Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 18
Unfailing Kindness to David
And to His Descendant Forever
(2 Samuel 22)
Heading
For the choir director.
By David, the servant of the Lord, who spoke the words of this song to the Lord on the day when the Lord had delivered him from the grasp of all his enemies, even from the grasp of Saul.
Praise to the Rock of Salvation
1 Then he said:
I love you, O Lord, my strength.
2 The Lord is my rocky cliff, my stronghold, and my deliverer.
My God is my rock. I take refuge in him.
He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my high fortress.
3 I call to the Lord, who is worthy of praise,
and I am saved from my enemies.
Deliverance From Death
4 The ropes of death entangled me.
Floodwaters of destruction[a] rolled over me.
5 The ropes of the grave wrapped around me.
The traps of death threatened me.
6 In my distress I called to the Lord.
To my God I cried out.
He heard my voice from his temple.
My cry came before him. It reached his ears.
The Greatness of the Deliverance
7 Then the earth shook and quaked,
and the foundations of the mountains[b] trembled.
They shook because the Lord was angry.
8 Smoke rose from his nostrils,
and fire from his mouth devoured.
Coals were set on fire by it.
9 Then he tore open the heavens and came down.
A dark cloud was under his feet.
10 He rode upon a cherub,[c] and he flew.
He soared on the wings of the wind.
11 He made the darkness around him his hiding place.
Dark rain clouds[d] surrounded him like a canopy.
12 Emerging from the brightness in front of him
his clouds passed by with hail and coals of fire.
13 Then the Lord thundered in the heavens.
The Most High raised his voice with hail and coals of fire.[e]
14 Then he shot his arrows and scattered the enemy.
He shot great lightning bolts and routed them.
15 Then the sources of water[f] were revealed,
and the foundations of the world were uncovered
by your rebuke, O Lord,
by the breath of wind from your nostrils.
16 He reached down from on high and took hold of me.
He drew me out of deep waters.
17 Because they were too strong for me,
he rescued me from my powerful enemy,
from those who hate me.
18 They confronted me on the day of my disaster,
but the Lord supported me.
19 Then he brought me out into a wide-open space.
He rescued me because he delighted in me.
David’s Uprightness as a Basis for God’s Judgment
20 The Lord has dealt with me according to my righteousness.
According to the cleanness of my hands he has repaid me,
21 for I have kept the ways of the Lord.
I have not done evil and departed from my God.
22 So all his just decrees remain before me,
and I have not turned his statutes away from me.
23 I have been blameless with him.
I have kept myself from guilt.
24 The Lord has repaid me according to my righteousness,
according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight.
God’s Uprightness as a Basis for His Judgment
25 To the merciful you reveal yourself as merciful.
To the blameless person you reveal yourself as blameless.
26 To the pure you reveal yourself as pure,
but to the crooked you reveal yourself as crafty.
27 For you save humble people,
but you bring low the eyes of the arrogant.
28 Yes, you light my lamp, O Lord.
My God turns my darkness to light.
29 For with you I can charge against a battalion,
and with my God I can jump over a wall.
God Equips David for Victory
30 This God—his way is blameless.
The speech of the Lord is pure.
He is a shield for all who take refuge in him.
31 For who is God besides the Lord?
And who is the Rock except our God?
32 This God wraps me with strength
and makes my way perfect.[g]
33 By making my feet like those of a deer
he enables me to stand on high places.
34 Because he trains my hands for battle,
my arms can draw a bronze bow.
35 Then you give me the shield of your salvation.
Your right hand sustains me,
and you stoop down to lift me up.
36 You widen the path under my feet,
so that my ankles do not give way.
David’s Victories
37 I pursued my enemies, and I overtook them.
So I did not turn back until they were wiped out.
38 I crushed them so that they could not rise again.
They fell beneath my feet.
39 You wrapped me with strength for battle.
You made those who rose up against me bow down to me.
40 You made my enemies turn their backs and flee.
I destroyed those who hate me.
41 They cried for help, but there was no one to save them.
They cried to the Lord, but he did not answer them.
42 So I grind them as fine as dust blown by the wind.
I dump them out like mud in the streets.
43 You delivered me from the accusations of the people.
You made me the head of nations.
A people I did not know serve me.
44 As soon as they hear me, they obey me.
Foreigners cower before me.
45 Foreigners fall exhausted.
They come trembling from their strongholds.
Closing Words of Faith
46 The Lord lives! Blessed be my Rock!
May the God who saves me be exalted!
47 The God who avenges me subdues peoples under me.
48 You delivered me from my enemies.
Yes, you exalted me above those who rose against me.
You rescued me from the violent man.
49 Therefore I will praise you among the nations, Lord.
To your name I will make music.
50 By providing great salvation for his King,
he shows mercy to his Anointed One,
to David and to his Descendant[h] forever.
13 Three of the Thirty went down and came to David at the Cave of Adullam at the time of the grain harvest. A band of Philistines was camping in the Valley of Rephaim. 14 David was then in the stronghold, and the garrison of the Philistines was in Bethlehem. 15 David expressed a deep craving, “Who will give me water to drink from the well[a] of Bethlehem, which is by the gate?” 16 So the three elite warriors broke through the camp of the Philistines and drew water from the well of Bethlehem, which is by the gate. They took it and brought it to David, but he was not willing to drink it, so he poured it out to the Lord. 17 He said, “May I be cursed, Lord, if I would do this. This is the blood of the men who went at the risk of their lives!” He would not drink it. These are the things the three elite warriors did.
Greeting
The Elder,
To the chosen lady and her children, whom I love in the truth—not only I, but also everyone who knows the truth— 2 because of the truth that remains in us and will be with us forever:
3 Grace, mercy, and peace will be with us from God the Father and from[a] Jesus Christ, the Father’s Son, in truth and love.
Keep on Walking According to God’s Word
4 I was overjoyed to find out that some of your children are walking in the truth, in keeping with the command we received from the Father. 5 And now I ask you, dear lady—not as though I were writing a new command to you, but the one we have had from the beginning—let us love one another. 6 And this is love: that we walk according to his commands. This is the command: Just as you have heard from the beginning, keep on walking in it.
Beware of Deceivers
7 Many deceivers who do not confess Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh have gone out into the world. Such a person is a deceiver and an antichrist. 8 Watch yourselves so that you do not lose what we[b] have labored for but receive a full reward.
9 Anyone who goes on ahead and does not remain in the teaching of Christ does not have God. The one who remains in this teaching has both the Father and the Son. 10 If someone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house. Do not even wish him well. 11 For the one who wishes him well shares in his wicked works.
Final Greetings
12 I have many things to write to you, but I did not want to do it with paper and ink. I hope instead to be with you and speak to you face to face so that our[c] joy may be made complete.
13 The children of your chosen sister greet you.
Jesus Changes Water Into Wine
2 Three days later, there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there. 2 Jesus and his disciples were also invited to the wedding.
3 When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no wine.”
4 Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does that have to do with you and me? My time has not come yet.”
5 His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”
6 Six stone water jars, which the Jews used for ceremonial cleansing, were standing there, each holding twenty or thirty gallons.[a] 7 Jesus told them, “Fill the jars with water.” So they filled them to the brim. 8 Then he said to them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.” And they did.
9 When the master of the banquet tasted the water that had now become wine, he did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew). The master of the banquet called the bridegroom 10 and said to him, “Everyone serves the good wine first, and when the guests have had plenty to drink, then the cheaper wine. You saved the good wine until now!”
11 This, the beginning of his miraculous signs, Jesus performed in Cana of Galilee. He revealed his glory, and his disciples believed in him.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.