Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 118
1 Give thanks to the Eternal because He is always good.
He never ceases to be loving and kind.
2 Let the people of Israel proclaim:
“He never ceases to be loving and kind.”
3 Let the priests of Aaron’s line proclaim:
“He never ceases to be loving and kind.”
4 Let the people who fear the Eternal proclaim:
“He never ceases to be loving and kind.”
5 When trouble surrounded me, I cried out to the Eternal;
He answered me and brought me to a wide, open space.
6 The Eternal is with me,
so I will not be afraid of anything.
If God is on my side, how can anyone hurt me?
7 The Eternal is on my side, a champion for my cause;
so when I look at those who hate me, victory will be in sight.
8 It is better to put your faith in the Eternal for your security
than to trust in people.
9 It is better to put your faith in Him for your security
than to trust in princes.
10 All these nations surround me, squeezing me from all sides;
with the name of the Eternal, I will destroy them.
11 They rose up against me, squeezed me from all sides, yes, from all sides;
with the name of the Eternal, I will destroy them.
12 They surrounded me like a swarm of bees;
they were destroyed quickly and thoroughly—
Flaring up like a pile of thorns—
with the name of the Eternal, I will destroy them.
13 I was pushed back, attacked so that I was about to fall,
but the Eternal was there to help me keep my balance.
14 He is my strength, and He is the reason I sing;
He has been there to save me in every situation.
15 In the tents of the righteous soldiers of God,
there are shouts of joy and victory. They sing:
“The right hand of the Eternal has shown His power.
16 The mighty arm of the Eternal is raised in victory;
the right hand of His has shown His power.”
17 I will not die. I will live.
I will live to tell about all the Eternal has done.
18 The Eternal has taught me many lessons;
He has been strict and severe,
but even in His discipline, He has not allowed me to die.
Early Christians found in the words of this psalm a wonderful way of describing the significance of Jesus. He was the rejected stone whom God made the cornerstone of a brand-new temple (verses 22–24).
19 Open wide to me the gates of justice
so that I may walk through them
and offer praise and worship to the Eternal.
20 This is the gate of the Eternal;
the righteous children of God will go through it.
21 I will praise You because You answered me when I was in trouble.
You have become my salvation.
22 The stone that the builders rejected
has become the very stone that holds together the entire foundation.
23 This is the work of the Eternal,
and it is marvelous in our eyes.[a]
24 This is the day the Eternal God has made;
let us celebrate and be happy today.
25 O Eternal One, save us, we beg You.
O Eternal One, we beg You, bring us success!
26 He who comes in the name of the Eternal will be blessed;[b]
we have blessed You from the house of the Eternal.
27 The Eternal is the True God;
He shines His light on us.
Let the feast begin.
Bring the sacrifice, and tie it to the horns of the altar.
28 You are my God, and I give You thanks;
You are my God, and I praise You.
29 Give thanks to our Eternal Lord; He is always good.
He never ceases to be loving and kind.
Psalm 145[a]
A song of praise by David.
1 I will lift my praise above everything to You, my God and King!
I will continually bless Your name forever and always.
2 My praise will never cease—
I will praise You every day;
I will lift up Your name forever.
3 The Eternal is great and deserves endless praise;
His greatness knows no limit, recognizes no boundary.
No one can measure or comprehend His magnificence.
4 One generation after another will celebrate Your great works;
they will pass on the story of Your powerful acts to their children.
5 Your majesty and glorious splendor have captivated me;
I will meditate on Your wonders, sing songs of Your worth.
6 We confess—there is nothing greater than You, God, nothing mightier than Your awesome works.
I will tell of Your greatness as long as I have breath.
7 The news of Your rich goodness is no secret—
Your people love to recall it
and sing songs of joy to celebrate Your righteousness.
8 The Eternal is gracious.
He shows mercy to His people.
For Him anger does not come easily, but faithful love does—and it is rich and abundant.
9 But the Eternal’s goodness is not exclusive—it is offered freely to all.
His mercy extends to all His creation.
10 All creation will stand in awe of You, O Eternal One.
Thanks will pour from the mouths of every one of Your creatures;
Your holy people will bless You.
11 They will not be silent; they will talk of the grandeur of Your kingdom
and celebrate the wonder of Your power
12 Until everyone on earth who has ears to hear knows Your valiant acts
and the splendor of Your kingdom.
13 Your kingdom will never end;
Your rule will endure forever.
[You are faithful to Your promise,
and Your acts are marked with grace.][b]
14 The Eternal sustains all who stumble on their way.
For those who are broken down, God is near. He raises them up in hope.
15 All eyes have turned toward You, waiting in expectation;
when they are hungry, You feed them right on time.
16 The desires of every living thing
are met by Your open hand.
17 The Eternal is right in all His ways,
and He is kind in all His acts.
18 The Eternal stays close to those who call on Him,
those who pray sincerely.
19 All of you who revere Him—
God will satisfy your desires.
He hears the cries for help, and He brings salvation.
20 All of you who love God—
He will watch out for you,
but total destruction is around the corner for all the wicked.
21 My lips will sing the praise of the Eternal.
Let every creature join me and praise the holy name of God—forever and always!
16 These are the words of the Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies.
Eternal One: When these prophets “prophesy” to you, filling you with empty hopes, do not listen to one word! They do not speak for Me. They speak of visions they have only imagined. 17 They keep saying to those who openly reject My word, “Don’t worry, the Eternal has promised you peace.” And to those stubborn souls who go their own way, they say, “Don’t worry, nothing bad will happen to you.”
18 Which one of these false prophets has stood in the presence of the Eternal
and heard His voice or seen His plan?
Who of them has paid attention to His word and truly listened?
19 Behold, the storm of the Eternal’s wrath will now break open,
swirling down out of the sky like a whirlwind onto the heads of the wicked.
20 The Eternal’s anger will not relent until He has carried out His most fervent plans.
You will understand all of this in the days to come.
21 Eternal One: I did not send these so-called prophets,
but they have run to you with their empty words.
I did not speak to them,
but they claim to speak for Me.
22 If only they had stood in My presence and heard My voice,
then they would have spoken My words to My people!
They would have turned this nation back from its evil ways and evil deeds.
23 Am I only a God who is close by, and not a God of the farthest reaches? 24 Am I a God anyone can hide from? Do I not see what happens in secret? Am I not everywhere, filling heaven and earth? 25 I have heard these prophets who speak lies in My name. They say, “I had a dream, I had a dream,” and claim it was Me speaking to them! 26 How long will this go on? Will the hearts of these lying prophets ever change? How long will they deceive themselves and all who listen to them? 27 They think they can make My people forget My name with all this talk of dreams—just as their ancestors forgot My name as they worshiped Baal. 28 If a prophet has a dream, he should tell others of that dream. But the one who has My word should speak it with unshakable faith. For what is straw worth, when compared to grain? 29 Does not My word burn like fire? Does it not shatter rock like a strong hammer? 30 Look, this is why I oppose the prophets who steal My word from others and offer it as their own. 31 I oppose the prophets whose tongues “declare” something, as if I, the Eternal, have declared it. 32 I oppose the prophets who prophesy with lying dreams. They lead My people astray with their reckless lies. But I did not send these prophets or direct them to speak in My name, so they are of no use to My people.
This is what the Eternal declares.
19 that also means that I am free of obligations to all people. And, even though no one (except Jesus) owns me, I have become a slave by my own free will to everyone in hopes that I would gather more believers. 20 When around Jews, I emphasize my Jewishness in order to win them over. When around those who live strictly under the law, I live by its regulations—even though I have a different perspective on the law now—in order to win them over. 21 In the same way, I’ve made a life outside the law to gather those who live outside the law (although I personally abide by and live under the Anointed One’s law). 22 I’ve been broken, lost, depressed, oppressed, and weak that I might find favor and gain the weak. I’m flexible, adaptable, and able to do and be whatever is needed for all kinds of people so that in the end I can use every means at my disposal to offer them salvation. 23 I do it all for the gospel and for the hope that I may participate with everyone who is blessed by the proclamation of the good news.
24 We all know that when there’s a race, all the runners bolt for the finish line, but only one will take the prize. When you run, run for the prize! 25 Athletes in training are very strict with themselves, exercising self-control over desires, and for what? For a wreath that soon withers or is crushed or simply forgotten. That is not our race. We run for the crown that we will wear for eternity. 26 So I don’t run aimlessly. I don’t let my eyes drift off the finish line. When I box, I don’t throw punches in the air. 27 I discipline my body and make it my slave so that after all this, after I have brought the gospel to others, I will still be qualified to win the prize.
31 And He went on to teach them many things about Himself: how the Son of Man would suffer; how He would be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and scribes; how He would be killed; and how, after three days, God would raise Him from the dead.
32 He said all these things in front of them all, but Peter took Jesus aside to rebuke Him.
Peter represents the best and worst in humanity. One day, Peter drops everything to become a follower of Jesus; the next, he’s busy putting his foot in his mouth. Peter is always responding to Jesus, frequently making mistakes, but never drifting far from Jesus’ side. In this passage, Peter verbalizes God’s word and Satan’s temptation—almost in the same breath. Peter thinks he understands who Jesus is, but he still has a lot to learn about what Jesus has come to do.
Jesus (seeing His disciples surrounding them): 33 Get behind Me, you tempter! You’re thinking only of human things, not of the things God has planned.
34 He gathered the crowd and His disciples alike.
Jesus: If any one of you wants to follow Me, you will have to give yourself up to God’s plan, take up your cross, and do as I do. 35 For any one of you who wants to be rescued will lose your life, but any one of you who loses your life for My sake and for the sake of this good news will be liberated. 36 Really, what profit is there for you to gain the whole world and lose yourself in the process? 37 What can you give in exchange for your life? 38 If you are ashamed of Me and of what I came to teach to this adulterous and sinful generation, then the Son of Man will be ashamed of you when He comes in the glory of His Father along with the holy messengers at the final judgment.
9 Jesus: Truly, some of you who are here now will not experience death before you see the kingdom of God coming in glory and power.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.