Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 30
A song of David. For the dedication of the temple.
1 I praise You, Eternal One. You lifted me out of that deep, dark pit
and denied my opponents the pleasure of rubbing in their success.
2 Eternal One, my True God, I cried out to You for help;
You mended the shattered pieces of my life.
3 You lifted me from the grave with a mighty hand,
gave me another chance,
and saved me from joining those in that dreadful pit.
4 Sing, all you who remain faithful!
Pour out your hearts to the Eternal with praise and melodies;
let grateful music fill the air and bless His name.
5 His wrath, you see, is fleeting,
but His grace lasts a lifetime.
The deepest pains may linger through the night,
but joy greets the soul with the smile of morning.
6 When things were quiet and life was easy, I said in arrogance,
“Nothing can shake me.”
7 By Your grace, Eternal,
I thought I was as strong as a mountain;
But when You left my side and hid away,
I crumbled in fear.
8 O Eternal One, I called out to You;
I pleaded for Your compassion and forgiveness:
9 “I’m no good to You dead! What benefits come from my rotting corpse?
My body in the grave will not praise You.
No songs will rise up from the dust of my bones.
From dust comes no proclamation of Your faithfulness.
10 Hear me, Eternal Lord—please help me,
Eternal One—be merciful!”
11 You did it: You turned my deepest pains into joyful dancing;
You stripped off my dark clothing
and covered me with joyful light.
12 You have restored my honor. My heart is ready to explode, erupt in new songs!
It’s impossible to keep quiet!
Eternal One, my God, my Life-Giver, I will thank You forever.
Psalm 32
A contemplative song[a] of David.
The psalms celebrate God’s forgiveness that comes through confession and repentance. Some interpreters link this psalm to David’s sin with Bathsheba after Nathan had exposed his transgression, but the king certainly had other failings. Even if we do not associate this psalm with any personal transgression by David, it serves well as a model confession for those who are painfully aware of their sin.
1 How happy is the one whose wrongs are forgiven,
whose sin is hidden from sight.
2 How happy is the person whose sin the Eternal will not take into account.[b]
How happy are those who no longer lie, to themselves or others.
3 When I refused to admit my wrongs, I was miserable,
moaning and complaining all day long
so that even my bones felt brittle.
4 Day and night, Your hand kept pressing on me.
My strength dried up like water in the summer heat;
You wore me down.
[pause][c]
5 When I finally saw my own lies,
I owned up to my sins before You,
and I did not try to hide my evil deeds from You.
I said to myself, “I’ll admit all my sins to the Eternal,”
and You lifted and carried away the guilt of my sin.
[pause]
6 So let all who are devoted to You
speak honestly to You now, while You are still listening.
For then when the floods come, surely the rushing water
will not even reach them.
7 You are my hiding place.
You will keep me out of trouble
and envelop me with songs that remind me I am free.
[pause]
8 I will teach you and tell you the way to go and how to get there;
I will give you good counsel, and I will watch over you.
9 But don’t be stubborn and stupid like horses and mules
who, if not reined by leather and metal,
will run wild, ignoring their masters.
10 Tormented and empty are wicked and destructive people,
but the one who trusts in the Eternal is wrapped tightly in His gracious love.
11 Express your joy; be happy in Him, you who are good and true.
Go ahead, shout and rejoice aloud, you whose hearts are honest and straightforward.
Book Two
This second book of psalms (Psalms 42–72) has a few unique features. First, it is the only book of the five that contains psalms ascribed to the sons of Korah, a group of Levite temple singers. Second, it uses two rather obscure Hebrew terms in the superscriptions of almost half of these psalms. Maskil, which may be related to contemplation, is translated “contemplative poem” or “song” (42; 44–45; 52–55) and miktam, whose meaning is unclear, is translated “a prayer” (56–60). Third, in referring to God this second book shows a preference for the word “God” over the name “the Eternal One” that appears as “YHWH” in the Hebrew Scriptures.
Throughout the Bible, the creator and covenant God is referred to in many ways. Generally speaking, the names and titles used indicate something of His character and nature. The title “God” implies His unique majesty and power; no one is like Him. The name, translated “The Eternal One” and also “The Eternal,” is God’s covenant name revealed uniquely to Israel. As the translation suggests, the divine name implies that the one True God transcends time and yet He is “with” His people.
Psalm 42[a]
For the worship leader. A contemplative song[b] of the sons of Korah.
1 My soul is dry and thirsts for You, True God,
as a deer thirsts for water.
2 I long for the True God who lives.
When can I stand before Him and feel His comfort?
3 Right now I’m overwhelmed by my sorrow and pain;
I can’t stop feasting on my tears.
People crowd around me and say,
“Where is your True God whom you claim will save?”
4 With a broken heart,
I remember times before
When I was with Your people. Those were better days.
I used to lead them happily into the True God’s house,
Singing with joy, shouting thanksgivings with abandon,
joining the congregation in the celebration.
5 Why am I so overwrought?
Why am I so disturbed?
Why can’t I just hope in God?
Despite all my emotions, I will believe and praise the One
who saves me and is my life.
6 My God, my soul is so traumatized;
the only help is remembering You wherever I may be;
From the land of the Jordan to Hermon’s high place
to Mount Mizar.
7 In the roar of Your waterfalls,
ancient depths surge, calling out to the deep.
All Your waves break over me;
am I drowning?
8 Yet in the light of day, the Eternal shows me His love.
When night settles in and all is dark, He keeps me company—
His soothing song, a prayerful melody to the True God of my life.
9 Even still, I will say to the True God, my rock and strength:
“Why have You forgotten me?
Why must I live my life so depressed, crying endlessly
while my enemies have the upper hand?”
10 My enemies taunt me.
They shatter my soul the way a sword shatters a man’s bones.
They keep taunting all the day long,
“Where is He, your True God?”
11 Why am I so overwrought,
Why am I so disturbed?
Why can’t I just hope in God?
Despite all my emotions, I will believe and praise the One
who saves me, my God.
Psalm 43[c]
1 Plead for me; clear my name, O God. Prove me innocent
before immoral people;
Save me from their lies,
their unjust thoughts and deeds.
2 You are the True God—my shelter, my protector, the one whom I lean on.
Why have You turned away from me? Rejected me?
Why must I go around, overwrought, mourning,
suffering under the weight of my enemies?
3 O my God, shine Your light and truth
to help me see clearly,
To lead me to Your holy mountain,
to Your home.
4 Then I will go to God’s altar with nothing to hide.
I will go to God, my rapture;
I will sing praises to You and play my strings,
unloading my cares, unleashing my joys, to You, God, my God.
5 O my soul, why are you so overwrought?
Why are you so disturbed?
Why can’t I just hope in God? Despite all my emotions, I will hope in God again.
I will believe and praise the One
who saves me and is my life,
My Savior and my God.
46 Bel and Nebo wobble and duck, as their images
sway on the backs of oxen and donkeys—such a heavy burden
For the weary animals—as they are carried about.
2 These “gods” bow and sink together, unable to escape the coming invasion;
they march off into captivity.
The gods of the nations must have looked rather odd riding on the backs of animals. Even gods of the once-feared Babylonians, Bel and Nebo, are nothing but dead weight.
3 Eternal One: Listen, you who count yourselves among Jacob’s descendants,
all the remnant of Israel.
It is you, not I, who have been carried from before you were born.
Indeed, when you were still in the womb, I was taking care of you.
4 And when you are old, I will still be there, carrying you.
When your limbs grow tired, your eyes are weak,
And your hair a silvery gray, I will carry you as I always have.
I will carry you and save you.
5 Does anyone compare to Me? Can you find any likeness?
Who or what might be My equal or even close to Me?
6 What about those who use precious materials for gods—
hiring artisans to carefully craft gold, silver, jewels,
And exotic wood into a god—
then they bow down and worship it!
7 Their god is a mere object. They have to lug it around on their shoulders
before they can stand it up in its proper place.
It just sits there, unmoving until they pick it up again.
It never speaks, never answers.
It cannot help them, no matter how desperate they are.
8 Remember that—and don’t be tempted to conform!
Think about it, you rebels.
9 Remember the old days. For I am God; there is no other.
I am God; there are no other gods like Me.
10 From the beginning I declare how things will end;
from times long past, I tell what is yet to be, saying:
“My intentions will come to pass.
I will make things happen as I determine they should.”
11 I am the one who called Cyrus, the bird of prey from the east;
from a land far away I summoned him to do what I intend.
My word went out, and I will see it done.
My plan has been made, and I will see it through.
12 Listen closely, you strong-willed people
who have veered far from the right path.
13 It won’t be long until I make things right;
My salvation is getting closer and closer; it won’t be delayed.
I am ready to rescue Zion, My chosen place,
and display My beauty and splendor to Israel, My chosen people.
10 Finally, brothers and sisters, draw your strength and might from God. 11 Put on the full armor of God to protect yourselves from the devil and his evil schemes. 12 We’re not waging war against enemies of flesh and blood alone. No, this fight is against tyrants, against authorities, against supernatural powers and demon princes that slither in the darkness of this world, and against wicked spiritual armies that lurk about in heavenly places.
13 And this is why you need to be head-to-toe in the full armor of God: so you can resist during these evil days and be fully prepared to hold your ground. 14 Yes, stand—truth banded around your waist, righteousness as your chest plate, 15 and feet protected in preparation to proclaim the good news of peace. 16 Don’t forget to raise the shield of faith above all else, so you will be able to extinguish flaming spears hurled at you from the wicked one. 17 Take also the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
Paul knows that the real battles and dangers we face are not against flesh and blood. The enemies we see are real enough, but they are animated by spiritual forces of darkness that stay strategically hidden from view. These powers often reveal themselves in institutional evils—genocide, terror, tyranny, and oppression—but the weapons needed to combat them are not earthly weapons at all. What is needed, Paul advises, is to stand firm in God’s power and to suit up in the full armor of God. Although the devil and his demon armies are destined for destruction, they are serious threats now and must be resisted and beaten back. For Paul, the best offensive weapons we have are the word of God and prayer.
18 Pray always. Pray in the Spirit. Pray about everything in every way you know how! And keeping all this in mind, pray on behalf of God’s people. Keep on praying feverishly, and be on the lookout until evil has been stayed. 19 And please pray for me. Pray that truth will be with me before I even open my mouth. Ask the Spirit to guide me while I boldly defend the mystery that is the good news— 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains—so pray that I can bravely pronounce the truth, as I should do.
21 I am sending to you Tychicus, my dear brother and faithful minister in the Lord. He will tell you everything that has been going on here with me 22 so you will know how I am and what I am doing. He’s coming with news that will hopefully comfort your hearts. 23 Brothers and sisters, let me leave you with a blessing:
May peace and love with faith be yours from God the Father and the Lord Jesus the Anointed. 24 May His grace surround all who love our Lord Jesus the Anointed with a never-ending love.
For most of Jesus’ miracles, the disciples are observers: they watch Him healing the sick, raising dead bodies, and casting demons out of strangers. This time, however, it is the disciples—and even Jesus Himself—who are in danger. Maybe that’s why they are having such a hard time trusting that His power is greater than their situation.
They have seen Him cast out demons. They know He has powers that are not of natural origin. But they have never seen—or even heard of—anything like this. It’s one thing to heal human sickness or even to order demons around. But to order the waves and the wind? To command the sea and the storm? That’s a miracle of an entirely different order.
5 They traveled across the sea to the land of Gerasa[a] in Galilee. 2-3 When Jesus came ashore there, He was immediately met by a man who was tortured by an evil spirit. This man lived in the cemeteries, and no one could control him—not even those who tried to tie him up or chain him. 4 He had often been bound in chains, but his strength was so great that he could break the chains and tear the irons loose from his feet and hands. No one and nothing could subdue him. 5 Day and night, he lurked among the tombs or ran mad in the hills, and the darkness made him scream or cut himself with sharp-edged stones. 6 When this man saw Jesus coming in the distance, he ran to Him and fell to his knees in front of Him. 7-8 Jesus started commanding the unclean spirit.
Jesus: Come out of that man, you wicked spirit!
Unclean Spirit (shouting): What’s this all about, Jesus, Son of the Most High? In the name of God, I beg You—don’t torture me!
Jesus: 9 What is your name?
Unclean Spirit: They call me “Legion,” for there are thousands of us in this body.
10 And then Legion begged Jesus again to leave them alone, not to send them out of the country.
11 Since the Gerasenes were not Jews (who considered pigs to be unclean), there happened to be a large herd of swine, some 2,000 of them, feeding on the hill nearby.
Unclean Spirit (begging): 12 Send us into those pigs if You have to, so that we may enter into them.
13 Jesus granted the request. The darkness swept up out of the man and into the herd of pigs. And then they thundered down the hill into the water; and there they drowned, all 2,000 of them.
14 The swineherds ran away, telling everybody they met what had happened. Eventually a crowd of people came to see for themselves. 15 When they reached Jesus, they found the man Legion had afflicted sitting quietly, sane and fully clothed; when they saw this, they were overwhelmed with fear and wonder.
16 Those who had witnessed everything told the others what had happened: how Jesus had healed the man, how the pigs had rushed into the sea, and how they had destroyed themselves. 17 When they had heard the whole story, the Gerasenes turned to Jesus and begged Him to go away.
18 When Jesus climbed back into the boat, the cured demoniac asked if he could come and be with Him, but Jesus said no.
Jesus: 19 Stay here; I want you to go back home to your own people and let them see what the Lord has done—how He has had mercy on you.
20 So the man went away and began telling this news in the Ten Cities[b] region; wherever he went, people were amazed by what he told them.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.