Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 16[a]
A prayer[b] of David.
16 Protect me, O God, for I have taken shelter in you.[c]
2 I say to the Lord, “You are the Lord,
my only source of well-being.”[d]
3 As for God’s chosen people who are in the land,
and the leading officials I admired so much[e]—
4 their troubles multiply;
they desire other gods.[f]
I will not pour out drink offerings of blood to their gods,[g]
nor will I make vows in the name of their gods.[h]
5 Lord, you give me stability and prosperity;[i]
you make my future secure.[j]
6 It is as if I have been given fertile fields
or received a beautiful tract of land.[k]
7 I will praise[l] the Lord who[m] guides[n] me;
yes, during the night I reflect and learn.[o]
8 I constantly trust in the Lord;[p]
because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.
9 So my heart rejoices
and I am happy;[q]
my life is safe.[r]
10 You will not abandon me[s] to Sheol;[t]
you will not allow your faithful follower[u] to see[v] the Pit.[w]
11 You lead me in[x] the path of life.[y]
I experience absolute joy in your presence;[z]
you always give me sheer delight.[aa]
Psalm 17[ab]
A prayer of David.
17 Lord, consider my just cause.[ac]
Pay attention to my cry for help.
Listen to the prayer
I sincerely offer.[ad]
2 Make a just decision on my behalf.[ae]
Decide what is right.[af]
3 You have scrutinized my inner motives;[ag]
you have examined me during the night.[ah]
You have carefully evaluated me, but you find no sin.
I am determined I will say nothing sinful.[ai]
4 As for the actions of people[aj]—
just as you have commanded,
I have not followed in the footsteps of violent men.[ak]
5 I carefully obey your commands;[al]
I do not deviate from them.[am]
6 I call to you because you will answer me, O God.
Listen to me![an]
Hear what I say![ao]
7 Accomplish awesome, faithful deeds,[ap]
you who powerfully deliver those who look to you for protection from their enemies.[aq]
8 Protect me as you would protect the pupil of your eye.[ar]
Hide me in the shadow of your wings.[as]
9 Protect me from[at] the wicked men who attack[au] me,
my enemies who crowd around me for the kill.[av]
10 They are calloused;[aw]
they speak arrogantly.[ax]
11 They attack me, now they surround me;[ay]
they intend to throw me to the ground.[az]
12 He[ba] is like a lion[bb] that wants to tear its prey to bits,[bc]
like a young lion crouching[bd] in hidden places.
13 Rise up, Lord!
Confront him.[be] Knock him down.[bf]
Use your sword to rescue me from the wicked man.[bg]
14 Lord, use your power to deliver me from these murderers,[bh]
from the murderers of this world.[bi]
They enjoy prosperity;[bj]
you overwhelm them with the riches they desire.[bk]
They have many children,
and leave their wealth to their offspring.[bl]
15 As for me, because I am innocent I will see your face;[bm]
when I awake you will reveal yourself to me.[bn]
Psalm 22[a]
For the music director, according to the tune “Morning Doe”;[b] a psalm of David.
22 My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?[c]
I groan in prayer, but help seems far away.[d]
2 My God, I cry out during the day,
but you do not answer,
and during the night my prayers do not let up.[e]
3 You are holy;
you sit as king receiving the praises of Israel.[f]
4 In you our ancestors[g] trusted;
they trusted in you[h] and you rescued them.
5 To you they cried out, and they were saved;
in you they trusted and they were not disappointed.[i]
6 But I[j] am a worm,[k] not a man;[l]
people insult me and despise me.[m]
7 All who see me taunt[n] me;
they mock me[o] and shake their heads.[p]
8 They say,[q]
“Commit yourself[r] to the Lord!
Let the Lord[s] rescue him!
Let the Lord[t] deliver him, for he delights in him.”[u]
9 Yes, you are the one who brought me out[v] from the womb
and made me feel secure on my mother’s breasts.
10 I have been dependent on you since birth;[w]
from the time I came out of my mother’s womb you have been my God.[x]
11 Do not remain far away from me,
for trouble is near and I have no one to help me.[y]
12 Many bulls[z] surround me;
powerful bulls of Bashan[aa] hem me in.
13 They[ab] open their mouths to devour me[ac]
like a roaring lion that rips its prey.[ad]
14 My strength drains away like water;[ae]
all my bones are dislocated.
My heart[af] is like wax;
it melts away inside me.
15 The roof of my mouth[ag] is as dry as a piece of pottery;
my tongue sticks to my gums.[ah]
You[ai] set me in the dust of death.[aj]
16 Yes,[ak] wild dogs surround me—
a gang of evil men crowd around me;
like a lion they pin my hands and feet.[al]
17 I can count[am] all my bones;
my enemies[an] are gloating over me in triumph.[ao]
18 They are dividing up my clothes among themselves;
they are rolling dice[ap] for my garments.
19 But you, O Lord, do not remain far away.
You are my source of strength.[aq] Hurry and help me![ar]
20 Deliver me[as] from the sword.
Save[at] my life[au] from the claws[av] of the wild dogs.
21 Rescue me from the mouth of the lion,[aw]
and from the horns of the wild oxen.[ax]
You have answered me.[ay]
22 I will declare your name to my countrymen.[az]
In the middle of the assembly I will praise you.
23 You loyal followers of the Lord,[ba] praise him.
All you descendants of Jacob, honor him.
All you descendants of Israel, stand in awe of him.[bb]
24 For he did not despise or detest the suffering[bc] of the oppressed.[bd]
He did not ignore him;[be]
when he cried out to him, he responded.[bf]
25 You are the reason I offer praise[bg] in the great assembly;
I will fulfill my promises before the Lord’s loyal followers.[bh]
26 Let the oppressed eat and be filled.[bi]
Let those who seek his help praise the Lord.
May you[bj] live forever!
27 Let all the people of the earth acknowledge the Lord and turn to him.[bk]
Let all the nations[bl] worship you.[bm]
28 For the Lord is king[bn]
and rules over the nations.
29 All the thriving people[bo] of the earth will join the celebration and worship;[bp]
all those who are descending into the grave[bq] will bow before him,
including those who cannot preserve their lives.[br]
30 A whole generation[bs] will serve him;
they will tell the next generation about the Lord.[bt]
31 They will come and tell about his saving deeds;[bu]
they will tell a future generation what he has accomplished.[bv]
17 Jesse said to his son David, “Take your brothers this ephah of roasted grain and these ten loaves of bread; go quickly[a] to the camp to your brothers. 18 Also take these ten portions of cheese to their commanding officer.[b] Find out how your brothers are doing[c] and bring back their pledge that they received the goods.[d] 19 They are with Saul and the whole Israelite army[e] in the valley of Elah, fighting with the Philistines.”
20 So David got up early in the morning and entrusted the flock to someone else who would watch over it.[f] After loading up, he went just as Jesse had instructed him. He arrived at the camp[g] as the army was going out to the battle lines shouting its battle cry. 21 Israel and the Philistines drew up their battle lines opposite one another. 22 After David had entrusted his cargo to the care of the supply officer,[h] he ran to the battlefront. When he arrived, he asked his brothers how they were doing. 23 As he was speaking with them, the champion named Goliath, the Philistine from Gath, was coming up from the battle lines of the Philistines. He spoke the way he usually did,[i] and David heard it. 24 When all the men of Israel saw this man, they retreated[j] from his presence and were very afraid.
25 The men of Israel said, “Have you seen this man who is coming up? He does so[k] to defy Israel. But the king will make the man who can strike him down very wealthy! He will give him his daughter in marriage, and he will make his father’s house exempt from tax obligations in Israel.”
26 David asked the men who were standing near him, “What will be done for the man who strikes down this Philistine and frees Israel from this humiliation?[l] For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he defies the armies of the living God?” 27 The soldiers[m] told him what had been promised, saying,[n] “This is what will be done for the man who can strike him down.”
28 When David’s[o] oldest brother Eliab heard him speaking to the men, he became angry[p] with David and said, “Why have you come down here? To whom did you entrust those few sheep in the wilderness? I am familiar with your pride and deceit![q] You have come down here to watch the battle.”
29 David replied, “What have I done now? Can’t I say anything?”[r] 30 Then he turned from those who were nearby to someone else and asked the same question,[s] but they[t] gave him the same answer as before.
34 Then Peter started speaking:[a] “I now truly understand that God does not show favoritism in dealing with people,[b] 35 but in every nation[c] the person who fears him[d] and does what is right[e] is welcomed before him. 36 You know[f] the message[g] he sent to the people[h] of Israel, proclaiming the good news of peace[i] through[j] Jesus Christ[k] (he is Lord[l] of all)— 37 you know what happened throughout Judea, beginning from Galilee after the baptism that John announced:[m] 38 with respect to Jesus from Nazareth,[n] that[o] God anointed him with the Holy Spirit and with power. He[p] went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil,[q] because God was with him.[r] 39 We[s] are witnesses of all the things he did both in Judea[t] and in Jerusalem. They[u] killed him by hanging him on a tree,[v] 40 but[w] God raised him up on the third day and caused him to be seen,[x] 41 not by all the people, but by us, the witnesses God had already chosen,[y] who ate and drank[z] with him after he rose from the dead. 42 He[aa] commanded us to preach to the people and to warn[ab] them[ac] that he is the one[ad] appointed[ae] by God as judge[af] of the living and the dead. 43 About him all the prophets testify,[ag] that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins[ah] through his name.”
The Gentiles Receive the Holy Spirit
44 While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell on[ai] all those who heard the message.[aj] 45 The[ak] circumcised believers[al] who had accompanied Peter were greatly astonished[am] that[an] the gift of the Holy Spirit[ao] had been poured out[ap] even on the Gentiles, 46 for they heard them speaking in tongues and praising[aq] God. Then Peter said, 47 “No one can withhold the water for these people to be baptized, who have received the Holy Spirit just as we did,[ar] can he?”[as] 48 So he gave orders to have them baptized[at] in the name of Jesus Christ.[au] Then they asked him to stay for several days.
The Ministry of John the Baptist
1 The beginning of the gospel[a] of Jesus Christ,[b] the Son of God.[c] 2 As it is written in the prophet Isaiah,[d]
“Look, I am sending my messenger ahead of you,
who will prepare your way,[e]
3 the voice of one shouting in the wilderness,
‘Prepare the way for the Lord,
make[f] his paths straight.’”[g]
4 In the wilderness[h] John the baptizer[i] began preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.[j] 5 People[k] from the whole Judean countryside and all of Jerusalem were going out to him, and he was baptizing them[l] in the Jordan River as they confessed their sins. 6 John wore a garment made of camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey.[m] 7 He proclaimed,[n] “One more powerful than I am is coming after me; I am not worthy[o] to bend down and untie the strap[p] of his sandals. 8 I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
The Baptism and Temptation of Jesus
9 Now[q] in those days Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan River.[r] 10 And just as Jesus[s] was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens[t] splitting apart and the Spirit descending on him like a dove.[u] 11 And a voice came from heaven: “You are my one dear Son;[v] in you I take great delight.”[w] 12 The Spirit immediately drove him into the wilderness.[x] 13 He was in the wilderness forty days,[y] enduring temptations from Satan. He[z] was with wild animals, and angels were ministering to his needs.[aa]
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