Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 18[a](A)
For the director of music. Of David the servant of the Lord. He sang to the Lord the words of this song when the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. He said:
1 I love you, Lord, my strength.(B)
2 The Lord is my rock,(C) my fortress(D) and my deliverer;(E)
my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge,(F)
my shield[b](G) and the horn[c] of my salvation,(H) my stronghold.
3 I called to the Lord, who is worthy of praise,(I)
and I have been saved from my enemies.(J)
4 The cords of death(K) entangled me;
the torrents(L) of destruction overwhelmed me.
5 The cords of the grave coiled around me;
the snares of death(M) confronted me.
6 In my distress(N) I called to the Lord;(O)
I cried to my God for help.
From his temple he heard my voice;(P)
my cry came(Q) before him, into his ears.
7 The earth trembled(R) and quaked,(S)
and the foundations of the mountains shook;(T)
they trembled because he was angry.(U)
8 Smoke rose from his nostrils;(V)
consuming fire(W) came from his mouth,
burning coals(X) blazed out of it.
9 He parted the heavens and came down;(Y)
dark clouds(Z) were under his feet.
10 He mounted the cherubim(AA) and flew;
he soared(AB) on the wings of the wind.(AC)
11 He made darkness his covering,(AD) his canopy(AE) around him—
the dark rain clouds of the sky.
12 Out of the brightness of his presence(AF) clouds advanced,
with hailstones(AG) and bolts of lightning.(AH)
13 The Lord thundered(AI) from heaven;
the voice of the Most High resounded.[d]
14 He shot his arrows(AJ) and scattered the enemy,
with great bolts of lightning(AK) he routed them.(AL)
15 The valleys of the sea were exposed
and the foundations(AM) of the earth laid bare
at your rebuke,(AN) Lord,
at the blast of breath from your nostrils.(AO)
16 He reached down from on high and took hold of me;
he drew me out of deep waters.(AP)
17 He rescued me from my powerful enemy,(AQ)
from my foes, who were too strong for me.(AR)
18 They confronted me in the day of my disaster,(AS)
but the Lord was my support.(AT)
19 He brought me out into a spacious place;(AU)
he rescued me because he delighted in me.(AV)
20 The Lord has dealt with me according to my righteousness;(AW)
according to the cleanness of my hands(AX) he has rewarded me.(AY)
21 For I have kept the ways of the Lord;(AZ)
I am not guilty of turning(BA) from my God.
22 All his laws are before me;(BB)
I have not turned away from his decrees.
23 I have been blameless(BC) before him
and have kept myself from sin.
24 The Lord has rewarded me according to my righteousness,(BD)
according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight.
25 To the faithful(BE) you show yourself faithful,(BF)
to the blameless you show yourself blameless,
26 to the pure(BG) you show yourself pure,
but to the devious you show yourself shrewd.(BH)
27 You save the humble(BI)
but bring low those whose eyes are haughty.(BJ)
28 You, Lord, keep my lamp(BK) burning;
my God turns my darkness into light.(BL)
29 With your help(BM) I can advance against a troop[e];
with my God I can scale a wall.
30 As for God, his way is perfect:(BN)
The Lord’s word is flawless;(BO)
he shields(BP) all who take refuge(BQ) in him.
31 For who is God besides the Lord?(BR)
And who is the Rock(BS) except our God?
32 It is God who arms me with strength(BT)
and keeps my way secure.(BU)
33 He makes my feet like the feet of a deer;(BV)
he causes me to stand on the heights.(BW)
34 He trains my hands for battle;(BX)
my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
35 You make your saving help my shield,
and your right hand sustains(BY) me;
your help has made me great.
36 You provide a broad path(BZ) for my feet,
so that my ankles do not give way.(CA)
37 I pursued my enemies(CB) and overtook them;
I did not turn back till they were destroyed.
38 I crushed them(CC) so that they could not rise;(CD)
they fell beneath my feet.(CE)
39 You armed me with strength(CF) for battle;
you humbled my adversaries(CG) before me.
40 You made my enemies turn their backs(CH) in flight,
and I destroyed(CI) my foes.
41 They cried for help, but there was no one to save them(CJ)—
to the Lord, but he did not answer.(CK)
42 I beat them as fine as windblown dust;(CL)
I trampled them[f] like mud in the streets.
43 You have delivered me from the attacks of the people;
you have made me the head of nations.(CM)
People I did not know(CN) now serve me,
44 foreigners(CO) cower before me;
as soon as they hear of me, they obey me.
45 They all lose heart;(CP)
they come trembling(CQ) from their strongholds.(CR)
46 The Lord lives!(CS) Praise be to my Rock!(CT)
Exalted be God(CU) my Savior!(CV)
47 He is the God who avenges(CW) me,
who subdues nations(CX) under me,
48 who saves(CY) me from my enemies.(CZ)
You exalted me above my foes;
from a violent man(DA) you rescued me.
49 Therefore I will praise you, Lord, among the nations;(DB)
I will sing(DC) the praises of your name.(DD)
10 While Aaron was speaking to the whole Israelite community, they looked toward the desert, and there was the glory(A) of the Lord appearing in the cloud.(B)
11 The Lord said to Moses, 12 “I have heard the grumbling(C) of the Israelites. Tell them, ‘At twilight you will eat meat, and in the morning you will be filled with bread. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God.’”(D)
13 That evening quail(E) came and covered the camp, and in the morning there was a layer of dew(F) around the camp. 14 When the dew was gone, thin flakes like frost(G) on the ground appeared on the desert floor. 15 When the Israelites saw it, they said to each other, “What is it?” For they did not know(H) what it was.
Moses said to them, “It is the bread(I) the Lord has given you to eat. 16 This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Everyone is to gather as much as they need. Take an omer[a](J) for each person you have in your tent.’”
17 The Israelites did as they were told; some gathered much, some little. 18 And when they measured it by the omer, the one who gathered much did not have too much, and the one who gathered little did not have too little.(K) Everyone had gathered just as much as they needed.
19 Then Moses said to them, “No one is to keep any of it until morning.”(L)
20 However, some of them paid no attention to Moses; they kept part of it until morning, but it was full of maggots and began to smell.(M) So Moses was angry(N) with them.
21 Each morning everyone gathered as much as they needed, and when the sun grew hot, it melted away. 22 On the sixth day, they gathered twice(O) as much—two omers[b] for each person—and the leaders of the community(P) came and reported this to Moses.
Living Godly Lives in a Pagan Society
11 Dear friends,(A) I urge you, as foreigners and exiles,(B) to abstain from sinful desires,(C) which wage war against your soul.(D) 12 Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds(E) and glorify God(F) on the day he visits us.
13 Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human authority:(G) whether to the emperor, as the supreme authority, 14 or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong(H) and to commend those who do right.(I) 15 For it is God’s will(J) that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish people.(K) 16 Live as free people,(L) but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil;(M) live as God’s slaves.(N) 17 Show proper respect to everyone, love the family of believers,(O) fear God, honor the emperor.(P)
18 Slaves, in reverent fear of God submit yourselves to your masters,(Q) not only to those who are good and considerate,(R) but also to those who are harsh. 19 For it is commendable if someone bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because they are conscious of God.(S) 20 But how is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God.(T) 21 To this(U) you were called,(V) because Christ suffered for you,(W) leaving you an example,(X) that you should follow in his steps.
23 When they hurled their insults at him,(AA) he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats.(AB) Instead, he entrusted himself(AC) to him who judges justly.(AD) 24 “He himself bore our sins”(AE) in his body on the cross,(AF) so that we might die to sins(AG) and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.”(AH) 25 For “you were like sheep going astray,”[b](AI) but now you have returned to the Shepherd(AJ) and Overseer of your souls.(AK)
12 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.(A) 13 Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.(B) 14 You are my friends(C) if you do what I command.(D) 15 I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.(E) 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you(F) so that you might go and bear fruit(G)—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you.(H) 17 This is my command: Love each other.(I)
The World Hates the Disciples
18 “If the world hates you,(J) keep in mind that it hated me first. 19 If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you(K) out of the world. That is why the world hates you.(L) 20 Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’[a](M) If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also.(N) If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. 21 They will treat you this way because of my name,(O) for they do not know the one who sent me.(P) 22 If I had not come and spoken to them,(Q) they would not be guilty of sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin.(R) 23 Whoever hates me hates my Father as well. 24 If I had not done among them the works no one else did,(S) they would not be guilty of sin.(T) As it is, they have seen, and yet they have hated both me and my Father. 25 But this is to fulfill what is written in their Law:(U) ‘They hated me without reason.’[b](V)
The Work of the Holy Spirit
26 “When the Advocate(W) comes, whom I will send to you from the Father(X)—the Spirit of truth(Y) who goes out from the Father—he will testify about me.(Z) 27 And you also must testify,(AA) for you have been with me from the beginning.(AB)
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