Book of Common Prayer
A Song of Victory
For the director of music. By the Lord’s servant, David. David sang this song to the Lord when the Lord had saved him from Saul and all his other enemies.
18 I love you, Lord. You are my strength.
2 The Lord is my rock, my protection, my Savior.
My God is my rock.
I can run to him for safety.
He is my shield and my saving strength, my defender.
3 I will call to the Lord, who is worthy of praise,
and I will be saved from my enemies.
4 The ropes of death came around me;
the deadly rivers overwhelmed me.
5 The ropes of death wrapped around me.
The traps of death were before me.
6 In my trouble I called to the Lord.
I cried out to my God for help.
From his temple he heard my voice;
my call for help reached his ears.
7 The earth trembled and shook.
The foundations of the mountains began to shake.
They trembled because the Lord was angry.
8 Smoke came out of his nose,
and burning fire came out of his mouth.
Burning coals went before him.
9 He tore open the sky and came down
with dark clouds under his feet.
10 He rode a creature with wings and flew.
He raced on the wings of the wind.
11 He made darkness his covering, his shelter around him,
surrounded by fog and clouds.
12 Out of the brightness of his presence came clouds
with hail and lightning.
13 The Lord thundered from heaven;
the Most High raised his voice,
and there was hail and lightning.
14 He shot his arrows and scattered his enemies.
His many bolts of lightning confused them with fear.
15 Lord, you spoke strongly.
The wind blew from your nose.
Then the valleys of the sea appeared,
and the foundations of the earth were seen.
16 The Lord reached down from above and took me;
he pulled me from the deep water.
17 He saved me from my powerful enemies,
from those who hated me, because they were too strong for me.
18 They attacked me at my time of trouble,
but the Lord supported me.
19 He took me to a safe place.
Because he delights in me, he saved me.
20 The Lord spared me because I did what was right.
Because I have not done evil, he has rewarded me.
21 I have followed the ways of the Lord;
I have not done evil by turning away from my God.
22 I remember all his laws
and have not broken his rules.
23 I am innocent before him;
I have kept myself from doing evil.
24 The Lord rewarded me because I did what was right,
because I did what the Lord said was right.
25 Lord, you are loyal to those who are loyal,
and you are good to those who are good.
26 You are pure to those who are pure,
but you are against those who are bad.
27 You save the humble,
but you bring down those who are proud.
28 Lord, you give light to my lamp.
My God brightens the darkness around me.
29 With your help I can attack an army.
With God’s help I can jump over a wall.
30 The ways of God are without fault.
The Lord’s words are pure.
He is a shield to those who trust him.
31 Who is God? Only the Lord.
Who is the Rock? Only our God.
32 God is my protection.
He makes my way free from fault.
33 He makes me like a deer that does not stumble;
he helps me stand on the steep mountains.
34 He trains my hands for battle
so my arms can bend a bronze bow.
35 You protect me with your saving shield.
You support me with your right hand.
You have stooped to make me great.
36 You give me a better way to live,
so I live as you want me to.
37 I chased my enemies and caught them.
I did not quit until they were destroyed.
38 I crushed them so they couldn’t rise up again.
They fell beneath my feet.
39 You gave me strength in battle.
You made my enemies bow before me.
40 You made my enemies turn back,
and I destroyed those who hated me.
41 They called for help,
but no one came to save them.
They called to the Lord,
but he did not answer them.
42 I beat my enemies into pieces, like dust in the wind.
I poured them out like mud in the streets.
43 You saved me when the people attacked me.
You made me the leader of nations.
People I never knew serve me.
44 As soon as they hear me, they obey me.
Foreigners obey me.
45 They all become afraid
and tremble in their hiding places.
46 The Lord lives!
May my Rock be praised.
Praise the God who saves me!
47 God gives me victory over my enemies
and brings people under my rule.
48 He saves me from my enemies.
You set me over those who hate me.
You saved me from violent people.
49 So I will praise you, Lord, among the nations.
I will sing praises to your name.
50 The Lord gives great victories to his king.
He is loyal to his appointed king,
to David and his descendants forever.
13 Once, three of the Thirty, David’s chief soldiers, came down to him at the cave of Adullam during harvest. The Philistine army had camped in the Valley of Rephaim. 14 At that time David was in the stronghold, and some of the Philistines were in Bethlehem.
15 David had a strong desire for some water. He said, “Oh, I wish someone would get me water from the well near the city gate of Bethlehem!” 16 So the three warriors broke through the Philistine army and took water from the well near the city gate of Bethlehem. Then they brought it to David, but he refused to drink it. He poured it out before the Lord, 17 saying, “May the Lord keep me from drinking this water! It would be like drinking the blood of the men who risked their lives!” So David refused to drink it. These were the brave things that the three warriors did.
1 From the Elder.[a]
To the chosen lady[b] and her children:
I love all of you in the truth,[c] and all those who know the truth love you. 2 We love you because of the truth that lives in us and will be with us forever.
3 Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and his Son, Jesus Christ, will be with us in truth and love.
4 I was very happy to learn that some of your children are following the way of truth, as the Father commanded us. 5 And now, dear lady, this is not a new command but is the same command we have had from the beginning. I ask you that we all love each other. 6 And love means living the way God commanded us to live. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is this: Live a life of love.
7 Many false teachers are in the world now who do not confess that Jesus Christ came to earth as a human. Anyone who does not confess this is a false teacher and an enemy of Christ. 8 Be careful yourselves that you do not lose everything you[d] have worked for, but that you receive your full reward.
9 Anyone who goes beyond Christ’s teaching and does not continue to follow only his teaching does not have God. But whoever continues to follow the teaching of Christ has both the Father and the Son. 10 If someone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not welcome or accept that person into your house. 11 If you welcome such a person, you share in the evil work.
12 I have many things to write to you, but I do not want to use paper and ink. Instead, I hope to come to you and talk face to face so we can be full of joy. 13 The children of your chosen sister[e] greet you.
The Wedding at Cana
2 Two days later there was a wedding in the town of Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there, 2 and Jesus and his followers were also invited to the wedding. 3 When all the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no more wine.”
4 Jesus answered, “Dear woman, why come to me? My time has not yet come.”
5 His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you to do.”
6 In that place there were six stone water jars that the Jews used in their washing ceremony.[a] Each jar held about twenty or thirty gallons.
7 Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water.” So they filled the jars to the top.
8 Then he said to them, “Now take some out and give it to the master of the feast.”
So they took the water to the master. 9 When he tasted it, the water had become wine. He did not know where the wine came from, but the servants who had brought the water knew. The master of the wedding called the bridegroom 10 and said to him, “People always serve the best wine first. Later, after the guests have been drinking awhile, they serve the cheaper wine. But you have saved the best wine till now.”
11 So in Cana of Galilee Jesus did his first miracle. There he showed his glory, and his followers believed in him.
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.