Book of Common Prayer
Mem
97 Oh, how I love Your law!
I fix my mind on it all day long.
98 Your commands make me wiser than my enemies
because they are always with me.
99 I have more discernment than all my teachers
because I study and meditate on Your testimonies.
100 I comprehend more than those who are my elders
because I have kept Your precepts.
101 I have kept my feet from walking the paths of evil
so that I may live according to Your word.
102 I have not neglected Your lessons,
for You, God, have been my teacher.
103 Your words are sweet to my taste!
Yes, they are sweeter than honey in my mouth!
104 I gain understanding from Your instructions;
that’s why I hate every deceitful path.
Nun
105 Your word is a lamp for my steps;
it lights the path before me.
106 I have taken an oath and confirmed it:
I pledge to do what You say is right and just.
107 I have suffered terribly, O Eternal One;
give me the life You promised.
108 Please accept the words I offer willingly, O Eternal One,
and instruct me in the ways of Your justice.
109 My soul is continually in danger,
but I do not forget Your teachings.
110 The wicked have laid a trap for me,
but I have not drifted away from Your instructions.
111 Your decrees are forever mine,
for they bring joy to my life.
112 I have committed myself to do what You require
forever and ever, to the very end.
Samekh
113 I despise those who waver back and forth,
but I love Your teachings.
114 You are my hiding place and my shield of protection;
I hope in Your word.
115 Away from me, reprobates!
I am committed to observing the commands of my God.
116 Support me in keeping with Your promise, O God, so that I may live;
do not let my hope turn into shame.
117 Help me so that I will be safe,
and I will respect Your laws continually.
118 You have rejected all those who stray from Your commands
because their fraudulent lifestyles are cunning and empty.
119 You have discarded all the wicked from the land, skimmed them off like dross;
that’s why I love Your testimonies.
120 My body shakes because of my fear of You,
and I am in awe of Your wise rulings.
Psalm 81
For the worship leader. A song of Asaph accompanied by the harp.[a]
God’s covenant people celebrated many festivals honoring God and His provisions. Poets composed songs specifically for use on feast days. Psalm 81 is one of those. It was written to celebrate the Festival of Booths. God commanded His people to celebrate this festival every year so they would remember how God provided for them as they moved toward the promised land (Deuteronomy 16:13–15). A portion of this psalm (verses 5b–16) would have been sung by the lead musician as if he were speaking for God.
In the annual rhythm of festivals and praise, God is reminding the people of all He has done for them and of their past disobedience in spite of His love. He is also calling His people to renew their commitment to Him, a reasonable request on a holiday honoring Him.
1 Sing with joy to God, our strength, our fortress.
Raise your voices to the True God of Jacob.
2 Sing and strike up a melody;
sound the tambourine,
strum the sweet lyre and the harp.
3 Blow the trumpet to announce the new moon,
the full moon, the day of our feast.[b]
4 For this is prescribed for Israel,
a rule ordained by the True God of Jacob.
5 A precept established by God in Joseph
during His journey in Egypt.
I hear it said in a language foreign to me:
6 “I removed the burden from your shoulders;
I removed heavy baskets from your hands.
7 You cried out to Me, I heard your distress, and I delivered you;
I answered you from the secret place, where clouds of thunder roll.
I tested you at the waters of Meribah.
[pause][c]
8 “O My people, hear Me; I will rebuke you.
Israel, Israel! If you would only listen to Me.
9 Do not surround yourselves with other gods
or bow down to strange gods.
10 I am the Eternal, your True God.
I liberated you from slavery, led you out from the land of Egypt.
If you open your mouth wide, I will fill it.
11 “But My own people did not hear My voice!
Israel refused to obey Me.
12 So I freed them to follow their hard hearts,
to do what they thought was best.
13 If only My people would hear My voice
and Israel would follow My direction!
14 Then I would not hesitate to humble their enemies
and defeat their opposition Myself.
15 Those who hate the Eternal will cower in His presence, pretending to submit;
they secretly loathe Him, yet their doom is forever.
16 But you—I will feed you the best wheat
and satisfy you with honey out of the rock.”
Psalm 82
A song of Asaph.
Psalm 82 provides an image of a heavenly scene in which God accuses His heavenly messengers of not caring for the poor and pursuing justice.
1 The True God stands to preside over the heavenly council.
He pronounces judgment on the so-called gods.
2 He asks: “How long will you judge dishonestly
and be partial to the wicked?”
[pause][d]
3 “Stand up for the poor and the orphan;
advocate for the rights of the afflicted and those in need.
4 Deliver the poor and the needy;
rescue them from their evil oppressors.”
5 These bullies are ignorant; they have no understanding of My ways.
So as they walk in darkness,
the foundations of the earth tremble.
6 I said, “Though you are gods[e]
and children of the Most High,
7 You will die no differently than any mortal;
you will fall like one of the princes.”
8 Rise up, O True God; judge the rulers of the earth,
for all the nations are Yours.
9 David: Is anyone from Saul’s family still around that I could honor for the sake of my friend Jonathan?
2 One servant from Saul’s household, Ziba, was still alive, and they brought him to King David.
David: Are you Ziba?
Ziba: At your service, Majesty.
David: 3 Is anyone from Saul’s family still alive to whom I could show the kindness of God?
Ziba: Jonathan has a son who is still alive; he is crippled, unable to use his feet.
David: 4 Where is he?
Ziba: He lives with Machir, son of Ammiel, at Lo-debar.
David still remembers his deepest friendship. The loss of Jonathan haunts David, and he desires to show honor to the family of God’s anointed, Saul. David promised his friend Jonathan that if he ever became king, he would treat Jonathan and his descendants with kindness. Their friendship was important to David; and although he thinks all of Saul’s family has been destroyed, he wants to find out if somewhere there might be a relative of Jonathan whom he may honor in gratitude for all Jonathan did for him.
5-6 David sent for Jonathan’s son Mephibosheth and had him brought to Jerusalem from the house of Machir, son of Ammiel, in Lo-debar. When he arrived, Mephibosheth, son of Jonathan, grandson of Saul, laid facedown on the floor and honored the king.
David: Mephibosheth!
Mephibosheth: At your service, my king.
David: 7 There’s no need to be frightened. I intend to treat you kindly for the sake of your father, Jonathan, who was my loyal friend. I will return to you all the territory that belonged to your grandfather Saul, and you will always be welcome at my table.
8 Mephibosheth again prostrated himself before the king.
Mephibosheth: What am I to you that the king should look with favor on a dead dog like me? I am as one of your servants.
9 Then the king summoned Ziba, who had been Saul’s servant.
David: Everything that belonged to his grandfather Saul and his family I have returned to your master’s descendant. 10 You, your sons, and your servants will work on his farms and bring in his produce, so that he and his household will have food. But Mephibosheth will always eat at my table.
Ziba had 15 sons and 20 servants.
Ziba: 11 I am your servant, and you are my lord and king. Whatever you command I will do.
From then on, Mephibosheth ate at the king’s table as though he were one of David’s own sons. 12 Mephibosheth had a young son, Mica; and all who lived in the house of Ziba became Mephibosheth’s servants and worked for him. 13 Mephibosheth remained in Jerusalem, where he always ate at the king’s table. He was lame and could not walk on either foot.
19 1, 7 While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul’s overland journey brought him back to Ephesus. He encountered a group of about a dozen disciples there.[a]
Paul: 2 Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you became believers?
John’s Disciples: We’ve never heard about the Holy Spirit.
Paul: 3 Well then, what kind of ceremonial washing through baptism[b] did you receive?
John’s Disciples: We received the ritual cleansing of baptism[c] that John taught.
Paul: 4 John taught the truth—that people should be baptized with renewed thinking and turn toward God. But he also taught that the people should believe in the One whose way he was preparing, that is, Jesus the Anointed.
5 As soon as they heard this, they were baptized, this time in the name of our Lord Jesus. 6 When Paul laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them in the same way the original disciples experienced at Pentecost: they spoke in tongues and prophesied.
Both Apollos and this small band of John’s disciples hear an incomplete gospel. The church is called not only to bring the gospel to those who have never heard, but also to expand the truth to those who understand only partial truth. All people are on a journey to know God—no one has “arrived.” Everyone has something more to learn because the truth constantly reveals itself.
8 For three months, Paul continued his standard practice: he went week by week to the synagogue, speaking with great confidence, arguing with great persuasiveness, proclaiming the kingdom of God. 9-10 Once again, some members of the synagogue refused to believe and insulted the Way[d] publicly before the whole synagogue community. Paul withdrew and took those with him who had become disciples. For the next two years, he used the public lecture hall of Tyrannus, presenting the Word of the Lord every day, debating with all who would come. As a result, everyone in the region, whether Jews or Greeks, heard the message.
34 He gathered the crowd and His disciples alike.
Jesus: If any one of you wants to follow Me, you will have to give yourself up to God’s plan, take up your cross, and do as I do. 35 For any one of you who wants to be rescued will lose your life, but any one of you who loses your life for My sake and for the sake of this good news will be liberated. 36 Really, what profit is there for you to gain the whole world and lose yourself in the process? 37 What can you give in exchange for your life? 38 If you are ashamed of Me and of what I came to teach to this adulterous and sinful generation, then the Son of Man will be ashamed of you when He comes in the glory of His Father along with the holy messengers at the final judgment.
9 Jesus: Truly, some of you who are here now will not experience death before you see the kingdom of God coming in glory and power.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.