Book of Common Prayer

The God of Israel at Sinai

68 May God rise up. May those who hate Him be divided. And may they run away from Him. ² Drive them away like smoke in the wind. Let the sinful be destroyed before God like a candle melts by the fire. ³ But let those who are right and good be glad. Let them be happy before God. Yes, let them be full of joy. ⁴ Sing to God. Sing praises to His name. Make a road for Him Who goes through the deserts. The Lord is His name. Be full of joy before Him.

⁵ God in His holy house is a father to those who have no father. And He keeps the women safe whose husbands have died. ⁶ God makes a home for those who are alone. He leads men out of prison into happiness and well-being. But those who fight against Him live in an empty desert.

⁷ O God, when You went out before Your people, when You walked through the desert, ⁸ the earth shook. The heavens poured down rain before God. And Sinai shook before God, the God of Israel. ⁹ You sent a heavy rain, O God. You brought life back to Your promised land when it was dry. ¹⁰ Your people made it their home. O God, You gave the poor what they needed because You are good.

¹¹ The Lord gives the Word. And the women who tell the good news are many. ¹² The kings of armies run. They run away. And she who stays at home divides the riches. ¹³ When you lie down among the sheep, you are like the wings of a dove covered with silver, and the end of its wings with shining gold. ¹⁴ When the All-powerful divided the kings there, snow was falling in Zalmon.

¹⁵ A mountain of God is the mountain of Bashan. A mountain of many high tops is the mountain of Bashan. ¹⁶ O mountains of many high tops, why do you look with jealousy at the mountain which God has chosen for His home? For sure, the Lord will live there forever. ¹⁷ The war-wagons of God are 20,000, even thousands of thousands. The Lord is among them, as at Sinai, in the holy place. ¹⁸ You have gone up on high. You have taken those who were held with You. You have received gifts of men, even among those who fought against You. So the Lord God may live there with them.

¹⁹ Honor and thanks be to the Lord, Who carries our heavy loads day by day. He is the God Who saves us. ²⁰ Our God is a God Who sets us free. The way out of death belongs to God the Lord.

Elijah Is Taken Up to Heaven

2 When the Lord was about to take Elijah up to heaven by a wind-storm, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal. ² Elijah said to Elisha, “Stay here, I ask you. For the Lord has sent me as far as Bethel.” But Elisha said, “As the Lord lives and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So they went down to Bethel. ³ Then the sons of the men who spoke for God at Bethel came out to Elisha. They said to him, “Do you know that the Lord will take Elijah from you today?” And he said, “Yes, I know. Say no more.” ⁴ Elijah said to him, “Elisha, I ask you to stay here. For the Lord has sent me to Jericho.” But Elisha said, “As the Lord lives and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So they came to Jericho. ⁵ The sons of the men who spoke for God at Jericho came to Elisha. They said to him, “Do you know that the Lord will take Elijah from you today?” And he answered, “Yes, I know. Say no more.” ⁶ Then Elijah said to him, “I ask you to stay here. For the Lord has sent me to the Jordan.” And Elisha said, “As the Lord lives and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So the two of them went on.

⁷ Now fifty sons of the men who tell what will happen in the future went and stood on the other side of the Jordan River a long way off from the two of them who were standing by the Jordan. ⁸ Then Elijah took his coat and rolled it up and hit the water. And the water divided to one side and to the other, so the two of them crossed the Jordan on dry ground. ⁹ When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, “Ask what I should do for you before I am taken from you.” And Elisha said, “I ask you, let twice the share of your spirit be upon me.” ¹⁰ Elijah said, “You have asked a hard thing. But if you see me when I am taken from you, it will be given to you. But if not, it will not be so.” ¹¹ As they went on and talked, a war-wagon of fire and horses of fire came between them. And Elijah went up by a wind-storm to heaven. ¹² Elisha saw it and cried out, “My father, my father, the war-wagon of Israel and its horsemen!” And he saw Elijah no more. Then he took hold of his own clothes and tore them in two pieces. ¹³ He picked up Elijah’s coat that had fallen from him. And he returned and stood by the side of the Jordan. ¹⁴ He took Elijah’s coat that fell from him, and hit the water and said, “Where is the Lord, the God of Elijah?” When he hit the water, it was divided to one side and to the other, and Elisha crossed the Jordan.

¹⁵ The sons of the men who tell what will happen in the future at Jericho saw him. And they said, “The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha.” They came to meet him and bowed to the ground in front of him.

The Book in Heaven

5 I saw a book in the right hand of the One Who sat on the a throne. It had writing on the inside and on the back side. It was locked with seven locks. ² I saw a powerful angel calling with a loud voice, “Who is able to open the book and to break its locks?” ³ No one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the book or to look in it. ⁴ Then I began to cry with loud cries. I cried because no one was good enough to open the book or to look in it.

⁵ One of the leaders said to me, “Stop crying. See! The Lion from the family group of Judah has power and has won. He can open the book and break its seven locks. He is of the family of David.”

⁶ I saw a Lamb standing in front of the twenty-four leaders. He was before the throne and in front of the four living beings. He looked as if He had been killed. He had seven horns and seven eyes. These are the seven Spirits of God. They have been sent out into all the world. ⁷ The Lamb came and took the book from the right hand of the One Who sat on the throne. ⁸ When the Lamb had taken the book, the four living beings and the twenty-four leaders got down before Him. Each one had a harp. They all had pots made of gold, full of special perfume, which are the prayers of the people who belong to God. ⁹ They sang a new song, saying, “It is right for You to take the book and break its locks. It is because You were killed. Your blood has bought men for God from every family and from every language and from every kind of people and from every nation. ¹⁰ You have made them to be a holy nation of religious leaders to work for our God. They will be the leaders on the earth.”

¹¹ I looked again. I heard the voices of many thousands of angels. They stood around the throne and around the four living beings and the leaders. ¹² They said with a loud voice, “The Lamb Who was killed has the right to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and shining-greatness and thanks.”

¹³ Then I heard every living thing in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and in the sea and all that are in them. They were saying, “Thanks and honor and shining-greatness and all power are to the One Who sits on the throne and to the Lamb forever.” ¹⁴ The four living beings kept saying, “Let it be so!” And the twenty-four leaders fell down and worshiped.