Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 18[a]
For the music director, by the Lord’s servant David, who sang[b] to the Lord the words of this song when[c] the Lord rescued him from the power[d] of all his enemies, including Saul.[e]
18 He said:[f]
“I love[g] you, Lord, my source of strength![h]
2 The Lord is my high ridge,[i] my stronghold,[j] my deliverer.
My God is my rocky summit where[k] I take shelter,[l]
my shield, the horn that saves me,[m] and my refuge.[n]
3 I called[o] to the Lord, who is worthy of praise,[p]
and I was delivered from my enemies.
4 The waves[q] of death engulfed me,
the currents[r] of chaos[s] overwhelmed me.[t]
5 The ropes of Sheol tightened around me,[u]
the snares of death trapped me.[v]
6 In my distress I called to the Lord;
I cried out to my God.[w]
From his heavenly temple[x] he heard my voice;
he listened to my cry for help.[y]
7 The earth heaved and shook.[z]
The roots of the mountains[aa] trembled;[ab]
they heaved because he was angry.
8 Smoke ascended from[ac] his nose;[ad]
fire devoured as it came from his mouth.[ae]
He hurled down fiery coals.[af]
9 He made the sky sink[ag] as he descended;
a thick cloud was under his feet.
10 He mounted[ah] a winged angel[ai] and flew;
he glided[aj] on the wings of the wind.[ak]
11 He shrouded himself in darkness,[al]
in thick rain clouds.[am]
12 From the brightness in front of him came
hail and fiery coals.[an]
13 The Lord thundered[ao] in[ap] the sky;
the Most High[aq] shouted.[ar]
14 He shot his[as] arrows and scattered them,[at]
many lightning bolts[au] and routed them.[av]
15 The depths[aw] of the sea[ax] were exposed;
the inner regions[ay] of the world were uncovered
by[az] your battle cry,[ba] Lord,
by the powerful breath from your nose.[bb]
16 He reached down[bc] from above and took hold of me;
he pulled me from the surging water.[bd]
17 He rescued me from my strong enemy,[be]
from those who hate me,
for they were too strong for me.
18 They confronted[bf] me in my day of calamity,
but the Lord helped me.[bg]
19 He brought me out into a wide open place;
he delivered me because he was pleased with me.[bh]
20 The Lord repaid[bi] me for my godly deeds;[bj]
he rewarded[bk] my blameless behavior.[bl]
21 For I have obeyed the Lord’s commands;[bm]
I have not rebelled against my God.[bn]
22 For I am aware of all his regulations,[bo]
and I do not reject his rules.[bp]
23 I was innocent before him,
and kept myself from sinning.[bq]
24 The Lord rewarded me for my godly deeds;[br]
he took notice of my blameless behavior.[bs]
25 You prove to be loyal[bt] to one who is faithful;[bu]
you prove to be trustworthy[bv] to one who is innocent.[bw]
26 You prove to be reliable[bx] to one who is blameless,
but you prove to be deceptive[by] to one who is perverse.[bz]
27 For you deliver oppressed[ca] people,
but you bring down those who have a proud look.[cb]
28 Indeed,[cc] you light my lamp, Lord.[cd]
My God[ce] illuminates the darkness around me.[cf]
29 Indeed,[cg] with your help[ch] I can charge against[ci] an army;[cj]
by my God’s power[ck] I can jump over a wall.[cl]
30 The one true God acts in a faithful manner;[cm]
the Lord’s promise[cn] is reliable.[co]
He is a shield to all who take shelter[cp] in him.
31 Indeed,[cq] who is God besides the Lord?
Who is a protector[cr] besides our God?[cs]
32 The one true God[ct] gives[cu] me strength;[cv]
he removes[cw] the obstacles in my way.[cx]
33 He gives me the agility of a deer;[cy]
he enables me to negotiate the rugged terrain.[cz]
34 He trains my hands for battle;[da]
my arms can bend even the strongest bow.[db]
35 You give me your protective shield;[dc]
your right hand supports me.[dd]
Your willingness to help[de] enables me to prevail.[df]
36 You widen my path;[dg]
my feet[dh] do not slip.
37 I chase my enemies and catch[di] them;
I do not turn back until I wipe them out.
38 I beat them[dj] to death;[dk]
they fall at my feet.[dl]
39 You give me strength[dm] for battle;
you make my foes kneel before me.[dn]
40 You make my enemies retreat;[do]
I destroy those who hate me.[dp]
41 They cry out, but there is no one to help them;[dq]
they cry out to the Lord,[dr] but he does not answer them.
42 I grind them as fine windblown dust;[ds]
I beat them underfoot[dt] like clay[du] in the streets.
43 You rescue me from a hostile army.[dv]
You make me[dw] a leader of nations;
people over whom I had no authority are now my subjects.[dx]
44 When they hear of my exploits, they submit to me.[dy]
Foreigners are powerless[dz] before me.
45 Foreigners lose their courage;[ea]
they shake with fear[eb] as they leave[ec] their strongholds.[ed]
46 The Lord is alive![ee]
My Protector[ef] is praiseworthy.[eg]
The God who delivers me[eh] is exalted as king.[ei]
47 The one true God[ej] completely vindicates me;[ek]
he makes nations submit to me.[el]
48 He delivers me[em] from my enemies.
You snatch me away[en] from those who attack me;[eo]
you rescue me from violent men.
49 So I will give you thanks before the nations,[ep] O Lord.
I will sing praises to you.[eq]
50 He[er] gives his king magnificent victories;[es]
he is faithful[et] to his chosen ruler,[eu]
to David and his descendants[ev] forever.”[ew]
Instructions to the Transjordanian Tribes
18 At that time I instructed you as follows: “The Lord your God has given you this land for your possession. You warriors are to cross over equipped for battle before your fellow Israelites.[a] 19 But your wives, children, and livestock (of which I know you have many) may remain in the cities I have given you. 20 You must fight[b] until the Lord gives your countrymen victory[c] as he did you and they take possession of the land that the Lord your God is giving them on the other side of the Jordan River. Then each of you may return to his own territory that I have given you.” 21 I also commanded Joshua at the same time, “You have seen everything the Lord your God did to these two kings; he[d] will do the same to all the kingdoms where you are going.[e] 22 Do not be afraid of them, for the Lord your God will personally fight for you.”
Denial to Moses of the Promised Land
23 Moreover, at that time I pleaded with the Lord, 24 “O, Sovereign Lord,[f] you have begun to show me[g] your greatness and strength.[h] (What god in heaven or earth can rival your works and mighty deeds?) 25 Let me please cross over to see the good land on the other side of the Jordan River—this good hill country and the Lebanon!”[i] 26 But the Lord was angry at me because of you and would not listen to me. Instead, he[j] said to me, “Enough of that![k] Do not speak to me anymore about this matter. 27 Go up to the top of Pisgah and take a good look to the west, north, south, and east,[l] for you will not be allowed to cross the Jordan. 28 Commission[m] Joshua, and encourage and strengthen him, because he will lead these people over and will enable them to inherit the land you will see.”
19 You will say to me then, “Why does he still find fault? For who has ever resisted his will?” 20 But who indeed are you—a mere human being[a]—to talk back to God?[b] Does what is molded say to the molder, “Why have you made me like this?”[c] 21 Has the potter no right to make from the same lump of clay[d] one vessel for special use and another for ordinary use?[e] 22 But what if God, willing to demonstrate his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience the objects[f] of wrath[g] prepared for destruction?[h] 23 And what if he is willing to make known the wealth of his glory on the objects[i] of mercy that he has prepared beforehand for glory— 24 even us, whom he has called, not only from the Jews but also from the Gentiles? 25 As he also says in Hosea:
“I will call those who were not my people, ‘My people,’ and I will call her who was unloved,[j] ‘My beloved.’”[k]
26 “And in the very place[l] where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,’
there they will be called ‘sons of the living God.’”[m]
27 And Isaiah cries out on behalf of Israel, “Though the number of the children[n] of Israel are as the sand of the sea, only the remnant will be saved, 28 for the Lord will execute his sentence on the earth completely and quickly.”[o] 29 Just[p] as Isaiah predicted,
“If the Lord of Heaven’s Armies[q] had not left us descendants,
we would have become like Sodom,
and we would have resembled Gomorrah.”[r]
Israel’s Rejection Culpable
30 What shall we say then?—that the Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness obtained it, that is, a righteousness that is by faith, 31 but Israel even though pursuing[s] a law of righteousness[t] did not attain it.[u] 32 Why not? Because they pursued[v] it not by faith but (as if it were possible) by works.[w] They stumbled over the stumbling stone,[x] 33 just as it is written,
The Destruction of the Temple
24 Now[a] as Jesus was going out of the temple courts and walking away, his disciples came to show him the temple buildings.[b] 2 And he said to them,[c] “Do you see all these things? I tell you the truth,[d] not one stone will be left on another.[e] All will be torn down!”[f]
Signs of the End of the Age
3 As[g] he was sitting on the Mount of Olives, his disciples came to him privately and said, “Tell us, when will these things[h] happen? And what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” 4 Jesus answered them,[i] “Watch out[j] that no one misleads you. 5 For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’[k] and they will mislead many. 6 You will hear of wars and rumors of wars. Make sure that you are not alarmed, for this must happen, but the end is still to come.[l] 7 For nation will rise up in arms[m] against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines and earthquakes[n] in various places.[o] 8 All[p] these things are the beginning of birth pains.
Persecution of Disciples
9 “Then they will hand you over to be persecuted and will kill you. You will be hated by all the nations[q] because of my name.[r] 10 Then many will be led into sin,[s] and they will betray one another and hate one another. 11 And many false prophets will appear and deceive[t] many, 12 and because lawlessness will increase so much, the love of many will grow cold. 13 But the person who endures to the end will be saved.[u] 14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached throughout the whole inhabited earth as a testimony to all the nations,[v] and then the end will come.
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