Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 26[a]
Prayer for the Righteous
1 Of David.
O Lord, come to my defense,
for I have lived a blameless life.
I have placed my trust in the Lord,
and never have I wavered in that regard.
2 Test me, O Lord, and try me;
probe my heart and my mind.
3 For your kindness[b] is before my eyes,
and I am constantly guided by your truth.
4 I do not sit in the company of deceivers,
nor do I associate with hypocrites.
5 I abhor the assembly of the wicked,
and I refuse to associate with evildoers.
6 I wash my hands in innocence[c]
and join the procession around your altar, O Lord,
7 giving voice to your praises
and proclaiming all your wondrous deeds.[d]
8 I love the house where you dwell, O Lord,
the place where your glory resides.[e]
9 Do not sweep my soul away with sinners,
nor my life with those who thirst for blood,[f]
10 whose hands carry out evil schemes,
and whose right hands are full of bribes.
11 Rather, I choose to walk in innocence;
redeem me and be merciful to me.
12 My feet stand on level ground;[g]
in the full assembly I will bless the Lord.
Psalm 28[a]
Thanksgiving for Supplications Heard
1 Of David.
To you I call out, O Lord, my Rock;[b]
do not turn a deaf ear to my cry.
For if you remain silent,
I will be like those who go down to the pit.
2 Hear my voice in supplication
as I plead for your help,
as I lift up my hands[c]
toward your Most Holy Place.
3 Do not snatch me away with the wicked,
with those whose deeds are evil,
who talk of peace to their neighbors
while treachery is in their hearts.[d]
4 [e]Repay them as their deeds deserve
in accordance with the evil they inflict;
repay them for the works of their hands
and heap upon them what they justly deserve.
5 Since they have paid no heed to the deeds of the Lord
or to the works of his hands,
he will strike them down
and refuse to restore them.
6 Blessed[f] be the Lord,
for he has heard my cry of supplication.
7 The Lord is my strength and my shield;
my heart[g] places its trust in him.
He has helped me, and I exult;
then with my song I praise him.
8 The Lord is the strength of his people,
the refuge where his anointed one[h] finds salvation.
9 Save your people and bless your heritage;
be their shepherd[i] and sustain them forever.
Psalm 36[a]
Human Weakness and Divine Goodness
1 For the director.[b] Of David the servant of the Lord.
2 Sin speaks to the wicked man in his heart;[c]
in his eyes there is no fear of God.
3 He deludes himself with the idea
that his guilt will not be discovered and hated.[d]
4 The words his mouth utters are malicious and deceitful;
he has ceased to be wise and act uprightly.
5 Even when he lies on his bed,[e]
he is hatching evil plots.
He commits himself to a wicked course
and refuses to reject evil.
6 [f]O Lord, your kindness extends to the heavens;
your faithfulness, to the skies.
7 Your righteousness is like the mountains of God;
your judgments, like the mighty deep;
you sustain both humans and beasts, O Lord.
8 How precious, O God, is your kindness![g]
People seek refuge in the shadow of your wings.
9 They feast on the abundance of your house,[h]
and you give them to drink from your delightful streams.
10 For with you is the fountain of life,[i]
and by your light we see light.
11 Continue to bestow your kindness[j] on those who know you,
and your saving justice on the upright of heart.
12 Let not the foot of the arrogant tread upon me,
nor the hand of the wicked drive me out.
13 Behold, the evildoers have fallen;
they are overthrown and unable to rise.
Psalm 39[a]
The Brevity and Vanity of Life
1 For the director.[b] For Jeduthun. A psalm of David.
2 I said, “I will be careful of my behavior
so as not to sin with my tongue.
I will keep a muzzle on my mouth[c]
whenever the wicked are in my presence.”
3 I kept completely silent
and refrained from speech,
but my distress only increased.
4 My heart[d] smoldered within me,
and, as I pondered, my mind was inflamed,
and my tongue began to speak:
5 [e]“O Lord, let me know my end
and the number of days left to me;
show me how fleeting my life is.
6 You have allotted me a short span of days;
my life is as nothing in your sight;
human existence is a mere breath. Selah
7 Humans are nothing but a passing shadow;
the riches they amass are a mere breath,
and they do not know who will enjoy them.[f]
8 “So now, O Lord, what do I wait for?
My hope is in you.
9 Deliver me from all my sins;
do not subject me to the taunts of fools.[g]
10 “I was silent and did not open my mouth,
for it is you who have done it.
11 Remove your scourge from me;
I am crushed by the blows of your hand.
12 You rebuke and punish people for their sins;
like a moth you consume all their desires;
human existence is a mere puff of wind. Selah
13 [h]“Hear my prayer, O Lord;
do not be deaf to my cry
or ignore my weeping.
For I am a wayfarer[i] before you,
a nomad like all my ancestors.
14 Turn your eyes away so that I may be glad
before I depart and am no more.”[j]
16 You shall not tempt the Lord,[a] your God, as you tempted him at Massah. 17 You shall take heed to observe the commandments of the Lord, your God, and the decrees and statutes that he has given to you. 18 Do what the Lord regards as right and good so that things will go well with you and that you might enter in and take possession of the good land that the Lord promised to your fathers, 19 being able to cast out all of your enemies from before you, just as the Lord has promised.
20 Instructing Children. In the future when your son asks you, “What is the meaning of the decrees and statutes and ordinances that the Lord, our God, has commanded of you,” 21 you are to tell your son, “We were slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt, but the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand. 22 The Lord performed signs and wonders in our sight, great and terrible things, that he imposed upon Egypt and upon Pharaoh and upon all of his household. 23 He brought us out from there so that he might bring us into and give to us the land that he promised to our fathers.
24 “The Lord commanded us to observe all of these statutes and to fear the Lord, our God, so that we might always prosper and be kept alive, even as we are today. 25 If we are diligent in observing all of these commandments before the Lord, our God, as he commanded of us, then this will be our righteousness.”
Chapter 2
The Oneness of Christian Salvation.[a] 1 Therefore, we should pay much closer attention to what we have heard so that we do not drift away. 2 For if the message delivered by angels proved to be so valid that every transgression and disobedience brought a proper punishment, 3 how shall we escape if we ignore so great a salvation?
It was first announced by the Lord and then confirmed for us by those who heard him. 4 God also testified to it by signs and wonders and various miracles, and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.
Christ Our Brother.[b] 5 For it was not to angels that God subjected the world to come, about which we are speaking. 6 But someone has offered this testimony somewhere:
“What is man that you are mindful of him,
or the son of man that you care for him?
7 You made him a little lower than the angels,
yet crowned him with glory and honor
8 and put everything under his feet.”
Now in putting everything under his feet, he left nothing that is not subject to his control. Right now we do not yet see everything under his feet. 9 However, we do see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.
10 In bringing many sons to glory, it was completely fitting that he, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the author of their salvation perfect through sufferings.
Jesus Is the Expected Messiah[a]
19 John the Baptist Is Not the Messiah.[b] This is the testimony offered by John when the Jews[c] sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?” 20 He confessed, he did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.”[d] 21 Then they asked him, “Who then are you? Are you Elijah?”[e] He said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” He answered, “No.” 22 Therefore, they said to him, “Who are you, so we may have an answer to give to those who sent us? What do you have to say about yourself?” 23 He replied, in the words of the prophet Isaiah,
“I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness,
‘Make straight the way of the Lord.’ ”
24 Some Pharisees were present in this group, 25 and they asked him, “Why then are you baptizing if you are neither the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?” 26 John answered them, “I baptize with water; but among you there is one whom you do not know, 27 the one who is coming after me. I am not worthy to loosen the strap of his sandal.” 28 This took place in Bethany, beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.
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