Book of Common Prayer
Thanksgiving for Deliverance from Death.
A Psalm; a Song at the Dedication of the House. A Psalm of David.
30 I will (A)extol You, O Lord, for You have (B)lifted me up,
And have not let my (C)enemies rejoice over me.
2 O Lord my God,
I (D)cried to You for help, and You (E)healed me.
3 O Lord, You have (F)brought up my soul from [a]Sheol;
You have kept me alive, [b]that I would not (G)go down to the pit.
4 (H)Sing praise to the Lord, you (I)His godly ones,
And (J)give thanks to His holy [c](K)name.
5 For (L)His anger is but for a moment,
His (M)favor is for a lifetime;
Weeping may (N)last for the night,
But a shout of joy comes in the morning.
6 Now as for me, I said in my prosperity,
“I will (O)never be moved.”
7 O Lord, by Your favor You have made my mountain to stand strong;
You (P)hid Your face, I was dismayed.
8 To You, O Lord, I called,
And to the Lord I made supplication:
9 “What profit is there in my blood, if I (Q)go down to the pit?
Will the (R)dust praise You? Will it declare Your faithfulness?
10 “(S)Hear, O Lord, and be gracious to me;
O Lord, be my (T)helper.”
11 You have turned for me (U)my mourning into dancing;
You have (V)loosed my sackcloth and girded me with (W)gladness,
12 That my [d](X)soul may sing praise to You and not be silent.
O Lord my God, I will (Y)give thanks to You forever.
Blessedness of Forgiveness and of Trust in God.
A Psalm of David. A [a]Maskil.
32 (A)How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven,
Whose sin is covered!
2 How blessed is the man to whom the Lord (B)does not impute iniquity,
And in whose spirit there is (C)no deceit!
3 When (D)I kept silent about my sin, (E)my [b]body wasted away
Through my [c](F)groaning all day long.
4 For day and night (G)Your hand was heavy upon me;
My [d](H)vitality was drained away as with the fever heat of summer. [e]Selah.
5 I (I)acknowledged my sin to You,
And my iniquity I (J)did not hide;
I said, “(K)I will confess my transgressions to the Lord”;
And You (L)forgave the [f]guilt of my sin. Selah.
6 Therefore, let everyone who is godly pray to You [g](M)in a time when You may be found;
Surely (N)in a flood of great waters they will not reach him.
7 You are (O)my hiding place; You (P)preserve me from trouble;
You surround me with [h](Q)songs of deliverance. Selah.
8 I will (R)instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go;
I will counsel you (S)with My eye upon you.
9 Do not be (T)as the horse or as the mule which have no understanding,
Whose trappings include bit and bridle to hold them in check,
Otherwise they will not come near to you.
10 Many are the (U)sorrows of the wicked,
But (V)he who trusts in the Lord, lovingkindness shall surround him.
11 Be (W)glad in the Lord and rejoice, you righteous ones;
And shout for joy, all you who are (X)upright in heart.
BOOK 2
Thirsting for God in Trouble and Exile.
For the choir director. A [a]Maskil of the sons of Korah.
42 As the deer [b]pants for the water brooks,
So my soul [c](A)pants for You, O God.
2 My soul (B)thirsts for God, for the (C)living God;
When shall I come and [d](D)appear before God?
3 My (E)tears have been my food day and night,
While they (F)say to me all day long, “Where is your God?”
4 These things I remember and I (G)pour out my soul within me.
For I (H)used to go along with the throng and [e]lead them in procession to the house of God,
With the voice of (I)joy and thanksgiving, a multitude keeping festival.
5 (J)Why are you [f](K)in despair, O my soul?
And why have you become (L)disturbed within me?
[g](M)Hope in God, for I shall [h]again praise [i]Him
For the [j](N)help of His presence.
6 O my God, my soul is [k]in despair within me;
Therefore I (O)remember You from (P)the land of the Jordan
And the [l]peaks of (Q)Hermon, from Mount Mizar.
7 Deep calls to deep at the sound of Your waterfalls;
All Your (R)breakers and Your waves have rolled over me.
8 The Lord will (S)command His lovingkindness in the daytime;
And His song will be with me (T)in the night,
A prayer to (U)the God of my life.
9 I will say to God (V)my rock, “Why have You forgotten me?
Why do I go (W)mourning [m]because of the (X)oppression of the enemy?”
10 As a shattering of my bones, my adversaries revile me,
While they (Y)say to me all day long, “Where is your God?”
11 (Z)Why are you [n]in despair, O my soul?
And why have you become disturbed within me?
[o]Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him,
The [p]help of my countenance and my God.
Prayer for Deliverance.
43 (AA)Vindicate me, O God, and (AB)plead my case against an ungodly nation;
[q]O deliver me from (AC)the deceitful and unjust man!
2 For You are the (AD)God of my strength; why have You (AE)rejected me?
Why do I go (AF)mourning [r]because of the oppression of the enemy?
The Priests Slain at Nob
22 So David departed from there and (A)escaped to (B)the cave of Adullam; and when his brothers and all his father’s household heard of it, they went down there to him. 2 Everyone who was in distress, and everyone who [a]was in debt, and everyone who was [b]discontented gathered to him; and he became captain over them. Now there were (C)about four hundred men with him.
3 And David went from there to Mizpah of Moab; and he said to the king of Moab, “Please let my father and my mother come and stay with you until I know what God will do for me.” 4 Then he left them with the king of Moab; and they stayed with him all the time that David was in the stronghold. 5 (D)The prophet Gad said to David, “Do not stay in the stronghold; depart, and go into the land of Judah.” So David departed and went into the forest of Hereth.
6 Then Saul heard that David and the men who were with him had been discovered. Now (E)Saul was sitting in Gibeah, under the tamarisk tree on the height with his spear in his hand, and all his servants were standing around him. 7 Saul said to his servants who stood around him, “Hear now, O Benjamites! Will the son of Jesse also give to all of you fields and vineyards? (F)Will he make you all commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds? 8 For all of you have conspired against me so that there is no one who [c]discloses to me (G)when my son makes a covenant with the son of Jesse, and there is none of you (H)who is sorry for me or [d]discloses to me that my son has stirred up my servant against me to lie in ambush, as it is this day.” 9 Then (I)Doeg the Edomite, who was [e]standing by the servants of Saul, said, “(J)I saw the son of Jesse coming to Nob, to (K)Ahimelech the son of Ahitub. 10 (L)He inquired of the Lord for him, (M)gave him provisions, and (N)gave him the sword of Goliath the Philistine.”
11 Then the king sent someone to summon Ahimelech the priest, the son of Ahitub, and all his father’s household, the priests who were in Nob; and all of them came to the king. 12 Saul said, “Listen now, son of Ahitub.” And he [f]answered, “Here I am, my lord.” 13 Saul then said to him, “Why have you and the son of Jesse conspired against me, in that you have given him bread and a sword and have inquired of God for him, so that he would rise up against me (O)by lying in ambush as it is this day?”
14 (P)Then Ahimelech answered the king and said, “And who among all your servants is as faithful as David, even the king’s son-in-law, who [g]is captain over your guard, and is honored in your house? 15 Did I just begin (Q)to inquire of God for him today? Far be it from me! (R)Do not let the king impute anything to his servant or to any of the household of my father, for your servant knows nothing [h]at all of this whole affair.” 16 But the king said, “You shall surely die, Ahimelech, you and all your father’s household!” 17 And (S)the king said to the [i]guards who were attending him, “Turn around and put the priests of the Lord to death, because their hand also is with David and because they knew that he was fleeing and did not [j]reveal it to me.” But the (T)servants of the king were not willing to put forth their hands to [k]attack the priests of the Lord. 18 Then the king said to Doeg, “You turn around and [l]attack the priests.” And Doeg the Edomite turned around and [m]attacked the priests, and (U)he killed that day eighty-five men (V)who wore the linen ephod. 19 And (W)he struck Nob the city of the priests with the edge of the sword, both men and women, children and infants; also oxen, donkeys, and sheep he struck with the edge of the sword.
20 But (X)one son of Ahimelech the son of Ahitub, named Abiathar, (Y)escaped and fled after David. 21 Abiathar told David that Saul had killed the priests of the Lord. 22 Then David said to Abiathar, “I knew on that day, when (Z)Doeg the Edomite was there, that he would surely tell Saul. I have brought about the death of every person in your father’s household. 23 Stay with me; do not be afraid, for (AA)he who seeks my life seeks your life, for you are [n]safe with me.”
26 “Brethren, sons of Abraham’s family, and those among you who fear God, to us the message of (A)this salvation has been sent. 27 For those who live in Jerusalem, and their (B)rulers, (C)recognizing neither Him nor the [a]utterances of (D)the prophets which are (E)read every Sabbath, fulfilled these by condemning Him. 28 And though they found no ground for putting Him to death, they (F)asked Pilate that He be [b]executed. 29 When they had (G)carried out all that was written concerning Him, (H)they took Him down from (I)the [c]cross and (J)laid Him in a tomb. 30 But God (K)raised Him from the dead; 31 and for many days (L)He appeared to those who came up with Him from Galilee to Jerusalem, the very ones who are now (M)His witnesses to the people. 32 And we (N)preach to you the good news of (O)the promise made to the fathers, 33 that God has fulfilled this promise [d]to our children in that He (P)raised up Jesus, as it is also written in the second Psalm, ‘(Q)You are My Son; today i have begotten You.’ 34 As for the fact that He (R)raised Him up from the dead, no longer to return to decay, He has spoken in this way: ‘(S)I will give you the holy and [e]sure blessings of David.’ 35 Therefore He also says in another Psalm, ‘(T)You will not [f]allow Your [g]Holy One to [h]undergo decay.’ 36 For (U)David, after he had [i]served (V)the purpose of God in his own generation, (W)fell asleep, and was laid among his fathers and [j]underwent decay; 37 but He whom God (X)raised did not [k]undergo decay. 38 Therefore let it be known to you, brethren, that (Y)through [l]Him forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, 39 and [m]through Him (Z)everyone who believes is [n]freed [o]from all things, from which you could not be [p]freed [q]through the Law of Moses. 40 Therefore take heed, so that the thing spoken of (AA)in the Prophets may not come upon you:
41 ‘(AB)Behold, you scoffers, and marvel, and [r]perish;
For I am accomplishing a work in your days,
A work which you will never believe, though someone should describe it to you.’”
42 As [s]Paul and Barnabas were going out, the people kept begging that these [t]things might be spoken to them the next (AC)Sabbath. 43 Now when the meeting of the synagogue had broken up, many of the Jews and of the (AD)God-fearing [u](AE)proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas, who, speaking to them, were urging them to continue in (AF)the grace of God.
19 and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Him.
20 And He *came [a](A)home, and the (B)crowd *gathered again, (C)to such an extent that they could not even eat [b]a meal. 21 When (D)His own [c]people heard of this, they went out to take custody of Him; for they were saying, “(E)He has lost His senses.” 22 The scribes who came down (F)from Jerusalem were saying, “He is possessed by [d](G)Beelzebul,” and “(H)He casts out the demons by the ruler of the demons.” 23 (I)And He called them to Himself and began speaking to them in (J)parables, “How can (K)Satan cast out Satan? 24 If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25 If a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. 26 If (L)Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but [e]he is finished! 27 (M)But no one can enter the strong man’s house and plunder his property unless he first binds the strong man, and then he will plunder his house.
28 “(N)Truly I say to you, all sins shall be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they utter; 29 but (O)whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin”— 30 because they were saying, “He has an unclean spirit.”
31 (P)Then His mother and His brothers *arrived, and standing outside they sent word to Him and called Him. 32 A crowd was sitting around Him, and they *said to Him, “Behold, Your mother and Your brothers are outside looking for You.” 33 Answering them, He *said, “Who are My mother and My brothers?” 34 Looking about at those who were sitting around Him, He *said, “(Q)Behold My mother and My brothers! 35 For whoever (R)does the will of God, he is My brother and sister and mother.”
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.