Book of Common Prayer

Psalm 45

A Royal Wedding Song

For the choir director: according to “The Lilies.”^[a] A Maskil of the sons of Korah. A love song.

Psalm 47

God Our King

For the choir director. A psalm of the sons of Korah.

Psalm 48

Zion Exalted

A song. A psalm of the sons of Korah.

David, Nabal, and Abigail

25 Samuel died,^(A) and all Israel assembled to mourn for him,^(B) and they buried him by his home in Ramah.^(C) David then went down to the Wilderness of Paran.^[a](D)

² A man in Maon^(E) had a business in Carmel;^(F) he was a very rich man with 3,000 sheep and 1,000 goats and was shearing his sheep in Carmel. ³ The man’s name was Nabal, and his wife’s name, Abigail. The woman was intelligent and beautiful, but the man, a Calebite,^(G) was harsh and evil in his dealings.

⁴ While David was in the wilderness, he heard that Nabal was shearing sheep, ⁵ so David sent 10 young men instructing them, “Go up to Carmel, and when you come to Nabal, greet him in my name.^{[b] 6} Then say this: ‘Long life to you,^[c] and peace to you, to your family, and to all that is yours.^{(H) 7} I hear that you are shearing.^[d] When your shepherds were with us, we did not harass them, and nothing of theirs was missing the whole time they were in Carmel.^{(I) 8} Ask your young men, and they will tell you. So let my young men find favor with you, for we have come on a feast^[e] day.^(J) Please give whatever you can afford to your servants and to your son David.’”

⁹ David’s young men went and said all these things to Nabal on David’s behalf,^[f] and they waited.^{[g] 10} Nabal asked them, “Who is David?^(K) Who is Jesse’s son? Many slaves these days are running away from their masters. ¹¹ Am I supposed to take my bread, my water, and my meat that I butchered for my shearers and give them to these men? I don’t know where they are from.”

¹² David’s men retraced their steps. When they returned to him, they reported all these words. ¹³ He said to his men, “All of you, put on your swords!” So David and all his men put on their swords. About 400 men followed David while 200 stayed with the supplies.^(L)

¹⁴ One of Nabal’s young men informed Abigail, Nabal’s wife: “Look, David sent messengers from the wilderness to greet our master,^(M) but he yelled at them. ¹⁵ The men treated us well. When we were in the field, we weren’t harassed^(N) and nothing of ours was missing the whole time we were living among them. ¹⁶ They were a wall around us, both day and night,^(O) the entire time we were herding the sheep. ¹⁷ Now consider carefully what you must do, because there is certain to be trouble for our master and his entire family. He is such a worthless fool nobody can talk to him!”

¹⁸ Abigail hurried, taking 200 loaves of bread, two skins of wine, five butchered sheep, a bushel^[h] of roasted grain, 100 clusters of raisins, and 200 cakes of pressed figs, and loaded them on donkeys.^{(P) 19} Then she said to her male servants, “Go ahead of me. I will be right behind you.”^(Q) But she did not tell her husband Nabal.

²⁰ As she rode the donkey down a mountain pass hidden from view, she saw David and his men coming toward her and met them. ²¹ David had just said, “I guarded everything that belonged to this man in the wilderness for nothing. He was not missing anything, yet he paid me back evil for good. ²² May God punish me^[i] and do so severely^(R) if I let any of his men^[j] survive until morning.”^(S)

Growth and Persecution in Iconium

14 The same thing happened in Iconium; they entered the Jewish synagogue and spoke in such a way that a great number of both Jews and Greeks believed.^{(A) 2} But the Jews who refused to believe stirred up and poisoned the minds of the Gentiles against the brothers.^{(B) 3} So they stayed there for some time and spoke boldly in reliance on the Lord, who testified to the message of His grace by granting that signs and wonders be performed through them.^{(C) 4} But the people of the city were divided, some siding with the Jews and some with the apostles.^{(D) 5} When an attempt was made by both the Gentiles and Jews, with their rulers, to assault and stone them, ⁶ they found out about it and fled to the Lycaonian towns called Lystra and Derbe, and to the surrounding countryside.^{(E) 7} And there they kept evangelizing.^(F)

Mistaken for Gods in Lystra

⁸ In Lystra a man without strength in his feet, lame from birth,^[a] and who had never walked, sat ⁹ and heard Paul speaking. After observing him closely and seeing that he had faith to be healed, ¹⁰ Paul said in a loud voice, “Stand upright on your feet!” And he jumped up and started to walk around.^(G)

¹¹ When the crowds saw what Paul had done, they raised their voices, saying in the Lycaonian language, “The gods have come down to us in the form of men!”^{(H) 12} And they started to call Barnabas, Zeus, and Paul, Hermes, because he was the main speaker. ¹³ Then the priest of Zeus, whose temple was just outside the town, brought oxen and garlands to the gates. He, with the crowds, intended to offer sacrifice.

¹⁴ The apostles Barnabas and Paul tore their robes when they heard this and rushed into the crowd, shouting:^{(I) 15} “Men! Why are you doing these things? We are men also, with the same nature as you, and we are proclaiming good news to you, that you should turn from these worthless things^(J) to the living God, who made the heaven, the earth, the sea, and everything in them.^{(K)[b] 16} In past generations He allowed all the nations^(L) to go their own way, ¹⁷ although He did not leave Himself without a witness,^(M) since He did what is good by giving you rain from heaven and fruitful seasons^(N) and satisfying your^[c] hearts with food and happiness.” ¹⁸ Even though they said these things, they barely stopped the crowds from sacrificing to them.

Using Your Light

²¹ He^(A) also said to them, “Is a lamp brought in to be put under a basket or under a bed?^(B) Isn’t it to be put on a lampstand?^{(C) 22} For nothing is concealed except to be revealed,^(D) and nothing hidden except to come to light. ²³ If anyone has ears to hear, he should listen!”^{(E) 24} Then He said to them, “Pay attention to what you hear. By the measure^(F) you use,^[a](G) it will be measured and added^(H) to you. ²⁵ For to the one who has, it will be given, and from the one who does not have, even what he has will be taken away.”^(I)

The Parable of the Growing Seed

²⁶ “The kingdom of God^(J) is like this,” He said. “A man scatters seed on the ground; ²⁷ he sleeps^(K) and rises^(L)—night^(M) and day, and the seed sprouts and grows—he doesn’t know how. ²⁸ The soil produces a crop^(N) by itself—first the blade, then the head, and then the ripe grain^(O) on the head. ²⁹ But as soon as the crop is ready, he sends for the sickle,^(P) because the harvest^(Q) has come.”

The Parable of the Mustard Seed

³⁰ And^(R) He said: “How can we illustrate the kingdom of God,^(S) or what parable^(T) can we use to describe it? ³¹ It’s like a mustard seed^(U) that, when sown in the soil, is smaller than all the seeds on the ground. ³² And when sown,^(V) it comes up and grows taller than all the vegetables,^(W) and produces large branches, so that the birds of the sky^(X) can nest in its shade.”

Using Parables

³³ He would speak the word^(Y) to them with many parables^(Z) like these, as they were able to understand.^{(AA) 34} And He did not speak to them without a parable. Privately, however, He would explain everything to His own disciples.^(AB)