Book of Common Prayer

God the Judge of the Righteous and the Wicked.

A Psalm of ^[a]Asaph.

Prayer for Deliverance from Enemies.

For the choir director; set to ^[a]Al-tashheth. A ^[b]Mikhtam of David, ^[c]when Saul sent men and they watched the house in order to kill him.

Lament over Defeat in Battle, and Prayer for Help.

For the choir director; according to ^[y]Shushan Eduth. A ^[z]Mikhtam of David, to teach; ^[aa]when he struggled with Aram-naharaim and with Aram-zobah, and Joab returned, and smote twelve thousand of Edom in the Valley of Salt.

Praise for God’s Mighty Deeds and for His Answer to Prayer.

For the choir director. A Song. A Psalm.

The Nations Exhorted to Praise God.

For the choir director; with stringed instruments. A Psalm. A Song.

³ Now ^(A)Samuel was dead, and all Israel had lamented him and buried him ^(B)in Ramah, his own city. And Saul had removed from the land those who ^(C)were mediums and spiritists. ⁴ So the Philistines gathered together and came and camped ^(D)in Shunem; and Saul gathered all Israel together and they camped in ^(E)Gilboa. ⁵ When Saul saw the camp of the Philistines, he was afraid and his heart trembled greatly. ^6 (F)When Saul inquired of the Lord, ^(G)the Lord did not answer him, either by ^(H)dreams or by ^(I)Urim or by prophets. ⁷ Then Saul said to his servants, “Seek for me a woman who is a medium, that I may go to her and inquire of her.” And his servants said to him, “Behold, ^(J)there is a woman who is a medium at ^(K)En-dor.”

⁸ Then Saul ^(L)disguised himself by putting on other clothes, and went, he and two men with him, and they came to the woman by night; and he said, “^(M)Conjure up for me, please, and ^(N)bring up for me whom I shall ^[a]name to you.” ⁹ But the woman said to him, “Behold, you know ^(O)what Saul has done, how he has cut off those who are mediums and spiritists from the land. Why are you then laying a snare for my life to bring about my death?” ¹⁰ Saul vowed to her by the Lord, saying, “As the Lord lives, no punishment shall come upon you for this thing.” ¹¹ Then the woman said, “Whom shall I bring up for you?” And he said, “Bring up Samuel for me.” ¹² When the woman saw Samuel, she cried out with a loud voice; and the woman spoke to Saul, saying, “Why have you deceived me? For you are Saul.” ¹³ The king said to her, “Do not be afraid; but what do you see?” And the woman said to Saul, “I see a ^[b]divine being coming up out of the earth.” ¹⁴ He said to her, “What is his form?” And she said, “An old man is coming up, and ^(P)he is wrapped with a robe.” And Saul knew that it was Samuel, and ^(Q)he bowed with his face to the ground and did homage.

¹⁵ Then Samuel said to Saul, “Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?” And Saul answered, “I am greatly distressed; for the Philistines are waging war against me, and ^(R)God has departed from me and ^(S)no longer answers me, either through prophets or by dreams; therefore I have called you, that you may make known to me what I should do.” ¹⁶ Samuel said, “Why then do you ask me, since the Lord has departed from you and has become your adversary? ¹⁷ The Lord has done ^[c]accordingly ^(T)as He spoke through me; for the Lord has torn the kingdom out of your hand and given it to your neighbor, to David. ¹⁸ As ^(U)you did not ^[d]obey the Lord and did not execute His fierce wrath on Amalek, so the Lord has done this thing to you this day. ¹⁹ Moreover the Lord will also give over Israel along with you into the hands of the Philistines, therefore tomorrow ^(V)you and your sons will be with me. Indeed the Lord will give over the army of Israel into the hands of the Philistines!”

²⁰ Then Saul immediately fell full length upon the ground and was very afraid because of the words of Samuel; also there was no strength in him, for he had eaten no ^[e]food all day and all night.

The Council at Jerusalem

15 ^(A)Some men came down from Judea and began teaching ^(B)the brethren, “Unless you are ^(C)circumcised according to ^(D)the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.” ² And when Paul and Barnabas had ^[a]great dissension and ^(E)debate with them, ^(F)the brethren determined that Paul and Barnabas and some others of them should go up to Jerusalem to the ^(G)apostles and elders concerning this issue. ³ Therefore, being ^(H)sent on their way by the church, they were passing through both ^(I)Phoenicia and Samaria, ^(J)describing in detail the conversion of the Gentiles, and were bringing great joy to all ^(K)the brethren. ⁴ When they arrived at Jerusalem, they were received by the church and ^(L)the apostles and the elders, and they ^(M)reported all that God had done with them. ⁵ But some of ^(N)the sect of the ^(O)Pharisees who had believed stood up, saying, “It is necessary to ^(P)circumcise them and to direct them to observe the Law of Moses.”

^6 (Q)The apostles and the elders came together to ^[b]look into this ^[c]matter. ⁷ After there had been much ^(R)debate, Peter stood up and said to them, “Brethren, you know that ^[d]in the early days ^(S)God made a choice among you, that by my mouth the Gentiles would hear the word of ^(T)the gospel and believe. ⁸ And God, ^(U)who knows the heart, testified to them ^(V)giving them the Holy Spirit, just as He also did to us; ⁹ and ^(W)He made no distinction between us and them, ^(X)cleansing their hearts by faith. ¹⁰ Now therefore why do you ^(Y)put God to the test by placing upon the neck of the disciples a yoke which ^(Z)neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear? ¹¹ But we believe that we are saved through ^(AA)the grace of the Lord Jesus, in the same way as they also are.”

The Gerasene Demoniac

5 ^(A)They came to the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gerasenes. ² When He got out of ^(B)the boat, immediately a man from the tombs ^(C)with an unclean spirit met Him, ³ and he had his dwelling among the tombs. And no one was able to bind him anymore, even with a chain; ⁴ because he had often been bound with shackles and chains, and the chains had been torn apart by him and the shackles broken in pieces, and no one was strong enough to subdue him. ⁵ Constantly, night and day, he was screaming among the tombs and in the mountains, and gashing himself with stones. ⁶ Seeing Jesus from a distance, he ran up and bowed down before Him; ⁷ and shouting with a loud voice, he *said, “^[a](D)What business do we have with each other, Jesus, ^(E)Son of ^(F)the Most High God? I implore You by God, do not torment me!” ⁸ For He had been saying to him, “Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!” ⁹ And He was asking him, “What is your name?” And he *said to Him, “My name is ^(G)Legion; for we are many.” ¹⁰ And he began to implore Him earnestly not to send them out of the country. ¹¹ Now there was a large herd of swine feeding ^[b]nearby on the mountain. ¹² The demons implored Him, saying, “Send us into the swine so that we may enter them.” ¹³ Jesus gave them permission. And coming out, the unclean spirits entered the swine; and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea, about two thousand of them; and they were drowned in the sea.

¹⁴ Their herdsmen ran away and reported it in the city and in the country. And the people came to see what it was that had happened. ¹⁵ They *came to Jesus and *observed the man who had been ^(H)demon-possessed sitting down, ^(I)clothed and ^(J)in his right mind, the very man who had had the “^(K)legion”; and they became frightened. ¹⁶ Those who had seen it described to them how it had happened to the ^(L)demon-possessed man, and all about the swine. ¹⁷ And they began to ^(M)implore Him to leave their region. ^18 (N)As He was getting into the boat, the man who had been ^(O)demon-possessed was imploring Him that he might ^[c]accompany Him. ¹⁹ And He did not let him, but He *said to him, “^(P)Go home to your people and report to them ^[d]what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He had mercy on you.” ²⁰ And he went away and began to ^(Q)proclaim in ^(R)Decapolis ^[e]what great things Jesus had done for him; and everyone was amazed.