Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 87
A song of the sons of Korah.
1 He laid His foundation on the sacred mountains.
2 The Eternal loves Zion’s gates;
He prefers it over any other place where Jacob’s descendants make their homes.
3 Spectacular things are said about you,
O Jerusalem, city of the True God.
[pause][a]
4 God says, “I tell of some who know Me in Egypt[b] and Babylon;
behold, My people are in Philistia, Tyre, and Ethiopia[c] too:
‘This person was born there.’”
5 It is said of Zion,
“This person and that person were born in her.”
The Most High God has established that city and makes her strong.
6 When keeping track of His people, the Eternal surely notices,
“This one was born in Zion.”
[pause]
7 Those who sing and those who dance will say together,
“All my fountains of joy are in You.”
Book Four
There are endless reasons to praise God, and many of them are included in the Book of Psalms. Book Four (Psalms 90–106) is made up of songs that praise and celebrate God for His creation, strength, work in history, and kingship. Although these songs are written to honor God, many require something from us. Throughout these psalms is the Hebrew word hallelujah, translated “Praise the Eternal!” That’s not just a passive verb, as in, “Praise be to the Eternal”; it’s an active imperative! We are commanded to praise Him. We are commanded to join angels above, people below, and all creatures in praising Him!
Psalm 90
A prayer of Moses, a man of God.
1 Lord, You have always been our refuge.
Our ancestors made You their home long ago.
2 Before mountains were born,
before You fashioned the earth and filled it with life,
from ages past to distant futures,
You are truly God.
3 You turn people back to dust,
saying, “Go back to the dust, children of Adam.”
4 For You a thousand years is like a day when it is over,
a watch during the night;
there is no difference to You.
5-6 You release the waters of death to sweep mankind away in his slumber.
In the morning, we are blades of grass,
Growing rapidly under the sun but withering quickly;
yet in the evening, we fade and die, soon to be cut down.
7 For Your anger has consumed us.
Your wrath has shaken us to the core
and left us deeply troubled.
8 You have written our offenses before You—
the light of Your presence shines brightly on our secret sins,
and we can’t run or hide.
9 For all our days are spent beneath Your wrath;
our youth gives way to old age, and then
one day our years come to an end with a sigh.
10 We may journey through life for 70 years;
some may live and breathe 80 years—if we are strong.
Yet our time here is only toil and trouble;
soon our days are gone, and we fly away.
11 Who can truly comprehend the power unleashed by Your anger?
Your wrath matches the fear that is due to You.
12 Teach us to number our days
so that we may truly live and achieve wisdom.
13 How long will we wait here alone?
Return, O Eternal One, with mercy.
Rescue Your servants with compassion.
14 With every sun’s rising, surprise us with Your love,
satisfy us with Your kindness.
Then we will sing with joy and celebrate every day we are alive.
15 You have spent many days afflicting us with pain and sorrow;
now match those with years of unspent joy.
16 Let Your work of love be on display for all Your servants;
let Your children see Your majesty.
17 And then let the beauty and grace of the Lord—our God—rest upon us
and bring success to all we do;
yes, bring success to all we do!
Psalm 136
This hymn of praise recounts God’s actions in the past: creation, exodus, and the giving of the land to Israel. A repeated refrain indicates this psalm was chanted responsively.
1 Let your heart overflow with praise to the Eternal, for He is good,
for His faithful love lasts forever.
2 Praise the True God who reigns over all other gods,
for His faithful love lasts forever.
3 Praise the Lord who reigns over all other lords,
for His faithful love lasts forever.
4 To Him who alone does marvelous wonders,
for His faithful love lasts forever.
5 Who created the heavens with skill and artistry,
for His faithful love lasts forever.
6 Who laid out dry land over the waters,
for His faithful love lasts forever.
7 Who made the great heavenly lights,
for His faithful love lasts forever.
8 The sun to reign by day,
for His faithful love lasts forever.
9 The moon and stars to reign by night,
for His faithful love lasts forever.
10 To Him who struck down the firstborn of the Egyptians,
for His faithful love lasts forever.
11 Who set Israel free from Egyptian masters,
for His faithful love lasts forever.
12 With fierce strength, a mighty hand, and an outstretched arm,
for His faithful love lasts forever.
13 To Him who split the Red Sea[a] in two and made a path between the divided waters,
for His faithful love lasts forever.
14 Then allowed Israel to pass safely through on dry ground,
for His faithful love lasts forever.
15 To Him who crushed Pharaoh and his army in the waters of the Red Sea,[b]
for His faithful love lasts forever.
16 Who guided His people through the desert,
for His faithful love lasts forever.
17 Who struck down mighty kings,
for His faithful love lasts forever.
18 Who slaughtered famous kings,
for His faithful love lasts forever.
19 Sihon, the king of the Amorites,
for His faithful love lasts forever.
20 And Og, the king of Bashan,
for His faithful love lasts forever.
21 To Him who gave the conquered land as an inheritance,
for His faithful love lasts forever.
22 Who made the land a heritage to Israel, His servant,
for His faithful love lasts forever.
23 To Him who remembered us when we were nearly defeated,
for His faithful love lasts forever.
24 Who rescued us from our enemies,
for His faithful love lasts forever.
25 Who provides food for every living thing,
for His faithful love lasts forever.
26 Let your heart overflow with praise to the True God of heaven,
for His faithful love lasts forever.
22 Abimelech was king over Israel for three years. 23 Then the one True God sent an evil spirit to stir up dissension between Abimelech and the leaders of Shechem. Consequently the leaders of Shechem acted with treachery against Abimelech; 24 and all of this happened so that the brutal murder of Jerubbaal’s 70 sons might be avenged and their bloodguilt laid upon their brother Abimelech, who had ordered their deaths, and on the leaders of Shechem who had lent their strength to his cause.
25 As a result of their new hatred for Abimelech, the leaders of Shechem began to ambush travelers along the mountain roads, robbing everyone who passed by, and these robberies were reported to Abimelech.
50 Next, Abimelech went on to Thebez. He laid siege to it, captured it, and 51 discovered that in the city was a strong tower where the leaders and men and women of the city had locked themselves in to escape and had climbed onto the roof. 52 So he stormed the tower, ready to burn this tower as he had the other. 53 But this time as he approached the entrance, a woman dropped an upper millstone upon him, crushing his skull.
Abimelech (to his armor-bearer): 54 Take your sword and kill me. I won’t have anyone say that I died like this—killed by a woman.
The young man killed Abimelech with the sword.
55 When the people of Israel saw that Abimelech was dead, they all went back home.
56 So God avenged the evil that Abimelech had committed against his father by murdering his 70 brothers, 57 and the evil of the leaders of Shechem God brought back on their heads; everything happened just as Jotham, son of Jerubbaal, had prophesied when he cursed them all.
The Holy Spirit changes everyone and everything. If there is any doubt about the power of the Spirit, just take a look at Peter. When Jesus was captured, Peter cowered in fear that he might be identified as a man who loved Jesus. Now this same man is preaching, healing, and pointing his finger in the face of Jewish officials who have captured him and John. With a boldness that is not his own, he blames them for the death of Jesus and does not cower at their show of violence.
32 During those days, the entire community of believers was deeply united in heart and soul to such an extent that they stopped claiming private ownership of their possessions. Instead, they held everything in common. 33 The apostles with great power gave their eyewitness reports of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. Everyone was surrounded by an extraordinary grace. 34 Not a single person in the community was in need because those who had been affluent sold their houses or lands and brought the proceeds 35 to the emissaries[a] of the Lord. They then distributed the funds to individuals according to their needs. 36-37 One fellow, a Cyprian Levite named Joseph, earned a nickname because of his generosity in selling a field and bringing the money to the apostles in this way. From that time on, they called him Barnabas, which means “son of encouragement.”
This portrait of the early church as an unselfish community is captivating and inspiring. It presents a challenge for many followers of the Anointed One who want to show sacrificially their love to Him and His church. Many today wonder how to translate this into a modern culture so shaped by consumerism and self-interest, but no translation is necessary. These problems weren’t foreign to the early community. In contrast to the generosity and sincerity of some like Barnabas, Luke now explains that others gave not out of love, but out of a desire to be honored by the community.
5 Once a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira fully cooperating, committed fraud. He sold some property 2 and kept some of the proceeds, but he pretended to make a full donation to the Lord’s emissaries.[b]
Peter: 3 Ananias, have you allowed Satan to influence your lies to the Holy Spirit and hold back some of the money? 4 Look, it was your property before you sold it, and the money was all yours after you sold it. Why have you concocted this scheme in your heart? You weren’t just lying to us; you were lying to God.
5 Ananias heard these words and immediately dropped to the ground, dead; fear overcame all those who heard of the incident. 6 Some young men came, wrapped the body, and buried it immediately. 7 About three hours had passed when Sapphira arrived. She had no idea what had happened.
Peter: 8 Did you sell the land for such-and-such a price?
Sapphira: Yes, that was the price.
Peter: 9 Why did the two of you conspire to test the Spirit of the Lord? Do you hear those footsteps outside? Those are the young men who just buried your husband, and now they will carry you out as well.
10 She—like her husband—immediately fell dead at Peter’s feet. The young men came in and carried her corpse outside and buried it beside her husband. 11 The whole church was terrified by this story, as were others who heard it.
13 The time was near to celebrate the Passover, the festival commemorating when God rescued His children from slavery in Egypt, so Jesus went to Jerusalem for the celebration. 14 Upon arriving, He entered the temple to worship. But the porches and colonnades were filled with merchants selling sacrificial animals (such as doves, oxen, and sheep) and exchanging money. 15 Jesus fashioned a whip of cords and used it with skill driving out animals; He scattered the money and overturned the tables, emptying profiteers from the house of God. 16 There were dove merchants still standing around, and Jesus reprimanded them.
Jesus: What are you still doing here? Get all your stuff, and haul it out of here! Stop making My Father’s house a place for your own profit!
17 The disciples were astounded, but they remembered that the Hebrew Scriptures said, “Jealous devotion for God’s house consumes me.”[a] 18 Some of the Jews cried out to Him in unison.
Jews: Who gave You the right to shut us down? If it is God, then show us a sign.
Jesus: 19 You want a sign? Here it is. Destroy this temple, and I will rebuild it in 3 days.
Jews: 20 Three days? This temple took more than 46 years to complete. You think You can replicate that feat in 3 days?
21 The true temple was His body. 22 His disciples remembered this bold prediction after He was resurrected. Because of this knowledge, their faith in the Hebrew Scriptures and in Jesus’ teachings grew.
23 During the Passover feast in Jerusalem, the crowds were watching Jesus closely; and many began to believe in Him because of the signs He was doing. 24-25 But Jesus saw through to the heart of humankind, and He chose not to give them what they requested. He didn’t need anyone to prove to Him the character of humanity. He knew what man was made of.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.