Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 18(A)
For the Music Director. A Psalm of David the servant of the Lord. He spoke to the Lord the words of this song on the day that the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul. He said:
1 I love You, O Lord, my strength.
2 The Lord is my pillar, and my fortress, and my deliverer;
my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge;
my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower.
3 I will call on the Lord, who is worthy to be praised,
and I will be saved from my enemies.
4 The cords of death encircled me,
and the torrents of destruction terrified me.
5 The cords of Sheol surrounded me;
the snares of death confronted me.
6 In my distress I called on the Lord,
and cried for help to my God;
He heard my voice from His temple,
and my cry for help came before Him to His ears.
7 Then the earth shook and quaked;
the foundations of the hills also moved;
they reeled because His anger burned.
8 Smoke went up out of His nostrils,
and fire from His mouth devoured;
coals were kindled by it.
9 He bent the heavens and came down,
and darkness was under His feet.
10 He rode on a cherub, and flew;
He flew swiftly on the wings of the wind.
11 He made darkness His secret place;
His pavilion was surrounding Him,
dark waters and thick clouds of the skies.
12 At the brightness before Him His thick clouds passed by,
hailstones and coals of fire.
13 The Lord also thundered in the heavens,
and the Most High gave His voice,
hailstones and coals of fire.
14 He sent out His arrows and scattered them,
and He shot out lightning and distressed them.
15 Then the channels of waters appeared,
and the foundations of the world were discovered
at Your rebuke, O Lord,
at the blast of the breath of Your nostrils.
16 He sent from above, He took me;
He drew me out of many waters.
17 He delivered me from my strong enemy,
and from those who hated me,
for they were too strong for me.
18 They confronted me in the day of my calamity,
but the Lord was my support.
19 He also brought me forth into a large place;
He delivered me because He delighted in me.
20 The Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness;
according to the cleanness of my hands He has repaid me.
21 For I have kept the ways of the Lord,
and have not wickedly departed from my God.
22 For all His judgments were before me,
and I did not put away His statutes from me.
23 I was also upright before Him,
and I kept myself from my iniquity.
24 Therefore the Lord has repaid me according to my righteousness,
according to the cleanness of my hands in His view.
25 With the merciful You will show Yourself merciful;
with the blameless man You will show Yourself blameless;
26 with the pure You will show Yourself pure;
and with the crooked You will show Yourself crooked.
27 For You will save the afflicted people,
but will bring down prideful eyes.
28 For You will cause my lamp to shine;
the Lord my God will enlighten my darkness.
29 For by You I can run through a troop,
and by my God I can leap a wall.
30 As for God, His way has integrity;
the word of the Lord is proven;
He is a shield
to all those who take refuge in Him.
31 For who is God except the Lord?
Or who is a rock besides our God?
32 It is God who clothes me with strength,
and gives my way integrity.
33 He makes my feet like the feet of a deer,
and causes me to stand on my high places.
34 He trains my hands for war,
so that my arms bend a bow of bronze.
35 You have given me the shield of Your salvation,
and Your right hand has held me up,
and Your gentleness has made me great.
36 You have lengthened my stride under me,
so that my feet did not slip.
37 I pursued my enemies and overtook them;
I did not return until they were destroyed.
38 I wounded them, and they were not able to rise;
they are fallen under my feet.
39 For You clothed me with strength for the battle;
You subdued under me those who rose up against me.
40 You gave me the necks of my enemies,
and I destroyed those who hate me.
41 They cried for help, but there was none to save them;
even to the Lord, but He did not answer them.
42 Then I beat them small as the dust before the wind;
I cast them out as the dirt in the streets.
43 You have delivered me from the hostilities of the people,
and You have made me the head of nations;
a people whom I have not known serve me.
44 At hearing a report, they obey me;
foreigners come cringing to me.
45 Foreigners fade away,
and come quaking out of their prisons.
46 The Lord lives! And blessed be my Rock!
May the God of my salvation be exalted.
47 It is God who avenges me
and subdues the people under me;
48 He delivers me from my enemies.
You lift me up above those who rise up against me;
You have delivered me from the violent man.
49 Therefore I will give thanks to You, O Lord, among the nations,
and sing praises to Your name.
50 He gives great deliverance to His king,
and shows lovingkindness to His anointed,
to David and to his descendants for evermore.
David Serves Saul
14 Now the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul and an evil spirit from the Lord terrified him.
15 So the servants of Saul said to him, “See, an evil spirit from God troubles you. 16 Let our lord now tell your servants, who are before you, that they might seek out a man experienced in playing the lyre. And it will come to pass, when the evil spirit from God is on you, that he will play with his hand, and you will be well.”
17 Saul said to his servants, “Find me now a man that can play well, and bring him to me.”
18 Then one from the servants answered, and said, “I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, who is experienced in playing music, a mighty man of valor, a man of battle, and skillful in words, even a man of fine appearance. And the Lord is with him.”
19 Therefore Saul sent messengers to Jesse, and said, “Send me David your son, who is with the sheep.” 20 Jesse took a donkey laden with bread, a bottle of wine, and a young goat and he sent them with his son David to Saul.
21 David came to Saul, and stood before him. And Saul loved him greatly and he became his armor bearer. 22 Saul sent to Jesse, saying, “Let David stand before me, for he has found favor in my sight.”
23 It happened that when the evil spirit from God came on Saul, David would take the lyre in his hand and play. So Saul was refreshed and was well, and the evil spirit departed from him.
David and Goliath
17 Now the Philistines gathered their armies for battle, and were gathered at Sokoh, which belongs to Judah. And they camped between Sokoh and Azekah in Ephes Dammim. 2 Saul and Israel’s fighting men were gathered, and they camped in the Valley of Elah. And they drew up in battle order to meet the Philistines. 3 Now the Philistines were standing at the base of the mountain on the one side, and Israel was standing at the base of the mountain on the other side, and the valley was between them.
4 There went out a champion from the camp of the Philistines, Goliath was his name, from Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span.[a] 5 He had a helmet of bronze on his head, and he was armed with a coat of mail. Now the weight of the bronze coat was five thousand shekels.[b] 6 He had greaves of bronze on his legs and a bronze javelin between his shoulders. 7 The staff of his spear was like a weaver’s beam. His iron spearhead weighed six hundred shekels.[c] And a shield-bearer was walking before him.
8 He stood and called out to the ranks of Israel, “Why have you come out to line up for battle? Am not I the Philistine, and you the servants of Saul? Choose for yourselves a man and let him come down to me. 9 If he is able to fight with me and to strike me down, then we will be your servants. But if I prevail against him and strike him down, then you will be our servants and will serve us.” 10 The Philistine said, “I defy the battle lines of Israel this day. Give me a man, and let us fight together.” 11 When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were filled with terror and were greatly afraid.
17 Now while Peter wondered what this vision which he had seen might mean, the men who were sent by Cornelius had inquired for Simon’s house and stood at the gate, 18 and called and asked whether Simon, who was surnamed Peter, was lodging there.
19 While Peter thought about the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Three men are looking for you. 20 So rise and go down, and go with them, doubting nothing. For I have sent them.”
21 Then Peter went down to the men who were sent to him by Cornelius and said, “Here I am, the one you are seeking. Why have you come?”
22 They said, “Cornelius, a centurion, a man who is righteous and fears God and is of good report throughout the nation of the Jews, was directed by a holy angel to summon you to his house to hear your words.” 23 Then he invited them in and gave them lodging.
The next day Peter went with them, and some brothers from Joppa accompanied him. 24 And the next day they entered Caesarea. Cornelius was waiting for them and had called together his relatives and close friends. 25 As Peter entered the house, Cornelius met him and fell down at his feet and worshipped him. 26 But Peter lifted him up, saying, “Stand up. I myself am a man.”
27 As he talked with him, he went in and found many who had come together. 28 He said to them, “You know how unlawful it is for a Jew to visit or approach a foreigner. But God has shown me not to call any man common or unclean. 29 So when I was sent for, I came without question. Therefore I ask why you have sent for me.”
30 Cornelius said, “Four days ago I was fasting until this hour. At the ninth hour I prayed in my house, and suddenly a man stood before me in bright clothing, 31 and said, ‘Cornelius, your prayer has been heard, and your alms are remembered before God. 32 Therefore send to Joppa for Simon, whose surname is Peter. He is lodging in the house of Simon, a tanner, by the sea. When he comes, he will speak to you.’ 33 So immediately I sent for you, and you have done well to come. Now therefore we are all here, present before God, to hear everything the Lord has commanded you.”
The Appearance to the Disciples(A)
36 As they were saying this, Jesus Himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be unto you.”
37 They were terrified and frightened, and supposed that they saw a spirit. 38 He said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? 39 See My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself. Feel Me and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.”
40 When He said this, He showed them His hands and His feet. 41 And while they yet disbelieved for joy and wondered, He said to them, “Do you have any food here?” 42 They gave Him a piece of broiled fish and some honeycomb. 43 And He took it and ate it before them.
44 He said to them, “These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and in the Prophets and in the Psalms concerning Me.”
45 Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures. 46 He said to them, “Thus it is written, and accordingly it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, 47 and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things. 49 And look, I am sending the promise of My Father upon you. But wait in the city of Jerusalem until you are clothed with power from on high.”
The Ascension(B)
50 Then He led them out as far as Bethany, and He lifted up His hands and blessed them. 51 While He blessed them, He parted from them and was carried up into heaven. 52 Then they worshipped Him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, 53 and were continually in the temple, praising and blessing God. Amen.
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.