Book of Common Prayer
A psalm of David.
26 Lord, when you hand down your sentence, let it be in my favor.
I have lived without blame.
I have trusted in the Lord.
I have never doubted him.
2 Lord, test me. Try me out.
Look deep down into my heart and mind.
3 I have always remembered your love that never fails.
I have always depended on the fact that you are faithful.
4 I don’t spend time with people who tell lies.
I don’t keep company with pretenders.
5 I hate to be with a group of sinful people.
I refuse to spend time with those who are evil.
6 I wash my hands to show that I’m not guilty.
Lord, I come near your altar.
7 I shout my praise to you.
I tell about all the wonderful things you have done.
8 Lord, I love the house where you live.
I love the place where your glory is.
9 Don’t destroy me together with sinners.
Don’t take away my life along with murderers.
10 Their hands are always planning to do evil.
Their right hands are full of money that has bought their help.
11 But I live without blame.
Save me from harm and treat me with kindness.
12 My feet stand on level ground.
In the whole community I will praise the Lord.
A psalm of David.
28 Lord, my Rock, I call out to you.
Pay attention to me.
If you remain silent, I will die.
I will be like those who go down into the grave.
2 Hear my cry for your favor
when I call out to you for help.
Hear me when I lift up my hands in prayer
toward your Most Holy Room.
3 Don’t drag me away with sinners.
Don’t drag me away with those who do evil.
They speak in a friendly way to their neighbors.
But their hearts are full of hate.
4 Pay them back for their evil actions.
Pay them back for what their hands have done.
Give them exactly what they should get.
5 They don’t care about the Lord’s mighty acts.
They don’t care about what his hands have done.
So he will tear them down.
He will never build them up again.
6 Give praise to the Lord.
He has heard my cry for his favor.
7 The Lord gives me strength. He is like a shield that keeps me safe.
My heart trusts in him, and he helps me.
My heart jumps for joy.
With my song I praise him.
8 The Lord gives strength to his people.
He guards and saves his anointed king.
9 Save your people. Bless those who belong to you.
Be their shepherd. Take care of them forever.
For the director of music. A psalm of David, the servant of the Lord.
36 I have a message from God in my heart.
It is about the evil ways of anyone who sins.
They don’t have any respect for God.
2 They praise themselves so much
that they can’t see their sin or hate it.
3 Their mouths speak words that are evil and false.
They do not act wisely or do what is good.
4 Even as they lie in bed they make evil plans.
They commit themselves to a sinful way of life.
They never say no to what is wrong.
5 Lord, your love is as high as the heavens.
Your faithful love reaches up to the skies.
6 Your holiness is as great as the height of the highest mountains.
You are as honest as the oceans are deep.
Lord, you keep people and animals safe.
7 How priceless your faithful love is!
People find safety in the shadow of your wings.
8 They eat well because there is more than enough in your house.
You let them drink from your river that flows with good things.
9 You have the fountain of life.
We are filled with light because you give us light.
10 Keep on loving those who know you.
Keep on doing right to those whose hearts are honest.
11 Don’t let the feet of those who are proud step on me.
Don’t let the hands of those who are evil drive me away.
12 See how those who do evil have fallen!
They are thrown down and can’t get up.
For the director of music. For Jeduthun. A psalm of David.
39 I said, “I will be careful about how I live.
I will not sin by what I say.
I will keep my mouth closed
when I am near sinful people.”
2 So I was completely silent.
I didn’t even say anything good.
But the pain inside me grew worse.
3 My heart was deeply troubled.
As I thought about what was happening to me,
I became even more troubled.
Then I spoke out.
4 I said, “Lord, show me when my life will end.
Show me how many days I have left.
Tell me how short my life will be.
5 You have given me only a few days to live.
My whole life doesn’t seem like anything to you.
No one lasts any longer than a breath.
This is true even for those who feel secure.
6 People are only shadows as they go here and there.
They rush around, but it doesn’t mean anything.
They pile up wealth, but they don’t know who will finally get it.
7 “Lord, what can I look forward to now?
You are the only hope I have.
8 Save me from all the wrong things I’ve done.
Don’t let foolish people make fun of me.
9 I keep silent. I don’t open my mouth.
You are the one who has caused all this to happen.
10 Please stop beating me.
I’m about to die from the blows of your hand.
11 You correct and punish people for their sin.
Then, just as a moth eats cloth, you destroy their wealth.
No one lasts any longer than a breath.
12 “Lord, hear my prayer.
Listen to my cry for help.
Pay attention to my weeping.
I’m like an outsider in your home.
I’m just a stranger, like all my family who lived before me.
13 Leave me alone.
Let me enjoy life again before I die.”
Israel Comes to Mount Sinai
19 Exactly three months after the people of Israel left Egypt, they came to the Desert of Sinai. 2 After they started out from Rephidim, they entered the Desert of Sinai. They camped there in the desert in front of the mountain.
3 Then Moses went up to God. The Lord called out to him from the mountain. He said, “Here is what I want you to say to my people, who belong to Jacob’s family. Tell the Israelites, 4 ‘You have seen for yourselves what I did to Egypt. You saw how I carried you on the wings of eagles and brought you to myself. 5 Now obey me completely. Keep my covenant. If you do, then out of all the nations you will be my special treasure. The whole earth is mine. 6 But you will be a kingdom of priests to serve me. You will be my holy nation.’ That is what you must tell the Israelites.”
7 So Moses went back. He sent for the elders of the people. He explained to them everything the Lord had commanded him to say. 8 All the people answered together. They said, “We will do everything the Lord has said.” So Moses brought their answer back to the Lord.
9 The Lord spoke to Moses. He said, “I am going to come to you in a thick cloud. The people will hear me speaking with you. They will always put their trust in you.” Then Moses told the Lord what the people had said.
10 The Lord said to Moses, “Go to the people. Today and tomorrow set them apart for me. Have them wash their clothes. 11 Have the people ready by the third day. On that day the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai. Everyone will see it. 12 Put limits for the people around the mountain. Tell them, ‘Be careful that you do not go near the mountain. Do not even touch the foot of it. Whoever touches the mountain must be put to death. 13 Do not lay a hand on any of them. Kill them with stones or shoot them with arrows. Whether they are people or animals, do not let them live.’ They may go near the mountain only when the ram’s horn gives out a long blast.”
14 Moses went down the mountain to the people. After he set them apart for the Lord, they washed their clothes. 15 Then he spoke to the people. He said, “Get ready for the third day. Don’t have sex.”
16 On the morning of the third day there was thunder and lightning. A thick cloud covered the mountain. A trumpet gave out a very loud blast. Everyone in the camp trembled with fear.
1 I, Paul, am writing this letter. I am an apostle of Christ Jesus just as God planned. Our brother Timothy joins me in writing.
2 We are sending this letter to you, our brothers and sisters in Colossae. You belong to Christ. You are holy and faithful.
May God our Father give you grace and peace.
Paul Prays and Gives Thanks
3 We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you. 4 We thank him because we have heard about your faith in Christ Jesus. We have also heard that you love all God’s people. 5 Your faith and love are based on the hope you have. What you hope for is stored up for you in heaven. You have already heard about it. You were told about it when the true message was given to you. I’m talking about the good news 6 that has come to you. In the same way, the good news is bearing fruit. It is bearing fruit and growing all over the world. It has been doing that among you since the day you heard it. That is when you really understood God’s grace. 7 You learned the good news from Epaphras. He is dear to us. He serves Christ together with us. He faithfully works for Christ and for us among you. 8 He also told us about your love that comes from the Holy Spirit.
9 That’s why we have not stopped praying for you. We have been praying for you since the day we heard about you. We keep asking God to fill you with the knowledge of what he wants. We pray he will give you the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives. 10 Then you will be able to lead a life that is worthy of the Lord. We pray that you will please him in every way. So we want you to bear fruit in every good thing you do. We pray that you will grow to know God better. 11 We want you to be very strong, in keeping with his glorious power. We want you to be patient. We pray that you will never give up. 12 We want you to give thanks with joy to the Father. He has made you fit to have what he will give to all his holy people. You will all receive a share in the kingdom of light. 13 He has saved us from the kingdom of darkness. He has brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves. 14 Because of what the Son has done, we have been set free. Because of him, all our sins have been forgiven.
7 John saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing. He said to them, “You are like a nest of poisonous snakes! Who warned you to escape the coming of God’s anger? 8 Live in a way that shows you have turned away from your sins. 9 Don’t think you can say to yourselves, ‘Abraham is our father.’ I tell you, God can raise up children for Abraham even from these stones. 10 The ax is ready to cut the roots of the trees. All the trees that don’t produce good fruit will be cut down. They will be thrown into the fire.
11 “I baptize you with water, calling you to turn away from your sins. But after me, someone is coming who is more powerful than I am. I’m not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 12 His pitchfork is in his hand to clear the straw from his threshing floor. He will gather his wheat into the storeroom. But he will burn up the husks with fire that can’t be put out.”
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