Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 83
A song; a psalm by Asaph.
1 O Elohim, do not remain silent.
Do not turn a deaf ear to me.
Do not keep quiet, O El.
2 Look, your enemies are in an uproar.
Those who hate you hold their heads high.
3 They make plans in secret against your people
and plot together against those you treasure.
4 They say, “Let’s wipe out their nation
so that the name of Israel will no longer be remembered.”
5 They agree completely on their plan.
They form an alliance against you:
6 the tents from Edom and Ishmael,
Moab and Hagar,
7 Gebal, Ammon, and Amalek,
Philistia, along with those who live in Tyre.
8 Even Assyria has joined them.
They helped the descendants of Lot. Selah
9 Do to them what you did to Midian,
to Sisera and Jabin at the Kishon River.
10 They were destroyed at Endor.
They became manure to fertilize the ground.
11 Treat their influential people as you treated Oreb and Zeeb.
Treat all their leaders like Zebah and Zalmunna.
12 They said, “Let’s take Elohim’s pasturelands for ourselves.”
13 O my Elohim, blow them away like tumbleweeds,[a]
like husks in the wind.
14 Pursue them with your storms,
and terrify them with your windstorms
15 the way fire burns a forest
and flames set mountains on fire.[b]
16 Let their faces blush with shame, O Yahweh,
so that they must look to you for help.
17 Let them be put to shame and terrified forever.
Let them die in disgrace
18 so that they must acknowledge you.
Your name is Yahweh.
You alone are Elyon of the whole earth.
Psalm 23
A psalm by David.
1 Yahweh is my Roeh.
I am never in need.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside peaceful waters.
3 He renews my soul.
He guides me along the paths of righteousness
for the sake of his name.
4 Even though I walk through the dark valley of death,
because you are with me, I fear no harm.
Your rod and your staff give me courage.
5 You prepare a banquet for me while my enemies watch.
You anoint my head with oil.
My cup overflows.
6 Certainly, goodness and mercy will stay close to me all the days of my life,
and I will remain in Yahweh’s house for days without end.
Psalm 27
By David.
1 Yahweh is my light and my salvation.
Who is there to fear?
Yahweh is my life’s fortress.
Who is there to be afraid of?
2 Evildoers closed in on me to tear me to pieces.
My opponents and enemies stumbled and fell.
3 Even though an army sets up camp against me,
my heart will not be afraid.
Even though a war breaks out against me,
I will still have confidence in the Lord.
4 I have asked one thing from Yahweh.
This I will seek:
to remain in Yahweh’s house all the days of my life
in order to gaze at Yahweh’s beauty
and to search for an answer in his temple.
5 He hides me in his shelter when there is trouble.
He keeps me hidden in his tent.
He sets me high on a rock.
6 Now my head will be raised above my enemies who surround me.
I will offer sacrifices with shouts of joy in his tent.
I will sing and make music to praise Yahweh.
7 Hear, O Yahweh, when I cry aloud.
Have pity on me, and answer me.
8 When you said,
“Seek my face,”
my heart said to you,
“O Yahweh, I will seek your face.”[a]
9 Do not hide your face from me.
Do not angrily turn me away.
You have been my help.
Do not leave me!
Do not abandon me, O Elohim, my savior!
10 Even if my father and mother abandon me,
Yahweh will take care of me.
11 Teach me your way, O Yahweh.
Lead me on a level path
because I have enemies who spy on me.
12 Do not surrender me to the will of my opponents.
False witnesses have risen against me.
They breathe out violence.
13 I believe that I will see the goodness of Yahweh
in this world of the living.
14 Wait with hope for Yahweh.
Be strong, and let your heart be courageous.
Yes, wait with hope for Yahweh.
Psalm 85
For the choir director; a psalm by Korah’s descendants.
1 You favored your land, O Yahweh.
You restored the fortunes of Jacob.
2 You removed your people’s guilt.
You pardoned all their sins. Selah
3 You laid aside all your fury.
You turned away from your burning anger.
4 Restore us, O Elohim, our savior.
Put an end to your anger against us.
5 Will you be angry with us forever?
Will you ever let go of your anger in the generations to come?
6 Won’t you restore our lives again
so that your people may find joy in you?
7 Show us your mercy, O Yahweh,
by giving us your salvation.
8 I want to hear what El Yahweh says,
because he promises peace to his people, to his godly ones.
But they must not go back to their stupidity.
9 Indeed, his salvation is near those who fear him,
and his glory will remain in our land.
10 Mercy and truth have met.
Righteousness and peace have kissed.
11 Truth sprouts from the ground,
and righteousness looks down from heaven.
12 Yahweh will certainly give us what is good,
and our land will produce crops.
13 Righteousness will go ahead of him
and make a path for his steps.
Psalm 86
A prayer by David.
1 Turn your ear toward me, O Yahweh.
Answer me, because I am oppressed and needy.
2 Protect me, because I am faithful to you.
Save your servant who trusts you. You are my Elohim.
3 Have pity on me, O Adonay,
because I call out to you all day long.
4 Give me joy, O Adonay,
because I lift my soul to you.
5 You, O Adonay, are good and forgiving,
full of mercy toward everyone who calls out to you.
6 Open your ears to my prayer, O Yahweh.
Pay attention when I plead for mercy.
7 When I am in trouble, I call out to you
because you answer me.
8 No god is like you, O Adonay.
No one can do what you do.
9 All the nations that you have made
will bow in your presence, O Adonay.
They will honor you.
10 Indeed, you are great, a worker of miracles.
You alone are Elohim.
11 Teach me your way, O Yahweh,
so that I may live in your truth.
Focus my heart on fearing you.
12 I will give thanks to you with all my heart, O Adonay my Elohim.
I will honor you forever
13 because your mercy toward me is great.
You have rescued me from the depths of hell.
14 O Elohim, arrogant people attack me,
and a mob of ruthless people seeks my life.
They think nothing of you.
15 But you, O Adonay, are a compassionate and merciful God.
You are patient, always faithful and ready to forgive.
16 Turn toward me, and have pity on me.
Give me your strength because I am your servant.
Save me because I am the son of your female servant.
17 Grant me some proof of your goodness
so that those who hate me may see it and be put to shame.
You, O Yahweh, have helped me and comforted me.
21 Land, do not be afraid.
Be glad and rejoice.
Yahweh has done great things!
22 Wild animals, do not be afraid.
The pastures in the wilderness have turned green.
The trees have produced their fruit.
There are plenty of figs and grapes.
23 People of Zion, be glad and find joy in Yahweh your Elohim.
Yahweh has given you the Teacher of Righteousness.[a]
He has sent the autumn rain and the spring rain as before.
24 The threshing floors[b] will be filled with grain.
The vats will overflow with new wine and olive oil.
25 “Then I will repay you for the years
that the mature locusts, the adult locusts,
the grasshoppers, and the young locusts ate your crops.
(They are the large army that I sent against you.)
26 You will have plenty to eat, and you will be full.
You will praise the name of Yahweh your Elohim,
who has performed miracles for you.
My people will never be ashamed again.
27 You will know that I am in Israel.
I am Yahweh your Elohim, and there is no other.
My people will never be ashamed again.[c]
Greeting
1 From James, a servant of God and of the Lord Yeshua Christ.
To God’s faithful people[a] who have been scattered.
Greetings.
When You Are Tested, Turn to God
2 My brothers and sisters, be very happy when you are tested in different ways. 3 You know that such testing of your faith produces endurance. 4 Endure until your testing is over. Then you will be mature and complete, and you won’t need anything.
5 If any of you needs wisdom to know what you should do, you should ask God, and he will give it to you. God is generous to everyone and doesn’t find fault with them. 6 When you ask for something, don’t have any doubts. A person who has doubts is like a wave that is blown by the wind and tossed by the sea. 7 A person who has doubts shouldn’t expect to receive anything from the Lord. 8 A person who has doubts is thinking about two different things at the same time and can’t make up his mind about anything.
9 Humble believers should be proud because being humble makes them important. 10 Rich believers should be proud because being rich should make them humble. Rich people will wither like flowers. 11 The sun rises with its scorching heat and dries up plants. The flowers drop off, and the beauty is gone. The same thing will happen to rich people. While they are busy, they will die.
12 Blessed are those who endure when they are tested. When they pass the test, they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him. 13 When someone is tempted, he shouldn’t say that God is tempting him. God can’t be tempted by evil, and God doesn’t tempt anyone. 14 Everyone is tempted by his own desires as they lure him away and trap him. 15 Then desire becomes pregnant and gives birth to sin. When sin grows up, it gives birth to death.
The Lost Sheep(A)
15 All the tax collectors and sinners came to listen to Yeshua. 2 But the Pharisees and the experts in Moses’ Teachings complained, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”
The Lost Son
11 Then Yeshua said, “A man had two sons. 12 The younger son said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the property.’ So the father divided his property between his two sons.
13 “After a few days, the younger son gathered his possessions and left for a country far away from home. There he wasted everything he had on a wild lifestyle. 14 He had nothing left when a severe famine spread throughout that country. He had nothing to live on. 15 So he got a job from someone in that country and was sent to feed pigs in the fields. 16 No one in the country would give him any food, and he was so hungry that he would have eaten what the pigs were eating.
17 “Finally, he came to his senses. He said, ‘How many of my father’s hired men have more food than they can eat, while I’m starving to death here? 18 I’ll go at once to my father, and I’ll say to him, “Father, I’ve sinned against heaven and you. 19 I don’t deserve to be called your son anymore. Make me one of your hired men.” ’
20 “So he went at once to his father. While he was still at a distance, his father saw him and felt sorry for him. He ran to his son, put his arms around him, and kissed him. 21 Then his son said to him, ‘Father, I’ve sinned against heaven and you. I don’t deserve to be called your son anymore.’[a]
22 “The father said to his servants, ‘Hurry! Bring out the best robe, and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. 23 Bring the fattened calf, kill it, and let’s celebrate with a feast. 24 My son was dead and has come back to life. He was lost but has been found.’ Then they began to celebrate.
25 “His older son was in the field. As he was coming back to the house, he heard music and dancing. 26 He called to one of the servants and asked what was happening.
27 “The servant told him, ‘Your brother has come home. So your father has killed the fattened calf to celebrate your brother’s safe return.’
28 “Then the older son became angry and wouldn’t go into the house. His father came out and begged him to come in. 29 But he answered his father, ‘All these years I’ve worked like a slave for you. I’ve never disobeyed one of your commands. Yet, you’ve never given me so much as a little goat for a celebration with my friends. 30 But this son of yours spent your money on prostitutes, and when he came home, you killed the fattened calf for him.’
31 “His father said to him, ‘My child, you’re always with me. Everything I have is yours. 32 But we have something to celebrate, something to be happy about. This brother of yours was dead but has come back to life. He was lost but has been found.’”
The Names of God Bible (without notes) © 2011 by Baker Publishing Group.