Book of Common Prayer
Yahweh Is My Strength and My Shield
Of David.
28 To You, O Yahweh, I call;
My (A)rock, do not be silent to me,
Lest if You (B)are hesitant toward me,
I will become like those who (C)go down to the pit.
2 Hear the (D)voice of my supplications when I cry to You for help,
When I (E)lift up my hands (F)toward [a]Your holy (G)sanctuary.
3 (H)Do not drag me away with the wicked
And with workers of iniquity,
Who (I)speak peace with their neighbors,
While evil is in their hearts.
4 Give to them (J)according to their work and according to the evil of their actions;
Give to them according to the deeds of their hands;
Return their dealings upon them.
5 Because they (K)do not regard the works of Yahweh
Nor the deeds of His hands,
He will tear them down and not build them up.
6 Blessed be Yahweh,
Because He (L)has heard the voice of my supplications.
7 Yahweh is my (M)strength and my (N)shield;
My heart (O)trusts in Him, and I am helped;
Therefore (P)my heart exults,
And with (Q)my song I shall thank Him.
8 Yahweh is [b]their (R)strength,
And He is a [c](S)strong defense of salvation to His anointed.
9 (T)Save Your people and bless (U)Your inheritance;
Be their (V)shepherd also, and (W)carry them forever.
You Have Turned My Mourning into Dancing
A Psalm. A Song at the Dedication of the House. Of David.
30 I will (A)exalt You, O Yahweh, for You have (B)lifted me up,
And have not let my (C)enemies be glad over me.
2 O Yahweh my God,
I (D)cried to You for help, and You (E)healed me.
3 O Yahweh, You have (F)brought up my soul from Sheol;
You have kept me alive, [a]that I would not (G)go down to the pit.
4 (H)Sing praise to Yahweh, you (I)His holy ones,
And (J)give thanks for the (K)remembrance of His holy name.
5 For (L)His anger is but for a moment,
His (M)favor is for a lifetime;
Weeping may (N)last for the night,
But a shout of joy comes in the morning.
6 Now as for me, I said in my prosperity,
“I will (O)never be shaken.”
7 O Yahweh, by Your favor You have made my mountain to stand strong;
You (P)hid Your face, I was dismayed.
8 To You, O Yahweh, I called,
And to the Lord I made supplication:
9 “What profit is there in my blood, if I (Q)go down to the pit?
Will the (R)dust praise You? Will it declare Your truth?
10 “(S)Hear, O Yahweh, and be gracious to me;
O Yahweh, be my (T)helper.”
11 You have turned for me (U)my mourning into dancing;
You have (V)loosed my sackcloth and girded me with (W)gladness,
12 That my [b](X)glory may sing praise to You and not be silent.
O Yahweh my God, I will (Y)give thanks to You forever.
17 But after the death of Jehoiada the officials of Judah came and bowed down to the king, and the king listened to them. 18 And they forsook (A)the house of Yahweh, the God of their fathers, and (B)served the [a]Asherim and the idols; so (C)wrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem for this their guilt. 19 Yet (D)He sent prophets to them to bring them back to Yahweh; though they testified against them, they did not give ear.
People Conspire Against Zechariah
20 (E)Now the Spirit of God clothed Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest; and he stood above the people and said to them, “Thus says God, ‘(F)Why do you trespass against the commandments of Yahweh and do not succeed? (G)Because you have forsaken Yahweh, He has also forsaken you.’” 21 So (H)they conspired against him and at the command of the king they stoned him [b]to death in the court of the house of Yahweh. 22 Thus Joash the king did not remember the lovingkindness which his father Jehoiada had shown him, but he killed his son. And as he died he said, “May (I)Yahweh see and [c]avenge!”
Selection of the Seven
6 Now in those days, while the (A)disciples were (B)multiplying in number, there was grumbling from the [a](C)Hellenists against the (D)Hebrews, because their (E)widows were being overlooked in (F)the daily serving of food. 2 So the twelve summoned the [b]congregation of the disciples and said, “It is not pleasing to God for us to neglect the word of God in order to serve tables. 3 Therefore, (G)brothers, select from among you seven men of good reputation, (H)full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may put in charge of this need. 4 But we will (I)devote ourselves to prayer and to the service of the word.” 5 And this word pleased the whole [c]congregation, and they chose (J)Stephen, a man (K)full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and (L)Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas, a [d](M)proselyte from (N)Antioch. 6 And these they stood before the apostles, and after (O)praying, they (P)laid their hands on them.
7 (Q)And the word of God kept on spreading, and (R)the number of the disciples continued to multiply greatly in Jerusalem, and a great [e]many of the priests were becoming obedient to (S)the faith.
Yahweh’s Lovingkindness Endures Forever
118 (A)Give thanks to Yahweh, for (B)He is good;
For His lovingkindness endures forever.
2 Oh let (C)Israel say,
“His lovingkindness endures forever.”
3 Oh let the (D)house of Aaron say,
“His lovingkindness endures forever.”
4 Oh let those (E)who [a]fear Yahweh say,
“His lovingkindness endures forever.”
5 From my (F)distress I called upon Yah;
Yah answered me and (G)set me in a large place.
6 Yahweh is (H)for me; I will (I)not fear;
(J)What can man do to me?
7 Yahweh is for me (K)among those who help me;
Therefore I will (L)look in triumph on those who hate me.
8 It is (M)better to take refuge in Yahweh
Than to trust in man.
9 It is (N)better to take refuge in Yahweh
Than to trust in nobles.
10 All nations (O)surrounded me;
In the name of Yahweh I will surely (P)cut them off.
11 They (Q)surrounded me, indeed, they surrounded me;
In the name of Yahweh I will surely cut them off.
12 They surrounded me (R)like bees;
They were extinguished as a (S)fire of thorns;
In the name of Yahweh I will surely cut them off.
13 You (T)pushed me down violently to make me fall,
But Yahweh (U)helped me.
14 (V)Yah is my strength and song,
And He has become (W)my salvation.
15 The sound of (X)joyful shouting and salvation is in the tents of the righteous;
The (Y)right hand of Yahweh does valiantly.
16 The (Z)right hand of Yahweh is exalted;
The right hand of Yahweh does valiantly.
17 I (AA)will not die; indeed I will live,
And (AB)recount the works of Yah.
18 Yah has (AC)disciplined me severely,
But He has (AD)not given me over to death.
19 (AE)Open to me the gates of righteousness;
I shall enter through them, I shall give thanks to Yah.
20 This is the gate of Yahweh;
The (AF)righteous will enter through it.
21 I shall give thanks to You, for You have (AG)answered me,
And You have (AH)become my salvation.
22 The (AI)stone which the builders rejected
Has become the chief corner stone.
23 This is from Yahweh;
It is marvelous in our eyes.
24 This is the day which Yahweh has made;
Let us (AJ)rejoice and be glad in it.
25 O Yahweh, (AK)save!
O Yahweh, (AL)succeed!
26 (AM)Blessed is the one who comes in the name of Yahweh;
We have (AN)blessed you from the house of Yahweh.
27 (AO)Yahweh is God, and He has given us (AP)light;
Bind the festival sacrifice with cords [b]to the (AQ)horns of the altar.
28 (AR)You are my God, and I give thanks to You;
You are my God, (AS)I exalt You.
29 (AT)Give thanks to Yahweh, for He is good;
For His lovingkindness endures forever.
59 They went on stoning Stephen as he (A)was calling out and saying, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!” 60 Then (B)falling on his knees, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, (C)do not hold this sin against them!” And having said this, he [a](D)fell asleep.
Saul Persecutes the Church
8 (E)Now Saul was in hearty agreement with putting him to death.
And on that day a great persecution [b]began against (F)the church in Jerusalem, and they were all (G)scattered throughout the regions of Judea and (H)Samaria, except the apostles. 2 And some devout men buried Stephen and made loud lamentation over him. 3 But (I)Saul began ravaging the church, entering house after house, and (J)dragging off men and women, he was delivering them into prison.
Philip Preaches in Samaria
4 Therefore, those (K)who had been scattered went about, (L)proclaiming the good news of the word. 5 (M)Now Philip went down to the city of Samaria and began preaching [c]Christ to them. 6 And the crowds with one accord were giving attention to what was being said by Philip, as they heard and saw the [d]signs which he was doing. 7 For in the case of many who had (N)unclean spirits, they were coming out of them shouting with a loud voice; and many who had been (O)paralyzed and lame were healed. 8 So there was (P)great joy in that city.
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