Book of Common Prayer
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.
Psalm 145[a]
A song of praise by David.
1 I will highly praise you, my Elohim, the Melek.
I will bless your name forever and ever.
2 I will bless you every day.
I will praise your name forever and ever.
3 Yahweh is great, and he should be highly praised.
His greatness is unsearchable.
4 One generation will praise your deeds to the next.
Each generation will talk about your mighty acts.
5 I will think about the glorious honor of your majesty
and the miraculous things you have done.
6 People will talk about the power of your terrifying deeds,
and I will tell about your greatness.
7 They will announce what they remember of your great goodness,
and they will joyfully sing about your righteousness.
8 Yahweh is merciful, compassionate, patient,
and always ready to forgive.
9 Yahweh is good to everyone
and has compassion for everything that he has made.
10 Everything that you have made will give thanks to you, O Yahweh,
and your faithful ones will praise you.
11 Everyone will talk about the glory of your kingdom
and will tell the descendants of Adam about your might
12 in order to make known your mighty deeds
and the glorious honor of your kingdom.
13 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom.
Your empire endures throughout every generation.
14 Yahweh supports everyone who falls.
He straightens the backs of those who are bent over.
15 The eyes of all creatures look to you,
and you give them their food at the proper time.
16 You open your hand,
and you satisfy the desire of every living thing.
17 Yahweh is fair in all his ways
and faithful in everything he does.
18 Yahweh is near to everyone who prays to him,
to every faithful person who prays to him.
19 He fills the needs of those who fear him.
He hears their cries for help and saves them.
20 Yahweh protects everyone who loves him,
but he will destroy all wicked people.
21 My mouth will speak the praise of Yahweh,
and all living creatures will praise his holy name
forever and ever.
Saul Anointed by Samuel
10 Samuel took a flask of olive oil, poured it on Saul’s head, kissed him, and said, “Yahweh has anointed you to be ruler of his people Israel. You will rule his people and save them from all their enemies. This will be the sign that Yahweh has anointed you[a] to be ruler of his people. 2 When you leave me today, two men will be at Rachel’s grave on the border of Benjamin at Zelzah. They’ll tell you, ‘We’ve found the donkeys you went looking for. Your father no longer cares about them. Instead, he’s worried about you. He keeps asking, “What can I do to find my son?”’ 3 Keep going until you come to the oak tree at Tabor. There you will find three men on their way to worship Elohim at Bethel: One will be carrying three young goats, one will be carrying three loaves of bread, and one will be carrying a full wineskin. 4 They will greet you and give you two loaves of bread, which you should accept from them. 5 After that, you will come to the hill of Elohim, where the Philistines have a military post. When you arrive at the city, you will meet a group of prophets prophesying as they come from the worship site. They will be led by men playing a harp, a tambourine, a flute, and a lyre. 6 Then the Ruach Yahweh will come over you. You will be a different person while you prophesy with them. 7 When these signs happen to you, do what you must, because Elohim is with you. 8 Go ahead of me to Gilgal. Then I will come to sacrifice burnt offerings and make fellowship offerings. Wait seven days until I come to tell you what to do.”
Saul’s Anointing Confirmed by Signs
9 When Saul turned around to leave Samuel, Elohim changed Saul’s attitude. That day all these signs happened. 10 When Saul came to the hill, a group of prophets came to meet him, and the Ruach Elohim came over him. He prophesied with them. 11 When all who had known him before saw how he prophesied with the prophets, the people asked one another, “What has happened to the son of Kish? Is Saul one of the prophets?” 12 But a man from that place asked, “But who’s the chief prophet?” So it became a proverb: “Is Saul one of the prophets?” 13 And when he had finished prophesying, he came to the worship site.
14 Saul’s uncle asked him and his servant, “Where did you go?”
Saul answered, “To look for the donkeys, and when we couldn’t find them, we went to Samuel.”
15 Saul’s uncle said, “Please tell me what Samuel said to you.”
16 “He assured us the donkeys had been found,” Saul answered his uncle. But Saul didn’t tell him what Samuel said about his becoming king.
13 So it was not by obeying the laws in Moses’ Teachings that Abraham or his descendants received the promise that he would inherit the world. Rather, he received this promise through God’s approval that comes by faith. 14 If those who obey Moses’ Teachings are the heirs, then faith is useless and the promise is worthless. 15 The laws in Moses’ Teachings bring about anger. But where those laws don’t exist, they can’t be broken. 16 Therefore, the promise is based on faith so that it can be a gift.[a] Consequently, the promise is guaranteed for every descendant, not only for those who are descendants by obeying Moses’ Teachings but also for those who are descendants by believing as Abraham did. He is the father of all of us, 17 as Scripture says: “I have made you a father of many nations.”
Abraham believed when he stood in the presence of the God who gives life to dead people and calls into existence things that don’t even exist. 18 When there was nothing left to hope for, Abraham still hoped and believed. As a result, he became a father of many nations, as he had been told: “That is how many descendants you will have.” 19 Abraham didn’t weaken. Through faith he regarded the facts: His body was already as good as dead now that he was about a hundred years old, and Sarah was unable to have children. 20 He didn’t doubt God’s promise out of a lack of faith. Instead, giving honor to God for the promise, he became strong because of faith 21 and was absolutely confident that God would do what he promised. 22 That is why Abraham’s faith was regarded as the basis of his approval by God.
23 But the words “his faith was regarded as the basis of his approval by God” were written not only for him 24 but also for us. Our faith will be regarded as the basis of our approval by God—each of us who believe in the one who brought Yeshua, our Lord, back to life. 25 Yeshua, our Lord, was handed over to death because of our failures and was brought back to life so that we could receive God’s approval.
Jesus’ Authority Challenged(A)
23 Then Yeshua went into the temple courtyard and began to teach. The chief priests and the leaders of the people came to him. They asked, “What gives you the right to do these things? Who told you that you could do this?”
24 Yeshua answered them, “I, too, have a question for you. If you answer it for me, I’ll tell you why I have the right to do these things. 25 Did John’s right to baptize come from heaven or from humans?”
They discussed this among themselves. They said, “If we say, ‘from heaven,’ he will ask us, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’ 26 But if we say, ‘from humans,’ we’re afraid of what the crowd might do. All those people think of John as a prophet.” 27 So they answered Yeshua, “We don’t know.”
Yeshua told them, “Then I won’t tell you why I have the right to do these things.
A Story about Two Sons
28 “What do you think about this? A man had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘Son, go to work in the vineyard today.’
29 “His son replied, ‘I don’t want to!’ But later he changed his mind and went.
30 “The father went to the other son and told him the same thing. He replied, ‘I will, sir,’ but he didn’t go.
31 “Which of the two sons did what the father wanted?”
“The first,” they answered.
Yeshua said to them, “I can guarantee this truth: Tax collectors and prostitutes are going into the kingdom of God ahead of you. 32 John came to you and showed you the way that God wants you to live, but you didn’t believe him. The tax collectors and prostitutes believed him. But even after you had seen that, you didn’t change your minds and believe him.
The Names of God Bible (without notes) © 2011 by Baker Publishing Group.