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.
13 Therefore My people go into exile for their (A)lack of knowledge;
And [a]their (B)honorable men are famished,
And their multitude is parched with thirst.
14 Therefore (C)Sheol has enlarged its [b]throat and opened its mouth without measure;
And [c]Jerusalem’s splendor, her multitude, her din of revelry and the jubilant within her, descend into it.
15 So the common man will be humbled and the man of importance abased,
(D)The eyes of the proud also will be abased.
16 But the (E)Lord of hosts will be (F)exalted in judgment,
And the holy God will show Himself (G)holy in righteousness.
17 (H)Then the lambs will graze as in their pasture,
And strangers will eat in the waste places of the [d]wealthy.
24 Therefore, (A)as a tongue of fire consumes stubble
And dry grass collapses into the flame,
So their (B)root will become (C)like rot and their blossom [a]blow away as dust;
For they have (D)rejected the law of the Lord of hosts
And despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.
25 On this account the (E)anger of the Lord has burned against His people,
And He has stretched out His hand against them and struck them down.
And the (F)mountains quaked, and their (G)corpses [b]lay like refuse in the middle of the streets.
(H)For all this His anger [c]is not spent,
But His (I)hand is still stretched out.
Christian Conduct
12 But we request of you, brethren, that you [a](A)appreciate those (B)who diligently labor among you, and (C)have charge over you in the Lord and give you [b]instruction, 13 and that you esteem them very highly in love because of their work. (D)Live in peace with one another. 14 We urge you, brethren, admonish (E)the [c]unruly, encourage (F)the fainthearted, help (G)the weak, be (H)patient with everyone. 15 See that (I)no one repays another with evil for evil, but always (J)seek after that which is good for one another and for all people. 16 (K)Rejoice always; 17 (L)pray without ceasing; 18 in everything (M)give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. 19 (N)Do not quench the Spirit; 20 do not despise (O)prophetic [d]utterances. 21 But (P)examine everything carefully; (Q)hold fast to that which is good; 22 abstain from every [e]form of evil.
23 Now (R)may the God of peace (S)Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your (T)spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, (U)without blame at (V)the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24 (W)Faithful is He who (X)calls you, and He also will bring it to pass.
25 Brethren, (Y)pray for us[f].
26 (Z)Greet all the brethren with a holy kiss. 27 I adjure you by the Lord to (AA)have this letter read to all the (AB)brethren.
28 (AC)The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.
29 Then He told them a parable: “Behold the fig tree and all the trees; 30 as soon as they put forth leaves, you see it and (A)know for yourselves that summer is now near. 31 So you also, when you see these things happening, [a]recognize that (B)the kingdom of God is near. 32 Truly I say to you, this [b]generation will not pass away until all things take place. 33 (C)Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.
34 “(D)Be on guard, so that your hearts will not be weighted down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of life, and that day will not come on you suddenly like a trap; 35 for it will come upon all those who dwell on the face of all the earth. 36 But (E)keep on the alert at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are about to take place, and to (F)stand before the Son of Man.”
37 Now [c]during the day He was (G)teaching in the temple, but [d](H)at evening He would go out and spend the night on [e](I)the mount that is called [f]Olivet. 38 And all the people would get up (J)early in the morning to come to Him in the temple to listen to Him.
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