Book of Common Prayer
Thanksgiving for Escaping Death
A psalm of David. A song for giving the Temple to the Lord.
30 I will praise you, Lord,
because you rescued me.
You did not let my enemies laugh at me.
2 Lord, my God, I prayed to you,
and you healed me.
3 You lifted me out of the grave;
you spared me from going down to the place of the dead.
4 Sing praises to the Lord, you who belong to him;
praise his holy name.
5 His anger lasts only a moment,
but his kindness lasts for a lifetime.
Crying may last for a night,
but joy comes in the morning.
6 When I felt safe, I said,
“I will never fear.”
7 Lord, in your kindness you made my mountain safe.
But when you turned away, I was frightened.
8 I called to you, Lord,
and asked you to have mercy on me.
9 I said, “What good will it do if I die
or if I go down to the grave?
Dust cannot praise you;
it cannot speak about your truth.
10 Lord, hear me and have mercy on me.
Lord, help me.”
11 You changed my sorrow into dancing.
You took away my clothes of sadness,
and clothed me in happiness.
12 I will sing to you and not be silent.
Lord, my God, I will praise you forever.
It Is Better to Confess Sin
A maskil of David.
32 Happy is the person
whose sins are forgiven,
whose wrongs are pardoned.
2 Happy is the person
whom the Lord does not consider guilty
and in whom there is nothing false.
3 When I kept things to myself,
I felt weak deep inside me.
I moaned all day long.
4 Day and night you punished me.
My strength was gone as in the summer heat. Selah
5 Then I confessed my sins to you
and didn’t hide my guilt.
I said, “I will confess my sins to the Lord,”
and you forgave my guilt. Selah
6 For this reason, all who obey you
should pray to you while they still can.
When troubles rise like a flood,
they will not reach them.
7 You are my hiding place.
You protect me from my troubles
and fill me with songs of salvation. Selah
8 The Lord says, “I will make you wise and show you where to go.
I will guide you and watch over you.
9 So don’t be like a horse or donkey,
that doesn’t understand.
They must be led with bits and reins,
or they will not come near you.”
10 Wicked people have many troubles,
but the Lord’s love surrounds those who trust him.
11 Good people, rejoice and be happy in the Lord.
Sing all you whose hearts are right.
Wishing to Be Near God
For the director of music. A maskil of the sons of Korah.
42 As a deer thirsts for streams of water,
so I thirst for you, God.
2 I thirst for the living God.
When can I go to meet with him?
3 Day and night, my tears have been my food.
People are always saying,
“Where is your God?”
4 When I remember these things,
I speak with a broken heart.
I used to walk with the crowd
and lead them to God’s Temple
with songs of praise.
5 Why am I so sad?
Why am I so upset?
I should put my hope in God
and keep praising him,
my Savior and 6 my God.
I am very sad.
So I remember you where the Jordan River begins,
near the peaks of Hermon and Mount Mizar.
7 Troubles have come again and again, sounding like waterfalls.
Your waves are crashing all around me.
8 The Lord shows his true love every day.
At night I have a song,
and I pray to my living God.
9 I say to God, my Rock,
“Why have you forgotten me?
Why am I sad
and troubled by my enemies?”
10 My enemies’ insults make me feel
as if my bones were broken.
They are always saying,
“Where is your God?”
11 Why am I so sad?
Why am I so upset?
I should put my hope in God
and keep praising him,
my Savior and my God.
A Prayer for Protection
43 God, defend me.
Argue my case against those who don’t follow you.
Save me from liars and those who do evil.
2 God, you are my strength.
Why have you rejected me?
Why am I sad
and troubled by my enemies?
3 Send me your light and truth
to guide me.
Let them lead me to your holy mountain,
to where you live.
4 Then I will go to the altar of God,
to God who is my joy and happiness.
I will praise you with a harp,
God, my God.
5 Why am I so sad?
Why am I so upset?
I should put my hope in God
and keep praising him,
my Savior and my God.
David at Adullam and Mizpah
22 David left Gath and escaped to the cave of Adullam. When his brothers and other relatives heard that he was there, they went to see him. 2 Everyone who was in trouble, or who owed money, or who was unsatisfied gathered around David, and he became their leader. About four hundred men were with him.
3 From there David went to Mizpah in Moab and spoke to the king of Moab. He said, “Please let my father and mother come and stay with you until I learn what God is going to do for me.” 4 So he left them with the king of Moab, and they stayed with him as long as David was hiding in the stronghold.
5 But the prophet Gad said to David, “Don’t stay in the stronghold. Go to the land of Judah.” So David left and went to the forest of Hereth.
Saul Destroys Ahimelech’s Family
6 Saul heard that David and his men had been seen. Saul was sitting under the tamarisk tree on the hill at Gibeah, and all his officers were standing around him. He had a spear in his hand. 7 Saul said to them, “Listen, men of Benjamin! Do you think the son of Jesse will give all of you fields and vineyards? Will David make you commanders over thousands of men or hundreds of men? 8 You have all made plans against me! No one tells me when my son makes an agreement with the son of Jesse! No one cares about me! No one tells me when my son has encouraged my servant to ambush me this very day!”
9 Doeg the Edomite, who was standing there with Saul’s officers, said, “I saw the son of Jesse. He came to see Ahimelech son of Ahitub at Nob. 10 Ahimelech prayed to the Lord for David and gave him food and gave him the sword of Goliath the Philistine.”
11 Then the king sent for the priest Ahimelech son of Ahitub and for all of Ahimelech’s relatives who were priests at Nob. And they all came to the king. 12 Saul said to Ahimelech, “Listen now, son of Ahitub.”
Ahimelech answered, “Yes, master.”
13 Saul said, “Why are you and Jesse’s son against me? You gave him bread and a sword! You prayed to God for him. David has turned against me and is waiting to attack me even now!”
14 Ahimelech answered, “You have no other servant who is as loyal as David, your own son-in-law and captain of your bodyguards. Everyone in your house respects him. 15 That was not the first time I prayed to God for David. Don’t blame me or any of my relatives. I, your servant, know nothing about what is going on.”
16 But the king said, “Ahimelech, you and all your relatives must die!” 17 Then he told the guards at his side, “Go and kill the priests of the Lord, because they are on David’s side. They knew he was running away, but they didn’t tell me.”
But the king’s officers refused to kill the priests of the Lord.
18 Then the king ordered Doeg, “Go and kill the priests.” So Doeg the Edomite went and killed the priests. That day he killed eighty-five men who wore the linen holy vest. 19 He also killed the people of Nob, the city of the priests. With the sword he killed men, women, children, babies, cattle, donkeys, and sheep.
20 But Abiathar, a son of Ahimelech, who was the son of Ahitub, escaped. He ran away and joined David. 21 He told David that Saul had killed the Lord’s priests. 22 Then David told him, “Doeg the Edomite was there at Nob that day. I knew he would surely tell Saul. So I am responsible for the death of all your father’s family. 23 Stay with me. Don’t be afraid. The man who wants to kill you also wants to kill me. You will be safe with me.”
26 “Brothers, sons of the family of Abraham, and others who worship God, listen! The news about this salvation has been sent to us. 27 Those who live in Jerusalem and their leaders did not realize that Jesus was the Savior. They did not understand the words that the prophets wrote, which are read every Sabbath day. But they made them come true when they said Jesus was guilty. 28 They could not find any real reason for Jesus to be put to death, but they asked Pilate to have him killed. 29 When they had done to him all that the Scriptures had said, they took him down from the cross and laid him in a tomb. 30 But God raised him up from the dead! 31 After this, for many days, those who had gone with Jesus from Galilee to Jerusalem saw him. They are now his witnesses to the people. 32 We tell you the Good News about the promise God made to our ancestors. 33 God has made this promise come true for us, his children, by raising Jesus from the dead. We read about this also in Psalm 2:
‘You are my Son.
Today I have become your Father.’ Psalm 2:7
34 God raised Jesus from the dead, and he will never go back to the grave and become dust. So God said:
‘I will give you the holy and sure blessings
that I promised to David.’ Isaiah 55:3
35 But in another place God says:
‘You will not let your Holy One rot.’ Psalm 16:10
36 David did God’s will during his lifetime. Then he died and was buried beside his ancestors, and his body did rot in the grave. 37 But the One God raised from the dead did not rot in the grave. 38-39 Brothers, understand what we are telling you: You can have forgiveness of your sins through Jesus. The law of Moses could not free you from your sins. But through Jesus everyone who believes is free from all sins. 40 Be careful! Don’t let what the prophets said happen to you:
41 ‘Listen, you people who doubt!
You can wonder, and then die.
I will do something in your lifetime
that you won’t believe even when you are told about it!’” Habakkuk 1:5
42 While Paul and Barnabas were leaving the synagogue, the people asked them to tell them more about these things on the next Sabbath. 43 When the meeting was over, many people with those who had changed to worship God followed Paul and Barnabas from that place. Paul and Barnabas were persuading them to continue trusting in God’s grace.
19 and Judas Iscariot, who later turned against Jesus.
Some People Say Jesus Has a Devil
20 Then Jesus went home, but again a crowd gathered. There were so many people that Jesus and his followers could not eat. 21 When his family heard this, they went to get him because they thought he was out of his mind. 22 But the teachers of the law from Jerusalem were saying, “Beelzebul is living inside him! He uses power from the ruler of demons to force demons out of people.”
23 So Jesus called the people together and taught them with stories. He said, “Satan will not force himself out of people. 24 A kingdom that is divided cannot continue, 25 and a family that is divided cannot continue. 26 And if Satan is against himself and fights against his own people, he cannot continue; that is the end of Satan. 27 No one can enter a strong person’s house and steal his things unless he first ties up the strong person. Then he can steal things from the house. 28 I tell you the truth, all sins that people do and all the things people say against God can be forgiven. 29 But anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; he is guilty of a sin that continues forever.”
30 Jesus said this because the teachers of the law said that he had an evil spirit inside him.
Jesus’ True Family
31 Then Jesus’ mother and brothers arrived. Standing outside, they sent someone in to tell him to come out. 32 Many people were sitting around Jesus, and they said to him, “Your mother and brothers[a] are waiting for you outside.”
33 Jesus asked, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” 34 Then he looked at those sitting around him and said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! 35 My true brother and sister and mother are those who do what God wants.”
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.