Book of Common Prayer
A Powerful King for the Poor
Psalm 72
1 Of Solomon.
Give the king Your judgments, O God,
and Your righteousness to the king’s son.
2 May he judge Your people with righteousness,
and Your poor ones with justice.
3 Let the mountains bring shalom to the people,
and the hills righteousness.
4 May he vindicate the poor of the people,
save the children of the needy,
and crush the oppressor.
5 Let them fear You while the sun endures,
and while the moon lasts, throughout all generations.
6 May he be like rain falling on a mown field,
like showers watering the ground.
7 Let the righteous flourish in his days.
Let shalom abound till the moon is no more.
8 May he have dominion from sea to sea,
and from the River to the ends of the earth.
9 Let desert dwellers bow before him,
and his enemies lick the dust.
10 May kings of Tarshish and the islands bring tribute,
kings of Sheba and Seba offer gifts.
11 So let all kings bow down before him,
and all nations serve him.
12 For he rescues the needy crying for help,
also the poor and the one with no helper.
13 He will take pity on the poor and needy,
and the souls of the needy he will save.
14 From oppression and violence he redeems their soul,
for precious is their blood in his sight.
15 Long may he live!
May gold from Sheba be given to him.
May he pray for him continually,
and bless him all day.
16 Let there be abundance of grain in the land.
Let it sway on the top of the hills,
let its fruit be like Lebanon,
and let people of the city flourish like grass of the field.
17 May his name endure forever.
May his name increase before the sun,
and may all nations be blessed by him
and call him blessed.
18 Blessed be Adonai Elohim, God of Israel,
who alone does wonders.
19 Blessed be His glorious Name forever.
May all the earth be filled with His glory!
Amen and Amen!
20 The prayers of David son of Jesse are complete.
YOD י
73 Your hands have made me and formed me.
Give me understanding that I may learn Your mitzvot.
74 Those in awe of You see me and rejoice,
because I put my hope in Your word.
75 I know, Adonai, Your judgments are just.
In faithfulness You have afflicted me.
76 May Your lovingkindness comfort me,
according to Your promise to Your servant.
77 Let Your tender mercies reach me,
Let me live, for Your Torah is my delight.
78 May the proud be put to shame
for wronging me with a lie,
but I will meditate on Your precepts.
79 Let those in awe of You return to me—
those who know Your testimonies.
80 My heart will have integrity in following Your decrees,
so that I would not be ashamed.
KAF כ
81 My soul faints with longing for Your salvation,
but I still hope in Your word.
82 My eyes are worn out longing for Your promise,
saying, “When will You comfort me?”
83 Though I became like a wineskin dried in smoke,
I do not forget Your decrees.
84 How many are the days of Your servant?
When will You execute judgment on my persecutors?
85 The proud have dug pits for me—
that is not in accord with Your Torah!
86 All Your mitzvot are faithful.
They persecute me with a lie—help me!
87 They almost finished me off on earth.
But I—I will not forsake Your precepts.
88 Revive me with Your lovingkindness,
so I may keep Your mouth’s testimony.
LAMED ל
89 Forever, Adonai,
Your word stands firm in the heavens.
90 Your faithfulness endures from generation to generation.
You established the earth, and it stands.
91 Your judgments stand today,
for all things are Your servants.
92 If Your Torah had not been my delight,
I would have perished in my affliction.
93 I will never forget Your precepts.
For with them You have kept me alive.
94 I am Yours, save me!
For I have sought out Your precepts.
95 The wicked wait for me to destroy me.
But I will study Your testimonies.
96 I have seen a limit to all perfection,
yet Your commandment is boundless.
Your Husband is Your Maker
54 “Sing, barren one, who has not given birth.
burst into singing and shout,
you who have not travailed.
For more are the children of the desolate
than the children of the married one,”
says Adonai.
2 “Enlarge the place of your tent,
stretch out your tabernacle curtains.
Do not hold back—
lengthen your cords,
strengthen your stakes.
3 For you will spread out to the right hand and to the left.
Your offspring will possess the nations
and will resettle the desolate cities.
4 Fear not, for you will not be ashamed.
Nor cringe, for you will not be disgraced.
For you will forget the shame of your youth,
and you will remember the reproach of your widowhood no more.
5 For your Maker is your husband[a]
—Adonai-Tzva’ot is His Name—
the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer.
He will be called God of all the earth.
6 “For Adonai has called you back
like a wife deserted and grieved in spirit,
like a wife of one’s youth that is rejected,”
says your God.
7 “For a brief moment I deserted you,
but I will regather you with great compassion.
8 In a surge of anger
I hid My face from you a moment,
but with everlasting kindness
I will have compassion on you,”
says Adonai your Redeemer.
9 “For this is like the waters of Noah to Me:
for as I swore that the waters of Noah should no more cover the earth,
so I have sworn that I will not be angry with you,
nor will I rebuke you.
10 Though the mountains depart and the hills be shaken,
My love will not depart from you,
nor will My covenant of peace be shaken,
says Adonai who has compassion on you.
11 Afflicted one, storm-tossed, unconsoled,
behold, I set your stones in antimony,
lay your foundations with sapphires,
12 make your pinnacles of rubies,
your gates of crystal,
and all your walls of precious stones.
13 All your children will be taught by Adonai.
Your children will have great shalom.
No Weapon Formed Against You
14 “In righteousness you will be established.
You will be far from oppression
—for you will not fear—
and from terror—
for it will not come near you.
15 Behold, anyone fiercely attacking is not from Me.
Whoever stirs up strife with you will fall because of you.
16 Behold, I created the smith
who blows the fire of coals
and produces a weapon for its work,
and I created the destroyer to ruin.
17 No weapon formed against you will prosper
and you will condemn every tongue that rises against you in judgment.
This is the heritage of Adonai’s servants—
their vindication is from Me.”
It is a declaration of Adonai.
Midrash on Abraham’s Two Sons
21 Tell me, you who want to be under Torah, don’t you understand[a] the Torah? 22 For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the slave woman and one by the free woman. [b] 23 But one—the son by the slave woman—was born naturally;[c] while the other—the son by the free woman—was through the promise. 24 Now these things are being treated allegorically, for these are two covenants. One is from Mount Sinai, giving birth to slavery—this is Hagar. 25 But this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery along with her children. 26 But the Jerusalem above is free—she is our mother. 27 For it is written:
“Rejoice, O barren woman
who bears no children.
Break forth and shout,
you who suffer no labor pains.
For more are the children of the desolate
than of the one who has a husband.”[d]
28 Now you, brothers and sisters—like Isaac, you are children of promise. 29 But just as at that time the one born according to the flesh persecuted the one born according to the Ruach, so it is now. 30 But what does the Scripture say? “Drive out the slave woman and her son, for the son of the slave woman shall not inherit with the son”[e] of the free woman. 31 So then, brothers and sisters, we are not children of the slave woman but of the free woman.
11 The Pharisees came and began to argue with Him, demanding a sign from heaven, to test Him. 12 Sighing deeply in His spirit, Yeshua said, “Why does this generation demand a sign? Amen, I tell you, no sign will be given to this generation.” 13 Leaving them, He got back into the boat and crossed to the other side.
The Un-Seeing Disciples
14 Now the disciples had forgotten to take bread, and they had only one loaf in the boat. 15 Yeshua was warning them, “Watch out! Beware of the hametz of the Pharisees and the hametz of Herod.”
16 They began to discuss with each other that they had no bread. 17 And Yeshua, aware of this, said to them, “Why do you discuss that you have no bread? You still don’t get it? Don’t you understand? Are your hearts hardened? 18 Having eyes, don’t you see? And having ears, don’t you hear? And don’t you remember? 19 When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets of leftovers did you pick up?”
“Twelve,” they say to Him.
20 “When I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many baskets of leftovers did you pick up?”
“Seven,” they say to Him.
21 He said to them, “Do you still not understand?”
Eyes that Need Opening
22 They come to Bethsaida. Some people bring a blind man to Yeshua and beg Him to touch the man. 23 Taking the blind man by the hand, Yeshua brought him outside the village. After spitting on the man’s eyes and laying His hands on him, Yeshua asked the man, “Do you see anything?”
24 The man looked up and said, “I see men! They look like trees walking about.” 25 Then Yeshua put His hands on the man’s eyes again. The man looked intently, his sight was restored, and he began to see everything clearly.
26 Yeshua sent him straight home, saying, “Don’t even enter the village!”
Tree of Life (TLV) Translation of the Bible. Copyright © 2015 by The Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society.