Book of Common Prayer
To the Director: By the servant of the Lord, David, who spoke the words of this song to the Lord on the day when the Lord delivered him from the hands of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul.
Gratitude for Victory
18 He said:
“I love you, Lord, my strength.
2 The Lord is my rock, my fortress, my deliverer, my God,
my stronghold[a] in whom I take refuge, my shield, the glory[b]
of my salvation, and my high tower.”
3 I cried out to the Lord, who is worthy to be praised,
and I was delivered from my enemies.
4 The cords of death entangled me;
the rivers of Belial[c] made me afraid.
5 The cords of Sheol[d] surrounded me;
the snares of death confronted me.
6 In my distress I cried to the Lord;
to my God I cried for help.
From his Temple he heard my voice;
my cry reached his ears.
7 The world shook and trembled;
the foundations of the mountains quaked,
they shook because he was angry.
8 In his anger smoke poured out of his nostrils,
and consuming fire from his mouth;
coals were lit from it.
9 He bent the sky and descended,
and darkness was under his feet.
10 He rode upon a cherub and flew;
he soared upon the wings of the wind.
11 He made darkness his hiding place,
his canopy surrounding him was dark waters and thick clouds.
12 The brightness before him scattered the thick clouds,
with hail stones and flashes of fire.
13 Then the Lord thundered in[e] the heavens,
and the Most High sounded aloud,
calling for hail stones and flashes of fire.[f]
14 He shot his arrows and scattered them;
with many lightning bolts he frightened them.
15 Then the channels of the sea could be seen,
and the foundations of the earth were uncovered
because of your rebuke, Lord,
because of the blast from the breath of your nostrils.
16 He reached down and took me;
he drew me from many waters.
17 He delivered me from my strong enemies,
from those who hated me because
they were stronger than I.
18 They confronted me in the day of my calamity,
but the Lord was my support.
19 He brought me out to a spacious place;
he delivered me, for in me he takes delight.
God’s Reward to the Righteous
20 The Lord will reward me because I am righteous;
because my hands are clean he will restore me;
21 because I have kept the ways of the Lord,
and I have not wickedly departed from my God;
22 because all his judgments were always before me,
and I did not cast off his statutes.
23 I was upright[g] before him,
and I kept myself from iniquity.
24 So the Lord restored me according to my righteousness,
because my hands were clean in his sight.
25 To the holy, you show your gracious love,
to the upright, you show yourself upright;
26 to the pure, you show yourself pure,
and to the morally corrupt, you appear to be perverse.
27 Indeed, you deliver the oppressed,[h]
but you bring down those who exalt themselves
in their own eyes.
28 For you, Lord, make my lamp shine;
my God enlightens my darkness.
29 With your help[i] I will run through an army,
with help from[j] my God I leap over walls.
30 As for God, his way is upright;[k]
the word of God is pure;
he is a shield to all those who take refuge in him.
The Acts of God for the Righteous
31 For who is God but the Lord,
and who is a Rock other than our God?—
32 the God who clothes me with strength,
and who makes my way upright;[l]
33 who makes my feet swift as the deer;
who makes me stand on high places;
34 who teaches my hands to make war,
and my arms to bend a bronze bow.
35 You have given to me the shield of your deliverance,
and your right hand holds me up;
your gentleness made me great.
36 You make a broad place for my steps,
so my feet[m] won’t slip.
37 I pursued my enemies and overtook them;
I did not turn around until they were utterly defeated.
38 I struck them down,
so they are not able to rise up;
they fell under my feet.
39 You clothed me with strength for war;
you will subdue under me those who rise up against me.
40 You have made my enemies turn their back to me,
and I will destroy those who hate me.
41 They cried out for deliverance,
but there was no one to deliver;
they cried out[n] to the Lord,
but he did not answer them.
42 I ground them like wind-swept dust;
I emptied them out[o] like dirt in the street.
43 You rescued me from conflict with the people;
you made me head of the nations.
People who did not know me will serve me.
44 When they hear of me,[p] they will obey me;
foreigners will submit to me.
45 Foreigners will wilt away;
they will come trembling out of their stronghold.
46 The Lord lives!
Blessed be my Rock!
May the God of my deliverance be exalted!
47 He is the God who executes vengeance on my behalf;
who destroys peoples under me;
48 who delivers me from my enemies.
Truly you will exalt me above those who oppose me;
you will deliver me from the violent person.
49 Therefore, I will give thanks to you among the nations, Lord;
I will sing praises to your name.
50 He is the one who gives victories to his king;
who shows gracious love to his anointed,
to David and his seed forever.
14 The Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord troubled him. 15 Saul’s servants told him, “Look, an evil spirit from God is troubling you. 16 Let our lord order his servants who attend you[a] to look for a man who is skilled in playing the lyre. And then when an evil spirit from God comes on you, he will play[b] and you will be better.”
17 Saul told his servants, “Find[c] a man for me who can play well and bring him to me.”
18 One of the young men answered: “Look, I’ve seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite who is skilled in playing. The man is a valiant soldier, gifted in speech, and handsome. 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 one kid, and sent them to Saul along with his son David. 21 David went to Saul and began to serve him.[d] Saul loved him very much, and he became his armor bearer. 22 Saul sent a messenger[e] to Jesse to tell him, “Allow David to serve me, because I’m pleased with him.”[f] 23 Whenever an evil[g] spirit from God came to Saul, David would take the lyre and play it.[h] Relief would come to Saul and he would be better, because the evil spirit would leave him.
Goliath Challenges the Israelis
17 The Philistines assembled their army for battle. They were assembled at Socoh, which belongs to Judah, and they camped between Socoh and Azekah, in Ephes-dammim. 2 Saul and the Israelis assembled and camped in the valley of Elah, where they set up their forces to meet the Philistines. 3 The Philistines were standing on the hill on one side while the Israelis were standing on the hill on the other side, with the valley between them.
4 A champion named Goliath from Gath came out from the Philistine camp. He was four cubits and a span[i] tall, 5 wore a bronze helmet on his head, and wore bronze scale armor that weighed about 5,000 shekels.[j] 6 He had bronze armor on his legs[k] and carried a bronze javelin slung[l] between his shoulders. 7 The shaft of his spear was like a weaver’s beam and the iron point of his spear weighed 600 shekels.[m] A man carrying his shield walked in front of him.
8 He stood still and called out to the ranks of Israel, “Why should you move into position for battle? Am I not a Philistine and you Saul’s servants? Choose a man for yourselves to come down against me. 9 If he’s able to fight me and strike me down, then we will become your servants; but if I prevail against him and strike him down, then you will become our servants and serve us.” 10 The Philistine said, “I defy[n] the ranks of Israel today. Send me one man and let’s fight together.” 11 When Saul and all the Israelis heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and very frightened.
17 While Peter was still at a loss to know what the vision he had seen could mean, the men sent by Cornelius asked for Simon’s house and went to the gate. 18 They called out and asked if Simon who was called Peter was staying there. 19 Peter was still thinking about the vision when the Spirit told him, “Look! Three men are looking for you. 20 Get up, go downstairs, and don’t hesitate to go with them, for I have sent them.”
21 So Peter went to the men and said, “I’m the man you’re looking for. Why are you here?”
22 The men replied, “Cornelius, a centurion and an upright and God-fearing man who is respected by the whole Jewish nation, was instructed by a holy angel to send for you to come to his home to hear what you have to say.”
23 So Peter[a] welcomed them as his guests. The next day, he got up and went with them, and some of the brothers from Joppa went along with him.
Peter Speaks with Cornelius
24 The next day, they arrived in Caesarea. Cornelius was expecting them and had called his relatives and close friends together. 25 When Peter was about to enter, Cornelius met him, bowed down at his feet, and began to worship him. 26 But Peter made him get up, saying, “Stand up! I, too, am only a man.”
27 As Peter[b] talked with him, he went in and found that many people had gathered. 28 He told them, “You understand how wrong it is for a Jew to associate or visit with unbelievers.[c] But God has shown me that I should stop calling anyone common or unclean, 29 and that is why I didn’t hesitate when I was sent for. Now may I ask why you sent for me?”
30 Cornelius replied, “Four days ago at this very hour, three o’clock in the afternoon,[d] I was praying in my home. All at once a man in radiant clothes stood in front of me 31 and said, ‘Cornelius, your prayer has been heard. God has remembered your gifts to the poor, 32 so send messengers[e] to Joppa and summon Simon, who is called Peter, to come to you. He is a guest in the home of Simon, a leatherworker, by the sea.’ 33 So I sent for you immediately, and it was good of you to come. All of us are here now in the presence of God to listen to everything the Lord has ordered you to say.”
Jesus Appears to the Disciples(A)
36 While they were all talking about this, Jesus[a] himself stood among them and told them, “Peace be with you.”[b]
37 They were startled and terrified, thinking they were seeing a ghost. 38 But Jesus[c] told them, “What’s frightening you? And why are you doubting? 39 Look at my hands and my feet, because it’s really me. Touch me and look at me, because a ghost doesn’t have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” 40 After he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet.[d] 41 Even though they were still skeptical due to their joy and astonishment, Jesus[e] asked them, “Do you have anything here to eat?”
42 They gave him a piece of broiled fish, 43 and he took it and ate it in their presence. 44 Then he told them, “These are the words that I spoke to you while I was still with you—that everything written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms had to be fulfilled.”
45 Then he opened their minds so that they might understand the Scriptures. 46 He told them, “This is how it is written: the Messiah[f] was to suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, 47 and then repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all the nations, beginning at Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things. 49 I am sending to you what my Father promised, so stay here in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”
Jesus is Taken up to Heaven(B)
50 Later, he led them out as far as Bethany, lifted up his hands, and blessed them. 51 While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up to heaven.[g] 52 They worshipped him and[h] returned to Jerusalem filled with great joy. 53 They were continually in the Temple, blessing[i] God.[j]
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