Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 25[a]
Of David.
25 I offer my life[b] to you, Lord.
2 My God, I trust you.
Please don’t let me be put to shame!
Don’t let my enemies rejoice over me!
3 For that matter,
don’t let anyone who hopes in you
be put to shame;
instead, let those who are treacherous without excuse be put to shame.
4 Make your ways known to me, Lord;
teach me your paths.
5 Lead me in your truth—teach it to me—
because you are the God who saves me.
I put my hope in you all day long.
6 Lord, remember your compassion and faithful love—
they are forever!
7 But don’t remember the sins of my youth or my wrongdoing.
Remember me only according to your faithful love
for the sake of your goodness, Lord.
8 The Lord is good and does the right thing;
he teaches sinners which way they should go.
9 God guides the weak to justice,
teaching them his way.
10 All the Lord’s paths are loving and faithful
for those who keep his covenant and laws.
11 Please, for the sake of your good name, Lord, forgive my sins, which are many!
12 Where are the ones who honor the Lord?
God will teach them which path to take.
13 They will live a good life,
and their descendants will possess the land.
14 The Lord counsels those who honor him;
he makes his covenant known to them.
15 My eyes are always looking to the Lord
because he will free my feet from the net.
16 Turn to me, God, and have mercy on me
because I’m alone and suffering.
17 My heart’s troubles keep getting bigger—
set me free from my distress!
18 Look at my suffering and trouble—
forgive all my sins!
19 Look at how many enemies I have
and how violently they hate me!
20 Please protect my life! Deliver me!
Don’t let me be put to shame
because I take refuge in you.
21 Let integrity and virtue guard me
because I hope in you.
22 Please, God, save Israel from all its troubles!
Psalm 9[a]
For the music leader. According to Muth-labben.[b] A psalm of David.
9 I will thank you, Lord, with all my heart;
I will talk about all your wonderful acts.
2 I will celebrate and rejoice in you;
I will sing praises to your name, Most High.
3 When my enemies turn and retreat,
they fall down and die right in front of you
4 because you have established justice
for me and my claim,
because you rule from the throne,
establishing justice rightly.
5 You’ve denounced the nations,
destroyed the wicked.
You’ve erased their names for all time.
6 Every enemy is wiped out,
like something ruined forever.
You’ve torn down their cities—
even the memory of them is dead.
7 But the Lord rules forever!
He assumes his throne
for the sake of justice.
8 He will establish justice in the world rightly;
he will judge all people fairly.
9 The Lord is a safe place for the oppressed—
a safe place in difficult times.
10 Those who know your name trust you
because you have not abandoned
any who seek you, Lord.
11 Sing praises to the Lord, who lives in Zion!
Proclaim his mighty acts among all people!
12 Because the one who avenges bloodshed
remembers those who suffer;
the Lord hasn’t forgotten their cries for help.
13 Have mercy on me, Lord!
Just look how I suffer
because of those who hate me.
But you are the one who brings me back
from the very gates of death
14 so I can declare all your praises,
so I can rejoice in your salvation
in the gates of Daughter Zion.
15 The nations have fallen
into the hole they themselves made!
Their feet are caught
in the very net they themselves hid!
16 The Lord is famous for the justice he has done;
it’s his own doing that the wicked are trapped. Higgayon.[c] Selah
17 Let the wicked go straight to the grave,[d]
the same for every nation that forgets God.
18 Because the poor won’t be forgotten forever,
the hope of those who suffer won’t be lost for all time.
19 Get up, Lord! Don’t let people prevail!
Let the nations be judged before you.
20 Strike them with fear, Lord.
Let the nations know they are only human. Selah
Psalm 15
A psalm of David.
15 Who can live in your tent, Lord?
Who can dwell on your holy mountain?
2 The person who
lives free of blame,
does what is right,
and speaks the truth sincerely;
3 who does no damage with their talk,
does no harm to a friend,
doesn’t insult a neighbor;
4 someone who despises
those who act wickedly,
but who honors those
who honor the Lord;
someone who keeps their promise even when it hurts;
5 someone who doesn’t lend money with interest,
who won’t accept a bribe against any innocent person.
Whoever does these things will never stumble.
5 David went out and was successful in every mission Saul sent him to do. So Saul placed him in charge of the soldiers, and this pleased all the troops as well as Saul’s servants.
Saul jealous of David
6 After David came back from killing the Philistine, and as the troops returned home, women from all of Israel’s towns came out to meet King Saul[a] with singing and dancing, with tambourines, rejoicing, and musical instruments. 7 The women sang in celebration:
“Saul has killed his thousands,
but David has killed his tens of thousands!”
8 Saul burned with anger. This song annoyed him. “They’ve credited David with tens of thousands,” he said, “but only credit me with thousands. What’s next for him—the kingdom itself?” 9 So Saul kept a close eye on David from that point on.
10 The next day an evil spirit from God came over Saul,[b] and he acted like he was in a prophetic frenzy in his house. So David played the lyre as he usually did. Saul had a spear in his hand, 11 and he threw it, thinking, I’ll pin David to the wall. But David escaped from him two different times.
12 Saul was afraid of David because the Lord was with David but no longer with Saul. 13 So Saul removed David from his service, placing him in command of a unit of one thousand men. David led the men out to war and back. 14 David was successful in everything he did because the Lord was with him. 15 Saul saw that he was very successful, and he was afraid of him. 16 Everyone in Israel and Judah loved David because he led them out in war and back again.
27 David got up and went with his soldiers and killed one hundred Philistines.[a] David brought their foreskins and counted them out for the king so he could become the king’s son-in-law. Then Saul gave his daughter Michal to him in marriage.
28 When Saul knew for certain that the Lord was with David and that his daughter Michal loved him, 29 then Saul was even more afraid of David. Saul was David’s enemy for the rest of his life.[b] 30 And whenever the Philistine commanders came out for battle, David would have more success than the rest of Saul’s officers, so his fame spread widely.
The Antioch church
19 Now those who were scattered as a result of the trouble that occurred because of Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch. They proclaimed the word only to Jews. 20 Among them were some people from Cyprus and Cyrene. They entered Antioch and began to proclaim the good news about the Lord Jesus also to Gentiles. 21 The Lord’s power was with them, and a large number came to believe and turned to the Lord.
22 When the church in Jerusalem heard about this, they sent Barnabas to Antioch. 23 When he arrived and saw evidence of God’s grace, he was overjoyed and encouraged everyone to remain fully committed to the Lord. 24 Barnabas responded in this way because he was a good man, whom the Holy Spirit had endowed with exceptional faith. A considerable number of people were added to the Lord. 25 Barnabas went to Tarsus in search of Saul. 26 When he found him, he brought him to Antioch. They were there for a whole year, meeting with the church and teaching large numbers of people. It was in Antioch where the disciples were first labeled “Christians.”
27 About that time, some prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. 28 One of them, Agabus, stood up and, inspired by the Spirit, predicted that a severe famine would overtake the entire Roman world. (This occurred during Claudius’ rule.) 29 The disciples decided they would send support to the brothers and sisters in Judea, with everyone contributing to this ministry according to each person’s abundance. 30 They sent Barnabas and Saul to take this gift to the elders.
Jesus heals Simon’s mother-in-law
29 After leaving the synagogue, Jesus, James, and John went home with Simon and Andrew. 30 Simon’s mother-in-law was in bed, sick with a fever, and they told Jesus about her at once. 31 He went to her, took her by the hand, and raised her up. The fever left her, and she served them.
Jesus’ ministry spreads
32 That evening, at sunset, people brought to Jesus those who were sick or demon-possessed. 33 The whole town gathered near the door. 34 He healed many who were sick with all kinds of diseases, and he threw out many demons. But he didn’t let the demons speak, because they recognized him.
35 Early in the morning, well before sunrise, Jesus rose and went to a deserted place where he could be alone in prayer. 36 Simon and those with him tracked him down. 37 When they found him, they told him, “Everyone’s looking for you!”
38 He replied, “Let’s head in the other direction, to the nearby villages, so that I can preach there too. That’s why I’ve come.” 39 He traveled throughout Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and throwing out demons.
A man with a skin disease
40 A man with a skin disease approached Jesus, fell to his knees, and begged, “If you want, you can make me clean.”
41 Incensed,[a] Jesus reached out his hand, touched him, and said, “I do want to. Be clean.” 42 Instantly, the skin disease left him, and he was clean. 43 Sternly, Jesus sent him away, 44 saying, “Don’t say anything to anyone. Instead, go and show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifice for your cleansing that Moses commanded. This will be a testimony to them.” 45 Instead, he went out and started talking freely and spreading the news so that Jesus wasn’t able to enter a town openly. He remained outside in deserted places, but people came to him from everywhere.
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible