Book of Common Prayer
56 (0) For the leader. Set to “The Silent Dove in the Distance.” By David; a mikhtam, when the P’lishtim captured him in Gat:
2 (1) Show me favor, God;
for people are trampling me down —
all day they fight and press on me.
3 (2) Those who are lying in wait for me
would trample on me all day.
For those fighting against me are many.
Most High, 4 (3) when I am afraid,
I put my trust in you.
5 (4) In God — I praise his word —
in God I trust; I have no fear;
what can human power do to me?
6 (5) All day long they twist my words;
their only thought is to harm me.
7 (6) They gather together and hide themselves,
spying on my movements, hoping to kill me.
8 (7) Because of their crime, they cannot escape;
in anger, God, strike down the peoples.
9 (8) You have kept count of my wanderings;
store my tears in your water-skin —
aren’t they already recorded in your book?
10 (9) Then my enemies will turn back
on the day when I call;
this I know: that God is for me.
11 (10) In God — I praise his word —
in Adonai — I praise his word —
12 (11) in God I trust; I have no fear;
what can mere humans do to me?
13 (12) God, I have made vows to you;
I will fulfill them with thank offerings to you.
14 (13) For you rescued me from death,
you kept my feet from stumbling,
so that I can walk in God’s presence,
in the light of life.
57 (0) For the leader. Set to “Do Not Destroy.” By David, a mikhtam, when he fled from Sha’ul into the cave:
2 (1) Show me favor, God, show me favor;
for in you I have taken refuge.
Yes, I will find refuge in the shadow of your wings
until the storms have passed.
3 (2) I call to God, the Most High,
to God, who is accomplishing his purpose for me.
4 (3) He will send from heaven and save me
when those who would trample me down mock me. (Selah)
God will send his grace and his truth.
5 (4) I am surrounded by lions,
I am lying down among people breathing fire,
men whose teeth are spears and arrows
and their tongues sharp-edged swords.
6 (5) Be exalted, God, above heaven!
May your glory be over all the earth!
7 (6) They prepared a snare for my feet,
but I am bending over [to avoid it].
They dug a pit ahead of me,
but they fell into it themselves. (Selah)
8 (7) My heart is steadfast, God, steadfast.
I will sing and make music.
9 (8) Awake, my glory! Awake, lyre and lute!
I will awaken the dawn.
10 (9) I will thank you, Adonai, among the peoples;
I will make music to you among the nations.
11 (10) For your grace is great, all the way to heaven,
and your truth, all the way to the skies.
12 (11) Be exalted, God, above heaven!
May your glory be over all the earth!
58 (0) For the leader. Set to “Do Not Destroy.” By David, a mikhtam:
2 (1) [Rulers,] does your silence really speak justice?
Are you judging people fairly?
3 (2) [No!] In your hearts you devise wrongs,
your hands dispense violence in the land.
4 (3) From the womb, the wicked are estranged,
liars on the wrong path since birth.
5 (4) Their venom is like snake’s venom;
they are like a serpent that stops its ears,
6 (5) so as not to hear the voice of the charmer,
no matter how well he plays.
7 (6) God, break their teeth in their mouth!
Shatter the fangs of these lions, Adonai!
8 (7) May they vanish like water that drains away.
May their arrows be blunted when they aim their bows.
9 (8) May they be like a slug that melts as it moves,
like a stillborn baby that never sees the sun.
10 (9) Before your cook-pots feel the heat of the burning thorns,
may he blow them away, green and blazing alike.
11 (10) The righteous will rejoice to see vengeance done,
they will wash their feet in the blood of the wicked;
12 (11) and people will say, “Yes, the righteous are rewarded;
there is, after all, a God who judges the earth.”
64 (0) For the leader. A psalm of David:
2 (1) Hear my voice, God, as I plead:
preserve my life from fear of the enemy.
3 (2) Hide me from the secret intrigues of the wicked
and the open insurrection of evildoers.
4 (3) They sharpen their tongues like a sword;
they aim their arrows, poisoned words,
5 (4) in order to shoot from cover at the innocent,
shooting suddenly and fearing nothing.
6 (5) They support each other’s evil plans;
they talk of hiding snares
and ask, “Who would see them?”
7 (6) They search for ways to commit crimes,
bringing their diligent search to completion
when each of them has thought it through
in the depth of his heart.
8 (7) Suddenly God shoots them down with an arrow,
leaving them with wounds;
9 (8) their own tongues make them stumble.
All who see them shake their heads.
10 (9) Everyone is awestruck —
they acknowledge that it is God at work,
they understand what he has done.
11 (10) The righteous will rejoice in Adonai;
they will take refuge in him;
all the upright in heart will exult.
65 (0) For the leader. A psalm of David. A song:
2 (1) To you, God, in Tziyon, silence is praise;
and vows to you are to be fulfilled.
3 (2) You who listen to prayer,
to you all living creatures come.
4 (3) When deeds of wickedness overwhelm me,
you will atone for our crimes.
5 (4) How blessed are those you choose and bring near,
so that they can remain in your courtyards!
We will be satisfied with the goodness of your house,
the Holy Place of your temple.
6 (5) It is just that you answer us with awesome deeds,
God of our salvation,
you in whom all put their trust,
to the ends of the earth and on distant seas.
7 (6) By your strength you set up the mountains.
You are clothed with power.
8 (7) You still the roaring of the seas,
their crashing waves, and the peoples’ turmoil.
9 (8) This is why those living at the ends of the earth
stand in awe of your signs.
The places where the sun rises and sets
you cause to sing for joy.
10 (9) You care for the earth and water it,
you enrich it greatly;
with the river of God, full of water,
you provide them grain and prepare the ground.
11 (10) Soaking its furrows and settling its soil,
you soften it with showers and bless its growth.
12 (11) You crown the year with your goodness,
your tracks overflow with richness.
13 (12) The desert pastures drip water,
the hills are wrapped with joy,
14 (13) the meadows are clothed with flocks
and the valleys blanketed with grain,
so they shout for joy and break into song.
7 A good name is better than perfumed oil,
and the day of death better than the day of birth.
2 Better to go to a house of mourning
than to go to a house of feasting,
for all are destined to be mourned;
the living should lay this to heart.
3 Grief is better than laughter,
for sadness can improve a person.
4 The thoughts of the wise are in the house of mourning,
but the thoughts of fools are in the house of pleasure.
5 It is better to hear the rebukes of the wise
than to listen to the songs of fools.
6 For the laughter of fools is like the crackling of thorns
burning under a pot; this too is pointless.
7 But oppression can make a wise man stupid;
also a gift can destroy understanding.
8 The end of something is better than its beginning,
so the patient are better than the proud.
9 Don’t be quick to get angry,
for [only] fools nurse anger.
10 Don’t ask why the old days were better than now,
because that is a foolish question.
11 Wisdom is good, along with possessions,
an advantage to all who see the sun.
12 For wisdom is a shelter,
and money is a shelter,
but the advantage of knowledge is
that wisdom keeps the one who has it alive.
13 Consider the work of God:
who can make straight what he has made crooked?
14 When things are going well, enjoy yourself;
but when things are going badly, consider
that God made the one alongside the other,
so that people would learn nothing of their futures.
12 Brothers, I beg of you: put yourselves in my place — after all, I put myself in your place. It isn’t that you have done me any wrong — 13 you know that it was because I was ill that I proclaimed the Good News to you at first; 14 and even though my physical condition must have tempted you to treat me with scorn, you did not display any sign of disdain or disgust. No, you welcomed me as if I had been an angel of God, as if I had been the Messiah Yeshua himself! 15 So what has become of the joy you felt? For I bear you witness that had it been possible, you would have gouged out your eyes and given them to me. 16 Have I now become your enemy because I tell you the truth? 17 True, these teachers are zealous for you, but their motives are not good. They want to separate you from us so that you will become zealous for them. 18 To be zealous is good, provided always that the cause is good. Indeed, whether I am present with you or not, 19 my dear children, I am suffering the pains of giving birth to you all over again — and this will go on until the Messiah takes shape in you. 20 I wish I could be present with you now and change my tone of voice. I don’t know what to do with you.
21 Yeshua left that place and went off to the region of Tzor and Tzidon. 22 A woman from Kena‘an who was living there came to him, pleading, “Sir, have pity on me. Son of David! My daughter is cruelly held under the power of demons!” 23 But Yeshua did not say a word to her. Then his talmidim came to him and urged him, “Send her away, because she is following us and keeps pestering us with her crying.” 24 He said, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Isra’el.” 25 But she came, fell at his feet and said, “Sir, help me!” 26 He answered, “It is not right to take the children’s food and toss it to their pet dogs.” 27 She said, “That is true, sir, but even the dogs eat the leftovers that fall from their master’s table.” 28 Then Yeshua answered her, “Lady, you are a person of great trust. Let your desire be granted.” And her daughter was healed at that very moment.
Copyright © 1998 by David H. Stern. All rights reserved.