Book of Common Prayer
Prayer in Affliction
Psalm 102
1 A prayer of the afflicted one, when he is faint and pours out his lament before Adonai:
2 Adonai, hear my prayer,
let my cry come to You.
3 Do not hide Your face from me in the day of my distress.
Turn Your ear to me—in the day I call,
answer me quickly.
4 For my days vanished like smoke,
and my bones were burned like coals.
5 My heart is stricken and withered like grass,
so that I even forget to eat my bread.
6 Because of the sound of my groaning,
my bones cling to my flesh.
7 I am like a pelican of the desert,
like an owl of the waste places.
8 I lie awake, like a lonely bird on a roof.
9 My enemies taunt me all day.
My deriders use my name to curse.
10 For I have eaten ashes like bread,
and mixed my drink with tears—
11 because of Your indignation and wrath,
for You have picked me up and tossed me aside.
12 My days are like a lengthening shadow,
and I wither away like grass.
13 But You, Adonai, sit enthroned forever.
Your renown is from generation to generation.
14 You will arise and have compassion on Zion,
for it is time to show favor to her,
for the appointed time has come,
15 for her stones are dear to Your servants,
and they cherish her dust.
16 So the nations will fear Adonai’s Name
and all the kings of the earth Your glory.
17 For Adonai has rebuilt Zion.
He has appeared in His glory.
18 He has turned to the prayer of the destitute,
and has not despised their prayer.
19 Let it be written for a generation to come,
that a people to be created may praise Adonai.
20 For He looks down from His holy height,
from heaven Adonai gazes on the earth,
21 to hear the groaning of the prisoner,
to set free those condemned to death,
22 to declare the Name of Adonai in Zion
and His praise in Jerusalem,
23 when the peoples and the kingdoms
assemble to worship Adonai.
24 He brought down my strength in midcourse.
He shortened my days.
25 I say, “My God,
do not take me up in the middle of my days.
Your years endure through all generations!
26 Long ago You founded the earth,
the heavens are the work of Your hands.
27 They will perish, but You will remain.
All of them will wear out like a garment.
Like clothing You change them, so they change.
28 But You are the same,
and Your years will never end.
29 The children of Your servants will live.
Their descendants will be established before You.”
His Chesed and His Wonders
Psalm 107
1 Praise Adonai, for He is good,
for His lovingkindness endures forever.
2 Let the redeemed of Adonai say so—
whom He redeemed from the hand of the foe,
3 whom He gathered out of the lands,
from the east and from the west,
from the north and from the sea.
4 Some wandered in a desert, a wasteland.
They found no way to an inhabited city.
5 Hungry and thirsty,
their souls ebbed away.
6 So they cried out to Adonai in their distress,
and He delivered them out of their troubles.
7 Then He led them by a straight way
to go to a city where they could live.
8 Let them praise Adonai for His mercy
and His wonders for the children of men,
9 for He satisfies the thirsty soul
and fills the hungry soul with goodness.
10 Some sat in darkness and deep gloom,
prisoners in misery and iron chains,
11 for they had defied God’s words,
and spurned the counsel of Elyon.
12 So He humbled their heart with trouble.
They stumbled, and no one was helping.
13 So they cried out to Adonai in their distress,
and He delivered them out of their troubles.
14 He brought them out of darkness
and deep gloom, breaking their chains.
15 Let them praise Adonai for His mercy,
and His wonders for the children of men,
16 for He shattered bronze gates,
and broke into pieces iron bars.
17 Some became fools because of their rebellious ways,
and were afflicted due to their iniquities.
18 Their soul abhorred all food,
and they drew near the gates of death.
19 So they cried out to Adonai in their distress,
and He delivered them out of their troubles.
20 He sent His word and healed them,
and rescued them from their pits.
21 Let them praise Adonai for His mercy,
and His wonders for the children of men.
22 Let them sacrifice thank offerings
and tell of His works with joyful singing.
23 Some go out to the sea in ships,
doing business on the mighty waters.
24 They saw the works of Adonai,
and His wonders in the deep.
25 For He spoke and raised a stormy wind,
lifting up towering waves.
26 They mounted up to the sky
and plunged down to the depths.
In their peril their souls melted away.
27 They reeled and staggered like a drunk,
and all their skill was bewildered.
28 So they cried out to Adonai in their distress,
and He brought them out of their troubles.
29 He stilled the storm to a whisper—
the waves were hushed.[a]
30 They were glad when it became calm,
and He led them to their desired haven.
31 Let them praise Adonai for His mercy,
and His wonders to the children of men.
32 Let them exalt Him in the congregation of the people,
and praise Him at the assembly of elders.
New Heavens and New Earth
17 For behold, I create new heavens
and a new earth.[a]
The former things will not be remembered
or come to mind.
18 But be glad and rejoice forever
in what I am creating.
For behold, I am creating Jerusalem for rejoicing,
and her people for joy.
19 Then I will rejoice in Jerusalem,
and be glad in My people.
No longer will the voice of weeping
or the voice of crying be heard in her.
20 No longer will there be in it an infant
who lives but a few days,
or an old man who does not fill out his days.
For the youth will die at a hundred years,
But one who misses the mark of a hundred
must be accursed.
21 They will build houses and inhabit them.
They will plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
22 They will not build and another inhabit,
nor plant and another eat.
For like the days of a tree,
so will be the days of My people,
and My chosen ones will long enjoy
the work of their hands.
23 They will not labor in vain
nor bear children for calamity.
For they are the offspring of those blessed by Adonai,
as well as descendants with them.
24 And it will come to pass that before they call,
I will answer,
and while they are still speaking,
I will hear.
25 The wolf and the lamb will feed together.
The lion will eat straw like the ox,
but dust will be the serpent’s food.
They will not hurt or destroy
in all My holy mountain,” says Adonai.
17 The elders who lead well are worthy of honor and honorarium[a]—especially those who work hard in the word and teaching. 18 For the Scripture says, “You shall not muzzle the ox while he is threshing,”[b] and, “The worker is worthy of his wage.” [c] 19 Do not accept an accusation against an elder except on the evidence of two or three witnesses. [d] 20 Correct those who continue sinning in the presence of everyone, so that the rest also may fear.[e]
21 I solemnly charge you—before God and Messiah Yeshua and the chosen angels—to observe these things without taking sides, doing nothing out of favoritism. 22 Do not lay hands on anyone hastily or take part in the sins of others—keep yourself pure. 23 (No longer drink only water, but use a little wine for your stomach and for your frequent ailments.)
24 The sins of some people are obvious, going before them into judgment; but for others, their sins follow. 25 Likewise, good deeds are obvious, and the others cannot stay hidden.
Love Ends the Argument
28 One of the Torah scholars came and heard them debating. Seeing that Yeshua had answered them well, he asked Him, “Which commandment is first of all?”
29 Yeshua answered, “The first is, ‘Shema Yisrael, Adonai Eloheinu, Adonai echad. Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One. 30 And you shall love Adonai your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ [a] 31 The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’[b] There is no other commandment greater than these.”
32 “Well said, Teacher,” the Torah scholar said to Him. “You have spoken the truth, that He is echad, and besides Him there is no other! [c] 33 And ‘to love Him with all the heart, with all the understanding, and with all the strength,’[d] and ‘to love the neighbor as oneself,’[e] is much more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”
34 When Yeshua saw that he had answered wisely, He said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And no one dared any longer to question Him.
Tree of Life (TLV) Translation of the Bible. Copyright © 2015 by The Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society.