Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 55
For the choir director; on stringed instruments; a maskil by David.
1 Open your ears to my prayer, O Elohim.
Do not hide from my plea for mercy.
2 Pay attention to me, and answer me.
My thoughts are restless, and I am confused
3 because my enemy shouts at me
and a wicked person persecutes me.
They bring misery crashing down on me,
and they attack me out of anger.
4 My heart is in turmoil.
The terrors of death have seized me.
5 Fear and trembling have overcome me.
Horror has overwhelmed me.
6 I said, “If only I had wings like a dove—
I would fly away and find rest.
7 Indeed, I would run far away.
I would stay in the desert. Selah
8 I would hurry to find shelter
from the raging wind and storm.”
9 Completely confuse their language, O Adonay,
because I see violence and conflict in the city.
10 Day and night they go around on top of the city walls.
Trouble and misery are everywhere.
11 Destruction is everywhere.
Oppression and fraud never leave the streets.[a]
12 If an enemy had insulted me,
then I could bear it.
If someone who hated me had attacked me,
then I could hide from him.
13 But it is you, my equal,
my best friend,
one I knew so well!
14 We used to talk to each other in complete confidence
and walk into Elohim’s house with the festival crowds.
15 Let death suddenly take wicked people!
Let them go into the grave while they are still alive,
because evil lives in their homes as well as in their hearts.
16 But I call on Elohim,
and Yahweh saves me.
17 Morning, noon, and night I complain and groan,
and he listens to my voice.
18 With his peace, he will rescue my soul
from the war waged against me,
because there are many soldiers fighting against me.
19 El will listen.
The one who has sat enthroned from the beginning
will deal with them. Selah
They never change. They never fear Elohim.
20 My best friend has betrayed his friends.
He has broken his solemn promise.
21 His speech is smoother than butter,
but there is war in his heart.
His words are more soothing than oil,
but they are like swords ready to attack.
22 Turn your burdens over to Yahweh,
and he will take care of you.
He will never let the righteous person stumble.
23 But you, O Elohim, will throw wicked people into the deepest pit.
Bloodthirsty and deceitful people will not live out half their days.
But I will trust you.
Psalm 138
By David.
1 I will give thanks to you with all my heart.
I will make music to praise you in front of the false gods.
2 I will bow toward your holy temple.
I will give thanks to your name because of your mercy and truth.
You have made your name and your promise greater than everything.
3 When I called, you answered me.
You made me bold by strengthening my soul.[a]
4 All the kings of the earth will give thanks to you, O Yahweh,
because they have heard the promises you spoke.
5 They will sing this about the ways of Yahweh:
“Yahweh’s honor is great!”
6 Even though Yahweh is high above, he sees humble people close up,
and he recognizes arrogant people from a distance.
7 Even though I walk into the middle of trouble,
you guard my life against the anger of my enemies.
You stretch out your hand,
and your right hand saves me.
8 Yahweh will do everything for me.
O Yahweh, your mercy endures forever.
Do not let go of what your hands have made.
Psalm 139
For the choir director; a psalm by David.
1 O Yahweh, you have examined me, and you know me.
2 You alone know when I sit down and when I get up.
You read my thoughts from far away.
3 You watch me when I travel and when I rest.
You are familiar with all my ways.
4 Even before there is a single word on my tongue,
you know all about it, Yahweh.
5 You are all around me—in front of me and in back of me.
You lay your hand on me.
6 Such knowledge is beyond my grasp.
It is so high I cannot reach it.
7 Where can I go to get away from your Ruach?
Where can I run to get away from you?
8 If I go up to heaven, you are there.
If I make my bed in hell, you are there.
9 If I climb upward on the rays of the morning sun
or land on the most distant shore of the sea where the sun sets,
10 even there your hand would guide me
and your right hand would hold on to me.
11 If I say, “Let the darkness hide me
and let the light around me turn into night,”
12 even the darkness is not too dark for you.
Night is as bright as day.
Darkness and light are the same to you.
13 You alone created my inner being.
You knitted me together inside my mother.
14 I will give thanks to you
because I have been so amazingly and miraculously made.
Your works are miraculous, and my soul is fully aware of this.
15 My bones were not hidden from you
when I was being made in secret,
when I was being skillfully woven in an underground workshop.
16 Your eyes saw me when I was only a fetus.
Every day of my life was recorded in your book
before one of them had taken place.
17 How precious are your thoughts concerning me, O El!
How vast in number they are!
18 If I try to count them,
there would be more of them than there are grains of sand.
When I wake up, I am still with you.
19 I wish that you would kill wicked people, O Eloah,
and that bloodthirsty people would leave me alone.
20 They say wicked things about you.
Your enemies misuse your name.
21 Shouldn’t I hate those who hate you, O Yahweh?
Shouldn’t I be disgusted with those who attack you?
22 I hate them with all my heart.
They have become my enemies.
23 Examine me, O El, and know my mind.
Test me, and know my thoughts.
The Drought Ends
41 Then Elijah told Ahab, “Get up, eat, and drink. It sounds like a heavy rain is coming.” 42 Ahab got up to eat and drink.
Elijah went to the top of Carmel and bowed down on the ground to pray. 43 He said to his servant, “Please go back to Mount Carmel, and look toward the sea.”
He went up, looked, came back, and said, “There’s nothing.”
Seven times Elijah told him, “Go back.”
44 After the seventh time the servant said, “A little cloud like a man’s hand is coming from the sea.”
Elijah said, “Go and tell Ahab, ‘Prepare your chariot, and leave before the rain delays you.’”
45 Gradually, the sky grew darker with clouds and wind, and there was a heavy rain. Ahab got into his chariot to go back to Jezreel. 46 Yahweh’s power was on Elijah. He hiked up his robe and ran ahead of Ahab until they came to Jezreel.
Elijah Flees from Jezebel
19 Ahab told Jezebel everything Elijah had done, including how he had executed all the prophets. 2 Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah. She said, “May the gods strike me dead if by this time tomorrow I don’t take your life the way you took the lives of Baal’s prophets.”
3 Frightened, Elijah fled to save his life. He came to Beersheba in Judah and left his servant there. 4 Then he traveled through the wilderness for a day. He sat down under a broom plant and wanted to die. “I’ve had enough now, Yahweh,” he said. “Take my life! I’m no better than my ancestors.” 5 Then he lay down and slept under the broom plant.
An angel touched him and said, “Get up and eat.” 6 When he looked, he saw near his head some bread baked on hot stones and a jar of water. So he ate, drank, and went to sleep again.
7 The angel of Yahweh came back and woke him up again. The angel said, “Get up and eat, or your journey will be too much for you.”
8 He got up, ate, and drank. Strengthened by that food, he traveled for 40 days and nights until he came to Horeb, the mountain of Elohim.
Imitate Me
17 Brothers and sisters, imitate me, and pay attention to those who live by the example we have given you. 18 I have often told you, and now tell you with tears in my eyes, that many live as the enemies of the cross of Christ. 19 In the end they will be destroyed. Their own emotions are their god, and they take pride in the shameful things they do. Their minds are set on worldly things. 20 We, however, are citizens of heaven. We look forward to the Lord Yeshua Christ coming from heaven as our Savior. 21 Through his power to bring everything under his authority, he will change our humble bodies and make them like his glorified body.
Paul’s Advice
4 So, brothers and sisters, I love you and miss you. You are my joy and my crown. Therefore, dear friends, keep your relationship with the Lord firm!
2 I encourage both Euodia and Syntyche to have the attitude the Lord wants them to have. 3 Yes, I also ask you, Syzugus, my true partner, to help these women. They fought beside me to spread the Good News along with Clement and the rest of my coworkers, whose names are in the Book of Life.
Always Be Joyful
4 Always be joyful in the Lord! I’ll say it again: Be joyful! 5 Let everyone know how considerate you are. The Lord is near. 6 Never worry about anything. But in every situation let God know what you need in prayers and requests while giving thanks. 7 Then God’s peace, which goes beyond anything we can imagine, will guard your thoughts and emotions through Christ Yeshua.
John Baptizes Jesus(A)
13 Then Yeshua appeared. He came from Galilee to the Jordan River to be baptized by John. 14 But John tried to stop him and said, “I need to be baptized by you. Why are you coming to me?”
15 Yeshua answered him, “This is the way it has to be now. This is the proper way to do everything that God requires of us.”
Then John gave in to him. 16 After Yeshua was baptized, he immediately came up from the water. Suddenly, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God coming down as a dove to him. 17 Then a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love—my Son with whom I am pleased.”
The Names of God Bible (without notes) © 2011 by Baker Publishing Group.