Book of Common Prayer
A miktam [a] by David.
16 Protect me, O God, because I take refuge in you.
2 I said to the Lord,
“You are my Lord. Without you, I have nothing good.”
3 Those who lead holy lives on earth
are the noble ones who fill me with joy.
4 Those who quickly chase after other gods multiply their sorrows.
I will not pour out their sacrificial offerings of blood
or use my lips to speak their names.
5 The Lord is my inheritance and my cup.
You are the one who determines my destiny.
6 Your boundary lines mark out pleasant places for me.
Indeed, my inheritance is something beautiful.
7 I will praise the Lord, who advises me.
My conscience warns me at night.
8 I always keep the Lord in front of me.
When he is by my side, I cannot be moved.
9 That is why my heart is glad and my soul rejoices.
My body rests securely
10 because you do not abandon my soul to the grave
or allow your holy one to decay.
11 You make the path of life known to me.
Complete joy is in your presence.
Pleasures are by your side forever.
A prayer by David.
17 Hear my plea for justice, O Lord.
Pay attention to my cry.
Open your ears to my prayer,
⌞which comes⌟ from lips free from deceit.
2 Let the verdict of my innocence come directly from you.
Let your eyes observe what is fair.
3 You have probed my heart.
You have confronted me at night.
You have tested me like silver,
but you found nothing wrong.
I have determined that my mouth will not sin.
4 I have avoided cruelty because of your word.
In spite of what others have done,
5 my steps have remained firmly in your paths.
My feet have not slipped.
6 I have called on you because you answer me, O God.
Turn your ear toward me.
Hear what I have to say.
7 Reveal your miraculous deeds of mercy,
O Savior of those who find refuge by your side
from those who attack them.
8 Guard me as if I were the pupil in your eye.
Hide me in the shadow of your wings.
9 Hide me from wicked people who violently attack me,
from my deadly enemies who surround me.
10 They have shut out all feeling.
Their mouths have spoken arrogantly.
11 They have tracked me down.
They have surrounded me.
They have focused their attention on throwing me to the ground.
12 Each one of them is like a lion eager to tear ⌞its prey⌟ apart
and like a young lion crouching in hiding places.
13 Arise, O Lord; confront them!
Bring them to their knees!
With your sword rescue my life from wicked people.
14 With your power rescue me from mortals, O Lord,
from mortals who enjoy their inheritance only in this life.
You fill their bellies with your treasure.
Their children are satisfied ⌞with it⌟,
and they leave what remains to their children.
15 I will see your face when I am declared innocent.
When I wake up, I will be satisfied ⌞with seeing⌟ you.
For the choir director; according to ayyeleth hashachar; [a] a psalm by David.
22 My God, my God,
why have you abandoned me?
Why are you so far away from helping me,
so far away from the words of my groaning?
2 My God,
I cry out by day, but you do not answer—
also at night, but I find no rest.
3 Yet, you are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel.
4 Our ancestors trusted you.
They trusted, and you rescued them.
5 They cried to you and were saved.
They trusted you and were never disappointed.
6 Yet, I am a worm and not a man.
I am scorned by humanity and despised by people.
7 All who see me make fun of me.
Insults pour from their mouths.
They shake their heads and say,
8 “Put yourself in the Lord’s hands.
Let the Lord save him!
Let God rescue him since he is pleased with him!”
9 Indeed, you are the one who brought me out of the womb,
the one who made me feel safe at my mother’s breasts.
10 I was placed in your care from birth.
From my mother’s womb you have been my God.
11 Do not be so far away from me.
Trouble is near, and there is no one to help.
12 Many bulls have surrounded me.
Strong bulls from Bashan have encircled me.
13 They have opened their mouths to attack me
like ferocious, roaring lions.
14 I am poured out like water,
and all my bones are out of joint.
My heart is like wax.
It has melted within me.
15 My strength is dried up like pieces of broken pottery.
My tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth.
You lay me down in the dust of death.
16 Dogs have surrounded me.
A mob has encircled me.
They have pierced my hands and feet.
17 I can count all my bones.
People stare.
They gloat over me.
18 They divide my clothes among themselves.
They throw dice for my clothing.
19 Do not be so far away, O Lord.
Come quickly to help me, O my strength.
20 Rescue my soul from the sword,
my life from vicious dogs.
21 Save me from the mouth of the lion
and from the horns of wild oxen.
You have answered me.
22 I will tell my people about your name.
I will praise you within the congregation.
23 All who fear the Lord, praise him!
All you descendants of Jacob, glorify him!
Stand in awe of him, all you descendants of Israel.
24 The Lord has not despised or been disgusted
with the plight of the oppressed one.
He has not hidden his face from that person.
The Lord heard when that oppressed person
cried out to him for help.
25 My praise comes from you while I am among those assembled for worship.
I will fulfill my vows in the presence of those who fear the Lord.
26 Oppressed people will eat until they are full.
Those who look to the Lord will praise him.
May you live forever.
27 All the ends of the earth will remember and return to the Lord.
All the families from all the nations will worship you
28 because the kingdom belongs to the Lord
and he rules the nations.
29 All prosperous people on earth will eat and worship.
All those who go down to the dust will kneel in front of him,
even those who are barely alive.
30 There will be descendants who serve him,
a generation that will be told about the Lord.
31 They will tell people yet to be born about his righteousness—
that he has finished it.
17 Jesse told his son David, “Take this half-bushel of roasted grain and these ten loaves of bread to your brothers. Take them to your brothers in the camp right away. 18 And take these ten cheeses to the captain of the regiment. See how your brothers are doing, and bring back some news about them. 19 They, along with Saul and all the soldiers of Israel, are in the Elah Valley fighting the Philistines.”
20 David got up early in the morning and had someone else watch ⌞the sheep⌟. He took ⌞the food⌟ and went, as Jesse ordered him. He went to the camp as the army was going out to the battle line shouting their war cry. 21 Israel and the Philistines formed their battle lines facing each other. 22 David left the supplies behind in the hands of the quartermaster, ran to the battle line, and greeted his brothers. 23 While he was talking to them, the Philistine champion, Goliath from Gath, came from the battle lines of the Philistines. He repeated his words, and David heard them. 24 When all the men of Israel saw Goliath, they fled from him because they were terrified. 25 The men of Israel said, “Did you see that man coming ⌞from the Philistine lines⌟? He keeps coming to challenge Israel. The king will make the man who kills this Philistine very rich. He will give his daughter to that man to marry and elevate the social status of his family.”
26 David asked the men who were standing near him, “What will be done for the man who kills this Philistine and gets rid of Israel’s disgrace? Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should challenge the army of the living God?”
27 The soldiers repeated ⌞to David⌟ how the man who kills Goliath would be treated.
28 Eliab, David’s oldest brother, heard David talking to the men. Then Eliab became angry with David. “Why did you come here,” he asked him, “and with whom did you leave those few sheep in the wilderness? I know how overconfident and headstrong you are. You came here just to see the battle.”
29 “What have I done now?” David snapped at him. “Didn’t I ⌞merely⌟ ask a question?” 30 He turned to face another man and asked the same question, and the other soldiers gave him the same answer.
34 Then Peter said, “Now I understand that God doesn’t play favorites. 35 Rather, whoever respects God and does what is right is acceptable to him in any nation. 36 God sent his word to the people of Israel and brought them the Good News of peace through Jesus Christ. This Jesus Christ is everyone’s Lord. 37 You know what happened throughout Judea. Everything began in Galilee after John spread the news about baptism. 38 You know that God anointed Jesus from Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. Jesus went everywhere and did good things, such as healing everyone who was under the devil’s power. Jesus did these things because God was with him. 39 We can testify to everything Jesus did in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem. People hung him on a cross and killed him, 40 but God brought him back to life on the third day. God didn’t show him 41 to all the people. He showed Jesus to witnesses, apostles he had already chosen. We apostles are those men who ate and drank with Jesus after he came back to life. 42 He ordered us to warn the people, ‘God has appointed Jesus to judge the living and the dead.’ 43 In addition, all the prophets testify that people who believe in the one named Jesus receive forgiveness for their sins through him.”
44 While Peter was still speaking, the Holy Spirit came to everyone who heard his message. 45 All the believers who were circumcised and who had come with Peter were amazed that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured on people who were not Jewish. 46 They heard these non-Jewish people speaking in other languages and praising God.
Then Peter said, 47 “No one can refuse to baptize these people with water. They have received the Holy Spirit in the same way that we did.” 48 So Peter ordered that they should be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.
Then they asked Peter to stay with them for several days.
John Prepares the Way(A)
1 This is the beginning of the Good News about Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
2 The prophet Isaiah wrote,
“I am sending my messenger ahead of you
to prepare the way for you.”
3 “A voice cries out in the desert:
‘Prepare the way for the Lord!
Make his paths straight!’ ”
4 John the Baptizer was in the desert telling people about a baptism of repentance [a] for the forgiveness of sins. 5 All Judea and all the people of Jerusalem went to him. As they confessed their sins, he baptized them in the Jordan River.
6 John was dressed in clothes made from camel’s hair. He wore a leather belt around his waist and ate locusts and wild honey.
7 He announced, “The one who comes after me is more powerful than I. I am not worthy to bend down and untie his sandal straps. 8 I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
John Baptizes Jesus(B)
9 At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan River. 10 As Jesus came out of the water, he saw heaven split open and the Spirit coming down to him as a dove. 11 A voice from heaven said, “You are my Son, whom I love. I am pleased with you.”
Satan Tempts Jesus(C)
12 At once the Spirit brought him into the desert, 13 where he was tempted by Satan for 40 days. He was there with the wild animals, and the angels took care of him.
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