Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 101
A song of David.
1 I will sing of God’s unsparing love and justice;
to You, O Eternal One, I will sing praises.
2 I will seek to live a life of integrity;
when will You come to me?
I will walk in my house
with an honest and true heart.
3 I will refuse to look
on any sordid thing;
I detest the worthless deeds of those who stray;
evil will not get a hold on me.
4 I will rid my heart of all perversion;
I will not flirt with any evil.
5 Whoever secretly slanders his neighbor,
I will silence;
I will not tolerate
a condescending smirk, an arrogant heart.
6 I will look for those who are loyal in the land
so that they may live with me and know my pleasure.
Whoever walks with integrity
will enter my service.
7 The one who makes a habit of deceit
will not be welcome in my house;
The one who lies
will not remain in my presence for long.
8 Every morning I will purge
all the wicked from the land
So as to rid the city of the Eternal
of those who practice evil.
Psalm 109
For the worship leader. A song of David.
1 O True God of my every praise, do not keep silent!
2 My enemies have opened their wicked, deceit-filled mouths and blown their foul breath on me.
They have slandered me with their twisted tongues
3 And unleashed loathsome words that swirl around me.
Though I have done nothing, they attack me.
4 Though I offer them love and keep them in my prayers, they accuse me;
5 Though I treat them well, they answer me with evil;
though I give them love, they reply with a gesture of hatred.
6 Here’s what they say: Find some evil scoundrel to go after him.
Let’s get some accuser to level charges against him.
7 At his trial, let’s make sure he is found guilty
so that even his prayers become evidence that convicts him.
8 Let his days be few, his life cut short;
let another take over his position.
9 Lay waste to his family—
let his children become orphans and his wife a widow.
10 Let his children wander the streets—his legacy, homeless beggars
scavenging for food,
[driven out of][a] the rubble and slums where they live.
11 Let the bankers take what is his;
strangers help themselves to what little is left of all he’s earned.
12 Let there be no one around to offer him compassion,
nor anyone to give his fatherless children warmth or kindness.
13 Let his family line come to an end—
no future generations to carry on his name!
14 Let the sins of his fathers be remembered before the Eternal,
and the sins of his mother never be erased.
15 Let their offenses always be before the Eternal
so that the memory of this family is long forgotten by all the people of the earth,
16 Because it never occurred to him to show compassion;
instead, he oppressed the poor, afflicted,
and brokenhearted and sent them to their death.
17 He loved to invoke a curse—so let his curses come back to him.
He preferred not to speak a blessing—so let all blessings be far from him.
18 He wrapped himself with cursing, draped around him like a cape;
may it flood his body like water
and seep into his bones like oil.
19 Let those curses wrap around him like a cloak on a cold night,
like a belt tightly knotted around him every day.
20 Let the Eternal so reward my accusers,
all those who speak and plot evil against me.
21 But You, my Master, the Eternal,
treat me with kindness for the sake of Your name, the good of Your reputation;
because Your unfailing love is so good, O deliver me!
22 You see, I am poor and needy,
and my heart is broken inside me.
23 My life is fading away like a shadow that vanishes in the evening;
I am like a locust easily brushed off the shoulder.
24 I can barely stand; my knees are weak from not eating;
I am haggard and drawn, just skin and bones.
25 I have become a person of contempt to my accusers;
whenever they see me, they taunt me, shaking their heads in disapproval.
26 Help me, Eternal One my God; come to my rescue!
Save me through Your unfailing love.
27 Let everyone know that You are the source of my salvation
that You, Eternal One, have done this mighty work.
28 Let them utter a curse, if they will, but You will speak a blessing;
[when they come to attack,][b] let them know utter shame.
Then Your servant will celebrate and praise You!
29 Let my enemies be clothed with disgrace and humiliation;
let them be dressed in a robe of their own shame.
30 I will continually give thanks to the Eternal
with the praises of my mouth;
I will praise Him in the company of many.
Ayin
121 I have lived with fairness and integrity;
do not leave me at the mercy of my tormenters.
122 Provide security and protection for Your servant’s welfare;
do not let the proud oppress me.
123 My eyes are strained as I look for Your salvation
and for Your righteous promise to be fulfilled.
124 Treat Your servant in a manner that shows Your unfailing love,
and help me to learn Your decrees.
125 I am Your servant; impart to me understanding
so that I may fully grasp the depths of Your statutes.
126 It is time for the Eternal to step in and do something
because some have broken Your law.
127 Indeed, I love Your commands
more than gold, even more than the highest quality gold.
128 It’s true that I regard all Your guidance to be correct and good;
I despise every deceptive path.
Pe
129 Your decrees inspire wonder;
because of that, my soul desires to keep them.
130 When Your words are unveiled, light shines forth;
they bring understanding to the simple.
131 My desire for Your commands
left me waiting, open-mouthed and panting.
132 Acknowledge me and show me Your grace
as is Your habit toward all those who love Your name.
133 Guide my steps in the ways of Your word,
and do not let any sin control me.
134 Rescue me from the torment of my human oppressors
so that I may live according Your decrees.
135 Let Your face shine upon Your servant,
and help me to learn what You require.
136 My eyes shed rivers of tears
whenever people fail to keep Your teaching.
Tsadhe
137 You are good and just, O Eternal One,
and Your rulings are right.
138 You have set out Your decrees in justice,
and they can be trusted.
139 I am overwhelmed by my passion
because my enemies have forgotten Your words.
140 Your promise is tested and true;
that’s why Your servant loves it.
141 I may be insignificant to some and hated by others,
but at least I do not forget Your precepts.
142 Your righteousness will last forever,
and Your law is truth.
143 Trouble and distress have overtaken me,
but Your commandments bring me great joy.
144 Your decrees are right and true forever;
grant me understanding so that I may live.
The prophet warns of a time when only a few of God’s people will be left. The shredded fabric of families will leave the most vulnerable exposed and desperate. Women, who in this ancient Israelite society depend on relationships to men for social and financial security, will resort to doing whatever they can to survive beyond the deaths of their fathers, brothers, and husbands. Although the framework of their culture will seem to have crumbled, the story will move forward as the God of Israel remembers His own. There will always be a remnant of those who follow the Lord. Utter despair gives way to hope.
2 Then, oh then, a tiny shoot cultivated and nurtured by the Eternal will emerge new and green, promising beauty and glory. Everything that comes from the earth will offer itself, lovely and magnificent, to those who escaped Israel’s demise. 3 Those who survived in precious Zion, all who remain in that special city, Jerusalem, will be called holy. They are destined to be alive, these remaining few, in Jerusalem. 4 Then the Lord will wash away the filth that clung to the daughters of Zion and clean up the blood that stained Jerusalem’s streets with a spirit of justice and the breath of fire. 5 And the Eternal will create wonders over the whole of Mount Zion and those who gather there—cloud and smoke to dim the day, bright shining fire to light the night, all billowing over Zion’s glory like a satin canopy. 6 And it will be a resting place, protected from the heat of the day, a place of shelter and retreat amid storms and rain.
4 As a prisoner of the Lord, I urge you: Live a life that is worthy of the calling He has graciously extended to you. 2 Be humble. Be gentle. Be patient. Tolerate one another in an atmosphere thick with love. 3 Make every effort to preserve the unity the Spirit has already created, with peace binding you together.
Now that Paul has described the new world as God would have it, he urges believers to live out their callings with humility, patience, and love: to walk as Jesus walked. These are the ways of Jesus. Paul encourages them to do whatever it takes to hold onto the unity that binds people together in peace. He does not ask them to create that unity; this has already been accomplished through the work of the Rescuer and His Spirit. Rather, he calls believers to guard that unity—a more modest but no less significant task—because that unity is founded on God’s oneness and work in the world.
4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were all called to pursue one hope. 5 There is one Lord Jesus, one living faith, one ceremonial washing through baptism,[a] and 6 one God—the Father over all who is above all, through all, and in all. 7 This God has given to each of us grace in full measure according to the Anointed’s gift 8 as the Scripture says,
When He ascended to the heights,
He put captivity in chains;
And in His triumph, He gave gifts to the people.[b]
9 (Well, when it says “He ascended,” then that must mean that He had descended earlier to the lower levels, that is, to the earth. 10 The One who descended is the same One who rose from the dead to ascend far above all the heavens so that He could fill all things.)
11 It was the risen One who handed down to us such gifted leaders—some emissaries,[c] some prophets, some evangelists, as well as some pastor-teachers— 12 so that God’s people would be thoroughly equipped to minister and build up the body of the Anointed One. 13 These ministries will continue until we are unified in faith and filled with the knowledge of the Son of God, until we stand mature in His teachings and fully formed in the likeness of the Anointed, our Liberating King. 14 Then we will no longer be like children, tossed around here and there upon ocean waves, picked up by every gust of religious teaching spoken by liars or swindlers or deceivers. 15 Instead, by truth spoken in love, we are to grow in every way into Him—the Anointed One, the head. 16 He joins and holds together the whole body with its ligaments providing the support needed so each part works to its proper design to form a healthy, growing, and mature body that builds itself up in love.
28 Eventually Jesus came to the other side of the sea, to the region of the Gadarenes. There, two men who lived near the tombs and were possessed by demons came out to the seaside and met Jesus. They were flailing about, so violent that they obstructed the path of anyone who came their way.
Demons (screaming at Jesus): 29 Why are You here? Have You come to torture us even before the judgment day, O Son of God?
30 A ways off, though still visible, was a large herd of pigs, eating.
Demons: 31 If You cast us out of the bodies of these two men, do send us into that herd of pigs!
Jesus: 32 Very well then, go!
And the demons flew out of the bodies of the two flailing men, they set upon the pigs, and every last pig rushed over a steep bank into the sea and drowned. 33 The pig herders (totally undone, as you can imagine) took off; they headed straight for town, where they told everyone what they’d just seen—even about the demon-possessed men. 34 And so the whole town came out to see Jesus for themselves. And when they saw Him, they begged Him to leave their area.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.