Book of Common Prayer
33 God transforms wild, flowing rivers into dry, lonely deserts,
lively springs of water into thirsty ground.
34 He turns lush gardens into lifeless wastelands,
all because of the wickedness of those who reside there.
35 Yet He transforms a dry, lonely desert into pools of living water,
parched ground into lively springs.
36 And He allows those who are hungry to live there
so that they might build a livable city.
37 There they sow fields and plant vineyards
and gather up an abundant harvest.
38 He anoints them with His blessings, and they greatly increase in number.
He does not allow their herds to dwindle.
39 When His people lessen in number and are humbled
through persecution, suffering, and brokenheartedness,
40 He pours out contempt on those responsible leaders
and then makes them drift around in an uncharted wasteland.
41 But He raises the poor away from their suffering
and multiplies their families like a flock.
42 The righteous see God’s actions, and they take delight in what He does,
but the unrighteous don’t dare to speak.
43 Is there anyone wise? If so, may the wise take notice of these things
and reflect upon the loyal love of the Eternal.
Psalm 108
A song of David.
1 My heart is committed, O God:
I will sing;
I will sing praises with great affection
and pledge my whole soul to the singing.
2 Wake up the harp and lyre, and strum the strings;
I will stir the sleepy dawn from slumber!
3 I will stand and offer You my thanks, Eternal One, in the presence of others;
I will sing of Your greatness among the nations no matter where I am.
4 For Your amazing love soars overhead far into the heavens;
Your truth rises up to the clouds
where passing light bends.
5 O God, that You would be lifted up above the heavens in the hearts of Your people
until the whole earth knows Your glory.
6 Reach down and rescue those whom You love;
pull us to safety by Your mighty right hand, and answer me.
7 God’s voice has been heard in His holy sanctuary:
“I will celebrate.
I will allocate Shechem and the Succoth Valley to My people.
8 Gilead belongs to Me, and so does Manasseh;
Ephraim is the helmet that protects My head;
Judah is the scepter through which I rule;
9 Moab is the washpot in which I clean Myself;
I will throw My shoe over Edom in conquest;
Philistia will soon hear My victory shout.”
10 But who will take me into the fortified city?
Who will lead me into Edom?
11 Have You not turned Your back on us, O God?
Will You stay away and not accompany our armies, O God?
12 Help us against our enemy; we need Your help!
It’s useless to trust in the hand of man for liberation.
13 Only through God can we be successful.
It is God alone who will defeat our enemies and bring us victory!
Psalm 33
1 Release your heart’s joy in sweet music to the Eternal.
When the upright passionately sing glory-filled songs to Him, everything is in its right place.
2 Worship the Eternal with your instruments, strings offering their praise;
write awe-filled songs to Him on the 10-stringed harp.
3 Sing to Him a new song;
play each the best way you can,
and don’t be afraid to be bold with your joyful feelings.
4 For the word of the Eternal is perfect and true;
His actions are always faithful and right.
5 He loves virtue and equity;
the Eternal’s love fills the whole earth.
6 The unfathomable cosmos came into being at the word of the Eternal’s imagination, a solitary voice in endless darkness.
The breath of His mouth whispered the sea of stars into existence.
7 He gathers every drop of every ocean as in a jar,
securing the ocean depths as His watery treasure.
8 Let all people stand in awe of the Eternal;
let every man, woman, and child live in wonder of Him.
9 For He spoke, and all things came into being.
A single command from His lips, and all creation obeyed and stood its ground.
10 The Eternal cripples the schemes of the other nations;
He impedes the plans of rival peoples.
11 The Eternal’s purposes will last to the end of time;
the thoughts of His heart will awaken and stir all generations.
12 The nation whose True God is the Eternal is truly blessed;
fortunate are all whom He chooses to inherit His legacy.
13 The Eternal peers down from heaven
and watches all of humanity;
14 He observes every soul
from His divine residence.
15 He has formed every human heart, breathing life into every human spirit;
He knows the deeds of each person, inside and out.
16 A king is not delivered by the might of his army.
Even the strongest warrior is not saved by his own strength.
17 A horse is not the way to victory;
its great strength cannot rescue.
18 Listen, the eye of the Eternal is upon those who live in awe of Him,
those who hope in His steadfast love,
19 That He may save them from the darkness of the grave
and be kept alive during the lean seasons.
20 We live with hope in the Eternal. We wait for Him,
for He is our Divine Help and Impenetrable Shield.
21 Our hearts erupt with joy in Him
because we trust His holy name.
22 O Eternal, drench us with Your endless love,
even now as we wait for You.
The creation the prophet sees—the new earth—is radically different from the one everyone knows. At some deep level, everyone recognizes that the everyday world is not the world as God intends it; things are not the way they are supposed to be. But God will make everything new again. In that day, the painful past will recede and vanish. Unbridled joy and celebration will eclipse grief and sorrow. Jerusalem, the holy city, will become the center of the world. Long lives will be the norm. Peace will be secure without exception. God’s blessing will settle over all creation. Creation itself, with all its complexities, will be made new. No predator. No prey. Just peace and harmony throughout. This is a world only God can create when He creates it anew.
66 Eternal One: Heaven is My throne, and earth is where I rest My feet.
So what kind of structure would you build Me?
What man-made space could provide Me a resting place?
2 Everything is the product of My hand—My being and My doing—
that’s how all you see came to be; I made it all.[a]
Nevertheless, I am interested in and concerned about even just one person
who is humble and downhearted and trembles at my word.
If we could see things as they truly are, we’d see the universe as one giant temple founded and perfected by God’s hand. But even the universe with its staggering dimensions—dimensions that stretch the imagination—cannot contain its Maker. God is greater still. So how could some house made for Him on earth ever be grand enough, glorious enough, great enough? It could not; but with all His greatness and power, God still has His eye on us. What does God want from us if not the best building we can build, and also the most and best sacrifices and rituals that we can possibly perform? Simply put, God is looking for people who are humble, broken, and ready to follow what He says.
3 Eternal One: Whoever slaughters an ox without humility is no better
than one who kills a man;
Whoever sacrifices a lamb without brokenness is no different
than one who breaks a dog’s neck;
Whoever presents a grain offering without fear is no different
than one who offers pig’s blood;
Whoever burns incense without obedience is no better
than one who worships an idol.
They’ve made their own choices
and seem happy enough with their detestable practices.
4 But I have a choice, too, and I choose to punish them;
I will bring on them what they fear most.
For when I called, no one answered;
when I spoke, they refused to listen.
Instead they did all the wrong things and made terrible choices—
what I expressly said that I hate.
God desires to bring people like these close and make them safe, but He cannot if they refuse. His loving purpose is for them to live well, to be well, but He cannot make it so if they choose badly and do what He hates.
5 So, if you are one who trembles at His word,
listen closely to what the Eternal One has to say:
Eternal One: I know that some people, even your own family,
reject you because you accept Me,
And they’re saying, “Let the Eternal receive the honor He deserves,
so that we, too, can know your joy.” But they’ll only know sorrow and shame.
6 Can you hear it? There’s a commotion in the city,
great rumbling coming from the temple area!
Ah, it is the Eternal thundering in to take on His foes.
6 This is ironic because godliness, along with contentment, does put us ahead but not in the ways some imagine. 7 You see we came into this world with nothing, and nothing is going with us on the way out! 8 So as long as we are clothed and fed, we should be happy. 9 But those who chase riches are constantly falling into temptation and snares. They are regularly caught by their own stupid and harmful desires, dragged down and pulled under into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money—and what it can buy—is the root of all sorts of evil. Some already have wandered away from the true faith because they craved what it had to offer; but when reaching for the prize, they found their hands and hearts pierced with many sorrows.
11 Timothy, don’t let this happen to you—run away from these things! You are a man of God. Your quest is for justice, godliness, faithfulness, love, perseverance, and gentleness.
Paul asks this young leader to shepherd a divided congregation through one problem after another. He points to a time when Jesus will arrive to set this world straight.
12 Fight the good fight of the faith! Cling to the eternal life you were called to when you confessed the good confession before witnesses. 13 Before God—the life-giving Creator of all things—and Jesus the Anointed, our Liberating King, who made the good confession to Pontius Pilate, I urge you: 14 keep His commandment. Have a spotless, indisputable record until our Lord Jesus the Anointed appears to set this world straight. 15 In His own perfect time, He will come—blessed is the only Sovereign, the King of kings, and the Lord of lords. 16 He alone possesses immortality; He makes His home in matchless, blinding, brilliant light that no one can approach—no mortal has ever even seen Him, and no human can. So let it be that all honor and eternal power are His. Amen.
17 Here’s what you say to those wealthy in regard to this age: “Don’t become high and mighty or place all your hope on a gamble for riches; instead, fix your hope on God, the One who richly provides everything for our enjoyment.” 18 Tell them to use their wealth for good things; be rich in good works! If they are willing to give generously and share everything, 19 then they will send ahead a great treasure for themselves and build their futures on a solid foundation. As a result, they will surely take hold of eternal life.
20 O Timothy, protect what was entrusted to you! Walk away from all the godless, empty voices out there, and turn aside from objections and arguments that arise from false knowledge. 21 (By professing such knowledge, some are missing the mark when it comes to true faith.)
May God’s grace be with you.
35 Later Jesus was teaching in the temple.
Jesus: Why do the scribes say that the Anointed One is the son of David? 36 In the psalms, David himself was led by the Holy Spirit to sing,
The Master said to my master,
“Sit at My right hand,
in the place of power and honor,
And I will gather Your enemies together,
lead them in on hands and knees,
and You will rest Your feet on their backs.”[a]
37 If David calls Him “Master,” how can He be his son?
The crowd listened to Him with delight.
Jesus: 38 Watch out for the scribes who act so religious—who like to be seen in pious clothes and to be spoken to respectfully in the marketplace, 39 who take the best seats in the synagogues and the place of honor at every dinner, 40 who spend widows’ inheritances and pray long prayers to impress others. These are the kind of people who will be condemned above all others.
41 Jesus sat down opposite the treasury, where people came to bring their offerings, and He watched as they came and went. Many rich people threw in large sums of money, 42 but a poor widow came and put in only two small coins[b] worth only a fraction of a cent.[c]
Jesus (calling His disciples together): 43 Truly this widow has given a greater gift than any other contribution. 44 All the others gave a little out of their great abundance, but this poor woman has given God everything she has.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.