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)
The Words of Agur
The man’s oration to Ithiel, to Ithiel and Ucal:[b]
2 I am more stupid than any other man,[c]
and I lack man’s ability to understand.(B)
3 I have not gained wisdom,
and I have no knowledge of the Holy One.(C)
4 Who has gone up to heaven and come down?(D)
Who has gathered the wind in His hands?
Who has bound up the waters in a cloak?(E)
Who has established all the ends of the earth?(F)
What is His name,
and what is the name of His Son—
if you know?(G)
24 Four things on earth are small,
yet they are extremely wise:
25 the ants are not a strong people,
yet they store up their food in the summer;(A)
26 hyraxes are not a mighty people,
yet they make their homes in the cliffs;(B)
27 locusts have no king,
yet all of them march in ranks;(C)
28 a lizard[a] can be caught in your hands,
yet it lives in kings’ palaces.
Knowing Christ
3 Finally, my brothers, rejoice(A) in the Lord. To write to you again about this is no trouble for me and is a protection for you.
2 Watch out for “dogs,”[a] watch out for evil(B) workers, watch out for those who mutilate the flesh. 3 For we are the circumcision,(C) the ones who serve by the Spirit(D) of God, boast in Christ Jesus,(E) and do not put confidence in the flesh— 4 although I once also had confidence in the flesh. If anyone else thinks he has grounds for confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised the eighth day;(F) of the nation of Israel,(G) of the tribe of Benjamin,(H) a Hebrew born of Hebrews; regarding the law,(I) a Pharisee; 6 regarding zeal,(J) persecuting(K) the church; regarding the righteousness that is in the law,(L) blameless.(M)
7 But everything that was a gain to me, I have considered to be a loss because of Christ. 8 More than that, I also consider everything to be a loss in view of the surpassing value(N) of knowing Christ(O) Jesus my Lord. Because of Him I have suffered the loss of all things and consider them filth, so that I may gain Christ(P) 9 and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own from the law,(Q) but one that is through faith in Christ[b]—the righteousness from God based on faith.(R) 10 My goal is to know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings,(S) being conformed to His death,(T) 11 assuming that I will somehow reach the resurrection from among the dead.
Jesus before Pilate
28 Then(A) they took Jesus from Caiaphas to the governor’s headquarters.(B) It was early morning. They did not enter the headquarters themselves; otherwise they would be defiled and unable to eat the Passover.
29 Then Pilate(C) came out to them and said, “What charge(D) do you bring against this man?”
30 They answered him, “If this man weren’t a criminal,[a] we wouldn’t have handed Him over to you.”
31 So Pilate told them, “Take Him yourselves and judge Him according to your law.”
“It’s not legal[b] for us to put anyone to death,” the Jews declared. 32 They said this so that Jesus’ words might be fulfilled signifying what kind of death He was going to die.(E)
33 Then Pilate went back into the headquarters, summoned Jesus, and said to Him, “Are You the King of the Jews?”(F)
34 Jesus answered, “Are you asking this on your own, or have others told you about Me?”
35 “I’m not a Jew, am I?” Pilate replied. “Your own nation and the chief priests handed You over to me. What have You done?”
36 “My kingdom(G) is not of this world,” said Jesus. “If My kingdom were of this world,(H) My servants[c](I) would fight, so that I wouldn’t be handed over to the Jews. As it is, My kingdom does not have its origin here.”[d](J)
37 “You are a king then?” Pilate asked.
“You say that I’m a king,” Jesus replied. “I was born for this, and I have come into the world(K) for this: to testify(L) to the truth.(M) Everyone who is of the truth listens to My voice.”
38 “What is truth?” said Pilate.
Jesus or Barabbas
After he had said this, he went out to the Jews again and told them, “I find no grounds(N) for charging Him.
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