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.
16 When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the one over his house, “Bring the men into the house. Slaughter an animal and prepare it, for the men will eat with me this afternoon. 17 So the man did as Joseph said, and the man brought the men into Joseph’s house. 18 But the men were afraid, because they had been brought into Joseph’s house. They said, “It’s because of the silver that was returned to our sacks the first time that we are being brought in—to pounce on us and fall on us and take us as slaves, along with our donkeys.”
19 So they approached the man who was over Joseph’s house and spoke to him at the entrance of the house. 20 “I beg your pardon, my lord!” they said. “We indeed came down on the previous occasion to buy grain for food. 21 When we came to the lodge and opened our sacks, behold, there was each man’s money at the opening of the sack, the full amount of our money. So we’ve returned it in our hand. 22 Moreover, we’ve brought down other money in our hand to buy grain for food. We didn’t know who put our money into our sacks.”
23 “Be at peace,” he replied. “Don’t be afraid. Your God and the God of your father has given you treasure in your sacks. Your money had come to me.”
Then he brought Simeon out to them, 24 and the man brought the men into Joseph’s house, gave them water and they washed their feet. He also provided fodder for their donkeys. 25 So they prepared the offering for Joseph’s coming at noon, for they had heard that they were going to eat there. 26 When Joseph came home, they brought him the offering in their hand into the house, and they bowed down to the ground to him. 27 Then he asked if they were well, and said, “Is he well—your elderly father that you told me about? Is he still alive?”
28 “Your servant, our father, is well,” they said. “He’s still alive.” Then they knelt and bowed down.
29 Then he lifted his eyes and saw his brother Benjamin, his mother’s son, and said, “Is this your youngest brother whom you mentioned to me?” Then he said, “May God be gracious to you, my son.” 30 Then Joseph hurried out because his compassion grew warm and tender toward his brother so that he wanted to cry. So he went into an inner room and wept there.
31 Then he washed his face, came out, and controlled himself. “Serve the food,” he said. 32 So they served him by himself, them by themselves, and the Egyptians who were eating with him by themselves (for Egyptians could not eat with the Hebrews because it was an abomination to Egyptians). 33 They were seated before him, the firstborn according to his birthright and the youngest according to his youth. The men looked at each other in astonishment. 34 Then portions were brought to them from before him—and Benjamin’s portion was five times larger than any of their portions. Yet they drank and made merry with him.
10 But to the married I command—not I, but the Lord[a]—a wife is not to be separated from her husband 11 (but if she gets separated, let her remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband), and the husband is not to divorce his wife.
12 But to the rest I say—I, not the Lord—if any brother has a wife who is not a believer, and she agrees to live with him, he must not divorce her. 13 And if any woman has a husband who is not a believer, and he agrees to live with her, she must not divorce him. 14 For the unbelieving husband is made holy through the wife, and the unbelieving wife is made holy through her husband.[b] Otherwise your children would be unclean, but now they are holy. 15 But if the unbeliever separates, let him be separated. The brother or the sister is not bound in such cases, but God has called you to shalom. 16 For how do you know, wife, whether you will save your husband? Or how do you know, husband, whether you will save your wife?
Remain As You Were Called
17 Only, as the Lord has assigned to each one, as God has called each, let him walk in this way. I give this rule in all of Messiah’s communities. 18 Was anyone called when he already had been circumcised? Let him not make himself uncircumcised. Has anyone been called while uncircumcised? Let him not allow himself to be circumcised. 19 Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing[c]—but keeping God’s commandments matters. 20 Let each one remain in the calling in which he was called. 21 Were you called as a slave? Don’t let that bother you—but if indeed you can become free, make the most of the opportunity. 22 For the one who was called in the Lord as a slave is the Lord’s freedman. Likewise the one who was called while free is Messiah’s slave. 23 You were bought with a price; do not become slaves of men. 24 Brothers and sisters, let each one—in whatever way he was called—remain that way with God.
Power Over Demons
5 They came to the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gerasenes. 2 As soon as Yeshua got out of the boat, a man from the graveyard[a] with an unclean spirit met Him. 3 He lived among the tombs, and no one could restrain him anymore, even with a chain. 4 For he had often been bound with shackles and chains, but the chains had been ripped apart by him and the shackles broken. No one was strong enough to tame him. 5 And through it all, night and day, at the graveyard and in the mountains, he kept screaming and gashing himself with stones.
6 When he saw Yeshua from a distance, he ran and bowed down before Him. 7 Crying out with a loud voice, he said, “What’s between You and me, Yeshua, Ben El Elyon? I’m warning you, in the name of God, do not torment me!”
8 For Yeshua had said to him, “Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!” 9 Then Yeshua began questioning him, “What is your name?”
And he answered, “My name is Legion,[b] for we are many.” 10 He kept begging Him not to send them out of the country. 11 Now a large herd of pigs was feeding on the hillside nearby. 12 The unclean spirits urged Him, saying, “Send us to the pigs, so we may enter them.” 13 So Yeshua gave them permission. The unclean spirits came out and entered the pigs. And the herd, about two thousand in number, rushed down the cliff and were drowned in the sea.
14 The herdsmen ran away and told the town and countryside, and they came to see what had happened. 15 Now they came to Yeshua and saw the madman who had had the legion. He was sitting there, dressed in clothes and in his right mind. The people were scared.
16 Those who had seen it described in detail what had happened to the man plagued by a demon, and they also told about the pigs. 17 And they began to beg Yeshua to leave their country. 18 As He was getting into the boat, the man who had been infested with demons kept begging to remain with Him. 19 Yeshua did not let him, but He told him, “Go home to your friends and tell them how much Adonai has done for you, how He showed you mercy.”
20 So he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis[c] how much Yeshua had done for him. And all were amazed.
Tree of Life (TLV) Translation of the Bible. Copyright © 2015 by The Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society.