Book of Common Prayer
The Prayer of an Innocent Believer
Of David.
26 Lord, ·defend [vindicate] me because I have ·lived an innocent life [L walked in innocence; Job 1:1].
I have ·trusted [confidence in] the Lord and never ·doubted [wavered; faltered].
2 Lord, try me and test me;
look closely into my ·heart and mind [L kidneys and heart; C the seat of emotions and mind in Hebrew thought].
3 ·I see your love [L Your loyalty/covenant love is before my eyes],
and I ·live by your truth [walk in your truth/faithfulness].
4 I do not ·spend time [L sit] with ·liars [or worthless people],
nor do I ·make friends [L go] with ·those who hide their sin [hypocrites].
5 I hate the ·company [assembly] of evil people,
and I won’t sit with the wicked.
6 I wash my hands ·to show I am innocent [L in innocence],
and I ·come to [L go around] your altar, Lord.
7 I raise my voice in ·praise [or thanks]
and tell of all the ·miracles [wonderful things] you have done.
8 Lord, I love the ·Temple [L house] where you live,
where your glory [C manifest presence] ·is [dwells].
9 Do not ·kill me [take me away] with those sinners
or take my life with ·those murderers [the bloodthirsty; L men of blood].
10 ·Evil is [Schemes are] in their hands,
and ·they do wrong for money [L their right hand is full of bribes].
11 But I have ·lived an innocent life [L walked in innocence; v. 1],
so ·save [redeem; ransom] me and have mercy on me.
12 ·I stand in a safe place [L My feet stand on level ground].
Lord, I ·praise [bless] you in the great ·meeting [assembly].
A Prayer in Troubled Times
Of David.
28 Lord, my Rock [C providing protection], I ·call out to you for help [pray].
Do not be ·deaf [silent] to me.
If you are silent,
I will be like those ·in the grave [L who go down to the Pit; 16:10].
2 Hear the sound of my ·prayer [supplication],
when I cry out to you for help.
I raise my hands
toward your Most Holy Place [C the place where God made his presence known, the sanctuary].
3 Don’t drag me away with the wicked,
with those who do evil.
They say “Peace” to their neighbors,
but evil is in their hearts.
4 Pay them back for what they have done,
for their evil deeds.
Pay them back for ·what they have done [L the work of their hands];
give them their reward.
5 They don’t understand what the Lord has done
or ·what he has made [L the work of his hands].
So he will ·knock [tear] them down
and not ·lift [L build] them up.
6 ·Praise [L Blessed be] the Lord,
because he heard ·my prayer for help [L the sound of my supplication].
7 The Lord is my strength [Ex. 15:2] and shield.
·I trust [My heart has confidence in] him, and he helps me.
·I am [L My heart is] very happy,
and I ·praise [give thanks to] him with my song.
8 The Lord is powerful;
he ·gives victory [is a saving refuge] to his ·chosen one [anointed].
9 ·Save [L Give victory to] your people
and bless ·those who are your own [L your inheritance].
Be their shepherd and carry them forever.
Wicked People and a Good God
For the director of music. Of David, the servant of the Lord.
36 ·Sin speaks to the wicked in their hearts [L Oracle/Decree of transgression to the wicked in the midst of their heart].
They have no ·fear [terror] of God [Prov. 1:7; Rom. 3:18].
2 They ·think too much of themselves [L flatter themselves in their own eyes]
so they don’t ·see [discover; find] their sin and ·hate [or change] it.
3 ·Their words [L The words of their mouth] are ·wicked lies [mischief and deceit];
they ·are no longer wise or good [L have stopped being wise/insightful in order to do good].
4 ·At night [L In their bed] they make evil plans;
·what they do leads to nothing [L they are set on a way that does no] good.
They don’t ·refuse [reject] things that are evil.
5 Lord, your ·love [loyalty; covenant love] ·reaches [extends] to the heavens,
your ·loyalty [faithfulness] to the skies.
6 Your ·goodness [righteousness] is like the mighty mountains [C majestic].
Your ·justice [judgment] is like the great ocean [C deep].
Lord, you ·protect [save] both people and animals.
7 God, ·your love is so precious [L how precious is your loyalty/covenant love?]!
You ·protect [provide refuge for] people in the shadow of your wings.
8 They ·eat [feast on; are filled with] ·the rich food [L from the fat/abundance] in your house,
and you let them drink from your river of ·pleasure [delights].
9 You are the ·giver [L fountain] of life.
·Your light lets us enjoy life [L In your light we see light].
10 Continue to ·love [show loyalty/covenant love to] those who know you
and ·to do good [L your good/righteousness] to those who are ·good [upright/virtuous in heart].
11 Don’t let ·proud people attack me [L the foot of the arrogant come near me]
·and the wicked [L or the hand of the wicked] ·force [drive] me away.
12 Those who do evil ·have been defeated [L fall there].
They are overwhelmed;
they cannot ·do evil any longer [L arise again].
Life Is Short
For the director of music. For Jeduthun [C Levitical musician; 1 Chr. 16:41–42; 25:1, 6; 2 Chr. 5:12]. A psalm of David.
39 I said, “I will ·be careful how I act [L guard my way]
and will not sin ·by what I say [L with my tongue].
I will ·be careful what I say [L keep a muzzle on my mouth]
around wicked people.”
2 So I kept ·very quiet [silent and still].
I didn’t even say anything good,
but ·I became even more upset [L my agony/sorrow got worse].
3 ·I became very angry inside [L My heart grew hot within me],
and as I ·thought [meditated] about it, ·my anger [L a fire] burned.
So I ·spoke [L said with my tongue]:
4 “Lord, ·tell [inform; reveal to] me when ·the end [or my end] will come
and how long ·I will live [L will be my days].
Let me know how ·long I have [L fleeting I am; 90:1–12].
5 You have given ·me only a short life [L my days a handbreadth; C about four inches];
my lifetime is like nothing to you.
Everyone’s life is only ·a breath [vapor; Eccl. 1:2]. ·
6 People are like shadows moving about.
All their ·work [or wealth; or turmoil] is ·for nothing [a breath/vapor; Luke 12:13–21; James 4:3–17];
they ·collect things [accumulate riches/wealth] but don’t know who will ·get [gather] them.
7 “So, Lord, what ·hope do I have [do I wait for]?
You are my hope.
8 Save me from all my ·sins [transgressions].
Don’t ·let wicked fools make fun of me [L set the scorn of fools on me].
9 I am quiet; I do not open my mouth,
because you are the one who has done this.
10 ·Quit punishing me [L Turn your blows/scourge away from me];
·your beating is about to kill me [L I am exhausted/finished from the hostility/beatings of your hand].
11 You correct and punish people for their sins;
like a moth, you destroy what they ·love [covet; desire].
Everyone’s life is only a ·breath [vapor; Eccl. 1:2]. ·
12 “Lord, hear my prayer,
and listen to my cry.
Do not ignore my tears.
I am like a ·visitor [sojourner; wanderer; resident alien] with you.
Like my ·ancestors [fathers], I’m only ·here a short time [a temporary resident].
13 Leave me alone so I can be happy
before I leave and am no more.”
Laws About Idols
15 Since the Lord spoke to you from the fire at ·Mount Sinai [L Horeb; 4:10], but you did not see ·him [L any form], watch yourselves carefully! 16 Don’t ·sin [ruin/destroy/spoil/corrupt yourselves] by making idols of any kind, and don’t make statues—of men or women, 17 of animals on earth or birds that fly in the air, 18 of anything that ·crawls [swarms] on the ground, or of fish in the water below. 19 When you ·look up at [L lift your eyes to] the ·sky [heavens], you see the sun, moon, and stars, and ·everything in the sky [all the host of heaven]. But don’t bow down and worship them [5:8–9; Ex. 20:4–5], because the Lord your God has ·made these things [apportioned them] for all people everywhere [32:8]. 20 But the Lord brought you out of Egypt, ·which tested you like a furnace for melting iron [L the iron-smelter; 1 Kin. 8:51; Jer. 11:4], and he made you his ·very own people [L inheritance], as ·you are now [L this day].
21 The Lord was angry with me because of you, and he swore that I would not cross the Jordan River to go into the good land the Lord your God is giving you as ·your own [L an inheritance]. 22 I will die here in this land and not cross the Jordan [34:1–8], but you will soon go across and take that good land. 23 Be careful. Don’t forget the ·Agreement [Covenant; Treaty] of the Lord your God that he made with you, and don’t make any idols for yourselves, as the Lord your God has commanded you not to do. 24 The Lord your God is a jealous God [5:9; 6:15; Ex. 20:5; 34:14; Josh. 24:19; Nah. 1:2], ·like a fire that burns things up [a consuming fire].
The Change in Paul’s Plans
12 This is ·what we are proud of [L our boast], ·and I can say it with a clear conscience [L the testimony/witness of our conscience]: In everything we have done in the world, and especially with you, we have had an ·honest[a] [or generous] and sincere heart from God. We did this by God’s grace, not by ·the kind of wisdom the world has [worldly/fleshly wisdom].
15 I was so sure of all this that I made plans to visit you first so you could ·be blessed twice [L have a second grace]. 16 I planned to visit you on my way to Macedonia [C the northern part of present-day Greece; Acts 19:21; 20:1, 2] and again on my way back [C the visit anticipated in 1 Cor. 16:5]. I wanted to ·get help from you for my trip [L be sent by you] to Judea. 17 [L So; Therefore] Do you think that I made these plans ·without really meaning it [lightly; with vacillation]? Or maybe you think I make plans ·as the world does [or using only human standards/reason; L according to the flesh], so that I say yes, yes and at the same time no, no.
18 But ·since you can believe God [L God is trustworthy/faithful], you can believe that what we tell you is never both yes and no. 19 [L For] The Son of God, Jesus Christ, that Silas and Timothy and I preached to you, was not yes and no. [L But; Rather] In ·Christ [L him] it has always been yes. 20 The yes to all of God’s promises is in ·Christ [L him], and through Christ we say ·yes [L amen; C from a Hebrew term meaning “yes,” or “it is true”] to the glory of God. 21 Remember, God is the One who makes you and us ·strong [stand firm; established] in Christ. God ·made us his chosen people [or commissioned us; L anointed us]. 22 He put his ·mark on us to show that we are his [L seal on us; C of ownership], and he put his Spirit in our hearts ·to be a guarantee for all he has promised [L as a pledge/deposit/downpayment].
A Lost Sheep, a Lost Coin(A)
15 The tax collectors [C who were despised because they worked for the Roman rulers and were notorious for corruption and extortion] and sinners all ·came [drew near] to listen to Jesus. 2 But the Pharisees and the ·teachers of the law [scribes] began to ·complain [murmur; grumble]: “Look, this man ·welcomes [associates with; receives] sinners and even eats with them [C indicating social acceptance].”
3 ·Then [So] Jesus told them this ·story [parable]: 4 “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep but loses one of them. ·Then he will [L Won’t he…?] leave the other ninety-nine sheep in the ·open field [wilderness; desert] and go out and look for the lost sheep until he finds it. 5 And when he finds it, he ·happily [joyfully] puts it on his shoulders 6 and goes home. He calls ·to [together] his friends and neighbors and says, ‘·Be happy [Rejoice] with me because I found my lost sheep.’ 7 In the same way, I tell you there is more joy in heaven over one sinner who ·changes his heart and life [repents], than over ninety-nine ·good [righteous; C self-righteous] people who don’t need to ·change [repent].
8 “[L Or] Suppose a woman has ten silver coins [C Greek: drachmas; each equal to about a day’s wage], but loses one. ·She will [Won’t she…?] light a lamp, sweep the house, and ·look [search] carefully for the coin until she finds it. 9 And when she finds it, she will call her friends and neighbors and say, ‘·Be happy [Rejoice] with me because I have found the ·coin [L drachma] that I lost.’ 10 In the same way, [L I tell you] there is joy in the presence of the angels of God when one sinner ·changes his heart and life [repents].”
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