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]
The Beginning of Civilization
17 Cain was intimate with[a] his wife, and she became pregnant[b] and gave birth to Enoch. Cain was building a city, and he named the city after[c] his son Enoch. 18 To Enoch was born Irad, and Irad was the father of[d] Mehujael. Mehujael was the father of Methushael, and Methushael was the father of Lamech.
19 Lamech took two wives for himself; the name of the first was Adah, and the name of the second was Zillah. 20 Adah gave birth to Jabal; he was the first[e] of those who live in tents and keep[f] livestock. 21 The name of his brother was Jubal; he was the first of all who play the harp and the flute. 22 Now Zillah also gave birth to Tubal-Cain, who heated metal and shaped[g] all kinds of tools made of bronze and iron. The sister of Tubal-Cain was Naamah.
23 Lamech said to his wives,
“Adah and Zillah, listen to me!
You wives of Lamech, hear my words!
I have killed a man for wounding me,
a young man[h] for hurting me.
24 If Cain is to be avenged seven times as much,
then Lamech seventy-seven times!”[i]
25 And Adam was intimate with[j] his wife again, and she gave birth to a son. She named him Seth, saying, “God has given[k] me another child[l] in place of Abel because Cain killed him.” 26 And a son was also born to Seth, whom he named Enosh. At that time people[m] began to worship[n] the Lord.
Jesus and Moses
3 Therefore, holy brothers and sisters,[a] partners in a heavenly calling, take note of Jesus, the apostle and high priest whom we confess,[b] 2 who is faithful to the one who appointed him, as Moses was also in God’s[c] house.[d] 3 For he has come to deserve greater glory than Moses, just as the builder of a house deserves greater honor than the house itself! 4 For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God. 5 Now Moses was faithful in all God’s[e] house[f] as a servant, to testify to the things that would be spoken. 6 But Christ[g] is faithful as a son over God’s[h] house. We are of his house,[i] if in fact we hold firmly[j] to our confidence and the hope we take pride in.[k]
Exposition of Psalm 95: Hearing God’s Word in Faith
7 Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says,[l]
“Oh, that today you would listen as he speaks![m]
8 “Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, in the day of testing in the wilderness.
9 “There your fathers tested me and tried me,[n] and they saw my works for forty years.
10 “Therefore, I became provoked at that generation and said, ‘Their hearts are always wandering[o] and they have not known my ways.’
11 “As I swore in my anger, ‘They will never enter my rest!’”[p]
The Calling of More Disciples
43 On the next day Jesus[a] wanted to set out for Galilee.[b] He[c] found Philip and said[d] to him, “Follow me.” 44 (Now Philip was from Bethsaida,[e] the town of[f] Andrew and Peter.) 45 Philip found Nathanael[g] and told him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the law, and the prophets also[h] wrote about—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” 46 Nathanael[i] replied,[j] “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?”[k] Philip replied,[l] “Come and see.”
47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and exclaimed,[m] “Look, a true Israelite in whom there is no deceit!”[n] 48 Nathanael asked him, “How do you know me?” Jesus replied,[o] “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree,[p] I saw you.” 49 Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the king[q] of Israel!”[r] 50 Jesus said to him,[s] “Because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree, do you believe? You will see greater things than these.”[t] 51 He continued,[u] “I tell all of you the solemn truth[v]—you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”[w]
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