Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 55
For the worship leader. A contemplative song[a] of David accompanied by strings.
1 Hear me, O God.
Tune Your ear to my plea,
and do not turn Your face from my prayer.
2 Give me Your attention.
Answer these sighs of sorrow;
my troubles have made me restless—I groan from anxiety
3 All because of my enemy! Because his voice speaks against me,
his wickedness torments me!
He casts down misfortune upon me;
his anger flares; his grudges grow against me.
4 My heart seizes within my chest; I am in anguish!
I am terrified my life could end on any breath.
5 I shiver and shudder in fear;
I can’t stop because this horror is just too much.
6 I said, “If only my arms were wings like the dove’s!
I would fly away from here and find rest—
7 Yes, I would venture far
and weave a nest in the wilderness.
[pause][b]
8 “I would rush to take refuge
away from the violent storm and pounding winds.”
9 Throw them off, O Lord. Confuse their speech, and frustrate their plans,
for violence and contention are building within the city.
I can see it with my own eyes.
10 They plot day and night, scurrying the city walls like rats,
trouble and evil lurking everywhere.
11 In the heart of the city, destruction awaits.
Oppression and lies swarm the streets,
and they will not take leave; no, they will not go.
12 If it were just an enemy sneering at me,
I could take it.
If it were just someone who has always hated me, treating me like dirt,
I’d simply hide away.
13 But it is you! A man like me,
my old friend, my companion.
14 We enjoyed sweet conversation,
walking together in the house of God among the pressing crowds.
15 Let death sneak up on them,
swallow them alive into the pit of death.
Why? Because evil stirs in their homes; evil is all around them.
16 But I, I shall call upon God,
and by His word, the Eternal shall save me.
17 Evening, morning, and noon I will plead;
I will grumble and moan before Him
until He hears my voice.
18 And He will rescue my soul, untouched,
plucked safely from the battle,
despite the many who are warring against me.
19 God, enthroned from ancient times through eternity,
will hear my prayers and strike them down.
[pause]
For they have refused change;
they supply their every need and have no fear of God.
20 My friend has become a foe, breaking faith, tearing down peace.
He’s betrayed our covenant.
21 Oh, how his pleasant voice is smoother than butter,
while his heart is enchanted by war.
Oh, how his words are smoother than oil,
and yet each is a sword drawn in his hand.
22 Cast your troubles upon the Eternal;
His care is unceasing!
He will not allow
His righteous to be shaken.
23 But You, O God, You will drive them
into the lowest[c] pit—
Violent, lying people
won’t live beyond their middle years.
But I place my trust in You.
Psalm 138
A song of David.
1 To You, Lord, I give my whole heart, a heart filled with praise, for I am grateful;
before the gods, my heart sings praises to You and You alone.
2 I bow before You, looking to Your holy temple,
and praise Your name, for Your unfailing love and Your truth;
for You have placed Your name and Your word over all things and all times.
3 On the day I needed You, I called, and You responded
and infused my soul with strength.
4 May all the kings of the earth praise You, O Eternal One,
because they have heard the words You have spoken.
5 They will marvel at the Eternal’s ways, and they will sing,
for great is the glory of the Eternal.
6 Although He is greatest of all, He is attentive to the needy
and keeps His distance from the proud and pompous.
7 Whenever I walk into trouble,
You are there to bring me out.
You hold out Your hand
to protect me against the wrath of my enemies,
and hold me safely in Your right hand.
8 The Eternal will finish what He started in me.
Your faithful love, O Eternal One, lasts forever;
do not give up on what Your hands have made.
Psalm 139
For the worship leader. A song of David.
1 O Eternal One, You have explored my heart and know exactly who I am;
2 You even know the small details like when I take a seat and when I stand up again.
Even when I am far away, You know what I’m thinking.
3 You observe my wanderings and my sleeping, my waking and my dreaming,
and You know everything I do in more detail than even I know.
4 You know what I’m going to say long before I say it.
It is true, Eternal One, that You know everything and everyone.
5 You have surrounded me on every side, behind me and before me,
and You have placed Your hand gently on my shoulder.
6 It is the most amazing feeling to know how deeply You know me, inside and out;
the realization of it is so great that I cannot comprehend it.
7 Can I go anywhere apart from Your Spirit?
Is there anywhere I can go to escape Your watchful presence?
8 If I go up into heaven, You are there.
If I make my bed in the realm of the dead, You are there.
9 If I ride on the wings of morning,
if I make my home in the most isolated part of the ocean,
10 Even then You will be there to guide me;
Your right hand will embrace me, for You are always there.
11 Even if I am afraid and think to myself, “There is no doubt that the darkness will swallow me,
the light around me will soon be turned to night,”
12 You can see in the dark, for it is not dark to Your eyes.
For You the night is just as bright as the day.
Darkness and light are the same to Your eyes.
13 For You shaped me, inside and out.
You knitted me together in my mother’s womb long before I took my first breath.
14 I will offer You my grateful heart, for I am Your unique creation, filled with wonder and awe.
You have approached even the smallest details with excellence;
Your works are wonderful;
I carry this knowledge deep within my soul.
15 You see all things; nothing about me was hidden from You
As I took shape in secret,
carefully crafted in the heart of the earth before I was born from its womb.
16 You see all things;
You saw me growing, changing in my mother’s womb;
Every detail of my life was already written in Your book;
You established the length of my life before I ever tasted the sweetness of it.
17 Your thoughts and plans are treasures to me, O God! I cherish each and every one of them!
How grand in scope! How many in number!
18 If I could count each one of them, they would be more than all the grains of sand on earth. Their number is inconceivable!
Even when I wake up, I am still near to You.
19 I wish You would destroy all the wicked, O God.
So keep away from me, those who are thirsty for blood!
20 For they say such horrible things about You,
and those who are against You abuse Your good name.
21 Is it not true that I hate all who hate You, Eternal One?
Is it not true that I despise all who come against You?
22 Deep hatred boils within me toward them;
I am Your friend, and they are my enemies.
23 Explore me, O God, and know the real me. Dig deeply and discover who I am.
Put me to the test and watch how I handle the strain.
8 If you see the poor oppressed, justice denied, and righteousness rejected in a particular place, then do not be surprised at this; for those in power are watched over by those higher up, and they in turn by some even higher. 9 Still, it is better for the land in every way to have a king who cultivates the fields.[a]
Corruption often starts at the top and works its way down.
10 As the saying goes:
Those who love money will never be satisfied with money,
and those who love riches will never be happy with what they have.
This, too, is fleeting. 11 The more goods there are, the more people there are to consume them. How does any of this really benefit the owners except they can gaze proudly on their possessions? 12 Sweet sleep comes to those who work hard, regardless of how much or how little they’ve eaten. But the abundance of the rich keeps them awake at night.
There is nothing like the sense of gratification that comes from working hard all day, when bread and cheese taste as good as the finest steak. The ability to work, strength to work, and desire for work are all gifts from God. When we understand that and use those gifts accordingly, simple things like sleep and a good meal are causes for joy and celebration. But those who are rich and idle can’t buy a good night’s sleep or a stress-free meal or a moment’s peace.
Teacher: 13 I have witnessed a grave evil pervading our world, one that has been with us since the first sunrise: harm comes to all who hoard their riches. 14 Such riches can easily vanish through some misfortune, so that the rich have nothing left to pass along to their children. 15 We all came naked from our mother’s womb, and we will leave this world as we came, taking nothing of the wealth for which we have toiled. 16 Here, too, is another grave evil: all of us, no matter who we are, will depart this world exactly the same way as we came into it. So what good does it do to continue to toil after the wind? 17 So all our days we eat in darkness, with mounting frustration, suffering, and anger.
18 Then it dawned on me that this is good and proper: to eat and drink and find the good in all the toil that we undertake under the sun during the few days God has given, for this is our lot in life. 19 Also, God gives wealth, possessions, and power to enjoy those things, and He allows them to accept their lot in life and to enjoy hard work. This is God’s gift. 20 For people like this have no time to despair over life because God keeps them so busy with a deep-seated joy.
23 Before faith came on the scene, the law did its best to keep us in line, restraining us until the faith that was to come was fully revealed. 24 So then, the law was like a tutor, assigned to train us and point us to the Anointed, so that we will be acquitted of all wrong and made right by faith. 25 But now that true faith has come, we have no need for a tutor. 26 It is your faith in the Anointed Jesus that makes all of you children of God 27 because all of you who have been initiated into the Anointed One through the ceremonial washing of baptism[a] have put Him on. 28 It makes no difference whether you are a Jew or a Greek, a slave or a freeman, a man or a woman, because in Jesus the Anointed, the Liberating King, you are all one. 29 Since you belong to Him and are now subject to His power, you are the descendant of Abraham and the heir of God’s glory according to the promise.
4 Listen. I am going to explain how this all works: When a minor inherits an estate from his parents, although he is the owner of everything, he is the same as a slave. 2 Until the day set by his father, the minor is subject to the authorities or guardians whom his father put in charge. 3 It is like that with us; there was a time when we were like children held under the elemental powers of this world. 4 When the right time arrived, God sent His Son into this world (born of a woman, subject to the law) 5 to free those who, just like Him, were subject to the law. Ultimately He wanted us all to be adopted as sons and daughters. 6 Because you are now part of God’s family, He sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts; and the Spirit calls out, “Abba, Father.” 7 You no longer have to live as a slave because you are a child of God. And since you are His child, God guarantees an inheritance is waiting for you.
“Abba” is an address spoken by children to their fathers expressing intimacy and respect. It would not be out-of-the-question to think of it as “Dad,” or “Daddy.”
8 During the time before you knew God, you were slaves to powers that are not gods at all. 9 But now, when you are just beginning to know the one True God—actually, He is showing how completely He knows you—how can you turn back to weak and worthless idols made by men, icons of these spiritual powers? Haven’t you endured enough bondage to these breathless idols? 10 You are observing particular days, months, festival seasons, and years; 11 you have me worried that I may have wasted my time laboring among you.
15 Some Pharisees and scribes came from Jerusalem to ask Jesus a question.
Scribes and Pharisees: 2 The law of Moses has always held that one must ritually wash his hands before eating. Why don’t Your disciples observe this tradition?
3 Jesus turned the Pharisees’ question back on them.
Jesus: Why do you violate God’s command because of your tradition? 4 God said, “Honor your father and mother.[a] Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.”[b] 5-6 But you say that one need no longer honor his parents so long as he says to them, “What you might have gained from me, I now give to the glory of God.” Haven’t you let your tradition trump the word of God? 7 You hypocrites! Isaiah must have had you in mind when he prophesied,
8 People honor Me with their lips,
but their hearts are nowhere near Me.
9 Because they elevate mere human ritual to the status of law,
their worship of Me is a meaningless sham.[c]
10 (to the multitude) Hear and understand this: 11 What you put into your mouth cannot make you clean or unclean; it is what comes out of your mouth that can make you unclean.
12 Later the disciples came to Him.
Disciples: Do You realize the Pharisees were shocked by what You said?
Jesus: 13 Every plant planted by someone other than My heavenly Father will be plucked up by the roots. 14 So let them be. They are blind guides. What happens when one blind person leads another? Both of them fall into a ditch.
Peter: 15 Explain that riddle to us.
Jesus: 16 Do you still not see? 17 Don’t you understand that whatever you take in through your mouth makes its way to your stomach and eventually out of the bowels of your body? 18 But the things that come out of your mouth—your curses, your fears, your denunciations—these come from your heart, and it is the stirrings of your heart that can make you unclean. 19 For your heart harbors evil thoughts—fantasies of murder, adultery, and whoring; fantasies of stealing, lying, and slandering. 20 These make you unclean—not eating with a hand you’ve not ritually purified with a splash of water and a prayer.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.