Book of Common Prayer
The Lord Praised for Rescuing David.
For the music director. A Psalm of David, the servant of the Lord, [a]who spoke to the Lord the words of this song on the day that the Lord rescued him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. And he said,
18 “I love You, Lord, (A)my strength.”
2 The Lord is (B)my rock and (C)my fortress and my (D)savior,
My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge;
My (E)shield and the (F)horn of my salvation, my (G)stronghold.
3 I call upon the Lord, who is (H)worthy to be praised,
And I am (I)saved from my enemies.
4 The (J)ropes of death encompassed me,
And the (K)torrents of [b]destruction [c]terrified me.
5 The (L)ropes of [d]Sheol surrounded me;
The snares of death confronted me.
6 In my (M)distress I called upon the Lord,
And cried to my God for help;
He heard my voice (N)from His temple,
And my (O)cry for help before Him came into His ears.
7 Then the (P)earth shook and quaked;
And the (Q)foundations of the mountains were trembling
And were shaken, because He was angry.
8 Smoke went up [e]out of His nostrils,
And (R)fire from His mouth was devouring;
Coals burned from it.
9 He also (S)bowed the heavens down low, and came down
With thick (T)darkness under His feet.
10 He rode on a (U)cherub and flew;
And He sped on the (V)wings of the wind.
11 He made (W)darkness His hiding place, (X)His [f]canopy around Him,
Darkness of waters, thick clouds.
12 From the (Y)brightness before Him passed His thick clouds,
Hailstones and (Z)coals of fire.
13 The Lord also (AA)thundered in the heavens,
And the Most High uttered His voice,
Hailstones and coals of fire.
14 He (AB)sent out His arrows, and scattered them,
And lightning flashes in abundance, and [g]routed them.
15 Then the (AC)channels of water appeared,
And the foundations of the world were exposed
By Your (AD)rebuke, Lord,
At the blast of the (AE)breath of Your nostrils.
16 He (AF)sent from on high, He took me;
He drew me out of (AG)many waters.
17 He (AH)saved me from my strong enemy,
And from those who hated me, for they were (AI)too mighty for me.
18 They confronted me in (AJ)the day of my disaster,
But (AK)the Lord was my support.
19 He also brought me out into an (AL)open place;
He rescued me, because (AM)He delighted in me.
20 The Lord has (AN)rewarded me according to my righteousness;
According to the (AO)cleanness of my hands He has repaid me.
21 For I have (AP)kept the ways of the Lord,
And have (AQ)not acted wickedly against my God.
22 For all (AR)His judgments were before me,
And I did not put away His (AS)statutes from me.
23 I was also [h](AT)blameless with Him,
And I (AU)kept myself from my wrongdoing.
24 Therefore the Lord has (AV)repaid me according to my righteousness,
According to the cleanness of my hands in His eyes.
25 With (AW)the faithful You show Yourself faithful;
With the [i]blameless (AX)You prove Yourself blameless;
26 With the pure You show Yourself (AY)pure,
And with the crooked (AZ)You show Yourself [j]astute.
27 For You (BA)save an afflicted people,
But You humiliate (BB)haughty eyes.
28 For You (BC)light my lamp;
The Lord my God (BD)illumines my darkness.
29 For by You I can (BE)run at a [k]troop of warriors;
And by my God I can (BF)leap over a wall.
30 As for God, His way is [l](BG)blameless;
The (BH)word of the Lord is refined;
He is a (BI)shield to all who take refuge in Him.
31 For (BJ)who is God, but the Lord?
And who is a (BK)rock, except our God,
32 The God who (BL)encircles me with strength,
And [m]makes my way [n](BM)blameless?
33 He (BN)makes my feet like deer’s feet,
And (BO)sets me up on my high places.
34 He (BP)trains my hands for battle,
So that my arms can (BQ)bend a bow of bronze.
35 You have also given me (BR)the shield of Your salvation,
And Your (BS)right hand upholds me;
And (BT)Your [o]gentleness makes me great.
36 You (BU)enlarge my steps under me,
And my [p](BV)feet have not slipped.
37 I (BW)pursued my enemies and overtook them,
And I did not turn back (BX)until they were consumed.
38 I shattered them, so that they were (BY)not able to rise;
They fell (BZ)under my feet.
39 For You have (CA)encircled me with strength for battle;
You have forced those who rose up against me (CB)to bow down under me.
40 You have also made my enemies (CC)turn their backs to me,
And I [q](CD)destroyed those who hated me.
41 They cried for help, but there was (CE)no one to save,
They cried to the Lord, but (CF)He did not answer them.
42 Then I beat them fine like the (CG)dust before the wind;
I emptied them out like the mud of the streets.
43 You have rescued me from the (CH)contentions of the people;
You have placed me as (CI)head of the nations;
A (CJ)people whom I have not known serve me.
44 As soon as they hear, they obey me;
Foreigners (CK)pretend to obey me.
45 Foreigners (CL)lose heart,
And (CM)come trembling out of their [r]fortresses.
46 The Lord (CN)lives, and blessed be (CO)my rock;
And exalted be (CP)the God of my salvation,
47 The God who (CQ)executes vengeance for me,
And (CR)subdues peoples under me.
48 He (CS)rescues me from my enemies;
You indeed (CT)lift me above those who rise up against me;
You rescue me from a (CU)violent man.
49 Therefore I will (CV)give thanks to You among the nations, Lord,
And I will (CW)sing praises to Your name.
50 He gives great [s](CX)salvation to His king,
And shows faithfulness to (CY)His anointed,
To David and (CZ)his [t]descendants forever.
Bildad Says God Rewards the Good
8 Then Bildad the Shuhite responded,
2 “How long will you say these things,
And the (A)words of your mouth be a mighty wind?
3 Does (B)God pervert justice?
Or does [a]the Almighty pervert what is right?
4 (C)If your sons sinned against Him,
Then He turned them over to the [b]power of their wrongdoing.
5 If you will (D)search for God
And implore the compassion of [c]the Almighty,
6 If you are pure and upright,
Surely now (E)He will stir Himself for you
And restore your righteous [d](F)estate.
7 Though your beginning was insignificant,
Yet your (G)end will increase greatly.
17 Now while Peter was greatly perplexed in [a]mind as to what (A)the vision which he had seen might [b]mean, behold, (B)the men who had been sent by Cornelius had asked directions to Simon’s house, and they appeared at the gate; 18 and calling out, they were asking whether Simon, who was also called Peter, was staying there. 19 While Peter was reflecting on (C)the vision, (D)the Spirit said to him, “Behold, [c]three men are looking for you. 20 But get up, go downstairs and (E)accompany them [d]without misgivings, for I have sent them Myself.” 21 Peter went down to the men and said, “Behold, I am the one you are looking for; what is the reason for which you have come?” 22 They said, “Cornelius, a centurion, a righteous and (F)God-fearing man well spoken of by the entire nation of the Jews, (G)was divinely directed by a (H)holy angel to send for you to come to his house and hear [e](I)a message from you.” 23 So he invited them in and gave them lodging.
Peter in Caesarea
Now on the next day he got ready and went away with them, and (J)some of (K)the brothers from (L)Joppa accompanied him. 24 On the following day he entered (M)Caesarea. Now Cornelius was expecting them and had called together his relatives and close friends. 25 When Peter entered, Cornelius met him, and fell at his feet and [f](N)worshiped him. 26 But Peter helped him up, saying, “(O)Stand up; I, too, am just a man.” 27 As he talked with him, he entered and *found (P)many people assembled. 28 And he said to them, “You yourselves know that it is (Q)forbidden for a Jewish man to associate with or visit a [g]foreigner; and yet (R)God has shown me that I am not to call any person [h]unholy or unclean. 29 That is why I came without even raising any objection when I was sent for. So I ask, for what reason did you send for me?”
30 Cornelius said, “(S)Four days ago to this hour, I was praying in my house during (T)the [i]ninth hour; and behold, (U)a man stood before me in shining clothing, 31 and he *said, ‘Cornelius, your prayer has been heard and your charitable gifts have been remembered before God. 32 Therefore send some men to (V)Joppa and invite Simon, who is also called Peter, to come to you; he is staying at the house of Simon the tanner, by the sea.’ 33 So I sent men to you immediately, and you have [j]been kind enough to come. Now then, we are all here present before God to hear everything that you have been commanded by the Lord.”
14 But when it was now the middle of the feast, Jesus went up into the temple area, and began to (A)teach. 15 (B)The Jews then were astonished, saying, “How has this Man (C)become learned, not having been educated?” 16 So Jesus answered them and said, “(D)My teaching is not My own, but His who sent Me. 17 (E)If anyone is willing to do His will, he will know about the teaching, whether it is of God, or I am speaking from Myself. 18 The one who speaks from himself (F)seeks his own glory; but He who is seeking the glory of the One who sent Him, He is true, and there is no unrighteousness in Him.
19 “(G)Did Moses not give you the Law, and yet none of you carries out the Law? Why are you (H)seeking to kill Me?” 20 The crowd answered, “(I)You have a demon! Who is seeking to kill You?” 21 Jesus answered them, “I did (J)one [a]deed, and you all are astonished. 22 For this reason (K)Moses has given you circumcision (not that it is from Moses, but from (L)the fathers), and even on a Sabbath you circumcise a man. 23 (M)If a man receives circumcision on a Sabbath so that the Law of Moses will not be broken, are you angry at Me because I made an entire man well on a Sabbath? 24 Do not (N)judge by the outward appearance, but judge [b]with righteous judgment.”
25 So some of the people of Jerusalem were saying, “Is this Man not the one whom they are seeking to kill? 26 And yet look, He is speaking publicly, and they are saying nothing to Him. (O)The rulers do not really know that this is the [c]Christ, do they? 27 However, (P)we know where this Man is from; but when the Christ comes, no one knows where He is from.” 28 Then Jesus cried out in the temple, (Q)teaching and saying, “(R)You both know Me and you know where I am from; and (S)I have not come of Myself, but He who sent Me is true, whom you do not know. 29 (T)I do know Him, because (U)I am from Him, and (V)He sent Me.” 30 So they (W)were seeking to arrest Him; and yet no one laid a hand on Him, because His (X)hour had not yet come. 31 But (Y)many of the crowd believed in Him; and they were saying, “(Z)When the [d]Christ comes, He will not perform more [e](AA)signs than those which this man has done, will He?”
32 The Pharisees heard the crowd whispering these things about Him, and the chief priests and the Pharisees sent (AB)officers to (AC)arrest Him. 33 Therefore Jesus said, “(AD)For a little while longer I am going to be with you, and then (AE)I am going to Him who sent Me. 34 (AF)You will seek Me, and will not find Me; and where I am, you cannot come.” 35 (AG)The Jews then said to one another, “(AH)Where does this Man intend to go that we will not find Him? He does not intend to go to (AI)the Dispersion among (AJ)the Greeks, and teach the Greeks, does He? 36 What is this statement that He said, ‘(AK)You will seek Me, and will not find Me; and where I am, you cannot come’?”
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