Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 5
For the worship leader. A song of David accompanied by flutes.[a]
The various psalms reflect nearly every human emotion: unbridled joy, deep-seated jealousy, seething anger, hope, and depression. These are only a few of the emotions behind the poetry we hear expressed in individual psalms. Feelings and emotions are central to what it means to be human. We cannot escape them nor should we. Psalms invites us to take the emotions we feel and bring them before God. This book models how to come before God in times of sadness, brokenness, and joy. Psalm 5 is a cry for help and a plea for guidance by a person who suffered at the hands of an enemy. It talks about the morning as the time to pray and listen for God to answer. Like many laments, it begins with a cry but ends in confidence.
1 Bend Your ear to me and listen to my words, O Eternal One;
hear the deep cry of my heart.
2 Listen to my call for help,
my King, my True God;
to You alone I pray.
3 In the morning, O Eternal One, listen for my voice;
in the day’s first light, I will offer my prayer to You and watch expectantly for Your answer.
4 You’re not a God who smiles at sin;
You cannot abide with evil.
5 The proud wither in Your presence;
You hate all who pervert and destroy what is good.
6 You destroy those with lying lips;
the Eternal detests those who murder and deceive.
7 Yet I, by Your loving grace,
am welcomed into Your house;
I will turn my face toward Your holy place
and fall on my knees in reverence before You.
8 O Eternal One, lead me in the path of Your righteousness
amidst those who wish me harm;
make Your way clear to me.
9 Their words cannot be trusted;
they are destructive to their cores.
What comes out of their mouths is as foul as a rotting corpse;
their words stink of flattery.
10 Find them guilty, O True God;
let their own devices bring them ruin.
Throw them out, and let them drown in the deluge of their sin,
for in revolt they brazenly spit in Your face.
11 But let those who run to You for safety be glad they did;
let them break out in joyful song.
May You keep them safe—
their love for You resounding in their hearts.
12 You, O Eternal, are the One who lays all good things in the laps of the right-hearted.
Your blessings surround them like a shield.
Psalm 6
For the worship leader. A song of David accompanied by the lyre.[b]
1 O Eternal One, don’t punish me in Your anger
or harshly correct me.
2 Show me grace, Eternal God. I am completely undone.
Bring me back together, Eternal One. Mend my shattered bones.
3 My soul is drowning in darkness.
How long can You, the Eternal, let things go on like this?
4 Come back, Eternal One, and lead me to Your saving light.
Rescue me because I know You are truly compassionate.
5 I’m alive for a reason—I can’t worship You if I’m dead.
If I’m six feet under, how can I thank You?
6 I’m exhausted. I cannot even speak, my voice fading as sighs.
Every day ends in the same place—lying in bed, covered in tears,
my pillow wet with sorrow.
7 My eyes burn, devoured with grief;
they grow weak as I constantly watch for my enemies.
8 All who are evil, stay away from me
because the Eternal hears my voice, listens as I cry.
9 The Eternal God hears my simple prayers;
He receives my request.
10 All who seek to destroy me will be humiliated;
they will turn away and suddenly crumble in shame.
Psalm 10[a]
1 Why, O Eternal One, are You so far away?
Why can’t You be found during troubling times?
2 Mean and haughty people hunt down the poor.
May they get caught up in their own wicked schemes.
3 For the wicked celebrates the evil cravings of his heart
as the greedy curses and rejects the Eternal.
4 The arrogance of the wicked one keeps him from seeking the True God.
He truly thinks, “There is no God.”
5 His ways seem always to be successful;
Your judgments, too, seem far beyond him, out of his reach.
He looks down on all his enemies.
6 In his heart he has decided, “Nothing will faze me.
From generation to generation I will not face trouble.”
7 His mouth is full of curses, lies, and oppression.[b]
Beneath his tongue lie trouble and wickedness.
8 He hides in the shadows of the villages,
waiting to ambush and kill the innocent in dark corners.
He eyes the weak and the poor.
9 Ominously, like a lion in its lair,
he lurks in secret to waylay those who are downtrodden.
When he catches them, he draws them in and drags them off with his net.
10 Quietly crouching, lying low,
ready to overwhelm the next by his strength,
11 The wicked thinks in his heart, “God has forgotten us!
He has covered His face and will never notice!”
12 Arise, O Eternal, my True God. Lift up Your hand.
Do not forget the downtrodden.
13 Why does the wicked revile the True God?
He has decided, “He will not hold me responsible.”
14 But wait! You have seen,
and You will consider the trouble and grief he caused.
You will impose consequences for his actions.
The helpless, the orphans, commit themselves to You,
and You have been their Helper.
15 Break the arm of the one guilty of doing evil;
investigate all his wicked acts;
hold him responsible for every last one of them.
16 The Eternal will reign as King forever.
The other nations will be swept off His land.
17 O Eternal One, You have heard the longings of the poor and lowly.
You will strengthen them; You who are of heaven will hear them,
18 Vindicating the orphan and the oppressed
so that men who are of the earth will terrify them no more.
Psalm 11
For the worship leader. A song of David.
Psalm 11 is a Davidic psalm expressing trust in the Eternal as a refuge and fortress for those who do what is right. David spent many years struggling first with Saul, then with the neighboring nations, and finally against the rebellion led by his son Absalom.
1 I am already in the soft embrace of the Eternal,
so why do you beckon me to leave, saying,
“Fly like a bird to the mountains.
2 Look! The wicked approach with bows bent,
sneaking around in the shadows,
setting their arrows against their bowstrings to pierce everyone whose heart is pure.
3 If the foundations are crumbling,
is there hope for the righteous?”
4 But the Eternal has not moved; He remains in His holy temple.
He sits squarely on His heavenly throne.
He observes the sons of Adam and daughters of Eve, examining us within and without,
exploring every fiber of our beings.
5 The Eternal searches the hearts of those who are good,
but He despises all those who can’t get enough of perversion and violence.
6 If you are evil, He will rain hot lava over your head,
will fill your cup with burning wind and liquid fire to scorch your insides.
7 The Eternal is right in all His ways;
He cherishes all that is upright.
Those who do what is right in His eyes will see His face.
Saul: 24 I have sinned. I disobeyed the voice of the Eternal One and your instructions because I was afraid of the people. I listened to their counsel instead of yours. 25 So now, please pardon my sin, and return with me so that I can worship the Eternal.
Samuel: 26 I will not return with you. Because you have rejected the voice of the Eternal One, He has rejected your claims to rule Israel. He is through with you.
27 As Samuel turned to go, Saul knelt to the ground, caught the prophet’s robe, and held on so tight that it tore.
Samuel: 28 Today the Eternal One has torn the kingdom of Israel from you to give to your neighbor, who is a better man than you. 29 The One who is the Glory of Israel will not recant or change His mind, for He is not like some mortal being who changes his mind.
Saul: 30 I have sinned. But please, do me this honor in front of the elders of Israel and all the people. Come back with me so that I may worship the Eternal One, your True God.
31 So Samuel returned with Saul, and Saul worshiped the Eternal One. Samuel then completed what Saul had begun.
Samuel: 32 Bring me Agag, king of the Amalekites.
Agag was led to him, being cautiously optimistic that the worst was surely past.
Samuel: 33 Just as your sword has taken children from women, so will this sword make your mother a childless woman.
So Samuel chopped Agag into pieces before the Eternal One at Gilgal. 34 Then Samuel went back to Ramah, and Saul returned to his house in Gibeah of Saul.
35 Samuel never saw Saul again until the day he died. The prophet grieved over the hapless king. And the Eternal grieved, too, regretting that He had ever anointed Saul king over Israel.
32 Peter hadn’t been idle during all this time. He was having a number of amazing experiences of his own, traveling from group to group and visiting the various communities of believers. Once he came to a town called Lydda, a border town between Samaria and Judea, and met with God’s special people there. 33 He visited a man named Aeneas. This poor fellow had been paralyzed for eight years, unable to leave his bed.
Peter: 34 Aeneas, Jesus the Anointed heals you. Get up! Now you can make your own bed!
And immediately—he got up! 35 All the local residents—both of Lydda and nearby Sharon—saw Aeneas healthy and strong again, so they turned to the Lord.
36 In a nearby coastal city, Joppa, there lived a disciple whose Aramaic name was Tabitha, or Dorcas in Greek. She was a good woman—devotedly doing good and giving to the poor. 37 While Peter was in Lydda, she fell sick and died. Her fellow disciples washed her body and laid her in an upstairs room. 38 They had heard Peter was nearby, so two of them went with an urgent message, “Please come to Joppa as soon as possible.”
39 Peter went with them and immediately entered the room where the corpse had been placed. It was quite a scene—the widows of the community were crowded in the room, weeping, showing the various items of clothing that Dorcas had made for them.
40 Peter asked them to leave the room; then he got on his knees. He prayed for a while and then turned to her body.
Peter: Tabitha, get up!
She opened her eyes, saw Peter, and sat up. 41 Giving her his hand, Peter lifted her up. Then he called in the other disciples—including the widows—and reintroduced them to their beloved friend. 42 The news of this miracle spread throughout the city, and many believed in the Lord. 43 Peter stayed in Joppa for some time as the guest of Simon, a tanner by profession.
56 then left to prepare spices and ointments for His proper burial. They ceased their work on the Sabbath so they could rest as the Hebrew Scriptures required.
24 Early on Sunday morning, even before the sun had fully risen, these women made their way back to the tomb with the spices and ointments they had prepared. 2 When they arrived, they found the stone was rolled away from the tomb entrance, 3 and when they looked inside, the body of the Lord Jesus was nowhere to be seen. 4 They didn’t know what to think. As they stood there in confusion, two men suddenly appeared standing beside them. These men seemed to glow with light. 5 The women were so terrified that they fell to the ground facedown.
This phrase, “Son of Man,” is very important in Luke’s story and may have many layers of meaning. It may mean “epitome of humanity” or “prime example of what a human can be.” But it also evokes a specific passage of Scripture that is very important to Jewish people, Daniel 7:13-27. There the phrase “Son of Man” refers to a king who receives an eternal and universal kingdom, and it also represents “the saints of the Most High”—the people of God. In light of Jesus’ central message about the kingdom of God, it is likely that the phrase suggests Jesus is the long-awaited Anointed One who launches a new era in human history and who creates a community of people who represent the eternal and universal kingdom of God. In this way, “Son of” suggests “new generation of,” and “Man” suggests “humanity.” Jesus is Himself the new generation of humanity (a second Adam, a new beginning), and the community He creates shares this identity (a new creation, a new humanity in Jesus). The two messengers here use this pregnant phrase in a way that shocks everyone: The way this long-awaited Anointed One receives His kingdom is not through conventional military victory where enemies are defeated and killed. No, this King receives His kingdom by suffering, dying, and rising again Himself. Amazing news—good news!
Two Men: Why are you seeking the living One in the place of the dead? 6 He is not here. He has risen from the dead. Don’t you remember what He told you way back in Galilee? 7 He told you that the Son of Man must be handed over to wicked men, He must be crucified, and then on the third day He must rise.
8 The women did remember Jesus’ words about this, 9 so they returned from the tomb and found the eleven and recounted for them—and others with them—everything they had experienced. 10-11 The Lord’s emissaries[a] heard their stories as fiction, a lie; they didn’t believe a word of it. (By the way, this group of women included Mary Magdalene, Joanna, and Mary the mother of James, along with a number of others.)
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.