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 three thousand sheep and one thousand 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 ten young men instructing them, “Go up to Carmel, and when you come to Nabal, greet him^[b] in my name. ⁶ Then say this: ‘Long life to you,^[c] and peace to you, peace to your family, and peace 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 have on hand 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 young 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 each man put on his sword, and David also put on his sword. About four hundred men followed David while two hundred 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 screamed at them. ¹⁵ The men treated us very 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 with them herding the sheep. ¹⁷ Now consider carefully^[h] what you should 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 two hundred loaves of bread, two clay jars of wine, five butchered sheep, a bushel^[i] of roasted grain, one hundred clusters of raisins, and two hundred 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^[j] and do so severely^(R) if I let any of his males^[k] survive until morning.”^(S)

Growth and Persecution in Iconium

14 In Iconium they entered the Jewish synagogue, as usual, and spoke in such a way that a great number of both Jews and Greeks believed.^{(A) 2} But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers.^{(B) 3} So they stayed there a long time and spoke boldly for the Lord, who testified to the message of his grace by enabling them to do signs and wonders.^{(C) 4} But the people of the city were divided, some siding with the Jews and others with the apostles.^{(D) 5} When an attempt was made by both the Gentiles and Jews, with their rulers, to mistreat and stone them, ⁶ they found out about it and fled to the Lycaonian towns of Lystra and Derbe and to the surrounding countryside.^{(E) 7} There they continued preaching the gospel.^(F)

Mistaken for Gods in Lystra

⁸ In Lystra a man was sitting who was without strength in his feet, had never walked, and had been lame from birth. ⁹ He listened as Paul spoke. After looking directly at him and seeing that he had faith to be healed, ¹⁰ Paul said in a loud voice, “Stand up on your feet!” And he jumped up and began to walk around.^(G)

¹¹ When the crowds saw what Paul had done, they shouted, saying in the Lycaonian language, “The gods have come down to us in human form!” ^{(H) 12} Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul, Hermes, because he was the chief speaker. ¹³ The priest of Zeus, whose temple was just outside the town, brought bulls and wreaths to the gates because he intended, with the crowds, to offer sacrifice.

¹⁴ The apostles Barnabas and Paul tore their robes when they heard this and rushed into the crowd, shouting,^{(I) 15} “People! Why are you doing these things? We are people also, just like you, and we are proclaiming good news to you, that you turn from these worthless things^(J) to the living God, who made the heaven, the earth, the sea, and everything in them.^{[a](K) 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 filling you with food and your hearts with joy.” 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 there is nothing hidden that will not be revealed,^(D) and nothing concealed that will not be brought to light. ²³ If anyone has ears to hear, let him listen.”^{(E) 24} And he said to them, “Pay attention to what you hear. By the measure^(F) you use,^(G) it will be measured to you—and more will be added^(H) to you. ²⁵ For whoever has, more will be given to him, and whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.”^(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; the seed sprouts and grows, although he doesn’t know how. ²⁸ The soil produces a crop^(N) by itself—first the blade, then the head, and then the full grain^(O) on the head. ²⁹ 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, “With what can we compare 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 upon the soil, is the smallest of all the seeds on the ground. ³² And when sown,^(V) it comes up and grows taller than all the garden plants,^(W) and produces large branches, so that the birds of the sky^(X) can nest in its shade.”

Using Parables

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