Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 63
A psalm by David when he was in the wilderness of Judah.
1 O Elohim, you are my Elohim.
At dawn I search for you.
My soul thirsts for you.
My body longs for you
in a dry, parched land where there is no water.
2 So I look for you in the holy place
to see your power and your glory.
3 My lips will praise you
because your mercy is better than life itself.
4 So I will thank you as long as I live.
I will lift up my hands to pray in your name.
5 You satisfy my soul with the richest foods.
My mouth will sing your praise with joyful lips.
6 As I lie on my bed, I remember you.
Through the long hours of the night, I think about you.
7 You have been my help.
In the shadow of your wings, I sing joyfully.
8 My soul clings to you.
Your right hand supports me.
9 But those who try to destroy my life
will go into the depths of the earth.
10 They will be cut down by swords.
Their dead bodies will be left as food for jackals.
11 But the king will find joy in Elohim.
Everyone who takes an oath by Elohim will brag,
but the mouths of liars will be shut.
Psalm 98
A psalm.
1 Sing a new song to Yahweh
because he has done miraculous things.
His right hand and his holy arm have gained victory for him.
2 Yahweh has made his salvation known.
He has uncovered his righteousness for the nations to see.
3 He has not forgotten to be merciful and faithful
to Israel’s descendants.
All the ends of the earth have seen how our Elohim saves them.
4 Shout happily to Yahweh, all the earth.
Break out into joyful singing, and make music.
5 Make music to Yahweh with a lyre,
with a lyre and the melody of a psalm,
6 with trumpets and the playing of a ram’s horn.
Shout happily in the presence of the Melek, Yahweh.
7 Let the sea, everything in it,
the world, and those who live in it roar like thunder.
8 Let the rivers clap their hands
and the mountains sing joyfully
9 in Yahweh’s presence
because he is coming to judge the earth.
He will judge the world with justice
and its people with fairness.
Psalm 103
By David.
1 Praise Yahweh, my soul!
Praise his holy name, all that is within me.
2 Praise Yahweh, my soul,
and never forget all the good he has done:
3 He is the one who forgives all your sins,
the one who heals all your diseases,
4 the one who rescues your life from the pit,
the one who crowns you with mercy and compassion,
5 the one who fills your life with blessings
so that you become young again like an eagle.
6 Yahweh does what is right and fair
for all who are oppressed.
7 He let Moses know his ways.
He let the Israelites know the things he had done.
8 Yahweh is compassionate, merciful, patient,
and always ready to forgive.
9 He will not always accuse us of wrong
or be angry with us forever.
10 He has not treated us as we deserve for our sins
or paid us back for our wrongs.
11 As high as the heavens are above the earth—
that is how vast his mercy is toward those who fear him.
12 As far as the east is from the west—
that is how far he has removed our rebellious acts from himself.
13 As a father has compassion for his children,
so Yahweh has compassion for those who fear him.
14 He certainly knows what we are made of.
He bears in mind that we are dust.
15 Human life is as short-lived as grass.
It blossoms like a flower in the field.
16 When the wind blows over the flower, it disappears,
and there is no longer any sign of it.
17 But from everlasting to everlasting,
Yahweh’s mercy is on those who fear him.
His righteousness belongs
to their children and grandchildren,
18 to those who are faithful to his promise,[a]
to those who remember to follow his guiding principles.
19 Yahweh has set his throne in heaven.
His kingdom rules everything.
20 Praise Yahweh, all his angels,
you mighty beings who carry out his orders
and are ready to obey his spoken orders.
21 Praise Yahweh, all his armies,
his servants who carry out his will.
22 Praise Yahweh, all his creatures
in all the places of his empire.
Praise Yahweh, my soul!
11 Love Yahweh your Elohim, and do what he wants you to do. Always obey his laws, rules, and commands. 2 Remember today the discipline you learned from Yahweh your Elohim. (I’m not talking to your children. They didn’t see or experience any of this.) You saw and experienced his great power—his mighty hand and powerful arm. 3 You saw the miraculous signs and deeds he did in Egypt to Pharaoh (the king of Egypt) and to his whole country. 4 You saw what he did to the Egyptian army, its horses and chariots. He drowned them in the Red Sea when they pursued you. So Yahweh destroyed them forever. 5 You saw what he did for you in the desert until you came here. 6 You also saw what he did to Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, from the tribe of Reuben. In the middle of all the Israelites the ground opened up and swallowed them, their families, their tents, and every living creature with them. 7 You saw with your own eyes all these spectacular things that Yahweh did.
8 Obey all the commands I’m giving you today. Then you will have the strength to enter and take possession of the land once you’ve crossed the Jordan River. 9 Then you will also live for a long time in the land the Lord swore to give your ancestors and their descendants—a land flowing with milk and honey.
10 The land you’re about to enter and take possession of isn’t like the land you left in Egypt. There you used to plant your seed, and you had to water it like a vegetable garden. 11 The land you’re about to enter is a land with hills and valleys, watered by rain from the sky. 12 It is a land Yahweh your Elohim cares about. Yahweh your Elohim watches over it all year long.
John Eats a Small Scroll
10 I saw another powerful angel come down from heaven. He was dressed in a cloud, and there was a rainbow over his head. His face was like the sun, and his feet were like columns of fire. 2 He held a small, opened scroll in his hand. He set his right foot on the sea and his left on the land. 3 Then he shouted in a loud voice as a lion roars. When he shouted, the seven thunders spoke with voices of their own. 4 When the seven thunders spoke, I was going to write it down. I heard a voice from heaven say, “Seal up what the seven thunders have said, and don’t write it down.”
5 The angel whom I saw standing on the sea and on the land raised his right hand to heaven. 6 He swore an oath by the one who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and everything in it, the earth and everything in it, and the sea and everything in it. He said, “There will be no more delay. 7 In the days when the seventh angel is ready to blow his trumpet, the mystery of God will be completed, as he had made this Good News known to his servants, the prophets.” 8 The voice which I had heard from heaven spoke to me again. It said, “Take the opened scroll from the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and on the land.” 9 I went to the angel and asked him to give me the small scroll. He said to me, “Take it and eat it. It will be bitter in your stomach, but it will be as sweet as honey in your mouth.”
10 I took the small scroll from the angel’s hand and ate it. It was as sweet as honey in my mouth, but when I had eaten it, it was bitter in my stomach. 11 The seven thunders told me, “Again you must speak what God has revealed in front of many people, nations, languages, and kings.”
Stories about a Treasure, a Merchant, and a Net
44 “The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure buried in a field. When a man discovered it, he buried it again. He was so delighted with it that he went away, sold everything he had, and bought that field.
45 “Also, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant who was searching for fine pearls. 46 When he found a valuable pearl, he went away, sold everything he had, and bought it.
47 “Also, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea. It gathered all kinds of fish. 48 When it was full, they pulled it to the shore. Then they sat down, gathered the good fish into containers, and threw the bad ones away. 49 The same thing will happen at the end of time. The angels will go out and separate the evil people from people who have God’s approval. 50 Then the angels will throw the evil people into a blazing furnace. They will cry and be in extreme pain there.
51 “Have you understood all of this?”
“Yes,” they answered.
52 So Yeshua said to them, “That is why every student of Scripture who has become a disciple of the kingdom of heaven is like a home owner. He brings new and old things out of his treasure chest.”
53 When Yeshua had finished these illustrations, he left that place.
Nazareth Rejects Jesus(A)
54 Yeshua went to his hometown and taught the people in the synagogue in a way that amazed them. People were asking, “Where did this man get this wisdom and the power to do these miracles? 55 Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t his mother’s name Mary? Aren’t his brothers’ names James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas? 56 And aren’t all his sisters here with us? Where, then, did this man get all this?” 57 So they took offense at him.
But Yeshua said to them, “The only place a prophet isn’t honored is in his hometown and in his own house.”
58 He didn’t work many miracles there because of their lack of faith.
The Names of God Bible (without notes) © 2011 by Baker Publishing Group.