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.”
65 Solomon and all the Israelites ·celebrated the other festival [observed the feast; C the Feast of Shelters; ] that came at that time. People came from as far away as Lebo Hamath [C in the north] and the brook of Egypt [C in the south]. A great many people celebrated before the Lord for seven days, then seven more days, for a total of fourteen days. 66 On the ·following [L eighth] day Solomon sent the people home. They blessed the king as they went, happy because of all the ·good things [goodness] the Lord had ·done [shown] for his servant David and his people Israel.
The Lord Appears to Solomon Again(A)
9 Solomon finished building the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord and ·his royal palace [L the king’s house] and everything he wanted to build. 2 Then the Lord appeared to him ·again [L a second time] just as he had done before, in Gibeon. 3 The Lord said to him: “I have heard your prayer and ·what you have asked me to do [L pleas/requests/supplications that you made before me]. I have ·made this Temple holy [L consecrated this house] that you built, and I ·will be worshiped there [L have put my name there] forever. ·I will watch over it and protect it always [L My eyes and my heart will be there all the days].
4 “But you must ·serve [walk before; follow] me as your father David did; ·he was fair and sincere […with integrity of heart and godliness/uprightness]. You must obey all I have commanded and keep my ·laws [statutes; decrees] and ·rules [regulations; judgments]. 5 If you do, I will ·make your kingdom strong [L establish the throne of your kingdom]. This is the promise I made to your father David—·that someone from his family would always rule [you will never lack a man/successor on the throne of] Israel [2 Sam. 7:16].
6 “But if you and your children do not follow me and obey the laws and ·commands [decrees] I have given you, and if you serve ·or [and] worship other gods, 7 I will ·force Israel to leave [banish/L cut off Israel from] the land I have given them, and I will ·leave [reject; disown; remove from my sight] this ·Temple [L house] that I have ·made holy [L consecrated for my name]. ·All the nations will make fun of Israel and speak evil about them [L Israel will become a byword/proverb among the nations/peoples]. 8 If the ·Temple is destroyed [L house becomes a heap of rubble], everyone who passes by will be ·shocked [astonished; appalled]. They will ·make fun of you [scoff; hiss] and ask, ‘Why did the Lord do this terrible thing to this land and this ·Temple [L house]?’ 9 People will answer, ‘This happened because they ·left [abandoned; deserted; forsook] the Lord their God. This was the God who brought their ancestors out of Egypt, but they ·decided to follow [embraced; adopted] other gods. They worshiped and served those gods, so the Lord brought all this ·disaster [adversity; calamity] on them.’”
Faith and Good Works
14 My brothers and sisters [C fellow believers], if people ·say [claim] they have faith, but do nothing, ·their faith is worth nothing [what good/profit/gain is it?]. Can faith like that save them? 15 [L Suppose; If] A brother or sister in Christ ·might need clothes or food [L is naked and lacks daily food]. 16 If you say to that person, “·God be with you [or I wish you well; L Go in peace]! ·I hope you stay warm and get plenty to eat, [T Be warmed and filled]” but you do not ·give what that person needs [provide for the needs of their body], ·your words are worth nothing [L what good/profit/gain is that?]. 17 In the same way, faith by itself—·that does nothing [L if it does not have works]—is dead.
18 [L But] Someone might say, “You have faith, but I have ·deeds [works].” ·Show me [Prove; Demonstrate] your faith without ·doing anything [L works], and I will ·show you [prove; demonstrate] my faith by ·what I do [my works]. 19 You believe ·there is one God [or that God is one; Deut. 6:4]. ·Good [L You do well]! But the demons believe that, too, and they ·tremble with fear [shudder].
20 You ·foolish [senseless; emptyheaded] person! ·Must you be shown [Do you want evidence; Can’t you see] that faith ·that does nothing [without works] is ·worth nothing [useless; barren]? 21 Abraham, our ·ancestor [father; patriarch; Gen. 12:1–3], was ·made right with God [justified] by what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar [Gen. 22]. 22 So you see that Abraham’s faith and ·the things he did [his works] worked together. His faith was made ·perfect [complete] by ·what he did [his works]. 23 This ·shows the full meaning of [fulfills] the Scripture that says: “Abraham believed God, and ·God accepted Abraham’s faith, and that faith made him right with God [L it was credited/counted to him as righteousness; Gen. 15:6].” And Abraham was called God’s friend [2 Chr. 20:7; Is. 41:8]. 24 So you see that people are ·made right with God [justified] by ·what they do [their works], not by faith only.
25 ·Another example is Rahab, the prostitute, who was ·made right with God [justified] by ·something she did [works]. She welcomed the ·spies [L messengers; envoys] into her home and ·helped them escape [L sent them out] by a different road [Josh. 2; C she is named in Jesus’ genealogy (Matt. 1:5), and in Heb. 11:31 as a hero of the faith].
26 Just as a person’s body that does not have a spirit [C the force of life that animates the body; Gen. 2:7] is dead, so faith ·that does nothing [T without works] is dead!
Peter Denies Jesus(A)
66 While Peter was in the courtyard, a servant girl of the high priest came there. 67 She saw Peter warming himself at the fire and looked closely at him.
Then she said, “You also were with Jesus, that man from Nazareth.”
68 But Peter denied it. He said, “I don’t know or understand what you are talking about.” Then Peter left and went toward the entrance of the courtyard. And the rooster crowed.[a]
69 The servant girl saw Peter there, and again she said to the people who were standing nearby, “This man is one of those who followed Jesus.” 70 Again Peter ·said that it was not true [denied it].
A short time later, some people were standing near Peter saying, “Surely you are one of those who followed Jesus, because you are from Galilee, too [C Peter’s Galilean accent gave him away; Matt. 26:73].”
71 Then Peter began to place a curse on himself and swear, “I don’t know this man you’re talking about!”
72 At once, the rooster crowed the second time. Then Peter remembered what Jesus had told him: “Before the rooster crows twice, you will ·say three times that you don’t know me [deny/disown me three times].” Then Peter broke down and began to cry.
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