Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 106
1 Praise the Eternal!
Thank Him because He is good
and His loyal love will never end.
2 Who could find words to tell of the Eternal’s mighty deeds
or give Him all the praise He deserves?
3 Blessed are those who work for justice,
who always do what they know to be right!
4 Remember me, O Eternal One, when You show kindness to Your people;
don’t forget me when You are saving them.
5 That way I can know how good it is to be Your chosen people;
that way I can celebrate the joy of Your nation;
that way I can join those who belong to You in unending praise.
Psalm 106 was composed during the exile offering a historical review of the ways God’s people rebelled against Him. It is a fitting closure to Book Four of Psalms. After this liturgy of failure on the part of the people, the psalmist cries out in thanksgiving for God’s faithfulness and in the final verse proclaims praise “from everlasting to everlasting.”
6 Like our ancestors, we have sinned;
we have done wicked things.
7 When our ancestors were leaving Egypt,
they did not consider Your marvelous acts.
They forgot Your overwhelming kindness to them
and instead rebelled at the Red Sea.[a]
8 Nevertheless, God saved them for the honor of His name
so He could show His power to the world.
9 He gave the order, and the waters of the Red Sea dried up,
and He led the people across the sea floor as though it were the wilderness.
10 That’s how He liberated them from their enemies
and rescued them from the hand of their oppressors.
11 After that the sea surged and covered their foes,
and every one of them drowned in its waters.
12 When God’s people saw what He did, they believed what He said
and they sang praises to Him.
13 But it didn’t take long for them to forget what He had done.
They moved on without waiting for His instructions,
14 So our ancestors became very hungry in the wilderness
and the rabble grumbled and complained, testing God’s patience in the desert.
15 Although He granted their request,
He also sent a disease that caused them to waste away.
16 While they were camped in the desert, some began to be jealous of Moses
and Aaron, the holy priest of the Eternal.
17 The earth opened up, and a deep fissure swallowed Dathan
and buried Abiram’s group.
18 A blaze ignited where they were gathered;
the fire consumed the wicked mob.
19 The people made a golden calf in Horeb
and bowed to worship an image they had made.
20 They traded the glory of God
for the likeness of an ox that eats grass.
21 They forgot about God, their True Savior,
who had done great things for them in Egypt—
22 Miracles in the land of Ham
and amazing deeds at the Red Sea.
23 Therefore, He declared in His anger that He would wipe them away.
If Moses, His chosen one,
Had not pleaded for the people,
His anger would have destroyed them.
24 At the edge of the beautiful land God had promised them,
they didn’t trust His words, so they refused to enter.
25 They complained when they were gathered in their tents;
they ignored the voice of the Eternal.
26 Because of their attitude, He swore,
“I’ll leave you where you fall in the desert.
27 I’ll scatter your children—whoever is left—
throughout the nations all over the earth.”
28 Then they aligned themselves with the god of Peor,
and they ate sacrifices that had been made to lifeless gods.
29 Through their actions, they stirred up His anger,
and a plague broke out in their midst.
30 Then Phinehas took a stand and intervened,
so the plague was stopped.
31 And God saw what he did and considered him righteous,
a man to be honored by all generations forever.
32 Again they stirred up His anger at the waters of Meribah,
and serious trouble came to Moses because of them;
33 Because they stood against the Spirit,
Moses spoke rashly with them.
34 Later, after they entered the promised land, they did not eradicate the peoples,
as the Eternal had ordered them to do,
35 But they mixed and married with the outsider nations,
adopted their practices,
36 And worshiped their idols,
which entrapped them.
37 They even offered their sons
and daughters as sacrifices to the demons.
38 The promised land was corrupted by the innocent blood
they offered to the idols of Canaan,
The blood of their very own sons and daughters.
39 They became impure because of their unfaithful works;
by their actions, they prostituted themselves to other gods.
40 Therefore the Eternal’s anger was ignited against His people;
He came to despise the people of His inheritance.
41 So He handed them over to the control of foreign nations,
to be ruled by people who hated them.
42 Their enemies exploited them, victimized them,
and restrained them by abusive power.
43 He delivered them over and over again;
however, they were slow to learn and deliberately rebelled.
Their sins humbled them and nearly destroyed them.
44 Nevertheless, He saw their great struggle, took pity on them,
and heard their prayers;
45 He did not forget His covenant promises to them
but reversed their fortune and released them from their punishment
because of His loyal love.
46 He changed the hearts of all who held them captive
so that they would show compassion on them.
47 Save us, O Eternal One our God,
and gather us who are scattered among all the nations,
That we may give thanks to Your holy name
and celebrate Your amazing greatness with praise.
48 Blessed be the Eternal, the God of Israel,
from everlasting to everlasting.
And let everyone say, “Amen!”
Praise the Eternal!
Why is Saul chosen as the first king? He is from the tiny tribe of Benjamin, so he seems to be outside the mainstream of political power. But he is a handsome and tall young man, meaning he is appealing in appearance and able to inspire confidence in warriors. At this first appearance, it even seems as if his inner qualities might match his outer qualities—God transforms him and gives him the power to prophesy—but as the story goes on, his insecurities and his jealousy of David are his undoing.
17 Sometime later Samuel called the people to come and gather in the presence of the Eternal One at Mizpah. 18 He stood before the Israelites with an important message.
Samuel: Listen to what the Eternal One, the God of Israel, has to say to you: “I brought Israel up from Egypt and rescued you from Egyptian bondage, and then I delivered you from all of the nations that sought to burden you.” 19 Today, though, you have rejected the True God who has saved you from every disaster and distress, and you have asked for a king to rule over you. If that is what you want, then line up by tribe and clan in front of the Eternal One.
20 So Samuel brought all of the tribes of Israel in front of him, and he chose the tribe of Benjamin by drawing lots. 21 Then he sorted through the clans of the tribe of Benjamin by the same method, and the clan of the Matrites was chosen. [Within that clan, he brought each man forward one by one,][a] and Saul, son of Kish, was chosen. But when they looked for him, he was nowhere to be found.
22 So they asked the Eternal One if the man had yet arrived.
Eternal One: Look! He has hidden himself among the baggage.
23 Then they hurried to find him and bring him in front of the people; and when he emerged, he stood head and shoulders above everyone else.
Samuel (to the people): 24 Do you see the man whom the Eternal One has chosen for you as king? No one else among the people of Israel can compare to him.
People (cheering and chanting): Long live the king!
25 Samuel informed the people about the rights and responsibilities of the king, and he wrote all these details in a book that he placed in the presence of the Eternal One. Then he sent all the people to their homes. 26 Saul, too, went home to Gibeah, accompanied by a group of warriors who had been moved by the True God to accompany him. 27 Still, some worthless skeptics and unbelievers asked, “How can this no-name from Benjamin protect us?” and they refused to honor him with an appropriate gift. But Saul kept silent.
[At that time, Nahash, the king of the Ammonites, tyrannized the men of the tribes of Dan and Reuben, putting out one of each man’s eyes and denying the possibility of their deliverance. Not one of the Israelites across the Jordan still had both his eyes, but 7,000 men had escaped from this conflict and reached Jabesh-gilead.][b]
44 Now recall that our ancestors had a sacred tent in the wilderness, the tent God directed Moses to build according to the pattern revealed to him. 45 When Joshua led our ancestors to dispossess the nations God drove out before them, our ancestors carried this sacred tent. It remained here in the land until the time of David. 46 David found favor with God and asked Him for permission to build a permanent structure (rather than a portable tent) to honor Him. 47 It was, of course, Solomon who actually built God’s house. 48 Yet we all know the Most High God doesn’t actually dwell in structures made by human hands, as the prophet Isaiah said,
49 “Since My throne is heaven
and since My footstool is earth—
What kind of structure can you build to contain Me?
What man-made space could provide Me a resting place?” asks the Eternal One.
50 “Didn’t I make all things with My own hand?”[a]
As Stephen recounts how God has worked with the Jews in spite of their faltering fidelity, his speech up to this point sounds like any good synagogue sermon. In the stories of Abraham, Joseph, and Moses, he narrates the history of God’s work of salvation among the Jewish people in the midst of their repeated struggle with unfaithfulness and idolatry. However, it is one thing for his audience to agree that idolatry was a problem in the past and another when they are charged with the accusation of the same idolatry in the present. According to Stephen, those who reject Jesus are following the same path as the people who rejected Moses to follow idols. Such a strong message strikes a nerve, and Stephen becomes the first martyr of the church because of it.
Stephen: 51 You stubborn, stiff-necked people! Sure, you are physically Jews, but you are no different from outsiders in your hearts and ears! You are just like your ancestors, constantly fighting against the Holy Spirit. 52 Didn’t your ancestors persecute the prophets? First, they killed those prophets who predicted the coming of the Just One; and now, you have betrayed and murdered the Just One Himself! 53 Yes, you received the law as given by heavenly messengers, but you haven’t kept the law which you received.
54 Upon hearing this, his audience could contain themselves no longer. They boiled in fury at Stephen; they clenched their jaws and ground their teeth. 55 But Stephen was filled with the Holy Spirit. Gazing upward into heaven, he saw something they couldn’t see: the glory of God, and Jesus standing at His right hand.
Stephen: 56 Look, I see the heavens opening! I see the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!
57 At this, they covered their ears and started shouting. The whole crowd rushed at Stephen, converged on him, 58 dragged him out of the city, and stoned him.
They laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul, 59 while they were pelting Stephen with rocks.
Stephen (as rocks fell upon him): Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.
60 Then he knelt in prayer, shouting at the top of his lungs,
Stephen: Lord, do not hold this evil against them!
Those were his final words; then he fell asleep in death.
Stephen’s sermon weaves together the story of the Jews and the life of Jesus. The point of the message is that God pursues His children despite their constant failure. The crucifixion of Jesus is the greatest of all of these failures.
Stephen affirms that through circumcision they have made themselves look like Jews, but their hearts and ears need circumcising as well. Of course, telling the Jewish leaders to get their hearts and ears circumcised elicits a rather violent response. Stephen speaks the truth so that all might hear, including a man named Saul.
8 1-2 Some devout men buried Stephen and mourned his passing with loud cries of grief. But Saul, this young man who seemed to be supervising the whole violent event, was pleased by Stephen’s death. That very day, the whole church in Jerusalem began experiencing severe persecution. All of the followers of Jesus—except for the emissaries[b] themselves—fled to the countryside of Judea and Samaria.
52 Jesus turned to the chief priests, the captains of the temple, and the elders and spoke.
Jesus: Do you think I’m some sort of violent criminal? Is that why you came with swords and clubs? 53 I haven’t been hard to find—each day I’ve been in the temple in broad daylight, and you never tried to seize Me there. But this is your time—night—and this is your power—the power of darkness.
54 They grabbed Him at this point and took Him away to the high priest’s home. Peter followed—at a distance. 55 He watched from the shadows as those who had seized Jesus made a fire in the center of the courtyard and sat down around it. Then Peter slipped in quietly and sat with them. 56 But a young servant girl saw his face in the firelight. She stared for a while and then spoke.
Servant Girl: This fellow here was with Jesus. I recognize him.
Peter (denying it): 57 Woman, I don’t even know the man.
58 A little later, a man also recognized him.
Man: I recognize you. You’re one of Jesus’ followers.
Peter: Man, you’re wrong. I’m not.
59 An hour or so passed, and then another person pointed to Peter.
Another Person: This fellow is obviously Galilean. He must be a member of Jesus’ group.
Peter: 60 Look, I have no idea what you’re talking about.
And he hadn’t even finished the sentence when a nearby rooster crowed. 61 The Lord turned toward Peter, and their eyes met. Peter remembered Jesus’ words about his triple denial before the rooster would crow, 62 so he left the courtyard and wept bitter tears.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.