Book of Common Prayer
Justice of the Kingdom
Psalm 146
1 Halleluyah! Praise Adonai, O my soul!
2 I will praise Adonai all my life.
I will praise my God yet again.
3 Do not put your trust in princes—
in man, in whom there is no salvation.
4 His breath departs,
he returns to his dust.
In that very day his plans perish.
5 Happy is he whose help is the God of Jacob,
whose hope is in Adonai his God,
6 who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them,
who keeps truth forever,
7 who executes justice for the oppressed,
who gives bread to the hungry.
Adonai sets the prisoners free.
8 Adonai opens the eyes of the blind.[a]
Adonai raises up those who are bowed down.
Adonai loves the righteous.
9 Adonai protects outsiders,
upholds the fatherless and the widow,
but thwarts the way of the wicked.
10 Adonai will reign forever,
your God, O Zion, from generation to generation.
Halleluyah!
He Builds Up Jerusalem
Psalm 147
1 Halleluyah!
How good it is to sing praises to our God.
How pleasant and fitting is praise.
2 Adonai builds up Jerusalem.
He gathers together the exiles of Israel.
3 He heals the brokenhearted
and binds up their wounds.
4 He determines the number of the stars.
He gives them all their names.
5 Great is our Lord and mighty in power—
His understanding is infinite!
6 Adonai upholds the humble.
He brings the wicked to the ground.
7 Sing to Adonai with thanksgiving.
Sing praises to our God on the harp.
8 He covers the sky with clouds.
He provides rain for the earth.
He makes grass sprout on the hills.
9 He gives food to the cattle
and to the young ravens which cry.
10 He delights not in the horse’s strength,
nor takes pleasure in a man’s legs.
11 Adonai delights in those who revere Him,
in those who trust in His lovingkindness.
12 Exalt Adonai, O Jerusalem!
Praise your God, O Zion!
13 For He strengthens the bars of your gates.
He blesses your children within you.
14 He puts shalom within your borders.
He satisfies you with the finest wheat.
15 He sends earth His command—
His word runs swiftly.
16 He gives snow like wool.
He scatters frost like ashes.
17 He hurls down His hail like pebbles—
who can stand before His cold?
18 He sends forth His word and melts them.
He makes His wind blow and waters flow.
19 He declares His word to Jacob,
His decrees and His rulings to Israel.
20 He has not done so with any other nation.
They have not known His judgments.
Halleluyah!
The Beginning of Wisdom
Psalm 111
1 Halleluyah! I praise Adonai with all my heart
in the company and congregation of the upright.
2 Great are the works of Adonai—
searched out by all who delight in them.
3 Glorious and majestic is His work,
and His righteousness endures forever.
4 He made His wonders memorable.
Adonai is gracious and full of compassion.
5 He gives food to those who fear Him.
He remembers His covenant forever.
6 He shows His people His powerful deeds,
giving them the heritage of the nations.
7 The works of His hands are truth and justice.
All His precepts are trustworthy—
8 they are upheld forever and ever,
made in truth and uprightness.
9 He has sent redemption to His people.
He has ordained His covenant forever.
Holy and awesome is His Name.
10 The fear of Adonai is the beginning of wisdom.
All who follow His precepts have good understanding.
His praise endures forever!
Blessed is the Righteous Man
Psalm 112
1 Halleluyah! Happy is the man who fears Adonai,
who delights greatly in His mitzvot.
2 His offspring will be mighty in the land.
The generation of the upright will be blessed.
3 Wealth and riches are in his house,
and his righteousness endures forever.
4 Light shines in the darkness for the upright.
Gracious, compassionate and just is he.
5 Good comes to a man who is gracious and lends.
He will order his affairs with fairness.
6 Surely he will never be shaken.
The righteous are remembered forever.
7 He is not afraid of bad news—
his heart is steadfast, trusting in Adonai.
8 His heart is secure, he will not fear—
until he gazes on his foes.
9 He gives freely to the poor.
His righteousness endures forever.
His horn is lifted high in honor.
10 The wicked will see it and be indignant.
He will gnash with his teeth and waste away.
The desire of the wicked will perish.
From the Rising of the Sun
Psalm 113
1 Halleluyah! Praise, O servants of Adonai,
praise the Name of Adonai.
2 Blessed be the Name of Adonai
from now and forever.
3 From the rising of the sun to its going down
the Name of Adonai is to be praised.
4 Adonai is high above all nations,
His glory is above the heavens.
5 Who is like Adonai our God,
enthroned on high,
6 who brings Himself down to look
upon heaven and upon earth?
7 He raises the poor from the dust,
lifts up the needy out of the dunghill,
8 to seat him with princes,
with the princes of His people.
9 He settles the barren woman in her home
as a joyful mother of children.
Halleluyah!
The Lion Roars at the Nations
1 The words of Amos, who was among the shepherds from Tekoa. He perceived these words concerning Israel during the days of Uzziah, king of Judah, and during the days of Jeroboam son of Joash, king of Israel, two years before the earthquake. 2 He said:
Adonai roars from Zion,
From Jerusalem He gives His voice.
The shepherds’ pastures mourn,
and the top of Mount Carmel withers.
3 Thus says Adonai:
For three crimes of Damascus,
even for four, I will not relent.
For they threshed Gilead
with iron threshing sledges,
4 I will send fire into Hazael’s palace.
It will devour Ben-hadad’s citadels.
5 I will break the Damascus gate-bar
and cut off the inhabitant from the Valley of Aven,
wielding Beth-eden’s scepter.
So the people of Aram
will go into exile to Kir.
Adonai has said it.
13 Thus says Adonai:
For three crimes of the sons of Ammon
even for four, I will not relent.
For they ripped open pregnant women of Gilead
to expand their territory,
14 I will kindle fire on Rabbah’s wall
and it will devour its citadels,
amid shouting on a day of battle,
with storm on a day of whirlwind.
15 Their king will go into exile,
he and his princes together.
Thus Adonai has said.
2 Thus says Adonai:
For three crimes of Moab
even for four, I will not relent.
For he burned the bones of Edom’s king to lime,
2 So I will send fire upon Moab—
it will devour Kerioth’s citadels.
Moab will die in an uproar,
with a shout of alarm
and the sound of the shofar.
3 I will cut off the ruler from her midst,
and slay all her princes with him.
Thus Adonai has said.
As for Judah and Israel
4 Thus says Adonai:
“For three crimes of Judah
even for four, I will not relent.
For they despise Adonai’s Torah
and have not kept His statutes.
Their lies have misled them—
those their fathers walked after.
5 So I will send fire upon Judah—
it will devour Jerusalem’s citadels.”
6 Thus says Adonai:
“For three crimes of Israel
even for four, I will not relent.
For they sell the righteous for silver
and the needy for a pair of shoes.
7 They trample the head of the poor
into the dust of the earth
and thwart the way of the humble.
A man and his father go to the same girl,[a]
to profane My holy Name.
8 Upon garments taken in pledge
they stretch out beside every altar,
and drink wine confiscated as fines
in the house of their gods.
Keep Watch for the Day of the Lord
5 Now concerning the times and seasons,[a] brothers and sisters, you have no need for anything to be written to you. 2 For you yourselves know very well that the Day of the Lord[b] comes like a thief in the night. 3 When they are saying, “Shalom and safety,”[c] sudden destruction comes upon them like a woman having birth pains in the womb—there is no way they will escape. 4 But you, brothers and sisters, are not in the dark, so that the Day might overtake you like a thief. [d] 5 For you all are sons of light and sons of day. We are not of night or of darkness— 6 so then, let us not sleep as the others do, but let us remain on the alert and sober-minded. 7 For those who sleep, sleep at night; and those who get drunk, get drunk at night. 8 But since we are of the day, let us be sober-minded—putting on the breastplate of faithfulness and love, and the hope of salvation as a helmet. [e] 9 For God did not destine us for wrath but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Yeshua the Messiah. 10 He died for us so that, whether we may be awake or asleep,[f] we may live together with Him. 11 Therefore encourage one another and build each other up—just as you in fact are doing.
5 And while some were talking about the Temple, how it was decorated with beautiful stones and offerings, Yeshua said, 6 “As for these things you are looking at, the days will come when not one stone will be left upon another. Every one will be torn down!”
7 And they questioned Him, saying, “Teacher, so when will these things happen? What will be the sign that these things are about to take place?”
8 And He said, “Watch out that you are not led astray! For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am He’ and ‘The time is near!’ Do not follow them. 9 And when you hear of wars and chaos, do not be terrorized. For these things need to happen first, but the end will not come at once.”
10 Then He continued telling them, “Nation will rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. 11 There will be great earthquakes along with famines and epidemics in various places, and there will be terrors along with great signs from heaven. 12 But before all these things, they will grab you and persecute you, handing you over to the synagogues and prisons, and leading you away to kings and governors on account of My name. 13 This will lead you to be a witness. 14 So make up your minds not to prepare ahead of time to defend yourselves— 15 for I Myself will give you speech and wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to resist or refute. 16 But you will be handed over even by parents, brothers, relatives, and friends—and they will put some of you to death. 17 And you will be hated by all because of My name. 18 Yet not a hair of your head will be lost. 19 By your endurance, you will gain your souls.
Tree of Life (TLV) Translation of the Bible. Copyright © 2015 by The Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society.