Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 18
Praise for Deliverance
For the choir director. Of the servant of the Lord, David, who spoke the words of this song to the Lord on the day the Lord rescued him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul.(A) He said:
1 I love You, Lord, my strength.
2 The Lord is my rock,
my fortress, and my deliverer,(B)
my God, my mountain where I seek refuge,
my shield(C) and the horn of my salvation,(D)
my stronghold.
3 I called to the Lord, who is worthy of praise,(E)
and I was saved from my enemies.(F)
4 The ropes of death were wrapped around me;
the torrents of destruction terrified me.(G)
5 The ropes of Sheol entangled me;
the snares of death confronted me.(H)
6 I called to the Lord in my distress,
and I cried to my God for help.
From His temple He heard my voice,(I)
and my cry to Him reached His ears.(J)
7 Then the earth shook and quaked;
the foundations of the mountains trembled;(K)
they shook because He burned with anger.
8 Smoke rose from His nostrils,
and consuming fire came from His mouth;
coals were set ablaze by it.[a](L)
9 He parted the heavens and came down,(M)
a dark cloud beneath His feet.
10 He rode on a cherub and flew,
soaring on the wings of the wind.(N)
11 He made darkness His hiding place,
dark storm clouds His canopy around Him.(O)
12 From the radiance of His presence,(P)
His clouds swept onward with hail and blazing coals.
13 The Lord thundered from[b] heaven;
the Most High projected His voice.[c](Q)
14 He shot His arrows and scattered them;
He hurled[d] lightning bolts and routed them.(R)
15 The depths of the sea became visible,
the foundations of the world were exposed,
at Your rebuke, Lord,
at the blast of the breath of Your nostrils.(S)
16 He reached down from heaven
and took hold of me;
He pulled me out of deep waters.(T)
17 He rescued me from my powerful enemy
and from those who hated me,
for they were too strong for me.(U)
18 They confronted me in the day of my distress,
but the Lord was my support.(V)
19 He brought me out to a spacious place;(W)
He rescued me because He delighted in me.(X)
20 The Lord rewarded me
according to my righteousness;(Y)
He repaid me
according to the cleanness of my hands.(Z)
21 For I have kept the ways of the Lord
and have not turned from my God to wickedness.(AA)
22 Indeed, I have kept all His ordinances in mind[e]
and have not disregarded His statutes.(AB)
23 I was blameless toward Him(AC)
and kept myself from sinning.
24 So the Lord repaid me
according to my righteousness,(AD)
according to the cleanness of my hands in His sight.(AE)
25 With the faithful
You prove Yourself faithful;
with the blameless man
You prove Yourself blameless;
26 with the pure
You prove Yourself pure,
but with the crooked
You prove Yourself shrewd.(AF)
27 For You rescue an afflicted people,(AG)
but You humble those with haughty eyes.(AH)
28 Lord, You light my lamp;
my God illuminates my darkness.(AI)
29 With You I can attack a barrier,[f]
and with my God I can leap over a wall.(AJ)
30 God—His way is perfect;(AK)
the word of the Lord is pure.(AL)
He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him.(AM)
31 For who is God besides Yahweh?(AN)
And who is a rock? Only our God.(AO)
32 God—He clothes me with strength(AP)
and makes my way perfect.
33 He makes my feet like the feet of a deer(AQ)
and sets me securely on the heights.[g](AR)
34 He trains my hands for war;(AS)
my arms can bend a bow of bronze.(AT)
35 You have given me the shield of Your salvation;
Your right hand upholds me,(AU)
and Your humility exalts me.
36 You widen a place beneath me for my steps,(AV)
and my ankles do not give way.(AW)
37 I pursue my enemies and overtake them;
I do not turn back until they are wiped out.(AX)
38 I crush them, and they cannot get up;
they fall beneath my feet.(AY)
39 You have clothed me with strength for battle;(AZ)
You subdue my adversaries beneath me.(BA)
40 You have made my enemies retreat before me;[h](BB)
I annihilate those who hate me.(BC)
41 They cry for help, but there is no one to save them(BD)—
they cry to the Lord, but He does not answer them.(BE)
42 I pulverize them like dust before the wind;(BF)
I trample them[i] like mud in the streets.(BG)
43 You have freed me from the feuds among the people;
You have appointed me the head of nations;(BH)
a people I had not known serve me.(BI)
44 Foreigners submit to me grudgingly;
as soon as they hear,[j] they obey me.(BJ)
45 Foreigners lose heart
and come trembling from their fortifications.(BK)
46 The Lord lives—may my rock be praised!
The God of my salvation is exalted.(BL)
47 God—He gives me vengeance(BM)
and subdues peoples under me.(BN)
48 He frees me from my enemies.
You exalt me above my adversaries;
You rescue me from violent men.(BO)
49 Therefore I will praise You, Yahweh, among the nations;
I will sing about Your name.(BP)
50 He gives great victories to His king;(BQ)
He shows loyalty to His anointed,
to David and his descendants forever.(BR)
30 No wisdom, no understanding, and no counsel
will prevail against the Lord.(A)
22 A good name is to be chosen over great wealth;
favor is better than silver and gold.(D)
3 A sensible person sees danger and takes cover,
but the inexperienced keep going and are punished.(F)
4 The result of humility is fear of the Lord,
along with wealth, honor, and life.(G)
5 There are thorns and snares on the path of the crooked;(H)
the one who guards himself stays far from them.
6 Teach a youth about the way he should go;(I)
even when he is old he will not depart from it.
Fulfill Your Ministry
4 I solemnly charge you before God and Christ Jesus, who is going to judge(A) the living and the dead,(B) and because of His appearing and His kingdom:(C) 2 Proclaim the message; persist in it whether convenient or not; rebuke, correct, and encourage with great patience and teaching. 3 For the time will come when they will not tolerate sound doctrine,(D) but according to their own desires, will multiply teachers for themselves because they have an itch to hear something new.[a] 4 They will turn away from hearing the truth and will turn aside to myths.(E) 5 But as for you, be serious about everything, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist,(F) fulfill your ministry.
6 For I am already being poured out as a drink offering,(G) and the time for my departure is close. 7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 There is reserved for me in the future the crown(H) of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge,(I) will give me on that day, and not only to me, but to all those who have loved His appearing.(J)
Judas’s Betrayal Predicted
21 When(A) Jesus had said this, He was troubled in His spirit(B) and testified,(C) “I assure you: One of you will betray Me!”
22 The disciples started looking at one another—uncertain which one He was speaking about. 23 One of His disciples, the one Jesus loved,(D) was reclining close beside Jesus.[a] 24 Simon Peter motioned to him to find out who it was He was talking about. 25 So he leaned back against Jesus and asked Him, “Lord, who is it?”
26 Jesus replied, “He’s the one I give the piece of bread to after I have dipped it.”(E) When He had dipped the bread,(F) He gave it to Judas, Simon Iscariot’s son.[b] 27 After Judas ate the piece of bread, Satan(G) entered him. Therefore Jesus told him, “What you’re doing, do quickly.”
28 None of those reclining at the table knew why He told him this. 29 Since Judas(H) kept the money-bag, some thought that Jesus was telling him, “Buy what we need for the festival,”(I) or that he should give something to the poor. 30 After receiving the piece of bread, he went out immediately. And it was night.(J)
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