Book of Common Prayer
A Sacrifice of Thanks
Psalm 50
1 A psalm of Asaph.
God, Elohim Adonai has spoken and summoned the earth
from the rising of the sun to its setting.
2 Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty,
God shines forth.
3 Our God comes, and does not keep silent.
A fire is devouring before Him,
and it storms around Him mightily.
4 He calls to the heavens above
and to the earth, to judge His people:
5 “Gather My kedoshim to Me,
who cut a covenant with Me with a sacrifice.”
6 The heavens declare His righteousness,
for God Himself is Judge. Selah
7 “Hear, My people, and I will speak,
O Israel, and I will testify against you:
I am God, your God.
8 I do not rebuke you for your sacrifices,
for your burnt offerings are continually before Me.
9 I have no need of a bull from your house
nor goats from your pens.
10 For every beast of the forest is Mine,
and the cattle on a thousand hills.
11 I know every bird of the mountains.
Everything moving in the field is Mine.
12 If I were hungry, I would not tell you—
for the world is Mine and all it contains!
13 Do I eat the flesh of bulls
or drink the blood of goats?
14 Offer God a sacrifice of thank offerings,
then fulfill your vows to Elyon.
15 Call upon Me in the day of trouble.
When I rescue you, you will honor Me.”
16 But to the wicked, God says:
“What are you doing, reciting My laws
and taking My covenant in your mouth?
17 For you hate discipline,
and you cast My words behind you.
18 When you see a thief, you are pleased with him,
and your portion is with adulterers.
19 You have unleashed your mouth for evil
and harnessed your tongue for deceit.
20 You sit, speaking against your brother,
slandering your own mother’s son.
21 These things you have done—Should I keep silent?
You thought I was just like you—but I reprove you,
and set the case before your eyes.
22 Now consider this, you who forget God.
Or else I will tear you in pieces with no one to rescue you.
23 A sacrifice of praise honors Me,
and to the one who orders his way,
I will show the salvation of God.”
God Is My Strong Tower
Psalm 59
1 For the music director: “Do Not Destroy,” a Michtam of David, when Saul sent men to watch the house to kill him.
2 Deliver me from my enemies, my God!
Set me on high,
away from those who rise up against me.
3 Deliver me from workers of iniquity.
Rescue me from bloodthirsty men.
4 For behold, they lie in wait for me.
Defiant men stir up strife against me—
not for my transgression or sin, Adonai.
5 For no guilt of mine, they run and set things up.
Awake! Help me! Look!
6 For You are Adonai Elohei-Tzva’ot, the God of Israel!
Rouse Yourself to punish all the nations.
Show no mercy to any iniquitous traitors. Selah
7 They return at evening, snarling like a dog,
prowling about the city.
8 See, they are spewing with their mouth
—swords in their lips—
“After all, who is listening?”
9 But You, Adonai, are laughing at them.
You scoff at all the nations.
10 O my strength, I watch for You—
for God is my strong tower.
11 My God in His lovingkindness will go before me.
God will let me look down on my foes.
12 Do not slay them, lest my people forget.
With Your power shake them
and bring them down, O Lord our shield.
13 The sin of their mouth is the words of their lips.
So let them be caught in their pride,
and for uttering a curse and a lie.
14 Consume them in wrath,
consume them till they are no more.
Let them know that God rules over Jacob to the ends of the earth. Selah
15 They return at evening, snarling like a dog,
prowling about the city.
16 They wander around for food.
If they are not full, they stay up all night.
17 But I—I sing of Your strength!
Yes, in the morning I sing aloud of Your lovingkindness.
For You have been my fortress,
a refuge in the day of my trouble.
18 O my strength, to You I sing praises.
For God is my strong tower—
my God of lovingkindness.
Song of Victory Over Edom
Psalm 60
1 For the music director, on the “Lily of the Covenant,” a Michtam of David, for teaching, 2 when he fought with Aram-Naharaim and with Aram-Zobah, and Joab returned and struck down twelve thousand Edomites in the Valley of Salt.
3 O God, You have spurned us.
You have broken out against us.
You have been angry. Turn back to us!
4 You made earth shake; You split it open.
Heal its fractures—for it shudders.
5 You made Your people see hardship.
You made us drink wine of staggering.
6 To those who fear You,
You gave a banner, to be unfurled before the archers. Selah
7 Save with Your right hand and answer us,
so that Your beloved may be delivered.
8 God has spoken in His holiness:
“I will exult!
I will parcel out Shechem and measure off the valley of Succoth.
9 Gilead is Mine, and Manasseh is Mine,
Ephraim is a helmet for my head,
Judah is my scepter.
10 Moab is my washbasin,
On Edom I toss my sandal,
Philistia, cry aloud because of me!”
11 Who will bring me into the fortified city?
Who will lead me to Edom?
12 Should it not be You, O God—
who spurned us and no longer goes out with our armies?
13 Give us aid against the adversary,
for the help of man is worthless.
14 With God we will do mighty things,
and He will trample our foes.
Humanity is God’s Splendor
Psalm 8
1 For the music director, upon the Gittite lyre: a psalm of David.
2 Adonai our Lord,
how excellent is Your Name over all the earth!
You set Your splendor above the heavens.
3 Out of the mouths of babies and toddlers
You established power,[a] because of Your enemies,
to silence the foe and the avenger.
4 When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers,
the moon and the stars, which You established—
5 what is man, that You are mindful of him?
And the son of man, that You care for him?[b]
6 Yet You made him a little lower than the angels,
and crowned him with glory and majesty!
7 You gave him dominion over the works of Your hands.
You put all things under their feet:[c]
8 all sheep and oxen,
and also beasts of the field,
9 birds in the air, and fish in the ocean—
all passing through the paths of the seas.
10 Adonai our Lord, how excellent is Your Name over all the earth!
Pilgrim Road to Adonai’s Courts
Psalm 84
1 For the music director, upon the Gittite lyre, a psalm of the sons of Korah.
2 How lovely are Your tabernacles,
Adonai-Tzva’ot!
3 My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of Adonai.
My heart and my flesh sing for joy to the living God.
4 Even the sparrow has found a home,
and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young
—near Your altars, Adonai-Tzva’ot—
my King and my God!
5 Blessed are they who dwell in Your House
—they are ever praising You. Selah
6 Blessed is one whose strength is in You,
in whose heart are the pilgrim roads.
7 Passing through the valley of Baca,
they make it a spring.
The early rain covers it with blessings.
8 They go from strength to strength—
every one of them appears before God in Zion.
9 Adonai-Tzva’ot, hear my prayer,
give ear, O God of Jacob. Selah
10 O God, look at our shield,
and look upon the face of Your anointed.
11 For a day in Your courts is better
than a thousand anywhere else.
I would rather stand at the threshold of the House of my God
than dwell in the tents of wickedness.
12 For Adonai Elohim is a sun[a] and a shield.
Adonai gives grace and glory.
No good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly.
13 Adonai-Tzva’ot,
blessed is the one
who trusts in You.
16 I have also seen under the sun:
In the place of justice there was wickedness,
and in the place of righteousness there was wickedness.
17 I said in my heart:
“The righteous and the wicked,
God will judge.
For there is a time for every activity
and for every deed.”
Humans Same As Beasts?
18 I also said in my heart, “As for the sons of man, God tests them so that they may see that they are but animals.” 19 For the destiny of humankind and the destiny of animals are one and the same. As one dies, so dies the other. Both have the same breath—a human has no advantage over an animal—both are fleeting. 20 Both go to one place. Both were taken from the dust, and both return to the dust. 21 Who knows that the spirit of the sons of man ascends upward and the animal’s spirit descends into the earth?
22 So I perceived that nothing is better than for man to enjoy his works, because that is his portion. For who can bring him back to see what will be in the future?
Futility of Human Labor
4 Again I looked and saw all the oppressions that are done under the sun, and behold,
I saw the tears of the oppressed,
but they have no comforter.
Power is in the hand of their oppressors,
but they had no comforter.
2 So I considered the dead,
who are already dead,
more fortunate than the living,
who are still alive.
3 Yet better than both
is one who has not yet been,
who has never seen the evil work
that is done under the sun.
By Deeds or by Faith?
3 O foolish Galatians, who cast a spell on you? Before your eyes Yeshua the Messiah was clearly portrayed as crucified. 2 I want to find out just one thing from you: did you receive the Ruach by deeds based on Torah, or by hearing based on trust? 3 Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Ruach, will you now reach the goal in the flesh? 4 Did you endure so much for nothing—if it really was for nothing? 5 So then, the One who gives you the Ruach and works miracles among you—does He do it because of your deeds based on Torah or your hearing based on trust and faithfulness?
6 Just as Abraham “believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” [a] 7 know then that those who have faith are children of Abraham. 8 The Scriptures, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, proclaimed the Good News to Abraham in advance, saying, “All the nations shall be blessed through you.” [b] 9 So then, the faithful are blessed along with Abraham, the faithful one.
10 For all who rely on the deeds of Torah are under a curse—for the Scriptures say, “Cursed is everyone who does not keep doing everything written in the scroll of the Torah.” [c] 11 It is clear that no one is set right before God by Torah, for “the righteous shall live by emunah.” [d] 12 However, Torah is not based on trust and faithfulness; on the contrary, “the one who does these things shall live by them.” [e] 13 Messiah liberated us from Torah’s curse, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”[f])— 14 in order that through Messiah Yeshua the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so we might receive the promise of the Ruach through trusting faith.
Feeding Hungry Followers
13 Now when Yeshua heard this, He went away from there privately by boat to an isolated place. But when the crowds heard, they followed Him on foot from the towns. 14 As Yeshua came ashore, He saw a large crowd and felt compassion for them and healed their sick. 15 When it became evening, the disciples came to Him, saying, “This place is isolated, and the hour is already late. Send the crowds away so they can go into the villages and buy food for themselves.”
16 But Yeshua said to them, “They don’t need to leave—you give them something to eat.”
17 “We have nothing here except five loaves and two fish,” they said to Him.
18 “Bring them here to Me,” He said.
19 Ordering the crowd to recline on the grass, He took the five loaves and the two fish; and looking up to heaven, He offered the bracha. After breaking the loaves, He gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. 20 They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve baskets full of broken pieces left over. 21 Now those eating were about five thousand men, besides women and children.
Tree of Life (TLV) Translation of the Bible. Copyright © 2015 by The Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society.