Book of Common Prayer
To the director: A song of David.
20 May the Lord answer you in times of trouble.
May the God of Jacob protect you.
2 May he send you help from his Holy Place.
May he support you from Zion.
3 May he remember all the gifts you have offered.
May he accept all your sacrifices. Selah
4 May he give you what you really want.
May he make all your plans successful.
5 We will celebrate when he helps you.
We will praise the name of God.
May the Lord give you everything you ask for.
6 Now I know the Lord helps his chosen king.
From his holy heaven he answered.
With his great power he saved him.
7 Some give the credit for victory to their chariots and soldiers,
but we honor the Lord our God.
8 They fall in battle, totally defeated,
but we survive and stand strong!
9 Lord, save the king!
Answer us when we call to you for help.
To the director: A song of David.
21 Lord, your strength makes the king happy.
He is so happy when you give him victory.
2 And you gave him what he wanted.
You gave him what he asked for. Selah
3 You gave the king such wonderful blessings.
You put a golden crown on his head.
4 He asked for life, and you gave it.
You gave him life that goes on forever.
5 You led him to victory that brought him great glory.
You gave him honor and fame.
6 You have given him blessings that will last forever.
You have given him the joy of being near you.
7 The king trusts in the Lord,
and the faithful love of God Most High will keep him from falling.
8 Lord, you will show all your enemies that you are strong.
Your power will defeat those who hate you.
9 When you appear,
you will burn them up like a blazing furnace.
In your anger, Lord, you will completely destroy them;
they will be swallowed by flames of fire.[a]
10 Their families will be destroyed.
They will be removed from the earth.
11 That is because they made evil plans against you.
They wanted to do things they could not do.
12 You will make them turn and run away
when you aim your arrows at their faces.
13 Lord, we lift you up with our songs of praise.
We sing and play songs about your power!
A praise song of David.
110 The Lord said to my lord,[a]
“Sit at my right side, while I put your enemies under your control.”
2 The Lord will cause your kingdom to grow, beginning at Zion,
until you rule the lands of your enemies!
3 Your people will gladly join you
when you gather your army together.
You will wear your special clothes
and meet together early in the morning.
Your young men will be all around you
like dew on the ground.[b]
4 The Lord has made a promise with an oath
and will not change his mind:
“You are a priest forever—
the kind of priest Melchizedek was.”
5 My Lord is at your right side.
He will defeat the other kings when he becomes angry.
6 He will judge the nations.
The ground will be covered with dead bodies.
He will punish the leaders of powerful nations all around the world.
7 The king will drink from a stream on the way.
Then he will lift his head and become strong![c]
116 I love the Lord for hearing me,
for listening to my prayers.
2 Yes, he paid attention to me,
so I will always call to him whenever I need help.
3 Death’s ropes were around me.
The grave was closing in on me.
I was worried and afraid.
4 Then I called on the Lord’s name.
I said, “Lord, save me!”
5 The Lord is good and merciful;
our God is so kind.
6 The Lord takes care of helpless people.
I was without help, and he saved me.
7 My soul, relax!
The Lord is caring for you.
8 Lord, you saved my soul from death.
You stopped my tears.
You kept me from falling.
9 I will continue to serve the Lord
in the land of the living.
10 I continued believing even when I said,
“I am completely ruined!”
11 Yes, even when I was upset and said,
“There is no one I can trust!”
12 What can I give the Lord
for all that he has done for me?
13 He saved me,
so I will give him a drink offering,
and I will call on the Lord’s name.
14 I will give the Lord what I promised.
I will go in front of all his people now.
15 Very dear to the Lord are the lives of his followers.
He cares when they face death.
16 Lord, I am your servant!
Yes, I am your slave, as my mother was.
You set me free from the chains of death.
17 I will give you a thank offering.
I will call on the Lord’s name.
18 I will stand before the gathering of his people
and give the Lord what I promised.
19 I will do this in Jerusalem,
in the courtyards of the Lord’s Temple.
Praise the Lord!
117 Praise the Lord, all you nations.
Praise him, all you people.
2 He loves us very much!
The Lord will be faithful to us forever!
Praise the Lord!
31 Some men heard David talking. They took David to Saul and told him what David had said. 32 David said to Saul, “People shouldn’t let Goliath discourage them. I am your servant. I will go fight this Philistine.”
33 Saul answered, “You can’t go out and fight against this Philistine. You’re not even a soldier![a] Goliath has been fighting in wars since he was a boy.”
34 But David said to Saul, “There were times when I was taking care of my father’s sheep that wild animals came to take some sheep from the flock. Once there was a lion and another time, a bear. 35 I chased that wild animal, attacked it, and took the sheep from its mouth. The wild animal jumped on me, but I caught it by the fur under its mouth. And I hit it and killed it. 36 I killed both a lion and a bear like that! And I will kill that foreigner, Goliath, just like them. Goliath will die because he made fun of the army of the living God. 37 The Lord saved me from the lion and the bear. He will also save me from this Philistine.”
Saul said to David, “Go and may the Lord be with you.” 38 Saul put his own clothes on David. He put a bronze helmet on David’s head and armor on his body. 39 David put on the sword and tried to walk around. He tried to wear Saul’s uniform, but David was not used to all those heavy things.
David said to Saul, “I can’t fight in these things. I’m not used to them.” So David took them all off. 40 He took his walking stick in his hand and went to find five smooth stones from the stream. He put the five stones in his shepherd’s bag and held his sling in his hand. Then he went out to meet the Philistine.
David Kills Goliath
41 The Philistine slowly walked closer and closer to David. Goliath’s helper walked in front of him, carrying a large shield. 42 Goliath looked at David with disgust. He saw that David was only a handsome, healthy[b] boy.[c] 43 Goliath said to David, “What is that stick for? Did you come to chase me away like a dog?” Then Goliath used the names of his gods to say curses against David. 44 He said to David, “Come here, and I’ll feed your body to the birds and wild animals.”
45 David said to the Philistine, “You come to me using sword, spear, and javelin. But I come to you in the name of the Lord All-Powerful, the God of the armies of Israel. You have said bad things about him. 46 Today the Lord will let me defeat you. I will kill you. I will cut off your head and feed your body to the birds and wild animals. And we will do the same thing to all the other Philistines too. Then all the world will know there is a God in Israel. 47 All the people gathered here will know that the Lord doesn’t need swords or spears to save people. The battle belongs to the Lord, and he will help us defeat all of you.”
48 Goliath the Philistine started to attack David. He slowly walked closer and closer toward David, but David ran out to meet Goliath.
49 David took out a stone from his bag. He put it in his sling and swung the sling. The stone flew from the sling and hit Goliath right between the eyes. The stone sank deep into his head, and Goliath fell to the ground—face down.
Peter Returns to Jerusalem
11 The apostles and the believers in Judea heard that non-Jewish people had accepted God’s teaching too. 2 But when Peter came to Jerusalem, some Jewish believers[a] argued with him. 3 They said, “You went into the homes of people who are not Jews and are not circumcised, and you even ate with them!”
4 So Peter explained the whole story to them. 5 He said, “I was in the city of Joppa. While I was praying, I had a vision. I saw something coming down from heaven. It looked like a big sheet being lowered to the ground by its four corners. It came down close to me, 6 and I looked inside. I saw all kinds of animals, including wild ones, as well as reptiles and birds. 7 I heard a voice say to me, ‘Get up, Peter. Kill anything here and eat it!’
8 “But I said, ‘I can’t do that, Lord! I have never eaten anything that is not pure or fit to be used for food.’
9 “But the voice from heaven answered again, ‘God has made these things pure. Don’t say they are unfit to eat!’
10 “This happened three times. Then the whole thing was taken back into heaven. 11 Suddenly there were three men standing outside the house where I was staying. They had been sent from Caesarea to get me. 12 The Spirit told me to go with them without wondering if it was all right. These six brothers here also went with me, and we went to the house of Cornelius. 13 He told us about the angel he had seen standing in his house. The angel said, ‘Send some men to Joppa to get Simon, the one who is also called Peter. 14 He will speak to you, and what he tells you will save you and everyone living in your house.’
15 “After I began speaking, the Holy Spirit came on them just as he came on us at the beginning.[b] 16 Then I remembered the words of the Lord Jesus: ‘John baptized people in water, but you will be baptized in the Holy Spirit.’ 17 God gave these people the same gift he gave us who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ. So how could I object to what God wanted to do?”
18 When the Jewish believers heard this, they stopped arguing. They praised God and said, “So God is also allowing even those who are not Jews to change their hearts so that they can have the life he gives!”
Jesus Begins His Work in Galilee(A)
14 After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee and told people the Good News from God. 15 He said, “The right time is now here. God’s kingdom is very near.[a] Change your hearts and lives, and believe the Good News!”
Jesus Chooses Some Followers(B)
16 Jesus was walking by Lake Galilee. He saw Simon[b] and his brother Andrew. These two men were fishermen, and they were throwing a net into the lake to catch fish. 17 Jesus said to them, “Come, follow me, and I will make you a different kind of fishermen. You will bring in people, not fish.” 18 So they immediately left their nets and followed Jesus.
19 Jesus continued walking by Lake Galilee. He saw two more brothers, James and John, the sons of Zebedee. They were in their boat, preparing their nets to catch fish. 20 Their father Zebedee and the men who worked for him were in the boat with the brothers. When Jesus saw the brothers, he told them to come. They left their father and followed Jesus.
Jesus Frees a Man From an Evil Spirit(C)
21 Jesus and his followers went to Capernaum. On the Sabbath day, Jesus went into the synagogue and taught the people. 22 They were amazed at his teaching. He did not teach like their teachers of the law. He taught like someone with authority. 23 While Jesus was in the synagogue, a man was there who had an evil spirit inside him. The man shouted, 24 “Jesus of Nazareth! What do you want with us? Did you come to destroy us? I know who you are—God’s Holy One!”
25 Jesus, his voice full of warning, said, “Be quiet, and come out of him!” 26 The evil spirit made the man shake. Then the spirit made a loud noise and came out of him.
27 The people were amazed. They asked each other, “What is happening here? This man is teaching something new, and he teaches with authority! He even commands evil spirits, and they obey him.” 28 So the news about Jesus spread quickly everywhere in the area of Galilee.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International