Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 95
1 Come, let us worship in song, a joyful offering to the Eternal.
Shout! Shout with joy to the rock of our liberation.
2 Come face-to-face with God, and give thanks;
with loud and joyful voices, praise Him in songs.
3 For the Eternal is a great God,
and a great King, supreme over all gods.
4 Within His control are the very depths of the earth;
the mountaintops too—they all belong to Him.
5 The sea belongs to Him, for He created it—scooped and filled it—
with His hands He made the dry land—every valley and mountain.
6 Come, let us worship Him. Everyone bow down;
kneel before the Eternal who made us.
7 For He is our God
and we are His people, the flock of His pasture,
His sheep protected and nurtured by His hand.
Today, if He speaks, hear His voice.
8 “Don’t harden your hearts the way they did in the bitter uprising at Meribah
or like that day they complained in the wilderness of Massah.
9 Your ancestors tested Me,
wanted Me to prove Myself though they had seen that nothing was too great for Me.
10 For 40 years I despised that grumbling generation
and said, ‘Their hearts are unfaithful;
they no longer walk in My ways; though I call, they do not listen to My voice.’
11 That is why in My anger I swore,
‘They will never enter into My rest.’”
Psalm 102
A prayer of the weak and oppressed, when he turns his complaints to the Eternal.
1 Hear me, O Eternal One, hear my prayer!
Hear my lonely desperate cry for help.
2 Do not hide from me
when my days are filled with anguish;
Lend Your ear to my wailing,
and answer me quickly when I call.
3 For my days come and go, vanishing like smoke,
and my bones are charred like bricks of a hearth.
4 My heart is beaten down like grass withered and scorched in the summer heat;
I can’t even remember to eat.
5 My body is shaken by my groans;
my bones cling to my skin, holding on for dear life.
6 I am like a solitary owl in the wilderness;
I am a lost and lonely screech owl at home in the rubble.
7 I stare at the ceiling, awake in my bed;
I am alone, a defenseless sparrow perched on a roof.
8 All day long my enemies chide me;
those who mock me spit out my name as a curse.
9 For ashes have become my bread;
my tears fall into my drink
10 Because of the depth of Your wrath.
You have brought me up
and then hurled me aside.
11 My days go by like a long shadow—stretched thin and disappearing—
I shrivel up like grass baked in the hot sun.
12 But You, O Eternal One, remain forever,
and Your name endures to all generations.
13 You will rise up once again and remember Your love for Zion;
it is time to have mercy on Your city;
yes, it is the divinely appointed time.
14 Your faithful servants take pleasure in her every stone;
they even delight in the dust of her streets.
15 Days are coming when nations will tremble at the name of the Eternal;
all the rulers of the earth will bow down to Your glory.
16 For He will return to rebuild His city, Zion;
He will be seen in His splendor.
17 He will listen to the prayer of the impoverished
and welcome their prayers.
18 Let this record be kept for posterity
so that people not yet born may praise the Eternal.
19 Tell them that He looked down from holy heights, His heavenly sanctuary;
the Eternal looked down from heaven and closely watched the earth,
20 Hearing the prisoners’ groans—
releasing those awaiting execution—
21 That the name of the Eternal would resound in Zion,
and His praise would be proclaimed in Jerusalem
22 When the peoples gather
and the nations’ leaders assemble to worship the Eternal.
23 Along my way He has sapped my strength;
He has shortened my days here on earth.
24 I said, “O my True God, don’t take me away
in the middle of my life;
Unlike me, Your years continually unfold
throughout all generations.”
25 In the beginning, You laid the foundation of the earth
and set the skies above us with Your own hands.
26 But while they will someday pass away, You remain forever;
when they wear out like old clothes,
You will roll them up and change them into something new, and they will pass away.
27 But You are the same, You will never change;
Your years will never come to an end.[a]
28 The children of those who serve You will enjoy a good, long life;
their offspring will stand strong before You.
Book Five
Book Five (Psalms 107–150) succinctly presents many of the major themes of the previous psalms. It tracks along Israel’s history as God’s nation, from the united monarchy, through the exile, to the restoration. Psalm 107 is a song of thanksgiving composed by those who survived exile and made their way home. As in Isaiah, the return from exile is described as a new exodus. Three Davidic psalms toward the beginning of Book Five represent the monarchy and recall Israel’s golden age. The Songs for the Journey to Worship (Psalm 120–134) are composed for use by God’s people as they traveled from their homes up to Zion to worship God at the temple. Representing their time in exile are songs of lament, heartbreaking testimonies to individuals’ pain when they are crushed by their enemies and separated from God’s blessings. Finally, Book Five concludes the collection by offering praise and thanks to God, for the story of Israel does not end with its exile and separation; rather, it ends in restoration and hope. Those who edited and compiled the Book of Psalms were relieved to be back in the land of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—rebuilding their temple and reestablishing their connection with God.
Psalm 107
1 Erupt with thanks to the Eternal, for He is good
and His loyal love lasts forever.
2 Let all those redeemed by the Eternal—
those rescued from times of deep trouble—join in giving thanks.
3 He has gathered them across the earth,
from east and west,
from [north and south].[a]
4 Some drifted around in the desert
and found no place where they could live.
5 Their bellies growled with hunger; their mouths were dry with thirst;
their souls grew weak and weary.
6 In their distress, they called out to the Eternal,
and He saved them from their misery.
7 He showed them the best path; then He led them down the right road
until they arrived at an inhabited town.
8 May they erupt with praise and give thanks to the Eternal
in honor of His loyal love
And all the wonders He has performed for humankind!
9 He has quenched their thirst,
and He has satisfied their hunger with what is good.
10 Some people were locked up in dark prisons, confined in gloom as bleak as death.
They were captives bound by iron chains and misery,
11 All because they had rebelled against the directives of the True God
and had rejected the wisdom of the Most High.
12 So they suffered the heaviness of slave labor;
when they stumbled and fell, there was no one to help them up.
13 In their distress, they called out to the Eternal;
He saved them from their misery.
14 He rescued them from the darkness, delivered them from the deepest gloom of death;
He shattered their iron chains.
15 May they erupt with praise and give thanks to the Eternal
in honor of His loyal love
And all the wonders He has performed for humankind!
16 He has broken down the bronze gates
and severed the iron bars that imprisoned them.
17 Some people became fools infected by their rebellious ways,
and sickness followed because of their sins.
18 Afflicted and weak, they refused any sort of food
as they approached the gates of death.
19 In their distress, they called out to the Eternal,
and He saved them from their misery.
20 He gave the order and healed them
and rescued them from certain death.
21 May they erupt with praise and give thanks to the Eternal
in honor of His loyal love
And all the wonders He has performed for humankind!
22 Let them present to Him thanksgiving sacrifices
and tell stories of His great deeds through songs of joy.
23 Some set out to sea in ships,
traveling across mighty seas in order to trade in foreign lands.
24 They witnessed the powerful acts of the Eternal,
marveled at the great wonders He revealed over the deep waters.
25 For He spoke and summoned a violent wind
that whipped up the waves of the sea.
26 Relentless waves lifted the ships high in the sky, then drove them down to the depths;
the sailors’ courage dissolved into misery.
27 They staggered and stumbled around like drunkards,
and they had no idea what to do.
28 In their distress, they called out to the Eternal,
and He saved them from their misery.
29 He commanded the storm to calm down, and it became still.
A hush came over the waves of the sea,
30 The sailors were delighted at the quiet,
and He guided them to their port.
31 May they erupt with praise and give thanks to the Eternal
in honor of His loyal love
And all the wonders He has performed for humankind!
32 Let them glorify Him in the assembly of His people
and worship Him in the presence of the elders.
Pharaoh wants the boys dead because he knows they may grow up to fight against him, but he wants the girls to live. He is sure he can find a use for them.
2 One day a man and woman—both from the tribe of Levi—married. 2 She became pregnant and gave birth to a son. When she saw that her son was healthy and beautiful, she feared for his safety; so she kept him hidden from view for three whole months.
3 When she could no longer keep him hidden away, she took a basket made of reeds, sealed it with tar and pitch, and placed her baby boy in it. Then she wedged the basket among the reeds along the edge of the Nile River.
The Hebrew word for the “basket” that Moses’ mother prepared is the word used in Genesis 6:14 for the “ark” that preserves Noah and his family from a watery judgment.
4 All the while, the child’s sister watched from a distance to see what might happen to her baby brother.
5 Later on Pharaoh’s daughter came down to bathe in the river while her young attendants walked along the bank nearby. Pharaoh’s daughter noticed the basket wedged among the reeds and wondered what it might contain. So she instructed her maid to bring it to her. 6 When Pharaoh’s daughter opened the basket, she found the baby boy. He was crying, and her heart melted with compassion.
Pharaoh’s Daughter: This is a Hebrew child.
Child’s Sister (coming out of her hiding place): 7 Would you like me to find a Hebrew woman to nurse the child for you?
Pharaoh’s Daughter: 8 All right. Go find a nurse.
So the baby’s sister went and fetched his mother. The boy’s mother approached Pharaoh’s daughter.
Pharaoh’s Daughter (to the nurse): 9 Here! Take this child and nurse him for me, and I will pay you for your services.
So the woman took the child—who was secretly her own son—and nursed him just as Pharaoh’s daughter had instructed.
This child is destined for greatness. Powerful people want him dead; instead, Providence intervenes.
10 The boy grew, and when the time was right, the woman brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and she adopted him as her own. She named him Moses because, as she explained, “I took him out of the water.”
11 Years later, when Moses had grown up, he went out to observe his people—the Hebrews—and he witnessed the heavy burden of labor forced upon them. He also witnessed an Egyptian beating one of his Hebrew brothers. 12 He looked around to see if anyone was watching but there was no one in sight, so he beat the Egyptian just as the Egyptian had beaten the Hebrew. Moses ended up killing the Egyptian and hid the dead body in the sand.
13 He went out again the next day and saw two of his Hebrew brothers fighting with each other. Moses confronted the offender.
Moses: Why are you hitting your friend?
Offender: 14 Who made you our prince and judge? Are you going to kill me as you did the Egyptian yesterday?[a]
Fear immediately gripped Moses.
Moses (to himself): The news of what I did must have spread. I must get out of here quickly.
15 Moses was right. When the news reached Pharaoh, he sought to have Moses killed. But Moses ran away from Pharaoh until he reached the land of Midian. There he sat down beside a well.
16 Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters. While Moses was sitting there, resting from his journey, they came to get water from the well in order to fill the troughs with water for their father’s flock. 17 At that moment, a band of shepherds came and forced the priest’s flocks away from the well; but Moses stood up for the young women, came to their rescue, and even watered their father’s flock for them. 18 The women returned to their father Reuel (he was also known as Jethro).
Many people and places in the Scriptures have more than one name. Jethro is likely his given name, while Reuel is his priestly name.
Jethro: Why are you back so early today?
Women: 19 An Egyptian was at the well and he saved us from the bullying of the shepherds. He even drew water from the well and watered the flock for us.
Jethro: 20 Where is this man? Why did you leave him at the well? Go find him, and invite him over for a meal.
21 After experiencing Jethro’s hospitality, Moses agreed to come and live with him; and eventually Jethro arranged for one of his daughters, Zipporah, to marry Moses.[b] 22 Later Zipporah became pregnant and gave birth to a son; and Moses named the child Gershom because, as he explained, “I have been an outsider in a foreign land.”
27 You are the body of the Anointed, the Liberating King; each and every one of you is a vital member. 28 God has appointed gifts in the assembly: first emissaries,[a] second prophets, third teachers, then miracle workers, healers, helpers, administrators, and then those who speak with various unknown languages. 29 Are all members gifted as emissaries? Are all gifted with prophetic utterance? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? 30 Or are all gifted in healing arts? Do all speak or interpret unknown languages? Of course not. 31 Pursue the greater gifts, and let me tell you of a more excellent way—love.
Gifts of the Spirit, which are intended to strengthen the church body, often divide the body because members of the church elevate those who possess the more visible gifts over those whose gifts function in the background. In fact, this is the very problem facing the Corinthians. So while talking about the importance and function of these gifts in chapters 12 and 14, Paul shifts his focus to the central role love plays in a believer’s life in chapter 13. Love is essential for the body to be unified and for members to work together. Members of the body that are very different, with little in common, are able to appreciate and even enjoy others because of the love that comes when a life is submitted to God.
13 What if I speak in the most elegant languages of people or in the exotic languages of the heavenly messengers, but I live without love? Well then, anything I say is like the clanging of brass or a crashing cymbal. 2 What if I have the gift of prophecy, am blessed with knowledge and insight to all the mysteries, or what if my faith is strong enough to scoop a mountain from its bedrock, yet I live without love? If so, I am nothing. 3 I could give all that I have to feed the poor, I could surrender my body to be burned as a martyr, but if I do not live in love, I gain nothing by my selfless acts.
2 Six days after saying this, Jesus took Peter, James, and John and led them up onto a high mountaintop by themselves. There He was transformed 3 so that His clothing became intensely white, brighter than any earthly cleaner could bleach them. 4 Elijah and Moses appeared to them and talked with Jesus.
Peter (to Jesus): 5 Teacher, it’s a great thing that we’re here. We should build three shelters here: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.
6 He was babbling and did not know what he was saying because they were terrified by what they were witnessing.
7 Then a cloud surrounded them, and they heard a voice within that cloud.
Voice: This is My beloved Son. Listen to Him.
8 All of a sudden, they looked about and all they had seen was gone. They stood alone on the mountain with Jesus.
9 On their way back down, He urged them not to tell anyone what they had witnessed until the Son of Man had risen from the dead, 10 so they kept it all to themselves.
Mark doesn’t usually record events with much attention to chronology; but in this case, he mentions that the transfiguration took place six days after Peter’s confession of Jesus’ identity. In a dramatic confirmation of the truth Peter has spoken, the three disciples see that Jesus is indeed the Anointed One of God. The veil of Jesus’ human nature is pulled away, and the glory of His divinity shines through.
The appearance of Moses and Elijah shows that Jesus is the fulfillment of the law and the answer to all the promises of the prophets. The disciples hear God’s own voice commanding them to listen to Jesus as His beloved Son. What an incredible confirmation of the truth that Peter spoke in faith only six days before!
Disciples (to one another): What does He mean, “Until the Son of Man is risen”? 11 (to Jesus) Master, why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?
Jesus (thinking of John the Baptist): 12 Elijah does come first to restore all things. They have it right. But there is something else written in the Scriptures about the Son of Man: He will have to suffer and be rejected. 13 Here’s the truth: Elijah has come; his enemies treated him with contempt and did what they wanted to him, just as it was written.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.