Book of Common Prayer
Prayer for Protection, Guidance and Pardon.
A Psalm of David.
25 To You, O Lord, I (A)lift up my soul.
2 O my God, in You (B)I trust,
Do not let me (C)be ashamed;
Do not let my (D)enemies exult over me.
3 Indeed, (E)none of those who wait for You will be ashamed;
[a]Those who (F)deal treacherously without cause will be ashamed.
4 (G)Make me know Your ways, O Lord;
Teach me Your paths.
5 Lead me in (H)Your truth and teach me,
For You are the (I)God of my salvation;
For You I (J)wait all the day.
6 (K)Remember, O Lord, Your compassion and Your lovingkindnesses,
For they have been [b](L)from of old.
7 Do not remember the (M)sins of my youth or my transgressions;
(N)According to Your lovingkindness remember me,
For Your (O)goodness’ sake, O Lord.
8 (P)Good and (Q)upright is the Lord;
Therefore He (R)instructs sinners in the way.
9 He (S)leads the [c]humble in justice,
And He (T)teaches the [d]humble His way.
10 All the paths of the Lord are (U)lovingkindness and truth
To (V)those who keep His covenant and His testimonies.
11 For (W)Your name’s sake, O Lord,
(X)Pardon my iniquity, for it is great.
12 Who is the man who (Y)fears the Lord?
He will (Z)instruct him in the way he should choose.
13 His soul will (AA)abide in [e]prosperity,
And his [f]descendants will (AB)inherit the [g]land.
14 The [h](AC)secret of the Lord is for those who fear Him,
[i]And He will (AD)make them know His covenant.
15 My (AE)eyes are continually toward the Lord,
For He will [j](AF)pluck my feet out of the net.
16 (AG)Turn to me and be gracious to me,
For I am (AH)lonely and afflicted.
17 [k]The (AI)troubles of my heart are enlarged;
Bring me (AJ)out of my distresses.
18 (AK)Look upon my affliction and my [l]trouble,
And (AL)forgive all my sins.
19 Look upon my enemies, for they (AM)are many,
And they (AN)hate me with violent hatred.
20 (AO)Guard my soul and deliver me;
Do not let me (AP)be ashamed, for I take refuge in You.
21 Let (AQ)integrity and uprightness preserve me,
For (AR)I wait for You.
22 (AS)Redeem Israel, O God,
Out of all his troubles.
A Psalm of Thanksgiving for God’s Justice.
For the choir director; on [a]Muth-labben. A Psalm of David.
9 I will give thanks to the Lord with all (A)my heart;
I will (B)tell of all Your [b]wonders.
2 I will be glad and (C)exult in You;
I will (D)sing praise to Your name, O (E)Most High.
3 When my enemies turn back,
They stumble and (F)perish before You.
4 For You have (G)maintained [c]my just cause;
You have sat on the throne [d](H)judging righteously.
5 You have (I)rebuked the nations, You have destroyed the wicked;
You have (J)blotted out their name forever and ever.
6 [e]The enemy has come to an end in perpetual ruins,
And You have uprooted the cities;
The very (K)memory of them has perished.
7 But the (L)Lord [f]abides forever;
He has established His (M)throne for judgment,
8 And He will (N)judge the world in righteousness;
He will execute judgment for the peoples with equity.
9 [g]The Lord also will be a (O)stronghold for the oppressed,
A stronghold in times of trouble;
10 And [h]those who (P)know Your name will put their trust in You,
For You, O Lord, have not (Q)forsaken those who seek You.
11 Sing praises to the Lord, who (R)dwells in Zion;
(S)Declare among the peoples His deeds.
12 For (T)He who [i]requires blood remembers them;
He does not forget (U)the cry of the afflicted.
13 Be gracious to me, O Lord;
See my affliction from those (V)who hate me,
You who (W)lift me up from the gates of death,
14 That I may tell of (X)all Your praises,
That in the gates of the daughter of Zion
I may (Y)rejoice in Your [j]salvation.
15 The nations have sunk down (Z)in the pit which they have made;
In the (AA)net which they hid, their own foot has been caught.
16 The Lord has (AB)made Himself known;
He has (AC)executed judgment.
In the work of his own hands the wicked is snared. [k]Higgaion [l]Selah.
17 The wicked will [m](AD)return to [n]Sheol,
Even all the nations who (AE)forget God.
18 For the (AF)needy will not always be forgotten,
Nor the (AG)hope of the afflicted perish forever.
19 (AH)Arise, O Lord, do not let man prevail;
Let the nations be (AI)judged before You.
20 Put them (AJ)in fear, O Lord;
Let the nations know that they are (AK)but men. Selah.
Description of a Citizen of Zion.
A Psalm of David.
15 O Lord, who may [a]abide (A)in Your tent?
Who may dwell on Your (B)holy hill?
2 He who (C)walks with integrity, and works righteousness,
And (D)speaks truth in his heart.
3 He (E)does not slander [b]with his tongue,
Nor (F)does evil to his neighbor,
Nor (G)takes up a reproach against his friend;
4 In [c]whose eyes a reprobate is despised,
But [d]who (H)honors those who fear the Lord;
He (I)swears to his own hurt and does not change;
5 He (J)does not put out his money [e]at interest,
Nor (K)does he take a bribe against the innocent.
(L)He who does these things will never be shaken.
5 So David went out wherever Saul sent him, and [a]prospered; and Saul set him over the men of war. And it was pleasing in the sight of all the people and also in the sight of Saul’s servants.
6 It happened as they were coming, when David returned from killing the Philistine, that (A)the women came out of all the cities of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet King Saul, with tambourines, with joy and with [b]musical instruments. 7 The women (B)sang as they [c]played, and said,
8 Then Saul became very angry, for this saying [d]displeased him; and he said, “They have ascribed to David ten thousands, but to me they have ascribed thousands. Now (E)what more can he have but the kingdom?” 9 Saul looked at David with suspicion from that day on.
Saul Turns against David
10 Now it came about on the next day that (F)an evil spirit from God came mightily upon Saul, and (G)he raved in the midst of the house, while David was playing the harp with his hand, [e](H)as usual; and [f](I)a spear was in Saul’s hand. 11 (J)Saul hurled the spear for he thought, “I will [g]pin David to the wall.” But David [h]escaped from his presence twice.
12 Now (K)Saul was afraid of David, (L)for the Lord was with him but (M)had departed from Saul. 13 Therefore Saul removed him from [i]his presence and appointed him as his commander of a thousand; and (N)he went out and came in before the people. 14 David was [j]prospering in all his ways for (O)the Lord was with him. 15 When Saul saw that he was [k]prospering greatly, he dreaded him. 16 But (P)all Israel and Judah loved David, and he went out and came in before them.
27 David rose up and went, (A)he and his men, and struck down two hundred men among the Philistines. Then (B)David brought their foreskins, and they gave them in full number to the king, that he might become the king’s son-in-law. So Saul gave him Michal his daughter for a wife. 28 When Saul saw and knew that the Lord was with David, and that Michal, Saul’s daughter, loved him, 29 then Saul was even more afraid of David. Thus Saul was David’s enemy continually.
30 Then the commanders of the Philistines (C)went out to battle, and it happened as often as they went out, that David (D)behaved himself more wisely than all the servants of Saul. So his name was highly esteemed.
The Church at Antioch
19 (A)So then those who were scattered because of the [a]persecution that occurred in connection with Stephen made their way [b]to (B)Phoenicia and (C)Cyprus and (D)Antioch, speaking the word to no one except to Jews alone. 20 But there were some of them, men of (E)Cyprus and (F)Cyrene, who came to (G)Antioch and began speaking to the [c](H)Greeks also, [d](I)preaching the Lord Jesus. 21 And (J)the hand of the Lord was with them, and (K)a large number who believed turned to the Lord. 22 The [e]news about them [f]reached the ears of the church at Jerusalem, and they sent (L)Barnabas off [g]to (M)Antioch. 23 Then when he arrived and [h]witnessed (N)the grace of God, he rejoiced and began to encourage them all with [i]resolute heart to remain true to the Lord; 24 for he was a good man, and (O)full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And (P)considerable [j]numbers were [k]brought to the Lord. 25 And he left for (Q)Tarsus to look for Saul; 26 and when he had found him, he brought him to (R)Antioch. And for an entire year they [l]met with the church and taught considerable [m]numbers; and (S)the disciples were first called (T)Christians in (U)Antioch.
27 Now [n]at this time (V)some prophets came down from Jerusalem to (W)Antioch. 28 One of them named (X)Agabus stood up and began to indicate [o]by the Spirit that there would certainly be a great famine (Y)all over the [p]world. [q]And this took place in the reign of (Z)Claudius. 29 And in the proportion that any of (AA)the disciples had means, each of them determined to send a contribution for the [r]relief of (AB)the brethren living in Judea. 30 (AC)And this they did, sending it [s]in charge of (AD)Barnabas and Saul to the (AE)elders.
Crowds Healed
29 (A)And immediately after they came (B)out of the synagogue, they came into the house of Simon and Andrew, with [a]James and John. 30 Now Simon’s mother-in-law was lying sick with a fever; and immediately they *spoke to [b]Jesus about her. 31 And He came to her and raised her up, taking her by the hand, and the fever left her, and she [c]waited on them.
32 (C)When evening came, (D)after the sun had set, they began bringing to Him all who were ill and those who were (E)demon-possessed. 33 And the whole (F)city had gathered at the door. 34 And He (G)healed many who were ill with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and He was not permitting the demons to speak, because they knew who He was.
35 (H)In the early morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house, and went away to a secluded place, and (I)was praying there. 36 Simon and his companions searched for Him; 37 they found Him, and *said to Him, “Everyone is looking for You.” 38 He *said to them, “Let us go somewhere else to the towns nearby, so that I may [d]preach there also; for that is what I came for.” 39 (J)And He went into their synagogues throughout all Galilee, [e]preaching and casting out the demons.
40 (K)And a leper *came to Jesus, beseeching Him and (L)falling on his knees before Him, and saying, “If You are willing, You can make me clean.” 41 Moved with compassion, Jesus stretched out His hand and touched him, and *said to him, “I am willing; be cleansed.” 42 Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cleansed. 43 And He sternly warned him and immediately sent him away, 44 and He *said to him, “(M)See that you say nothing to anyone; but (N)go, show yourself to the priest and (O)offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.” 45 But he went out and began to (P)proclaim it freely and to (Q)spread the news around, to such an extent that [f]Jesus could no longer publicly enter a city, but [g]stayed out in unpopulated areas; and (R)they were coming to Him from everywhere.
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