Book of Common Prayer
Adonai lives! Blessed Be My Rock
Psalm 18
1 For the music director: a psalm of David the servant of Adonai. He chanted the words of this song to Adonai on the day Adonai delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul.
2 He said, I love You, Adonai my strength!
3 Adonai is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer.
My God is my rock, in Him I take refuge,
my shield, my horn of salvation, my stronghold.
4 I called upon Adonai, worthy of praise,
and I was rescued from my enemies.
5 Cords of death entangled me.
Torrents of Belial overwhelmed me.
6 Cords of Sheol coiled around me.
Snares of death came before me.
7 In my distress I called on Adonai,
and cried to my God for help.
From His Temple He heard my voice,
my cry before Him came into His ears.
8 Then the earth rocked and quaked.
The foundations of mountains trembled.
They reeled because He was angry.
9 Smoke rose from His nostrils
and consuming fire from His mouth.
Coals blazed from Him.
10 He parted the heavens and came down,
with thick darkness under His feet.
11 He rode upon a cheruv and flew.
He soared on the wings of the wind.
12 He made darkness His cover,
His sukkah all around Him—
dark waters, thick clouds.
13 Out of the brilliance before Him
passed His thick clouds, hail and fiery coals.
14 Adonai also thundered in the heavens,
and Elyon gave forth His voice, hail and fiery coals.
15 He shot His arrows and scattered them,
hurled lightning bolts and routed them.
16 Then ravines of water appeared.
The foundations of earth were exposed,
at Your rebuke, Adonai,
at a blast of breath from Your nostrils.
17 He reached down from on high
and took hold of me.
He drew me out of mighty waters.
18 He saved me from my powerful enemy,
from those who hated me—
for they were much stronger than me.
19 They came against me in my day of calamity,
but Adonai was my support.
20 He brought me out to a wide-open place.
He rescued me since He delighted in me.
21 Adonai rewarded me for my righteousness.
For the cleanness of my hands He repaid me.
22 For I kept the ways of Adonai,
and did not turn wickedly from my God.
23 For all His judgments are before me.
I do not put His rulings away from me.
24 I also had integrity with Him,
and kept myself from my sin.
25 So Adonai rewarded me for my righteousness,
for the cleanness of my hands in His eyes.
26 With the loyal You deal loyally.
With the blameless You are blameless.
27 With the pure You are pure,
and with the crooked You are shrewd.
28 For You save lowly people,
but haughty eyes You humble.
29 For You light up my lamp.
Adonai my God shines in my darkness.
30 For with You I rush on a troop,
with my God I scale a wall.
31 As for God, His way is perfect.
The word of Adonai is pure.
He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him.
32 For who is God, except Adonai?
And who is a Rock, except our God?
33 God girds me with strength
and makes my way straight.
34 He makes my feet like those of deer
and makes me stand on my heights.
35 He trains my hands for battle,
so my arms can bend a bronze bow.
36 You gave me the shield of Your salvation.
Your right hand upholds me,
Your gentleness makes me great.
37 You broaden my steps beneath me,
so my ankles have not slipped.
38 I pursue my enemies and overtake them,
and will not return till they are wiped out.
39 I will crush them till they cannot rise,
till they fall beneath my feet.
40 For You girded me with strength for battle.
You made those who rose up against me bow down before me.
41 You also made my enemies turn their backs to me.
I cut off those who hate me.
42 They cry out, but there is none to save
—even to Adonai, but He did not answer them.
43 Then I beat them as fine as dust before the wind.
I pour them out like mud in the streets.
44 You free me from strifes of the people.
You set me as head of the nations—
people I did not know are serving me.
45 As soon as they hear, they obey me.
Children of foreigners cringe before me.
46 Children of foreigners lose heart
and come trembling from their hideouts.
47 Adonai lives! And blessed be my Rock!
Exalted be God my salvation!
48 God—He gives me vengeance
and subdues peoples under me.
49 He delivers me from my enemies.
Indeed You lift me up above those who rise up against me.
You deliver me from the violent man.
50 Therefore I praise You among the nations,
Adonai, and sing praises to Your Name.[a]
51 Great victories He gives to His king.
He shows loyal love to His anointed—
to David and his seed, forever.
Treasure Torah’s Teaching
7 My son, keep my words
and treasure my mitzvot within you.
2 Keep my mitzvot and live,
my teaching as the apple of your eye.
3 Bind them on your fingers,
write them on the tablet of your heart.
4 Say to wisdom, “You are my sister,”
and call understanding your relative.
5 They will keep you from a seducing woman,
from the foreign woman with her seductive speech.
6 For at the window of my house
I looked out through my lattice.
7 I saw among the naïve,
I noticed among the youth,
a young man lacking understanding,
8 crossing the street near her corner,
walking in the direction of her house,
9 in the twilight of the evening,
in the darkest hours of the night.
10 All of a sudden, a woman meets him,
dressed as a prostitute and with a cunning heart.
11 She is loud and defiant.
Her feet never stay at home—
12 now in the streets, now in the squares,
at every corner she lurks.
13 So she grabs him and kisses him
and with a brazen face says to him:
14 “I had to sacrifice fellowship offerings;
today I paid my vow.
15 So I’ve come out to meet you,
to seek your presence eagerly—and I found you!
16 I have spread my couch with tapestry
of dyed Egyptian linens.
17 I have perfumed my bed
with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.
18 Come, let’s drink our fill of love till morning!
Let’s delight ourselves with love.
19 For my husband is not at home—
he’s gone on a long journey.
20 He took a bag of money with him—
he won’t come home until full moon.”
21 With her persistent pleading she entices him,
with smooth talk she seduces him.
22 Suddenly he follows her
like an ox going to the slaughter,
like a stag bounding toward a trap,
23 till an arrow pierces its liver.
Like a bird darting into a snare,
he never considered his own soul!
24 Now then, sons, listen to me,
pay attention to the words of my mouth.
25 Do not let your heart turn to her ways
or stray onto her paths.
26 For many are the victims she has brought down,
and numerous are all her slain.
27 Her house is a highway to Sheol,
leading down to the chambers of death.
Walk Now in Eternal Privileges
13 I wrote these things to you who believe in the name of Ben-Elohim, so you may know that you have eternal life. 14 Now this is the confidence we have before Him—that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. 15 And if we know that He hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have the requests we have asked from Him. 16 If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he should ask, and God will give life to those who commit sin not leading to death. There is a sin leading to death—I am not saying you should ask about that. [a] 17 All unrighteousness is sin, but there is sin not leading to death.
18 We know that anyone born of God does not keep on sinning; rather, the One born of God keeps him safe, and the evil one cannot touch him. 19 We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one. 20 And we know that Ben-Elohim has come and given us insight, so that we may know Him who is true—and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Yeshua the Messiah. This One is the true God and eternal life.
21 Children, guard yourselves from idols.[b]
Yeshua Teaches the Ways of His Father
25 At that time Yeshua said in response, “I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and of earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and discerning and revealed them to infants. 26 Yes, Father, for this way was pleasing to You.
27 “All things have been handed over to Me by My Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son[a] and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him. 28 Come to Me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and ‘you will find rest for your souls.’ [b] 30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
Tree of Life (TLV) Translation of the Bible. Copyright © 2015 by The Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society.