Book of Common Prayer
A Call to Praise and Obedience
95 Come, let’s sing for joy to the Lord.
Let’s shout praises to the Rock [28:1; 42:9; 62:2; Deut. 32:4] who ·saves us [gives us victory].
2 Let’s ·come [present ourselves] to him with ·thanksgiving [praise].
Let’s ·sing songs [shout psalms] to him,
3 because the Lord is the great God,
the great King over all gods [Ex. 15:11].
4 The deepest places on earth are ·his [L in his hand],
and the ·highest [peaks of the] mountains belong to him.
5 The sea is his because he made it,
and he created the ·land [dry ground] with his own hands.
6 Come, let’s ·worship him [bow down] and ·bow down [bend the knee].
Let’s kneel before the Lord who made us,
7 because he is our God
and we are the people ·he takes care of [L of his pasture],
the sheep ·that he tends [L of his hand; 74:1; 79:13; 100:3; John 10:11–14].
Today listen to ·what he says [L his voice]:
8 “Do not ·be stubborn [L harden your heart], as at Meribah [C “contending”; 81:7; 106:32; Ex. 17:1–17; Num. 20:1–13],
as that day at Massah [C “testing”] in the ·desert [wilderness; Heb. 4:7].
9 There your ·ancestors [fathers] tested me
and tried me even though they saw what I did.
10 I ·was angry with [felt disgust for] ·those people [L that generation] for forty years.
I said, ‘They are ·not loyal to me [L a people whose hearts wander/go astray]
and have not understood my ways.’
11 I was angry and made a promise,
‘They will never enter my rest.’”
A Sad Complaint
A song. A psalm of the sons of Korah [C descendants of Kohath, son of Levi, who served as temple musicians; 1 Chr. 6:22]. For the director of music. By the ·mahalath [C perhaps “sickness”; Ps. 53] ·leannoth [C perhaps related to a word for “affliction” or a word for “chant”]. A ·maskil [skillful psalm; meditation] of Heman the Ezrahite [C perhaps a wise man (1 Kin. 4:31) or a Levitical singer (1 Chr. 6:16, 33, 39, 43–44; 15:17, 19)].
88 Lord, you are the God who ·saves me [gives me victory].
I cry out to you day and night.
2 Receive my prayer,
and ·listen [L extend your ear] to my cry.
3 My life is full of ·troubles [hurt; harm],
and ·I am nearly dead [L my life approaches/touches Sheol; C the grave or the underworld].
4 They think I am ·on the way to my grave [L like someone who goes down into the Pit].
I am like a man with no strength.
5 I have been ·left as dead [L freed among the dead],
like a ·body [corpse] lying in a grave
whom you don’t remember anymore,
cut off from your ·care [L hand].
6 You have ·brought me close to death [L set me in a Pit below];
·I am almost in the dark place of the dead [L …in the deepest darkness].
7 You have ·been very angry with [L put your wrath on] me;
·all your waves crush me [L you have afflicted me with all your breakers]. ·
8 You have ·taken [moved] my friends away from me
and have made ·them hate me [me an abomination to them].
I am ·trapped [imprisoned] and cannot ·escape [get out].
9 My eyes ·are weak [waste away] from ·crying [affliction].
Lord, I have ·prayed [called] to you every day;
I have ·lifted [spread out] my hands to you [C in prayer].
10 Do you ·show [L do] your ·miracles [wonderful acts] for the dead?
Do their ·spirits [shades; departed] rise up and ·praise [thank] you? ·
11 Will your ·love [loyalty] be ·told [recounted] in the grave?
Will your ·loyalty [faithfulness] be told in ·the place of death [L Abaddon/Destruction]?
12 Will your ·miracles [wonderful acts] be known in the ·dark grave [L darkness]?
Will your ·goodness [righteousness] be known in the land of forgetfulness?
13 But, Lord, I have called out to you for help;
every morning ·I pray to you [L my prayer comes before you].
14 Lord, why do you reject me?
Why do you hide your face from me?
15 I have been ·weak [afflicted] and dying since I was young.
I suffer from your terrors, and I am ·helpless [or depressed].
16 ·You have been angry with me [L Your wrath has passed over me],
and your terrors have ·destroyed [or silenced] me.
17 They surround me daily like ·a flood [water; C representing chaos];
they ·are [go] all around me.
18 You have ·taken away [removed me from] my loved ones and friends.
Darkness is my only friend.
A Song of Trust in God
Of David.
27 The Lord is my light [18:28; 43:3; Is. 9:2; John 1:4, 9; 8:12; 1 John 1:5] and ·the one who saves me [my salvation].
·So why should I fear anyone [L Whom should I fear]?
The Lord ·protects [L is the stronghold/refuge of] my life.
·So why [L Of whom] should I be afraid?
2 Evil people may try to ·destroy my body [L approach me and devour/consume my flesh].
My enemies and those who hate me ·are overwhelmed and defeated [L stumble and fall].
3 If an army ·surrounds [L camps around] me,
·I [L my heart] will not be afraid.
If war ·breaks out [rises against me],
I will ·trust [have confidence in] ·the Lord [L in this; Rom. 8:31–39].
4 I ask only one thing from the Lord.
This is what I ·want [L seek after]:
Let me ·live [dwell] in the Lord’s house [C the sanctuary]
all the days of my life.
Let me see the Lord’s beauty
and ·look with my own eyes [L make inquiry; C discover God’s will] at his Temple.
5 ·During danger [L In the day of trouble] he will ·keep me safe [L hide me] in his shelter.
He will ·hide [conceal] me in his Holy Tent,
or he will ·keep me safe [L set me high] on a ·high mountain [L rock].
6 My head is higher than my enemies around me.
I will offer joyful sacrifices in his Holy Tent [C the Tabernacle].
I will sing and praise the Lord.
7 Lord, hear ·me [L my voice] when I ·call [pray];
have mercy and answer me.
8 My heart said of you, “Go, ·worship him [L seek his face].”
So I ·come to worship you [L seek your face], Lord.
9 Do not ·turn away [L hide your face] from me.
Do not turn your servant away in anger;
you have helped me.
Do not push me away or ·leave me alone [abandon me],
God, my Savior.
10 If my father and mother ·leave [abandon] me,
the Lord will take me in.
11 Lord, teach me your ways,
and guide me ·to do what is right [L on a straight/right path]
because ·I have [L of my] enemies.
12 Do not hand me over to my enemies,
because ·they tell lies about [L false witnesses rise up against] me [Ex. 20:16]
and ·say they will hurt me [L they breathe out violence].
13 I truly believe
I will see the Lord’s goodness ·during my life [L in the land of the living].
14 ·Wait for [Hope in] the Lord’s help.
Be strong and let your heart be brave,
and ·wait for [hope in] the Lord’s help.
21 Pity me, my friends, pity me,
because the hand of God has ·hit [touched; struck] me.
22 Why do you ·chase [pursue; persecute] me as God does?
·Haven’t you hurt me enough [L Aren’t you satisfied with my flesh]?
23 “How I wish my words were written down,
·written [L inscribed] on a scroll.
24 I wish they were carved with an iron pen ·into [L and] lead,
or carved into stone ·forever [or as a witness; C Job wants the following statement to last].
25 I know that my ·Defender [Redeemer; or defender; redeemer; C likely referring to God himself] lives,
and ·in the end [or at last] he will ·stand upon [rise up on] the earth [L dust].
26 Even after my skin has been ·destroyed [or peeled off],
·in [from; or without] my flesh I will see God.
27 I will see him myself;
I ·myself [L and not a stranger] will see him with my very own eyes.
How my heart ·wants that to happen [L fades/faints within me]!
4 ·Now [Therefore], since ·God has left us the promise [the promise remains/still stands] that we may enter his rest, let us ·be very careful [beware; be wary/afraid] so none of you will ·fail to enter [appear/be found to fall short]. 2 [L For] The ·Good News [Gospel] was preached to us just as it was to them. But the ·teaching [message; word] they heard did not help them, because they heard it but did not ·accept [combine; join] it with faith.[a] 3 [L For; Now] We who have believed are able to enter ·and have God’s rest [L the rest]. As God has said,
“I was angry and ·made a promise [declared/swore an oath],
‘They will never enter my rest [Ps. 95:11].’”
But God’s work was finished from the ·time he made [foundation/creation of] the world. 4 ·In the Scriptures [L For somewhere] he talked about the seventh day of the week: “And on the seventh day God rested from all his works [Gen. 2:2].” 5 And again in ·the Scripture [or this passage; C Psalm 95, the passage the author has been discussing] God said, “They will never enter my rest [Ps. 95:11].”
6 ·It is still true that some people will [or This passage shows that some can still] enter God’s rest, but those who ·first [or formerly] ·heard the way to be saved [L had the Good News/Gospel proclaimed to them] did not enter, because they did not ·obey [believe; remain faithful]. 7 So God ·planned [set; established; ordained] another day, called “today” [3:13]. He spoke about that day through David a long time later in the ·same Scripture used before [words quoted before]:
“Today ·listen to what he says [L if you hear his voice…].
Do not ·be stubborn [L harden your hearts; Ps. 95:7–8].”
8 [L For; Now] If Joshua [C Moses’ successor, who led God’s people into the Promised Land; Josh. 3—4] had ·led the people into that [L given them] rest, God would not have spoken later about another day. 9 This shows that the ·rest [L Sabbath rest; C sharing in the rest God enjoyed after Creation] for God’s people ·is still coming [or is still available; L remains]. 10 [L For] Anyone who enters God’s rest ·will rest [or has also rested] from his work as God did. 11 Let us ·try as hard as we can [strive; make every effort] to enter ·God’s [L that] rest so that no one will ·fail [be lost; L fall] by following the example of those who ·refused to obey [or did not believe; were unfaithful].
12 [L For] God’s word is alive and ·working [active; powerful; effective] and is sharper than a double-edged sword. It ·cuts all the way into us, where the soul and the spirit are joined, to the center of our joints and bones [L penetrates until it divides even soul and spirit, joints and marrow]. And it ·judges [discerns] the ·thoughts [ideas] and ·feelings [attitudes; intentions] in our hearts. 13 ·Nothing in all the world [Nothing in all creation; or No creature] can be hidden from God. Everything is ·clear [naked] and ·lies open before him [L exposed to his eyes], and to him we must ·explain the way we have lived [give an account; answer].
Jesus Is Our High Priest
14 [L Therefore] Since we have a great high priest [2:17–18], Jesus the Son of God, who has ·gone into [ascended to; or passed through] ·heaven [or the heavens], let us hold ·on [firmly] to ·the faith we have [L the confession/profession; C of our faith]. 15 ·For our high priest is able [L For we do not have a high priest who is unable] to ·understand [sympathize with] our weaknesses. He was tempted in every way that we are, but he did not sin. 16 Let us, then, ·feel very sure that we can come before [L confidently approach] God’s throne ·where there is grace [L of grace; C as opposed to a throne of judgment and condemnation]. There we can receive mercy and ·grace [L find grace] to help us ·when we need it [L at the right time].
Be Ruled by the Spirit
8 So now, those who are in Christ Jesus are not ·judged guilty[a] [condemned; punished for their sins]. 2 [L For] ·Through [or In] Christ Jesus the ·law [principle; or power] of the Spirit that brings life set you[b] free from the ·law [principle; or power] that brings sin and death. 3 The law [C of Moses] was without power, because the law was made weak by our ·sinful selves [sinful nature; T flesh]. But God did what the law could not do. He sent his own Son to earth ·with the same human life that others use for sin [or in a body like ours, prone to sin; L in the likeness of sinful flesh]. By sending his Son ·to be an offering for sin [L concerning sin], God ·used a human life to destroy sin [L condemned sin in the flesh]. 4 He did this so that ·we could be the kind of people that the law demands that we be [L the law’s righteous/just requirements would be fulfilled in us]. Now we do not ·live [walk; C life’s journey] following our ·sinful selves [sinful nature; T flesh], but following the Spirit.
5 Those who live following their ·sinful selves [sinful nature; T flesh] ·think only about [have their minds set on; or have their outlook shaped by] things that their ·sinful selves [sinful nature; T flesh] want. But those who live following the Spirit ·are thinking about [have their minds set on; or have their outlook shaped by] the things ·the Spirit wants them to do [L of the Spirit]. 6 If people’s ·thinking is controlled by [or outlook/mind is set on] the ·sinful self [sinful nature; T flesh], ·there is [the result is] death. But if their ·thinking is controlled by [or outlook/mind is set on] the Spirit, ·there is [the result is] life and peace. 7 When people’s ·thinking is controlled by [or outlook/mind is set on] the ·sinful self [sinful nature; T flesh], they are ·against [hostile to] God, because they refuse to ·obey [submit to] God’s law and really are not even able to ·obey [submit to] God’s law. 8 Those people who are ·ruled by [or under the control of; L in] ·their sinful selves [their sinful nature; T the flesh] cannot please God.
9 But you are not ·ruled by [controlled by; or in] ·your sinful selves [your sinful nature; T the flesh], but ·by [or in] the Spirit, if that Spirit of God really lives in you. But the person who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to Christ. 10 Your body ·will always be [L is] dead because of sin. But if Christ is in you, then the Spirit ·gives you [L is] life, because ·Christ made you right with God [L of righteousness]. 11 God raised Jesus from the dead, and if God’s Spirit is living in you, the One who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies that die, through[c] his Spirit who lives in you.
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