Book of Common Prayer
Yahweh Is My Rock and My Fortress
For the choir director. Of the servant of Yahweh, of David, [a]who spoke to Yahweh the words of this song in the day that Yahweh delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul.
18 He said, “I love You, O Yahweh, (A)my strength.”
2 Yahweh is (B)my [b]rock and (C)my fortress and my (D)deliverer,
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 Yahweh, who is (H)worthy to be praised,
And I am (I)saved from my enemies.
4 The (J)cords of death encompassed me,
And the (K)torrents of vileness [c]terrified me.
5 The (L)cords of Sheol surrounded me;
The snares of death confronted me.
6 In my (M)distress I called upon Yahweh,
And cried to my God for help;
He heard my voice (N)out of 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 [d]out of His nostrils,
And (R)fire from His mouth devoured;
Coals were kindled by it.
9 He (S)bowed the heavens and came down
With thick (T)darkness under His feet.
10 He rode upon a (U)cherub and flew;
And He sped upon the (V)wings of the wind.
11 He made (W)darkness His hiding place, (X)His [e]canopy around Him,
Darkness of waters, thick clouds of the skies.
12 From the (Y)brightness before Him passed His thick clouds,
Hailstones and (Z)coals of fire.
13 Yahweh also (AA)thundered in the heavens,
And the Most High gave forth His voice,
Hailstones and coals of fire.
14 He (AB)sent out His arrows, and scattered them,
And lightning flashes in abundance, and [f]threw them into confusion.
15 Then the (AC)channels of water appeared,
And the foundations of the world were [g]laid bare
At Your (AD)rebuke, O Yahweh,
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)delivered 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)Yahweh was my support.
19 He brought me forth also into a (AL)broad place;
He rescued me, because (AM)He delighted in me.
20 Yahweh has (AN)rewarded me according to my righteousness;
According to the (AO)cleanness of my hands He has recompensed me.
21 For I have (AP)kept the ways of Yahweh,
And have (AQ)not wickedly departed from 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 iniquity.
24 Therefore Yahweh has (AV)recompensed me according to my righteousness,
According to the cleanness of my hands before His eyes.
25 With (AW)the [i]kind You show Yourself kind;
With the blameless (AX)You show 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 (BB)eyes which are lifted up, You bring down.
28 For You (BC)light my lamp;
Yahweh my God (BD)illumines my darkness.
29 For by You I can [k](BE)run upon a troop;
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 Yahweh is [m]tried;
He is a (BI)shield to all who take refuge in Him.
31 For (BJ)who is God, but Yahweh?
And who is a (BK)rock, except our God,
32 The God who (BL)girds me with strength
And [n]makes my way [o](BM)blameless?
33 He (BN)makes my feet like hinds’ feet,
And (BO)sets me upon 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 [p]gentleness makes me great.
36 You (BU)enlarge my steps under me,
And my (BV)ankles have not given way.
37 I (BW)pursued my enemies and overtook them,
And I did not turn back (BX)until they were consumed.
38 I crushed them, so that they were (BY)not able to rise;
They fell (BZ)under my feet.
39 For You have (CA)girded me with strength for battle;
You have [q](CB)subdued under me those who rose up against me.
40 [r]You have also made my enemies (CC)turn their backs to me,
And I [s](CD)destroyed those who hated me.
41 They cried for help, but there was (CE)none to save,
Even to Yahweh, but (CF)He did not answer them.
42 Then I beat them fine as the (CG)dust before the wind;
I emptied them out as the mire of the streets.
43 You have delivered 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 [t](CK)cower before me.
45 Foreigners (CL)fade away,
And (CM)come trembling out of their [u]fortresses.
46 Yahweh (CN)lives, and blessed be (CO)my rock;
And let (CP)the God of my salvation be lifted high,
47 The God who (CQ)executes vengeance for me,
And (CR)subdues peoples under me.
48 Who (CS)delivers me from my enemies;
Surely You (CT)lift me above those who rise up against me;
You rescue me from the (CU)violent man.
49 Therefore I will (CV)give thanks to You among the nations, O Yahweh,
And I will (CW)sing praises to Your name.
50 He gives great [v](CX)salvation to His king,
And shows lovingkindness to (CY)His anointed,
To David and (CZ)his seed forever.
David Becomes Saul’s Armor Bearer
14 (A)Now the Spirit of Yahweh departed from Saul, and (B)an evil spirit from Yahweh terrorized him. 15 Saul’s servants then said to him, “Behold now, an evil spirit from God is terrorizing you. 16 Let our lord now speak to your servants who are before you. Let them seek a man who is a skillful musician on the harp; and it shall be that when the evil spirit from God is on you, (C)he shall play the harp with his hand, and you will be well.” 17 So Saul said to his servants, “Provide for me now a man who can play well and bring him to me.” 18 Then one of the young men answered and said, “Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite who is a skillful musician, (D)a mighty man of valor, a warrior, one who is understanding in speech, and man of fine form; and (E)Yahweh is with him.” 19 So Saul sent messengers to Jesse and said, “Send me your son David who is with the flock.” 20 And Jesse (F)took a donkey loaded with bread and a wineskin of wine and a young goat and sent them to Saul by David his son. 21 Then David came to Saul and (G)stood before him; and [a]Saul loved him greatly, and he became his armor bearer. 22 So Saul sent to Jesse, saying, “Let David now stand before me, for he has found favor in my sight.” 23 Thus it happened that whenever (H)the evil spirit from God came to Saul, David would take the harp and play it with his hand; and Saul would be refreshed and be well, and the evil spirit would depart from him.
Goliath Challenges Israel
17 Now (I)the Philistines gathered their camps 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 But Saul and the men of Israel were gathered and camped in (M)the valley of Elah and arranged themselves for battle to meet the Philistines. 3 Now the Philistines stood on the mountain on one side while Israel stood on the mountain on the other side, with the valley between them. 4 Then a champion came out from the camps of the Philistines named (N)Goliath, from (O)Gath, whose height was [b]six cubits and a [c]span. 5 And he had a bronze helmet on his head, and he was clothed with scale-armor, and the weight of that scale-armor was five thousand [d]shekels of bronze. 6 He also had bronze [e]greaves on his legs and a (P)bronze [f]javelin slung between his shoulders. 7 (Q)And the shaft of his spear was like a weaver’s beam, and the head of his spear weighed six hundred shekels of iron; (R)his shield-carrier also walked before him. 8 And he stood and called out to the [g]battle lines of Israel and said to them, “Why do you come out to arrange yourselves for battle? Am I not the Philistine and you (S)slaves of Saul? Choose a man for yourselves and let him come down to me. 9 (T)If he is able to fight with me and strike me down, then we will become your slaves; but if I prevail against him and strike him down, then you shall become our slaves and serve us.” 10 Again the Philistine said, “(U)I openly [h]reproach the battle lines of Israel this day; give me a man that we may fight together.” 11 When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid.
17 Now while Peter was greatly perplexed in [a]mind as to what (A)the vision which he had seen might be, behold, (B)the men who had been sent by Cornelius, having asked directions for Simon’s house, appeared at the gate; 18 and calling out, they were asking whether Simon, who was also called Peter, was lodging there. 19 And while Peter was reflecting on (C)the vision, (D)the Spirit said to him, “Behold, [b]three men are looking for you. 20 But rise up, go down and (E)accompany them without taking issue at all, for I have sent them Myself.” 21 And 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 And they said, “Cornelius, a centurion, a righteous and (F)God-fearing man well spoken of by the entire nation of the Jews, (G)was directed by a (H)holy angel to summon you to his house and hear [c](I)a message from you.” 23 So he invited them in and gave them lodging.
Peter at Caesarea
And on the next day he rose up and went away with them, and (J)some of (K)the brothers from (L)Joppa went with him. 24 And on the following day he entered (M)Caesarea. Now Cornelius was waiting for them and had called together his relatives and close friends. 25 And when Peter entered, Cornelius met him, and fell at his feet and [d](N)worshiped him. 26 But Peter raised 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 how (Q)unlawful it is for a man who is a Jew to associate with a foreigner or to visit him; and yet (R)God has shown me that I should not call any man defiled or unclean. 29 That is why I came without even raising any objection when I was summoned. So I ask for what reason you have summoned me.”
30 And Cornelius said, “(S)Four days ago to this hour, I was praying in my house during (T)the [e]ninth hour; and behold, (U)a man stood before me in shining garments, 31 and he *said, ‘Cornelius, your prayer has been heard and your [f]alms have been remembered before God. 32 Therefore send to (V)Joppa and invite Simon, who is also called Peter, to come to you; he is lodging at the house of Simon the tanner by the sea.’ 33 So I sent for you immediately, and you have [g]been kind enough to come. Now then, we are all here present before God to hear all that you have been ordered by the Lord.”
Jesus Appears to His Disciples
36 Now while they were telling these things, (A)He Himself stood in their midst and *said to them, “Peace to you.” 37 But being startled and frightened, they were thinking that they were seeing (B)a spirit. 38 And He said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your [a]hearts? 39 (C)See My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself; (D)touch Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” 40 And when He had said this, He showed them His hands and His feet. 41 And while they still (E)were not believing because of their joy and were still marveling, He said to them, “(F)Have you anything here to eat?” 42 They gave Him a piece of a broiled fish, 43 and He took it and (G)ate it before 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 things which 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 [b]minds to understand the Scriptures, 46 and He said to them, “(L)Thus it is written, that the [c]Christ would suffer and (M)rise again from the dead the third day, 47 and that (N)repentance [d]for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed [e]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 lifting up His hands, He blessed them. 51 And it happened that 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 blessing God.
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