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.
15 There is no truth-telling anymore,
and anyone who tries to do right finds he is the next target.
It’s true. The Eternal One saw it all
and was understandably perturbed at the absence of justice.
16 God looked long and hard, but there wasn’t a single person
who tried to put a stop to the injustice and lies.
So God took action. His own strong arm reached out and brought salvation.
His own righteousness—good and pure—sustained Him.
17 But God’s equipment was that of no ordinary warrior:
He strapped on righteousness as His breastplate,
And put on the helmet of salvation.
Wrapped in vengeance for clothing and passion as a cloak, God prepared for war.
18 Finally, God determined they must get what they’ve earned:
fury to those who oppose Him, vengeance against those who are against Him.
To the ends of the known world, God will go to render justice.
19 This is how people from east to west will come to respect the name
and honor the glory of the Eternal.
For He will come on like a torrential flood driven by the Eternal’s winds.
20 Eternal One: The Redeemer will come to make Zion right again,
to rescue those of Jacob’s holy line who turn their backs on wrongdoing.
This is what the Eternal One declares.
Eternal One: 21 This is My covenant promise to them:[a] My Spirit, which rests on and moves in you, and My words, which I have placed within you, will continue to be spoken among you and move you to action. And not only you, but so it will be for your children and their children too. And so on through the generations for all time.
Paul singles out several individuals in this letter, some for praise, others for harsh criticism. Timothy is an example of one who stayed true to Jesus and His emissary, the imprisoned Paul. Later Paul mentions Hymenaeus and Philetus as victims of a cancer within the church who have turned from the truth. Demas, too, is drawn into the attractions of the world, while Alexander the coppersmith opposes their message. With so many who have abandoned and opposed Paul, it’s refreshing to hear of Onesiphorus, who—against all odds—has stayed true to Paul and often visits him in prison to keep up his spirits. Clearly the message is that many may fall away, but a few will continue to be strong for the Lord.
15 You may know by now that all those in Asia have turned their backs on me, including Phygelus and Hermogenes. 16-17 But Onesiphorus was not ashamed of my chains. So when he arrived in Rome, he searched for me and found me. May the Lord show mercy to his house because he has often stopped by to refresh my weary soul. 18 And may the Lord shower him with divine mercy on the last day. You are well aware of all he did to serve me in Ephesus.
2 But as for you, my child, be empowered by the grace that is in Jesus, the Anointed One. 2 Whatever you heard me teach before an audience of witnesses, I want you to pass along to trustworthy people who have the ability to teach others too. 3 As a good soldier of Jesus the Anointed, be ready to suffer with me. 4 Remember that soldiers on active duty don’t get wrapped up in civilian matters because they want to satisfy those who recruited them. 5 Look at it another way: if someone competes as an athlete, he won’t win the race and be crowned with the wreath if he breaks the rules. 6 And the farmer who exhausts himself in the field should be the first to taste his harvest. 7 Think about what I am telling you, and let the Lord give you clarity on all of it.
Paul has mentored no one more privately and successfully than Timothy. Now he charges Timothy to pass the faith along to the next generation. Training leaders is priority one.
8 Remember Jesus the Anointed, raised from the dead, descended from David’s royal line. This is the crux of my good news! 9 This is why I suffer and why I am bound and chained like a lawbreaker. But God’s word is not in chains! 10 That’s why I endure everything for the sake of God’s chosen: so that they might experience salvation with lasting, eternal glory through Jesus the Anointed, our Liberating King. 11 Here’s a statement you can trust:
If we died with Him,
we will live with Him.
12 If we remain with Him,
we will reign alongside Him.
If we deny Him,
we will be denied by Him.
13 If we are unfaithful,
He remains faithful,
For He is not able to deny Himself.
10 From there Jesus traveled to Judea and beyond the Jordan River; He taught the crowds who gathered as was His custom.
2 Some Pharisees came to Him to test Him on His adherence to the law of Moses.
Pharisees: Is it lawful for a husband to divorce his wife?
Jesus: 3 What did Moses say to you?
Pharisees: 4 Moses permitted us to write a certificate of dismissal and divorce her.[a]
Jesus: 5 Moses gave you this law as a concession because of the hardness of your hearts. 6 But truly, God created humans male and female in the beginning.[b] 7 As it is written in the Hebrew Scriptures, “For this reason, a man will leave his father and mother [to marry his wife],[c] 8 and the two of them will become one flesh and blood.”[d] So they are no longer two people, but one. 9 What God has joined together in this way, no one may sever.
10 In the privacy of their dwelling that evening, the disciples asked Him about this teaching, 11 and He went even further.
Jesus: If any husband divorces his wife and then marries another woman, he commits adultery against her. 12 And if a wife should divorce her husband and marry another, then she commits adultery against him.
The Pharisees hope to trip Jesus. Instead of taking a side, Jesus goes to the purpose and meaning of marriage: not just from a social but a spiritual perspective.
13 When the crowd gathered again, the people brought their children to see Jesus, hoping that He might grant them His blessing through His touch.
His disciples turned them all away; 14 but when Jesus saw this, He was incensed.
Jesus (to the disciples): Let the children come to Me, and don’t ever stand in their way, for this is what the kingdom of God is all about. 15 Truly anyone who doesn’t accept the kingdom of God as a little child does can never enter it.
16 Jesus gathered the children in His arms, and He laid His hands on them to bless them.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.