Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 56
For the worship leader. A prayer[a] of David to the tune “Silent Dove in the Distance,”[b] when the Philistine oppressors seized him in Gath.
Psalm 56 brings to mind the time when David fled from Saul and sought help from the Philistines, his former enemies (1 Samuel 21:10–15). In his time of panic and fear, David found courage in trusting God to do what could not be done by human power and ingenuity alone.
1 Show mercy to me, O God, because people are crushing me—
grinding me down like dirt underfoot—all day long.
No matter what I do, I can’t get myself out from under them.
2 My enemies are crushing me, yes all day long, O Highest of High,
for many come proud and raise their hands against me.
3 When struck by fear,
I let go, depending securely upon You alone.
4 In God—whose word I praise—
in God I place my trust. I shall not let fear come in,
for what can measly men do to me?
5 All day long they warp my words;
all their thoughts against me are mangled by evil.
6 They conspire, then lurk about.
They eye my every move,
Waiting to steal my very life.
7 Because they are wicked through and through, drag them out.
In Your just anger, O God, cast them down!
8 You have taken note of my journey through life,
caught each of my tears in Your bottle.
But God, are they not also blots on Your book?
9 Then my enemies shall turn back and scatter
on the day I call out to You.
This I know for certain: God is on my side.
10 In God whose word I praise
and in the Eternal whose word I praise—
11 In God I have placed my trust. I shall not let fear come in,
for what can measly men do to me?
12 I am bound by Your promise, O God.
My life is my offering of thanksgiving to You,
13 For You have saved my soul from the darkness of death,
steadied my feet from stumbling
So I might continue to walk before God,
embraced in the light of the living.
Psalm 57
For the worship leader. A prayer[c] of David to the tune “Do Not Destroy,”[d] when he hid from Saul in a cave.
This individual lament refers back to those perilous times when David fled from Saul and hid in caves (1 Samuel 22; 24). David found real security not in the hidden recesses of the caves but in the shadow of God’s wings.
1 Mercy. May Your mercy come to me, O God,
for my soul is safe within You, the guardian of my life.
I will seek protection in the shade of Your wings
until the destruction has passed.
2 I cry out to God, the Most High,
to God who always does what is good for me.
3 Out of heaven my rescue comes.
He dispatches His mercy and truth
And goes after whoever tries to run over me.
[pause][e]
4 I am surrounded by lions;
I lie in a den of ravenous beasts.
Those around me have spears and arrows for teeth,
a sharpened blade for a tongue.
5 O God, be lifted up above the heavens;
may Your glory cover the earth.
6 Yet my foes cast a net to catch my feet and bring me to my knees.
I am weary from all of this.
They dug a pit to snare me
but fell into their own trap.
[pause]
7 My heart is ready, O God;
my heart is ready,
And I will sing!
Yes, I will sing praise!
8 Wake up, my glory!
Wake up, harp and lyre;
I will stir the sleepy dawn with praise!
9 I will offer You my thanks, O Lord, before the nations of the world;
I will sing of Your greatness no matter where I am.
10 For Your amazing mercy ascends far into the heavens;
Your truth rises above the clouds.
11 O God, be lifted up above the heavens;
may Your glory cover the earth.
Psalm 58
For the worship leader. A prayer[f] of David to the tune “Do Not Destroy.”[g]
1 Can you, panel of judges, get anything right?
When you judge people, do you tell the truth and pursue justice?
2 No, your real selves have been revealed. You have wickedness in your heart,
and many people have suffered by your hands.
3 Evildoers are naturally offensive, wayward at birth!
They were born telling lies and willfully wandering from the truth.
4 Their bite is painful; their venom is like the deadly poison of a snake;
they are like a cobra that closes up its ears
5 To escape the voice of the charmers,
no matter how enchanting the spells may be.
6 O God, shatter their teeth in their mouths!
Render the young lions harmless; break out their fangs, O Eternal One.
7 Let them run off like the waters of a flood,
and though they aim their arrows, let them fly without their heads.
8 Let them melt like a snail that oozes along;
may they be like a stillborn that never catches its first breath, never sees the sun.
9 Before your cook pots know the furious flame of a fire of thorns—
whether green or burning—He will blow the wicked away.
10 Cheers will rise as the right-living watch Him settle the score,
their feet washed in the blood after the onslaught of the wicked.
11 And it will be heard, “Those who seek justice will be rewarded.
Indeed, there is a God who brings justice to the earth!”
Psalm 64
For the worship leader. A song of David.
1 O True God, hear my voice! Listen to my complaint!
Guard my life; keep me safe from my enemy’s threats.
2 Hide me from the sinful circle that conspires against me,
from the band of rebels out to make trouble,
3 Who sharpen their tongues into swords,
who take aim with poisonous words like arrows.
4 They hide in the shadows and shoot at the innocent;
they shoot at them without warning and without any fear.
5 They persist in their evil purpose
and plan in secret to lay their traps.
And they say, “Who will see them?”
6 They plot their offense with precision and say,
“Now we have the perfect crime.”
The human heart and mind are deep and complex.
7 But without hesitation the True God will shoot at them;
His arrow will surely wound them.
8 He will use their very own words to bring them to destruction;
all who see will be appalled at what happens to them.
9 Then everyone will fear the True God;
they will proclaim His deeds
and will reflect upon all He has done.
10 The righteous will delight in the Eternal
and will take shelter in Him.
All those with an honest heart will glorify Him!
Psalm 65
For the worship leader. A song of David.
1 All will stand in awe to praise You.
Praise will sweep through Zion, the Sacred City, O God.
Solemn vows uttered to You will now be performed.
2 You hear us pray in words and silence;
all humanity comes into Your presence.
3 Injustice overwhelms me!
But You forgive our sins, restoring as only You can.
4 You invite us near, drawing us
into Your courts—what an honor and a privilege!
We feast until we’re full on the goodness of Your house,
Your sacred temple made manifest.
5 You leave us breathless when Your awesome works answer us by putting everything right.
God of our liberation—
You are the hope of all creation, from the far corners of the earth
to distant life-giving oceans.
6 With immense power, You erected mountains.
Wrapped in strength, You compelled
7 Choppy seas,
crashing waves,
and crowds of people
To sit in astonished silence.
8 Those who inhabit the boundaries of the earth are awed by Your signs,
strong and subtle hints of Your indelible presence.
Even the dawn and dusk respond to You with joy.
9 You spend time on the good earth,
watering and nourishing the networks of the living.
God’s river is full of water!
By preparing the land,
You have provided us grain for nourishment.
10 You are the gentle equalizer: soaking the furrows,
smoothing soil’s ridges,
Softening sun-baked earth with generous showers,
blessing the fruit of the ground.
11 You crown the year with a fruitful harvest;
the paths are worn down by carts overflowing with unstoppable growth.
12 Barren desert pastures yield fruit;
craggy hills are now dressed for celebration.
13 Meadows are clothed with frolicking flocks of lambs;
valleys are covered with a carpet of autumn-harvest grain;
the land shouts and sings in joyous celebration.
6 Once again, we found that our progress had been reported to our enemies. Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem the Arab (as well as the rest of our adversaries) heard that under my leadership the wall had been rebuilt. Not one gap remained (though the doors still had to be hung on the gates). 2 Sanballat and Geshem sent messengers to me.
Sanballat and Geshem’s Message: Come and meet with us in the plain of Ono, at the border village of Cheriphim.
They were planning to hurt me. 3 So instead of going, I sent messengers back to them.
Nehemiah’s Message: I am in the middle of a great work and cannot be interrupted. I am not coming down to meet with you. What is so important that I should suspend this great work we are doing to travel to see you?
4 This same exchange played out four different times: they asked for a meeting; I refused.
5 The fifth time I was approached by a servant of Sanballat. He came with the same message, but this time he also carried an unsealed letter in his hand.
Sanballat’s Letter: 6 A report has gone out to the surrounding nations that you are rebuilding the wall because you and your fellow Jews are planning to revolt against Persia. Geshem[a] confirms this report and suggests you are looking to be crowned as king. Rumor has it 7 that you have even appointed prophets to announce in Jerusalem, “Judah has a king!” referencing you. Be assured, this very report will make it back to King Artaxerxes. Meet with us at once.
8 My message back to him was simple.
Nehemiah’s Message: There is nothing to what you are saying. You are making it all up.
9 We knew our enemies’ intent was to intimidate us into stopping our work. They reasoned, “These Jews will stop rebuilding out of fear and discouragement. Progress will grind to a halt.” Instead I renewed my dedication, strengthened my hands.
10 A little later, I went to see Shemaiah (Delaiah’s son and Mehetabel’s grandson) who was shut up inside his house.
Shemaiah: It is not safe here. Let us leave and go into God’s house inside the temple and shut the doors. People are coming to kill you. They will come at night.
Nehemiah: 11 Why would a man in my position run for his life? Why would a person like me use the temple to save his life when such contact with God would surely kill me? I refuse to go into the temple under such circumstances.
12-13 While I was speaking these words, I realized God had not sent him to me. God would never tell me to break His laws. Shemaiah’s prophecy was “inspired” by the money of Tobiah and Sanballat. After hearing his message, they thought I would be scared and thus vulnerable to sin. They hoped to use such a lapse in behavior to discredit me.
Nehemiah: 14 O my God, remember these two: Tobiah and Sanballat. Remember what they have done. And do not forget their accomplices—the prophetess Noadiah and her prophetic associates—who have been trying to intimidate me.
15 Even with all that interference, the wall was soon finished. It was the 25th day of Elul. The work had been accomplished in 52 days. 16 When our enemies heard the work was complete and the surrounding nations saw our wall, their confidence crumbled. Only one possible conclusion could be drawn: it was not just our efforts that had done this thing. God had been working alongside us. 17 These developments caused a flurry of correspondence between the nobles of Judah and Tobiah. 18 Many of these nobles in Judah were tied to Tobiah by a marriage oath.
Tobiah has married into Jewish families while living in Jerusalem as interim governor, although he serves Sanballat in Samaria.
He was the son-in-law of Shecaniah (Arah’s son), and his son Jehohanan was married to the daughter of Meshullam (Berechiah’s son). 19 These men constantly praised Tobiah in my presence, describing his good deeds to me. They also reported to Tobiah what I said. And still he sent me his letters; his attempts to intimidate me were ceaseless.
God’s judgment is not only to punish. He wants people to turn to Him for all their needs, but they often look anywhere else for aid and remain in rebellion.
10 Then I saw another extremely powerful messenger descending out of heaven. He wore a cloud wrapped around him, and a rainbow was covering his head. His face shone like the sun, and his legs blazed like columns of fire. 2 In his hand, he held a little scroll that had been unrolled. He placed his right foot on the sea and his left foot on dry land; 3 then he shouted with a voice that sounded like a roaring lion. When he cried out, the seven thunders answered with their own rumbling voices. 4 As I was about to record the thunders’ answer, a voice from heaven stopped me.
A Voice: Seal up all the seven thunders have spoken; do not write it down!
5 Then the messenger, whom I saw standing on the sea and on the dry land, raised his right hand into heaven 6 and swore an oath to the Eternal One—who always lives, who created heaven, earth, the sea, and all that is in them.
Heavenly Messenger: Time has run out. 7 Whenever the days arrive and the seventh messenger sounds his trumpet, the mystery of God will be accomplished just as He announced to His servants, the prophets.
8 Again, the voice I heard from heaven addressed me.
A Voice: Go. Take the little scroll that is unrolled in the hand of the messenger standing both on the sea and on the dry land.
9 I then went to the messenger and asked him to give me the little scroll.
Heavenly Messenger: Take it, and eat it. Although in your mouth it will be sweet to taste, sweet as honey, it will become bitter when it reaches your stomach.
10 I took the little scroll from the hand of the messenger and ate it. In my mouth, it was sweet like honey, but my stomach became bitter after I swallowed it.
Heavenly Messengers (repeating): 11 Once again, you are to prophesy about many peoples, nations, languages, and kings.
36 Then Jesus left the crowds and returned to His house. His disciples followed Him.
Disciples: Explain to us the story You told about the weeds.
Jesus: 37 The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. 38 The field is the world; the good seed represents the children of the Kingdom. The weeds—who do you think the weeds are? They are the children of the evil one, 39 and the enemy who threw the weeds among the wheat is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the workers are God’s heavenly messengers. 40 In the parable, I told you the weeds would be pulled up and burned—well, that is how it will be at the end of this age. 41 The Son of Man will send His messengers out into the world, and they will root out from His kingdom everything that is poisonous, ugly, and malicious, and everyone who does evil. 42 They will throw all that wickedness into the fiery furnace where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth. 43 And the righteous will shine like the sun in their Father’s kingdom. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.