Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 20[a]
For the music director, a psalm of David.
20 May the Lord answer[b] you[c] when you are in trouble;[d]
may the God of Jacob[e] make you secure.
2 May he send you help from his temple;[f]
from Zion may he give you support.
3 May he take notice of[g] all your offerings;
may he accept[h] your burnt sacrifice. (Selah)
4 May he grant your heart’s desire;[i]
may he bring all your plans to pass.[j]
5 Then we will shout for joy over your[k] victory;
we will rejoice[l] in the name of our God.
May the Lord grant all your requests.
6 Now I am sure[m] that the Lord will deliver[n] his chosen king;[o]
he will intervene for him[p] from his holy, heavenly temple,[q]
and display his mighty ability to deliver.[r]
7 Some trust in chariots and others in horses,[s]
but we[t] depend on[u] the Lord our God.
8 They will fall down,[v]
but we[w] will stand firm.[x]
9 The Lord will deliver the king;[y]
he will answer us[z] when we call to him for help![aa]
Psalm 21[ab]
For the music director, a psalm of David.
21 O Lord, the king rejoices in the strength you give;[ac]
he takes great delight in the deliverance you provide.[ad]
2 You grant[ae] him his heart’s desire;
you do not refuse his request.[af] (Selah)
3 For you bring him[ag] rich[ah] blessings;[ai]
you place a golden crown on his head.
4 He asked you to sustain his life,[aj]
and you have granted him long life and an enduring dynasty.[ak]
5 Your deliverance brings him great honor;[al]
you give him majestic splendor.[am]
6 For you grant him lasting blessings;
you give him great joy by allowing him into your presence.[an]
7 For the king trusts[ao] in the Lord,
and because of the Most High’s[ap] faithfulness he is not shaken.[aq]
8 You[ar] prevail over[as] all your enemies;
your power is too great for those who hate you.[at]
9 You burn them up like a fiery furnace[au] when you appear.[av]
The Lord angrily devours them;[aw]
the fire consumes them.
10 You destroy their offspring[ax] from the earth,
their descendants[ay] from among the human race.[az]
11 Yes,[ba] they intend to do you harm;[bb]
they dream up a scheme,[bc] but they do not succeed.[bd]
12 For you make them retreat[be]
when you aim your arrows at them.[bf]
13 Rise up, O Lord, in strength![bg]
We will sing and praise[bh] your power.
Psalm 110[a]
A psalm of David.
110 Here is the Lord’s proclamation[b] to my lord:[c]
“Sit down at my right hand[d] until I make your enemies your footstool.”[e]
2 The Lord[f] extends[g] your dominion[h] from Zion.
Rule in the midst of your enemies.
3 Your people willingly follow you[i] when you go into battle.[j]
On the holy hills[k] at sunrise[l] the dew of your youth[m] belongs to you.[n]
4 The Lord makes this promise on oath[o] and will not revoke it:[p]
“You are an eternal priest[q] after the pattern of[r] Melchizedek.”[s]
5 O Lord,[t] at your right hand
he strikes down[u] kings in the day he unleashes his anger.[v]
6 He executes judgment[w] against[x] the nations.
He fills the valleys with corpses;[y]
he shatters their heads over the vast battlefield.[z]
7 From the stream along the road he drinks;
then he lifts up his head.[aa]
Psalm 116[a]
116 I love the Lord
because he heard my plea for mercy,[b]
2 and listened to me.[c]
As long as I live, I will call to him when I need help.[d]
3 The ropes of death tightened around me,[e]
the snares[f] of Sheol confronted me.
I was confronted[g] with trouble and sorrow.
4 I called on the name of the Lord,
“Please, Lord, rescue my life!”
5 The Lord is merciful and fair;
our God is compassionate.
6 The Lord protects[h] the untrained;[i]
I was in serious trouble[j] and he delivered me.
7 Rest once more, my soul,[k]
for the Lord has vindicated you.[l]
8 Yes,[m] Lord,[n] you rescued my life from death,
kept my eyes from tears
and my feet from stumbling.
9 I will serve[o] the Lord
in the land[p] of the living.
10 I had faith when I said,
“I am severely oppressed.”
11 I rashly declared,[q]
“All men are liars.”
12 How can I repay the Lord
for all his acts of kindness to me?
13 I will celebrate my deliverance,[r]
and call on the name of the Lord.
14 I will fulfill my vows to the Lord
before all his people.
15 The Lord values
the lives of his faithful followers.[s]
16 Yes, Lord! I am indeed your servant;
I am your servant, the son of your female servant.[t]
You saved me from death.[u]
17 I will present a thank offering to you,
and call on the name of the Lord.
18 I will fulfill my vows to the Lord
before all his people,
19 in the courts of the Lord’s temple,
in your midst, O Jerusalem.
Praise the Lord!
Psalm 117[v]
31 When David’s words were overheard and reported to Saul, he called for him.[a]
32 David said to Saul, “Don’t let anyone be discouraged.[b] Your servant will go and fight this Philistine!” 33 But Saul replied to David, “You aren’t able to go against this Philistine and fight him. You’re just a boy! He has been a warrior from his youth.”
34 David replied to Saul, “Your servant has been a shepherd for his father’s flock. Whenever a lion or bear would come and carry off a sheep from the flock, 35 I would go out after it, strike it down, and rescue the sheep from its mouth. If it rose up against me, I would grab it by its jaw, strike it, and kill it. 36 Your servant has struck down both the lion and the bear. This uncircumcised Philistine will be just like one of them,[c] for he has defied the armies of the living God.” 37 David went on to say, “The Lord who delivered me from the lion and the bear will also deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” Then Saul said to David, “Go! The Lord will be with you.”[d]
38 Then Saul clothed David with his own fighting attire and put a bronze helmet on his head. He also put body armor on him. 39 David strapped on his sword over his fighting attire and tried to walk around, but he was not used to them.[e] David said to Saul, “I can’t walk in these things, for I’m not used to them.” So David removed them. 40 He took his staff in his hand, picked out five smooth stones from the stream, placed them in the pouch[f] of his shepherd’s bag, took his sling in hand, and approached the Philistine.
41 [g] The Philistine, with his shield bearer walking in front of him, kept coming closer to David. 42 When the Philistine looked carefully at David, he despised him, for he was only a ruddy and handsome boy. 43 The Philistine said to David, “Am I a dog, that you are coming after me with sticks?”[h] Then the Philistine cursed David by his gods. 44 The Philistine said to David, “Come here to me, so I can give your flesh to the birds of the sky and the wild animals of the field!”[i]
45 But David replied to the Philistine, “You are coming against me with sword and spear and javelin. But I am coming against you in the name of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel’s armies, whom you have defied! 46 This very day the Lord will deliver you into my hand. I will strike you down and cut off your head. This day I will give the corpses of the Philistine army to the birds of the sky and the wild animals of the land. Then all the land will realize that Israel has a God, 47 and all this assembly will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves! For the battle is the Lord’s, and he will deliver you into our hand.”
48 The Philistine drew steadily closer to David to attack him, while David quickly ran toward the battle line to attack the Philistine.[j] 49 David reached his hand into the bag and took out a stone. He slung it, striking the Philistine on the forehead. The stone sank deeply into his forehead, and he fell down with his face to the ground.
Peter Defends His Actions to the Jerusalem Church
11 Now the apostles and the brothers who were throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles too had accepted[a] the word of God.[b] 2 So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers[c] took issue with[d] him, 3 saying, “You went to[e] uncircumcised men and shared a meal with[f] them.” 4 But Peter began and explained it to them point by point,[g] saying, 5 “I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision,[h] an object something like a large sheet descending,[i] being let down from heaven[j] by its four corners, and it came to me. 6 As I stared[k] I looked into it and saw four-footed animals of the earth, wild animals, reptiles,[l] and wild birds.[m] 7 I also heard a voice saying to me, ‘Get up, Peter; slaughter[n] and eat!’ 8 But I said, ‘Certainly not, Lord, for nothing defiled or ritually unclean[o] has ever entered my mouth!’ 9 But the voice replied a second time from heaven, ‘What God has made clean, you must not consider[p] ritually unclean!’ 10 This happened three times, and then everything was pulled up to heaven again. 11 At that very moment,[q] three men sent to me from Caesarea[r] approached[s] the house where we were staying.[t] 12 The Spirit told me to accompany them without hesitation. These six brothers[u] also went with me, and we entered the man’s house. 13 He informed us how he had seen an angel standing in his house and saying, ‘Send to Joppa and summon Simon, who is called Peter, 14 who will speak a message[v] to you by which you and your entire household will be saved.’ 15 Then as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell on[w] them just as he did[x] on us at the beginning.[y] 16 And I remembered the word of the Lord,[z] as he used to say,[aa] ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’[ab] 17 Therefore if God[ac] gave them the same gift[ad] as he also gave us after believing[ae] in the Lord Jesus Christ,[af] who was I to hinder[ag] God?” 18 When they heard this,[ah] they ceased their objections[ai] and praised[aj] God, saying, “So then, God has granted the repentance[ak] that leads to life even to the Gentiles.”[al]
Preaching in Galilee and the Call of the Disciples
14 Now after John was imprisoned,[a] Jesus went into Galilee and proclaimed the gospel[b] of God.[c] 15 He[d] said, “The time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God[e] is near. Repent and believe the gospel!” 16 As he went along the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew, Simon’s brother, casting a net into the sea (for they were fishermen).[f] 17 Jesus said to them, “Follow me, and I will turn you into fishers of people!”[g] 18 They left their nets immediately and followed him.[h] 19 Going on a little farther, he saw James, the son of Zebedee, and John his brother in their[i] boat[j] mending nets. 20 Immediately he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him.
Jesus’ Authority
21 Then[k] they went to Capernaum.[l] When the Sabbath came,[m] Jesus[n] went into the synagogue[o] and began to teach. 22 The people there[p] were amazed by his teaching, because he taught them like one who had authority,[q] not like the experts in the law.[r] 23 Just then there was a man in their synagogue with an unclean spirit,[s] and he cried out,[t] 24 “Leave us alone,[u] Jesus the Nazarene! Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One[v] of God!” 25 But[w] Jesus rebuked him:[x] “Silence! Come out of him!”[y] 26 After throwing him into convulsions, the unclean spirit cried out with a loud voice and came out of him. 27 They were all amazed so that they asked each other, “What is this? A new teaching with authority! He even commands the unclean spirits and they obey him.” 28 So[z] the news about him spread quickly throughout all the region around Galilee.
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