Book of Common Prayer
Protestation of Integrity and Prayer for Protection.
A Psalm of David.
26 [a](A)Vindicate me, O Lord, for I have (B)walked in my integrity,
And I have (C)trusted in the Lord [b](D)without wavering.
2 (E)Examine me, O Lord, and try me;
(F)Test my [c]mind and my heart.
3 For Your (G)lovingkindness is before my eyes,
And I have (H)walked in Your [d]truth.
4 I do not (I)sit with [e]deceitful men,
Nor will I go with [f](J)pretenders.
5 I (K)hate the assembly of evildoers,
And I will not sit with the wicked.
6 I shall (L)wash my hands in innocence,
And I will go about (M)Your altar, O Lord,
7 That I may proclaim with the voice of (N)thanksgiving
And declare all Your [g]wonders.
8 O Lord, I (O)love the habitation of Your house
And the place [h]where Your (P)glory dwells.
9 (Q)Do not [i]take my soul away along with sinners,
Nor my life with (R)men of bloodshed,
10 In whose hands is a (S)wicked scheme,
And whose right hand is full of (T)bribes.
11 But as for me, I shall (U)walk in my integrity;
(V)Redeem me, and be gracious to me.
12 (W)My foot stands on a (X)level place;
In the (Y)congregations I shall bless the Lord.
A Prayer for Help, and Praise for Its Answer.
A Psalm of David.
28 To You, O Lord, I call;
My (A)rock, do not be deaf to me,
For if You (B)are silent to me,
I will become like those who (C)go down to the pit.
2 Hear the (D)voice of my supplications when I cry to You for help,
When I (E)lift up my hands (F)toward [a]Your holy (G)sanctuary.
3 (H)Do not drag me away with the wicked
And with those who work iniquity,
Who (I)speak peace with their neighbors,
While evil is in their hearts.
4 Requite them (J)according to their work and according to the evil of their practices;
Requite them according to the deeds of their hands;
Repay them their [b]recompense.
5 Because they (K)do not regard the works of the Lord
Nor the deeds of His hands,
He will tear them down and not build them up.
6 Blessed be the Lord,
Because He (L)has heard the voice of my supplication.
7 The Lord is my (M)strength and my (N)shield;
My heart (O)trusts in Him, and I am helped;
Therefore (P)my heart exults,
And with (Q)my song I shall thank Him.
8 The Lord is [c]their (R)strength,
And He is a [d](S)saving defense to His anointed.
9 (T)Save Your people and bless (U)Your inheritance;
Be their (V)shepherd also, and (W)carry them forever.
Wickedness of Men and Lovingkindness of God.
For the choir director. A Psalm of David the servant of the Lord.
36 Transgression speaks to the ungodly within [a]his heart;
There is (A)no fear of God before his eyes.
2 For [b]it (B)flatters him in his own eyes
Concerning the discovery of his iniquity and the hatred of it.
3 The (C)words of his mouth are wickedness and deceit;
He has (D)ceased to [c]be wise and to do good.
4 He (E)plans wickedness upon his bed;
He sets himself on a (F)path that is not good;
He (G)does not despise evil.
5 Your (H)lovingkindness, O Lord, [d]extends to the heavens,
Your faithfulness reaches to the skies.
6 Your (I)righteousness is like the [e]mountains of God;
Your (J)judgments are like a great deep.
O Lord, You (K)preserve man and beast.
7 How (L)precious is Your lovingkindness, O God!
And the children of men (M)take refuge in the shadow of Your wings.
8 They (N)drink their fill of the [f]abundance of Your house;
And You give them to drink of the (O)river of Your delights.
9 For with You is the (P)fountain of life;
In Your light we see light.
The Vanity of Life.
For the choir director, for [a]Jeduthun. A Psalm of David.
39 I said, “I will (A)guard my ways
That I (B)may not sin with my tongue;
I will guard (C)my mouth as with a muzzle
While the wicked are in my presence.”
2 I was (D)mute [b]and silent,
I [c]refrained even from good,
And my [d]sorrow grew worse.
3 My (E)heart was hot within me,
While I was musing the fire burned;
Then I spoke with my tongue:
4 “Lord, make me to know (F)my end
And what is the extent of my days;
Let me know how (G)transient I am.
5 “Behold, You have made (H)my days as handbreadths,
And my (I)lifetime as nothing in Your sight;
Surely every man [e]at his best is [f]a mere (J)breath. [g]Selah.
6 “Surely every man (K)walks about as [h]a phantom;
Surely they make an (L)uproar for nothing;
He (M)amasses riches and does not know who will gather them.
7 “And now, Lord, for what do I wait?
My (N)hope is in You.
8 “(O)Deliver me from all my transgressions;
Make me not the (P)reproach of the foolish.
9 “I have become (Q)mute, I do not open my mouth,
Because it is (R)You who have done it.
10 “(S)Remove Your plague from me;
Because of (T)the opposition of Your hand I am [i]perishing.
11 “With (U)reproofs You chasten a man for iniquity;
You (V)consume as a moth what is precious to him;
Surely (W)every man is a mere breath. Selah.
65 So (A)Solomon observed the feast at that time, and all Israel with him, a great assembly (B)from the entrance of Hamath (C)to the brook of Egypt, before the Lord our God, for seven days and seven more days, even fourteen days. 66 On the eighth day he sent the people away and they blessed the king. Then they went to their tents joyful and glad of heart for all the goodness that the Lord had [a]shown to David His servant and to Israel His people.
God’s Promise and Warning
9 (D)Now it came about when Solomon had finished building the house of the Lord, and (E)the king’s house, and (F)all [b]that Solomon desired to do, 2 that (G)the Lord appeared to Solomon a second time, as He had appeared to him at Gibeon. 3 The Lord said to him, “(H)I have heard your prayer and your supplication, which you have made before Me; I have consecrated this house which you have built (I)by putting My name there forever, and (J)My eyes and My heart will be there perpetually. 4 As for you, (K)if you will walk before Me as your father David walked, in integrity of heart and uprightness, doing according to all that I have commanded you and will keep My statutes and My ordinances, 5 then (L)I will establish the throne of your kingdom over Israel forever, just as I [c]promised to your father David, saying, ‘[d]You shall not lack a man on the throne of Israel.’
6 “(M)But if you or your sons indeed turn away from following Me, and do not keep My commandments and My statutes which I have set before you, and go and serve other gods and worship them, 7 (N)then I will cut off Israel from the land which I have given them, and (O)the house which I have consecrated for My name, I will [e]cast out of My sight. So (P)Israel will become a proverb and a byword among all peoples. 8 And this house will become [f](Q)a heap of ruins; everyone who passes by will be astonished and hiss and say, ‘(R)Why has the Lord done thus to this land and to this house?’ 9 And they will say, ‘(S)Because they forsook the Lord their God, who brought their fathers out of the land of Egypt, and adopted other gods and worshiped them and served them, therefore the Lord has brought all this adversity on them.’”
Faith and Works
14 (A)What use is it, (B)my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can [a]that faith save him? 15 (C)If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “(D)Go in peace, [b]be warmed and be filled,” and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that? 17 Even so (E)faith, if it has no works, is [c]dead, being by itself.
18 (F)But someone [d]may well say, “You have faith and I have works; show me your (G)faith without the works, and I will (H)show you my faith (I)by my works.” 19 You believe that [e](J)God is one. (K)You do well; (L)the demons also believe, and shudder. 20 But are you willing to recognize, (M)you foolish fellow, that (N)faith without works is useless? 21 (O)Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up Isaac his son on the altar? 22 You see that (P)faith was working with his works, and [f]as a result of the (Q)works, faith was [g]perfected; 23 and the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “(R)And Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness,” and he was called (S)the friend of God. 24 You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone. 25 In the same way, was not (T)Rahab the harlot also justified by works (U)when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? 26 For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also (V)faith without works is dead.
Peter’s Denials
66 (A)As Peter was below in (B)the courtyard, one of the servant-girls of the high priest *came, 67 and seeing Peter (C)warming himself, she looked at him and *said, “You also were with Jesus the (D)Nazarene.” 68 But he denied it, saying, “I neither know nor understand what you are talking about.” And he (E)went out onto the [a]porch.[b] 69 The servant-girl saw him, and began once more to say to the bystanders, “This is one of them!” 70 But again (F)he denied it. And after a little while the bystanders were again saying to Peter, “Surely you are one of them, (G)for you are a Galilean too.” 71 But he began to [c]curse and swear, “I do not know this man you are talking about!” 72 Immediately a rooster crowed a second time. And Peter remembered how Jesus had made the remark to him, “Before (H)a rooster crows twice, you will deny Me three times.” [d]And he began to weep.
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