Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 18
Unfailing Kindness to David
And to His Descendant Forever
(2 Samuel 22)
Heading
For the choir director.
By David, the servant of the Lord, who spoke the words of this song to the Lord on the day when the Lord had delivered him from the grasp of all his enemies, even from the grasp of Saul.
Praise to the Rock of Salvation
1 Then he said:
I love you, O Lord, my strength.
2 The Lord is my rocky cliff, my stronghold, and my deliverer.
My God is my rock. I take refuge in him.
He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my high fortress.
3 I call to the Lord, who is worthy of praise,
and I am saved from my enemies.
Deliverance From Death
4 The ropes of death entangled me.
Floodwaters of destruction[a] rolled over me.
5 The ropes of the grave wrapped around me.
The traps of death threatened me.
6 In my distress I called to the Lord.
To my God I cried out.
He heard my voice from his temple.
My cry came before him. It reached his ears.
The Greatness of the Deliverance
7 Then the earth shook and quaked,
and the foundations of the mountains[b] trembled.
They shook because the Lord was angry.
8 Smoke rose from his nostrils,
and fire from his mouth devoured.
Coals were set on fire by it.
9 Then he tore open the heavens and came down.
A dark cloud was under his feet.
10 He rode upon a cherub,[c] and he flew.
He soared on the wings of the wind.
11 He made the darkness around him his hiding place.
Dark rain clouds[d] surrounded him like a canopy.
12 Emerging from the brightness in front of him
his clouds passed by with hail and coals of fire.
13 Then the Lord thundered in the heavens.
The Most High raised his voice with hail and coals of fire.[e]
14 Then he shot his arrows and scattered the enemy.
He shot great lightning bolts and routed them.
15 Then the sources of water[f] were revealed,
and the foundations of the world were uncovered
by your rebuke, O Lord,
by the breath of wind from your nostrils.
16 He reached down from on high and took hold of me.
He drew me out of deep waters.
17 Because they were too strong for me,
he rescued me from my powerful enemy,
from those who hate me.
18 They confronted me on the day of my disaster,
but the Lord supported me.
19 Then he brought me out into a wide-open space.
He rescued me because he delighted in me.
David’s Uprightness as a Basis for God’s Judgment
20 The Lord has dealt with 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.
I have not done evil and departed from my God.
22 So all his just decrees remain before me,
and I have not turned his statutes away from me.
23 I have been blameless with him.
I have kept myself from guilt.
24 The Lord has repaid me according to my righteousness,
according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight.
God’s Uprightness as a Basis for His Judgment
25 To the merciful you reveal yourself as merciful.
To the blameless person you reveal yourself as blameless.
26 To the pure you reveal yourself as pure,
but to the crooked you reveal yourself as crafty.
27 For you save humble people,
but you bring low the eyes of the arrogant.
28 Yes, you light my lamp, O Lord.
My God turns my darkness to light.
29 For with you I can charge against a battalion,
and with my God I can jump over a wall.
God Equips David for Victory
30 This God—his way is blameless.
The speech of the Lord is pure.
He is a shield for all who take refuge in him.
31 For who is God besides the Lord?
And who is the Rock except our God?
32 This God wraps me with strength
and makes my way perfect.[g]
33 By making my feet like those of a deer
he enables me to stand on high places.
34 Because he trains my hands for battle,
my arms can draw a bronze bow.
35 Then you give me the shield of your salvation.
Your right hand sustains me,
and you stoop down to lift me up.
36 You widen the path under my feet,
so that my ankles do not give way.
David’s Victories
37 I pursued my enemies, and I overtook them.
So I did not turn back until they were wiped out.
38 I crushed them so that they could not rise again.
They fell beneath my feet.
39 You wrapped me with strength for battle.
You made those who rose up against me bow down to me.
40 You made my enemies turn their backs and flee.
I destroyed those who hate me.
41 They cried for help, but there was no one to save them.
They cried to the Lord, but he did not answer them.
42 So I grind them as fine as dust blown by the wind.
I dump them out like mud in the streets.
43 You delivered me from the accusations of the people.
You made me the head of nations.
A people I did not know serve me.
44 As soon as they hear me, they obey me.
Foreigners cower before me.
45 Foreigners fall exhausted.
They come trembling from their strongholds.
Closing Words of Faith
46 The Lord lives! Blessed be my Rock!
May the God who saves me be exalted!
47 The God who avenges me subdues peoples under me.
48 You delivered me from my enemies.
Yes, you exalted me above those who rose against me.
You rescued me from the violent man.
49 Therefore I will praise you among the nations, Lord.
To your name I will make music.
50 By providing great salvation for his King,
he shows mercy to his Anointed One,
to David and to his Descendant[h] forever.
David and Saul Meet
14 The Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and an evil[a] spirit from the Lord tormented him.
15 So Saul’s servants said to him, “Please listen to us. An evil spirit from God is tormenting you. 16 Our lord, please command your servants who are here with you to seek out a man who is skilled at playing the lyre. Then when the evil spirit from God is on you, he will play the lyre,[b] and you will feel better.”
17 So Saul said to his servants, “Find a man who can play well and bring him to me.”
18 Then one of the young attendants replied, “As a matter of fact, I have seen a son of Jesse from Bethlehem who is a skillful player. He is a strong, brave man, fit for war. He shows good judgment in what he says and is a handsome man. And the Lord is with him.”
19 So Saul sent messengers to Jesse and said, “Send me your son David, who is with the sheep.”
20 Jesse took a donkey loaded with bread, a container 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. Saul loved him, and David became his armor bearer. 22 So Saul sent to Jesse, saying, “Permit David to remain and serve me, for I am very pleased with him.” 23 Whenever the spirit from God came over Saul, David would take the lyre in his hand and play. So Saul would be soothed and feel better, and the evil spirit would depart from him.
David and Goliath
17 Now the Philistines gathered their troops for battle. They gathered at Sokoh,[c] which belongs to Judah, and they camped between Sokoh and Azekah at Ephes Dammim. 2 Saul and the men of Israel also gathered together and camped in the Valley of Elah. They lined up in battle formation opposite the Philistines. 3 The Philistines took up a position in front of the mountain on one side of the valley, and the Israelites stationed themselves in front of the mountain on the other side of the valley.
4 A challenger who represented the Philistines came out from the camp of the Philistines. He was named Goliath of Gath. He was nine feet, six inches tall.[d] 5 He had a bronze helmet on his head, and he wore scaled body armor, which was made of more than one hundred pounds[e] of bronze. 6 He had bronze greaves on his shins and a bronze spear slung between his shoulders. 7 The shaft[f] of his spear was like a weaver’s beam, and his spearhead was made of fifteen pounds[g] of iron. His shield bearer went out ahead of him.
8 He would stand up and shout to the armies of Israel, “Why have you come out to line up in battle formation? I am a Philistine, and you are servants of Saul, aren’t you? Choose a man to represent you, and let him come down to me. 9 If he is able to fight with me and kill me, we will be your servants. But if I overcome him and kill him, you will become our servants, and you will serve us.” 10 The Philistine would say, “I defy the ranks of Israel today! Give me a man, and we will fight each other!” 11 When Saul and all Israel heard those words of the Philistine, they lost their courage and were terrified.
[h]
17 While Peter was inwardly perplexed about what the vision he had seen might mean, just then the men who were sent by Cornelius arrived. They had asked for directions to Simon’s house and were standing at the gate. 18 They called out, asking if Simon, who was also called Peter, was staying there as a guest.
19 While Peter was still deep in thought about the vision, the Spirit said to him, “See, three men are looking for you! 20 Now get up, go downstairs, and don’t hesitate to go with them, because I have sent them.”
21 Peter went down to the men and said, “I am the one you are looking for. Why have you come?”
22 They replied, “Cornelius the centurion is a righteous and God-fearing man, who is highly respected by the whole Jewish nation. He was directed by a holy angel to send for you to come to his house and to listen to what you have to say.” 23 So Peter invited them in and received them as guests.
Peter Goes to the Home of Cornelius
The next day, Peter got ready and left with them, and some of the brothers from Joppa went along with him. 24 The following day, he arrived in Caesarea. Cornelius was expecting them and had called together his relatives and close friends. 25 As Peter was about to enter the house, Cornelius met him, fell at his feet, and worshipped him. 26 But Peter helped him up and said, “Stand up! I too am just a man.”
27 While he talked with him, Peter went inside and found many people gathered there. 28 He said to them, “You understand how unlawful it is for a Jewish man to associate with or visit anyone who is not a Jew. But God showed me that I should no longer continue to call anyone impure or unclean. 29 That is why I came without objection when you sent for me. May I ask why you sent for me?”
30 Cornelius replied, “From four days ago to this hour, I have been fasting. At the ninth hour,[a] I was praying in my house when a man in shining clothes suddenly stood in front of me. 31 He said, ‘Cornelius, your prayer has been heard and your gifts to the poor have been remembered in God’s sight. 32 Therefore send to Joppa and call for Simon, who is called Peter. He is staying as a guest in the house of Simon the tanner, by the sea. When he comes, he will speak to you.[b]’ 33 So I sent for you immediately, and it was good of you to come. Now then, we are all here in the presence of God to listen to everything that the Lord[c] has instructed you to say.”
Jesus Appears to the Disciples
36 As they were talking about these things, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.”
37 But they were terrified and frightened and thought they were looking at a ghost.
38 He said to them, “Why are you troubled? Why do doubts arise in your hearts? 39 Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself. Touch me and see, because a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” 40 When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. 41 While they still did not believe it (because of their joy), and while they were still wondering, he said to them, “Do you have anything here to eat?”
42 They gave him a piece of broiled fish and some honeycomb.[a] 43 He took it and ate in front of them. 44 He said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms.”
45 Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures. 46 He said to them, “This is what is written and so it must be:[b] The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, 47 and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things. 49 Look, I am sending you what my Father promised. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”
Jesus Ascends Into Heaven
50 He led them out as far as the vicinity of Bethany. He lifted up his hands and blessed them. 51 And while he was blessing them, he parted from them and was taken up into heaven. 52 So they worshipped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy. 53 They were continually in the temple courts, praising and[c] blessing God. Amen.[d]
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.