Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 26[a]
By David.
26 Vindicate me, O Lord,
for I have integrity,[b]
and I trust in the Lord without wavering.
2 Examine me, O Lord, and test me.
Evaluate my inner thoughts and motives.[c]
3 For I am ever aware of your faithfulness,[d]
and your loyalty continually motivates me.[e]
4 I do not associate[f] with deceitful men,
or consort[g] with those who are dishonest.[h]
5 I hate the mob[i] of evil men,
and do not associate[j] with the wicked.
6 I maintain a pure lifestyle,[k]
so I can appear before your altar,[l] O Lord,
7 to give you thanks,[m]
and to tell about all your amazing deeds.[n]
8 O Lord, I love the temple where you live,[o]
the place where your splendor is revealed.[p]
9 Do not sweep me away[q] with sinners,
or execute me along with violent people,[r]
10 who are always ready to do wrong[s]
or offer a bribe.[t]
11 But I have integrity.[u]
Rescue me[v] and have mercy on me!
12 I am safe,[w]
and among the worshipers I will praise the Lord.
Psalm 28[a]
By David.
28 To you, O Lord, I cry out!
My Protector,[b] do not ignore me.[c]
If you do not respond to me,[d]
I will join[e] those who are descending into the grave.[f]
2 Hear my plea for mercy when I cry out to you for help,
when I lift my hands[g] toward your holy temple.[h]
3 Do not drag me away with evil men,
with those who behave wickedly,[i]
who talk so friendly to their neighbors,[j]
while they plan to harm them.[k]
4 Pay them back for their evil deeds.
Pay them back for what they do.
Punish them.[l]
5 For they do not understand the Lord’s actions,
or the way he carries out justice.[m]
The Lord[n] will permanently demolish them.[o]
6 The Lord deserves praise,[p]
for he has heard my plea for mercy.[q]
7 The Lord strengthens and protects me;[r]
I trust in him with all my heart.[s]
I am rescued[t] and my heart is full of joy;[u]
I will sing to him in gratitude.[v]
8 The Lord strengthens his people;[w]
he protects and delivers his chosen king.[x]
9 Deliver your people.
Empower[y] the nation that belongs to you.[z]
Care for them like a shepherd and carry them in your arms[aa] at all times![ab]
Psalm 36[a]
For the music director, an oracle, written by the Lord’s servant David.[b]
36 An evil man is rebellious to the core.[c]
He does not fear God,[d]
2 for he is too proud
to recognize and give up his sin.[e]
3 The words he speaks are sinful and deceitful;
he does not care about doing what is wise and right.[f]
4 While he lies in bed he plans ways to sin.
He is committed to a sinful lifestyle;[g]
he does not reject what is evil.[h]
5 O Lord, your loyal love reaches to the sky,[i]
your faithfulness to the clouds.[j]
6 Your justice is like the highest mountains,[k]
your fairness like the deepest sea;
you, Lord, preserve[l] mankind and the animal kingdom.[m]
7 How precious[n] is your loyal love, O God!
The human race finds shelter under your wings.[o]
8 They are filled with food from your house,
and you allow them to drink from the river of your delicacies.
9 For with you is the fountain of life;
in your light we see light.[p]
10 Extend[q] your loyal love to your faithful followers,[r]
and vindicate[s] the morally upright.[t]
11 Do not let arrogant men overtake me,
or let evil men make me homeless.[u]
12 I can see the evildoers! They have fallen.[v]
They have been knocked down and are unable to get up.[w]
Psalm 39[a]
For the music director, Jeduthun; a psalm of David.
39 I decided,[b] “I will watch what I say
and make sure I do not sin with my tongue.[c]
I will put a muzzle over my mouth
while in the presence of an evil person.”[d]
2 I was stone silent;[e]
I held back the urge to speak.[f]
My frustration grew;[g]
3 my anxiety intensified.[h]
As I thought about it, I became impatient.[i]
Finally I spoke these words:[j]
4 “O Lord, help me understand my mortality
and the brevity of life.[k]
Let me realize how quickly my life will pass.[l]
5 Look, you make my days short-lived,[m]
and my life span is nothing from your perspective.[n]
Surely all people, even those who seem secure, are nothing but vapor.[o] (Selah)
6 Surely people go through life as mere ghosts.[p]
Surely they accumulate worthless wealth
without knowing who will eventually haul it away.”[q]
7 But now, O Lord, upon what am I relying?
You are my only hope![r]
8 Deliver me from all my sins of rebellion.
Do not make me the object of fools’ insults.
9 I am silent and cannot open my mouth
because of what you have done.[s]
10 Please stop wounding me.[t]
You have almost beaten me to death.[u]
11 You severely discipline people for their sins;[v]
like a moth you slowly devour their strength.[w]
Surely all people are a mere vapor. (Selah)
12 Hear my prayer, O Lord.
Listen to my cry for help.
Do not ignore my sobbing.[x]
For I am a resident foreigner with you,
a temporary settler,[y] just as all my ancestors were.
13 Turn your angry gaze away from me, so I can be happy
before I pass away.[z]
28 Now all this happened[a] to King Nebuchadnezzar. 29 After twelve months, he happened to be walking around on the battlements[b] of the royal palace of Babylon. 30 The king uttered these words: “Is this not the great Babylon that I have built for a royal residence[c] by my own mighty strength[d] and for my majestic honor?” 31 While these words were still on the king’s lips,[e] a voice came down from heaven: “It is hereby announced to you,[f] King Nebuchadnezzar, that your kingdom has been removed from you! 32 You will be driven from human society, and you will live with the wild animals. You will be fed grass like oxen, and seven periods of time will pass by for you before[g] you understand that the Most High is ruler over human kingdoms and gives them to whomever he wishes.”
33 Now in that very moment[h] this pronouncement about[i] Nebuchadnezzar came true.[j] He was driven from human society, he ate grass like oxen, and his body became damp with the dew of the sky, until his hair became long like an eagle’s feathers, and his nails like a bird’s claws.[k]
34 But at the end of the appointed time[l] I, Nebuchadnezzar, looked up[m] toward heaven, and my sanity returned to me.
I extolled the Most High,
and I praised and glorified the one who lives forever.
For his authority is an everlasting authority,
and his kingdom extends from one generation to the next.
35 All the inhabitants of the earth are regarded as nothing.[n]
He does as he wishes with the army of heaven
and with those who inhabit the earth.
No one slaps[o] his hand
and says to him, ‘What have you done?’
36 At that time my sanity returned to me. I was restored[p] to the honor of my kingdom, and my splendor returned to me. My ministers and my nobles were seeking me out, and I was reinstated[q] over my kingdom. I became even greater than before. 37 Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven, for all his deeds are right and his ways are just. He is able to bring down those who live[r] in pride.
God is Love
7 Dear friends, let us love one another, because[a] love is from God, and everyone who loves[b] has been fathered[c] by God and knows God. 8 The person who does not love does not know God, because God is love.[d] 9 By this[e] the love of God[f] is revealed in us:[g] that God has sent his one and only[h] Son into the world so that we may live through him. 10 In this[i] is love: not that[j] we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice[k] for our sins.
11 Dear friends, if God so loved us, then[l] we also ought to love one another.[m] 12 No one has seen God at any time.[n] If we love one another, God resides[o] in us, and his love is perfected in us.[p] 13 By this[q] we know that we reside in God[r] and he in us: in that he has given us of his Spirit.[s] 14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son to be the Savior[t] of the world.
15 If anyone[u] confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God resides[v] in him and he in God. 16 And we have come to know and to believe[w] the love that God has in us.[x] God is love, and the one who resides[y] in love resides in God, and God resides in him. 17 By this[z] love is perfected with[aa] us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment, because just as Jesus[ab] is, so also are we in this world. 18 There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment.[ac] The[ad] one who fears punishment[ae] has not been perfected in love. 19 We love[af] because he loved us first.
20 If anyone says[ag] “I love God” and yet[ah] hates his fellow Christian,[ai] he is a liar, because the one who does not love his fellow Christian[aj] whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.[ak] 21 And the commandment we have from him is this: that[al] the one who loves God should love his fellow Christian[am] too.
Ministry in Capernaum
31 So[a] he went down to Capernaum,[b] a town[c] in Galilee, and on the Sabbath he began to teach the people.[d] 32 They[e] were amazed[f] at his teaching, because he spoke[g] with authority.[h]
33 Now[i] in the synagogue[j] there was a man who had the spirit of an unclean[k] demon, and he cried out with a loud voice, 34 “Ha! Leave us alone,[l] Jesus the Nazarene! Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One[m] of God.” 35 But[n] Jesus rebuked him:[o] “Silence! Come out of him!”[p] Then, after the demon threw the man[q] down in their midst, he came out of him without hurting him.[r] 36 They[s] were all amazed and began to say[t] to one another, “What’s happening here?[u] For with authority and power[v] he commands the unclean spirits, and they come out!” 37 So[w] the news[x] about him spread into all areas of the region.[y]
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