Book of Common Prayer
A Prayer for Vindication
Of David.[a]
26 Judge me, O Yahweh, because I have walked in my integrity,
and I have trusted Yahweh and not wavered.
2 Prove me, O Yahweh, and test me.
Try my innermost being[b] and my mind.[c]
3 Because your loyal love is before my eyes,
and I walk about in your faithfulness.
4 I do not sit with deceitful people,
nor will I go about with hypocrites.
5 I hate the crowd of evildoers,
and with the wicked I will not sit.
6 I will wash my hands in innocence,
and I will walk about your altar, O Yahweh,
7 to declare with a voice of thanksgiving,
and tell of all your wondrous deeds.
8 O Yahweh, I love the dwelling of your house,[d]
and the place where your glory abides.[e]
9 Do not destroy me[f] with the sinners,
nor my life with men of bloodshed,
10 in whose hands is an evil plan,
and whose right hand is full of bribes.[g]
11 But as for me, I will walk in my integrity.
Redeem me and be gracious to me.
12 My foot stands on level ground.
In assemblies I will bless Yahweh.
A Prayer for Help, and Joy in Its Answer
A psalm of David.[a]
28 To you, O Yahweh, I call.
O my rock, do not be deaf to me.
Or else, if you are silent to me,
then I will become like those descending to the pit.
2 Hear the voice of my supplications
when I cry to you for help,
when I lift up my hands
toward your holy inner sanctuary.
3 Do not drag me away with the wicked
or with the workers of evil,
who speak of peace with their neighbors,
while evil is in their heart.
4 Give to them according to their work,
even according to the evil of their deeds.
Give to them according to the work of their hands;
repay them their rightful due.
5 Because they do not regard the works of Yahweh,
nor the work of his hands,
he will destroy them
and not rebuild them.
6 Blessed is Yahweh,
because he has heard the voice of my supplications.
7 Yahweh is my strength and my shield.
My heart trusts him and I am helped.
So my heart rejoices,
and with my song I will give thanks to him.
8 Yahweh is their strength,
and he is the refuge for the salvation of his anointed one.
9 Save your people
and bless your heritage.
Shepherd them also and carry them always.
Human Wickedness and God’s Love
For the music director. Of David, the servant of Yahweh.[a]
36 An oracle: the wicked has rebellion
in the midst of his[b] heart.
There is no fear of God before his eyes.
2 For he flatters himself in his eyes,
hating to detect his iniquity.[c]
3 The words of his mouth are wickedness and deceit.
He has ceased to have insight and to do good.
4 He plans sin on his bed.
He puts himself on a way that is not good.
He does not reject evil.
5 O Yahweh, your loyal love extends into the heavens,
your faithfulness unto the clouds.
6 Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains,[d]
your judgments like the great deep.
You save man and beast, O Yahweh.
7 How precious is your loyal love, O God,
and the children of humankind
take refuge in the shadow of your wings.
8 They are refreshed with the fullness[e] of your house,[f]
and you give them drink from the river of your delights.
9 For with you is the fountain of life;
in your light we see light.
10 Prolong your loyal love to those who know you,
and your righteousness to the upright of heart.
11 Do not let a foot of pride come against me,
nor let a wicked hand make me to wander homeless.
12 There doers of evil have fallen;
they are thrust down and not able to rise.
The Brevity of Human Life
For the music director. For Jeduthun.[a] A psalm of David.[b]
39 I said, “I will guard my ways
that I may not sin[c] with my tongue.
I will keep a muzzle over my mouth
as long as the wicked are before me.”
2 I was mute with silence. I was silent even from saying good things,
and my pain was stirred up.
3 My heart grew hot inside me;
in my sighing a fire burned.
Then I spoke with my tongue,
4 “Let me know, O Yahweh, my end,
and what is the measure of my days.
Let me know how transient I am.”
5 Look, you have made my days mere handbreadths,
and my lifespan as nothing next to you.
Surely every person standing firm is complete vanity. Selah
6 Surely a man walks about as a mere shadow;[d]
surely in vain they bustle about.
He heaps up possessions but does not know who will gather them in.
7 And now, O Lord, for what do I wait?
My hope is for you.
8 From all my transgressions deliver me;
do not make me the taunt of the fool.
9 I am mute. I do not open my mouth,
for you, yourself, have done it.
10 Remove from me your affliction.
By the opposition of your hand I perish.
11 When with rebukes you chastise a man for sin,
you[e] consume[f] like a moth his delightful things.
Surely everyone is a mere vapor.[g] Selah
12 Hear my prayer, O Yahweh, and listen to my cry for help;
do not be deaf to my tears.
For I am an alien[h] with you,
a sojourner like all my ancestors.[i]
13 Look away from me that I may be cheerful,
before I depart and I am no more.
16 Better is little with the fear of Yahweh
than great treasure and trouble with it.[a]
17 Better is a dinner of vegetables when[b] love is there
than a fattened ox and hatred with it.[c]
18 A man who is hot-tempered will stir up strife,
but he who is slow to anger,[d] he will calm contention.
19 The way of the lazy is like a hedge of thorns,[e]
but the path of the upright is a highway.
20 A child of wisdom will make a father glad,
but a foolish person,[f] he despises his mother.
21 Folly is a joy to him who lacks sense,[g]
and a person of understanding will walk upright.[h]
22 Plans go wrong when there is no counsel,
but with many advisors it will succeed.
23 Joy belongs to a man with answers in his mouth,
and a word in its time, how good it is!
24 The path of life leads upward for him who has insight,
in order to turn away from Sheol below.
25 The house of the proud, Yahweh will tear it down,
but he will maintain the property line[i] of the widow.
26 Plans of evil are an abomination of Yahweh,
but gracious words are pure.
27 He who makes trouble for his house is he who is greedy for unjust gain,
but he who hates bribes will live.
28 A heart[j] of righteousness will ponder the answer,
but a mouth of wickedness will pour out deceit.
29 Yahweh is far from the wicked,
but the prayers of the righteous he will hear.
30 From the light of the eyes, the heart[k] will rejoice,
and good news will enliven the bones.[l]
31 The ear of him who listens to admonitions of life,
in the midst of the wise it will lodge.
32 He who ignores instruction despises himself,[m]
but he who hears admonition gains heart.[n]
33 Fear of Yahweh is the instruction of the wise,
and before honor comes humility.
Paul’s Charge to Timothy
18 I am setting before you this instruction, Timothy my child, in accordance with the prophecies spoken long ago about you, in order that by them you may fight the good fight, 19 having faith and a good conscience, which some, because they[a] have rejected these, have suffered shipwreck concerning their faith, 20 among whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan, in order that they may be taught not to blaspheme.
Instructions to Pray for All People
2 Therefore, I urge first of all that petitions, prayers, requests, and thanksgiving be made on behalf of all people, 2 on behalf of kings and all those who are in authority, in order that we may live a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. 3 This is good and acceptable before God our Savior, 4 who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. 5 For there is one God and one mediator between God and human beings, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself a ransom for all, the testimony at the proper time, 7 for which I was appointed a herald and an apostle—I am speaking the truth, I am not lying—a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth. 8 Therefore I want the men in every place to pray, lifting up holy hands without anger and dispute.
Good Trees and Good Fruit or Bad Trees and Bad Fruit
33 “Either make the tree good and its fruit is good, or make the tree bad and its fruit is bad, for the tree is known by its fruit. 34 Offspring of vipers! How are you able to say good things when you[a] are evil? For from the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. 35 The good person from his[b] good treasury brings out good things, and the evil person from his[c] evil treasury brings out evil things. 36 But I tell you that every worthless word that they speak, people will give an account for it on the day of judgment! 37 For by your words you will be vindicated, and by your words you will be condemned.”
The Sign of Jonah
38 Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered him saying, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from you!” 39 But he answered and[d] said to them, “An evil and adulterous generation desires a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah! 40 For just as Jonah was in the belly of the huge fish three days and three nights, so the Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights. 41 The people of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the proclamation of Jonah, and behold, something[e] greater than Jonah is here! 42 The queen of the south will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, something[f] greater than Solomon is here!
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