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]
12 Indeed, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies has planned a day of judgment,[a]
for[b] all the high and mighty,
for all who are proud—they will be humiliated;
13 for all the cedars of Lebanon,
that are so high and mighty,
for all the oaks of Bashan;[c]
14 for all the tall mountains,
for all the high hills,[d]
15 for every high tower,
for every fortified wall,
16 for all the large ships,[e]
for all the impressive[f] ships.[g]
17 Proud men will be humiliated,
arrogant men will be brought low;[h]
the Lord alone will be exalted[i]
in that day.
18 The worthless idols will be completely eliminated.[j]
19 They[k] will go into caves in the rocky cliffs
and into holes in the ground,[l]
trying to escape the dreadful judgment of the Lord[m]
and his royal splendor,
when he rises up to terrify the earth.[n]
20 At that time[o] men will throw
their silver and gold idols,
which they made for themselves to worship,[p]
into the caves where rodents and bats live,[q]
21 so they themselves can go into the crevices of the rocky cliffs
and the openings under the rocky overhangs,[r]
trying to escape the dreadful judgment of the Lord[s]
and his royal splendor,
when he rises up to terrify the earth.[t]
22 Stop trusting in human beings,
whose life’s breath is in their nostrils.
For why should they be given special consideration?
3 So when we could bear it no longer, we decided to stay on in Athens alone. 2 We[a] sent Timothy, our brother and fellow worker for God[b] in the gospel of Christ, to strengthen you and encourage you about your faith, 3 so that no one would be shaken by these afflictions. For you yourselves know that we are destined for this. 4 For in fact when we were with you, we were telling you in advance that we would suffer affliction, and so it has happened, as you well know.[c] 5 So[d] when I could bear it no longer, I sent to find out about your faith, for fear that the tempter somehow tempted you and our toil had proven useless.
6 But now Timothy has come[e] to us from you and given us the good news of your faith and love and that you always think of us with affection[f] and long to see us just as we also long to see you![g] 7 So[h] in all our distress and affliction, we were reassured about you, brothers and sisters,[i] through your faith. 8 For now we are alive again,[j] if you stand firm in the Lord. 9 For how can we thank God enough for you,[k] for all the joy we feel[l] because of you before our God? 10 We pray earnestly night and day to see you in person[m] and make up what may be lacking in your faith.
11 Now may God our Father himself and our Lord Jesus direct our way to you. 12 And may the Lord cause you to increase and abound in love for one another and for all, just as we do for you, 13 so that your hearts are strengthened in holiness to be blameless before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints.[n]
Marriage and the Resurrection
27 Now some Sadducees[a] (who contend that there is no resurrection)[b] came to him. 28 They asked him,[c] “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies leaving a wife but no children, that man[d] must marry[e] the widow and father children[f] for his brother.[g] 29 Now there were seven brothers. The first one married a woman[h] and died without children. 30 The second[i] 31 and then the third married her, and in this same way all seven died, leaving no children. 32 Finally the woman died too. 33 In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife will the woman be?[j] For all seven had married her.”[k]
34 So[l] Jesus said to them, “The people of this age[m] marry and are given in marriage. 35 But those who are regarded as worthy to share in[n] that age and in the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage.[o] 36 In fact, they can no longer die, because they are equal to angels[p] and are sons of God, since they are[q] sons[r] of the resurrection. 37 But even Moses revealed that the dead are raised[s] in the passage about the bush,[t] where he calls the Lord the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.[u] 38 Now he is not God of the dead, but of the living,[v] for all live before him.”[w] 39 Then[x] some of the experts in the law[y] answered, “Teacher, you have spoken well!”[z] 40 For they did not dare any longer to ask[aa] him anything.
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