Book of Common Prayer
David Praises the Lord for Rescuing Him.
To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David, the servant of the Lord, who spoke the words of this song to the Lord on the day when the Lord rescued him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. And he said:
18 “I love You [fervently and devotedly], O Lord, my strength.”
2
The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and the One who rescues me;
My God, my rock and strength in whom I trust and take refuge;
My shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower—my stronghold.(A)
3
I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised;
And I am saved from my enemies.(B)
4
The cords of death surrounded me,
And the streams of ungodliness and torrents of destruction terrified me.
5
The cords of Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead) surrounded me;
The snares of death confronted me.
6
In my distress [when I seemed surrounded] I called upon the Lord
And cried to my God for help;
He heard my voice from His temple,
And my cry for help came before Him, into His very ears.
7
Then the earth shook and quaked,
The foundations of the mountains trembled;
They were shaken because He was indignant and angry.
8
Smoke went up from His nostrils,
And fire from His mouth devoured;
Coals were kindled by it.
9
He bowed the heavens also and came down;
And thick darkness was under His feet.
10
And He rode upon a cherub (storm) and flew;
And He sped on the wings of the wind.
11
He made darkness His hiding place (covering); His pavilion (canopy) around Him,
The darkness of the waters, the thick clouds of the skies.
12
Out of the brightness before Him passed His thick clouds,
Hailstones and coals of fire.
13
The Lord also thundered in the heavens,
And the Most High uttered His voice,
Hailstones and coals of fire.
14
He sent out His arrows and scattered them;
And He sent an abundance of lightning flashes and confused and routed them [in defeat].
15
Then the stream beds of the waters appeared,
And the foundations of the world were laid bare
At Your rebuke, O Lord,
At the blast of the breath of Your nostrils.
16
He reached from on high, He took me;
He drew me out of many waters.
17
He rescued me from my strong enemy,
And from those who hated me, for they were too strong for me.
18
They confronted me in the day of my disaster,
But the Lord was my support.
19
He brought me out into a broad place;
He rescued me because He was pleased with me and delighted in me.
20
The Lord dealt with me according to my righteousness (moral character, spiritual integrity);
According to the cleanness of my hands He has rewarded me.
21
For I have kept the ways of the Lord,
And have not wickedly departed from my God.
22
For all His ordinances were before me,
And I did not put away His statutes from me.
23
I was [a]blameless before Him,
And I kept myself free from my sin.
24
Therefore the Lord has rewarded me according to my righteousness (moral character, spiritual integrity),
According to the cleanness of my hands in His sight.
25
With the kind (merciful, faithful, loyal) You show Yourself kind,
With the blameless You show Yourself blameless,
26
With the pure You show Yourself pure,
And with the crooked You show Yourself astute.
27
For You save an afflicted and humble people,
But bring down those [arrogant fools] with haughty eyes.
28
For You cause my lamp to be lighted and to shine;
The Lord my God illumines my darkness.
29
For by You I can crush a troop,
And by my God I can leap over a wall.
30
As for God, His way is [b]blameless.
The word of the Lord is tested [it is perfect, it is faultless];
He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him.
31
For who is God, but the Lord?
Or who is a rock, except our God,
32
The God who encircles me with strength
And makes my way blameless?
33
He makes my feet like [c]hinds’ feet [able to stand firmly and tread safely on paths of testing and trouble];
He sets me [securely] upon my high places.
34
He trains my hands for war,
So that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
35
You have also given me the shield of Your salvation,
And Your right hand upholds and sustains me;
Your gentleness [Your gracious response when I pray] makes me great.
36
You enlarge the path beneath me and make my steps secure,
So that my feet will not slip.
37
I pursued my enemies and overtook them;
And I did not turn back until they were consumed.
38
I shattered them so that they were not able to rise;
They fell [wounded] under my feet.
39
For You have encircled me with strength for the battle;
You have subdued under me those who rose up against me.
40
You have also made my enemies turn their backs to me [in defeat],
And I silenced and destroyed those who hated me.
41
They cried for help, but there was no one to save them—
Even to the Lord [they cried], but He did not answer them.
42
Then I beat them fine as the dust before the wind;
I emptied them out as the dirt of the streets.
43
You have rescued me from the contentions of the people;
You have placed me as the head of the nations;
A people whom I have not known serve me.
44
As soon as they hear me, they respond and obey me;
Foreigners feign obedience to me.
45
Foreigners lose heart,
And come trembling out of their strongholds.
46
The Lord lives, blessed be my rock;
And may the God of my salvation be exalted,
47
The God who avenges me,
And subdues peoples (nations) under me.
48
He rescues me from my enemies;
Yes, You lift me up above those who rise up against me;
You deliver me from the man of violence.
49
Therefore will I give thanks and praise You, O Lord, among the nations,
And sing praises to Your name.(C)
50
He gives great triumphs to His king,
And shows steadfast love and mercy to His anointed,
To David and his descendants forever.(D)
10 So it happened that as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of Israel, they looked toward the wilderness, and behold, the glory and brilliance of the Lord appeared in the cloud! 11 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 12 “I have heard the murmurings of the Israelites; speak to them, saying, ‘At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread; and you shall know that I am the Lord your God.’”
13 So in the evening the quails came up and covered the camp, and in the morning there was a blanket of dew around the camp. 14 When the layer of dew evaporated, on the surface of the wilderness there was a fine, flake-like thing, as fine as frost on the ground. 15 When the Israelites saw it, they said to one another, “[a]What is it?” For they did not know what it was. And Moses said to them, “This is the bread which the Lord has given you to eat.(A) 16 This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Let every man gather as much of it as he needs. Take an [b]omer for each person, according to the number of people each of you has in his tent.’” 17 The Israelites did so, and some gathered much [of it] and some [only a] little. 18 When they measured it with an omer, he who had gathered a large amount had no excess, and he who had gathered little had no lack; every man gathered according to his need (family size). 19 Moses said, “Let none of it be left [overnight] until [the next] morning.” 20 But they did not listen to Moses, and some left a supply of it until morning, and it bred worms and became foul and rotten; and Moses was angry with them. 21 So they gathered it every morning, each as much as he needed, because when the sun was hot it melted.
The Sabbath Observed
22 Now on the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for each person; and all the leaders of the congregation came and told Moses.
11 Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers [in this world] to abstain from the sensual urges [those dishonorable desires] that wage war against the soul. 12 Keep your behavior excellent among the [unsaved] Gentiles [conduct yourself honorably, with graciousness and integrity], so that [a]for whatever reason they may slander you as evildoers, yet by observing your good deeds they may [instead come to] glorify God [b]in the day of visitation [when He looks upon them with mercy].
Honor Authority
13 Submit yourselves to [the authority of] every human institution for the sake of the Lord [to honor His name], whether it is to a king as one in a position of power, 14 or to governors as sent by him to bring punishment to those who do wrong, and to praise and encourage those who do right. 15 For it is the will of God that by doing right you may silence (muzzle, gag) the [culpable] ignorance and irresponsible criticisms of foolish people. 16 Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover or pretext for evil, but [use it and live] as bond-servants of God. 17 Show respect for all people [treat them honorably], love the brotherhood [of believers], fear God, honor the king.
18 [c]Servants, be submissive to your masters with all [proper] respect, not only to those who are good and kind, but also to those who are unreasonable. 19 For this finds favor, if a person endures the sorrow of suffering unjustly because of an [d]awareness of [the will of] God. 20 After all, what kind of credit is there if, when you do wrong and are punished for it, you endure it patiently? But if when you do what is right and patiently bear [undeserved] suffering, this finds favor with God.
Christ Is Our Example
21 For [as a believer] you have been called for this purpose, since Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you may follow in His footsteps. 22 He committed no sin, nor was deceit ever found in His mouth.(A) 23 While being reviled and insulted, He did not revile or insult in return; while suffering, He made no threats [of vengeance], but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges fairly. 24 He personally carried our sins in His body on the [e]cross [willingly offering Himself on it, as on an altar of sacrifice], so that we might die to sin [becoming immune from the penalty and power of sin] and live for righteousness; for by His wounds you [who believe] have been [f]healed. 25 For you were continually wandering like [so many] sheep, but now you have come back to the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls.(B)
Disciples’ Relation to Each Other
12 “This is My commandment, that you [a]love and unselfishly seek the best for one another, just as I have loved you. 13 No one has greater love [nor stronger commitment] than to lay down his own life for his friends. 14 You are my friends if you keep on doing what I command you. 15 I do not call you servants any longer, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you [My] friends, because I have revealed to you everything that I have heard from My Father. 16 You have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you and I have appointed and placed and purposefully planted you, so that you would go and bear fruit and keep on bearing, and that your fruit will remain and be lasting, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name [as My representative] He may give to you. 17 This [is what] I command you: that you love and unselfishly seek the best for one another.
Disciples’ Relation to the World
18 “If the world hates you [and it does], know that it has hated Me before it hated you. 19 If you belonged to the world, the world would love [you as] its own and would treat you with affection. But you are not of the world [you no longer belong to it], but I have chosen you out of the world. And because of this the world hates you. 20 Remember [and continue to remember] that I told you, ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also. 21 But they will do all these [hurtful] things to you for My name’s sake [because you bear My name and are identified with Me], for they do not know the One who sent Me. 22 If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have [the guilt of their] sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin. 23 The one who hates Me also hates My Father. 24 If I had not done among them the works (attesting miracles) which no one else [ever] did, they would not have [the guilt of their] sin; but now [the fact is that] they have both seen [these works] and have hated Me [and continue to hate Me] and My Father as well. 25 But [this is so] that the word which has been written in their Law would be fulfilled, ‘They hated Me without a cause.’(A)
26 “But when the [b]Helper (Comforter, Advocate, Intercessor—Counselor, Strengthener, Standby) comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, that is the Spirit of Truth who comes from the Father, He will testify and bear witness about Me. 27 But you will testify also and be My witnesses, because you have been with Me from the beginning.
Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA 90631. All rights reserved.