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]
David Appears before Saul
14 Now the Spirit of the Lord had turned away from Saul, and an evil spirit[a] from the Lord tormented him. 15 Then Saul’s servants said to him, “Look, an evil spirit from God is tormenting you. 16 Let our lord instruct his servants who are here before you to look for a man who knows how to play the lyre. Then whenever the evil spirit from God comes upon you, he can play the lyre[b] and you will feel better.”[c] 17 So Saul said to his servants, “Find[d] me a man who plays well and bring him to me.” 18 One of his attendants replied,[e] “I have seen a son of Jesse in Bethlehem who knows how to play the lyre. He is a brave warrior[f] and is articulate[g] and handsome,[h] for the Lord is with him.”
19 So Saul sent messengers to Jesse and said, “Send me your son David, who is out with the sheep.” 20 So Jesse took a donkey loaded with bread, a container of wine, and a young goat[i] and sent them to Saul with[j] his son David. 21 David came to Saul and stood before him. Saul liked him a great deal,[k] and he became his armor-bearer. 22 Then Saul sent word to Jesse saying, “Let David be my servant, for I am very pleased with him.”[l]
23 So whenever the spirit from God would come upon Saul, David would take his lyre and play it. This would bring relief to Saul and make him feel better. Then the evil spirit would leave him alone.[m]
David Kills Goliath
17 [n] The Philistines gathered their troops[o] for battle. They assembled at Socoh in Judah. They camped in Ephes Dammim, between Socoh and Azekah. 2 Saul and the Israelite army[p] assembled and camped in the valley of Elah, where they arranged their battle lines to fight against[q] the Philistines. 3 The Philistines were standing on one hill, and the Israelites[r] on another hill, with the valley between them.
4 Then a champion[s] came out from the camp of the Philistines. His name was Goliath; he was from Gath. He was close to seven feet tall.[t] 5 He had a bronze helmet on his head and was wearing scale body armor. The weight of his bronze body armor was 5,000 shekels.[u] 6 He had bronze shin guards[v] on his legs, and a bronze javelin was slung over his shoulders. 7 The shaft[w] of his spear was like a weaver’s beam, and the iron point of his spear weighed 600 shekels.[x] His shield bearer was walking before him.
8 Goliath[y] stood and called to Israel’s troops,[z] “Why do you come out to prepare for battle? Am I not the Philistine, and are you not the servants of Saul? Choose[aa] for yourselves a man so he may come down[ab] to me! 9 If he is able to fight with me and strike me down, we will become your servants. But if I prevail against him and strike him down, you will become our servants and will serve us.” 10 Then the Philistine said, “I defy Israel’s troops this day! Give me a man so we can fight[ac] each other!” 11 When Saul and all the Israelites[ad] heard these words of the Philistine, they were upset and very afraid.
17 Now while Peter was puzzling over[a] what the vision he had seen could signify, the men sent by Cornelius had learned where Simon’s house was[b] and approached[c] the gate. 18 They[d] called out to ask if Simon, known as Peter,[e] was staying there as a guest. 19 While Peter was still thinking seriously about[f] the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Look! Three men are looking for you. 20 But get up,[g] go down, and accompany them without hesitation,[h] because I have sent them.” 21 So Peter went down[i] to the men and said, “Here I am,[j] the person you’re looking for. Why have you come?” 22 They said, “Cornelius the centurion,[k] a righteous[l] and God-fearing man, well spoken of by the whole Jewish nation,[m] was directed by a holy angel to summon you to his house and to hear a message[n] from you.” 23 So Peter[o] invited them in and entertained them as guests.
On the next day he got up and set out[p] with them, and some of the brothers from Joppa[q] accompanied him. 24 The following day[r] he entered Caesarea.[s] Now Cornelius was waiting anxiously[t] for them and had called together his relatives and close friends. 25 So when[u] Peter came in, Cornelius met[v] him, fell[w] at his feet, and worshiped[x] him. 26 But Peter helped him up,[y] saying, “Stand up. I too am a mere mortal.”[z] 27 Peter[aa] continued talking with him as he went in, and he found many people gathered together.[ab] 28 He said to them, “You know that[ac] it is unlawful[ad] for a Jew[ae] to associate with or visit a Gentile,[af] yet God has shown me that I should call no person[ag] defiled or ritually unclean.[ah] 29 Therefore when you sent for me,[ai] I came without any objection. Now may I ask why[aj] you sent for me?” 30 Cornelius[ak] replied,[al] “Four days ago at this very hour, at three o’clock in the afternoon,[am] I was praying in my house, and suddenly[an] a man in shining clothing stood before me 31 and said, ‘Cornelius, your prayer has been heard and your acts of charity[ao] have been remembered before God.[ap] 32 Therefore send to Joppa and summon Simon, who is called Peter. This man is staying as a guest in the house of Simon the tanner,[aq] by the sea.’ 33 Therefore I sent for you at once, and you were kind enough to come.[ar] So now we are all here in the presence of God[as] to listen[at] to everything the Lord has commanded you to say to us.”[au]
Jesus Makes a Final Appearance
36 While they were saying these things, Jesus[a] himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.”[b] 37 But they were startled and terrified, thinking[c] they saw a ghost.[d] 38 Then[e] he said to them, “Why are you frightened,[f] and why do doubts[g] arise in your hearts? 39 Look at my hands and my feet; it’s me![h] Touch me and see; a ghost[i] does not have flesh and bones like you see I have.” 40 When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet.[j] 41 And while they still could not believe it[k] (because of their joy) and were amazed,[l] he said to them, “Do you have anything here to eat?”[m] 42 So[n] they gave him a piece of broiled fish, 43 and he took it and ate it in front of them.
Jesus’ Final Commission
44 Then[o] he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me[p] in the law of Moses and the prophets and the psalms[q] must be fulfilled.” 45 Then he opened their minds so they could understand the scriptures,[r] 46 and said to them, “Thus it stands written that the Christ[s] would suffer[t] and would rise from the dead on the third day, 47 and repentance[u] for the forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed[v] in his name to all nations,[w] beginning from Jerusalem.[x] 48 You are witnesses[y] of these things. 49 And look, I am sending you[z] what my Father promised.[aa] But stay in the city[ab] until you have been clothed with power[ac] from on high.”
Jesus’ Departure
50 Then[ad] Jesus[ae] led them out as far as Bethany,[af] and lifting up his hands, he blessed them. 51 Now[ag] during the blessing[ah] he departed[ai] and was taken up into heaven.[aj] 52 So[ak] they worshiped[al] him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy,[am] 53 and were continually in the temple courts[an] blessing[ao] God.[ap]
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