Book of Common Prayer
61 (0) For the leader. With stringed instruments. By David:
2 (1) Hear my cry, God;
listen to my prayer.
3 (2) From the end of the earth, with fainting heart,
I call out to you.
Set me down on a rock
far above where I am now.
4 (3) For you have been a refuge for me,
a tower of strength in the face of the foe.
5 (4) I will live in your tent forever
and find refuge in the shelter of your wings. (Selah)
6 (5) For you, God, have heard my vows;
you have given me the heritage of those who fear your name.
7 (6) Prolong the life of the king!
May his years go on for many generations.
8 (7) May he be enthroned in God’s presence forever!
Appoint grace and truth to preserve him!
9 (8) Then I will sing praise to your name forever,
as day after day I fulfill my vows.
62 (0) For the leader. Set in the style of Y’dutun. A psalm of David:
2 (1) My soul waits in silence for God alone;
my salvation comes from him.
3 (2) He alone is my rock and salvation,
my stronghold; I won’t be greatly moved.
4 (3) How long will you assail a person
in order to murder him, all of you,
as if he were a sagging wall
or a shaky fence?
5 (4) They only want to shake him from his height,
they take delight in lying —
with their mouths they bless,
but inwardly they curse. (Selah)
6 (5) My soul, wait in silence for God alone,
because my hope comes from him.
7 (6) He alone is my rock and salvation,
my stronghold; I won’t be moved.
8 (7) My safety and honor rest on God.
My strong rock and refuge are in God.
9 (8) Trust in him, people, at all times;
pour out your heart before him;
God is a refuge for us. (Selah)
10 (9) Ordinary folks are merely a breath
and important people a sham;
if you lay them on a balance-scale, they go up —
both together are lighter than nothing.
11 (10) Don’t put your trust in extortion,
don’t put false hopes in robbery;
even if wealth increases,
don’t set your heart on it.
12 (11) God has spoken once, I have heard it twice:
strength belongs to God.
13 (12) Also to you, Adonai, belongs grace;
for you reward all as their deeds deserve.
112 Halleluyah!
How happy is anyone who fears Adonai,
who greatly delights in his mitzvot.
2 His descendants will be powerful on earth,
a blessed generation of upright people.
3 Wealth and riches are in his house,
and his righteousness stands forever.
4 To the upright he shines like a light in the dark,
merciful, compassionate and righteous.
5 Things go well with the person who is merciful and lends,
who conducts his affairs with fairness;
6 for he will never be moved.
The righteous will be remembered forever.
7 He will not be frightened by bad news;
he remains steady, trusting in Adonai.
8 His heart is set firm, he will not be afraid,
till finally he looks in triumph at his enemies.
9 He distributes freely, he gives to the poor;
his righteousness stands forever.
His power will be increased honorably.
10 The wicked will be angry when they see this;
they will gnash their teeth and waste away,
the desires of the wicked will come to nothing.
115 Not to us, Adonai, not to us,
but to your name give glory,
because of your grace and truth.
2 Why should the nations ask,
“Where is their God?”
3 Our God is in heaven;
he does whatever pleases him.
4 Their idols are mere silver and gold,
made by human hands.
5 They have mouths, but they can’t speak;
they have eyes, but they can’t see;
6 they have ears, but they can’t hear;
they have noses, but they can’t smell;
7 they have hands, but they can’t feel;
they have feet, but they can’t walk;
with their throats they can’t make a sound.
8 The people who make them will become like them,
along with everyone who trusts in them.
9 Isra’el, trust in Adonai!
He is their help and shield.
10 House of Aharon, trust in Adonai!
He is their help and shield.
11 You who fear Adonai, trust in Adonai!
He is their help and shield.
12 Adonai has kept us in mind,
and he will bless.
He will bless the house of Isra’el;
he will bless the house of Aharon;
13 he will bless those who fear Adonai,
great and small alike.
14 May Adonai increase your numbers,
both yours and those of your children.
15 May you be blessed by Adonai,
the maker of heaven and earth.
16 Heaven belongs to Adonai,
but the earth he has given to humankind.
17 The dead can’t praise Adonai,
not those who sink down into silence.
18 But we will bless Adonai
from now on and forever.
Halleluyah!
11 But a branch will emerge from the trunk of Yishai,
a shoot will grow from his roots.
2 The Spirit of Adonai will rest on him,
the Spirit of wisdom and understanding,
the Spirit of counsel and power,
the Spirit of knowledge and fearing Adonai —
3 he will be inspired by fearing Adonai.
He will not judge by what his eyes see
or decide by what his ears hear,
4 but he will judge the impoverished justly;
he will decide fairly for the humble of the land.
He will strike the land with a rod from his mouth
and slay the wicked with a breath from his lips.
5 Justice will be the belt around his waist,
faithfulness the sash around his hips.
6 The wolf will live with the lamb;
the leopard lie down with the kid;
calf, young lion and fattened lamb together,
with a little child to lead them.
7 Cow and bear will feed together,
their young will lie down together,
and the lion will eat straw like the ox.
8 An infant will play on a cobra’s hole,
a toddler put his hand in a viper’s nest.
9 They will not hurt or destroy
anywhere on my holy mountain,
for the earth will be as full
of the knowledge of Adonai
as water covering the sea.
20 Next I saw an angel coming down from heaven, who had the key to the Abyss and a great chain in his hand. 2 He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the Devil and Satan [the Adversary], and chained him up for a thousand years. 3 He threw him into the Abyss, locked it and sealed it over him; so that he could not deceive the nations any more until the thousand years were over. After that, he has to be set free for a little while.
4 Then I saw thrones, and those seated on them received authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for testifying about Yeshua and proclaiming the Word of God, also those who had not worshipped the beast or its image and had not received the mark on their foreheads and on their hands. They came to life and ruled with the Messiah for a thousand years. 5 (The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were over.) This is the first resurrection. 6 Blessed and holy is anyone who has a part in the first resurrection; over him the second death has no power. On the contrary, they will be cohanim of God and of the Messiah, and they will rule with him for the thousand years.
7 When the thousand years are over, the Adversary will be set free from his prison 8 and will go out to deceive the nations in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog,[a] to gather them for the battle. Their number is countless as the sand on the seashore; 9 and they came up over the breadth of the Land and surrounded the camp of God’s people and the city he loves. But fire came down from heaven and consumed them. 10 The Adversary who had deceived them was hurled into the lake of fire and sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet were; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.
30 I can’t do a thing on my own. As I hear, I judge; and my judgment is right; because I don’t seek my own desire, but the desire of the one who sent me.
31 “If I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is not valid. 32 But there is someone else testifying on my behalf, and I know that the testimony he is making is valid — 33 you have sent to Yochanan, and he has testified to the truth. 34 Not that I collect human testimony; rather, I say these things so that you might be saved. 35 He was a lamp burning and shining, and for a little while you were willing to bask in his light.
36 “But I have a testimony that is greater than Yochanan’s. For the things the Father has given me to do, the very things I am doing now, testify on my behalf that the Father has sent me.
37 “In addition, the Father who sent me has himself testified on my behalf. But you have never heard his voice or seen his shape; 38 moreover, his word does not stay in you, because you don’t trust the one he sent. 39 You keep examining the Tanakh because you think that in it you have eternal life. Those very Scriptures bear witness to me, 40 but you won’t come to me in order to have life!
41 “I don’t collect praise from men, 42 but I do know you people — I know that you have no love for God in you! 43 I have come in my Father’s name, and you don’t accept me; if someone else comes in his own name, him you will accept. 44 How can you trust? You’re busy collecting praise from each other, instead of seeking praise from God only.
45 “But don’t think that it is I who will be your accuser before the Father. Do you know who will accuse you? Moshe, the very one you have counted on! 46 For if you really believed Moshe, you would believe me; because it was about me that he wrote. 47 But if you don’t believe what he wrote, how are you going to believe what I say?”
Copyright © 1998 by David H. Stern. All rights reserved.