Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 18
For the worship leader. A song of David, the Eternal One’s servant, who addressed these words to the Eternal after He had rescued him from Saul and his other enemies.
This Davidic psalm is also found in 2 Samuel 22. It expresses gratitude to God for saving him.
1 I love You, Eternal One, source of my power.
2 The Eternal is my rock, my fortress, and my salvation;
He is my True God, the stronghold in which I hide,
my strong shield, the horn that calls forth help, and my tall-walled tower.
3 I call out to the Eternal, who is worthy to be praised—
that’s how I will be rescued from my enemies.
4 The bonds of death encircled me;
the currents of destruction tugged at me;
5 The sorrows of the grave wrap around me;
the traps of death lay in wait for me.
6 In my time of need, I called to the Eternal;
I begged my True God for help.
He heard my voice echo up to His temple,
and my cry came to His ears.
7 Because of His great anger, the earth shook and staggered;
the roots of the mountains shifted.
8 Smoke poured out from His nose,
and devouring fire burst from His mouth.
Coals glowed from Him.
9 He bent the heavens and descended;
inky darkness was beneath His feet.
10 He rode upon a heavenly creature,[a] flying;
He was carried quickly on the wings of the wind.
11 He took darkness as His hiding place—
both the dark waters of the seas and the dark clouds of the sky.
12 Out from His brilliance
hailstones and burning coals
broke through the clouds.
13 The Eternal thundered in the heavens;
the Highest spoke; His voice rumbled [in the midst of hail and lightning].[b]
14 He shot forth His arrows and scattered the wicked;
He flung forth His lightning and struck them.
15 Then the deepest channels of the seas were visible,
and the very foundations of the world were uncovered
At Your rebuke, O Eternal One,
at the blast of wind from Your nostrils.
16 He reached down His hand from above me; He held me.
He lifted me from the raging waters.
17 He rescued me from my strongest enemy,
from all those who sought my death,
for they were too strong.
18 They came for me in the day of my destruction,
but the Eternal was the support of my life.
19 He set me down in a safe place;
He saved me to His delight; He took joy in me.
20 The Eternal One responded to me according to my goodness;
I kept my hands clean, and He blessed me.
21 I kept the ways of the Eternal
and have not walked away from my True God in wickedness.
22 All His laws were there before me,
and I did not push His statutes away.
23 I was blameless before Him;
I kept myself from guilt and shame.
24 That’s why the Eternal has rewarded me for my right living;
He’s rewarded me because He saw my hands were clean.
25 You are loyal to those who are loyal;
with the innocent, You prove to be innocent;
26 With the clean, You prove to be clean;
and with the twisted, You make Yourself contrary.
27 For You rescue humble people,
but You bring the proud back in line.
28 You are the lamp who lights my way;
the Eternal, my God, lights up my darkness.
29 With Your help, I can conquer an army;
I can leap over walls with a helping hand from You.
30 Everything God does is perfect;
the promise of the Eternal rings true;
He stands as a shield for all who hide in Him.
31 Who is the True God except the Eternal?
Who stands like a rock except our God?
32 The True God who encircled me with strength
and made my pathway straight.
33 He made me sure-footed as a deer
and placed me high up where I am safe.
34 He teaches me to fight
so that my arms can bend a bronze bow.
35 You have shielded me with Your salvation,
supporting me with Your strong right hand,
and it makes me strong.
36 You taught me how to walk with care
so my feet will not slip.
37 I chased my enemies and caught them
and did not stop until they were destroyed.
38 I broke them and threw them down beneath my feet,
and they could not rise up again.
39 For You equipped me for battle,
and You made my enemies fall beneath me.
40 You made my enemies turn tail and run,
and all who wanted my destruction, I destroyed.
41 They looked everywhere, but no one came to rescue them;
they asked the Eternal, but He did not answer them.
42 I beat them to sand, to dust that blows in the wind;
I flung them away like trash in the gutters.
43 You rescued me from conflict with the peoples;
You raised me up to rule over nations.
People who did not know me have come to serve me.
44 Strangers come to me, afraid.
As soon as they hear about me, they serve me;
45 Strangers who have lost heart
come fearfully to me from behind their high walls.
46 The Eternal is alive! My Rock is blessed,
and exalted is the True God of my deliverance—
47 The God who avenged me
and placed the peoples under me,
48 Who rescued me from all my foes.
Truly, You raised me up above my enemies
and saved me from the violent ones.
49 For this I will praise You among the nations, O Eternal,
and sing praises to Your name.
50 He is a tower of salvation for His king
and shows His enduring love to His anointed,
to David and his descendants forever.
14 The Spirit of the Eternal left Saul, and an evil spirit sent from the Eternal One tormented him. 15 Saul’s servants saw this.
Servants (to Saul): Look, an evil spirit from God is terrorizing you. 16 Let our lord command that his servants find someone skillful on the harp, so that when this evil spirit from God is bothering you, he will play and ease your mind.
Saul (to his servants): 17 I agree. Find someone who can play well, and bring him here to me.
One of the younger men there spoke up.
A Young Servant: 18 I know someone, one of the sons of Jesse of Bethlehem, who plays skillfully and who is a man of courage, a warrior, sensible in what he says, and handsome; and the Eternal One is surely with him.
19 So Saul dispatched messengers to Jesse.
Saul’s Message: Send your son David, who is watching your flocks, to me. Your king needs his service.
20 So Jesse did as his king commanded. He sent Saul a young goat and a donkey loaded down with bread and a skin of wine by his son David. 21 David came to Saul and served him. The king loved him greatly and made David his armor-bearer. 22 Then he sent a message to Jesse.
Saul’s Message: David has impressed me. Please allow him to remain here in my service.
23 Whenever God allowed the evil spirit to afflict Saul, David would play the harp, Saul would be relieved of his torment, and the evil spirit would depart.
17 Now the Philistines had gathered an army for battle at Socoh, which is in the land of Judah, and they pitched their tents in Ephes-dammim between Socoh and Azekah. 2 Unwilling to allow another Philistine invasion of their nation, Saul and the forces of Israel went out against them. They camped in the valley of Elah and formed ranks against the Philistines. 3 The Philistines stood on one mountain and the Israelites on another, with the valley between them.
4 Then a champion emerged from the Philistine camp, Goliath of Gath (one of the five capital cities in the Philistine confederation), who was over nine feet tall.[a] 5 He wore a bronze helmet and a chain-mail coat that weighed more than 100 pounds of bronze. 6 His legs were protected by bronze shin guards, and he had a bronze javelin slung between his shoulders, ready to throw. 7 The shaft of his spear was as thick as a weaver’s beam, the iron head of his spear weighed 20 pounds, and his shield-bearer went ahead of him. He was a fearsome sight.
8 Goliath stood and shouted to the watching Israelites.
Goliath: Why have you come to fight us? Am I not a Philistine, a warrior for a powerful empire? And don’t you serve Saul, your so-called king? Choose yourselves a champion, and send him out to me. 9 If he kills me when we fight, then we will serve you; but if I defeat him and kill him, then you will serve us. 10 Today I challenge the entire army of Israel: send me someone to fight!
11 When Saul and his army heard the Philistine’s words, they were shocked and frightened.
17 and Peter was confused and unsettled as he tried to make sense of this strange vision.
At that very moment, Peter heard the voices of Cornelius’s delegation, who had asked for directions to Simon’s house, coming from the front gate.
Delegation: 18 Is there a man named Simon, also called Peter, staying at this house?
19-20 Peter’s mind was still racing about the vision when the voice of the Holy Spirit broke through his churning thoughts.
Holy Spirit: The three men who are searching for you have been sent by Me. So get up! Go with them. Don’t hesitate or argue.
21 Peter rushed downstairs to the men.
Peter: I’m the one you’re seeking. Can you tell me why you’ve come?
Delegation: 22 We’ve been sent by our commander and master, Cornelius. He is a Centurion, and he is a good, honest man who worships your God. All the Jewish people speak well of him. A holy messenger told him to send for you, so you would come to his home and he could hear your message.
23 Peter extended hospitality to them and gave them lodging overnight. When they departed together the next morning, Peter brought some believers from Joppa.
24 They arrived in Caesarea the next afternoon just before three o’clock. Cornelius had anticipated their arrival and had assembled his relatives and close friends to welcome them. 25 When Peter and Cornelius met, Cornelius fell at Peter’s feet in worship, 26 but Peter helped him up.
Peter: Stand up, man! I am just a human being!
27 They talked and entered the house to meet the whole crowd inside.
Peter: 28 You know I am a Jew. We Jews consider it a breach of divine law to associate, much less share hospitality, with outsiders. But God has shown me something in recent days: I should no longer consider any human beneath me or unclean. 29 That’s why I made no objection when you invited me; rather, I came willingly. Now let me hear the story of why you invited me here.
Cornelius: 30 It was about this time of day four days ago when I was here, in my house, praying the customary midafternoon prayer. Suddenly a man appeared out of nowhere. His clothes were dazzling white, and he stood directly in front of me 31 and addressed me: “Cornelius, your prayer has been heard, and your kindness to the poor has been noticed by God. 32 God wants you to find a man in Joppa, Simon who is also called Peter, who is staying at the home of a tanner named Simon, near the seaside.” 33 I wasted no time, did just as I was told, and you have generously accepted my invitation. So here we are, in the presence of God, ready to take in all that the Lord has told you to tell us.
36 At that very instant, as they’re still telling the story, Jesus is there, standing among them!
Jesus: May you have peace!
You might expect them to be overjoyed, but they aren’t.
37 They’re startled and terrified; they think they’re seeing a ghost.
Jesus: 38 Why are you upset? Why are your hearts churning with questions? 39 Look—look at My hands and My feet! See that it’s Me! Come on; touch Me; see for yourselves. A ghost doesn’t have flesh and bones, as you can see that I have!
[40 Then He shows them His hands and His feet.][a]
41 Now their fear gives way to joy; but it seems too good to be true, and they’re still unsure.
Jesus: Do you have anything here to eat?
42 They hand Him a piece of broiled fish, 43 and He takes it and eats it in front of them.
Jesus: 44 I’ve been telling you this all along, that everything written about Me in the Hebrew Scriptures must be fulfilled—everything from the law of Moses to the prophets to the psalms.
45 Then He opens their minds so they can comprehend the meaning of the Hebrew Scriptures.
Jesus: 46 This is what the Scriptures said: that the promised Anointed One should suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, 47 that in His name a radical change of thought and life should be preached, and that in His name the forgiveness of sins should be preached, beginning in Jerusalem and extending to all nations. 48 You have witnessed the fulfillment of these things. 49 So I am sending My Father’s promise to you. Stay in the city until you receive it—until power from heaven comes upon you.
50 Then He leads them out to Bethany. He lifts up His hands and blesses them, 51 and at that moment, with His hands raised in blessing, He leaves them and is carried up into heaven. 52 They worship Him, then they return to Jerusalem, filled with intense joy, 53 and they return again and again to the temple to celebrate God.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.