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.
14 (A)Now the Spirit of the Lord left Saul, and (B)an evil spirit from the Lord terrified him. 15 Saul’s servants then said to him, “Behold now, an evil spirit from God is terrifying you. 16 May our lord now command your servants who are before you. Have them search for a man who is a skillful musician on the harp; and it shall come about whenever the evil spirit from God is upon you, that (C)he shall play the harp with his hand, and you will become well.” 17 So Saul said to his servants, “Now select for me a man who can play well, and bring him to me.” 18 Then one of the young men responded and said, “Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite who is a skillful musician, (D)a valiant mighty man, a warrior, skillful in speech, and a handsome man; and (E)the Lord is with him.” 19 So Saul sent messengers to Jesse [a]to say, “Send me your son David, who is with the flock.” 20 And Jesse (F)took a donkey loaded with bread and a jug of wine, and he took a young goat, and sent them to Saul by his son David. 21 Then David came to Saul and [b](G)attended him; and Saul greatly loved him, and he became his armor bearer. 22 So Saul sent word to Jesse, saying, “Let David now [c]be my attendant for he has found favor in my sight.” 23 So it came about whenever (H)the evil spirit from God came to Saul, David would take the harp and play it with his hand; and Saul would feel relieved and become well, and the evil spirit would leave him.
Goliath’s Challenge
17 Now (I)the Philistines gathered their armies for battle; and they were gathered at Socoh which belongs to Judah, and they camped between (J)Socoh and (K)Azekah, in (L)Ephes-dammim. 2 Saul and the men of Israel were assembled and camped in (M)the Valley of Elah, and they drew up in battle formation to confront the Philistines. 3 The Philistines were standing on the mountain on one side, while Israel was standing on the mountain on the other side, with the valley between them. 4 Then a champion came forward from the army encampment of the Philistines, named (N)Goliath, from (O)Gath. His height was [d]six cubits and a [e]span. 5 And he had a bronze helmet on his head, and he wore scale-armor [f]which weighed [g]five thousand shekels of bronze. 6 He also had bronze [h]greaves on his legs and a (P)bronze [i]saber slung between his shoulders. 7 (Q)The shaft of his spear was like a weaver’s beam, and the head of his spear weighed [j]six hundred shekels of iron; and (R)his shield-carrier walked in front of him. 8 He stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel and said to them, “Why do you come out to draw up in battle formation? Am I not the Philistine, and you the (S)servants of Saul? Choose a man as your representative and have him come down to me. 9 (T)If he is able to fight me and [k]kill me, then we will become your servants; but if I prevail against him and [l]kill him, then you shall become our servants and serve us.” 10 Then the Philistine said, “(U)I have defied the ranks of Israel this day! Give me a man, so that we may fight together.” 11 When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and very fearful.
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.”
Other Appearances
36 Now while they were telling these things, (A)Jesus Himself suddenly stood in their midst and *said to them, “Peace be to you.” 37 But they were startled and frightened, and thought that they were looking at (B)a spirit. 38 And He said to them, “Why are you frightened, and why are doubts arising in your [a]hearts? 39 (C)See My hands and My feet, that [b]it is I Myself; (D)touch Me and see, because a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you plainly see that I have.” 40 And when He had said this, He showed them His hands and His feet. 41 While they still [c](E)could not believe it because of their joy and astonishment, He said to them, “(F)Have you anything here to eat?” 42 They served Him a piece of broiled fish; 43 and He took it and (G)ate it in front of them.
44 Now He said to them, “(H)These are My words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all the things that are written about Me in the (I)Law of Moses and the Prophets and (J)the Psalms must be fulfilled.” 45 Then He (K)opened their [d]minds to understand the Scriptures, 46 and He said to them, “(L)So it is written, that the [e]Christ would suffer and (M)rise from the dead on the third day, 47 and that (N)repentance [f]for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed [g]in His name to (O)all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. 48 You are (P)witnesses of these things. 49 And behold, (Q)I am sending the promise of My Father upon you; but (R)you are to stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”
The Ascension
50 And He led them out as far as (S)Bethany, and He lifted up His hands and blessed them. 51 While He was blessing them, He parted from them and was carried up into heaven. 52 And they, after worshiping Him, returned to Jerusalem with great joy, 53 and were continually in the temple [h]praising God.
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