Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 89
A contemplative song[a] of Ethan the Ezrahite.
Psalm 89 begins on a note of praise and ends with a lament. The heart of this psalm recalls God’s choice of David as king and God’s covenant with him to establish an eternal dynasty (2 Samuel 7).
1 I will sing of Your unfailing love, Eternal One, forever.
I will speak of Your faithfulness to all generations.
2 I will tell how Your unfailing love will always stand strong;
and how Your faithfulness is established in the heavens above.
3 You said, “I have made a covenant with My chosen one.
I made My servant, David, this promise:
4 ‘I will establish your dynasty
so that you and your descendants will always be secure.
Your rule will continue for generations to come.’”
[pause][b]
5 Let the heavens join in praising the wonderful works of the Eternal.
The holy ones have gathered, singing of Your faithfulness.
6 For there is no one above who compares to the Eternal,
not one of heaven’s creatures is like Him in the least.
7 In the council of holy ones, God is lifted high and feared;
His presence overwhelms all who are near Him.
8 O Eternal God, Commander of heaven’s armies,
who is mighty like You?
You are completely faithful; that’s why we trust You.
9 The ocean waters are at Your command.
When violent waves rise up, You still them.
10 You defeated Rahab, that ancient monster of chaos,
and left it lifeless.
You routed Your enemies and scattered them by Your great arm of power.
11 Everything in the sky above and the earth below are Yours.
The world and all it contains are Yours, for You created them all.
12 Everything was created by You—the north, the south—
the mountains of Tabor and Hermon echo joyously the song of Your name.
13 Your arm is strong.
Your grip is powerful.
Your right hand is raised up high.
14 Your rule is rooted deeply in justice and righteousness—
unfailing love and truth lead from the way ahead of You.
15 How happy are those who have learned how to praise You;
those who journey through life by the light of Your face.
16 Every hour of the day, they rejoice at the sound of Your name.
They are lifted up and encouraged by Your righteousness.
17 For You are the beauty of their strength.
On account of Your favor, our strength, our horn, is increased.
18 For our shield of protection comes from the Eternal,
and the Holy One of Israel has given us our king.
19 Long ago You spoke through a vision to Your faithful followers, saying,
“I have given help to a warrior;
I have chosen a hero from among My people.
20 I have found David, My servant.
With My holy oil, I have anointed him king.
21 My strong hand will stay with him and sustain him, regardless of trial or foe.
My mighty arm will be his strength and shield.
22 The deceit of his enemies will not outwit him.
The wicked will not defeat him.
23 I will pound his enemies right in front of him.
I will strike down all those who hate him.
24 My faithfulness and unfailing love will never leave him;
through My name, strength and power will be his.
25 I will extend his rule over the oceans,
his right hand will control the rivers.
26 He will cry out to Me, ‘You are my Father,
my God, and the Rock of my salvation!’
27 I will make him My firstborn;
no earthly king shall be greater.
28 My unfailing love will always be with him, protecting him;
My covenant with him will never be broken.
29 I will ensure his family’s future forever;
his dynasty will last as long as the heavens.
30 If his children turn away from Me and forsake My law,
if they refuse to walk according to My judgments,
31 If they disobey My instructions
and ignore My commandments,
32 Then I will use the rod to punish their sins
and stripes to deal with their iniquity.
33 And yet My unfailing love of him will remain steadfast and strong.
I will not be unfaithful to My promise.
34 I will not violate My covenant,
nor will I alter even one word of what My lips have spoken.
35 These words I have pledged in My holiness once and for all,
and I will not lie to David.
36 As long as the sun lights the day before Me, his descendants will continue to rule.
His kingdom will last forever.
37 His dynasty will stand firm for all time like the moon,
the faithful witness that stands watch in the night sky.”
[pause]
38 But what now? You have turned Your back and walked away!
Your full fury burns against Your anointed king.
39 You made a covenant with Your servant, then renounced it,
casting his sacred crown into the dust.
40 You have broken down the walls that protected Your servant;
his defenses are reduced to a pile of rubble.
41 Strangers now plunder all that he has left;
he has become a laughingstock among his neighbors.
42 You have made his adversaries strong.
His enemies celebrate their victory.
43 You have dulled the blade of his sword,
and You have not helped him stand strong in the battle.
44 You have brought his days of splendor to an abrupt end;
You have toppled his throne;
it sits in the dust.
45 You have cut short the days of his youth
and have covered him with shame and despair.
[pause]
46 How long must we endure, O Eternal One?
Will You hide Yourself forever?
How long will Your wrath burn like fire?
47 Remember my days are numbered.
Have You created the children of Adam to live futile lives?
48 Death waits at the gate; who can escape and live?
Does the grave hold exceptions for any of us?
Who can deliver us from the power of the grave?
[pause]
49 O Lord, where is the unfailing love You showed in times past?
And where is the proof of Your faithfulness to David?
50 Remember how Your servants are ridiculed, O Lord;
how I carry within me the insults of so many peoples.
51 Your enemies are mocking me, O Eternal One,
mocking every step Your anointed one made.
52 Praise the Eternal always. Amen. Amen.
16 Sometime later, a discontented contingent challenged Moses. Korah (Izhar’s son, Kohath’s grandson, and Levi’s great-grandson) together with the Reubenites Dathan and Abiram (Eliab’s sons) and On (Peleth’s son) 2 gathered another 250 Israelite men, all of them respectable members of the community, some even chosen leaders, and confronted Moses.
Korah and His Men (to Moses and Aaron): 3 You’ve taken this leadership way too far. We are all holy; indeed each individual is holy to our God. The Eternal One is present among the entire congregation. How can you presume to be better than any of us, the Eternal’s chosen community?
4 When Moses heard their complaint, he collapsed to the ground, again hoping to divert God’s anger.
Moses (to Korah and his men): 5 In the morning, the Eternal One will demonstrate exactly who is who among us—who belongs to the Eternal[a] as a holy servant whom He allows into His presence. He will indicate whom He chooses to approach Him. 6 All of you, take censers: Korah and your company. 7 Light them, put incense on the flame, and set them down in front of the Eternal tomorrow. The person whom He chooses will be the holy one. O Levites, you have taken this too far!
8 (to Korah) Listen, you Levites. 9 Isn’t it enough that the God of Israel has selected you specially, out of the entire Israelite congregation, to allow you to come close to the Eternal in the process of taking care of His very congregation tent and place of revelation? To be so distinguished before all of the other Israelites in your service? 10 The Eternal has granted you this privilege, Korah, you and all your fraternity of Levites. Yet you want the whole priesthood too? You should be ashamed. 11 This has led you to band together against the Eternal. But why should you be so hard and gripe against Aaron?
12 Bring the brothers Dathan and Abiram (Eliab’s sons) to me.
Dathan and Abiram: Forget it. We are not going to come running at your bidding. 13 You took us out of a place that was so rich—Egypt, flowing with milk and honey—in order to let us die in this desert wasteland, and now you’re actually trying to assert yourself as our ruler. 14 You haven’t brought us to a land flowing with milk and honey or delivered on your promise of fields and vineyards to call our own. What else will you do? Are you going to pluck out the eyes of these 250 men now? There’s no way we’re coming to you.
15 Now, Moses was furious.
Moses (to the Lord): Whatever You do, do not even look at the offerings from these people. I’ve never taken anything that belonged to them or hurt them in any way.
Moses responds with a justified and righteous anger. He demands that they be ignored because they’re full of themselves, and they are liars too.
16 (to Korah) You, get your unruly mob over here tomorrow. Assemble in this spot—before the Eternal One Himself—you and your people. Aaron will be there too. 17 Then let each person (all 250) take his censer, put the incense into it, and present it to the Eternal. You, too, Korah; and Aaron will do the same.
18 They all did this. They ignited the censers, put their incense inside, and stood with Moses and Aaron at the opening of the congregation tent where God would meet with them. 19 But Korah stirred up the people standing there against Moses and Aaron. The glory of the Eternal One was visible to all,
21 But now for the good news: God’s restorative justice has entered the world, independent of the law. Both the law and the prophets told us this day would come. 22 This redeeming justice comes through the faithfulness of Jesus,[a] the Anointed One, the Liberating King, who makes salvation a reality for all who believe—without the slightest partiality. 23 You see, all have sinned, and all their futile attempts to reach God in His glory fail. 24 Yet they are now saved and set right by His free gift of grace through the redemption available only in Jesus the Anointed. 25 When God set Him up to be the sacrifice—the seat of mercy where sins are atoned through faith—His blood became the demonstration of God’s own restorative justice. All of this confirms His faithfulness to the promise, for over the course of human history God patiently held back as He dealt with the sins being committed. 26 This expression of God’s restorative justice displays in the present that He is just and righteous and that He makes right those who trust and commit themselves to Jesus.
In the incarnation and sacrificial death of Jesus, God is at work to extend salvation to those who fall under sin’s addiction. They are liberated from its power, cleansed of its stain. By “God’s restorative justice,” Paul means first the justice that belongs to God and reflects His character. God is just, fair, or in a word, righteous. But character is dynamic, not static. This means that God’s justice must express itself in some way. So it is in the nature of God’s justice that He acts to restore and repair a world that is not the way it should be. Above all, it is God’s saving actions through Jesus that constitute the gift of God’s restorative justice.
27 So is there any place left for boasting? No. It’s been shut out completely. And how? By what sort of law? The law of works perhaps? No! By the law of faith. 28 We hold that people are justified, that is, made right with God through faith, which has nothing to do with the deeds the law prescribes.
29 Is God the God of the Jews only? If He created all things, then doesn’t that make Him the God of all people? Jews and non-Jews, insiders and outsiders alike? Yes, He is also the God of all the outsiders. 30 So since God is one, there is one way for Jews and outsiders, circumcised and uncircumcised, to be right with Him. That is the way of faith. 31 So are we trying to use faith to abolish the law? Absolutely not! In fact, we now are free to uphold the law as God intended.
13 At this, some of Jesus’ followers brought their children before Jesus; they wanted Him to place His hands on the children and pray for them. Some of the disciples, mistakenly thinking that Jesus wouldn’t want to be bothered with the likes of children, began to rebuke the crowd.
Jesus: 14 Let the little children come to Me; do not get in their way. For the kingdom of heaven belongs to children like these.
15 He laid His hands on them, He prayed with them, and then He left that spot and went elsewhere. 16 Then a young man came up to Jesus.
Young Man: Teacher, what good deed can I do to assure myself eternal life?
Jesus: 17 Strange that you should ask Me what is good. There is only One who is good. If you want to participate in His divine life, obey the Commandments.
Young Man: 18 Which Commandments in particular?
Jesus: Well, to begin with, do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, 19 honor your father and mother, and love your neighbor as yourself.[a]
Young Man: 20 I’ve kept those Commandments faithfully. What else do I need to do?
Jesus can see the man wants to know how to participate in God’s reality, and He knows his shoulders will sag under the weight of the next hard instruction.
Jesus: 21 If you want to be perfect, go and sell all your possessions and give all your money to the poor; then you will have treasure in heaven. And then come, follow Me.
22 The young man went away sad because he was very wealthy indeed.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.