Book of Common Prayer
For the choir director; by David, the servant of the Lord. He sang this song to the Lord when the Lord rescued him from all his enemies, especially from Saul. He said,
18 I love you, O Lord, my strength.
2 The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my Savior,
my God, my rock in whom I take refuge,
my shield, and the strength of my salvation,
my stronghold.
3 The Lord should be praised.
I called on him, and I was saved from my enemies.
4 The ropes of death had become tangled around me.
The torrents of destruction had overwhelmed me.
5 The ropes of the grave had surrounded me.
The clutches of death had confronted me.
6 I called on the Lord in my distress.
I cried to my God for help.
He heard my voice from his temple,
and my cry for help reached his ears.
7 Then the earth shook and quaked.
Even the foundations of the mountains trembled.
They shook violently because he was angry.
8 Smoke went up from his nostrils,
and a raging fire came out of his mouth.
Glowing coals flared up from it.
9 He spread apart the heavens
and came down with a dark cloud under his feet.
10 He rode on one of the angels [a] as he flew,
and he soared on the wings of the wind.
11 He made the darkness his hiding place,
the dark rain clouds his covering.
12 Out of the brightness in front of him,
those rain clouds passed by with hailstones and lightning.
13 The Lord thundered in the heavens.
The Most High made his voice heard with hailstones and lightning.
14 He shot his arrows and scattered them.
He flashed streaks of lightning and threw them into confusion.
15 Then the ocean floor could be seen.
The foundations of the earth were laid bare
at your stern warning, O Lord,
at the blast of the breath from your nostrils.
16 He reached down from high above and took hold of me.
He pulled me out of the raging water.
17 He rescued me from my strong enemy
and from those who hated me,
because they were too strong for me.
18 On the day when I faced disaster, they confronted me,
but the Lord came to my defense.
19 He brought me out to a wide-open place.
He rescued me because he was pleased with me.
20 The Lord rewarded me
because of my righteousness,
because my hands are clean.
He paid me back
21 because I have kept the ways of the Lord
and I have not wickedly turned away from my God,
22 because all his judgments are in front of me
and I have not turned away from his laws.
23 I was innocent as far as he was concerned.
I have kept myself from guilt.
24 The Lord paid me back
because of my righteousness,
because he can see that my hands are clean.
25 ⌞In dealing⌟ with faithful people you are faithful,
with innocent people you are innocent,
26 with pure people you are pure.
⌞In dealing⌟ with devious people you are clever.
27 You save humble people,
but you bring down a conceited look.
28 O Lord, you light my lamp.
My God turns my darkness into light.
29 With you I can attack a line of soldiers.
With my God I can break through barricades.
30 God’s way is perfect!
The promise of the Lord has proven to be true.
He is a shield to all those who take refuge in him.
31 Who is God but the Lord?
Who is a rock except our God?
32 God arms me with strength
and makes my way perfect.
33 He makes my feet like those of a deer
and gives me sure footing on high places.
34 He trains my hands for battle
so that my arms can bend an ⌞archer’s⌟ bow of bronze.
35 You have given me the shield of your salvation.
Your right hand supports me.
Your gentleness makes me great.
36 You make a wide path for me to walk on
so that my feet do not slip.
37 I chased my enemies and caught up with them.
I did not return until I had ended their lives.
38 I wounded them so badly that they were unable to get up.
They fell under my feet.
39 You armed me with strength for battle.
You made my opponents bow at my feet.
40 You made my enemies turn their backs to me,
and I destroyed those who hated me.
41 They cried out for help, but there was no one to save them.
They cried out to the Lord, but he did not answer them.
42 I beat them into a powder as fine as the dust blown by the wind.
I threw them out as though they were dirt on the streets.
43 You rescued me from my conflicts with the people.
You made me the leader of nations.
A people I did not know will serve me:
44 As soon as they hear of me, they will obey me.
Foreigners will cringe in front of me.
45 Foreigners will lose heart,
and they will tremble when they come out of their fortifications.
46 The Lord lives!
Thanks be to my rock!
May God my Savior be honored.
47 God gives me vengeance!
He brings people under my authority.
48 He saves me from my enemies.
You lift me up above my opponents.
You rescue me from violent people.
49 That is why I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the nations
and make music to praise your name.
50 He gives great victories to his king.
He shows mercy to his anointed,
to David, and to his descendant [b] forever.
David Plays the Lyre for Saul
14 Now, the Lord’s Spirit had left Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord tormented him. 15 Saul’s officials told him, “An evil spirit from God is tormenting you. 16 Your Majesty, why don’t you command us to look for a man who can play the lyre well? When the evil spirit from God comes to you, he’ll strum a tune, and you’ll feel better.”
17 Saul told his officials, “Please find me a man who can play well and bring him to me.”
18 One of the officials said, “I know one of Jesse’s sons from Bethlehem who can play well. He’s a courageous man and a warrior. He has a way with words, he is handsome, and the Lord is with him.”
19 Saul sent messengers to Jesse to say, “Send me your son David, who is with the sheep.”
20 Jesse took six bushels of bread, a full wineskin, and a young goat and sent them with his son David to Saul. 21 David came to Saul and served him. Saul loved him very much and made David his armorbearer. 22 Saul sent ⌞this message⌟ to Jesse, “Please let David stay with me because I have grown fond of him.”
23 Whenever God’s spirit came to Saul, David took the lyre and strummed a tune. Saul got relief ⌞from his terror⌟ and felt better, and the evil spirit left him.
David and Goliath
17 The Philistines assembled their armies for war. They assembled at Socoh, which is in Judah, and camped between Socoh and Azekah at Ephes Dammim. 2 So Saul and the army of Israel assembled and camped in the Elah Valley. They formed a battle line to fight the Philistines. 3 The Philistines were stationed on a hill on one side, and the Israelites were stationed on a hill on the other side. There was a ravine between the two of them.
4 The Philistine army’s champion came out of their camp. His name was Goliath from Gath. He was ten feet tall.[a] 5 He had a bronze helmet on his head, and he wore a bronze coat of armor scales weighing 125 pounds. 6 On his legs he had bronze shin guards and on his back a bronze javelin. 7 The shaft of his spear was like the beam used by weavers. The head of his spear was made of 15 pounds of iron. The man who carried his shield walked ahead of him.
8 Goliath stood and called to the Israelites, “Why do you form a battle line? Am I not a Philistine, and aren’t you Saul’s servants? Choose a man, and let him come down to ⌞fight⌟ me. 9 If he can fight me and kill me, then we will be your slaves. But if I overpower him and kill him, then you will be our slaves and serve us.” 10 The Philistine added, “I challenge the Israelite battle line today. Send out a man so that we can fight each other.” 11 When Saul and all the Israelites heard what this Philistine said, they were gripped with fear.
17 While Peter was puzzled by the meaning of the vision, the men sent by Cornelius found Simon’s house and went to the gate. 18 They asked if Simon Peter was staying there. 19 Peter was still thinking about the vision when the Spirit said to him, “Three men are looking for you. 20 Get up, and go downstairs. Don’t hesitate to go with these men. I have sent them.”
21 So Peter went to the men. He said, “I’m the man you’re looking for. Why are you here?”
22 The men replied, “Cornelius, a Roman army officer, sent us. He’s a man who has God’s approval and who respects God. Also, the Jewish people respect him. A holy angel told him to summon you to his home to hear what you have to say.”
23 Peter asked the men to come into the house and had them stay overnight.
Peter Speaks with Cornelius
The next day Peter left with them. Some disciples from Joppa went along. 24 The following 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’ house, Cornelius met him, bowed down, and worshiped Peter. 26 But Peter made him get up. He told him, “Stand up! I’m only a man.”
27 As Peter talked, he entered Cornelius’ house and found that many people had gathered. 28 He said to them, “You understand how wrong it is for a Jewish man to associate or visit with anyone of another race. But God has shown me that I should no longer call anyone impure or unclean. 29 That is why I didn’t object to coming here when you sent for me. I want to know why you sent for me.”
30 Cornelius answered, “Four days ago I was praying at home. It was at this same time, three o’clock in the afternoon. Suddenly, a man dressed in radiant clothes stood in front of me. 31 He said to me, ‘Cornelius, God has heard your prayer and has remembered your gifts to the poor. 32 So send messengers to Joppa, and summon a man whose name is Simon Peter. He’s a guest in the home of Simon, a leatherworker who lives by the sea.’ 33 So I sent for you immediately. Thank you for coming. 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 Apostles(A)
36 While they were talking about what had happened, Jesus stood among them. He said to them, “Peace be with you!” 37 They were terrified, and thought they were seeing a ghost.
38 He asked them, “Why are you afraid? Why do you have doubts? 39 Look at my hands and feet, and see that it’s really me. Touch me, and see for yourselves. Ghosts don’t have flesh and bones, but you can see that I do.” 40 As he said this, he showed them his hands and feet.
41 The disciples were overcome with joy and amazement because this seemed too good to be true. Then Jesus asked them, “Do you have anything to eat?” 42 They gave him a piece of broiled fish. 43 He took it and ate it while they watched him.
44 Then he said to them, “These are the words I spoke to you while I was still with you. I told you that everything written about me in Moses’ Teachings, the Prophets, and the Psalms had to come true.” 45 Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures. 46 He said to them, “Scripture says that the Messiah would suffer and that he would come back to life on the third day. 47 Scripture also says that by the authority of Jesus people would be told to turn to God and change the way they think and act so that their sins will be forgiven. This would be told to people from all nations, beginning in the city of Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses to these things.
49 “I’m sending you what my Father promised. Wait here in the city until you receive power from heaven.”
50 Then Jesus took them to a place near Bethany. There he raised his hands and blessed them. 51 While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken to heaven.
52 The disciples worshiped him and were overjoyed as they went back to Jerusalem. 53 They were always in the temple, where they praised God.
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