Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 66
For the choir director; a song; a psalm.
1 Shout happily to Elohim, all the earth!
2 Make music to praise the glory of his name.
Make his praise glorious.
3 Say to Elohim,
“How awe-inspiring are your deeds!
Your power is so great that your enemies will cringe in front of you.
4 The whole earth will worship you.
It will make music to praise you.
It will make music to praise your name.” Selah
5 Come and see what Elohim has done—
his awe-inspiring deeds for Adam’s descendants.
6 He turned the sea into dry land.
They crossed the river on foot.
We rejoiced because of what he did there.
7 He rules forever with his might.
His eyes watch the nations.
Rebels will not be able to oppose him. Selah
8 Thank our Elohim, you nations.
Make the sound of his praise heard.
9 He has kept us alive
and has not allowed us to fall.
10 You have tested us, O Elohim.
You have refined us in the same way silver is refined.
11 You have trapped us in a net.
You have laid burdens on our backs.
12 You let people ride over our heads.
We went through fire and water,
but then you brought us out and refreshed us.
13 I will come into your temple with burnt offerings.
I will keep my vows to you,
14 the vows made by my lips and spoken by my own mouth
when I was in trouble.
15 I will offer you a sacrifice of fattened livestock for burnt offerings
with the smoke from rams.
I will offer cattle and goats. Selah
16 Come and listen, all who fear Elohim,
and I will tell you what he has done for me.
17 With my mouth I cried out to him.
High praise was on my tongue.
18 If I had thought about doing anything sinful,
Adonay would not have listened to me.
19 But Elohim has heard me.
He has paid attention to my prayer.
20 Thanks be to Elohim,
who has not rejected my prayer
or taken away his mercy from me.
Psalm 67
For the choir director; on stringed instruments; a psalm; a song.
1 May Elohim have pity on us and bless us!
May he smile on us. Selah
2 Then your ways will be known on earth,
your salvation throughout all nations.
3 Let everyone give thanks to you, O Elohim.
Let everyone give thanks to you.
4 Let the nations be glad and sing joyfully
because you judge everyone with justice
and guide the nations on the earth. Selah
5 Let the people give thanks to you, O Elohim.
Let all the people give thanks to you.
6 The earth has yielded its harvest.
May Elohim, our Elohim, bless us.
7 May Elohim bless us,
and may all the ends of the earth worship him.
Psalm 19
For the choir director; a psalm by David.
1 The heavens declare the glory of El,
and the sky displays what his hands have made.
2 One day tells a story to the next.
One night shares knowledge with the next
3 without talking,
without words,
without their voices being heard.
4 Yet, their sound has gone out into the entire world,
their message to the ends of the earth.
He has set up a tent in the heavens for the sun,
5 which comes out of its chamber like a bridegroom.
Like a champion, it is eager to run its course.
6 It rises from one end of the heavens.
It circles around to the other.
Nothing is hidden from its heat.
7 The teachings of Yahweh are perfect.
They renew the soul.
The testimony of Yahweh is dependable.
It makes gullible people wise.
8 The instructions of Yahweh are correct.
They make the heart rejoice.
The command of Yahweh is radiant.
It makes the eyes shine.
9 The fear of Yahweh is pure.
It endures forever.
The decisions of Yahweh are true.
They are completely fair.
10 They are more desirable than gold, even the finest gold.
They are sweeter than honey, even the drippings from a honeycomb.
11 As your servant I am warned by them.
There is a great reward in following them.
12 Who can notice every mistake?
Forgive my hidden faults.
13 Keep me from sinning.
Do not let anyone gain control over me.
Then I will be blameless,
and I will be free from any great offense.
14 May the words from my mouth and the thoughts from my heart
be acceptable to you, O Yahweh, my rock and my Go’el.
Psalm 46
For the choir director; a song by the descendants of Korah; according to alamoth.[a]
1 Elohim is our Machseh and strength,
an ever-present help in times of trouble.
2 That is why we are not afraid
even when the earth quakes
or the mountains topple into the depths of the sea.
3 Water roars and foams,
and mountains shake at the surging waves. Selah
4 There is a river
whose streams bring joy to the city of Elohim,
the holy place where Elyon lives.
5 Elohim is in that city.
It cannot fall.
Elohim will help it at the break of dawn.
6 Nations are in turmoil, and kingdoms topple.
The earth melts at the sound of God’s voice.
7 Yahweh Tsebaoth is with us.
The Elohim of Jacob is our stronghold. Selah
8 Come, see the works of Yahweh,
the devastation he has brought to the earth.
9 He puts an end to wars all over the earth.
He breaks an archer’s bow.
He cuts spears in two.
He burns chariots.
10 Let go of your concerns!
Then you will know that I am Elohim.
I rule the nations.
I rule the earth.
11 Yahweh Tsebaoth is with us.
The Elohim of Jacob is our stronghold. Selah
The Lord Sends a Drought
14 Yahweh spoke his word to Jeremiah about the drought.
2 Judah mourns; its gates fall apart.
The people of Judah sit in mourning on the ground.
Their cry goes up from Jerusalem.
3 Important people send their assistants out for water.
They go to the cisterns, but they don’t find any water.
They come back with their containers empty.
They cover their heads, because they are ashamed and disgraced.
4 The ground is cracked because there has been no rain in the land.
The farmers are disappointed. They cover their heads.
5 Even deer in the fields give birth and abandon their young
because there’s no grass.
6 Wild donkeys stand on the bare hills.
They sniff the air like jackals.
Their eyesight fails because they have no green plants.
7 Do something, Yahweh, for the sake of your name,
even though our sins testify against us.
We have been unfaithful and have sinned against you.
8 You are Israel’s hope,
the one who saves it in times of trouble.
Why should you be like a stranger in the land,
like a traveler who stays only one night?
9 Why should you be like someone taken by surprise,
like a strong man who cannot help?
You, O Yahweh, are among us.
We are called by your name.
Don’t leave us!
17 “Say this to them:
‘My eyes flow with tears day and night without stopping
because my dear people will suffer massive destruction.
It will be a very serious blow.’”
18 If I go to the field, I see those killed because of war.
If I go to the city, I see those sick because of famine.
Prophets and priests wander through a land they haven’t heard of.
19 Have you completely rejected Judah?
Do you despise Zion?
Why have you struck us so hard that we cannot heal?
We hope for peace, but no good comes from it.
We hope for a time of healing, but there’s only terror.
20 O Yahweh, we realize our wickedness
and the wrongs done by our ancestors.
We have sinned against you.
21 For the sake of your name, don’t despise us.
Don’t dishonor your glorious throne.
Remember your promise[a] to us; don’t break it.
22 The worthless gods of the nations can’t make it rain.
By themselves, the skies can’t give showers.
But you can, O Yahweh our Elohim.
We have hope in you because you do all these things.
You Are Children of the Promise
21 Those who want to be controlled by Moses’ laws should tell me something. Are you really listening to what Moses’ Teachings say? 22 Scripture says that Abraham had two sons, one by a woman who was a slave and the other by a free woman. 23 Now, the son of the slave woman was conceived in a natural way, but the son of the free woman was conceived through a promise made to Abraham.
24 I’m going to use these historical events as an illustration. The women illustrate two arrangements.[a] The one woman, Hagar, is the arrangement made on Mount Sinai. Her children are born into slavery. 25 Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia. She is like Jerusalem today because she and her children are slaves. 26 But the Jerusalem that is above is free, and she is our mother. 27 Scripture says:
“Rejoice, women who cannot get pregnant,
who cannot give birth to any children!
Break into shouting, those who feel no pains of childbirth!
Because the deserted woman will have more children
than the woman who has a husband.”
28 Now you, brothers and sisters, are children of the promise like Isaac.
29 Furthermore, at that time the son who was conceived in a natural way persecuted the son conceived in a spiritual way. That’s exactly what’s happening now. 30 But what does Scripture say? “Get rid of the slave woman and her son, because the son of the slave woman must never share the inheritance with the son of the free woman.” 31 Brothers and sisters, we are not children of a slave woman but of the free woman.
Live in the Freedom That Christ Gives You
5 Christ has freed us so that we may enjoy the benefits of freedom. Therefore, be firm in this freedom, and don’t become slaves again.
The Pharisees Ask for a Sign from Heaven(A)
11 The Pharisees went to Yeshua and began to argue with him. They tested him by demanding that he perform a miraculous sign from heaven.
12 With a deep sigh he asked, “Why do these people demand a sign? I can guarantee this truth: If these people are given a sign, it will be far different than what they want!”
13 Then he left them there.
The Yeast of the Pharisees(B)
He got into a boat again and crossed to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. 14 The disciples had forgotten to take any bread along and had only one loaf with them in the boat.
15 Yeshua warned them, “Be careful! Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod!”
16 They had been discussing with one another that they didn’t have any bread.
17 Yeshua knew what they were saying and asked them, “Why are you discussing the fact that you don’t have any bread? Don’t you understand yet? Don’t you catch on? Are your minds closed? 18 Are you blind and deaf? Don’t you remember? 19 When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets did you fill with leftover pieces?”
They told him, “Twelve.”
20 “When I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many large baskets did you fill with leftover pieces?”
They answered him, “Seven.”
21 He asked them, “Don’t you catch on yet?”
The Names of God Bible (without notes) © 2011 by Baker Publishing Group.