Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 41
For the worship leader. A song of David.
The first four books of Psalms end with a variation of the doxology found in verse 13: “Blessed is the Eternal, the True God of Israel. Always and Eternal. Amen and Amen.” This declaration not only provides a natural break—a seam—between the five books, but it also summarizes an essential theme of the psalms. You see, the Book of Psalms is primarily a book of praise to God for His creation, mercy, and salvation. Even when life is hard, our enemies strong, and our health poor, God can be praised for life itself and the ultimate victory to come for those who trust Him.
1 Blessed are those who consider the helpless.
The Eternal will stay near them, leading them to safety in times of bitter struggle.
2 The Eternal defends them and preserves them,
and His blessing will find them in the land He gave them.
He moves ahead to frustrate their enemies’ plans.
3 When sickness comes, the Eternal is beside them—
to comfort them on their sickbeds and restore them to health.
4 And me? I cry out to Him,
“Heal my soul, O Eternal One, and show mercy
because I have sinned against You!”
5 My enemies are talking about me even now:
“When will death come for him and his name be forgotten?”
6 As they sit with me under my roof, their well wishes are empty lies.
They listen to my story
and then turn it around to tell their own version on the street.
7 Across the city, crowds whisper lies about me.
Their hate is strong, and they search for ways to harm me.
8 Some are saying: “Some vile disease has gotten hold of him.
The bed he lies in will be his deathbed.”
9 Even my best friend, my confidant
who has eaten my bread will stab me in the back.[a]
10 But You, Eternal One, show mercy to me.
Extend Your gracious hand, and help me up.
I need to pay them back for what they’ve done to me.
11 I realize now that Your favor has come to me,
for my enemies have yet to declare victory over me.
12 You know and uphold me—a man of honor.
You grant me strength and life forever in Your presence.
13 Blessed is the Eternal, the True God of Israel.
Always and Eternal. Amen and Amen.
Psalm 52
For the worship leader. A contemplative song[a] of David when the Edomite Doeg told Saul that David had received help from Ahimelech.
Psalm 52 recalls the callous way Doeg and Saul put to death the 85 priests of Nob (1 Samuel 22:6–19). The psalm ends with a memorable image: the one who keeps faith with God is like a lush olive tree cared for in His garden. While those who do not trust in Him are snatched up and torn away, those who do right will flourish under His care.
1 Why do you boast of all the trouble you stir up, O mighty one,
when the constant, unfailing love of God is what truly lasts?
2 Have you listened to yourself?
Your tongue is like a sharp razor,
full of lies that slash and tear right to the soul.
3 You’ve fallen in love with evil and have no interest in what He calls good.
You prefer your own lies to speaking what is true.
[pause][b]
4 You love words that destroy people, don’t you,
lying tongue?
5 You won’t be smiling
when the True God brings His justice and destroys you forever.
He will come into your home, snatch you away,
and pull you from the land of the living.
[pause]
6 Those who are just will see what happens to you and be afraid.
And some of them will laugh and say,
7 “Hey, look! Over there is the one who didn’t take
shelter in the True God;
Instead, he trusted in his great wealth
and got what he wanted by destroying others!”
8 But my life is abundant—like a lush olive tree
cared for at the house of the one True God.
I put my trust in His kind love
forever and ever; it will never fail.
9 Because of all You have done,
I will humble myself and thank You forever.
With Your faithful people at my side,
I will put my hope in Your good reputation.
Psalm 44
For the worship leader. A contemplative song[a] of the sons of Korah.
1 With our own ears, O God, we have heard the stories
our ancestors recited of Your deeds in their days, days long past—
how You saved the day.
2 With a powerful hand, You drove the nations from this land,
but then You planted our parents here.
You fought for us against people of this land;
You set our parents free to enjoy its goodness.
3 They did not win the land with their swords.
It wasn’t their strength that won them victory.
It was Your strength—Your right hand, Your arm,
and the light of Your presence that gave them success,
for You loved them.
4 You are my King, my God!
You ordained victories for Jacob and his people!
5 You are our victory, pushing back the enemy;
at the sound of Your name, we crush the opposition.
6 I don’t trust in my weapons
or in my strength to win me victory.
7 But You rescue us from our foes;
You shame our enemies.
8 We shout Your name all day long;
we will praise Your name forever!
[pause][b]
9 But wait, God, where have You gone? Why have You shamed us?
Why do our armies stand alone?
10 Without Your help we must retreat from our enemy,
and the very ones who despise us pillage us.
11 You have offered us up to our enemies,
like sheep to the slaughter, meat for their feast,
and You have dispersed us among the nations.
12 You sold Your people for mere pennies,
and You gained nothing from the deal.
13 You have made us a joke to our friends and neighbors,
mocked and ridiculed by all those around us.
14 You have brought us infamy among the nations
and made us an object of scorn and laughter to our neighbors.
15 Disgrace follows me everywhere I go; I am constantly embarrassed.
Shame is written across my face
16 Because of the taunting and berating of those who are against me,
because the enemy seeks revenge against me.
17 All this has happened to us,
yet we have never forgotten You;
we have not broken Your covenant with us.
18 Our hearts stayed true to You;
we have never left Your path;
we follow on.
19 Yet You have tested us, left us defeated in a land of jackals,
and shrouded us with the veil of death.
20 Even if we had forgotten the name of our God
or offered praise to another god,
21 Would not the True God have known it?
For He can see the hidden places of our hearts.
22 On Your behalf, our lives are endangered constantly;
we are like sheep awaiting slaughter.[c]
23 Wake up, Lord! Why do You slumber?
Get up! Do not reject us any longer!
24 Why are You still hiding from us?
Why are You still ignoring our suffering and trouble?
25 Look and You will see our souls now dwell in the dust;
our bodies hug the earth.
26 Rise up and help us;
restore us for the sake of Your boundless love.
11 But then be very careful! Don’t forget the Eternal your God and disobey the commands and decrees and rules I’m giving you today. 12 When your stomachs are full, when you’ve built comfortable houses to live in, 13 when you have large herds and flocks, when you possess plenty of silver and gold, and when you have more things than you imagined possible; 14 then don’t become proud and puffed up and forget Him. He brought you out of the land of Egypt where you were slaves; 15 and He led you through that awful, vast wilderness with its poisonous snakes and scorpions, through that desert where there was no water. He made water come out of a hard rock; 16 and He fed you in the wilderness with manna, a food your ancestors had never heard of. He did all this to humble you and test you, but it was all intended for your good in the end. 17 If He hadn’t, you might have believed, “I’ve gotten all this wealth by my own power and strength!” 18 Remember the Eternal One your God. He’s the One who gives you the power to get wealth, so He can keep the covenant promises He made to your ancestors, as He is doing now. 19 I testify against you today that if you do forget Him and pursue other gods, if you worship them and bow down to them; then you will certainly be destroyed. 20 Just like the nations the Eternal is now destroying ahead of you, you’ll be destroyed yourselves because you wouldn’t listen to His voice.
11 As I will show you, it’s important that the One who brings us to God and those who are brought to God become one, since we are all from one Father. This is why Jesus was not ashamed to call us His family, 12 saying, in the words of the psalmist,
I will speak Your Name to My brothers and sisters
when I praise You in the midst of the community.[a]
13 And in the words of Isaiah,
I will wait for the Eternal One.[b]
And again,
Look, here I am with the children God has given Me.[c]
14 Since we, the children, are all creatures of flesh and blood, Jesus took on flesh and blood, so that by dying He could destroy the one who held power over death—the devil— 15 and destroy the fear of death that has always held people captive.
16 So notice—His concern here is not for the welfare of the heavenly messengers, but for the children of Abraham. 17 He had to become as human as His sisters and brothers so that when the time came, He could become a merciful and faithful high priest of God, called to reconcile a sinful people. 18 Since He has also been tested by suffering, He can help us when we are tested.
2 Three days later, they all went to celebrate a wedding feast in Cana of Galilee. Mary, the mother of Jesus, was invited 2 together with Him and His disciples. 3 While they were celebrating, the wine ran out; and Jesus’ mother hurried over to her son.
Mary: The host stands on the brink of embarrassment; there are many guests, and there is no more wine.
Jesus: 4 Dear woman, is it our problem they miscalculated when buying wine and inviting guests? My time has not arrived.
5 But she turned to the servants.
Mary: Do whatever my son tells you.
6 In that area were six massive stone water pots that could each hold 20 to 30 gallons.[a] They were typically used for Jewish purification rites. 7 Jesus’ instructions were clear:
Jesus: Fill each water pot with water until it’s ready to spill over the top; 8 then fill a cup, and deliver it to the headwaiter.
They did exactly as they were instructed. 9 After tasting the water that had become wine, the headwaiter couldn’t figure out where such wine came from (even though the servants knew), and he called over the bridegroom in amazement.
Headwaiter: 10 This wine is delectable. Why would you save the most exquisite fruit of the vine? A host would generally serve the good wine first and, when his inebriated guests don’t notice or care, he would serve the inferior wine. You have held back the best for last.
11 Jesus performed this miracle, the first of His signs, in Cana of Galilee. They did not know how this happened; but when the disciples and the servants witnessed this miracle, their faith blossomed.
With a wedding as the setting of Jesus’ first sign, John shows how Jesus’ ministry isn’t limited to just “spiritual” things, but is His blessing for all of life.
12 Jesus then gathered His clan—His family members and disciples—for a journey to Capernaum where they lingered several days.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.