Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 93
1 The Eternal reigns, clothed in majesty;
He is dressed in power;
He has surrounded Himself with strength.
He has established the world, and it will never be toppled.
2 Your throne was established from the beginning of the world, O God,
and You are everlasting.
3 The waters have risen, O Eternal One;
the sound of pounding waves is deafening.
The waters have roared with power.
4 More powerful than the thunder of mighty rivers,
more powerful than the mighty waves in the ocean
is the Eternal on high!
5 Your teachings are true;
Your decrees sure.
Sacredness adorns Your house, O Eternal One, forevermore.
Psalm 96
1 Sing a new song to the Eternal;
sing in one voice to the Eternal, all the earth.
2 Sing to the Eternal of all the good things He’s done.
Bless His name;
broadcast the good news of His salvation each and every day.
3 Enlighten the nations to His splendor;
describe His wondrous acts to all people.
4 For the Eternal is great indeed and praiseworthy;
feared and reverenced above all gods, the True God shall be.
5 For all human-made, lifeless gods are worthless idols,
but the Eternal plotted the vast heavens, shaped every last detail.
6 Honor and majesty precede Him;
strength and beauty infuse His holy sanctuary.
One of the great themes of Scripture and Psalms is the kingship of God. While lesser kings come and go, God is the One who ultimately rules and reigns over His people, and by extension over the rest of creation. Psalm 96 and others in the collection are often referred to as “enthronement” psalms because they declare boldly and unequivocally that the Eternal is King. There is evidence to suggest that an annual festival at the beginning of the year provided an opportunity to reaffirm the people’s loyalty to the one True God. Psalm 96 calls for new songs to be composed and sung to God and about God as a witness. The enthronement psalms call the world and all its inhabitants to come and recognize His beauty and majesty.
7 Give all credit to the Eternal, families of the world!
Credit Him with glory, honor, and strength!
8 Credit Him with the glory worthy of His magnificent name;
gather your sacrifice, and present it at His temple.
9 Bow down to the Eternal, adorned in holiness;
lay awestruck before Him, trembling, all people of the earth.
10 Shout out to the nations, “The Eternal reigns!
Yes, indeed, the world is anchored and will not shake loose.
He governs all people with a fair hand.”
11 And so, let the heavens resound in gladness!
Let joy be the earth’s rhythm as the sea and all its creatures roar.
12 Let the fields grow in triumph, a grand jubilee for all that live there.
Let all the trees of the forest dig in and reach high with songs of joy before the Eternal,
13 For the Eternal is on His way:
yes, He is coming to judge the earth.
He will set the world right by His standards,
and by His faithfulness, He will examine the people.
Psalm 34
A song of David as he pretended to be insane to escape from Abimelech.
While there is nothing specific to tie this Davidic psalm to the events in 1 Samuel 21:10–15, the superscription recalls a time when David pretended to be insane to protect himself from the Philistines.
1 I will praise the Eternal in every moment through every situation.
Whenever I speak, my words will always praise Him.
2 Everything within me wants to pay tribute to Him.
Whenever the poor and humble hear of His greatness, they will celebrate too!
3 Come and lift up the Eternal with me;
let’s praise His name together!
4 When I needed the Lord, I looked for Him;
I called out to Him, and He heard me and responded.
He came and rescued me from everything that made me so afraid.
5 Look to Him and shine,
so shame will never contort your faces.
6 This poor soul cried, and the Eternal heard me.
He rescued me from my troubles.
7 The messenger of the Eternal God surrounds
everyone who walks with Him and is always there to protect and rescue us.
8 Taste of His goodness; see how wonderful the Eternal truly is.
Anyone who puts trust in Him will be blessed and comforted.
9 Revere the Eternal, you His saints,
for those who worship Him will possess everything important in life.
10 Young lions may grow tired and hungry,
but those intent on knowing the Eternal God will have everything they need.
11 Gather around, children, listen to what I’m saying;
I will teach you how to revere the Eternal.
12 If you love life
and want to live a good, long time,
13 Take care with the things you say.
Don’t lie or spread gossip or talk about improper things.
14 Walk away from the evil things of the world,
and always seek peace and pursue it.
15 For the Eternal watches over the righteous,
and His ears are attuned to their prayers. He is always listening.
16 But He will punish evildoers,
and nothing they do will last. They will soon be forgotten.
17 When the upright need help and cry to the Eternal, He hears their cries
and rescues them from all of their troubles.
18 When someone is hurting or brokenhearted, the Eternal moves in close
and revives him in his pain.
19 Hard times may well be the plight of the righteous—
they may often seem overwhelmed—
but the Eternal rescues the righteous from what oppresses them.
20 He will protect all of their bones;
not even one bone will be broken.
21 Evil moves in and ultimately murders the wicked;
the enemies of the righteous will be condemned.
22 The Eternal will liberate His servants;
those who seek refuge in Him will never be condemned.
14 So in everything strive to love. Passionately seek the gifts of the Spirit, especially the gift of prophecy. 2 You see, a person speaking in an unknown language is not addressing the church because he is really addressing God—those who overhear don’t understand because he is speaking in the Spirit the depths of the mysteries of the Lord. 3 But a person who has the gift of prophecy teaches in a way that builds up the community, draws them near, and comforts them. 4 Those who speak in an unknown language only strengthen themselves, but those who prophesy strengthen the community. 5 While I’d like for you all to be able to speak by the Spirit in unknown languages, my preference would be for you all to prophesy by the Spirit. Those who speak prophetically are God’s mouthpiece and are far more useful to the church than those who speak in exotic languages—unless there is another who interprets so that the community may be strengthened.
6 If I come to you, brothers and sisters, talking in unknown languages, what good would that be for any of you? You receive no benefit unless I speak to you some word of revelation, knowledge, prophecy, or instruction in your own language. 7 Look, if inanimate objects, musical instruments like a pipe or harp, don’t make a clear, distinct sound, how would you know what tune is being played? 8 If the bugle blares more like a clank, who would know to prepare for battle? 9 It’s the same with you. Unless you speak a message in a language everyone understands, they won’t know what you’re talking about. You’ll be talking into the wind. 10 This world is full of languages, each and every one of them having meaning; 11 but if I don’t understand the meaning of some sound, then I become like a foreigner to the person speaking, and the person speaking will be like a foreigner to me. 12 It’s the same with you; in your passion for spiritual gifts, seek to strengthen the community of believers, and you will all be better off.
20 Jesus: The kingdom of heaven is like a wealthy landowner who got up early in the morning and went out, first thing, to hire workers to tend his vineyard. 2 He agreed to pay them a day’s wage[a] for the day’s work. The workers headed to the vineyard while the landowner headed home to deal with some paperwork. 3 About three hours later, he went back to the marketplace. He saw some unemployed men standing around with nothing to do.
Landowner: 4 Do you need some work? Go over to my vineyard and join the crew there. I’ll pay you well.
So off they went to join the crew at the vineyard. 5 About three hours later, and then three hours after that, the landowner went back to the market and saw another crew of men and hired them, too, sending them off to his vineyard and promising to pay them well. 6 Then finally late in the afternoon, at the cusp of night, the landowner walked again through the marketplace, and he saw other workers still standing around.
Landowner: Why have you been standing here all day, doing nothing?
Workers: 7 Because no one has hired us.
Landowner: Well, you should go over to my vineyard and work.
And off the workers went. 8 When quitting time arrived, the landowner called to his foreman.
Landowner: Pay the workers their day’s wages, beginning with the workers I hired most recently and ending with the workers who have been here all day.
9 So the workers who had been hired just a short while before came to the foreman, and he paid them each a day’s wage.[b] 10 Then other workers who had arrived during the day were paid, each of them a day’s wage. Finally, the workers who’d been toiling since early morning came thinking they’d be paid more, but the foreman paid each of them a day’s wage.[c] 11 As they received their pay, this last group of workers began to protest.
First Workers: 12 We’ve been here since the crack of dawn! And you’re paying us the exact same wage you paid the crew that just showed up. We deserve more than they do. We’ve been slogging in the heat of the sun all day—these others haven’t worked nearly as long as we have!
13 The landowner heard these protests.
Landowner (to a worker): Friend, no one has been wronged here today. This isn’t about what you deserve. You agreed to work for a day’s wage,[d] did you not? 14 So take your money and go home. I can give my money to whomever I please, and it pleases me to pay everyone the same amount of money. 15 Do you think I don’t have the right to dispose of my money as I wish? Or does my generosity somehow prick at you?
16 And that is your picture: The last will be first and the first will be last.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.