Book of Common Prayer
[a] To the director: A song of David, the Lord’s servant. He sang this song to the Lord when the Lord saved him from Saul and all his other enemies.
18 I love you, Lord!
You are my strength.
2 The Lord is my Rock, my fortress, my place of safety.
He is my God, the Rock I run to for protection.
He is my shield; by his power I am saved.[b]
He is my hiding place high in the hills.
3 I called to the Lord for help,
and he saved me from my enemies!
He is worthy of my praise!
4 Death had its ropes wrapped around me.
A deadly flood was carrying me away.
5 The ropes of the grave wrapped around me.
Death set its trap right there in front of me.
6 In my trouble I called to the Lord.
Yes, I cried out to my God for help.
There in his temple he heard my voice.
He heard my cry for help.
7 The earth shook and shivered.
The foundations of the mountains trembled.
They shook because he was angry.
8 Smoke came from his nose.
Burning flames came from his mouth.
Red-hot coals fell from him.
9 He tore open the sky and came down!
He stood on a thick, dark cloud.
10 He flew across the sky, riding on a Cherub angel
racing on the wings of the wind.
11 He wrapped himself in darkness that covered him like a tent.
He was hidden by dark clouds heavy with water.
12 Out of the brightness before him,
hail broke through the clouds with flashes of lightning.
13 The Lord thundered from the sky;
God Most High let his voice be heard.[c]
14 He scattered his enemies with his arrows—
the lightning bolts that threw them into confusion.
15 Lord, you shouted your command,
and a powerful wind began to blow.[d]
Then the bottom of the sea could be seen,
and the earth’s foundations were uncovered.
16 He reached down from above and grabbed me.
He pulled me from the deep water.
17 He saved me from my powerful enemies, who hated me.
They were too strong for me, so he saved me.
18 They attacked me in my time of trouble,
but the Lord was there to support me.
19 He was pleased with me, so he rescued me.
He took me to a safe place.
20 The Lord rewarded me for doing what is right.
He was good to me because I am innocent.
21 The Lord did this because I have obeyed him.
I have not turned against my God.
22 I always remembered his laws.
I never rejected his rules.
23 He knows I did nothing that was wrong.
I have kept myself from sinning.
24 So the Lord rewarded me for doing what is right.
He could see that I am innocent.
25 Lord, you are faithful to those who are faithful.
You are good to those who are good.
26 You never do wrong to those who have done no wrong.
But you outsmart the wicked, no matter how clever they are.
27 You help those who are humble,
but you humiliate the proud.
28 Lord, you provide the flame for my lamp.
You, God, turn the darkness around me into light.
29 With your help I can defeat an army.
If my God is with me, I can climb over enemy walls.
30 God’s way is perfect.
The Lord’s promise always proves to be true.
He protects those who trust in him.
31 There is no God except the Lord.
There is no Rock except our God.
32 God is the one who gives me strength.
He clears the path I need to take.
33 He makes my feet as steady as those of a deer.
Even on steep mountains he keeps me from falling.
34 He trains me for war
so that my arms can bend the most powerful bow.
35 Lord, you have given me your shield to protect me.
You support me with your right hand.
It is your help that has made me great.
36 You cleared a path for my feet
so that I could walk without stumbling.
37 I chased my enemies and caught them.
I did not stop until they were destroyed.
38 I struck them down, and they could not get up again.
They fell under my feet.
39 God, you made me strong in battle.
You made my enemies fall before me.
40 You made my enemies turn and run away.
I destroyed those who hated me.
41 They cried out for help,
but there was no one to save them.
They cried out to the Lord,
but he did not answer them.
42 I beat them to pieces like dust blown by the wind.
I smashed them like mud in the streets.
43 You saved me from those who fought against me.
You made me the ruler over nations.
People I never knew now serve me.
44 As soon as they heard about me, they were ready to obey.
Those foreigners fall helpless before me!
45 They lose all their courage
and come out of their hiding places shaking with fear.
46 The Lord lives!
I praise my Rock, the God who saves me.
How great he is!
47 He is the God who punishes my enemies for me,
the one who puts people under my control.
48 He saves me from my enemies!
You, Lord, help me defeat those who attack me.
You save me from cruel people.
49 Lord, that is why I praise you among the nations.
That is why I sing songs of praise to your name.
50 The Lord helps his king win battle after battle.
He shows his faithful love to his chosen one,[e]
to David and his descendants forever.
Bildad Speaks to Job
8 Then Bildad from Shuah answered:
2 “How long will you talk like that?
Your words are nothing but hot air!
3 God is always fair.
God All-Powerful does what is right.
4 If your children sinned against God, he punished them.
They paid for their sins.
5 But now, look to God
and pray to the All-Powerful.
6 If you are pure and good,
he will quickly come to help you.
He will give your family back to you.
7 Then you will have a lot more
than you had in the beginning!
8 “Ask those who are now old.
Find out what their ancestors learned.
9 It seems as though we were born yesterday.
We are too young to know anything.
Our days on earth are very short, like a shadow.
10 Maybe the old people can tell you something.
Maybe they will teach you what they learned.
20 God does not support evil people,
and he does not abandon the innocent.
21 So perhaps you might laugh again.
Maybe shouts of joy will come from your lips.
22 Maybe your enemies will be humiliated
and the homes of the wicked destroyed.”
17 Peter wondered what this vision meant.
The men Cornelius sent had found Simon’s house. They were standing at the door. 18 They asked, “Is Simon Peter staying here?”
19 While Peter was still thinking about the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Listen, three men are looking for you. 20 Get up and go downstairs. Go with these men without wondering if it’s all right, because I sent them.” 21 So Peter went downstairs and said to them, “I think I’m the man you are looking for. Why did you come here?”
22 The men said, “A holy angel told Cornelius to invite you to his house. He is an army officer. He is a good man, one who worships God, and all the Jewish people respect him. The angel told him to invite you to his house so that he can listen to what you have to say.” 23 Peter asked the men to come in and stay for the night.
The next day Peter got ready and went away with the three men. Some of the believers from Joppa went with him. 24 The next day they came to the city of Caesarea. Cornelius was waiting for them and had already gathered his relatives and close friends at his house.
25 When Peter entered the house, Cornelius met him. He fell down at Peter’s feet and worshiped him. 26 But Peter told him to get up. Peter said, “Stand up! I am only a man like you.” 27 Peter continued talking with Cornelius. Then Peter went inside and saw a large group of people gathered there.
28 Peter said to the people, “You understand that it is against our law for a Jew to associate with or visit anyone who is not a Jew. But God has shown me that I should not consider anyone unfit or say they are not pure. 29 That’s why I didn’t argue when your men asked me to come here. Now, please tell me why you sent for me.”
30 Cornelius said, “Four days ago, I was praying in my house. It was at this same time—three o’clock in the afternoon. Suddenly there was someone standing before me wearing bright, shiny clothes. 31 He said, ‘Cornelius, God has heard your prayer and has seen your gifts to the poor. He remembers you and all you have done. 32 So send some men to the city of Joppa and tell Simon Peter to come. He is staying with another man named Simon, a leatherworker who has a house beside the sea.’ 33 So I sent for you immediately. It was very good of you to come here. Now we are all here before God to hear everything the Lord has commanded you to tell us.”
Jesus Teaches in Jerusalem
14 When the festival was about half finished, Jesus went to the Temple area and began to teach. 15 The Jewish leaders were amazed and said, “How did this man learn so much? He never had the kind of teaching we had!”
16 Jesus answered, “What I teach is not my own. My teaching comes from the one who sent me. 17 People who really want to do what God wants will know that my teaching comes from God. They will know that this teaching is not my own. 18 If I taught my own ideas, I would just be trying to get honor for myself. But if I am trying to bring honor to the one who sent me, I can be trusted. Anyone doing that is not going to lie. 19 Moses gave you the law, right? But you don’t obey that law. If you do, then why are you trying to kill me?”
20 The people answered, “A demon is making you crazy! We are not trying to kill you.”
21 Jesus said to them, “I did one miracle on a Sabbath day, and you were all surprised. 22 But you obey the law Moses gave you about circumcision—and sometimes you do it on a Sabbath day. (Really, Moses is not the one who gave you circumcision. It came from our ancestors who lived before Moses.) Yes, you often circumcise baby boys on a Sabbath day. 23 This shows that someone can be circumcised on a Sabbath day to obey the Law of Moses. So why are you angry with me for healing a person’s whole body on the Sabbath day? 24 Stop judging by the way things look. Be fair and judge by what is really right.”
People Wonder if Jesus Is the Messiah
25 Then some of the people who lived in Jerusalem said, “This is the man they are trying to kill. 26 But he is teaching where everyone can see and hear him. And no one is trying to stop him from teaching. Maybe the leaders have decided that he really is the Messiah. 27 But when the real Messiah comes, no one will know where he comes from. And we know where this man’s home is.”
28 Jesus was still teaching in the Temple area when he said loudly, “Do you really know me and where I am from? I am here, but not by my own decision. I was sent by one who is very real. But you don’t know him. 29 I know him because I am from him. He is the one who sent me.”
30 When Jesus said this, the people tried to grab him. But no one was able even to touch him, because the right time for him had not yet come. 31 But many of the people believed in Jesus. They said, “We are waiting for the Messiah to come. When he comes, will he do more miraculous signs than this man has done?”
The Jewish Leaders Try to Arrest Jesus
32 The Pharisees heard what the people were saying about Jesus. So the leading priests and the Pharisees sent some Temple police to arrest him. 33 Then Jesus said, “I will be with you a little while longer. Then I will go back to the one who sent me. 34 You will look for me, but you will not find me. And you cannot come where I am.”
35 These Jews said to each other, “Where will this man go that we cannot find him? Will he go to the Greek cities where our people live? Will he teach the Greek people there? 36 He says, ‘You will look for me, but you will not find me.’ He also says, ‘You cannot come where I am.’ What does this mean?”
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International