Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 26
Prayer for Vindication
Davidic.
1 Vindicate me, Lord,
because I have lived with integrity
and have trusted in the Lord without wavering.(A)
2 Test me, Lord, and try me;
examine my heart and mind.(B)
3 For Your faithful love is before my eyes,
and I live by Your truth.(C)
4 I do not sit with the worthless
or associate with hypocrites.
5 I hate a crowd of evildoers,
and I do not sit with the wicked.(D)
6 I wash my hands[a] in innocence(E)
and go around Your altar, Lord,(F)
7 raising my voice in thanksgiving(G)
and telling about Your wonderful works.(H)
Psalm 28
My Strength
Davidic.
1 Lord, I call to You;
my rock, do not be deaf to me.(A)
If You remain silent to me,
I will be like those going down to the Pit.(B)
2 Listen to the sound of my pleading
when I cry to You for help,
when I lift up my hands
toward Your holy sanctuary.(C)
3 Do not drag me away with the wicked,
with the evildoers,
who speak in friendly ways with their neighbors
while malice is in their hearts.(D)
4 Repay them according to what they have done—
according to the evil of their deeds.
Repay them according to the work of their hands;
give them back what they deserve.(E)
5 Because they do not consider
what the Lord has done
or the work of His hands,
He will tear them down and not rebuild them.(F)
Psalm 36
Human Wickedness and God’s Love
For the choir director. A psalm of David, the Lord’s servant.
1 An oracle within my heart
concerning the transgression of the wicked person:
There is no dread of God before his eyes,(A)
2 for in his own eyes he flatters himself too much
to discover and hate his sin.(B)
3 The words of his mouth are malicious and deceptive;(C)
he has stopped acting wisely and doing good.(D)
4 Even on his bed he makes malicious plans.(E)
He sets himself on a path that is not good
and does not reject evil.(F)
5 Lord, Your faithful love reaches to heaven,
Your faithfulness to the clouds.(G)
6 Your righteousness is like the highest mountains;
Your judgments, like the deepest sea.(H)
Lord, You preserve man and beast.(I)
7 God, Your faithful love is so valuable
that people take refuge in the shadow of Your wings.(J)
8 They are filled from the abundance of Your house;
You let them drink from Your refreshing stream,(K)
9 for with You is life’s fountain.(L)
In Your light we will see light.(M)
Psalm 39
The Fleeting Nature of Life
For the choir director, for Jeduthun. A Davidic psalm.
1 I said, “I will guard my ways
so that I may not sin with my tongue;
I will guard my mouth with a muzzle
as long as the wicked are in my presence.”(A)
2 I was speechless and quiet;
I kept silent, even from speaking good,
and my pain intensified.(B)
3 My heart grew hot within me;
as I mused, a fire burned.(C)
I spoke with my tongue:
4 “Lord, reveal to me the end of my life
and the number of my days.
Let me know how short-lived I am.(D)
5 You, indeed, have made my days short in length,
and my life span as nothing in Your sight.
Yes, every mortal man is only a vapor.(E)
6 “Certainly, man walks about like a mere shadow.
Indeed, they frantically rush around in vain,
gathering possessions
without knowing who will get them.(F)
7 Now, Lord, what do I wait for?
My hope is in You.(G)
8 Deliver me from all my transgressions;
do not make me the taunt of fools.(H)
9 I am speechless; I do not open my mouth
because of what You have done.(I)
10 Remove Your torment from me;
I fade away because of the force of Your hand.(J)
11 You discipline a man with punishment for sin,
consuming like a moth what is precious to him;(K)
every man is only a vapor.(L)
David Delivered from Saul
19 Saul ordered his son Jonathan and all his servants to kill David.(A) But Saul’s son Jonathan liked David very much,(B) 2 so he told him: “My father Saul intends to kill you. Be on your guard in the morning and hide in a secret place and stay there. 3 I’ll go out and stand beside my father in the field where you are and talk to him about you. When I see what he says, I’ll tell you.”(C)
4 Jonathan spoke well of David to his father Saul. He said to him: “The king should not sin against his servant David.(D) He hasn’t sinned against you; in fact, his actions have been a great advantage to you. 5 He took his life in his hands when he struck down the Philistine,(E) and the Lord brought about a great victory for all Israel.(F) You saw it and rejoiced, so why would you sin against innocent blood by killing David for no reason?”(G)
6 Saul listened to Jonathan’s advice and swore an oath: “As surely as the Lord lives, David will not be killed.” 7 So Jonathan summoned David and told him all these words. Then Jonathan brought David to Saul, and he served him as he did before.(H)
8 When war broke out again, David went out and fought against the Philistines. He defeated them with such a great force that they fled from him.
9 Now an evil spirit sent from the Lord(I) came on Saul as he was sitting in his palace holding a spear.(J) David was playing the lyre,(K) 10 and Saul tried to pin David to the wall with the spear.(L) As the spear struck the wall, David eluded Saul, ran away, and escaped that night. 11 Saul sent agents to David’s house to watch for him and kill him in the morning.(M) But his wife Michal(N) warned David, “If you don’t escape tonight, you will be dead tomorrow!” 12 So she lowered David from the window, and he fled and escaped.(O) 13 Then Michal took the household idol and put it on the bed, placed some goat hair on its head, and covered it with a garment. 14 When Saul sent agents to seize David, Michal said, “He’s sick.”(P)
15 Saul sent the agents back to see David and said, “Bring him on his bed so I can kill him.” 16 When the messengers arrived, to their surprise, the household idol was on the bed with some goat hair on its head.
17 Saul asked Michal, “Why did you deceive me like this? You sent my enemy away, and he has escaped!”
She answered him, “He said to me, ‘Let me go! Why should I kill you?’”
18 So David fled and escaped and went to Samuel at Ramah(Q) and told him everything Saul had done to him. Then he and Samuel left and stayed at Naioth.(R)
James Martyred and Peter Jailed
12 About that time King Herod cruelly attacked some who belonged to the church, 2 and he killed James,(A) John’s brother, with the sword. 3 When he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter too, during the days of Unleavened Bread.(B) 4 After the arrest, he put him in prison and assigned four squads of four soldiers each to guard him, intending to bring him out to the people after the Passover. 5 So Peter was kept in prison, but prayer was being made earnestly to God for him by the church.
Peter Rescued
6 On the night before Herod was to bring him out for execution, Peter, bound with two chains, was sleeping between two soldiers, while the sentries in front of the door guarded the prison. 7 Suddenly an angel of the Lord(C) appeared, and a light shone in the cell. Striking Peter on the side, he woke him up and said, “Quick, get up!” Then the chains fell off his wrists.(D) 8 “Get dressed,” the angel told him, “and put on your sandals.” And he did so. “Wrap your cloak around you,” he told him, “and follow me.” 9 So he went out and followed, and he did not know that what took place through the angel was real, but thought he was seeing a vision.(E) 10 After they passed the first and second guard posts, they came to the iron gate that leads into the city, which opened to them by itself. They went outside and passed one street, and immediately the angel left him.(F)
11 Then Peter came to himself and said, “Now I know for certain that the Lord has sent His angel and rescued me from Herod’s grasp and from all that the Jewish people expected.”(G) 12 When he realized this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John Mark,[a](H) where many had assembled and were praying. 13 He knocked at the door in the gateway, and a servant named Rhoda came to answer. 14 She recognized Peter’s voice, and because of her joy, she did not open the gate but ran in and announced that Peter was standing at the gateway.
15 “You’re crazy!” they told her. But she kept insisting that it was true. Then they said, “It’s his angel!”(I) 16 Peter, however, kept on knocking, and when they opened the door and saw him, they were astounded.
17 Motioning to them with his hand(J) to be silent, he explained to them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. “Report these things to James[b](K) and the brothers,” he said. Then he departed and went to a different place.
The Son of Man Forgives and Heals
2 When(A) He entered Capernaum(B) again after some days, it was reported that He was at home. 2 So many people gathered together that there was no more room, not even in the doorway, and He was speaking the message(C) to them. 3 Then they came to Him bringing a paralytic,(D) carried by four men. 4 Since they were not able to bring him to[a] Jesus because of the crowd, they removed the roof above where He was. And when they had broken through, they lowered the mat on which the paralytic was lying.
5 Seeing their faith,(E) Jesus told the paralytic, “Son, your sins(F) are forgiven.”(G)
6 But some of the scribes(H) were sitting there, thinking(I) to themselves:[b] 7 “Why does He speak like this? He’s blaspheming!(J) Who can forgive(K) sins(L) but God alone?”(M)
8 Right away(N) Jesus understood in His spirit(O) that they were thinking like this within themselves and said to them, “Why are you thinking these things in your hearts?[c] 9 Which is easier:(P) to say to the paralytic,(Q) ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, pick up your mat, and walk’?(R) 10 But so you may know that the Son of Man(S) has authority(T) on earth to forgive sins,”(U) He told the paralytic, 11 “I tell you: get up,(V) pick up your mat, and go home.”
12 Immediately he got up, picked up the mat, and went out in front of everyone. As a result, they were all astounded(W) and gave glory(X) to God,(Y) saying, “We have never seen anything like this!”(Z)
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