Book of Common Prayer
A Plea for Deliverance and Forgiveness
A Psalm of David.
25 To (A)You, O Lord, I lift up my soul.
2 O my God, I (B)trust in You;
Let me not be ashamed;
(C)Let not my enemies triumph over me.
3 Indeed, let no one who [a]waits on You be ashamed;
Let those be ashamed who deal treacherously without cause.
4 (D)Show me Your ways, O Lord;
Teach me Your paths.
5 Lead me in Your truth and teach me,
For You are the God of my salvation;
On You I wait all the day.
6 Remember, O Lord, (E)Your tender mercies and Your lovingkindnesses,
For they are from of old.
7 Do not remember (F)the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions;
(G)According to Your mercy remember me,
For Your goodness’ sake, O Lord.
8 Good and upright is the Lord;
Therefore He teaches sinners in the way.
9 The humble He guides in justice,
And the humble He teaches His way.
10 All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth,
To such as keep His covenant and His testimonies.
11 (H)For Your name’s sake, O Lord,
Pardon my iniquity, for it is great.
12 Who is the man that fears the Lord?
(I)Him shall [b]He teach in the way He chooses.
13 (J)He himself shall dwell in [c]prosperity,
And (K)his descendants shall inherit the earth.
14 (L)The secret of the Lord is with those who fear Him,
And He will show them His covenant.
15 (M)My eyes are ever toward the Lord,
For He shall [d]pluck my feet out of the net.
16 (N)Turn Yourself to me, and have mercy on me,
For I am [e]desolate and afflicted.
17 The troubles of my heart have enlarged;
Bring me out of my distresses!
18 (O)Look on my affliction and my pain,
And forgive all my sins.
19 Consider my enemies, for they are many;
And they hate me with [f]cruel hatred.
20 Keep my soul, and deliver me;
Let me not be ashamed, for I put my trust in You.
21 Let integrity and uprightness preserve me,
For I wait for You.
22 (P)Redeem Israel, O God,
Out of all their troubles!
Prayer and Thanksgiving for the Lord’s Righteous Judgments
To the Chief Musician. To the tune of [a]“Death of the Son.” A Psalm of David.
9 I will praise You, O Lord, with my whole heart;
I will tell of all Your marvelous works.
2 I will be glad and (A)rejoice in You;
I will sing praise to Your name, (B)O Most High.
3 When my enemies turn back,
They shall fall and perish at Your presence.
4 For You have maintained my right and my cause;
You sat on the throne judging in righteousness.
5 You have rebuked the [b]nations,
You have destroyed the wicked;
You have (C)blotted out their name forever and ever.
6 O enemy, destructions are finished forever!
And you have destroyed cities;
Even their memory has (D)perished.
7 (E)But the Lord shall endure forever;
He has prepared His throne for judgment.
8 (F)He shall judge the world in righteousness,
And He shall administer judgment for the peoples in uprightness.
9 The Lord also will be a (G)refuge[c] for the oppressed,
A refuge in times of trouble.
10 And those who (H)know Your name will put their trust in You;
For You, Lord, have not forsaken those who seek You.
11 Sing praises to the Lord, who dwells in Zion!
(I)Declare His deeds among the people.
12 (J)When He avenges blood, He remembers them;
He does not forget the cry of the [d]humble.
13 Have mercy on me, O Lord!
Consider my trouble from those who hate me,
You who lift me up from the gates of death,
14 That I may tell of all Your praise
In the gates of [e]the daughter of Zion.
I will (K)rejoice in Your salvation.
15 (L)The [f]nations have sunk down in the pit which they made;
In the net which they hid, their own foot is caught.
16 The Lord is (M)known by the judgment He executes;
The wicked is snared in the work of his own hands.
(N)Meditation.[g] Selah
The Character of Those Who May Dwell with the Lord
A Psalm of David.
2 He who walks uprightly,
And works righteousness,
And speaks the (B)truth in his heart;
3 He who (C)does not backbite with his tongue,
Nor does evil to his neighbor,
(D)Nor does he [b]take up a reproach against his friend;
4 (E)In whose eyes a vile person is despised,
But he honors those who fear the Lord;
He who (F)swears to his own hurt and does not change;
5 He who does not put out his money at usury,
Nor does he take a bribe against the innocent.
He who does these things (G)shall never be moved.
5 So David went out wherever Saul sent him, and [a]behaved wisely. And Saul set him over the men of war, and he was accepted in the sight of all the people and also in the sight of Saul’s servants. 6 Now it had happened as they were coming home, when David was returning from the slaughter of the [b]Philistine, that (A)the women had come out of all the cities of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet King Saul, with tambourines, with joy, and with musical instruments. 7 So the women (B)sang as they danced, and said:
(C)“Saul has slain his thousands,
And David his ten thousands.”
8 Then Saul was very angry, and the saying (D)displeased him; and he said, “They have ascribed to David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed only thousands. Now what more can he have but (E)the kingdom?” 9 So Saul [c]eyed David from that day forward.
10 And it happened on the next day that (F)the distressing spirit from God came upon Saul, (G)and he prophesied inside the house. So David (H)played music with his hand, as at other times; (I)but there was a spear in Saul’s hand. 11 And Saul (J)cast the spear, for he said, “I will pin David to the wall!” But David escaped his presence twice.
12 Now Saul was (K)afraid of David, because (L)the Lord was with him, but had (M)departed from Saul. 13 Therefore Saul removed him from [d]his presence, and made him his captain over a thousand; and (N)he went out and came in before the people. 14 And David behaved wisely in all his ways, and (O)the Lord was with him. 15 Therefore, when Saul saw that he behaved very wisely, he was afraid of him. 16 But (P)all Israel and Judah loved David, because he went out and came in before them.
27 therefore David arose and went, he and (A)his men, and killed two hundred men of the Philistines. And (B)David brought their foreskins, and they gave them in full count to the king, that he might become the king’s son-in-law. Then Saul gave him Michal his daughter as a wife.
28 Thus Saul saw and knew that the Lord was with David, and that Michal, Saul’s daughter, loved him; 29 and Saul was still more afraid of David. So Saul became David’s enemy [a]continually. 30 Then the princes of the Philistines (C)went out to war. And so it was, whenever they went out, that David (D)behaved more wisely than all the servants of Saul, so that his name became highly esteemed.
Barnabas and Saul at Antioch
19 (A)Now those who were scattered after the persecution that arose over Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, preaching the word to no one but the Jews only. 20 But some of them were men from Cyprus and Cyrene, who, when they had come to Antioch, spoke to (B)the Hellenists, preaching the Lord Jesus. 21 And (C)the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number believed and (D)turned to the Lord.
22 Then news of these things came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent out (E)Barnabas to go as far as Antioch. 23 When he came and had seen the grace of God, he was glad, and (F)encouraged them all that with purpose of heart they should continue with the Lord. 24 For he was a good man, (G)full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. (H)And a great many people were added to the Lord.
25 Then Barnabas departed for (I)Tarsus to seek Saul. 26 And when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. So it was that for a whole year they assembled with the church and taught a great many people. And the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.
Relief to Judea
27 And in these days (J)prophets came from Jerusalem to Antioch. 28 Then one of them, named (K)Agabus, stood up and showed by the Spirit that there was going to be a great famine throughout all the world, which also happened in the days of (L)Claudius Caesar. 29 Then the disciples, each according to his ability, determined to send (M)relief to the brethren dwelling in Judea. 30 (N)This they also did, and sent it to the elders by the hands of Barnabas and Saul.
Peter’s Mother-in-Law Healed(A)
29 (B)Now as soon as they had come out of the synagogue, they entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. 30 But Simon’s wife’s mother lay sick with a fever, and they told Him about her at once. 31 So He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up, and immediately the fever left her. And she served them.
Many Healed After Sabbath Sunset(C)
32 (D)At evening, when the sun had set, they brought to Him all who were sick and those who were demon-possessed. 33 And the whole city was gathered together at the door. 34 Then He healed many who were sick with various diseases, and (E)cast out many demons; and He (F)did not allow the demons to speak, because they knew Him.
Preaching in Galilee(G)
35 Now (H)in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a [a]solitary place; and there He (I)prayed. 36 And Simon and those who were with Him searched for Him. 37 When they found Him, they said to Him, (J)“Everyone (K)is looking for You.”
38 But He said to them, (L)“Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also, because (M)for this purpose I have come forth.”
39 (N)And He was preaching in their synagogues throughout all Galilee, and (O)casting out demons.
Jesus Cleanses a Leper(P)
40 (Q)Now a leper came to Him, imploring Him, kneeling down to Him and saying to Him, “If You are willing, You can make me clean.”
41 Then Jesus, moved with (R)compassion, stretched out His hand and touched him, and said to him, “I am willing; be cleansed.” 42 As soon as He had spoken, (S)immediately the leprosy left him, and he was cleansed. 43 And He strictly warned him and sent him away at once, 44 and said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone; but go your way, show yourself to the priest, and offer for your cleansing those things (T)which Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.”
45 (U)However, he went out and began to proclaim it freely, and to spread the matter, so that Jesus could no longer openly enter the city, but was outside in deserted places; (V)and they came to Him from every direction.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.