Book of Common Prayer
A Sacrifice of Thanks
Psalm 50
1 A psalm of Asaph.
God, Elohim Adonai has spoken and summoned the earth
from the rising of the sun to its setting.
2 Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty,
God shines forth.
3 Our God comes, and does not keep silent.
A fire is devouring before Him,
and it storms around Him mightily.
4 He calls to the heavens above
and to the earth, to judge His people:
5 “Gather My kedoshim to Me,
who cut a covenant with Me with a sacrifice.”
6 The heavens declare His righteousness,
for God Himself is Judge. Selah
7 “Hear, My people, and I will speak,
O Israel, and I will testify against you:
I am God, your God.
8 I do not rebuke you for your sacrifices,
for your burnt offerings are continually before Me.
9 I have no need of a bull from your house
nor goats from your pens.
10 For every beast of the forest is Mine,
and the cattle on a thousand hills.
11 I know every bird of the mountains.
Everything moving in the field is Mine.
12 If I were hungry, I would not tell you—
for the world is Mine and all it contains!
13 Do I eat the flesh of bulls
or drink the blood of goats?
14 Offer God a sacrifice of thank offerings,
then fulfill your vows to Elyon.
15 Call upon Me in the day of trouble.
When I rescue you, you will honor Me.”
16 But to the wicked, God says:
“What are you doing, reciting My laws
and taking My covenant in your mouth?
17 For you hate discipline,
and you cast My words behind you.
18 When you see a thief, you are pleased with him,
and your portion is with adulterers.
19 You have unleashed your mouth for evil
and harnessed your tongue for deceit.
20 You sit, speaking against your brother,
slandering your own mother’s son.
21 These things you have done—Should I keep silent?
You thought I was just like you—but I reprove you,
and set the case before your eyes.
22 Now consider this, you who forget God.
Or else I will tear you in pieces with no one to rescue you.
23 A sacrifice of praise honors Me,
and to the one who orders his way,
I will show the salvation of God.”
God Is My Strong Tower
Psalm 59
1 For the music director: “Do Not Destroy,” a Michtam of David, when Saul sent men to watch the house to kill him.
2 Deliver me from my enemies, my God!
Set me on high,
away from those who rise up against me.
3 Deliver me from workers of iniquity.
Rescue me from bloodthirsty men.
4 For behold, they lie in wait for me.
Defiant men stir up strife against me—
not for my transgression or sin, Adonai.
5 For no guilt of mine, they run and set things up.
Awake! Help me! Look!
6 For You are Adonai Elohei-Tzva’ot, the God of Israel!
Rouse Yourself to punish all the nations.
Show no mercy to any iniquitous traitors. Selah
7 They return at evening, snarling like a dog,
prowling about the city.
8 See, they are spewing with their mouth
—swords in their lips—
“After all, who is listening?”
9 But You, Adonai, are laughing at them.
You scoff at all the nations.
10 O my strength, I watch for You—
for God is my strong tower.
11 My God in His lovingkindness will go before me.
God will let me look down on my foes.
12 Do not slay them, lest my people forget.
With Your power shake them
and bring them down, O Lord our shield.
13 The sin of their mouth is the words of their lips.
So let them be caught in their pride,
and for uttering a curse and a lie.
14 Consume them in wrath,
consume them till they are no more.
Let them know that God rules over Jacob to the ends of the earth. Selah
15 They return at evening, snarling like a dog,
prowling about the city.
16 They wander around for food.
If they are not full, they stay up all night.
17 But I—I sing of Your strength!
Yes, in the morning I sing aloud of Your lovingkindness.
For You have been my fortress,
a refuge in the day of my trouble.
18 O my strength, to You I sing praises.
For God is my strong tower—
my God of lovingkindness.
Song of Victory Over Edom
Psalm 60
1 For the music director, on the “Lily of the Covenant,” a Michtam of David, for teaching, 2 when he fought with Aram-Naharaim and with Aram-Zobah, and Joab returned and struck down twelve thousand Edomites in the Valley of Salt.
3 O God, You have spurned us.
You have broken out against us.
You have been angry. Turn back to us!
4 You made earth shake; You split it open.
Heal its fractures—for it shudders.
5 You made Your people see hardship.
You made us drink wine of staggering.
6 To those who fear You,
You gave a banner, to be unfurled before the archers. Selah
7 Save with Your right hand and answer us,
so that Your beloved may be delivered.
8 God has spoken in His holiness:
“I will exult!
I will parcel out Shechem and measure off the valley of Succoth.
9 Gilead is Mine, and Manasseh is Mine,
Ephraim is a helmet for my head,
Judah is my scepter.
10 Moab is my washbasin,
On Edom I toss my sandal,
Philistia, cry aloud because of me!”
11 Who will bring me into the fortified city?
Who will lead me to Edom?
12 Should it not be You, O God—
who spurned us and no longer goes out with our armies?
13 Give us aid against the adversary,
for the help of man is worthless.
14 With God we will do mighty things,
and He will trample our foes.
How Awesome Your Deeds
Psalm 66
1 For the music director, a song, a psalm.
Shout joyfully to God, all the earth!
2 Sing the glory of His Name—
make His praise glorious.
3 Say to God:
“How awesome are Your deeds!
Because of Your great power,
Your enemies cringe before You.
4 All the earth bows down to You,
and sings praises to You.
All sing praises to Your Name.” Selah
5 Come and see the works of God.
How awesome His deeds for the children of Adam!
6 He turned the sea into dry land.
They crossed the river on foot.
There let us rejoice in Him!
7 He rules by His might forever.
His eyes keep watch on the nations.
Let no rebels exalt themselves. Selah
8 Bless our God, O peoples!
Let the sound of His praise be heard.
9 Keeping our soul in life,
He has not let our foot slip.
10 For You have tested us, O God—
You have purified us, as silver is refined.
11 You brought us into a net.
You laid a burden on our backs.
12 You caused men to ride over our heads.
We went through fire and water.
Yet You brought us out to superabundance.
13 With burnt offerings I will come to Your House,
fulfilling my vows to You
14 that my lips uttered and mouth spoke,
when I was in trouble.
15 To You I will present burnt offerings of fat animals,
with the sweet smoke of rams.
I will offer bulls with goats. Selah
16 Come and listen, all you who fear God.
I will tell what He has done for my soul.
17 I cried out to Him with my mouth,
and exaltation was on my tongue.
18 If I had cherished iniquity in my heart,
the Lord would not have listened.
19 But surely God has heard.
He has listened to my voice in prayer.
20 Blessed be God, who has not turned away my prayer,
nor His lovingkindness from me.
Let All Peoples Praise You
Psalm 67
1 For the music director, with stringed instruments, a psalm, a song.
2 May God be gracious to us and bless us.
May He cause His face to shine upon us—Selah
3 so that Your way may be known on earth,
and Your salvation among all nations.
4 Let the peoples praise You, O God.
Let all the peoples praise You.
5 Let the nations be glad and sing for joy,
for You will judge the peoples fairly,
and guide the nations on the earth. Selah
6 Let the peoples praise You, O God.
Let all the peoples praise You.
7 The earth has yielded its harvest—
God, our God will bless us.
8 God will bless us,
and all the ends of the earth will fear Him.
3 Now Samuel had died, and all Israel had lamented him and buried him in Ramah, his hometown. Saul had removed from the land those who were mediums and spiritists.
4 So the Philistines mustered and came and camped in Shunem; and Saul gathered all Israel together and they camped at Gilboa. 5 Now when Saul saw the camp of the Philistines, he was afraid and his heart trembled greatly. 6 When Saul inquired of Adonai, Adonai did not answer, neither by dreams nor by Urim or prophets.
7 Then Saul said to his courtiers, “Find me a woman who is a medium, so I may go to her and inquire through her.” So his courtiers said to him, “Behold, there is a woman that is a medium at En-dor.” 8 So Saul disguised himself, put on other clothes, and went with two other men, and they reached the woman by night. Then he said, “Please conjure up for me a ghost—bring up for me the one I will name to you.”
9 “Look, you know what Saul has done,” she said, “how he has cut off the mediums and spiritists from the land. So why then are you setting a trap for my life to get me killed?”
10 Saul vowed to her by Adonai saying, “As Adonai lives, no punishment will come on you for this thing.”
11 “Whom will I bring up for you?” the woman asked.
“Bring me up Samuel,” he said.
12 But when the woman saw Samuel, she cried out with a loud shriek. Then the woman spoke to Saul saying, “Why have you deceived me? You are Saul!”
13 “Don’t be afraid!” the king said to her. “What do you see?”
The woman said to Saul, “I see a godlike being coming up from the earth.”
14 “What does he look like?” he asked her.
“An old man is coming up, and he is wrapped with a robe,” she said.
Then Saul knew that it was Samuel, so he bowed down and prostrated himself with his face to the ground. 15 Samuel said to Saul, “Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?”
“I’m in great distress,” Saul answered. “The Philistines are waging war against me, and God has turned away from me—He doesn’t answer me anymore, whether by prophets or by dreams. So I called you up to tell me what I should do.”
16 Samuel said, “So why ask me, since Adonai has turned away from you and become your adversary? 17 Now Adonai has done for Himself just as He foretold through me—Adonai has torn the kingship out of your hand and has given it to another fellow, to David. 18 Since you did not obey the voice of Adonai and did not execute His fierce wrath on Amalek, so Adonai has done this to you today. 19 Moreover, Adonai will also give the Israelites who are with you into the hand of the Philistines. Tomorrow you and your sons will be with me! Yes, Adonai will give the army of Israel into the hand of the Philistines.”
20 Then Saul immediately fell full length upon the ground, and became so terrified because of the words of Samuel that there was absolutely no strength in him, for he had eaten nothing all day and all night.
Jerusalem Council Rules on Circumcision
15 Now some men coming down from Judea were teaching the brothers, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.” 2 When Paul and Barnabas had a big argument and debate with them, the brothers appointed Paul and Barnabas with some others from among them to go up to Jerusalem to the emissaries and elders about this issue.
3 So they were sent on their way by the Antioch community. They were passing through both Phoenicia and Samaria, describing in detail the conversion of the Gentiles, and they were bringing great joy to all the brothers and sisters. 4 When they arrived in Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the community and the emissaries and the elders. They reported all that God had done in helping them.
5 But some belonging to the party of the Pharisees who had believed stood up, saying, “It is necessary to circumcise them and to command them to keep the Torah of Moses.”
6 The emissaries and elders were gathered together to examine this issue. 7 After much debate, Peter stood up and said to them, “Brothers, you know that in the early days God chose from among you, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the message of the Good News and believe. 8 And God, who knows the heart, testified to them by giving them the Ruach ha-Kodesh—just as He also did for us. 9 He made no distinction between us and them, purifying their hearts through faith. 10 Why then do you put God to the test by putting a yoke on the neck of the disciples—which neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear? 11 But instead, we believe that we are saved through the grace of the Lord Yeshua, in the same way as they are.”
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.