Book of Common Prayer
Israel’s Rebelliousness and the Lord’s Deliverances.
106 [a]Praise [b]the Lord!
Oh (A)give thanks to the Lord, for He (B)is good;
For (C)His lovingkindness is everlasting.
2 Who can speak of the (D)mighty deeds of the Lord,
Or can show forth all His praise?
3 How blessed are those who keep [c]justice,
[d]Who (E)practice righteousness at all times!
4 Remember me, O Lord, in Your (F)favor [e]toward Your people;
Visit me with Your salvation,
5 That I may see the (G)prosperity of Your chosen ones,
That I may (H)rejoice in the gladness of Your nation,
That I may (I)glory with Your [f]inheritance.
6 (J)We have sinned [g](K)like our fathers,
We have committed iniquity, we have behaved wickedly.
7 Our fathers in Egypt did not understand Your [h]wonders;
They (L)did not remember [i]Your abundant kindnesses,
But (M)rebelled by the sea, at the [j]Red Sea.
8 Nevertheless He saved them (N)for the sake of His name,
That He might (O)make His power known.
9 Thus He (P)rebuked the [k]Red Sea and it (Q)dried up,
And He (R)led them through the deeps, as through the wilderness.
10 So He (S)saved them from the [l]hand of the one who hated them,
And (T)redeemed them from the [m]hand of the enemy.
11 (U)The waters covered their adversaries;
Not one of them was left.
12 Then they (V)believed His words;
They (W)sang His praise.
13 They quickly (X)forgot His works;
They (Y)did not wait for His counsel,
14 But (Z)craved intensely in the wilderness,
And [n](AA)tempted God in the desert.
15 So He (AB)gave them their request,
But (AC)sent a [o]wasting disease among them.
16 When they became (AD)envious of Moses in the camp,
And of Aaron, the holy one of the Lord,
17 The (AE)earth opened and swallowed up Dathan,
And engulfed the [p]company of Abiram.
18 And a (AF)fire blazed up in their [q]company;
The flame consumed the wicked.
19 They (AG)made a calf in Horeb
And worshiped a molten image.
20 Thus they (AH)exchanged their glory
For the image of an ox that eats grass.
21 They (AI)forgot God their Savior,
Who had done (AJ)great things in Egypt,
22 [r](AK)Wonders in the land of Ham
And awesome things by the [s]Red Sea.
23 Therefore (AL)He said that He would destroy them,
Had not (AM)Moses His chosen one stood in the breach before Him,
To turn away His wrath from destroying them.
24 Then they (AN)despised the (AO)pleasant land;
They (AP)did not believe in His word,
25 But (AQ)grumbled in their tents;
They did not listen to the voice of the Lord.
26 Therefore He [t](AR)swore to them
That He would cast them down in the wilderness,
27 And that He would (AS)cast their seed among the nations
And (AT)scatter them in the lands.
28 They (AU)joined themselves also to [u]Baal-peor,
And ate (AV)sacrifices offered to the dead.
29 Thus they (AW)provoked Him to anger with their deeds,
And the plague broke out among them.
30 Then Phinehas (AX)stood up and interposed,
And so the (AY)plague was stayed.
31 And it was (AZ)reckoned to him for righteousness,
To all generations forever.
32 They also (BA)provoked Him to wrath at the waters of [v]Meribah,
So that it (BB)went hard with Moses on their account;
33 Because they (BC)were rebellious against [w]His Spirit,
He spoke rashly with his lips.
34 They (BD)did not destroy the peoples,
As (BE)the Lord commanded them,
35 But (BF)they mingled with the nations
And learned their [x]practices,
36 And (BG)served their idols,
(BH)Which became a snare to them.
37 They even (BI)sacrificed their sons and their daughters to the (BJ)demons,
38 And shed (BK)innocent blood,
The blood of their (BL)sons and their daughters,
Whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan;
And the land was (BM)polluted with the blood.
39 Thus they became (BN)unclean in their [y]practices,
And (BO)played the harlot in their deeds.
40 Therefore the (BP)anger of the Lord was kindled against His people
And He (BQ)abhorred His [z](BR)inheritance.
41 Then (BS)He gave them into the hand of the [aa]nations,
And those who hated them ruled over them.
42 Their enemies also (BT)oppressed them,
And they were subdued under their [ab]power.
43 Many times He would (BU)deliver them;
They, however, were rebellious in their (BV)counsel,
And so (BW)sank down in their iniquity.
Saul Publicly Chosen King
17 Thereafter Samuel called the (A)people together to the Lord at Mizpah; 18 and he said to the sons of Israel, “(B)Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘I brought Israel up from Egypt, and I delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the [a]power of all the kingdoms that were oppressing you.’ 19 But you (C)have today rejected your God, who delivers you from all your calamities and your distresses; yet you have [b]said, ‘No, but set a king over us!’ Now therefore, (D)present yourselves before the Lord by your tribes and by your clans.”
20 Thus Samuel brought all the tribes of Israel near, and the tribe of Benjamin was taken by lot. 21 Then he brought the tribe of Benjamin near by its families, and the Matrite family was taken. And Saul the son of Kish was taken; but when they looked for him, he could not be found. 22 Therefore (E)they inquired further of the Lord, “Has the man come here yet?” So the Lord said, “Behold, he is hiding himself by the baggage.” 23 So they ran and took him from there, and when he stood among the people, (F)he was taller than any of the people from his shoulders upward. 24 Samuel said to all the people, “Do you see him (G)whom the Lord has chosen? Surely there is no one like him among all the people.” So all the people shouted and said, “[c](H)Long live the king!”
25 Then Samuel told the people (I)the ordinances of the kingdom, and wrote them in the book and (J)placed it before the Lord. And Samuel sent all the people away, each one to his house. 26 Saul also went (K)to his house at Gibeah; and the valiant men whose hearts God had touched went with him. 27 But certain [d](L)worthless men said, “How can this one deliver us?” And they despised him and (M)did not bring him any present. But he kept silent.
44 “Our fathers had (A)the tabernacle of testimony in the wilderness, just as He who spoke to Moses directed him to make it (B)according to the pattern which he had seen. 45 And having received it in their turn, our fathers (C)brought it in with [a]Joshua upon dispossessing the [b]nations whom God drove out before our fathers, until the time of David. 46 (D)David found favor in God’s sight, and (E)asked that he might find a dwelling place for the [c]God of Jacob. 47 But it was (F)Solomon who built a house for Him. 48 However, (G)the Most High does not dwell in houses made by human hands; as the prophet says:
49 ‘(H)Heaven is My throne,
And earth is the footstool of My feet;
What kind of house will you build for Me?’ says the Lord,
‘Or what place is there for My repose?
50 ‘(I)Was it not My hand which made all these things?’
51 “You men who are (J)stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears are always resisting the Holy Spirit; you are doing just as your fathers did. 52 (K)Which one of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? They killed those who had previously announced the coming of (L)the Righteous One, whose betrayers and murderers (M)you have now become; 53 you who received the law as (N)ordained by angels, and yet did not keep it.”
Stephen Put to Death
54 Now when they heard this, they were (O)cut to the quick, and they began gnashing their teeth at him. 55 But being (P)full of the Holy Spirit, he (Q)gazed intently into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing (R)at the right hand of God; 56 and he said, “Behold, I see the (S)heavens opened up and (T)the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” 57 But they cried out with a loud voice, and covered their ears and rushed at him with one impulse. 58 When they had (U)driven him out of the city, they began stoning him; and (V)the witnesses (W)laid aside their robes at the feet of (X)a young man named Saul. 59 They went on stoning Stephen as he (Y)called on the Lord and said, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!” 60 Then (Z)falling on his knees, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, (AA)do not hold this sin against them!” Having said this, he [d](AB)fell asleep.
Saul Persecutes the Church
8 (AC)Saul was in hearty agreement with putting him to death.
And on that day a great persecution [e]began against (AD)the church in Jerusalem, and they were all (AE)scattered throughout the regions of Judea and (AF)Samaria, except the apostles.
52 Then Jesus said to the chief priests and (A)officers of the temple and elders who had come against Him, “Have you come out with swords and clubs (B)as you would against a robber? 53 While I was with you daily in the temple, you did not lay hands on Me; but [a]this hour and the power of darkness are yours.”
Jesus’ Arrest
54 (C)Having arrested Him, they led Him away and brought Him to the house of the high priest; but (D)Peter was following at a distance. 55 (E)After they had kindled a fire in the middle of (F)the courtyard and had sat down together, Peter was sitting among them. 56 And a servant-girl, seeing him as he sat in the firelight and looking intently at him, said, “This man was with Him too.” 57 But he denied it, saying, “Woman, I do not know Him.” 58 A little later, (G)another saw him and said, “You are one of them too!” But Peter said, “Man, I am not!” 59 After about an hour had passed, another man began to insist, saying, “Certainly this man also was with Him, (H)for he is a Galilean too.” 60 But Peter said, “Man, I do not know what you are talking about.” Immediately, while he was still speaking, a rooster crowed. 61 (I)The Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how He had told him, “(J)Before a rooster crows today, you will deny Me three times.” 62 And he went out and wept bitterly.
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