Book of Common Prayer
He Lowers One and Lifts Another
Psalm 75
1 For the music director: “Do not Destroy,” a psalm of Asaph, a song.
2 We praise You, we praise God,
for Your Name is near.
People declare Your wonders.
3 “When I appoint a set time,
I Myself will judge uprightly.
4 When the earth wavers with living on it,
I Myself hold its pillars firm. Selah
5 I say to the arrogant, ‘No more boasting!’
And to the wicked,
‘Do not be lifting up your horn.’
6 Do not lift your horn up high.
Do not speak with outstretched neck.”
7 For exaltation comes
not from the east nor from the west,
nor even from the desert.
8 For God is the Judge:
He lowers one and lifts up another.
9 For in the hand of Adonai is a cup of foaming wine mixed with spices,
and He pours it out.
Surely all the wicked of the earth will drink,
draining it down to the dregs.[a]
10 But I—I will declare it forever,
I will sing praise to the God of Jacob.
11 I will cut off all the horns of the wicked,
but the horns of the righteous will be lifted up.
Who Can Stand in Your Presence?
Psalm 76
1 For the music director, on stringed instruments: a psalm of Asaph, a song.
2 In Judah God is known.
In Israel His Name is great.
3 In Salem is His sukkah
and His dwelling place in Zion.
4 There He broke the fiery shafts of the bow,
the shield, the sword, and the battle. Selah
5 You are brilliant,
more majestic than nourishing mountains.
6 The valiant have been plundered—
they slumbered in their sleep.
The mighty could not lift their hands.
7 At Your rebuke, O God of Jacob,
both horse and rider lay dead asleep.
8 You are awesome, yes You are!
Who can stand in Your presence once You are angry?
9 From heaven You pronounced judgment.
The earth feared and was still—
10 when God rose up to judgment,
to save all the humble of the land. Selah
11 For wrath upon man will bring You praise,
a remnant of wrath You put on as a belt.
12 Make vows to Adonai your God and fulfill them.
Let all around Him bring tribute to the One who is to be feared.
13 He cuts off the breath of princes.
The kings of earth are in awe of Him.
Adonai-Ro-eh
Psalm 23
1 A psalm of David.
Adonai is my shepherd, I shall not want.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.
3 He restores my soul.
He guides me in paths of righteousness
for His Name’s sake.
4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil, for You are with me:
Your rod and Your staff comfort me.
5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.
You have anointed my head with oil, my cup overflows.
6 Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the House of Adonai forever.
Let Your Heart Take Courage
Psalm 27
1 Of David.
Adonai is my light and my salvation:
whom should I fear?
Adonai is the stronghold of my life:
whom should I dread?
2 When evildoers approached me to devour my flesh
—my adversaries and my foes—they stumbled and fell.
3 Though an army camp besieges me, my heart will not fear.
Though war breaks out against me, even then will I be confident.
4 One thing have I asked of Adonai,
that will I seek:
to dwell in the House of Adonai
all the days of my life,
to behold the beauty of Adonai,
and to meditate in His Temple.
5 For in the day of trouble He will hide me in His sukkah,
conceal me in the shelter of His tent,
and set me high upon a rock.
6 Then will my head be high above my enemies around me.
In His Tabernacle I will offer sacrifices with shouts of joy.
I will sing, yes, sing praises to Adonai.
7 Hear, Adonai, when I call with my voice,
be gracious to me and answer me.
8 To You my heart says: “Seek My face.”
Your face, Adonai, I seek.
9 Do not hide Your face from me.
Do not turn Your servant away in anger.
You have been my help.
Do not abandon me or forsake me,
O God my salvation.
10 Though my father and my mother
forsake me, Adonai will take me in.
11 Teach me Your way, Adonai,
and lead me on a level path—
because of my enemies.
12 Do not turn me over to the desire of my foes.
For false witnesses rise up against me,
breathing out violence.
13 Surely I trust that I will see the goodness
of Adonai in the land of the living.
14 Wait for Adonai.
Be strong, let Your heart take courage,
and wait for Adonai.
22 But the Philistines marched up and spread out in the valley of Rephaim again. 23 When David inquired of Adonai, He said, “Do not go up; instead circle around behind them and attack them in front of the balsam trees. 24 Now it will be when you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees, then you must act, for then Adonai will have gone out before you to strike the camp of the Philistines. 25 David did just as Adonai had commanded him, and he struck down the Philistines from Geba as far as Gezer.
Ark Comes Into Jerusalem
6 Now David again gathered all the chosen men of Israel, 30,000. 2 Then David and all the people who were with him arose and set out from Baale-judah to bring up from there the ark of God, which is called by the Name[a], the very Name of Adonai-Tzva’ot who is enthroned between the cheruvim. 3 So they loaded the ark of God on a new cart and carried it out of the house of Abinadab that was on the hill. Uzzah and Ahio, Abinadab’s sons, drove the new cart 4 as they brought it from the house of Abinadab (which was on the hill) with the ark of God, and Ahio was walking in front of the ark.
5 Meanwhile David and the whole house of Israel were celebrating before Adonai with all kinds of instruments made of cypress wood, with harps, lyres, tambourines, three-stringed instruments and cymbals[b]. 6 But when they reached the threshing floor of Nahon, Uzzah reached out to the ark of God and grasped it, for the oxen had stumbled. 7 Then the anger of Adonai was kindled against Uzzah. God struck him down there for his irreverence, so that he died there beside the ark of God. 8 David was upset because of Adonai’s outburst against Uzzah. That place is called Perez-uzzah[c] to this day.
9 So David was frightened of Adonai that day. Then he said, “How can the ark of Adonai come to me?” 10 David was unwilling to move the ark of Adonai to him, to the City of David; instead, David diverted it to the house of Obed-edom the Gittite. 11 So the ark of Adonai remained in the house of Obed-edom the Gittite three months; meanwhile Adonai blessed Obed-edom and his entire household.
An Unknown God in Athens
16 Now while Paul was waiting for them in Athens, his spirit was aroused within him when he saw that the city was full of idols. 17 So he was debating in the synagogue with the Jewish people and the God-fearers, as well as in the marketplace every day with all who happened to be there. 18 Also some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers were conversing with him. Some were saying, “What’s this babbler trying to say?” while others, “He seems to be a proclaimer of foreign deities”—because he was proclaiming the Good News of Yeshua and the resurrection. 19 So they took Paul to the Aereopagus, saying, “May we know what this new teaching is that you are talking about? 20 For you are bringing some strange things to our ears, so we want to know what these things mean.” 21 Now all the Athenians and foreigners visiting there used to pass their time doing nothing but telling or hearing something new.
22 So Paul stood in the middle of the Aereopagus and said, “Men of Athens, I see that in all ways you are very religious. 23 For while I was passing through and observing the objects of your worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: ‘To an Unknown God.’ Therefore what you worship without knowing, this I proclaim to you. 24 The God who made the world and all things in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth,[a] does not live in temples made by hands. [b] 25 Nor is He served by human hands, as if He needed anything,[c] since He Himself gives to everyone life and breath and all things. [d] 26 From one He made every nation of men to live on the face of the earth, having set appointed times and the boundaries of their territory. [e] 27 They were to search for Him, and perhaps grope around for Him and find Him. Yet He is not far from each one of us, [f] 28 for ‘In Him we live and move and have our being.’
As some of your own poets have said, ‘For we also are His offspring.’ [g] 29 Since we are His offspring, we ought not to suppose the Deity is like gold or silver or stone, an engraved image of human art and imagination. [h] 30 Although God overlooked the periods of ignorance, now He commands everyone everywhere to repent. 31 For He has set a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness, through a Man whom He has appointed.[i] He has brought forth evidence of this to all men, by raising Him from the dead.” 32 Now when they heard about the resurrection of the dead, some began scoffing. But others said, “We will hear from you again about this.” 33 So Paul left from their midst. 34 But some men joined with him and believed—among them Dionysius (a member of the council of the Aereopagus), a woman named Damaris, and others with them.
Do You Still Not Understand?
8 In those days, there was another large crowd with nothing to eat, and Yeshua called the disciples. He said to them, 2 “I have compassion for the crowd, because they’ve stayed with Me for three days now and have nothing to eat. 3 If I send them home hungry they’ll pass out on the way, for some of them have come from very far away.”
4 His disciples answered Him, “How can anyone satisfy these people with bread here in a wasteland?”
5 “How many loaves do you have?” Yeshua was asking them.
“Seven,” they said.
6 He directed the crowd to recline on the ground. After taking the seven loaves and giving thanks, He broke them and began giving them to His disciples to serve; and they served them to the crowd. 7 They also had a few small fish and, after offering a bracha for them, He commanded these to be served as well. 8 They ate and were satisfied, and they picked up the broken pieces left over—seven baskets. 9 About four thousand[a] were there, and Yeshua sent them away.
10 Right away, He got into the boat with His disciples and went to the area of Dalmanutha.
Tree of Life (TLV) Translation of the Bible. Copyright © 2015 by The Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society.