Psalm 30

The Voice

Psalm 30

A song of David. For the dedication of the temple.

¹I praise You, Eternal One. You lifted me out of that deep, dark pit
    and denied my opponents the pleasure of rubbing in their success.
²Eternal One, my True God, I cried out to You for help;
    You mended the shattered pieces of my life.
³You lifted me from the grave with a mighty hand,
    gave me another chance,
    and saved me from joining those in that dreadful pit.

⁴Sing, all you who remain faithful!
    Pour out your hearts to the Eternal with praise and melodies;
    let grateful music fill the air and bless His name.
⁵His wrath, you see, is fleeting,
    but His grace lasts a lifetime.
The deepest pains may linger through the night,
    but joy greets the soul with the smile of morning.

⁶When things were quiet and life was easy, I said in arrogance,
    “Nothing can shake me.”
⁷By Your grace, Eternal,
    I thought I was as strong as a mountain;
But when You left my side and hid away,
    I crumbled in fear.

⁸O Eternal One, I called out to You;
    I pleaded for Your compassion and forgiveness:
⁹“I’m no good to You dead! What benefits come from my rotting corpse?
    My body in the grave will not praise You.
No songs will rise up from the dust of my bones.
    From dust comes no proclamation of Your faithfulness.
¹⁰Hear me, Eternal Lord—please help me,
    Eternal One—be merciful!”

¹¹You did it: You turned my deepest pains into joyful dancing;
    You stripped off my dark clothing
    and covered me with joyful light.
¹²You have restored my honor. My heart is ready to explode, erupt in new songs!
    It’s impossible to keep quiet!
    Eternal One, my God, my Life-Giver, I will thank You forever.

2 Kings 4:18-31

The Voice

¹⁸When the child was older, he walked out to his father, who was harvesting the fields with the reapers.

Son (to his father): ¹⁹My head hurts! My head hurts!

Father (to his servant): Take the child inside to his mother.

²⁰The servant brought the child inside to his mother; and about noon, while the boy was sitting in his mother’s lap, he died. ²¹She took his lifeless body and laid him down on Elisha’s bed. She then closed the door and went away.

Shunammite Woman (to her husband): ²²I beg you to send me a servant and a donkey so that I can go find Elisha, the man of God. As soon as I do, I will come back here.

Father: ²³Why is it that you are so anxious to find him today? Today is not a holy day—a new moon or a Sabbath.

Shunammite Woman: Don’t worry; all will be well.

²⁴She prepared the donkey and gave instructions to her servant.

Shunammite Woman: Go quickly! Don’t slow down unless I tell you to.

²⁵She rode quickly toward the man of God who was staying about a day away on Mount Carmel. As she approached, Elisha saw her at a distance.

Elisha (to Gehazi): Look! It’s the Shunammite woman. ²⁶Go quickly to see what she wants. Ask her, “Is everything fine? Is your husband well? Is your son well?”

Shunammite Woman: Everything is fine.

²⁷When she approached the man of God at the mountain, she fell to the ground and hugged his feet. Gehazi approached to pull her away, but the man of God stopped him.

Elisha: Leave her be. Her very soul is distressed, but the Eternal has kept her troubles hidden from me.

Shunammite Woman: ²⁸Was it I who asked for a son? I told you not to mislead me!

Elisha (to Gehazi): ²⁹Prepare yourself, and carry my staff to where the boy is now. Do not acknowledge any blessing to anyone on your way there. If someone speaks a blessing to you, do not respond. When you get there, lay my staff on the boy’s face.

Shunammite Woman (to Elisha): ³⁰As certain as the life of the Eternal and your own life, I will not leave without you.

Elisha then stood up and followed her to her house. ³¹Gehazi went ahead of them and laid the staff on the boy’s face, but nothing happened. The boy did not move or make a sound. Gehazi went back to Elisha and reported this to him: “The boy did not wake up.”

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2 Corinthians 8:1-7

The Voice

8 Now, brothers and sisters, let me tell you about the amazing gift of God’s grace that’s happening throughout the churches in Macedonia. ²Even in the face of severe anguish and hard times, their elation and poverty have overflowed into a wealth of generosity. ³I watched as they willingly gave what they could afford and then went beyond to give even more. ⁴They came to us on their own, begging to take part in this work of grace to support the poor saints in Judea. ⁵We were so overwhelmed—none of us expected their reaction—that they truly turned their lives over to the Lord and then gave themselves to support us in our work as we answer the call of God. ⁶That’s why we asked Titus to finish what he started among you regarding this gracious work of charity. ⁷Just as you are rich in everything—in faith and speech, in knowledge and all sincerity, and in the love we have shown among you^[a]—now I ask you to invest richly in this gracious work too.