1There, bless Yahweh, all you servants of Yahweh, you who stand in Yahweh’s house at night. 2Raise your hands to the sacred place and bless Yahweh.
3May Yahweh bless you from Tsiyyon – the one who is maker of heavens and earth.
Lord God,, you feed us with the living bread from heaven; you renew our faith, increase our hope, and strengthen our love.
Teach us to hunger for Christ who is the true and living bread, and to live by every word that comes from your mouth, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
1There, how good and how lovely is brothers living as one, 2Like good oil on the head, going down on to the beard, Aharon’s beard, which goes down on the collar of his clothes, 3Like the dew of Hermon, which goes down on the mountains of Tsiyyon. Because there Yahweh ordered blessing, life for evermore.
O thou, who art the light of the minds that know thee, the life of the souls that love thee, and the strength of the wills that serve thee; help us so to know thee that we may truly love thee; so to love thee that we may fully serve thee, whom to serve is perfect freedom. Amen
1Yahweh, be mindful for David of all his being humbled, 2In that he swore to Yahweh, pledged to Ya’aqob’s Champion, 3‘If I come into my tent, my house, if I climb into my bed, my couch, 4If I give sleep to my eyes, slumber to my eyelids, 5Until I find the place belonging to Yahweh, the dwelling belonging to Ya’aqob’s Champion . . .’
6There, we heard of it at Ephrata, we found it in the Ya’ar fields. 7Let’s come to his dwelling, let’s bow low to his footstool. 8Rise, Yahweh, to your place, to settle down, you and your powerful chest. 9Your priests put on faithfulness, the people who are committed to you resound. 10For the sake of David your servant, don’t turn back the face of your anointed one.
11Yahweh swore to David in truthfulness; he will not turn back from it: ‘One from the fruit of your body I will put on your throne. 12If your sons keep my pact, my affirmations that I will teach them, For all time their sons also will sit on your throne. 13Because Yahweh chose Tsiyyon, which he wanted as a seat for himself. 14For all time this is my place to settle down, where I will sit, because I wanted it. 15Its supplies I will greatly bless; its needy people I will fill with bread. 16Its priests I will clothe with deliverance, its committed people will resound loudly. 17There I will make David’s horn flourish; I am setting up a lamp for my anointed one. 18Its enemies I will clothe in shame, but on him his crown will sparkle.’
O thou, who art the light of the minds that know thee, the life of the souls that love thee, and the strength of the wills that serve thee; help us so to know thee that we may truly love thee; so to love thee that we may fully serve thee, whom to serve is perfect freedom. Amen
1Yahweh, my mind has not been lofty, my eyes have not looked high. I haven’t gone about with big ideas or extraordinary deeds beyond me. 2No rather I have conformed and quietened my entire being . . . Like someone nursed with its mother, so my entire being is nursed with me.
3Yisra’el, wait for Yahweh, now and for evermore.
Steer the ship of my life, good Lord, to your quiet harbour, where I can be safe from the storms of sin and conflict. Show me the course I should take. Renew in me the gift of discernment, so that I can always see the right direction in which I should go. And give me the strength and the courage to choose the right course, even when the sea is rough and the waves are high, knowing that through enduring hardship and danger in your name we shall find comfort and peace. Amen
1From the depths I have called you, Yahweh: 2Lord, listen to my voice. May your ears become attentive to the sound of my prayers for grace.
3If you keep watch on wayward acts, Yah: Lord, who can stand? 4Because with you there is pardon, in order that you may be held in awe.
5I have hoped for Yahweh, my entire being has hoped. For his word I have waited, 6my entire being for the Lord, More than people keeping watch for the morning, people keeping watch for the morning.
7Yisra’el, wait for Yahweh, because with Yahweh there is commitment. With him the redemption will be great, 8when he himself redeems Yisra’el from all its wayward acts.
Take from us, O God, all pride and vanity, all boasting and self-assertion, and give us the true courage that shows itself in gentleness, the true wisdom that shows itself in simplicity, and the true power that shows itself in modesty.
1People have attacked me much since my youth, Yisra’el is pleased to say, 2People have attacked me much, though not prevailed over me.
3Over my back ploughmen have ploughed; they made long furrows. 4Yahweh is faithful; he cut through the ropes of the faithless people.
5May they be shamed and may they turn backwards, all the people who are hostile to Tsiyyon. 6May they become like the grass on roofs that withers before someone has plucked it, 7With which a reaper has not filled his fist, or a gatherer his arm, 8And passers-by have not said, ‘Yahweh’s blessing on you; we bless you in Yahweh’s name.’
O thou, who art the light of the minds that know thee, the life of the souls that love thee, and the strength of the wills that serve thee; help us so to know thee that we may truly love thee; so to love thee that we may fully serve thee, whom to serve is perfect freedom. Amen
1The good fortune of anyone who lives in awe of Yahweh, who walks in his ways! 2Because you will eat the fruit of the palms of your hands, your blessings and good things of yours. 3Your wife like a fruitful vine in the inner rooms of your house, Your children like the slips of olive trees round your table.
4There, surely thus will he be blessed, a man who lives in awe of Yahweh. 5May Yahweh bless you from Tsiyyon; you can look at the good things of Yerushalaim, All the days of your life, 6and look at your grandchildren;
well-being [be] on Yisra’el!
God be in head and in my understanding; God be in my eyes and in my looking; God be in my mouth and in my speaking; God be in my heart and in my thinking; God be at my end and at my departing.
1If Yahweh doesn’t build a house, in vain the builders have laboured on it. If Yahweh doesn’t keep a town, in vain the one who keeps watch has been wakeful. 2It is in vain for you, being people early to get up, people late to sit down, People who eat bread of toil – yes, he gives sleep to his beloved.
3There, sons are your domain from Yahweh; the fruit of the womb is a reward. 4Like arrows in a strong man’s hand – so are the sons of youth. 5The blessings of the man who has filled his quiver! Of them he will not be shamed when they speak with enemies in the gateway.
Lord God,, you feed us with the living bread from heaven; you renew our faith, increase our hope, and strengthen our love.
Teach us to hunger for Christ who is the true and living bread, and to live by every word that comes from your mouth, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
1When Yahweh turned back Tsiyyon’s fortunes, we became like people dreaming. 2Then our mouth would fill with laughter, our tongue with resounding. Then they would say among the nations, ‘Yahweh has shown greatness in acting with them.’ 3Yahweh has shown greatness in acting with us; we became people celebrating.
4Turn back our fortunes, Yahweh, like canyons in the Negev. 5May people who sow with crying reap with resounding. 6The person who goes, but goes crying, carrying the seed bag – As he comes, may he come with resounding, carrying his sheaves.
God, give me grace to accept with serenity the things that cannot be changed, Courage to change the things which should be changed, and the Wisdom to distinguish the one from the other.
Living one day at a time, Enjoying one moment at a time, Accepting hardship as a pathway to peace, Taking, as Jesus did, This sinful world as it is, Not as I would have it, Trusting that You will make all things right, If I surrender to Your will, So that I may be reasonably happy in this life, And supremely happy with You forever in the next.
Lear, Edward; Jerusalem; The Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology; http://www.artuk.org/artworks/jerusalem-142264
A song of the ascents.
1 The people who rely on Yahweh are like Mount Tsiyyon, which will not slip – it will sit permanently. 2 Yerushalaim – mountains are round it; Yahweh – he is round his people, now and permanently. 3 Because the faithless club will not rest over the allocation of the faithful, In order that the faithful do not put their hands to evil.
4Do good, Yahweh, to the people who are good, yes, to the people who are upright in their mind. 5 But the people who bend their crooked ways, may Yahweh make them go, the people who devise trouble; well-being [be] on Yisra’el!
Be thou my vision, O Lord of my heart; Naught be all else to me, save that thou art – Thou my best thought, by day or by night; Waking or sleeping, thy presence my light.
