Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 18[a]
For the music leader. Of David the Lord’s servant, who spoke the words of this song to the Lord after the Lord delivered him from the power of all his enemies and from Saul.
18 He said: I love you, Lord, my strength.
2 The Lord is my solid rock,
my fortress, my rescuer.
My God is my rock—
I take refuge in him!—
he’s my shield,
my salvation’s strength,
my place of safety.
3 Because he is praiseworthy,[b]
I cried out to the Lord,
and I was saved from my enemies.
4 Death’s cords were wrapped around me;
rivers of wickedness terrified me.
5 The cords of the grave[c] surrounded me;
death’s traps held me tight.
6 In my distress I cried out to the Lord;
I called to my God for help.
God heard my voice from his temple;
I called to him for help,
and my call reached his ears.
7 The earth rocked and shook;
the bases of the mountains trembled and reeled
because of God’s anger.
8 Smoke went up from God’s nostrils;
out of his mouth came a devouring fire;
flaming coals blazed out in front of him!
9 God parted the skies and came down;
thick darkness was beneath his feet.
10 God mounted the heavenly creatures and flew;
he soared on the wings of the wind.
11 God made darkness cloak him;
his covering was dark water and dense cloud.
12 God’s clouds went ahead
of the brightness before him;
hail and coals of fire went too.
13 The Lord thundered in heaven;
the Most High made his voice heard
with hail and coals of fire.
14 God shot his arrows, scattering the enemy;
he sent the lightning and threw them into confusion.
15 The seabeds were exposed;
the earth’s foundations were laid bare
at your rebuke, Lord,
at the angry blast of air coming from your nostrils.
16 From on high God reached down and grabbed me;
he took me out of all that water.
17 God saved me from my powerful enemy,
saved me from my foes,
who were too much for me.
18 They came at me on the very day of my distress,
but the Lord was my support.
19 He brought me out to wide-open spaces;
he pulled me out safe
because he is pleased with me.
20 The Lord rewarded me for my righteousness;
he restored me because my hands are clean,
21 because I have kept the Lord’s ways.
I haven’t acted wickedly against my God.
22 All his rules are right in front of me;
I haven’t turned away from any of his laws.
23 I have lived with integrity before him;
I’ve kept myself from wrongdoing.
24 And so the Lord restored me for my righteousness
because my hands are clean in his eyes.
25 You deal faithfully with the faithful;
you show integrity
toward the one who has integrity.
26 You are pure toward the pure,
but toward the crooked, you are tricky.
27 You are the one who saves people who suffer
and brings down those with proud eyes.
28 You are the one who lights my lamp—
the Lord my God illumines my darkness.
29 With you I can charge into battle;
with my God I can leap over a wall.
30 God! His way is perfect;
the Lord’s word is tried and true.
He is a shield for all who take refuge in him.
31 Now really, who is divine except the Lord?
And who is a rock but our God?
32 Only God! The God who equips me with strength
and makes my way perfect,
33 who makes my step as sure as the deer’s,
who lets me stand securely on the heights,
34 who trains my hands for war
so my arms can bend a bronze bow.
35 You’ve given me the shield of your salvation;
your strong hand has supported me;
your help has made me great.
36 You’ve let me walk fast and safe,
without even twisting an ankle.
37 I chased my enemies and caught them!
I didn’t come home until I finished them off.
38 I struck them down;
they couldn’t get up again;
they fell under my feet.
39 You equipped me with strength for war;
you brought my adversaries down underneath me.
40 You made my enemies turn tail from me;
I destroyed my foes.
41 They cried for help,
but there was no one to save them.
They cried for help to the Lord,
but he wouldn’t answer them.
42 I crushed them
like dust blown away by the wind;
I threw them out
like mud dumped in the streets.
43 You delivered me from struggles with many people;
you appointed me the leader of many nations.
Strangers come to serve me.
44 After hearing about me, they obey me;
foreigners grovel before me.
45 Foreigners lose their nerve;
they come trembling out of their fortresses.[d]
46 The Lord lives! Bless God, my rock!
Let the God of my salvation be lifted high!
47 This is the God who avenges on my behalf,
who subdues people before me,
48 who delivers me from my enemies.
Yes, you lifted me high above my adversaries;
you delivered me from violent people.
49 That’s why I thank you, Lord,
in the presence of the nations.
That’s why I sing praises to your name.
50 You are the one who gives great victories to your king,
who shows faithful love to your anointed one—
to David and to his descendants forever.
Bildad defends God
8 Bildad from Shuah responded:
2 How long will you mouth such things
such that your utterances become a strong wind?
3 Does God pervert justice,
or does the Almighty distort what is right?
4 If your children sinned against him,
then he delivered them into the power of their rebellion.
5 If you will search eagerly for God,
plead with the Almighty.
6 If you are pure and do the right thing,
then surely he will become active on your behalf
and reward your innocent dwelling.
7 Although your former state was ordinary,
your future will be extraordinary.
Tradition
8 Ask a previous generation
and verify the findings of your ancestors,
9 for we are only recently here and don’t know
because our days on earth are a shadow.
10 Won’t they instruct you and tell you;
will words not[a] proceed from their hearts?
God’s faithfulness
20 Surely God won’t reject integrity,
won’t strengthen the hand of the wicked.
21 He will still fill your mouth with joy,
your lips with a victorious shout.
22 Those who hate you will be clothed with shame,
and the tent of the wicked will vanish.
17 Peter was bewildered about the meaning of the vision. Just then, the messengers sent by Cornelius discovered the whereabouts of Simon’s house and arrived at the gate. 18 Calling out, they inquired whether the Simon known as Peter was a guest there.
19 While Peter was brooding over the vision, the Spirit interrupted him, “Look! Three people are looking for you. 20 Go downstairs. Don’t ask questions; just go with them because I have sent them.”
21 So Peter went downstairs and told them, “I’m the one you are looking for. Why have you come?”
22 They replied, “We’ve come on behalf of Cornelius, a centurion and righteous man, a God-worshipper who is well-respected by all Jewish people. A holy angel directed him to summon you to his house and to hear what you have to say.” 23 Peter invited them into the house as his guests.
The next day he got up and went with them, together with some of the believers from Joppa. 24 They arrived in Caesarea the following day. Anticipating their arrival, Cornelius had gathered his relatives and close friends. 25 As Peter entered the house, Cornelius met him and fell at his feet in order to honor him. 26 But Peter lifted him up, saying, “Get up! Like you, I’m just a human.” 27 As they continued to talk, Peter went inside and found a large gathering of people. 28 He said to them, “You all realize that it is forbidden for a Jew to associate or visit with outsiders. However, God has shown me that I should never call a person impure or unclean. 29 For this reason, when you sent for me, I came without objection. I want to know, then, why you sent for me.”
30 Cornelius answered, “Four days ago at this same time, three o’clock in the afternoon, I was praying at home. Suddenly a man in radiant clothing stood before me. 31 He said, ‘Cornelius, God has heard your prayers, and your compassionate acts are like a memorial offering to him. 32 Therefore, send someone to Joppa and summon Simon, who is known as Peter. He is a guest in the home of Simon the tanner, located near the seacoast.’ 33 I sent for you right away, and you were kind enough to come. Now, here we are, gathered in the presence of God to listen to everything the Lord has directed you to say.”
Jesus teaches in the temple
14 Halfway through the festival, Jesus went up to the temple and started to teach. 15 Astonished, the Jewish leaders asked, “He’s never been taught! How has he mastered the Law?”
16 Jesus responded, “My teaching isn’t mine but comes from the one who sent me. 17 Whoever wants to do God’s will can tell whether my teaching is from God or whether I speak on my own. 18 Those who speak on their own seek glory for themselves. Those who seek the glory of him who sent me are people of truth; there’s no falsehood in them. 19 Didn’t Moses give you the Law? Yet none of you keep the Law. Why do you want to kill me?”
20 The crowd answered, “You have a demon. Who wants to kill you?”
21 Jesus replied, “I did one work, and you were all astonished. 22 Because Moses gave you the commandment about circumcision (although it wasn’t Moses but the patriarchs), you circumcise a man on the Sabbath. 23 If a man can be circumcised on the Sabbath without breaking Moses’ Law, why are you angry with me because I made an entire man well on the Sabbath? 24 Don’t judge according to appearances. Judge with right judgment.”
25 Some people from Jerusalem said, “Isn’t he the one they want to kill? 26 Here he is, speaking in public, yet they aren’t saying anything to him. Could it be that our leaders actually think he is the Christ? 27 We know where he is from, but when the Christ comes, no one will know where he is from.”
28 While Jesus was teaching in the temple, he exclaimed, “You know me and where I am from. I haven’t come on my own. The one who sent me is true, and you don’t know him. 29 I know him because I am from him and he sent me.” 30 So they wanted to seize Jesus, but they couldn’t because his time hadn’t yet come.
31 Many from that crowd believed in Jesus. They said, “When the Christ comes, will he do more miraculous signs than this man does?” 32 The Pharisees heard the crowd whispering such things about Jesus, and the chief priests and Pharisees sent guards to arrest him.
33 Therefore, Jesus said, “I’m still with you for a little while before I go to the one who sent me. 34 You will look for me, but you won’t find me, and where I am you can’t come.”
35 The Jewish opposition asked each other, “Where does he intend to go that we can’t find him? Surely he doesn’t intend to go where our people have been scattered and are living among the Greeks! He isn’t going to teach the Greeks, is he? 36 What does he mean when he says, ‘You will look for me, but you won’t find me, and where I am you can’t come’?”
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible