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]
10 As Aaron spoke[a] to the whole community of the Israelites and they looked toward the wilderness, there the glory of the Lord[b] appeared[c] in the cloud, 11 and the Lord spoke to Moses, 12 “I have heard the murmurings of the Israelites. Tell them, ‘During the evening[d] you will eat meat,[e] and in the morning you will be satisfied[f] with bread, so that you may know[g] that I am the Lord your God.’”[h]
13 In the evening the quail[i] came up and covered the camp, and in the morning a layer of dew was all around the camp. 14 When[j] the layer of dew had evaporated,[k] there on the surface of the wilderness was a thin flaky substance,[l] thin like frost on the earth. 15 When[m] the Israelites saw it, they said to one another,[n] “What is it?” because they did not know what it was.[o] Moses said to them, “It is the bread[p] that the Lord has given you for food.[q]
16 “This is what[r] the Lord has commanded:[s] ‘Each person is to gather[t] from it what he can eat, an omer[u] per person[v] according to the number[w] of your people;[x] each one will pick it up[y] for whoever lives[z] in his tent.’” 17 The Israelites did so, and they gathered—some more, some less. 18 When[aa] they measured with an omer, the one who gathered much had nothing left over, and the one who gathered little lacked nothing; each one had gathered what he could eat.
19 Moses said to them, “No one[ab] is to keep any of it[ac] until morning.” 20 But they did not listen to Moses; some[ad] kept part of it until morning, and it was full[ae] of worms and began to stink, and Moses was angry with them. 21 So they gathered it each morning,[af] each person according to what he could eat, and when the sun got hot, it would melt.[ag] 22 And[ah] on the sixth day they gathered twice as much food, two omers[ai] per person;[aj] and all the leaders[ak] of the community[al] came and told[am] Moses.
11 Dear friends, I urge you as foreigners and exiles to keep away from fleshly desires that do battle against the soul, 12 and maintain good conduct[a] among the non-Christians,[b] so that though[c] they now malign you as wrongdoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God when he appears.[d]
Submission to Authorities
13 Be subject to every human institution[e] for the Lord’s sake, whether to a king as supreme 14 or to governors as those he commissions[f] to punish wrongdoers and praise[g] those who do good. 15 For God wants you[h] to silence the ignorance of foolish people by doing good. 16 Live[i] as free people, not using your freedom as a pretext for evil, but as God’s slaves.[j] 17 Honor all people, love the family of believers,[k] fear God, honor the king.
18 Slaves,[l] be subject[m] to your masters with all reverence, not only to those who are good and gentle, but also to those who are perverse. 19 For this finds God’s favor,[n] if because of conscience toward God[o] someone endures hardships in suffering unjustly. 20 For what credit is it if you sin and are mistreated and endure it? But if you do good and suffer and so endure, this finds favor with God.[p] 21 For to this you were called, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving an example for you to follow in his steps. 22 He[q] committed no sin nor was deceit found in his mouth.[r] 23 When he was maligned, he[s] did not answer back; when he suffered, he threatened[t] no retaliation,[u] but committed himself to God[v] who judges justly. 24 He[w] himself bore our sins[x] in his body on the tree, that we may cease from sinning[y] and live for righteousness. By his[z] wounds[aa] you were healed.[ab] 25 For you were going astray like sheep[ac] but now you have turned back to the shepherd and guardian of your souls.
12 My commandment is this—to love one another just as I have loved you.[a] 13 No one has greater love than this—that one lays down his life[b] for his friends. 14 You are my friends[c] if you do what I command you. 15 I no longer call you slaves,[d] because the slave does not understand[e] what his master is doing. But I have called you friends, because I have revealed to you everything[f] I heard[g] from my Father. 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you[h] and appointed you to go and bear[i] fruit, fruit that remains,[j] so that whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give you. 17 This[k] I command you—to love one another.
The World’s Hatred
18 “If the world hates you, be aware[l] that it hated me first.[m] 19 If you belonged to the world,[n] the world would love you as its own.[o] However, because you do not belong to the world,[p] but I chose you out of the world, for this reason[q] the world hates you.[r] 20 Remember what[s] I told you, ‘A slave[t] is not greater than his master.’[u] If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they obeyed[v] my word, they will obey[w] yours too. 21 But they will do all these things to you on account of[x] my name, because they do not know the one who sent me.[y] 22 If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin.[z] But they no longer have any excuse for their sin. 23 The one who hates me hates my Father too. 24 If I had not performed[aa] among them the miraculous deeds[ab] that no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin.[ac] But now they have seen the deeds[ad] and have hated both me and my Father.[ae] 25 Now this happened[af] to fulfill the word that is written in their law, ‘They hated me without reason.’[ag] 26 When the Advocate[ah] comes, whom I will send you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father—he[ai] will testify about me, 27 and you also will testify, because you have been with me from the beginning.
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