Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 38
A song of David for remembering.
This is one of a group of psalms known in later tradition as the penitential psalms, namely, psalms that confess sins and express confidence in God’s mercy. In this psalm a serious illness threatens the life of the worshiper.
1 O Eternal One, please do not scold me in Your anger;
though Your wrath is just, do not correct me in Your fury.
2 The arrows from Your bow have penetrated my flesh;
Your hand has come down hard on me.
3 Because Your anger has infected the depths of my being and stolen my health,
my flesh is ill.
My bones are no longer sound
because of all the sins I have committed.
4 My guilt has covered me; it’s more than I can handle;
this burden is too heavy for me to carry.
5 Now sores cover me—infected and putrid sores,
because of all the foolish things I have done.
6 I am bent down, cowering in fear, prostrate on the ground;
I spend the day in mourning, guilty tears stinging and burning my eyes.
7 My back aches. I’m full of fever;
my body is no longer whole, no longer well.
8 I am completely numb, totally spent, hopelessly crushed.
The agitation of my heart makes me groan.
9 O Lord, You know all my desires;
nothing escapes You; You hear my every moan.
10 My heart pounds against my chest; my vigor is completely drained;
my eyes were once bright, but now the brightness is all gone.
11 Even my friends and loved ones turn away when they see this marked man;
those closest to me are no longer close at all.
12 Those who want me dead lay traps upon my path;
those who desire my downfall threaten—my end is near—
they spend their days plotting against me.
13 Like one who is deaf, my ears do not hear.
Like one who is mute, my tongue cannot speak.
14 The truth is this: I am like one who cannot hear;
I cannot even protest against them.
15 Still I wait expectantly for You, O Eternal One—
knowing You will answer me in some way, O Lord, my True God.
16 I only asked, “When I stumble on the narrow path,
don’t let them boast or celebrate my failure.”
17 I am prepared for what may come; my time must be short;
my pain and suffering a constant companion.
18 I confess, “I have sinned,”
and I regret the wrong I have done.
19 My enemies are alive and well,
they are powerful and on the increase,
and for no reason, they hate me.
20 When I do good, my opponents reward me with evil;
though I pursue what is right, they stand against me.
21 Eternal One, do not leave me to their mercy;
my True God, don’t be far from me when they are near.
22 I need Your help now—not later.
O Lord, be my Rescuer.
Daleth
25 My very being clings to the dust;
preserve my life, in keeping with Your word.
26 I have admitted my ways are wrong, and You responded;
now help me learn what You require.
27 Compel me to grasp the way of Your statutes
so I will fix my mind on Your wonderful works.
28 My soul weeps, and trouble weighs me down;
give me strength so I can stand according to Your word.
29 Eliminate faithlessness You find in my step,
be gracious, and give me Your guidance.
30 I have decided to take the path of faith;
I have focused my eyes on Your regulations.
31 I cling to Your decrees; O Eternal One,
do not let me face disgrace!
32 I will chase after Your commandments
because You will expand my understanding.
He
33 O Eternal One, show me how to live according to Your statutes,
and I will keep them always.
34 Grant me understanding so that I can keep Your law
and keep it wholeheartedly.
35 Guide me to walk in the way You commanded
because I take joy in it.
36 Turn my head and my heart to Your decrees
and not to sinful gain.
37 Keep my eyes from gazing upon worthless things,
and give me true life according to Your plans.
38 Verify Your word to Your servant,
which will lead me to worship You.
39 Take away the scorn that I dread
because Your actions are just and good.
40 Look and see—I long for Your guidance;
restore me in Your righteousness.
Vav
41 May Your unfailing love find me, O Eternal One.
Keep Your promise, and save me;
42 When that happens, I will have a good response for anyone who taunts me
because I have faith in Your word.
43 Do not take Your message of truth from my mouth
because I wait and rely on Your just decisions.
44 Therefore I will follow Your teachings,
forever and ever.
45 And I will live a life of freedom
because I pursue Your precepts.
46 I will even testify of Your decrees before royalty
and will not be humiliated.
47 I will find my joy in Your commands,
which I love,
48 And I will raise my hands to Your commands, which I love,
and I will fix my mind on what You require.
6 In the same year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a grand throne way up high with a flowing cape that filled the whole temple. 2 Bright flaming creatures waited on Him. Each had six wings: two covering its face, two covering its feet, and two for flying. 3 Like some fiery choir, they would call back and forth continually.
Flaming Creatures: Holy, holy, holy is the Eternal, the Commander of heavenly armies!
The earth is filled with His glorious presence!
4 They were so loud that the doorframes shook, and the holy house kept filling with smoke.
5 Isaiah: I am in so much trouble! I’m ruined!
I’m just a human being—fallible and stammering.
My lips are encrusted with filth;
and I live among people just like me.
But here I am, and I’ve seen with my very own eyes
none other than the King, the Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies.
6 Then one of the flaming creatures flew to me holding a red-hot ember which it had taken from God’s table, the temple altar, with a pair of tongs. 7 The creature held it to my lips.
Flaming Creature: Look! With the touch of this burning ember on your lips,
your guilt is turned away;
All your faults and wrongdoings are forgiven.
8 Then I heard the Lord’s voice.
Eternal One: Whom shall I send? Who will go for Us?
Isaiah: Here I am! Send me.
Eternal One: 9 Go to this people and say,
“Keep listening, but do not comprehend;
Keep looking, but do not understand.”[a]
10 Make their hearts hard, their ears deaf, and their eyes blind.
Otherwise, they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears,
Understand with their hearts, and then turn and be healed.[b]
11 Isaiah: How long, Lord?
Eternal One: Until cities are in ruins, the houses sit empty,
and the land has become a wasteland.
12 You see, the Eternal has determined to move the people far away;
place after place will be completely abandoned.
13 And even if just a tenth survive, it will be burned again;
imagine a terebinth or an oak; once it is cut down, the stump remains.
The holy seed remains in the stump.
1 Paul, Silvanus,[a] and Timothy to the church of the Thessalonians that gathers in God our Father and in the Lord Jesus the Anointed. 2 May grace and peace from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus the Anointed be with you.
3 Brothers and sisters, we cannot help but thank God for you, which is only appropriate because your faith is growing and expanding and because the love demonstrated by each and every one of you is overflowing for one another. 4 So, of course, we’ve proudly bragged about you within circles of God’s people at other churches near and far because, even in the grip of much persecution and affliction, you’ve stood firm in your faith and have persevered. 5 Your sufferings prove that God’s judgment is right! The result: your sufferings have made you worthy—worthy of the kingdom of God, which is the very reason why you are suffering in the first place! 6 It is only right that God would repay with trouble those who have troubled you 7-8 and give relief to all of you still bandaging your wounds, as well as to all the rest of us. On that day—when the clouds draw back displaying His powerful heavenly messengers in a fiery blaze, Jesus the Lord will appear from heaven dealing out perfect justice to anyone who doesn’t know God and anyone who disobeys the good news of our Lord Jesus. 9 And what’s to become of them? They’ll pay for what they’ve done; their punishment will be eternal destruction. And what’s worse? They’ll be banished from the Lord’s presence and glorious power. 10 On that day when He comes, all the saints in heaven and on earth will celebrate the glory of His power, and all who believe will stand and be amazed—this includes you because you believed us when we testified on His behalf. 11 All this is why we are constantly praying for you, so God will make you worthy of the great calling you have received from Him and will give you the power to accomplish every good intention and work of faith. 12 Then the great name of our Lord Jesus will be glorified through your lives, and you will be glorified in Him according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus, the Anointed One, our Liberating King.
[53 The time came for everyone to go home.
8 Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. 2 He awoke early in the morning to return to the temple. When He arrived, the people surrounded Him, so He sat down and began to teach them. 3 While He was teaching, the scribes and Pharisees brought in a woman who was caught in the act of adultery; and they stood her before Jesus.
Pharisees: 4 Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. 5 Moses says in the law that we are to kill such women by stoning. What do You say about it?
6 This was all set up as a test for Jesus; His answers would give them grounds to accuse Him of crimes against Moses’ law. Jesus bent over and wrote something in the dirt with His finger. 7 They persisted in badgering Jesus, so He stood up straight.
Jesus: Let the first stone be thrown by the one among you who has not sinned.
8 Once again Jesus bent down to the ground and resumed writing with His finger. 9 The Pharisees who heard Him stood still for a few moments and then began to leave slowly, one by one, beginning with the older men. Eventually only Jesus and the woman remained, 10 and Jesus looked up.
Jesus: Dear woman, where is everyone? Are we alone? Did no one step forward to condemn you?
Woman Caught in Adultery: 11 Lord, no one has condemned me.
Jesus: Well, I do not condemn you either; all I ask is that you go and from now on avoid the sins that plague you.][a]
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.