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)
10 As Aaron was speaking to the entire Israelite community, they turned toward the wilderness, and there in a cloud the Lord’s glory appeared.(A)
11 The Lord spoke to Moses, 12 “I have heard the complaints of the Israelites. Tell them: At twilight you will eat meat, and in the morning you will eat bread until you are full. Then you will know that I am Yahweh your God.”
13 So at evening quail(B) came and covered the camp. In the morning there was a layer of dew all around the camp. 14 When the layer of dew evaporated, there were fine flakes on the desert surface, as fine as frost on the ground. 15 When the Israelites saw it, they asked one another, “What is it?” because they didn’t know what it was.
Moses told them, “It is the bread the Lord has given you to eat.(C) 16 This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Gather as much of it as each person needs to eat. You may take two quarts[a] per individual, according to the number of people each of you has in his tent.’”
17 So the Israelites did this. Some gathered a lot, some a little. 18 When they measured it by quarts,[b] the person who gathered a lot had no surplus, and the person who gathered a little had no shortage. Each gathered as much as he needed to eat.(D) 19 Moses said to them, “No one is to let any of it remain until morning.” 20 But they didn’t listen to Moses; some people left part of it until morning, and it bred worms and smelled. Therefore Moses was angry with them.
21 They gathered it every morning. Each gathered as much as he needed to eat, but when the sun grew hot, it melted. 22 On the sixth day they gathered twice as much food, four quarts[c] apiece, and all the leaders of the community came and reported this to Moses.
A Call to Good Works
11 Dear friends, I urge you as strangers and temporary residents(A) to abstain(B) from fleshly(C) desires that war against you.[a](D) 12 Conduct(E) yourselves honorably among the Gentiles,[b] so that in a case where they speak against you as those who do what is evil, they will, by observing your good works, glorify God on the day of visitation.[c](F)
13 Submit(G) to every human authority[d] because of the Lord, whether to the Emperor[e] as the supreme authority(H) 14 or to governors as those sent out by him to punish those who do what is evil and to praise those who do what is good. 15 For it is God’s will(I) that you silence the ignorance(J) of foolish people by doing good. 16 As God’s slaves,(K) live as free people, but don’t use your freedom as a way to conceal evil.(L) 17 Honor everyone. Love(M) the brotherhood.(N) Fear God.(O) Honor the Emperor.[f]
Submission of Slaves to Masters
18 Household slaves, submit with all fear(P) to your masters,(Q) not only to the good and gentle but also to the cruel.[g](R) 19 For it brings favor[h] if, mindful of God’s will,[i][j] someone endures grief from suffering unjustly. 20 For what credit is there if you sin and are punished, and you endure it? But when you do what is good and suffer,(S) if you endure it, this brings favor with God.
21 For you were called to this,
because Christ also suffered(T) for you,
leaving you an example,(U)
so that you should follow(V) in His steps.
22 He did not commit sin,(W)
and no deceit(X) was found in His mouth;(Y)[k]
23 when He was reviled,
He did not revile in return;
when He was suffering,
He did not threaten
but entrusted Himself to the One who judges(Z) justly.
24 He Himself bore our sins(AA)
in His body(AB) on the tree,(AC)
so that, having died to sins,(AD)
we might live for righteousness;(AE)
you have been healed by His wounds.(AF)[l]
25 For you were like sheep going astray,(AG)[m]
but you have now returned
to the Shepherd(AH) and Guardian[n] of your souls.
12 This is My command: Love one another as I have loved(A) you. 13 No one has greater love than this, that someone would lay down his life(B) for his friends. 14 You are My friends if you do what I command you. 15 I do not call you slaves anymore, because a slave doesn’t know what his master[a](C) is doing. I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything I have heard from My Father. 16 You did not choose Me, but I chose you.(D) I appointed you that you should go out and produce fruit and that your fruit should remain, so that whatever you ask(E) the Father in My name,(F) He will give you.(G) 17 This is what I command you: Love one another.
Persecutions Predicted
18 “If the world hates(H) you, understand that it hated Me before it hated you. 19 If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own. However, because you are not of the world, but I have chosen(I) you out of it, the world hates you. 20 Remember the word I spoke to you: ‘A slave is not greater than his master.’(J) If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word,(K) they will also keep yours. 21 But they will do all these things to you on account of My name,(L) because they don’t know(M) the One who sent Me. 22 If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have sin.[b](N) Now they have no excuse for their sin. 23 The one who hates Me also hates My Father.(O) 24 If I had not done the works(P) among them that no one else has done,(Q) they would not have sin.(R) Now they have seen and hated both Me and My Father. 25 But this happened so that the statement written in their scripture might be fulfilled:(S) They hated Me for no reason.(T)[c]
Coming Testimony and Rejection
26 “When the Counselor(U) comes, the One I will send to you from the Father(V)—the Spirit of truth(W) who proceeds from the Father—He will testify about Me. 27 You also will testify,(X) because you have been with Me from the beginning.
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