your tongue to deceit;
20 you sit and speak against your kinsman,
you slander your own mother’s son.
21 When you do such things, should I stay silent?
You may have thought I was just like you;
but I will rebuke and indict you to your face.
22 Consider this, you who forget God,
or I will tear you to pieces, with no one to save you.
23 “Whoever offers thanksgiving
as his sacrifice honors me;
and to him who goes the right way
I will show the salvation of God.”
59 (0) For the leader. Set to “Do Not Destroy.” By David; a mikhtam, when Sha’ul sent men to keep watch on David’s house in order to kill him:
2 (1) My God, rescue me from my enemies!
Lift me up, out of reach of my foes!
3 (2) Rescue me from evildoers,
save me from bloodthirsty men.
4 (3) For there they are, lying in wait to kill me.
Openly they gather themselves against me,
and not because I committed a crime
or sinned, Adonai.
5 (4) For no fault of mine, they run and prepare.
Awaken to help me, and see!
6 (5) You, Adonai Elohei-Tzva’ot,
God of Isra’el,
arouse yourself to punish all the nations;
spare none of those wicked traitors. (Selah)
7 (6) They return at nightfall, snarling like dogs
as they go around the city.
8 (7) Look what pours out of their mouth,
what swords are on their lips,
[as they say to themselves,]
“No one is listening, anyway.”
9 (8) But you, Adonai, laugh at them,
you mock all the nations.
10 (9) My Strength, I will watch for you,
for God is my fortress.
11 (10) God, who gives me grace, will come to me;
God will let me gaze in triumph at my foes.
12 (11) Don’t kill them, or my people will forget;
instead, by your power, make them wander to and fro;
but bring them down, Adonai our Shield,
13 (12) for the sins their mouths make with each word from their lips.
Let them be trapped by their pride
for the curses and falsehoods they utter.
14 (13) Finish them off in wrath,
finish them off, put an end to them,
and let them know to the ends of the earth
that God is Ruler in Ya‘akov. (Selah)
15 (14) They return at nightfall, snarling like dogs
as they go around the city.
16 (15) They roam about, looking for food,
prowling all night if they don’t get their fill.
17 (16) But as for me, I will sing of your strength;
in the morning I will sing aloud of your grace.
For you are my fortress,
a refuge when I am in trouble.
18 (17) My Strength, I will sing praises to you,
for God is my fortress, God, who gives me grace.
60 (0) For the leader. Set to “Lily of Testimony.” A mikhtam of David for teaching about 2 when he fought with Aram-Naharayim and with Aram-Tzovah, and Yo’av returned and killed 12,000 from Edom in the Salt Valley:
3 (1) God, you rejected us; you crushed us;
you were angry; but now revive us.
4 (2) You made the land shake, split it apart;
now repair the rifts, for it is collapsing.
5 (3) You made your people suffer hard times,
had us drink a wine that made us stagger.
6 (4) To those who fear you because of the truth
you gave a banner to rally around, (Selah)
7 (5) so that those you love could be rescued;
so save with your right hand, and answer us!
8 (6) God in his holiness spoke,
and I took joy [in his promise]:
“I will divide Sh’khem
and determine the shares in the Sukkot Valley.
9 (7) Gil‘ad is mine and M’nasheh mine,
Efrayim my helmet, Y’hudah my scepter.
10 (8) Mo’av is my washpot; on Edom I throw my shoe;
P’leshet, be crushed because of me!”
11 (9) Who will bring me into the fortified city?
Who will lead me to Edom?
12 (10) God, have you rejected us?
You don’t go out with our armies, God.
13 (11) Help us against our enemy,
for human help is worthless.
14 (12) With God’s help we will fight valiantly,
for he will trample our enemies.
19 (0) For the leader. A psalm of David:
2 (1) The heavens declare the glory of God,
the dome of the sky speaks the work of his hands.
3 (2) Every day it utters speech,
every night it reveals knowledge.
4 (3) Without speech, without a word,
without their voices being heard,
5 (4) their line goes out through all the earth
and their words to the end of the world.
In them he places a tent for the sun,
6 (5) which comes out like a bridegroom from the bridal chamber,
with delight like an athlete to run his race.
7 (6) It rises at one side of the sky,
circles around to the other side,
and nothing escapes its heat.
8 (7) The Torah of Adonai is perfect,
restoring the inner person.
The instruction of Adonai is sure,
making wise the thoughtless.
9 (8) The precepts of Adonai are right,
rejoicing the heart.
The mitzvah of Adonai is pure,
enlightening the eyes.
10 (9) The fear of Adonai is clean,
enduring forever.
The rulings of Adonai are true,
they are righteous altogether,
11 (10) more desirable than gold,
than much fine gold,
also sweeter than honey
or drippings from the honeycomb.
12 (11) Through them your servant is warned;
in obeying them there is great reward.
13 (12) Who can discern unintentional sins?
Cleanse me from hidden faults.
14 (13) Also keep your servant from presumptuous sins,
so that they won’t control me.
Then I will be blameless
and free of great offense.
15 (14) May the words of my mouth
and the thoughts of my heart
be acceptable in your presence,
Adonai, my Rock and Redeemer.
46 (0) For the leader. By the descendants of Korach. On ‘alamot [high-pitched musical instruments?]. A song:
2 (1) God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in trouble.
3 (2) Therefore we are unafraid,
even if the earth gives way,
even if the mountains tumble
into the depths of the sea,
4 (3) even if its waters rage and foam,
and mountains shake at its turbulence. (Selah)
5 (4) There is a river whose streams
gladden the city of God,
the holy habitation of ‘Elyon —
6 (5) God is in the city.
It will not be moved —
when daybreak comes, God will help it.
7 (6) Nations were in turmoil,
kingdoms were moved;
his voice thundered forth,
and the earth melted away.
8 (7) Adonai-Tzva’ot is with us,
our fortress, the God of Ya‘akov. (Selah)
9 (8) Come and see the works of Adonai,
the astounding deeds he has done on the earth.
10 (9) To the ends of the earth he makes wars cease —
he breaks the bow, snaps the spear,
burns the shields in the fire.
11 (10) “Desist, and learn that I am God,
supreme over the nations,
supreme over the earth.”
12 (11) Adonai-Tzva’ot is with us,
our fortress, the God of Ya‘akov. (Selah)
39 (v) Yosef was brought down to Egypt, and Potifar, an officer of Pharaoh’s and captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him from the Yishma‘elim who had brought him there. 2 Adonai was with Yosef, and he became wealthy while he was in the household of his master the Egyptian. 3 His master saw how Adonai was with him, that Adonai prospered everything he did. 4 Yosef pleased him as he served him, and his master appointed him manager of his household; he entrusted all his possessions to Yosef. 5 From the time he appointed him manager of his household and all his possessions, Adonai blessed the Egyptian’s household for Yosef’s sake; Adonai’s blessing was on all he owned, whether in the house or in the field. 6 So he left all his possessions in Yosef’s care; and because he had him, he paid no attention to his affairs, except for the food he ate.
Now Yosef was well-built and handsome as well. (vi) 7 In time, the day came when his master’s wife took a look at Yosef and said, “Sleep with me!” 8 But he refused, saying to his master’s wife, “Look, because my master has me, he doesn’t know what’s going on in this house. He has put all his possessions in my charge. 9 In this house I am his equal; he hasn’t withheld anything from me except yourself, because you are his wife. How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?” 10 But she kept pressing him, day after day. Nevertheless, he didn’t listen to her; he refused to sleep with her or even be with her.
11 However, one day, when he went into the house to do his work, and none of the men living in the house was there indoors, 12 she grabbed him by his robe and said, “Sleep with me!” But he fled, leaving his robe in her hand, and got himself outside. 13 When she saw that he had left his robe in her hand and had escaped, 14 she called the men of her house and said to them, “Look at this! My husband brought in a Hebrew to make fools of us. He came in and wanted to sleep with me, but I yelled out loudly. 15 When he heard me yelling like that, he left his robe with me and ran out.” 16 She put the robe aside until his master came home. 17 Then she said to him, “This Hebrew slave you brought us came in to make a fool of me. 18 But when I yelled out, he left his robe with me and fled outside.” 19 When his master heard what his wife said as she showed him, “Here’s what your slave did to me,” he became furious. 20 Yosef’s master took him and put him in prison, in the place where the king’s prisoners were kept; and there he was in the prison.
21 But Adonai was with Yosef, showing him grace and giving him favor in the sight of the prison warden. 22 The prison warden made Yosef supervisor of all the prisoners in the prison; so that whatever they did there, he was in charge of it. 23 The prison warden paid no attention to anything Yosef did, because Adonai was with him; and whatever he did, Adonai prospered.
14 Now the natural man does not receive the things from the Spirit of God — to him they are nonsense! Moreover, he is unable to grasp them, because they are evaluated through the Spirit. 15 But the person who has the Spirit can evaluate everything, while no one is in a position to evaluate him.
16 For who has known the mind of Adonai?
Who will counsel him?[a]
But we have the mind of the Messiah!
3 As for me, brothers, I couldn’t talk to you as spiritual people but as worldly people, as babies, so far as experience with the Messiah is concerned. 2 I gave you milk, not solid food, because you were not yet ready for it. But you aren’t ready for it now either! 3 For you are still worldly! Isn’t it obvious from all the jealousy and quarrelling among you that you are worldly and living by merely human standards? 4 For when one says, “I follow Sha’ul” and another, “I follow Apollos,” aren’t you being merely human? 5 After all, what is Apollos? What is Sha’ul? Only servants through whom you came to trust. Indeed, it was the Lord who brought you to trust through one of us or through another. 6 I planted the seed, and Apollos watered it, but it was God who made it grow. 7 So neither the planter nor the waterer is anything, only God who makes things grow — 8 planter and waterer are the same.
However, each will be rewarded according to his work. 9 For we are God’s co-workers; you are God’s field, God’s building. 10 Using the grace God gave me, I laid a foundation, like a skilled master-builder; and another man is building on it. But let each one be careful how he builds. 11 For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Yeshua the Messiah. 12 Some will use gold, silver or precious stones in building on this foundation; while others will use wood, grass or straw. 13 But each one’s work will be shown for what it is; the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire — the fire will test the quality of each one’s work. 14 If the work someone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward; 15 if it is burned up, he will have to bear the loss: he will still escape with his life, but it will be like escaping through a fire.
2 After a while, Yeshua returned to K’far-Nachum. The word spread that he was back, 2 and so many people gathered around the house that there was no longer any room, not even in front of the door. While he was preaching the message to them, 3 four men came to him carrying a paralyzed man. 4 They could not get near Yeshua because of the crowd, so they stripped the roof over the place where he was, made an opening, and lowered the stretcher with the paralytic lying on it. 5 Seeing their trust, Yeshua said to the paralyzed man, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” 6 Some Torah-teachers sitting there thought to themselves, 7 “How can this fellow say such a thing? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins except God?” 8 But immediately Yeshua, perceiving in his spirit what they were thinking, said to them, “Why are you thinking these things? 9 Which is easier to say to the paralyzed man? ‘Your sins are forgiven’? or ‘Get up, pick up your stretcher and walk’? 10 But look! I will prove to you that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” He then said to the paralytic, 11 “I say to you: get up, pick up your stretcher and go home!” 12 In front of everyone the man got up, picked up his stretcher at once and left. They were all utterly amazed and praised God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this!”
Copyright © 1998 by David H. Stern. All rights reserved.