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.
Saul in Torment
14 Now the Spirit of Yahweh departed from Saul and an evil spirit from Yahweh tormented him. 15 So the servants of Saul said to him, “Look please, an evil spirit from God is tormenting you. 16 Please, let our lord command your servants who are before you! Let them seek a man skilled in playing on the lyre. When[a] the evil spirit from God is upon you, he can play on it[b] and you will feel better.”[c] 17 So Saul said to his servants, “Please select a man who plays a stringed instrument well[d] and bring him to me.”
18 One of the servants answered and said, “Look, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite who is skillful in playing a stringed instrument, a brave man, a warrior, prudent in speech, and handsome.[e] And Yahweh is with him.” 19 So Saul sent messengers to Jesse and said, “Send me David your son who is with the sheep.” 20 And Jesse took a donkey loaded with bread and a skin of wine and one young goat[f] and sent them to Saul by the hand of David his son. 21 So David came to Saul and entered his service.[g] He[h] loved him greatly and he became Saul’s armor bearer.[i] 22 Then Saul sent word to Jesse, saying, “Please let David stand before me, because he has found favor in my sight.”[j] 23 So whenever the evil spirit from God came to Saul, David would take the stringed instrument and play it with his hand. Then it would bring relief[k] for Saul; he would feel better[l] and the evil spirit would depart from him.
The Philistine Champion Taunts Israel
17 The Philistines gathered their camps[m] for battle and they were gathered at Socoh which belongs to Judah. They camped between Socoh and Azekah in Ephes Dammim. 2 Then Saul and the men of Israel were gathered and encamped in the valley of Elah, and they formed ranks for the battle to meet the Philistines. 3 The Philistines were standing on the hill on one side and the army of Israel was standing on the hill on the other side with the valley between them. 4 Then a champion[n] went out from the camps of the Philistines, whose name was Goliath from Gath. His height was six cubits and a span.[o] 5 A bronze helmet was on his head, and he was clothed with scale body armor; the weight of the body armor was five thousand bronze shekels. 6 Bronze greaves[p] were on his legs,[q] and a bronze javelin was slung between his shoulders. 7 The shaft of his spear was like a weaver’s beam and the point of his spear weighed six hundred iron shekels. His shield bearer[r] was walking in front of him.
8 He stood and called to the battle lines of Israel and said to them, “Why have you come out to form ranks for battle? Am I not the Philistine, and you the servants of Saul? Commission for yourselves a man and let him come down to me. 9 If he is able to fight with me and he defeats me, then we will be your servants; but if I prevail over him and defeat him, then you will be our servants and you will serve us.” 10 Then the Philistine said, “I hereby defy the battle lines of Israel today! Give me a man so that we may fight each other!” 11 When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and very afraid.
17 Now while Peter was greatly perplexed within himself as to what the vision that he had seen might be, behold, the men who had been sent by Cornelius, having found the house of Simon by asking around, stood at the gate. 18 And they called out and[a] asked if Simon who was also called Peter was staying there as a guest. 19 And while[b] Peter was reflecting about the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Behold, men[c] are looking for you. 20 But get up, go down, and go with them—not hesitating at all, because I have sent them.” 21 So Peter went down to the men and[d] said, “Behold, I am he whom you are looking for! What is the reason for which you have come?” 22 And they said, “Cornelius, a centurion, a righteous and God-fearing man—and well spoken of by the whole nation of the Jews—was directed by a holy angel to summon you to his house and to hear words from you.” 23 So he invited them in and[e] entertained them as guests, and on the next day he got up and[f] went away with them. And some of the brothers from Joppa accompanied him. 24 And on the next day he entered into Caesarea.
Peter Visits Cornelius
Now Cornelius was waiting for them, and[g] had called together his relatives and close friends. 25 So it happened that when Peter entered, Cornelius met him, fell at his[h] feet, and[i] worshiped him.[j] 26 But Peter helped him up, saying, “Get up! I myself am also a man!” 27 And as he[k] conversed with him, he went in and found many people gathered. 28 And he said to them, “You know that it is forbidden for a Jewish man to associate with or to approach a foreigner. And to me God has shown that I should call no man common or unclean. 29 Therefore—and without raising any objection—I came when I[l] was sent for. So I ask for what reason you sent for me.”
30 And Cornelius said, “Four days ago at this hour,[m] the ninth, I was praying in my house. And behold, a man in shining clothing stood before me 31 and said, ‘Cornelius, your prayer has been heard, and your charitable deeds have been remembered before God. 32 Therefore send to Joppa and summon Simon who is also called Peter. This man is staying as a guest in the house of Simon, a tanner,[n] by the sea. 33 Therefore I sent for you at once, and you were kind enough to come.[o] So now we all are present before God to hear all the things that have been commanded to you by the Lord.”
Jesus Appears to His Disciples
36 And while[a] they were saying these things, he himself stood there among them.[b] 37 But they were startled and became terrified, and[c] thought they had seen a ghost. 38 And he said to them, “Why are you frightened? And for what reason do doubts arise in your hearts? 39 Look at my hands and my feet, that I am I myself! Touch me and see, because a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see that I have.”[d] 40 And when he[e] had said this, he showed them his[f] hands and his[g] feet. 41 And while[h] they were still disbelieving because of joy and were marveling, he said to them, “Do you have anything to eat[i] here?” 42 So they gave him a piece of broiled fish, 43 and he took it[j] and[k] ate it[l] in front of them.
Jesus Commissions His Disciples
44 And he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I[m] was still with you, that everything that is written about me in the law of Moses and the prophets and psalms must be fulfilled.” 45 Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, 46 and said to them, “Thus it is written that the Christ would suffer and would rise from the dead on the third day, 47 and repentance and the forgiveness[n] of sins would be proclaimed in his name to all the nations,[o] beginning from Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things. 49 And behold, I am sending out[p] what was promised by my Father upon you, but you stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”
The Ascension
50 And he led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up his hands, he blessed them. 51 And it happened that while he was blessing them, he parted from them and was taken up into heaven. 52 And they worshiped him and[q] returned to Jerusalem with great joy. 53 And they were continually[r] in the temple courts[s] praising God.
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