Book of Common Prayer
Praise to God for His Deliverance
For the music director. Of David, the servant of Yahweh,
who spoke to Yahweh the words of this song
when[a] Yahweh delivered him from the hand of all his enemies,
and from the hand of Saul.[b]
18 And he said:
“I love you, O Yahweh, my strength.”
2 Yahweh is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer,
my God, my rock in whom I have taken refuge,
my shield and the horn of my deliverance, my stronghold.
3 I called upon Yahweh, who is worthy to be praised,
and I was saved from my enemies.
4 The ropes of death encircled me,
and streams of ruin overwhelmed me.
5 The ropes of Sheol surrounded me;
the snares of death confronted me.
6 In my trouble I called on Yahweh,
and to my God I cried for help.
He heard my voice from his temple,
and my cry for help
came up before his presence into his ears.
7 Then the earth shook and quaked,
and the foundations of the mountains trembled,
and they staggered because he was angry.
8 Smoke went forth from his nose,
and fire from his mouth consumed.
Burning coals blazed from him.
9 So he bowed the heavens and came down
with a thick cloud under his feet.
10 And he mounted a cherub and flew,
and he swooped down on wings of wind.
11 He made darkness his hiding place;
all about him his covering
was a darkness of waters, thick clouds.[c]
12 From the brightness before him
his clouds passed over
with hail and coals of fire.
13 And Yahweh thundered from the heavens,
and the Most High uttered his voice
with hail and coals of fire.
14 And he shot his arrows and scattered them,[d]
and many lightning bolts and routed them.
15 Then the channels of the sea became visible,
and the foundations of the world were uncovered
by your rebuke, O Yahweh,
by the blast[e] of the wind of your nose.
16 He reached[f] from on high; he seized me.
He drew me from many waters.
17 He delivered me from my strong enemy,
and from those who hated me
because they were stronger than I.
18 They confronted me on the day of disaster,
but Yahweh was my support.
19 So he brought me out to a spacious place.
He delivered me because he delighted in me.
20 Yahweh has rewarded me according to my righteousness;
According to the cleanness of my hands
he has repaid me.
21 Because I have kept the ways of Yahweh,
and have not acted wickedly against my God,
22 because all his ordinances are before me,
and his statutes I have not removed from me,
23 and I was blameless before him,
and I kept myself from my guilt.
24 Therefore Yahweh has repaid me according to my righteousness,
according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight.
25 To the loyal you show yourself loyal.
To the blameless you show yourself blameless.
26 To the pure you show yourself pure.
but to the wicked you show yourself shrewd.
27 For you deliver humble people,
but haughty eyes you humiliate.
28 For you light my lamp;
Yahweh, my God, lights up my darkness.
29 For with you I can charge a troop,
and with my God I can scale a wall.
30 This[g] God—his way is blameless.
The word of Yahweh is flawless.[h]
He is a shield for all those who take refuge in him.
31 For who is God apart from Yahweh,
and who is a rock except our God?
32 The God who girded me with strength,
and made safe[i] my way,
33 he made my feet like the deer’s,
and on my high places he makes me stand.
34 He trains my hands for war,
so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
35 You also gave me the shield of your salvation,
and your right hand supported me,
and your humility made me great.
36 You enlarged my step under me,
and my ankles did not slip.
37 I chased my enemies and overtook them;
I did not turn back until they were finished off.
38 I struck them and they were not able to stand up;
they fell under my feet.
39 And you girded me with strength for the battle;
those rising against me you made to kneel under me.
40 And you made my enemies turn their backs,[j]
then I destroyed those who hated me.
41 They cried out but there was no rescuer,
even to Yahweh, but he did not answer them.
42 And I ground them like dust in the wind,[k]
I emptied them[l] out like mud of the streets.
43 You rescued me from strife with people;
you set me as head (over) nations.
People I did not know served me;
44 as soon as they heard,[m] they obeyed me.
The children of a foreign land feigned obedience before me.
45 The children of a foreign land lost heart,[n]
and they came trembling from their strongholds.
46 Yahweh lives, and blessed be my rock,
and may the God of my salvation be exalted—
47 the God who executed vengeance for me,
and subdued peoples under me,
48 who delivered me from my enemies.
Indeed, you exalted me higher than those who rose against me.
You delivered me from the man of violence.
49 Therefore I will give thanks to you among the nations, O Yahweh,
and I will sing the praise of your name:
50 the one who makes great victories for his king,
and who shows loyal love for his anointed,
to David and to his descendants forever.
Solomon’s Wisdom Tested: The Two Prostitutes
16 Then two prostitutes came to the king, and they stood before him. 17 The one woman said, “Please my lord, I and this woman are living in one house, and I gave birth, with her in the house. 18 It happened on the third day after my giving birth, this woman also gave birth, and we were together. There was not anyone with us in the house, only the two of us were in the house. 19 Then the son of this woman died in the night because she laid on him. 20 So she got up in the middle of the night, and she took my son from beside me while your servant was asleep, and she put him in her lap, and she put her dead son in my lap. 21 When I got up in the morning to nurse my son, behold, he was dead! When I looked closely at him in the morning, behold, it was not my son whom I had borne.” 22 Then the other woman said, “No, for my son is the living one, and your son is the dead one.” The other kept on saying, “No, for your son is the dead one, and my son is the living one,” and so they argued in front of the king. 23 Then the king said, “This one is saying, ‘This is my son, the living one, but your son is the dead one,’ and the other one keeps saying, ‘But no! Your son is the dead one, and my son is living!’” 24 So the king said, “Bring me a sword,” and they brought the sword before the king. 25 Then the king said, “Divide the living child into two, and give half to the one and half to the other.” 26 Then the woman whose son was the living one spoke to the king because her compassion was aroused for her son, and she said, “Please, my lord, give her the living child, but certainly do not kill him!” The other one was saying, “As for me, so for you! Divide him!” 27 Then the king answered and said, “Give the living child to her, and do not kill him; she is his mother.” 28 When all of Israel heard the judgment that the king had rendered, they stood in awe[a] of the king, because they realized that the wisdom of God was in him to execute justice.
27 And when the fourteenth night had come, as[a] we were being driven in the Adriatic Sea about the middle of the night, the sailors suspected they were approaching some land.[b] 28 And taking soundings, they found twenty fathoms. So going on a little further and taking soundings again, they found fifteen fathoms. 29 And because they[c] were afraid lest somewhere we run aground against rough places, they threw down four anchors from the stern and[d] prayed for day to come. 30 And when[e] the sailors were seeking to escape from the ship and were lowering the ship’s boat into the sea, pretending as if they were going to lay out anchors from the bow, 31 Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, “Unless these men remain with the ship, you cannot be saved!” 32 Then the soldiers cut away the ropes of the ship’s boat and let it fall away.[f]
33 And until the day was about to come, Paul was urging them all to take some food, saying, “Today is the fourteenth day you have waited anxiously, and[g] you have continued without eating, having taken nothing. 34 Therefore I urge you to take some food, for this is necessary for your preservation. For not a hair from your head will be lost.” 35 And after he[h] said these things and took bread, he gave thanks to God in front of them all, and after[i] breaking it,[j] he began to eat. 36 So they all were[k] encouraged and partook of food themselves. 37 (Now we were in all two hundred seventy six persons on the ship.) 38 And when they[l] had eaten their fill of food, they lightened the ship by[m] throwing the wheat[n] into the sea.
The Shipwreck
39 Now when day came, they did not recognize the land, but they noticed a certain bay having a beach, onto which they decided to run the ship ashore if they could. 40 And slipping the anchors, they left them[o] in the sea, at the same time loosening the ropes[p] of the steering oars. And hoisting the foresail to the wind that was blowing, they held course for the beach. 41 But falling into a place of crosscurrents,[q] they ran the ship aground. And the bow stuck fast and[r] stayed immovable, but the stern was being broken up by the violence.[s] 42 Now the plan of the soldiers was that they would kill the prisoners lest any escape by[t] swimming away, 43 but the centurion, because he[u] wanted to save Paul, prevented them from doing what they intended,[v] and gave orders that those who were able to swim should jump in first to get to the land, 44 and then the rest, some of whom floated[w] on planks and some of whom on anything that was from the ship. And in this way all were brought safely to the land.
Jesus’ Final Passover with the Disciples
12 And on the first day of the feast of Unleavened Bread, when they sacrificed the Passover lamb, his disciples said to him, “Where do you want us to go and[a] prepare, so that you can eat the Passover?” 13 And he sent two of his disciples and said to them, “Go into the city and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him, 14 and wherever he enters, say to the master of the house, ‘The Teacher says, “Where is my guest room where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?”’ 15 And he will show you a large upstairs room furnished[b] and[c] ready, and prepare for us there.” 16 And the disciples went out and came into the city and found everything[d] just as he had told them, and they prepared the Passover.
17 And when it[e] was evening, he arrived with the twelve. 18 And while[f] they were reclining at table and eating, Jesus said, “Truly I say to you, that one of you who is eating with me will betray me.” 19 They began to be distressed and to say to him one by one, “Surely not I?”[g] 20 But he said to them, “It is one of the twelve—the one who is dipping bread[h] into the bowl with me. 21 For the Son of Man is going just as it is written about him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would be better for him if that man had not been born.”
The Lord’s Supper
22 And while[i] they were eating, he took bread and,[j] after[k] giving thanks, he broke it[l] and gave it[m] to them and said, “Take it,[n] this is my body.” 23 And after[o] taking the cup and[p] giving thanks, he gave it[q] to them, and they all drank from it. 24 And he said to them, “This is my blood of the covenant which is poured out for many. 25 Truly I say to you that I will never drink of the fruit of the vine any longer until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.” 26 And after they[r] had sung the hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.
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