Book of Common Prayer
The Lord Is My Strength and My Shield
Of David.
28 To you, O Lord, I call;
(A)my rock, be not deaf to me,
lest, if you (B)be silent to me,
I become like those who (C)go down to the pit.
2 (D)Hear the voice of my pleas for mercy,
when I cry to you for help,
when I (E)lift up my hands
(F)toward your most holy sanctuary.[a]
3 Do not (G)drag me off with the wicked,
with the workers of evil,
(H)who speak peace with their neighbors
while evil is in their hearts.
4 (I)Give to them according to their work
and according to the evil of their deeds;
give to them according to the work of their hands;
(J)render them their due reward.
5 Because they (K)do not regard the works of the Lord
or the work of his hands,
he will tear them down and build them up no more.
Joy Comes with the Morning
A Psalm of David. A song at the dedication of (A)the temple.
30 I will (B)extol you, O Lord, for you have drawn me up
and have not let my foes (C)rejoice over me.
2 O Lord my God, I (D)cried to you for help,
and you have (E)healed me.
3 O Lord, you have brought up my soul from (F)Sheol;
you restored me to life from among those who (G)go down to the pit.[a]
4 Sing praises to the Lord, O you (H)his saints,
and (I)give thanks to his holy name.[b]
5 (J)For his anger is but for a moment,
and (K)his favor is for a lifetime.[c]
(L)Weeping may tarry for the night,
but (M)joy comes with the morning.
6 As for me, I said in my (N)prosperity,
“I shall never be (O)moved.”
7 By your favor, O Lord,
you made my (P)mountain stand strong;
you (Q)hid your face;
I was (R)dismayed.
17 Now after the death of Jehoiada the princes of Judah came and paid homage to the king. Then the king listened to them. 18 And they abandoned the house of the Lord, the God of their fathers, and served (A)the Asherim and the idols. And (B)wrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem for this guilt of theirs. 19 (C)Yet he sent prophets among them to bring them back to the Lord. (D)These testified against them, but they would not pay attention.
Joash's Treachery
20 (E)Then the Spirit of God clothed Zechariah (F)the son of Jehoiada the priest, and he stood above the people, and said to them, “Thus says God, (G)‘Why do you break the commandments of the Lord, so that you cannot prosper? (H)Because you have forsaken the Lord, he has forsaken you.’” 21 But (I)they conspired against him, (J)and by command of the king they stoned him with stones in the court of the house of the Lord. 22 Thus Joash the king did not remember the kindness that Jehoiada, Zechariah's father, had shown him, but killed his son. And when he was dying, he said, “May the Lord see (K)and avenge!”[a]
Seven Chosen to Serve
6 Now in these days (A)when the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint by the Hellenists[a] arose against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in (B)the daily distribution. 2 And the twelve summoned the full number of the disciples and said, “It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables. 3 (C)Therefore, brothers,[b] pick out from among you seven men (D)of good repute, (E)full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty. 4 But (F)we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” 5 And what they said pleased the whole gathering, and they chose Stephen, (G)a man full of faith and (H)of the Holy Spirit, and (I)Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolaus, (J)a proselyte of Antioch. 6 These they set before the apostles, and (K)they prayed and (L)laid their hands on them.
7 And (M)the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests (N)became obedient to (O)the faith.
His Steadfast Love Endures Forever
118 (A)Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
for his steadfast love endures forever!
2 (B)Let Israel say,
“His steadfast love endures forever.”
3 (C)Let the house of Aaron say,
“His steadfast love endures forever.”
4 (D)Let those who fear the Lord say,
“His steadfast love endures forever.”
5 (E)Out of my distress I (F)called on the Lord;
the Lord answered me and set me (G)free.
6 (H)The Lord is on my side; (I)I will not fear.
What can man do to me?
7 (J)The Lord is on my side as my helper;
I shall (K)look in triumph on those who hate me.
8 (L)It is better to take refuge in the Lord
(M)than to trust in man.
9 It is better to take refuge in the Lord
(N)than to trust in princes.
10 (O)All nations surrounded me;
in the name of the Lord I cut them off!
11 They surrounded me, surrounded me on every side;
in the name of the Lord I cut them off!
12 (P)They surrounded me like bees;
they went out like (Q)a fire among thorns;
in the name of the Lord I cut them off!
13 I was (R)pushed hard,[a] so that I was falling,
but the Lord helped me.
14 The Lord is my strength and my song;
(S)he has become my salvation.
15 Glad songs of salvation
are in the tents of the righteous:
(T)“The right hand of the Lord (U)does valiantly,
16 the right hand of the Lord exalts,
the right hand of the Lord (V)does valiantly!”
17 (W)I shall not die, but I shall live,
and (X)recount the deeds of the Lord.
18 The Lord has (Y)disciplined me severely,
but he has not given me over to death.
19 (Z)Open to me the gates of righteousness,
that I may enter through them
and give thanks to the Lord.
20 This is the gate of the Lord;
(AA)the righteous shall enter through it.
21 I thank you that (AB)you have answered me
(AC)and have become my salvation.
22 (AD)The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone.[b]
23 This is the Lord's doing;
it is marvelous in our eyes.
24 This is the day that the Lord has made;
let us rejoice and be glad in it.
25 Save us, we pray, O Lord!
O Lord, we pray, give us success!
59 And as they were stoning Stephen, (A)he called out, “Lord Jesus, (B)receive my spirit.” 60 And (C)falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, (D)“Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” And when he had said this, (E)he fell asleep.
Saul Ravages the Church
8 And (F)Saul (G)approved of his execution.
And there arose on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and (H)they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. 2 Devout men buried Stephen and made great lamentation over him. 3 But (I)Saul was ravaging the church, and entering house after house, he (J)dragged off men and women and committed them to prison.
Philip Proclaims Christ in Samaria
4 Now (K)those who were scattered went about preaching the word. 5 (L)Philip went down to the city[a] of Samaria and proclaimed to them the Christ. 6 (M)And the crowds with one accord paid attention to what was being said by Philip, when they heard him (N)and saw the signs that he did. 7 For (O)unclean spirits, crying out with a loud voice, came out of many who had them, and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed. 8 So (P)there was much joy in that city.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.