Book of Common Prayer
A Prayer for the Nation
For the director of music. A psalm of the sons of Korah [C descendants of Kohath, son of Levi, who served as temple musicians; 1 Chr. 6:22].
85 Lord, you ·have been kind to [delight in] your land;
you ·brought back [restored the fortunes of; C perhaps at the end of the exile] the people of Jacob [C another name for Israel].
2 You forgave the guilt of the people
and covered all their sins. ·
3 You ·stopped [drew back from] all your anger;
you turned back from your ·strong [burning] anger.
4 God our Savior, ·bring us back again [restore us again].
Stop being angry with us.
5 Will you be angry with us forever?
Will you ·stay angry [draw out your anger against us] from now on?
6 Won’t you give us life again?
Your people would rejoice in you.
7 Lord, show us your ·love [loyalty],
and ·save us [L give to us your salvation/victory].
8 I will listen to what God the Lord says.
He has ·ordered [spoken; promised] ·peace [prosperity] for ·those who worship him [L his people, his saints/loyal ones].
Don’t let them go back to foolishness.
9 ·God will soon save those who respect him [L His salvation/victory is near to those who fear him; Prov. 1:7],
and his glory will ·be seen [L dwell] in our land.
10 ·Love [Loyalty] and ·truth [faithfulness] ·belong to God’s people [L meet];
·goodness [righteousness] and ·peace [prosperity] ·will be theirs [L kiss].
11 ·On earth people will be loyal to God [Faithfulness sprouts/blooms from the earth/land],
and ·God’s goodness [righteousness] will ·shine [look] down from heaven.
12 The Lord will give his ·goodness [or good gifts],
and the land will give its crops.
13 ·Goodness [Righteousness] will go before ·God [L him]
and prepare the way for ·him [L his steps].
God Loves Jerusalem
A song. A psalm of the sons of Korah [C descendants of Kohath, son of Levi, who served as temple musicians; 1 Chr. 6:22].
87 ·The Lord built Jerusalem [L Its foundations are] on the holy mountain [C Zion, the location of the Temple].
2 ·He [L The Lord] loves ·its gates [L the gates of Zion] more than any other place in ·Israel [L Jacob].
3 City of God,
·wonderful [glorious] things are said about you [46; 48; Is. 2:2–4; 26:1–2; 60:15–22; 61:1–7]. ·
4 God says, “I will ·put Egypt and Babylonia
on the list of nations that know me [L mention Rahab and Babylonia as those who know me].
People from Philistia, Tyre, and Cush [C Ethiopia]
will be born there.”
5 They will say about ·Jerusalem [L Zion; C the location of the Temple],
“This one and that one were born there.
God Most High will ·strengthen [establish] her.”
6 The Lord will keep a list of the nations.
He will note, “This person was born there.” ·
7 They will dance and sing,
“All ·good things come from Jerusalem [L my fountains are in you; 46:4; Jer. 2:13; Ezek. 47; Rev. 22:1–5].”
A Song About God’s Loyalty
A ·maskil [skillful psalm; meditation] of Ethan the Ezrahite [C a wise man; 1 Kin. 4:31].
89 I will always sing about the Lord’s ·love [loyalty];
I will ·tell of [L make known with my mouth] his ·loyalty [faithfulness] ·from now on [for generations].
2 I will say, “Your ·love [loyalty] ·continues [L is built] forever;
your ·loyalty [faithfulness] ·goes on and on [is established] like the ·sky [heavens].”
3 You said, “I ·made an agreement [L cut a covenant/treaty] with the man of my choice;
I made a promise to my servant David.
4 I told him, ‘I will ·make your family continue [L establish your seed] forever.
·Your kingdom will go on and on [L I will build your throne for generations; 2; 72; 78:70–72; 2 Sam. 7:11–16; 1 Chr. 17:10–14].’” ·
5 Lord, the heavens praise you for your ·miracles [wonderful acts]
and for your ·loyalty [faithfulness] in the ·meeting [assembly] of your holy ones.
6 Who in ·heaven [the skies] ·is equal to [ranks with] the Lord?
None of the ·angels [gods; divine council/assembly; L sons of God; 82:1] is like the Lord.
7 When the ·holy ones [L council of holy ones] meet, it is God they fear.
He is more ·frightening [awesome] than all who surround him.
8 Lord God ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts], who is like you?
Lord, you are powerful and completely ·trustworthy [faithful].
9 You rule the ·mighty [raging; surging] sea
and ·calm [still] the ·stormy [rising] waves.
10 You crushed the Rahab [C a sea monster, representing chaos (Job 26:12; Is. 51:9) and in some contexts Egypt defeated at the Sea (87:4; Is. 30:7; Ezek. 29:3; 32:3)] like a corpse;
by your ·power [L strong arm] you scattered your enemies.
11 The ·skies [heavens] and the earth belong to you.
You ·made [founded] the world and ·everything in it [L its fullness].
12 You created the north and the south.
Mount Tabor and Mount Hermon [C majestic mountains] sing for joy at your name.
13 Your arm has great power.
Your hand is strong; your right hand is lifted up.
14 Your ·kingdom [L throne] is ·built [established] on ·what is right and fair [righteousness and judgment/justice].
·Love [Loyalty] and ·truth [faithfulness] are ·in all you do [L before your face].
15 ·Happy [Blessed] are the people who know how to ·praise [shout to] you.
Lord, let them ·live [L walk] in the light of your ·presence [L face].
16 In your name they rejoice
and continually ·praise [exalt] your ·goodness [righteousness].
17 You are their ·glorious [beautiful] strength,
and in your ·kindness [favor] you ·honor our king [L lift up our horn; C symbol of power and here of the king].
18 Our shield [C the king] belongs to the Lord,
our king to the Holy One of Israel.
19 ·Once [Then], in a vision [2 Sam. 7:4], you spoke
to ·those who worship you [your faithful ones/saints].
You said, “I have ·given strength to [L set help on] a warrior;
I have raised up a ·young man [chosen one] from my people [1 Sam. 13:14; Acts 13:22].
20 I have found my servant David;
I ·appointed him by pouring [L have anointed him with] holy oil on him [1 Sam. 16:1–13].
21 I will steady him with my hand
and strengthen him with my arm.
22 No enemy will ·make him give forced payments [make him pay tribute; or prevail over/or outwit him],
and wicked people will not ·defeat [afflict; humble] him.
23 I will ·crush [pound] his enemies in front of him;
I will ·defeat [strike down] those who hate him.
24 My ·loyalty [faithfulness] and ·love [loyalty] will be with him.
Through ·me [L my name] ·he will be strong [L his horn will be raised up; v. 17].
25 I will ·give him power [L set his hand] over the sea
·and control [L his right hand] over the rivers [C the waters represent chaos].
26 He will ·say [proclaim] to me, ‘You are my father,
my God, the Rock, my ·Savior [Victor].’
27 I will make him my firstborn son,
the ·greatest [highest] king on earth [2:7; 2 Sam. 7:14].
28 My ·love [loyalty] will ·watch over [keep; guard] him forever,
and my ·agreement [covenant; treaty] with him will ·never end [be faithful].
29 I will ·make his family continue [L set his seed forever],
and his ·kingdom [L throne] ·will last as long as the skies [L like the days of the skies/heavens].
The Burning Bush
3 One day Moses was ·taking care of [shepherding; grazing] Jethro’s flock. (Jethro was the priest of Midian and also Moses’ father-in-law.) When Moses led the flock to the west side of the ·desert [wilderness], he came to ·Sinai [L Horeb; C another name for Mount Sinai], the mountain of God. 2 There the ·angel [messenger] of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire coming out of a bush. Moses saw that the bush was on fire, but it was not ·burning up [consumed]. 3 So Moses said, “I will ·go closer to [L turn aside to see] this ·strange [or marvelous; great] thing. ·How can a bush continue burning without burning up [Why does not the bush burn]?”
4 When the Lord saw Moses was ·coming [L turning aside] to look at it, God called to him from the bush, “Moses, Moses!”
And Moses said, “Here I am.”
5 Then God said, “Do not come any closer. Take off your sandals [L from your feet], because the place where you are standing is holy ground. 6 I am the God of your ·ancestors [fathers; L father]—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” Moses ·covered [hid] his face because he was afraid to look at God.
7 The Lord said, “I have seen the ·troubles [affliction; or humiliation] my people have suffered in Egypt, and I have heard their cries ·when the Egyptian slavemasters hurt them [L before their foremen/taskmasters]. I ·am concerned about [L know] their pain, 8 and I have come down to ·save [rescue; deliver] them from the Egyptians. I will bring them out of that land and lead them to a good land with lots of room—a ·fertile land [L land flowing with milk and honey; C an image of abundant fertility]. It is the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. 9 I have heard the cries of the people of Israel, and I have seen the way the Egyptians have ·made life hard for [oppressed] them. 10 So now I am sending you to ·the king of Egypt [L Pharaoh]. Go! Bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt!”
11 But Moses said to God, “·I am not a great man! How can I go to the king [L Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh] and ·lead [bring] the Israelites out of Egypt?”
12 God said, “I will be with you. This will be the ·proof [sign] that I am sending you: After you lead the people out of Egypt, all of you will ·worship me [L serve God] on this mountain.”
23 It was by faith that Moses’ parents hid him for three months after he was born [Ex. 2:2–3]. [L …because] They saw that Moses was a ·beautiful baby [or special child], and they were not ·afraid to disobey [intimidated by; L afraid of] the king’s order.
24 It was by faith that Moses, when he grew up, refused to be called the son of ·the king of Egypt’s [L Pharaoh’s] daughter [Ex. 2:10]. 25 He chose to ·suffer [be mistreated/oppressed] with God’s people instead of enjoying ·sin for a short time [L the temporary/fleeting pleasures of sin]. 26 He thought it was better to suffer ·for [the disgrace/stigma/ humilation of] ·Christ [or the Messiah/Anointed One] than to have all the treasures of Egypt, because ·he was looking for [or his eyes were fixed on] God’s reward. 27 It was by faith that Moses left Egypt and was not afraid of the king’s anger [Ex. 10:28–29]. Moses ·continued strong [persevered; was resolute] as if he could see the ·God that no one can see [L one who is invisible; v. 13]. 28 It was by faith that Moses ·prepared [celebrated; kept] the Passover [Ex. 12] and ·spread the blood on the doors [L the sprinkling of blood; 10:22] so the ·one who brings death [destroyer] would not ·kill [L touch] the firstborn sons of Israel [Ex. 12:7, 13, 29–30].
29 It was by faith that the people crossed the Red Sea as if it were dry land [Ex. 14:21–30]. But when the Egyptians tried it, they were ·drowned [destroyed; L swallowed].
30 It was by faith that the walls of Jericho fell after the people had ·marched around [encircled] them for seven days [Josh. 6].
31 It was by faith that Rahab, the prostitute, ·welcomed [L welcomed with peace] the spies and ·was not killed [did not perish] with ·those who refused to obey God [the disobedient; or the unbelievers; Josh. 2].
6 Jesus answered, “I am ·the way, and the truth, and the life [or the one true way to have life]. ·The only way to the Father is through me [L No one comes to the Father except through me]. 7 If you really knew me, you would know my Father, too. ·But now [or From now on] you do know him, and you have seen him.”
8 Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father. That is all we need.”
9 Jesus answered, “I have been with you ·a long time now [all this time; for so long]. Do you still not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. So why do you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 Don’t you believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words I say to you don’t come ·from me [on my own authority], but the Father ·lives [remains; abides] in me and does his own work. 11 Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me. Or believe because of ·the miracles I have done [L the works themselves]. 12 ·I tell you the truth [L Truly, truly, I say to you], whoever believes in me will do the same things that I do. Those who believe will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. [C They will do greater things because all believers—not just Jesus—will have the Holy Spirit living in them and empowering them.] 13 And if you ask for anything in my name [C asking “in my name” means acknowledging that Jesus is the mediator between God and human beings; the name represents the person], I will do it for you so that ·the Father’s glory will be shown [L the Father might be glorified] ·through [or in] the Son. 14 If you ask me for anything in my name, I will do it.
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