Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 25[a]
By David.
25 O Lord, I come before you in prayer.[b]
2 My God, I trust in you.
Please do not let me be humiliated;
do not let my enemies triumphantly rejoice over me.
3 Certainly none who rely on you will be humiliated.
Those who deal in treachery will be thwarted[c] and humiliated.
4 Make me understand your ways, O Lord.
Teach me your paths.[d]
5 Guide me into your truth[e] and teach me.
For you are the God who delivers me;
on you I rely all day long.
6 Remember[f] your compassionate and faithful deeds, O Lord,
for you have always acted in this manner.[g]
7 Do not hold against me[h] the sins of my youth[i] or my rebellious acts.
Because you are faithful to me, extend to me your favor, O Lord.[j]
8 The Lord is both kind and fair;[k]
that is why he teaches sinners the right way to live.[l]
9 May he show[m] the humble what is right.[n]
May he teach[o] the humble his way.
10 The Lord always proves faithful and reliable[p]
to those who follow the demands of his covenant.[q]
11 For the sake of your reputation,[r] O Lord,
forgive my sin, because it is great.[s]
12 The Lord shows his faithful followers
the way they should live.[t]
13 They experience his favor;[u]
their descendants[v] inherit the land.[w]
14 The Lord’s loyal followers receive his guidance,[x]
and he reveals his covenantal demands to them.[y]
15 I continually look to the Lord for help,[z]
for he will free my feet from the enemy’s net.[aa]
16 Turn toward me and have mercy on me,
for I am alone[ab] and oppressed.
17 Deliver me from my distress;[ac]
rescue me from my suffering.[ad]
18 See my pain and suffering.
Forgive all my sins.[ae]
19 Watch my enemies, for they outnumber me;
they hate me and want to harm me.[af]
20 Protect me[ag] and deliver me!
Please do not let me be humiliated,
for I have taken shelter in you.
21 May integrity and godliness protect me,
for I rely on you.
22 O God, rescue[ah] Israel
from all their distress![ai]
Psalm 9[a]
For the music director, according to the alumoth-labben style;[b] a psalm of David.
9 I will thank the Lord with all my heart!
I will tell about all your amazing deeds.[c]
2 I will be happy and rejoice in you.
I will sing praises to you, O Most High.[d]
3 When my enemies turn back,
they trip and are defeated[e] before you.
4 For you defended my just cause;[f]
from your throne you pronounced a just decision.[g]
5 You terrified the nations with your battle cry.[h]
You destroyed the wicked;[i]
you permanently wiped out all memory of them.[j]
6 The enemy’s cities have been reduced to permanent ruins.[k]
You destroyed their cities;[l]
all memory of the enemies has perished.[m]
7 But the Lord[n] rules[o] forever;
he reigns in a just manner.[p]
8 He judges the world fairly;
he makes just legal decisions for the nations.[q]
9 Consequently[r] the Lord provides safety for the oppressed;[s]
he provides safety in times of trouble.[t]
10 Your loyal followers trust in you,[u]
for you, Lord, do not abandon those who seek your help.[v]
11 Sing praises to the Lord, who rules[w] in Zion.
Tell the nations what he has done.[x]
12 For the one who takes revenge against murderers took notice of the oppressed;[y]
he did not overlook[z] their cry for help[aa]
13 when they prayed:[ab]
“Have mercy on me,[ac] Lord!
See how I am oppressed by those who hate me,[ad]
O one who can snatch me away[ae] from the gates of death!
14 Then I will[af] tell about all your praiseworthy acts;[ag]
in the gates of Daughter Zion[ah] I will rejoice because of your deliverance.”[ai]
15 The nations fell[aj] into the pit they had made;
their feet were caught in the net they had hidden.[ak]
16 The Lord revealed himself;
he accomplished justice.
The wicked were ensnared by their own actions.[al] (Higgaion.[am] Selah)
17 The wicked are turned back and sent to Sheol;[an]
this is the destiny of[ao] all the nations that ignore[ap] God,
18 for the needy are not permanently ignored,[aq]
the hopes of the oppressed are not forever dashed.[ar]
19 Rise up, Lord![as]
Don’t let men be defiant.[at]
May the nations be judged in your presence.
20 Terrify them, Lord.[au]
Let the nations know they are mere mortals.[av] (Selah)
Psalm 15[a]
A psalm of David.
15 Lord, who may be a guest in your home?[b]
Who may live on your holy hill?[c]
2 Whoever lives a blameless life,[d]
does what is right,
and speaks honestly.[e]
3 He[f] does not slander,[g]
or do harm to others,[h]
or insult his neighbor.[i]
4 He despises a reprobate,[j]
but honors the Lord’s loyal followers.[k]
He makes firm commitments and does not renege on his promise.[l]
5 He does not charge interest when he lends his money.[m]
He does not take bribes to testify against the innocent.[n]
The one who lives like this[o] will never be shaken.
5 On every mission on which Saul sent him, David achieved success. So Saul appointed him over the men of war. This pleased not only all the army, but also Saul’s servants.[a]
6 When the men[b] arrived after David returned from striking down the Philistine, the women from all the cities of Israel came out singing and dancing to meet King Saul. They were happy as they played their tambourines and three-stringed instruments.[c] 7 The women who were playing the music sang,
“Saul has struck down his thousands,
but David his tens of thousands!”
8 This made Saul very angry. The statement displeased him and he thought,[d] “They have attributed to David tens of thousands, but to me they have attributed only thousands. What does he lack, except the kingdom?” 9 So Saul was keeping an eye on David from that day onward.
10 The next day an evil spirit from God rushed upon Saul and he prophesied[e] within his house. Now David was playing the lyre[f] as usual. There was a spear in Saul’s hand, 11 and Saul threw the spear, thinking, “I’ll nail David to the wall!” But David escaped from him on two different occasions.
12 So Saul feared David, because the Lord was with David but had departed from Saul. 13 Saul removed David[g] from his presence and made him a commanding officer.[h] David led the army out to battle and back.[i] 14 Now David achieved success in all he did,[j] for the Lord was with him. 15 When Saul saw how very successful he was, he was afraid of him. 16 But all Israel and Judah loved David, for he was the one leading them out to battle and back.
27 when David, along with his men, went out[a] and struck down 200 Philistine men. David brought their foreskins and presented all of them to the king so that he could become the king’s son-in-law. Saul then gave him his daughter Michal in marriage.
28 When Saul realized[b] that the Lord was with David and that his[c] daughter Michal loved David,[d] 29 Saul became even more afraid of him.[e] Saul continued to be at odds with David from then on.[f] 30 [g] The leaders of the Philistines would march out, and as often as they did so, David achieved more success than all of Saul’s servants. His name was held in high esteem.
Activity in the Church at Antioch
19 Now those who had been scattered because of the persecution that took place over Stephen[a] went as far as[b] Phoenicia,[c] Cyprus,[d] and Antioch,[e] speaking the message[f] to no one but Jews. 20 But there were some men from Cyprus[g] and Cyrene[h] among them who came[i] to Antioch[j] and began to speak to the Greeks[k] too, proclaiming the good news of the Lord Jesus. 21 The[l] hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number who believed[m] turned[n] to the Lord. 22 A report[o] about them came to the attention[p] of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas[q] to Antioch.[r] 23 When[s] he came and saw the grace of God, he rejoiced and encouraged them all to remain true[t] to the Lord with devoted hearts,[u] 24 because he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith, and a significant number of people[v] were brought to the Lord. 25 Then Barnabas departed for Tarsus to look for Saul, 26 and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch.[w] So[x] for a whole year Barnabas and Saul[y] met with the church and taught a significant number of people.[z] Now it was in Antioch[aa] that the disciples were first called Christians.[ab]
Famine Relief for Judea
27 At that time[ac] some[ad] prophets[ae] came down[af] from Jerusalem to Antioch.[ag] 28 One of them, named Agabus, got up[ah] and predicted[ai] by the Spirit that a severe[aj] famine[ak] was about to come over the whole inhabited world.[al] (This[am] took place during the reign of Claudius.)[an] 29 So the disciples, each in accordance with his financial ability,[ao] decided[ap] to send relief[aq] to the brothers living in Judea. 30 They did so,[ar] sending their financial aid[as] to the elders by Barnabas and Saul.
Healings at Simon’s House
29 Now[a] as soon as they left the synagogue,[b] they entered Simon and Andrew’s house,[c] with James and John. 30 Simon’s mother-in-law was lying down, sick with a fever, so[d] they spoke to Jesus[e] at once about her. 31 He came and raised her up by gently taking her hand. Then the fever left her and she began to serve[f] them. 32 When it was evening, after sunset, they brought to him all who were sick and demon-possessed. 33 The whole town gathered by the door. 34 So[g] he healed many who were sick with various diseases and drove out many demons.[h] But[i] he would not permit the demons to speak,[j] because they knew him.[k]
Praying and Preaching
35 Then[l] Jesus[m] got up early in the morning when it was still very dark, departed, and went out to a deserted place, and there he spent time in prayer.[n] 36 Simon and his companions searched for him. 37 When they found him, they said, “Everyone is looking for you.” 38 He replied,[o] “Let us go elsewhere, into the surrounding villages, so that I can preach there too. For that is what I came out here to do.”[p] 39 So[q] he went into all of Galilee preaching in their synagogues[r] and casting out demons.
Cleansing a Leper
40 Now[s] a leper[t] came to him and fell to his knees, asking for help. “If[u] you are willing, you can make me clean,” he said. 41 Moved with indignation,[v] Jesus[w] stretched out his hand and touched[x] him, saying, “I am willing. Be clean!” 42 The leprosy left him at once, and he was clean. 43 Immediately Jesus[y] sent the man[z] away with a very strong warning. 44 He told him,[aa] “See that you do not say anything to anyone,[ab] but go, show yourself to a priest, and bring the offering that Moses commanded[ac] for your cleansing, as a testimony to them.”[ad] 45 But as the man[ae] went out he began to announce it publicly and spread the story widely, so that Jesus[af] was no longer able to enter any town openly but stayed outside in remote places. Still[ag] they kept coming[ah] to him from everywhere.
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