Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 100
A song of thanks.
Psalm 100 is one of the best known and most loved psalms. This hymn of thanksgiving invites the whole world to come to God’s temple in Jerusalem and enter its sacred spaces with unbridled joy and hearts filled with gratitude. And why should we? The psalm provides the answer. Not only has God created us—a gracious act of love in and of itself—but He has made us His own people. He has chosen us and loved us. As with Psalm 23, God’s people are cast in the role as sheep living well in His pasture.
The psalm ends on a high note of confidence and hope. At all times—but perhaps more in times of difficulty—we need to be reminded of what is true. Regardless of what seems to be happening around us, the Eternal is good; His love and faithfulness will endure forever.
1 Raise your voices;
make a beautiful noise to the Eternal, all the earth.
2 Serve the Eternal gladly;
enter into His presence singing songs of joy!
3 Know this: the Eternal One Himself is the True God.
He is the One who made us;
we have not made ourselves;
we are His people, like sheep grazing in His fields.
4 Go through His gates, giving thanks;
walk through His courts, giving praise.
Offer Him your gratitude and praise His holy name.
5 Because the Eternal is good,
His loyal love and mercy will never end,
and His truth will last throughout all generations.
40 “Comfort, comfort My people,” says your God.
2 “With gentle words, tender and kind,
Assure Jerusalem, this chosen city from long ago,
that her battles are over.
The terror, the bloodshed, the horror of My punishing work is done.
This place has paid for its guilt; iniquity is pardoned;
its term of incarceration is complete.
It has endured double the punishment it was due.”
3 A voice is wailing, “In the wilderness, get it ready! Prepare the way;
make it a straight shot. The Eternal would have it so.
Straighten the way in the wandering desert
to make the crooked road wide and straight for our God.[a]
4 Where there are steep valleys, treacherous descents,
raise the highway; lift it up;
bring down the dizzying heights.
Fill in the potholes and gullies, the rough places.
Iron out the shoulders flat and wide.
5 The Lord will be, really be, among us.
The radiant glory of the Lord will be revealed.
All flesh together will take it in. Believe it.
None other than God, the Eternal, has spoken.”[b]
During the time of Jesus, John the Baptist wanders around Israel in the tradition of the Hebrew prophets warning the people that they need to correct their attitudes and behaviors, to bring them better in line with what God expects and desires. He declares (warns, actually) that God is coming and will set things right. During the circumstances of exile, the people don’t fully understand who or what this voice in the wilderness will be; centuries later, as the early Christian community looks back over the life of Jesus and John, they recognize the anonymous voice.
6 A voice says, “Declare!”
But what shall I declare?
All life is like the grass.
All of its grace and beauty fades like the wild flowers in a field.
7 The grass withers, the flower fades
as the breath of the Eternal One blows away.
People are no different from grass.
8 The grass withers, the flower fades;
nothing lasts except the word of our God.
It will stand forever.[c]
Isaiah’s message is not just doom and gloom. God determines that His people may return home to rebuild their lives! God uses the new king, Cyrus of Persia, to accomplish this glorious restoration. God does not allow His punishment to last forever.
Now, in this new time, God smoothes the rocky way between Mesopotamia and all Israel; He makes the deserts between the present place of exile and their home just east of the Mediterranean Sea burst with sweet water and bloom with beauty and good things to eat. Treacherous roads and threatening beasts yield to God’s desire that they return safely.
In chapters 40–55, for the most part, the message is one of comfort and encouragement to God’s downtrodden and discouraged people. Many centuries later, these words will be understood in light of the Anointed One.
9 Ascend a high mountain,
you herald of good tidings, O Zion;
With a clear, strong voice make known to everyone
the joy that belongs to God’s chosen place,
O, Jerusalem, You herald of good tidings!
Make the news ring out! Don’t be afraid!
Say to these cities, this Judah: “Behold your God!”
10 The Lord, the Eternal, comes with power, with unstoppable might;
He will take control without question or delay.
He will see to it that wages are paid,
repairs are made, and all is set right again.
11 He will feed His fold like a shepherd;
He will gather together His lambs—the weak and the wobbly ones—into His arms.
He will carry them close to His bosom,
and tenderly lead like a shepherd the mother of her lambs.
John had never seen a city without a temple. In fact, every city John ever entered had many temples dedicated to many gods—all, of course, except Jerusalem, which only had one temple. But now in his vision, he sees a different kind of city, the holy city, the new Jerusalem. As he looks around its streets of gold and magnificent buildings, he sees no temple reaching into the sky. No temple is needed in this city because God and the Lamb live with them, constantly in view. Their throne sits prominently in the city. Their light forever illumines its streets and citizens.
22 My heavenly guide brought me to the river of pure living waters, shimmering as brilliantly as crystal. It flowed out from the throne of God and of the Lamb, 2 flowing down the middle and dividing the street of the holy city. On each bank of the river stood the tree of life, firmly planted, bearing twelve kinds of fruit and producing its sweet crop every month throughout the year. And the soothing leaves that grew on the tree of life provided precious healing for the nations.
Fed by a crystal clear river is the tree of life. In the beginning, Adam and Eve were prevented from eating from the tree once they were expelled from the garden of Eden. Divine creatures and a flaming sword then stood guard at the entrance to the garden (Genesis 3:24). Now the tree of life returns to the story, a single tree situated on both sides of the river. No one is denied access to its luscious fruit and healing leaves.
3 No one or nothing will labor under any curse any longer. And the throne of God and of the Lamb will sit prominently in the city. God’s servants will continually serve and worship Him. 4 They will be able to look upon His face, and His name will be written on their foreheads. 5 Darkness will never again fall on this city. They will not require the light of a lamp or of the sun because the Lord God will be their illumination. By His light, they will reign throughout the ages.
Guide (speaking to me): 6 These words are faithful and true.
And the Lord, the God who inspired the prophets, has sent His heavenly messenger to show to His servants what must soon take place.
The Anointed One: 7 Look now, I am coming soon! The one who remains true to the prophetic words contained in this book will truly be blessed.
8 I, John, am the one who heard and witnessed these visions. And when I heard and witnessed them, I fell prostrate at the feet of the heavenly guide who showed them to me. 9 But he refused.
Guide: You must not do that! I am a servant with you, with your brothers and sisters the prophets, and with those who keep the words contained in this book. Worship God instead!
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.