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)
Jeremiah Thrown into a Cistern
38 Now Shephatiah son of Mattan, Gedaliah son of Pashhur, Jucal[a] son of Shelemiah,(A) and Pashhur son of Malchijah heard the words Jeremiah was speaking to all the people: 2 “This is what the Lord says: ‘Whoever stays in this city will die by the sword, famine, and plague, but whoever surrenders to the Chaldeans will live. He will keep his life like the spoils of war and will live.’(B) 3 This is what the Lord says: ‘This city will most certainly be handed over to the king of Babylon’s army,(C) and he will capture it.’”
4 The officials then said to the king, “This man ought to die, because he is weakening the morale of the warriors who remain in this city and of all the people by speaking to them in this way. This man is not seeking the well-being of this people, but disaster.”(D)
5 King Zedekiah said, “Here he is; he’s in your hands since the king can’t do anything against you.” 6 So they took Jeremiah and dropped him into the cistern of Malchiah the king’s son, which was in the guard’s courtyard, lowering Jeremiah with ropes. There was no water in the cistern, only mud, and Jeremiah sank in the mud.(E)
7 But Ebed-melech, a Cushite court official employed in the king’s palace, heard Jeremiah had been put into the cistern. While the king was sitting at the Benjamin Gate,(F) 8 Ebed-melech went from the king’s palace and spoke to the king: 9 “My lord the king, these men have been evil in all they have done to Jeremiah the prophet. They have dropped him into the cistern where he will die from hunger, because there is no more bread in the city.”(G)
10 So the king commanded Ebed-melech, the Cushite, “Take from here 30 men under your authority and pull Jeremiah the prophet up from the cistern before he dies.”
11 So Ebed-melech took the men under his authority and went to the king’s palace to a place below the storehouse.[b] From there he took old rags and worn-out clothes and lowered them by ropes to Jeremiah in the cistern. 12 Ebed-melech the Cushite cried out to Jeremiah, “Place these old rags and clothes between your armpits and the ropes.” Jeremiah did so, 13 and they pulled him up with the ropes and lifted him out of the cistern, but he continued to stay in the guard’s courtyard.
Order in Church Meetings
26 What then is the conclusion, brothers? Whenever you come together, each one[a] has a psalm, a teaching, a revelation, another language, or an interpretation.(A) All things must be done for edification. 27 If any person speaks in another language, there should be only two, or at the most three, each in turn, and someone must interpret. 28 But if there is no interpreter, that person should keep silent in the church and speak to himself and to God. 29 Two or three prophets should speak, and the others should evaluate.(B) 30 But if something has been revealed to another person sitting there, the first prophet should be silent. 31 For you can all prophesy one by one, so that everyone may learn and everyone may be encouraged.(C) 32 And the prophets’ spirits are under the control of the prophets, 33 since God is not a God of disorder but of peace.
As in all the churches of the saints,(D)
37 If anyone thinks he is a prophet or spiritual, he should recognize that what I write to you is the Lord’s command. 38 But if anyone ignores this, he will be ignored.[a] 39 Therefore, my brothers, be eager(A) to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in other languages. 40 But everything must be done decently(B) and in order.
34 Don’t assume that I came to bring peace on the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.(A) 35 For I came to turn
a man against his father,
a daughter against her mother,
a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;
36 and a man’s enemies will be
the members of his household.(B)[a]
37 The person who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me;(C) the person who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. 38 And whoever doesn’t take up his cross and follow[b] Me is not worthy of Me. 39 Anyone finding[c] his life will lose it,(D) and anyone losing[d] his life because of Me will find it.(E)
A Cup of Cold Water
40 “The one who welcomes you welcomes Me,(F) and the one who welcomes Me welcomes Him who sent Me.(G) 41 Anyone who[e] welcomes a prophet(H) because he is a prophet[f] will receive a prophet’s reward. And anyone who[g] welcomes a righteous person because he’s righteous[h] will receive a righteous person’s reward. 42 And whoever gives(I) just a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is a disciple[i](J)—I assure you: He will never lose his reward!”
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