Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 16
A prayer[a] of David.
1 Protect me, God, for the only safety I know is found in the moments I seek You.
2 I told You, Eternal One, “You are my Lord,
for the only good I know in this world is found in You alone.”
3 The beauty of faith-filled people encompasses me.
They are true, and my heart is thrilled beyond measure.
4 All the while the despair of many,
who abandoned Your goodness for the empty promises of false gods, increases day by day.
I refuse to pour out blood offerings,
to utter their names from my lips.
5 You, Eternal One, are my sustenance and my life-giving cup.
In that cup, You hold my future and my eternal riches.
6 My home is surrounded in beauty;
You have gifted me with abundance and a rich legacy.
7 I will bless the Eternal, whose wise teaching orchestrates my days
and centers my mind at night.
8 He is ever present with me;
at all times He goes before me.
I will not live in fear or abandon my calling
because He stands at my right hand.
9 This is a good life—my heart is glad, my soul is full of joy,
and my body is at rest.
Who could want for more?
10 You will not abandon me to experience death and the grave
or leave me to rot alone.
11 Instead, You direct me on the path that leads to a beautiful life.
As I walk with You, the pleasures are never-ending,
and I know true joy and contentment.
Psalm 17
A prayer of David.
1 Listen, O Eternal One, to my cry for justice.
These words of mine are true—turn Your ear toward me.
2 Announce that I am free of all the charges against me—only You can see into my heart to know that to be true.
Treat me with fairness; look at me with justice.
3 You have searched me—my heart and soul—awakened me from dreaming and tested me.
You’ve found nothing against me.
I have resolved not to sin in what I say.
4 The path violent men have followed,
I will not travel. Violence is not my way.
Your ways and Your voice now guide my journey.
5 I will press on—moving steadfastly forward along Your path.
I will not look back. I will not stumble.
6 I am crying aloud to You, O True God, for I long to know Your answer.
Hear me, O God. Hear my plea. Hear my prayer for help.
7 Put Your marvelous love on display for all to see.
Liberator of those who long for shelter beside You,
set them safely away from their enemies, ever welcomed by grace.
8 Keep close watch over me as the apple of Your eye;
shelter me in the shadow of Your wings.
9 Protect me from the wicked who are poised to attack,
from the enemies swarming around me and closing in quickly.
10 Like clay baking in the sun, their hearts have hardened;
arrogance spills from their mouths.
11 They’ve tracked me down like quarry.
They’re surrounding me
and are poised to throw me down into the dirt.
12 Like a lion—crouching in the brush—they are ready to tear me apart.
Like young lions in their hiding places, they are poised to strike.
13 Rise up and confront them, O Eternal One! Make them pay.
By Your sword, set me free from my wicked enemies!
14 May Your rescue find me here.
By Your hand, save me from my enemies, Eternal One.
Save me from men whose hopes are rooted in this world.
But as for those You cherish,
may they feast on all You have set aside for them;
may their children never be in need;
may they have enough so their children will inherit their wealth.
15 But as for me, my hope is to see Your face.
When I am vindicated, I will look upon the holy face of God,
and when I awake, the longing of my soul will be satisfied in the glow of Your presence.
Psalm 22
For the worship leader. A song of David to the tune “Deer of the Dawn.”[a]
Jesus prayed this individual lament from the cross (Matthew 27:46; Mark 15:34). Though it begins with a sense of abandonment, it ends on a triumphant note.
1 My God, my God, why have You turned Your back on me?
Your ears are deaf to my groans.
2 O my God, I cry all day and You are silent;
my tears in the night bring no relief.
3 Still, You are holy;
You make Your home on the praises of Israel.
4 Our mothers and fathers trusted in You;
they trusted, and You rescued them.
5 They cried out to You for help and were spared;
they trusted in You and were vindicated.
6 But I am a worm and not a human being,
a disgrace and an object of scorn.
7 Everyone who sees me laughs at me;
they whisper to one another I’m a loser; they sneer and mock me, saying,
8 “He relies on the Eternal; let the Eternal rescue him
and keep him safe because He is happy with him.”
9 But You are the One who granted me life;
You endowed me with trust as I nursed at my mother’s breast.
10 I was dedicated to You at birth;
You’ve been my God from my mother’s womb.
11 Stay close to me—
trouble is at my door;
no one else can help me.
12 I’m surrounded by many tormenters;
like strong bulls of Bashan,[b] they circle around me with their taunts.
13 They open their mouths wide at me
like ravenous, roaring lions.
14 My life is poured out like water,
and all my bones have slipped out of joint.
My heart melts like wax inside me.
15 My strength is gone, dried up like shards of pottery;
my dry tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth;
You lay me in the dust of death.
16 A throng of evil ones has surrounded me
like a pack of wild dogs;
They[c] pierced my hands and ripped a hole in my feet.
17 I count all my bones;
people gawk and stare at me.
18 They make a game out of dividing my clothes among themselves;
they cast lots for the clothes on my back.
19 But You, O Eternal, stay close;
O You, my help, hurry to my side.
20 Save my life from violence,
my sweet life from the teeth of the wild dog.
21 Rescue me from the mouth of the lion.
From the horns of the wild oxen, You responded to my plea.
22 I will speak Your Name to my brothers and sisters
when I praise You in the midst of the community.
23 You who revere the Eternal, praise Him—
descendants of Jacob, worship Him;
be struck with wonder before Him, all you children of Israel.
24 He’s not put off
by the suffering of the suffering one;
He doesn’t pretend He hasn’t seen him;
when he pleaded for help, He listened.
25 You stir my praise in the great assembly;
I will fulfill my vows before those who humble their hearts before Him.
26 Those who are suffering will eat and be nourished;
those who seek Him will praise the Eternal.
May your hearts beat strong forever!
27 Those from the farthest reaches of the earth will remember
and turn back to look for the Eternal;
All the families of the nations
will worship You.
28 The Eternal owns the world;
He exercises His gentle rule over all the nations.
29 All the wealthy of the world will eat and worship;
all those who fall in the dust will bow before Him,
even the life that is headed to the grave.
30 Our children will serve Him;
future generations will hear the story of how the Lord rescued us.
31 They will tell the generations to come
of the righteousness of the Lord,
of what He has done.
8 O how this precious city, this Jerusalem, has gone wrong,
and Judah is in shambles.
For all they say and do is an affront to the Eternal,
resisting His glorious presence.
9 The look on their faces tells the true story;
they flaunt their sins like Sodom.
They don’t even try to hide them—how terrible it will be for them,
for they will pay for their self-serving carelessness.
10 Tell those who have done right in the eyes of God
that all will be well for them,
For they will be rightly rewarded.
11 But whoever persists in wrongdoing will rue the day—
everything will go wrong for him—
Whatever he’s done will come back to him.
12 Oh, how I ache for my people! They are oppressed by children,
ruled by women, naïve and inexperienced.
O my people, your leaders are misleading you,
guiding you down the path to disaster.
13 But now the Eternal is taking the bench; He’s ready to judge;
He rises to lay out the people’s case.
14 The Eternal will bring charges
against those in positions of authority over His people.
Eternal One: You are charged with devouring everything in the vineyard,
and leaving nothing for the needy.
You’ve ransacked the poor to fill your houses.
15 How dare you! How dare you crush My people,
and grind the faces of the poor into the ground!
This is what the Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies has to say.
4 So finally, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus, we ask you, we beg you to remember what we have taught you: live a life that is pleasing to God as you are already doing. Yes, we urge you to keep living and thriving in that life! 2 For you know the instructions we gave you, instructions that came through the Lord Jesus. 3 Now this is God’s will for you: set yourselves apart and live holy lives; avoid polluting yourselves with sexual defilement. 4 Learn how to take charge over your own body, maintaining purity and honor. 5 Don’t let the swells of lustful passion run your life as they do the outsiders who don’t know God. 6 Don’t violate or take advantage of a fellow believer in such matters. As we told you before and warned you: the Lord will settle the score with anyone who does these things. 7 Here’s why: God does not call us to live impure, adulterous, scandalous lives, but to seek holiness and purity. 8 If you ignore this message, then you’re not only rejecting us but you’re rejecting God, the One who has given His Holy Spirit to live in you.
Paul uses the language of a loving faith family reaching out to others.
9 Now there’s no need for us to send you instructions on caring for your faith family because God Himself has already taught you how to love outside yourselves. 10 And it’s evident you learned that lesson well by the way you love all the people of Macedonia. Brothers and sisters, we urge you to love even more 11 and make it your goal to lead a peaceful life, mind your own business, and keep your hands busy in your work, as we have instructed you. 12 That way you will live peacefully with those on the outside, and all your needs will be met without depending on others.
41 But He asked them a question.
Jesus: How is it that people say the Anointed One is David’s descendant? 42 Don’t you remember how David himself wrote in the psalms,
The Master said to my master:
“Sit here at My right hand,
in the place of honor and power.
43 And I will gather Your enemies together,
lead them in on hands and knees,
and You will rest Your feet on their backs.”[a]
44 Did you hear that? David calls his son “Lord.” Elders don’t defer to those who are younger in that way. How is David’s son also “Lord”?
45 Jesus turned to His disciples, speaking loudly enough for the others to hear.
Jesus: 46 Beware of the religious scholars. They like to parade around in long robes. They love being greeted in the marketplaces. They love taking the best seats in the synagogues. They adore being seated around the head table at banquets. 47 But in their greed they rob widows of their houses and cover up their greed with long pretentious prayers. Their condemnation will be all the worse because of their hypocrisy.
21 And then He turned His attention from the religious scholars to some wealthy people who were depositing their donations in the offering boxes. 2 A widow, obviously poor, came up and dropped two copper coins in one of the boxes.
Jesus: 3 I’m telling you the truth, this poor widow has made a bigger contribution than all of those rich fellows. 4 They’re just giving from their surplus, but she is giving from her poverty—she’s giving all she has to give.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.