Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 50
A psalm by Asaph.
1 Yahweh, the only true El, has spoken.
He has summoned the earth
from where the sun rises to where it sets.
2 Elohim shines from Zion,
the perfection of beauty.
3 Our Elohim will come and will not remain silent.
A devouring fire is in front of him
and a raging storm around him.
4 He summons heaven and earth to judge his people:
5 “Gather around me, my godly people
who have made a pledge to me through sacrifices.”
6 The heavens announce his righteousness
because Elohim is the Shophet. Selah
7 “Listen, my people, and I will speak.
Listen, Israel, and I will testify against you:
I am Elohim, your Elohim!
8 I am not criticizing you for your sacrifices or burnt offerings,
which are always in front of me.
9 But I will not accept another young bull from your household
or a single male goat from your pens.
10 Every creature in the forest,
even the cattle on a thousand hills, is mine.
11 I know every bird in the mountains.
Everything that moves in the fields is mine.
12 If I were hungry, I would not tell you,
because the world and all that it contains are mine.
13 Do I eat the meat of bulls or drink the blood of goats?
14 Bring your thanks to Elohim as a sacrifice,
and keep your vows to Elyon.
15 Call on me in times of trouble.
I will rescue you, and you will honor me.”
16 But Elohim says to wicked people,
“How dare you quote my decrees
and mouth my promises![a]
17 You hate discipline.
You toss my words behind you.
18 When you see a thief, you want to make friends with him.
You keep company with people who commit adultery.
19 You let your mouth say anything evil.
Your tongue plans deceit.
20 You sit and talk against your own brother.
You slander your own mother’s son.
21 When you did these things, I remained silent.
That made you think I was like you.
I will argue my point with you
and lay it all out for you to see.
22 Consider this, you people who forget Eloah.
Otherwise, I will tear you to pieces,
and there will be no one left to rescue you.
23 Whoever offers thanks as a sacrifice honors me.
I will let everyone who continues in my way
see the salvation that comes from Elohim.”
Psalm 59
For the choir director; al tashcheth; a miktam by David when Saul sent men to watch David’s home and kill him.
1 Rescue me from my enemies, O my Elohim.
Protect me from those who attack me.
2 Rescue me from troublemakers.
Save me from bloodthirsty people.
3 They lie in ambush for me right here!
Fierce men attack me, O Yahweh,
but not because of any disobedience,
4 or any sin, or any guilt on my part.
They hurry to take positions against me.
Wake up, and help me; see for yourself.
5 O Yahweh Elohim Tsebaoth, Elohim of Israel,
arise to punish all the nations.
Have no pity on any traitors. Selah
6 They return in the evening.
They howl like dogs.
They prowl the city.
7 See what pours out of their mouths—
swords from their lips!
They think, “Who will hear us?”
8 O Yahweh, you laugh at them.
You make fun of all the nations.
9 O my strength, I watch for you!
Elohim is my stronghold, my merciful Elohim!
10 Elohim will come to meet me.
He will let me gloat over those who spy on me.
11 Do not kill them.
Otherwise, my people may forget.
Make them wander aimlessly by your power.
Bring them down, O Adonay, our Magen,
12 because of the sins from their mouths
and the words on their lips.
Let them be trapped by their own arrogance
because they speak curses and lies.
13 Destroy them in your rage.
Destroy them until not one of them is left.
Then they will know that Elohim rules Jacob
to the ends of the earth. Selah
14 They return in the evening.
They howl like dogs.
They prowl the city.
15 They wander around to find something to eat.
If they are not full enough,
they will stay all night.
16 But I will sing about your strength.
In the morning I will joyfully sing about your mercy.
You have been my stronghold
and a place of safety in times of trouble.
17 O my strength, I will make music to praise you!
Elohim is my stronghold, my merciful Elohim!
Psalm 60
For the choir director; according to shushan eduth;[a] a miktam by David; for teaching. When David fought Aram Naharaim and Aram Zobah, and when Joab came back and killed 12,000 men from Edom in the Dead Sea region.
1 O Elohim, you have rejected us.
You have broken down our defenses.
You have been angry.
Restore us!
2 You made the land quake.
You split it wide open.
Heal the cracks in it
because it is falling apart.
3 You have made your people experience hardships.
You have given us wine that makes us stagger.
4 Yet, you have raised a flag for those who fear you
so that they can rally to it
when attacked by bows and arrows. Selah
5 Save us with your powerful hand, and answer us
so that those who are dear to you may be rescued.[b]
6 Elohim has promised the following through his holiness:
“I will triumph!
I will divide Shechem.
I will measure the valley of Succoth.
7 Gilead is mine.
Manasseh is mine.
Ephraim is the helmet on my head.
Judah is my scepter.
8 Moab is my washtub.
I will throw my shoe over Edom.
I will shout in triumph over Philistia.”
9 Who will bring me into the fortified city?
Who will lead me to Edom?
10 Isn’t it you, O Elohim, who rejected us?
Isn’t it you, O Elohim, who refused to accompany our armies?
11 Give us help against the enemy
because human assistance is worthless.
12 With Elohim we will display great strength.
He will trample our enemies.
Psalm 118
1 Give thanks to Yahweh because he is good,
because his mercy endures forever.
2 Israel should say,
“His mercy endures forever.”
3 The descendants of Aaron should say,
“His mercy endures forever.”
4 Those who fear Yahweh should say,
“His mercy endures forever.”
5 During times of trouble I called on Yah.
Yah answered me and set me free from all of them.
6 Yahweh is on my side.
I am not afraid.
What can mortals do to me?
7 Yahweh is on my side as my helper.
I will see the defeat of those who hate me.
8 It is better to depend on Yahweh
than to trust mortals.
9 It is better to depend on Yahweh
than to trust influential people.
10 All the nations surrounded me,
but armed with the name of Yahweh, I defeated them.
11 They surrounded me. Yes, they surrounded me,
but armed with the name of Yahweh, I defeated them.
12 They swarmed around me like bees,
but they were extinguished like burning thornbushes.
So armed with the name of Yahweh, I defeated them.
13 They pushed hard to make me fall,
but Yahweh helped me.
14 Yah is my strength and my song.
He is my savior.
15 The sound of joyful singing and victory is heard
in the tents of righteous people.
The right hand of Yahweh displays strength.
16 The right hand of Yahweh is held high.
The right hand of Yahweh displays strength.
17 I will not die,
but I will live and tell what Yah has done.
18 Yah disciplined me severely,
but he did not allow me to be killed.
19 Open the gates of righteousness for me.
I will go through them and give thanks to Yah.
20 This is the gate of Yahweh
through which righteous people will enter.
21 I give thanks to you,
because you have answered me.
You are my savior.
22 The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone.
23 Yahweh is responsible for this,
and it is amazing for us to see.
24 This is the day Yahweh has made.
Let’s rejoice and be glad today!
25 We beg you, O Yahweh, save us!
We beg you, O Yahweh, give us success!
26 Blessed is the one who comes in the name of Yahweh.
We bless you from Yahweh’s house.
27 Yahweh is El, and he has given us light.
March in a festival procession
with branches to the horns of the altar.
28 You are my El, and I give thanks to you.
My Elohim, I honor you highly.
29 Give thanks to Yahweh because he is good,
because his mercy endures forever.
15 Hagar gave birth to Abram’s son. Abram named him Ishmael. 16 Abram was 86 years old when Hagar gave birth to Ishmael.
The Lord’s Fifth Promise to Abraham
17 When Abram was 99 years old, Yahweh appeared to him. He said to Abram, “I am El Shadday. Live in my presence with integrity. 2 I will give you my promise,[a] and I will give you very many descendants.” 3 Immediately, Abram bowed with his face touching the ground, and again Elohim spoke to him, 4 “My promise is still with you. You will become the father of many nations. 5 So your name will no longer be Abram [Exalted Father], but Abraham [Father of Many] because I have made you a father of many nations. 6 I will give you many descendants. Many nations and kings will come from you. 7 I will make my promise to you and your descendants for generations to come as an everlasting promise. I will be your Elohim and the God of your descendants. 8 I am also giving this land where you are living—all of Canaan—to you and your descendants as your permanent possession. And I will be your Elohim.”
9 Elohim also said to Abraham, “You and your descendants in generations to come are to be faithful to my promise. 10 This is how you are to be faithful to my promise: Every male among you is to be circumcised. 11 All of you must be circumcised. That will be the sign of the promise from me to you. 12 For generations to come every male child who is eight days old must be circumcised, whether he is born in your household or bought with money from a foreigner who’s not related to you. 13 Every male born in your household or bought with your money is to be circumcised without exception. So my promise will be a sign on your flesh, an everlasting promise. 14 Any uncircumcised male must be excluded from his people because he has rejected my promise.”
We Can Enter the Most Holy Place because of Christ’s Superior Work
10 Moses’ Teachings with their yearly cycle of sacrifices are only a shadow of the good things in the future. They aren’t an exact likeness of those things. They can never make those who worship perfect. 2 If these sacrifices could have made the worshipers perfect, the sacrifices would have stopped long ago. Those who worship would have been cleansed once and for all. Their consciences would have been free from sin. 3 Instead, this yearly cycle of sacrifices reminded people of their sins. 4 (The blood of bulls and goats cannot take away sins.)
5 For this reason, when Christ came into the world, he said,
“‘You did not want sacrifices and offerings,
but you prepared a body for me.
6 You did not approve of burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin.’
7 Then I said, ‘I have come!
(It is written about me in the scroll of the book.)
I have come to do what you want, my God.’”
8 In this passage Christ first said, “You did not want sacrifices, offerings, burnt offerings, and sacrifices for sin. You did not approve of them.” (These are the sacrifices that Moses’ Teachings require people to offer.) 9 Then Christ says, “I have come to do what you want.” He did away with sacrifices in order to establish the obedience that God wants. 10 We have been set apart as holy because Yeshua Christ did what God wanted him to do by sacrificing his body once and for all.
30 I can’t do anything on my own. As I listen to the Father, I make my judgments. My judgments are right because I don’t try to do what I want but what the one who sent me wants.
31 “If I testify on my own behalf, what I say isn’t true. 32 Someone else testifies on my behalf, and I know that what he says about me is true. 33 You sent people to John the Baptizer, and he testified to the truth. 34 But I don’t depend on human testimony. I’m telling you this to save you. 35 John was a lamp that gave off brilliant light. For a time you enjoyed the pleasure of his light. 36 But I have something that testifies more favorably on my behalf than John’s testimony. The tasks that the Father gave me to carry out, these tasks which I perform, testify on my behalf. They prove that the Father has sent me. 37 The Father who sent me testifies on my behalf. You have never heard his voice, and you have never seen his form. 38 So you don’t have the Father’s message within you, because you don’t believe in the person he has sent. 39 You study the Scriptures in detail because you think you have the source of eternal life in them. These Scriptures testify on my behalf. 40 Yet, you don’t want to come to me to get eternal life.
41 “I don’t accept praise from humans. 42 But I know what kind of people you are. You don’t have any love for God. 43 I have come with the authority my Father has given me, but you don’t accept me. If someone else comes with his own authority, you will accept him. 44 How can you believe when you accept each other’s praise and don’t look for the praise that comes from the only God?
45 “Don’t think that I will accuse you in the presence of the Father. Moses, the one you trust, is already accusing you. 46 If you really believed Moses, you would believe me. Moses wrote about me. 47 If you don’t believe what Moses wrote, how will you ever believe what I say?”
The Names of God Bible (without notes) © 2011 by Baker Publishing Group.