Book of Common Prayer
The Lord Praised for Giving Deliverance.
For the choir director. A Psalm of David the servant of the Lord, [a]who spoke to the Lord the words of this song in the day that the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. And he said,
18 “I love You, O Lord, (A)my strength.”
2 The Lord is (B)my [b]rock and (C)my fortress and my (D)deliverer,
My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge;
My (E)shield and the (F)horn of my salvation, my (G)stronghold.
3 I call upon the Lord, who is (H)worthy to be praised,
And I am (I)saved from my enemies.
4 The (J)cords of death encompassed me,
And the (K)torrents of [c]ungodliness [d]terrified me.
5 The (L)cords of [e]Sheol surrounded me;
The snares of death confronted me.
6 In my (M)distress I called upon the Lord,
And cried to my God for help;
He heard my voice (N)out of His temple,
And my (O)cry for help before Him came into His ears.
7 Then the (P)earth shook and quaked;
And the (Q)foundations of the mountains were trembling
And were shaken, because He was angry.
8 Smoke went up [f]out of His nostrils,
And (R)fire from His mouth devoured;
Coals were kindled by it.
9 He (S)bowed the heavens also, and came down
With thick (T)darkness under His feet.
10 He rode upon a (U)cherub and flew;
And He sped upon the (V)wings of the wind.
11 He made (W)darkness His hiding place, (X)His [g]canopy around Him,
Darkness of waters, thick clouds of the skies.
12 From the (Y)brightness before Him passed His thick clouds,
Hailstones and (Z)coals of fire.
13 The Lord also (AA)thundered in the heavens,
And the Most High uttered His voice,
Hailstones and coals of fire.
14 He (AB)sent out His arrows, and scattered them,
And lightning flashes in abundance, and [h]routed them.
15 Then the (AC)channels of water appeared,
And the foundations of the world were [i]laid bare
At Your (AD)rebuke, O Lord,
At the blast of the (AE)breath of Your nostrils.
16 He (AF)sent from on high, He took me;
He drew me out of (AG)many waters.
17 He (AH)delivered me from my strong enemy,
And from those who hated me, for they were (AI)too mighty for me.
18 They confronted me in (AJ)the day of my calamity,
But (AK)the Lord was my stay.
19 He brought me forth also into a (AL)broad place;
He rescued me, because (AM)He delighted in me.
20 The Lord has (AN)rewarded me according to my righteousness;
According to the (AO)cleanness of my hands He has recompensed me.
21 For I have (AP)kept the ways of the Lord,
And have (AQ)not wickedly departed from my God.
22 For all (AR)His ordinances were before me,
And I did not put away His (AS)statutes from me.
23 I was also [j](AT)blameless with Him,
And I (AU)kept myself from my iniquity.
24 Therefore the Lord has (AV)recompensed me according to my righteousness,
According to the cleanness of my hands in His eyes.
25 With (AW)the kind You show Yourself kind;
With the [k]blameless (AX)You show Yourself blameless;
26 With the pure You show Yourself (AY)pure,
And with the crooked (AZ)You show Yourself [l]astute.
27 For You (BA)save an afflicted people,
But (BB)haughty eyes You abase.
28 For You (BC)light my lamp;
The Lord my God (BD)illumines my darkness.
29 For by You I can [m](BE)run upon a troop;
And by my God I can (BF)leap over a wall.
30 As for God, His way is [n](BG)blameless;
The (BH)word of the Lord is tried;
He is a (BI)shield to all who take refuge in Him.
31 For (BJ)who is God, but the Lord?
And who is a (BK)rock, except our God,
32 The God who (BL)girds me with strength
And [o]makes my way [p](BM)blameless?
33 He (BN)makes my feet like hinds’ feet,
And (BO)sets me upon my high places.
34 He (BP)trains my hands for battle,
So that my arms can (BQ)bend a bow of bronze.
35 You have also given me (BR)the shield of Your salvation,
And Your (BS)right hand upholds me;
And (BT)Your [q]gentleness makes me great.
36 You (BU)enlarge my steps under me,
And my [r](BV)feet have not slipped.
37 I (BW)pursued my enemies and overtook them,
And I did not turn back (BX)until they were consumed.
38 I shattered them, so that they were (BY)not able to rise;
They fell (BZ)under my feet.
39 For You have (CA)girded me with strength for battle;
You have [s](CB)subdued under me those who rose up against me.
40 You have also made my enemies (CC)turn their backs to me,
And I [t](CD)destroyed those who hated me.
41 They cried for help, but there was (CE)none to save,
Even to the Lord, but (CF)He did not answer them.
42 Then I beat them fine as the (CG)dust before the wind;
I emptied them out as the mire of the streets.
43 You have delivered me from the (CH)contentions of the people;
You have placed me as (CI)head of the nations;
A (CJ)people whom I have not known serve me.
44 As soon as they hear, they obey me;
Foreigners [u](CK)submit to me.
45 Foreigners (CL)fade away,
And (CM)come trembling out of their [v]fortresses.
46 The Lord (CN)lives, and blessed be (CO)my rock;
And exalted be (CP)the God of my salvation,
47 The God who (CQ)executes vengeance for me,
And (CR)subdues peoples under me.
48 He (CS)delivers me from my enemies;
Surely You (CT)lift me above those who rise up against me;
You rescue me from the (CU)violent man.
49 Therefore I will (CV)give thanks to You among the nations, O Lord,
And I will (CW)sing praises to Your name.
50 He gives great [w](CX)deliverance to His king,
And shows lovingkindness to (CY)His anointed,
To David and (CZ)his [x]descendants forever.
Bildad Says God Rewards the Good
8 Then Bildad the Shuhite [a]answered,
2 “How long will you say these things,
And the (A)words of your mouth be a mighty wind?
3 “Does (B)God pervert justice?
Or does [b]the Almighty pervert what is right?
4 “(C)If your sons sinned against Him,
Then He delivered them into the [c]power of their transgression.
5 “If you would (D)seek God
And implore the compassion of [d]the Almighty,
6 If you are pure and upright,
Surely now (E)He would rouse Himself for you
And restore your righteous [e](F)estate.
7 “Though your beginning was insignificant,
Yet your (G)end will increase greatly.
17 Now while Peter was greatly perplexed in [a]mind as to what (A)the vision which he had seen might be, behold, (B)the men who had been sent by Cornelius, having asked directions for Simon’s house, appeared at the gate; 18 and calling out, they were asking whether Simon, who was also called Peter, was staying there. 19 While Peter was reflecting on (C)the vision, (D)the Spirit said to him, “Behold, [b]three men are looking for you. 20 But get up, go downstairs and (E)accompany them [c]without misgivings, for I have sent them Myself.” 21 Peter went down to the men and said, “Behold, I am the one you are looking for; what is the reason for which you have come?” 22 They said, “Cornelius, a centurion, a righteous and (F)God-fearing man well spoken of by the entire nation of the Jews, (G)was divinely directed by a (H)holy angel to send for you to come to his house and hear [d](I)a message from you.” 23 So he invited them in and gave them lodging.
Peter at Caesarea
And on the next day he got up and went away with them, and (J)some of (K)the brethren from (L)Joppa accompanied him. 24 On the following day he entered (M)Caesarea. Now Cornelius was waiting for them and had called together his relatives and close friends. 25 When Peter entered, Cornelius met him, and fell at his feet and [e](N)worshiped him. 26 But Peter raised him up, saying, “(O)Stand up; I too am just a man.” 27 As he talked with him, he entered and *found (P)many people assembled. 28 And he said to them, “You yourselves know how (Q)unlawful it is for a man who is a Jew to associate with a foreigner or to visit him; and yet (R)God has shown me that I should not call any man [f]unholy or unclean. 29 That is why I came without even raising any objection when I was sent for. So I ask for what reason you have sent for me.”
30 Cornelius said, “(S)Four days ago to this hour, I was praying in my house during (T)the [g]ninth hour; and behold, (U)a man stood before me in shining garments, 31 and he *said, ‘Cornelius, your prayer has been heard and your [h]alms have been remembered before God. 32 Therefore send to (V)Joppa and invite Simon, who is also called Peter, to come to you; he is staying at the house of Simon the tanner by the sea.’ 33 So I sent for you immediately, and you have [i]been kind enough to come. Now then, we are all here present before God to hear all that you have been commanded by the Lord.”
14 But when it was now the midst of the feast Jesus went up into the temple, and began to (A)teach. 15 (B)The Jews then were astonished, saying, “How has this man (C)become learned, having never been educated?” 16 So Jesus answered them and said, “(D)My teaching is not Mine, but His who sent Me. 17 (E)If anyone is willing to do His will, he will know of the teaching, whether it is of God or whether I speak from Myself. 18 He who speaks from himself (F)seeks his own glory; but He who is seeking the glory of the One who sent Him, He is true, and there is no unrighteousness in Him.
19 “(G)Did not Moses give you the Law, and yet none of you carries out the Law? Why do you (H)seek to kill Me?” 20 The crowd answered, “(I)You have a demon! Who seeks to kill You?” 21 Jesus answered them, “I did (J)one [a]deed, and you all marvel. 22 For this reason (K)Moses has given you circumcision (not because it is from Moses, but from (L)the fathers), and on the Sabbath you circumcise a man. 23 (M)If a man receives circumcision on the Sabbath so that the Law of Moses will not be broken, are you angry with Me because I made an entire man well on the Sabbath? 24 Do not (N)judge according to appearance, but [b]judge with righteous judgment.”
25 So some of the people of Jerusalem were saying, “Is this not the man whom they are seeking to kill? 26 Look, He is speaking publicly, and they are saying nothing to Him. (O)The rulers do not really know that this is [c]the Christ, do they? 27 However, (P)we know where this man is from; but whenever the Christ may come, no one knows where He is from.” 28 Then Jesus cried out in the temple, (Q)teaching and saying, “(R)You both know Me and know where I am from; and (S)I have not come of Myself, but He who sent Me is true, whom you do not know. 29 (T)I know Him, because (U)I am from Him, and (V)He sent Me.” 30 So they (W)were seeking to seize Him; and no man laid his hand on Him, because His (X)hour had not yet come. 31 But (Y)many of the crowd believed in Him; and they were saying, “(Z)When [d]the Christ comes, He will not perform more [e](AA)signs than those which this man has, will He?”
32 The Pharisees heard the crowd muttering these things about Him, and the chief priests and the Pharisees sent (AB)officers to (AC)seize Him. 33 Therefore Jesus said, “(AD)For a little while longer I am with you, then (AE)I go to Him who sent Me. 34 (AF)You will seek Me, and will not find Me; and where I am, you cannot come.” 35 (AG)The Jews then said to one another, “(AH)Where does this man intend to go that we will not find Him? He is not intending to go to (AI)the Dispersion among (AJ)the Greeks, and teach the Greeks, is He? 36 What is this statement that He said, ‘(AK)You will seek Me, and will not find Me; and where I am, you cannot come’?”
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