Book of Common Prayer
God the Sovereign Savior(A)
To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David (B)the servant of the Lord, who spoke to the Lord the words of (C)this song on the day that the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. And he said:
18 I (D)will love You, O Lord, my strength.
2 The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer;
My God, my [a]strength, (E)in whom I will trust;
My shield and the [b]horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
3 I will call upon the Lord, (F)who is worthy to be praised;
So shall I be saved from my enemies.
4 (G)The pangs of death surrounded me,
And the floods of [c]ungodliness made me afraid.
5 The sorrows of Sheol surrounded me;
The snares of death confronted me.
6 In my distress I called upon the Lord,
And cried out to my God;
He heard my voice from His temple,
And my cry came before Him, even to His ears.
7 (H)Then the earth shook and trembled;
The foundations of the hills also quaked and were shaken,
Because He was angry.
8 Smoke went up from His nostrils,
And devouring fire from His mouth;
Coals were kindled by it.
9 (I)He bowed the heavens also, and came down
With darkness under His feet.
10 (J)And He rode upon a cherub, and flew;
(K)He flew upon the wings of the wind.
11 He made darkness His secret place;
(L)His canopy around Him was dark waters
And thick clouds of the skies.
12 (M)From the brightness before Him,
His thick clouds passed with hailstones and coals of fire.
13 The Lord thundered from heaven,
And the Most High uttered (N)His voice,
[d]Hailstones and coals of fire.
14 (O)He sent out His arrows and scattered [e]the foe,
Lightnings in abundance, and He vanquished them.
15 Then the channels of the sea were seen,
The foundations of the world were uncovered
At Your rebuke, O Lord,
At the blast of the breath of Your nostrils.
16 (P)He sent from above, He took me;
He drew me out of many waters.
17 He delivered me from my strong enemy,
From those who hated me,
For they were too strong for me.
18 They confronted me in the day of my calamity,
But the Lord was my support.
19 (Q)He also brought me out into a broad place;
He delivered me because He delighted in me.
20 (R)The Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness;
According to the cleanness of my hands
He has recompensed me.
21 For I have kept the ways of the Lord,
And have not wickedly departed from my God.
22 For all His judgments were before me,
And I did not put away His statutes from me.
23 I was also blameless [f]before Him,
And I kept myself from my iniquity.
24 (S)Therefore the Lord has recompensed me according to my righteousness,
According to the cleanness of my hands in His sight.
25 (T)With the merciful You will show Yourself merciful;
With a blameless man You will show Yourself blameless;
26 With the pure You will show Yourself pure;
And (U)with the devious You will show Yourself shrewd.
27 For You will save the humble people,
But will bring down (V)haughty looks.
28 (W)For You will light my lamp;
The Lord my God will enlighten my darkness.
29 For by You I can [g]run against a troop,
By my God I can leap over a wall.
30 As for God, (X)His way is perfect;
(Y)The word of the Lord is [h]proven;
He is a shield (Z)to all who trust in Him.
31 (AA)For who is God, except the Lord?
And who is a rock, except our God?
32 It is God who (AB)arms me with strength,
And makes my way perfect.
33 (AC)He makes my feet like the feet of deer,
And (AD)sets me on my high places.
34 (AE)He teaches my hands to make war,
So that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
35 You have also given me the shield of Your salvation;
Your right hand has held me up,
Your gentleness has made me great.
36 You enlarged my path under me,
(AF)So my feet did not slip.
37 I have pursued my enemies and overtaken them;
Neither did I turn back again till they were destroyed.
38 I have wounded them,
So that they could not rise;
They have fallen under my feet.
39 For You have armed me with strength for the battle;
You have [i]subdued under me those who rose up against me.
40 You have also given me the necks of my enemies,
So that I destroyed those who hated me.
41 They cried out, but there was none to save;
(AG)Even to the Lord, but He did not answer them.
42 Then I beat them as fine as the dust before the wind;
I (AH)cast them out like dirt in the streets.
43 You have delivered me from the strivings of the people;
(AI)You have made me the head of the [j]nations;
(AJ)A people I have not known shall serve me.
44 As soon as they hear of me they obey me;
The foreigners [k]submit to me.
45 (AK)The foreigners fade away,
And come frightened from their hideouts.
46 The Lord lives!
Blessed be my Rock!
Let the God of my salvation be exalted.
47 It is God who avenges me,
(AL)And subdues the peoples under me;
48 He delivers me from my enemies.
(AM)You also lift me up above those who rise against me;
You have delivered me from the violent man.
49 (AN)Therefore I will give thanks to You, O Lord, among the [l]Gentiles,
And sing praises to Your name.
A Distressing Spirit Troubles Saul
14 (A)But the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and (B)a distressing spirit from the Lord troubled him. 15 And Saul’s servants said to him, “Surely, a distressing spirit from God is troubling you. 16 Let our master now command your servants, who are before you, to seek out a man who is a skillful player on the harp. And it shall be that he will (C)play it with his hand when the [a]distressing spirit from God is upon you, and you shall be well.”
17 So Saul said to his servants, [b]“Provide me now a man who can play well, and bring him to me.”
18 Then one of the servants answered and said, “Look, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, who is skillful in playing, a mighty man of valor, a man of war, prudent in speech, and a handsome person; and (D)the Lord is with him.”
19 Therefore Saul sent messengers to Jesse, and said, “Send me your son David, who is with the sheep.” 20 And Jesse (E)took a donkey loaded with bread, a skin of wine, and a young goat, and sent them by his son David to Saul. 21 So David came to Saul and (F)stood before him. And he loved him greatly, and he became his armorbearer. 22 Then Saul sent to Jesse, saying, “Please let David stand before me, for he has found favor in my sight.” 23 And so it was, whenever the spirit from God was upon Saul, that David would take a harp and play it with his hand. Then Saul would become refreshed and well, and the distressing spirit would depart from him.
David and Goliath
17 Now the Philistines gathered their armies together to battle, and were gathered at (G)Sochoh, which belongs to Judah; they encamped between Sochoh and Azekah, in Ephes Dammim. 2 And Saul and the men of Israel were gathered together, and they encamped in the Valley of Elah, and drew up in battle array against the Philistines. 3 The Philistines stood on a mountain on one side, and Israel stood on a mountain on the other side, with a valley between them.
4 And a champion went out from the camp of the Philistines, named (H)Goliath, from (I)Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span. 5 He had a bronze helmet on his head, and he was [c]armed with a coat of mail, and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of bronze. 6 And he had bronze armor on his legs and a bronze javelin between his shoulders. 7 Now the staff of his spear was like a weaver’s beam, and his iron spearhead weighed six hundred shekels; and a shield-bearer went before him. 8 Then he stood and cried out to the armies of Israel, and said to them, “Why have you come out to line up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and you the (J)servants of Saul? Choose a man for yourselves, and let him come down to me. 9 If he is able to fight with me and kill me, then we will be your servants. But if I prevail against him and kill him, then you shall be our servants and (K)serve us.” 10 And the Philistine said, “I (L)defy the armies of Israel this day; give me a man, that we may fight together.” 11 When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid.
Summoned to Caesarea
17 Now while Peter [a]wondered within himself what this vision which he had seen meant, behold, the men who had been sent from Cornelius had made inquiry for Simon’s house, and stood before the gate. 18 And they called and asked whether Simon, whose surname was Peter, was lodging there.
19 While Peter thought about the vision, (A)the Spirit said to him, “Behold, three men are seeking you. 20 (B)Arise therefore, go down and go with them, doubting nothing; for I have sent them.”
21 Then Peter went down to the men [b]who had been sent to him from Cornelius, and said, “Yes, I am he whom you seek. For what reason have you come?”
22 And they said, “Cornelius the centurion, a just man, one who fears God and (C)has a good reputation among all the nation of the Jews, was divinely instructed by a holy angel to summon you to his house, and to hear words from you.” 23 Then he invited them in and lodged them.
On the next day Peter went away with them, (D)and some brethren from Joppa accompanied him.
Peter Meets Cornelius
24 And the following day they entered Caesarea. Now Cornelius was waiting for them, and had called together his relatives and close friends. 25 As Peter was coming in, Cornelius met him and fell down at his feet and worshiped him. 26 But Peter lifted him up, saying, (E)“Stand up; I myself am also a man.” 27 And as he talked with him, he went in and found many who had come together. 28 Then he said to them, “You know how (F)unlawful it is for a Jewish man to keep company with or go to one of another nation. But (G)God has shown me that I should not call any man common or unclean. 29 Therefore I came without objection as soon as I was sent for. I ask, then, for what reason have you sent for me?”
30 So Cornelius said, [c]“Four days ago I was fasting until this hour; and at the ninth hour I prayed in my house, and behold, (H)a man stood before me (I)in bright clothing, 31 and said, ‘Cornelius, (J)your prayer has been heard, and (K)your [d]alms are remembered in the sight of God. 32 Send therefore to Joppa and call Simon here, whose surname is Peter. He is lodging in the house of Simon, a tanner, by the sea. [e]When he comes, he will speak to you.’ 33 So I sent to you immediately, and you have done well to come. Now therefore, we are all present before God, to hear all the things commanded you by God.”
Jesus Appears to His Disciples(A)
36 (B)Now as they said these things, Jesus Himself stood in the midst of them, and said to them, “Peace to you.” 37 But they were terrified and frightened, and supposed they had seen (C)a spirit. 38 And He said to them, “Why are you troubled? And why do doubts arise in your hearts? 39 Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself. (D)Handle Me and see, for a (E)spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have.”
40 [a]When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His feet. 41 But while they still did not believe (F)for joy, and marveled, He said to them, (G)“Have you any food here?” 42 So they gave Him a piece of a broiled fish [b]and some honeycomb. 43 (H)And He took it and ate in their presence.
The Scriptures Opened
44 Then He said to them, (I)“These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me.” 45 And (J)He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures.
46 Then He said to them, (K)“Thus it is written, [c]and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, 47 and that repentance and (L)remission of sins should be preached in His name (M)to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. 48 And (N)you are witnesses of these things. 49 (O)Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city [d]of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high.”
The Ascension(P)
50 And He led them out (Q)as far as Bethany, and He lifted up His hands and blessed them. 51 (R)Now it came to pass, while He blessed them, that He was parted from them and carried up into heaven. 52 (S)And they worshiped Him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, 53 and were continually (T)in the temple [e]praising and blessing God. [f]Amen.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.