Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 106[a]
Israel’s Confession of Sin and God’s Mercy
1 Alleluia.
Give thanks[b] to the Lord, for he is good;
his kindness endures forever.
2 Who can possibly recount the mighty acts of the Lord
and fully proclaim his praise?[c]
3 Blessed[d] are those who do what is right
and practice justice constantly.
4 Remember me, O Lord, out of the love you have for your people;
come to me with your salvation.[e]
5 Let me delight in the success of your chosen ones,
share in the joy of your nation,
and glory in your heritage.
6 [f]Like our ancestors, we[g] have sinned;
we have gone astray and done evil.
7 When our ancestors were in Egypt,
they failed to be mindful of your wonders;
they did not remember your many kindnesses
and rebelled against the Most High at the Red Sea.
8 Yet he saved them for his name’s sake[h]
so that he might make known his mighty power.
9 He rebuked the Red Sea, and it dried up;
he led them through the depths as through a wilderness.
10 He saved them from those who hated them;
from the hand of the enemy he delivered them.
11 The waters closed over their adversaries;
not a single one of them survived.
12 Then they believed his words
and sang his praises.[i]
13 [j]But they soon forgot what he had done
and had no confidence in his plan.
14 In the wilderness they yielded to their cravings;
in the wasteland they put God to the test.
15 He gave them everything they wanted
but struck them with a consuming disease.
16 [k]In the camp they grew envious of Moses
and of Aaron, who was consecrated to the Lord.
17 The earth parted and swallowed Dathan
and closed over the company of Abiram.
18 Fire blazed all through them,
and the wicked were consumed in flames.
19 [l]They constructed a calf at Horeb
and worshiped this molten image.
20 They exchanged their Glory[m]
for an image of a bull that eats grass.
21 They forgot the God who had saved them,
who had done great things in Egypt,
22 wonders in the land of Ham,[n]
and awesome deeds at the Red Sea.
23 He was contemplating their destruction,
but Moses, his chosen one,
stood in the breach[o] before him
to keep his wrath from destroying them.
24 [p]Then they derided the land of delights,[q]
for they had no faith in his word.
25 They grumbled in their tents
and refused to obey the voice of the Lord.
26 Therefore, he swore with uplifted hand
to strike them down in the wilderness
27 and disperse their descendants among the nations,
scattering them in foreign lands.
28 [r]They joined in worshiping Baal of Peor
and ate food sacrificed to lifeless gods.
29 They provoked the Lord to anger by their evil deeds,
and a plague broke out among them.
30 Then Phinehas stood up and executed judgment,
and the plague came to an end.
31 This was credited to him as righteousness[s]
for all the generations to come.
32 [t]At the waters of Meribah[u] they angered the Lord,
and Moses endured difficulties because of them.
33 For they rebelled against the Spirit of God,
and rash words issued from Moses’ lips.[v]
34 [w]They did not exterminate the peoples
as the Lord had commanded them to do.
35 Rather, they mingled with the nations
and adopted their practices.
36 They worshiped their idols,
which became a snare to them.
37 They sacrificed to false gods[x]
their sons and their daughters.
38 They shed innocent blood,
the blood of their sons and daughters,
whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan,
polluting the land with their blood.
39 Thus, they defiled themselves by their actions
and prostituted themselves by their conduct.[y]
40 [z]Then the anger of the Lord flared up against his people,
and he abhorred his own heritage.
41 He handed them over to the nations,
and their foes became their rulers.
42 Their enemies oppressed them
and kept them in subjection to their power.
43 Time and again he came to their rescue,
but they rebelled against his counsel
and sank low because of their sin.
44 Even so, he took pity on their distress
when he heard their cries.
45 He called to mind his covenant[aa] with them,
and he relented because of his great mercy.
46 He aroused compassion for them
on the part of all their captors.
47 Save us, O Lord, our God,
and gather us from among the nations,
so that we may give thanks to your holy name
and glory in praising[ab] you.
48 Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,
from everlasting to everlasting.[ac]
Let all the people say, “Amen.”
Alleluia.[ad]
17 Saul Is Chosen King.[a] Samuel summoned the people of Israel to Mizpah. 18 He said to the Israelites, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘I brought Israel up from Egypt and delivered them out of the hands of the Egyptians and all of the nations that oppressed you.’ 19 But today you have rejected your God who himself delivers you from all of your adversities and difficulties. You have said to him, ‘Appoint a king over us.’ Now present yourselves before the Lord by tribes and by clans.”
20 When Samuel had all of the tribes of Israel approach him, the tribe of Benjamin was chosen by lot. 21 Then he had the tribe of Benjamin approach him clan by clan, and the clan of Matri was chosen. Finally Saul, the son of Kish, was chosen. But when they looked for him, he could not be found. 22 They then asked the Lord, “Has the man arrived yet?” The Lord answered, “Yes, he has hidden himself among the baggage.” 23 They ran and brought him back from there. When he stood among the people he was a head taller than any of them. 24 Samuel said to all the people, “Do you see whom the Lord has chosen? There is no one else like him among the people.” All the people cried out, “Long live the king.”
25 Samuel instructed the people concerning the ordinances of the kingdom. He wrote this in a book and placed it before the Lord. Then Samuel dismissed all of the people, each to his own home. 26 Saul also went home to Gibeah, and he was accompanied by a group of brave men whose hearts God had touched.[b] 27 But some sons of Belial said, “How can this one save us?” They held him in contempt and brought him no gifts, but he held his peace.
44 “While they were in the desert, our ancestors had the Tent of Testimony, as God commanded when he directed Moses to make it according to the pattern he had been shown. 45 Our ancestors with Joshua brought it with them when they dispossessed the nations that God drove out before our ancestors. It remained there until the time of David, 46 who found favor with God and desired to provide a dwelling for the God of Jacob.
47 “However, it was Solomon who built a house for him. 48 Yet the Most High does not dwell in houses made with human hands. As the prophet says,
49 ‘Heaven is my throne,
and the earth is my footstool.
What kind of house can you build for me? asks the Lord.
Where shall my resting place be?
50 Did not my hand make all these things?’
51 “You stiff-necked people, with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You are always resisting the Holy Spirit, just as your ancestors used to do. 52 Was there ever a prophet whom your fathers did not persecute? They killed those who foretold the coming of the Righteous One, and now you have become his betrayers and murderers. 53 You received the Law through God’s angels, and yet you have not observed it.”
54 Stephen’s Martyrdom. When they heard this, they became enraged, and they ground their teeth at him. 55 But Stephen, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked up intently to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at God’s right hand. 56 “Look!” he cried. “I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”
57 On hearing these words, they covered their ears, cried out loudly, and rushed en masse against him. 58 Then they dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. The witnesses laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul.[a]
59 While they were stoning Stephen, he prayed aloud, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” 60 Then he knelt down and cried out in a clear voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” And with these words he fell asleep.
Chapter 8
The Church Becomes Open to the Gentiles.[b] 1 Saul approved of his death. That day marked the beginning of a severe persecution of the Church in Jerusalem, and everyone except the apostles scattered to the country districts of Judea and Samaria.
52 Then Jesus said to the chief priests, the officers of the temple guard, and the elders who had come for him, “Why are you coming forth with swords and clubs as though I were a bandit? 53 When I was with you day after day in the temple, you did not raise a hand against me. But this is the hour for you and the power of darkness.”[a]
54 Peter Denies Jesus.[b] Then they arrested Jesus and led him away. They brought him into the house of the high priest, and Peter followed at a distance. 55 Lighting a fire in the middle of the courtyard, they sat around it, and Peter sat with them.
56 A servant girl saw him sitting by the fire, looked closely at him, and said, “This man also was with him.” 57 But he denied it, saying, “Woman, I do not know him.” 58 A short time later, someone else saw him and said, “You too are one of them,” but Peter replied, “No, I am not.”
59 About an hour later, another person strongly insisted, “This man was unquestionably with him, for he is a Galilean.” 60 Peter said, “My friend, I do not know what you are talking about.” At that very moment, while he was still speaking, a cock crowed, 61 and the Lord turned and looked at Peter. Then Peter recalled the word that the Lord had spoken to him: “Before the cock crows today, you will deny me three times.” 62 And he went out and wept uncontrollably.
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