Book of Common Prayer
Morning Prayer for Justice
Psalm 5
1 For the music director, on the wind instruments, a psalm of David.
2 Hear my words, Adonai,
consider my groaning.
3 Listen to the sound of my cry for help,
my King and my God, for I pray to you.
4 Adonai, in the morning You hear my voice.
In the morning I order my prayer before You and watch expectantly.
5 For You are not a God who rejoices in evil.
No wickedness dwells with you.
6 Braggarts will not stand before your eyes.
You hate all wrongdoers.
7 You destroy those who speak falsehood.
A person of bloodshed and deceit Adonai detests.
8 But because of your great lovingkindness, I will enter Your House.
I will bow toward Your holy Temple, in awe of You.
9 Lead me, Adonai, in Your righteousness, because of my enemies.
Make Your path straight before me.
10 For nothing upright is in their mouth.
Inside them is a ruin—their throat an open grave.
They flatter with their tongue.[a]
11 Declare them guilty, O God!
Let them fall by their own schemes.
Banish them because of their many transgressions—
for they have rebelled against You.
12 But let all who take refuge in You rejoice!
Let them always shout for joy!
You will shelter them and they exult—those who love Your Name.
13 For You bless the righteous, Adonai.
You surround him with favor as a shield.
Prayer for Mercy
Psalm 6
1 For the music director, on the eight-string lyre, a psalm of David.
2 Adonai, do not rebuke me in Your anger!
Do not discipline me in Your wrath.
3 Be gracious to me, Adonai, for I am weak.
Heal me, Adonai—for my bones are shuddering with fear,
4 as is my soul—
and You, Adonai—how long?
5 Turn toward me, Adonai, deliver my soul!
Save me—because of Your mercy.
6 For there is no memory of You in death,
in Sheol who will praise You?
7 I am worn out with my groaning.
Every night I make my bed swim,
drenching my pillow with my tears.
8 My eyes are weakened with grief—
they age because of my enemies.
9 Away from me, all you evildoers!
For Adonai heard the sound of my weeping.
10 Adonai has heard my cry for mercy.
Adonai accepts my prayer:
11 “May all my enemies be ashamed, and stricken with terror.
May they turn back in sudden disgrace.”
Freedom from Terror
Psalm 10
1 Why, Adonai, are You standing far off?
Why hide Yourself in times of trouble?
2 In pride the wicked hotly hunts the poor.
Let them be caught in the plots they have planned.
3 For the wicked one boasts about his soul’s desire.
The greedy one curses, reviling Adonai.
4 The wicked one, with his nose in the air, never seeks Him.
All his thoughts are: “There is no God.”
5 His ways are secure at all times.
He haughtily disregards Your judgments.
He snorts at all his adversaries.
6 He says in his heart: “I’ll never be shaken!
From generation to generation nothing bad will happen.”
7 His mouth is full of cursing, lies and oppression.
On his tongue are trouble and iniquity.[a]
8 He lies in ambush near villages.
In hidden places he slays the innocent.
His eyes watch in secret for the helpless.
9 He lurks in a hiding place like a lion in a thicket.
He lies in wait to catch the helpless.
He catches the unfortunate one, dragging him away in his net.
10 The victim is crushed, brought down,
and falls into his mighty claws.
11 He says in his heart: “God has forgotten.
He hides His face—He will never see it.”
12 Arise, Adonai! O God, lift up Your hand.
Do not forget the afflicted.
13 Why does the wicked one revile God?
He says in his heart:
“You will never require anything.”
14 You saw—for You see trouble and grief,
to take it in Your hand.
The victim puts his trust in You—
You are the helper of the orphan.
15 Break the arm of the wicked, evil one!
Call him to account for his wickedness—
until no more is found.
16 Adonai is King forever and ever!
Nations will be wiped off His land.
17 You hear, Adonai, the desire of the meek.
You encourage them and incline Your ear.
18 You vindicate the orphan and oppressed,
so that man, who is earthly, may terrify no more.
Judgment from Heaven
Psalm 11
1 For the music director, a psalm of David.
In Adonai I have taken shelter.
How can you say to my soul:
“Fly like a bird to your mountain?
2 For look, the wicked bend the bow.
They fix their arrow on the bowstring
so they can shoot from the shadows
at those who are upright in heart.
3 If our foundations are destroyed,
what should the righteous do?”
4 Adonai is in His holy Temple.
Adonai’s throne is in heaven.[b]
His eyes are watching.
His eyelids observe the children of men.
5 Adonai examines the righteous.
But the wicked and one loving violence His soul hates.
6 On the wicked He will rain down fire, brimstone
and scorching wind as the portion of their cup!
7 For Adonai is righteous—He loves justice.
The upright will see His face.
Song of Moses and Miriam
15 Then Moses and Bnei-Yisrael sang this song to Adonai:[a]
I will sing to Adonai, for He is highly exalted!
The horse and its rider He has thrown into the sea.
2 Adonai is my strength and song,
and He has become my salvation.[b]
This is my God, and I will glorify Him,
my father’s God, and I will exalt Him.
3 Adonai is a warrior—Adonai is His Name!
4 Pharaoh’s chariots and his army
He has hurled into the sea,
and his chosen captains have sunk
into the Sea of Reeds.
5 The deeps cover them.
They sank to the depths like a stone.
6 Your right hand, Adonai, is glorious in power.
Your right hand, Adonai, dashes the enemy to pieces.
7 In the greatness of Your excellency
You overthrow those who resist You.
You send forth Your wrath—
it consumes them as stubble.
8 With the blast of Your nostrils the waters piled up.
The floods stood upright as a heap.
The deeps became firm ground in the heart of the sea.
9 The enemy said, “I will pursue,
I will overtake, I will divide the spoil.
My lust shall gorge on them!
I will draw my sword—my hand will destroy them.”
10 You blew with Your wind, the sea covered them.
They sank like lead in the mighty waters.
11 Who is like You, Adonai, among the gods?
Who is like You,
glorious in holiness,
awesome in praises,
doing wonders?[c]
12 You stretched out Your right hand,
the earth swallowed them.
13 You in Your lovingkindness
led the people You have redeemed.
You guided them in Your strength to Your holy habitation.
14 When the peoples hear, they will tremble—
anguish will seize
the inhabitants of Philistia.
15 Then the chiefs of Edom are terrified.
Trembling grips Moab’s mighty men.
All of Canaan’s inhabitants will melt away.
16 Terror and dread will fall on them.
By the greatness of Your arm they become still as a stone,
till Your people cross over, Adonai,
till the people whom You purchased cross over.
17 You bring them in, and plant them in the mountain of Your inheritance,
the place, Adonai, that You have made
for Yourself to dwell in—
the Sanctuary, Adonai,
which Your hands have prepared.
18 Adonai will reign forever and ever!
19 For Pharaoh’s horses with his chariots and his horsemen went into the sea, but Adonai brought the waters of the sea back over them. Yet Bnei-Yisrael walked in the midst of the sea on dry ground. 20 Then Miriam the prophetess, Aaron’s sister, took a tambourine in her hand, and all the women went out after her with tambourines and with dancing, 21 as Miriam sang to them:
Sing to Adonai, for He is highly exalted!
The horse and its rider He has thrown into the sea!
A Call to Be Holy
13 So brace your minds for action. Keep your balance. And set your hope completely on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Yeshua the Messiah. 14 Like obedient children, do not be shaped by the cravings you had formerly in your ignorance. 15 Instead, just like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in everything you do. 16 For it is written,
“Kedoshim you shall be, for I am kadosh.”[a]
17 If you call on Him as Father—the One who judges impartially according to each one’s deeds—then live out the time of sojourning in reverent fear.
18 You know that you were redeemed from the futile way of life handed down from your ancestors—not with perishable things such as silver or gold, 19 but with precious blood like that of a lamb without defect or spot, the blood of Messiah. 20 He was chosen before the foundation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. 21 Through Him you are believers in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your trust and hope are in God.
22 Now that you have purified your souls in obedience to the truth,[b] leading to sincere brotherly love, love one another fervently from a pure heart. 23 You have been born again—not from perishable seed but imperishable—through the living and enduring word of God. 24 For,
“All humanity is like grass,
And all its glory like a wildflower.
The grass withers, and the flower falls off,
25 But the word of the Lord endures forever.”[c]
And this is the word that was proclaimed as Good News to you.
18 I will not abandon you as orphans;[a] I will come to you. 19 In a little while, the world will no longer behold Me, but you will behold Me. Because I live, you also will live!
20 “In that day, you will know that I am in My Father, you are in Me, and I am in you. 21 He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me. He who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and reveal Myself to him.”
22 Judah (not the one from Kriot) said to Him, “Master, what has happened, that You are about to reveal Yourself to us and not the world?”
23 Yeshua answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word. My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our dwelling with him. 24 He who does not love Me does not keep My words. And the word you hear is not Mine, but the Father’s who sent Me. 25 These things I have spoken to you while dwelling with you. 26 But the Helper, the Ruach ha-Kodesh whom the Father will send in My name, will teach you everything and remind you of everything that I said to you.
27 “Shalom I leave you, My shalom I give to you; but not as the world gives! Do not let your heart be troubled or afraid. 28 You’ve heard Me say, ‘I am going away and I am coming back to you.’ If you loved Me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father, because the Father is greater than I. 29 I have told you now before it happens, so that when it happens you may believe!
30 “I will not talk with you much longer, for the ruler of this world is coming. He has nothing on Me. 31 But in order that the world may know that I love the Father, I do exactly as the Father commanded Me.
“Get up, let’s go from here!”
Tree of Life (TLV) Translation of the Bible. Copyright © 2015 by The Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society.