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.
The Bronze Snake
4 Then they moved from Mount Hor, following the road that goes to the Red Sea, in order to get around Edom. The people became impatient on the trip 5 and criticized Elohim and Moses. They said, “Why did you make us leave Egypt—just to let us die in the desert? There’s no bread or water, and we can’t stand this awful food!”
6 So Yahweh sent poisonous snakes among the people. They bit the people, and many of the Israelites died. 7 The people came to Moses and said, “We sinned when we criticized Yahweh and you. Pray to Yahweh so that he will take the snakes away from us.” So Moses prayed for the people.
8 Yahweh said to Moses, “Make a snake, and put it on a pole. Anyone who is bitten can look at it and live.” 9 So Moses made a bronze snake and put it on a pole. People looked at the bronze snake after they were bitten, and they lived.[a]
11 I can guarantee this truth: We know what we’re talking about, and we confirm what we’ve seen. Yet, you don’t accept our message. 12 If you don’t believe me when I tell you about things on earth, how will you believe me when I tell you about things in heaven? 13 No one has gone to heaven except the Son of Man, who came from heaven.
14 “As Moses lifted up the snake on a pole in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up. 15 Then everyone who believes in him will have eternal life.”
16 God loved the world this way: He gave his only Son so that everyone who believes in him will not die but will have eternal life. 17 God sent his Son into the world, not to condemn the world, but to save the world.
Psalm 118
1 Give thanks to Yahweh because he is good,
because his mercy endures forever.
2 Israel should say,
“His mercy endures forever.”
3 The descendants of Aaron should say,
“His mercy endures forever.”
4 Those who fear Yahweh should say,
“His mercy endures forever.”
5 During times of trouble I called on Yah.
Yah answered me and set me free from all of them.
6 Yahweh is on my side.
I am not afraid.
What can mortals do to me?
7 Yahweh is on my side as my helper.
I will see the defeat of those who hate me.
8 It is better to depend on Yahweh
than to trust mortals.
9 It is better to depend on Yahweh
than to trust influential people.
10 All the nations surrounded me,
but armed with the name of Yahweh, I defeated them.
11 They surrounded me. Yes, they surrounded me,
but armed with the name of Yahweh, I defeated them.
12 They swarmed around me like bees,
but they were extinguished like burning thornbushes.
So armed with the name of Yahweh, I defeated them.
13 They pushed hard to make me fall,
but Yahweh helped me.
14 Yah is my strength and my song.
He is my savior.
15 The sound of joyful singing and victory is heard
in the tents of righteous people.
The right hand of Yahweh displays strength.
16 The right hand of Yahweh is held high.
The right hand of Yahweh displays strength.
17 I will not die,
but I will live and tell what Yah has done.
18 Yah disciplined me severely,
but he did not allow me to be killed.
19 Open the gates of righteousness for me.
I will go through them and give thanks to Yah.
20 This is the gate of Yahweh
through which righteous people will enter.
21 I give thanks to you,
because you have answered me.
You are my savior.
22 The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone.
23 Yahweh is responsible for this,
and it is amazing for us to see.
24 This is the day Yahweh has made.
Let’s rejoice and be glad today!
25 We beg you, O Yahweh, save us!
We beg you, O Yahweh, give us success!
26 Blessed is the one who comes in the name of Yahweh.
We bless you from Yahweh’s house.
27 Yahweh is El, and he has given us light.
March in a festival procession
with branches to the horns of the altar.
28 You are my El, and I give thanks to you.
My Elohim, I honor you highly.
29 Give thanks to Yahweh because he is good,
because his mercy endures forever.
17 After all, if it is God’s will, it’s better to suffer for doing good than for doing wrong.
18 This is true because Christ suffered for our sins once. He was an innocent person, but he suffered for guilty people so that he could bring you to God. His body was put to death, but he was brought to life through his spirit. 19 In it he also went to proclaim his victory to the spirits kept in prison. 20 They are like those who disobeyed long ago in the days of Noah when God waited patiently while Noah built the ship. In this ship a few people—eight in all—were saved by water. 21 Baptism, which is like that water, now saves you. Baptism doesn’t save by removing dirt from the body. Rather, baptism is a request to God for a clear conscience. It saves you through Yeshua Christ, who came back from death to life. 22 Christ has gone to heaven where he has the highest position that God gives. Angels, rulers, and powers have been placed under his authority.
The Names of God Bible (without notes) © 2011 by Baker Publishing Group.