Book of Common Prayer
97 Adonai is king, let the earth rejoice,
let the many coasts and islands be glad.
2 Clouds and thick darkness surround him;
righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.
3 Fire goes before him,
setting ablaze his foes on every side.
4 His flashes of lightning light up the world;
the earth sees it and trembles.
5 The mountains melt like wax at the presence of Adonai,
at the presence of the Lord of all the earth.
6 The heavens declare his righteousness,
and all the peoples see his glory.
7 All who worship images will be put to shame,
those who make their boast in worthless idols.
Bow down to him, all you gods!
8 Tziyon hears and is glad, Adonai;
the daughters of Y’hudah rejoice at your rulings.
9 For you, Adonai, most high over all the earth,
you are exalted far above all gods.
10 You who love Adonai, hate evil!
He keeps his faithful servants safe.
He rescues them from the power of the wicked.
11 Light is sown for the righteous
and joy for the upright in heart.
12 Rejoice in Adonai, you righteous;
and give thanks on recalling his holiness.
99 Adonai is king; let the peoples tremble.
He sits enthroned on the k’ruvim; let the earth shake!
2 Adonai is great in Tziyon;
he is high above all the peoples.
3 Let them praise your great and fearsome name (he is holy):
4 “Mighty king who loves justice, you established
fairness, justice and righteousness in Ya‘akov.”
5 Exalt Adonai our God!
Prostrate yourselves at his footstool (he is holy).
6 Moshe and Aharon among his cohanim
and Sh’mu’el among those who call on his name
called on Adonai, and he answered them.
7 He spoke to them in the column of cloud;
they kept his instructions and the law that he gave them.
8 Adonai our God, you answered them.
To them you were a forgiving God,
although you took vengeance on their wrongdoings.
9 Exalt Adonai our God,
bow down toward his holy mountain,
for Adonai our God is holy!
100 (0) A psalm of thanksgiving:
(1) Shout for joy to Adonai, all the earth!
2 Serve Adonai with gladness.
Enter his presence with joyful songs.
3 Be aware that Adonai is God;
it is he who made us; and we are his,
his people, the flock in his pasture.
4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
enter his courtyards with praise;
give thanks to him, and bless his name.
5 For Adonai is good, his grace continues forever,
and his faithfulness lasts through all generations.
94 God of vengeance, Adonai!
God of vengeance, appear!
2 Assert yourself as judge of the earth!
Pay back the proud as they deserve!
3 How long are the wicked, Adonai,
how long are the wicked to triumph?
4 They pour out insolent words,
they go on bragging, all these evildoers.
5 They crush your people, Adonai,
they oppress your heritage.
6 They kill widows and strangers
and murder the fatherless.
7 They say, “Yah isn’t looking;
the God of Ya‘akov won’t notice.”
8 Take notice, yourselves, you boors among the people!
You fools, when will you understand?
9 Will the one who planted the ear not hear?
Will the one who formed the eye not see?
10 Will the one who disciplines nations not correct them?
Will the teacher of humanity not know?
11 Adonai understands that people’s thoughts
are merely a puff of wind.
12 How happy the man whom you correct, Yah,
whom you teach from your Torah,
13 giving him respite from days of trouble,
till a pit is dug for the wicked!
14 For Adonai will not desert his people,
he will not abandon his heritage.
15 Justice will once again become righteous,
and all the upright in heart will follow it.
16 Who will champion my cause against the wicked?
Who will stand up for me against evildoers?
17 If Adonai hadn’t helped me,
I would soon have dwelt in the land of silence.
18 When I said, “My foot is slipping!”
your grace, Adonai, supported me.
19 When my cares within me are many,
your comforts cheer me up.
20 Can unjust judges be allied with you,
those producing wrong in the name of law?
21 They band together against the righteous
and condemn the innocent to death.
22 But Adonai has become my stronghold,
my God is my rock of refuge.
23 But he repays them as their guilt deserves;
he will cut them off with their own evil;
Adonai our God will cut them off.
95 Come, let’s sing to Adonai!
Let’s shout for joy to the Rock of our salvation!
2 Let’s come into his presence with thanksgiving;
let’s shout for joy to him with songs of praise.
3 For Adonai is a great God,
a great king greater than all gods.
4 He holds the depths of the earth in his hands;
the mountain peaks too belong to him.
5 The sea is his — he made it —
and his hands shaped the dry land.
6 Come, let’s bow down and worship;
let’s kneel before Adonai who made us.
7 For he is our God, and we are the people
in his pasture, the sheep in his care.
If only today you would listen to his voice:
8 “Don’t harden your hearts, as you did at M’rivah,
as you did on that day at Massah in the desert,
9 when your fathers put me to the test;
they challenged me, even though they saw my work.
10 For forty years I loathed that generation;
I said, ‘This is a people whose hearts go astray,
they don’t understand how I do things.’
11 Therefore I swore in my anger
that they would not enter my rest.”
7 I will recall the grace of Adonai
and the praises of Adonai,
because of all that Adonai has granted us
and his great goodness toward the house of Isra’el,
which he bestowed on them in keeping with his mercy,
in keeping with the greatness of his grace.
8 For he said, “They are indeed my people,
children who are not disloyal.”
So he became their Savior.
9 In all their troubles he was troubled;
then the Angel of His Presence saved them;
in his love and pity he redeemed them.
He had lifted them up and carried them
throughout the days of old.
10 However, they rebelled,
they grieved his Holy Spirit;
so he became their enemy
and himself fought against them.
11 But then his people remembered
the days of old, the days of Moshe:
“Where is he who brought them up from the sea
with the shepherds of his flock?
Where is he who put his Holy Spirit
right there among them,
12 who caused his glorious arm to go
at Moshe’s right hand?
He divided the water ahead of them,
to make himself an eternal name;
13 he led them through the deep
like a sure-footed horse through the desert;
14 like cattle going down into a valley
the Spirit of Adonai had them rest.
This is how you led your people,
to make yourself a glorious name.”
18 This charge, son Timothy, I put to you, in keeping with the prophecies already made about you, so that by these prophecies you may fight the good fight, 19 armed with trust and a good conscience. By rejecting conscience, some have made shipwreck of their trust; 20 among them are Hymenaeus and Alexander. I have turned them over to the Adversary, so that they will learn not to insult God.
2 First of all, then, I counsel that petitions, prayers, intercessions and thanksgivings be made for all human beings, 2 including kings and all in positions of prominence; so that we may lead quiet and peaceful lives, being godly and upright in everything. 3 This is what God, our Deliverer, regards as good; this is what meets his approval.
4 He wants all humanity to be delivered and come to full knowledge of the truth. 5 For God is one;[a] and there is but one Mediator between God and humanity, Yeshua the Messiah, himself human, 6 who gave himself as a ransom on behalf of all, thus providing testimony to God’s purpose at just the right time. 7 This is why I myself was appointed a proclaimer, even an emissary — I am telling the truth, not lying! — a trustworthy and truthful teacher of the Goyim.
8 Therefore, it is my wish that when the men pray, no matter where, they should lift up hands that are holy — they should not become angry or get into arguments.
12 The next day, as they came back from Beit-Anyah, he felt hungry. 13 Spotting in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to see if he could find anything on it. When he came up to it, he found nothing but leaves; for it wasn’t fig season. 14 He said to it, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again!” And his talmidim heard what he said.
15 On reaching Yerushalayim, he entered the Temple courts and began driving out those who were carrying on business there, both the merchants and their customers. He also knocked over the desks of the money-changers, upset the benches of the pigeon-dealers, 16 and refused to let anyone carry merchandise through the Temple courts. 17 Then, as he taught them, he said, “Isn’t it written in the Tanakh, My house will be called a house of prayer for all the Goyim[a] But you have made it into a den of robbers!”[b] 18 The head cohanim and the Torah-teachers heard what he said and tried to find a way to do away with him; they were afraid of him, because the crowds were utterly taken by his teaching. 19 When evening came, they left the city.
20 In the morning, as the talmidim passed by, they saw the fig tree withered all the way to its roots. 21 Kefa remembered and said to Yeshua, “Rabbi! Look! The fig tree that you cursed has dried up!” 22 He responded, “Have the kind of trust that comes from God! 23 Yes! I tell you that whoever does not doubt in his heart but trusts that what he says will happen can say to this mountain, ‘Go and throw yourself into the sea!’ and it will be done for him. 24 Therefore, I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, trust that you are receiving it, and it will be yours. 25 And when you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him; so that your Father in heaven may also forgive your offenses.” 26 [c]
Copyright © 1998 by David H. Stern. All rights reserved.