Book of Common Prayer
For the director of music. A psalm of David, the servant of the Lord. He sang the words of this song to the Lord. He sang them when the Lord saved him. He saved him from the power of all his enemies and of Saul. David said,
18 I love you, Lord.
You give me strength.
2 The Lord is my rock and my place of safety. He is the God who saves me.
My God is my rock. I go to him for safety.
He is like a shield to me. He’s the power that saves me. He’s my place of safety.
3 I called out to the Lord. He is worthy of praise.
He saved me from my enemies.
4 The ropes of death were almost wrapped around me.
A destroying flood swept over me.
5 The ropes of the grave were tight around me.
Death set its trap in front of me.
6 When I was in trouble, I called out to the Lord.
I cried to my God for help.
From his temple he heard my voice.
My cry for help reached his ears.
7 The earth trembled and shook.
The base of the mountains rocked back and forth.
It trembled because the Lord was angry.
8 Smoke came out of his nose.
Flames of fire came out of his mouth.
Burning coals blazed out of it.
9 He opened the heavens and came down.
Dark clouds were under his feet.
10 He stood on the cherubim and flew.
The wings of the wind lifted him up.
11 He covered himself with darkness.
The dark rain clouds of the sky were like a tent around him.
12 Clouds came out of the brightness that was all around him.
They came with hailstones and flashes of lightning.
13 The Lord thundered from heaven.
The voice of the Most High God was heard.
14 He shot his arrows and scattered our enemies.
He sent great flashes of lightning and chased the enemies away.
15 The bottom of the sea could be seen.
The foundations of the earth were uncovered.
Lord, it happened when your anger blazed out.
It came like a blast of breath from your nose.
16 He reached down from heaven. He took hold of me.
He lifted me out of deep waters.
17 He saved me from my powerful enemies.
He set me free from those who were too strong for me.
18 They opposed me when I was in trouble.
But the Lord helped me.
19 He brought me out into a wide and safe place.
He saved me because he was pleased with me.
20 The Lord has been good to me because I do what is right.
He has rewarded me because I lead a pure life.
21 I have lived the way the Lord wanted me to.
I am not guilty of turning away from my God.
22 I keep all his laws in mind.
I haven’t turned away from his commands.
23 He knows that I am without blame.
He knows I’ve kept myself from sinning.
24 The Lord has rewarded me for doing what is right.
He has rewarded me because I haven’t done anything wrong.
25 Lord, to those who are faithful you show that you are faithful.
To those who are without blame you show that you are without blame.
26 To those who are pure you show that you are pure.
But to those whose paths are crooked you show that you are clever.
27 You save those who aren’t proud.
But you bring down those whose eyes are proud.
28 Lord, you keep the lamp of my life burning brightly.
You are my God. You bring light into my darkness.
29 With your help I can attack a troop of soldiers.
With the help of my God I can climb over a wall.
30 God’s way is perfect.
The Lord’s word doesn’t have any flaws.
He is like a shield
to all who go to him for safety.
31 Who is God except the Lord?
Who is the Rock except our God?
32 God gives me strength for the battle.
He keeps my way secure.
33 He makes my feet like the feet of a deer.
He causes me to stand on the highest places.
34 He trains my hands to fight every battle.
My arms can bend a bow of bronze.
35 Lord, you are like a shield that keeps me safe.
Your strong right hand keeps me going.
Your help has made me great.
36 You give me a wide path to walk on
so that I don’t twist my ankles.
37 I chased my enemies and caught them.
I didn’t turn back until they were destroyed.
38 I crushed them so that they couldn’t get up.
They fell under my feet.
39 Lord, you gave me strength to fight the battle.
You made my enemies humble in front of me.
40 You made them turn their backs and run away.
So I destroyed my enemies.
41 They cried out for help. But there was no one to save them.
They called out to the Lord. But he didn’t answer them.
42 I beat them as fine as dust blown by the wind.
I stomped on them like mud in the streets.
43 You saved me when my own people attacked me.
You made me the ruler over nations.
People I didn’t know serve me now.
44 People from other lands bow down to me in fear.
As soon as they hear me, they obey me.
45 All of them give up hope.
They come trembling out of their hiding places.
46 The Lord lives! Give praise to my Rock!
Give honor to God my Savior!
47 He is the God who pays back my enemies.
He brings the nations under my control.
48 He saves me from my enemies.
You have honored me more than them.
You have saved me from a man who wanted to hurt me.
49 Lord, I will praise you among the nations.
I will sing the praises of your name.
50 The Lord helps his king win great battles.
He shows his faithful love to his anointed king.
He shows it to David and to his family forever.
The First Speech of Bildad
8 Then Bildad the Shuhite replied,
2 “Job, how long will you talk like that?
Your words don’t have any meaning.
3 Does God ever treat people unfairly?
Does the Mighty One make what is wrong
appear to be right?
4 Your children sinned against him.
So he punished them for their sin.
5 But seek God with all your heart.
Make your appeal to the Mighty One.
6 Be pure and honest.
And he will rise up and help you now.
He’ll give you everything you had before.
7 In the past, things went well with you.
But in days to come, things will get even better.
8 “Find out what our parents taught.
Discover what those who lived before them learned.
9 After all, we were born only yesterday.
So we don’t know anything.
Our days on this earth are like a shadow that disappears.
10 Won’t your people of long ago teach you and tell you?
Won’t the things they said help you understand?
20 “I’m sure God doesn’t turn his back on anyone who is honest.
And he doesn’t help those who do what is evil.
21 He will fill your mouth with laughter.
Shouts of joy will come from your lips.
22 Your enemies will put on shame as if it were clothes.
The tents of sinful people will be gone.”
17 Peter was wondering what the vision meant. At that very moment the men sent by Cornelius found Simon’s house. They stopped at the gate 18 and called out. They asked if Simon Peter was staying there.
19 Peter was still thinking about the vision. The Holy Spirit spoke to him. “Simon,” he said, “three men are looking for you. 20 Get up and go downstairs. Don’t let anything keep you from going with them. I have sent them.”
21 Peter went down and spoke to the men. “I’m the one you’re looking for,” he said. “Why have you come?”
22 The men replied, “We have come from Cornelius, the Roman commander. He is a good man who worships God. All the Jewish people respect him. A holy angel told him to invite you to his house. Then Cornelius can hear what you have to say.” 23 Then Peter invited the men into the house to be his guests.
Peter Goes to the House of Cornelius
The next day Peter went with the three men. Some of the believers from Joppa went along. 24 The following day he arrived in Caesarea. Cornelius was expecting them. He had called together his relatives and close friends. 25 When Peter entered the house, Cornelius met him. As a sign of respect, he fell at Peter’s feet. 26 But Peter made him get up. “Stand up,” he said. “I am only a man myself.”
27 As he was talking with Cornelius, Peter went inside. There he found a large group of people. 28 He said to them, “You know that it is against our law for a Jew to enter a Gentile home. A Jew shouldn’t have any close contact with a Gentile. But God has shown me that I should not say anyone is not pure and ‘clean.’ 29 So when you sent for me, I came without asking any questions. May I ask why you sent for me?”
30 Cornelius answered, “Three days ago at this very hour I was in my house praying. It was three o’clock in the afternoon. Suddenly a man in shining clothes stood in front of me. 31 He said, ‘Cornelius, God has heard your prayer. He has remembered your gifts to poor people. 32 Send someone to Joppa to get Simon Peter. He is a guest in the home of another Simon, who works with leather. He lives by the sea.’ 33 So I sent for you right away. It was good of you to come. Now we are all here. And God is here with us. We are ready to listen to everything the Lord has commanded you to tell us.”
Jesus Teaches at the Feast
14 Jesus did nothing until halfway through the feast. Then he went up to the temple courtyard and began to teach. 15 The Jews there were amazed. They asked, “How did this man learn so much without being taught?”
16 Jesus answered, “What I teach is not my own. It comes from the one who sent me. 17 Here is how someone can find out whether my teaching comes from God or from me. That person must choose to do what God wants them to do. 18 Whoever speaks on their own does it to get personal honor. But someone who works for the honor of the one who sent him is truthful. Nothing about him is false. 19 Didn’t Moses give you the law? But not one of you obeys the law. Why are you trying to kill me?”
20 “You are controlled by demons,” the crowd answered. “Who is trying to kill you?”
21 Jesus said to them, “I did one miracle, and you are all amazed. 22 Moses gave you circumcision, and so you circumcise a child on the Sabbath day. But circumcision did not really come from Moses. It came from Abraham. 23 You circumcise a boy on the Sabbath day. You think that if you do, you won’t break the law of Moses. Then why are you angry with me? I healed a man’s entire body on the Sabbath day! 24 Stop judging only by what you see. Judge in the right way.”
People Don’t Agree About Who Jesus Is
25 Then some of the people of Jerusalem began asking questions. They said, “Isn’t this the man some people are trying to kill? 26 Here he is! He is speaking openly. They aren’t saying a word to him. Have the authorities really decided that he is the Messiah? 27 But we know where this man is from. When the Messiah comes, no one will know where he is from.”
28 Jesus was still teaching in the temple courtyard. He cried out, “Yes, you know me. And you know where I am from. I am not here on my own authority. The one who sent me is true. You do not know him. 29 But I know him. I am from him, and he sent me.”
30 When he said this, they tried to arrest him. But no one laid a hand on him. The time for him to show who he really was had not yet come. 31 Still, many people in the crowd believed in him. They said, “How will it be when the Messiah comes? Will he do more signs than this man?”
32 The Pharisees heard the crowd whispering things like this about him. Then the chief priests and the Pharisees sent temple guards to arrest him.
33 Jesus said, “I am with you for only a short time. Then I will go to the one who sent me. 34 You will look for me, but you won’t find me. You can’t come where I am going.”
35 The Jews said to one another, “Where does this man plan to go? Does he think we can’t find him? Will he go where our people live scattered among the Greeks? Will he go there to teach the Greeks? 36 What did he mean when he said, ‘You will look for me, but you won’t find me’? And what did he mean when he said, ‘You can’t come where I am going’?”
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