Book of Common Prayer
Protestation of Integrity and Prayer for Protection.
A Psalm of David.
26 [a](A)Vindicate me, 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, Lord, and put me to the test;
(F)Refine my [c]mind and my heart.
3 For Your [d](G)goodness is before my eyes,
And I have (H)walked in Your truth.
4 I do not (I)sit with [e]deceitful people,
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 will (L)wash my hands in innocence,
And I will go around (M)Your altar, Lord,
7 That I may proclaim with the voice of (N)thanksgiving
And declare all Your [g]wonders.
8 Lord, I (O)love the dwelling of Your house,
And the place [h]where Your (P)glory remains.
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 will (U)walk in my integrity;
(V)Redeem me, and be gracious to me.
12 (W)My foot stands on (X)level ground;
In the (Y)congregations I will bless the Lord.
A Prayer for Help, and Praise for Its Answer.
A Psalm of David.
28 To You, 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)sound of my pleadings when I cry to You for help,
When I (E)raise my hands (F)toward [a]Your holy (G)sanctuary.
3 (H)Do not drag me away with the wicked
And with those who practice injustice,
Who (I)speak peace with their neighbors,
While evil is in their hearts.
4 Give back to them (J)according to their work and according to the evil of their practices;
Give back to them according to the work of their hands;
Repay them what is due them.
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 sound of my pleading.
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 triumphs,
And with (Q)my song I shall thank Him.
8 The Lord is [b]their (R)strength,
And He is a refuge of (S)salvation 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 Humanity and Goodness of God.
For the music director. A Psalm of David the servant of the Lord.
36 [a]Wrongdoing speaks to the ungodly within [b]his heart;
There is (A)no fear of God before his eyes.
2 For it (B)flatters him in his own eyes
Concerning the discovery of his wrongful deed 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 on his bed;
He sets himself on a (F)path that is not good;
He (G)does not reject evil.
5 Your (H)mercy, 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 the great deep.
Lord, You [f](K)protect mankind and animals.
7 How (L)precious is Your mercy, God!
And the sons of mankind (M)take refuge in the shadow of Your wings.
8 They (N)drink their fill of the [g]abundance of Your house;
And You allow them to drink from the (O)river of Your delights.
9 For the (P)fountain of life is with You;
In Your light we see light.
The Futility of Life.
For the music director, for [a]Jeduthun. A Psalm of David.
39 I said, “I will (A)keep watch over my ways
So that I (B)do not sin with my tongue;
I will keep watch over (C)my mouth as with a muzzle
While the wicked are in my presence.”
2 I was (D)mute [b]and silent,
I [c]refused to say even something good,
And my pain was stirred up.
3 My (E)heart was hot within me,
While I was musing the fire burned;
Then I spoke with my tongue:
4 “Lord, let me 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 like [d]hand widths,
And my (I)lifetime as nothing in Your sight;
Certainly all mankind standing is [e]a mere (J)breath. Selah
6 Certainly every person (K)walks around as [f]a fleeting shadow;
They certainly 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)Save me from all my wrongdoings;
Do not make me an object of (P)reproach for 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 [g]perishing.
11 With (U)rebukes You punish a person for wrongdoing;
You (V)consume like a moth what is precious to him;
Certainly (W)all mankind is mere breath! Selah
65 So (A)Solomon held the [a]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, that is, fourteen days. 66 On the eighth day he dismissed the people, and they blessed the king. Then they went to their tents joyful and with happy hearts for all the goodness that the Lord had [b]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 [c]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 And the Lord said to him, “(H)I have heard your prayer and your plea which you have offered 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 [d]always. 4 As for you, (K)if you walk before Me as your father David walked, in integrity of heart and honesty, acting in accordance with everything that I have commanded you, and if you keep My statutes and My ordinances, 5 then (L)I will establish the throne of your kingdom over Israel forever, just as I [e]promised to your father David, saying, ‘[f]You shall not be deprived of 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 placed before you, but you go and serve other gods and worship them, 7 (N)then I will cut Israel off from the land which I have given them, and (O)the house which I have consecrated for My name, I will [g]expel from My sight. So (P)Israel will become a saying and an object of derision among all peoples. 8 And this house will become (Q)a heap of ruins; everyone who passes by it will be appalled and [h]hiss and say, ‘(R)Why has the Lord done such a thing to this land and this house?’ 9 And they will say, ‘(S)Because they abandoned the Lord their God, who brought their fathers out of the land of Egypt, and they [i]adopted other gods and worshiped and served them, for that reason the Lord has brought all this adversity on them.’”
Faith and Works
14 (A)What use is it, (B)my brothers and sisters, 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,” yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that? 17 In the same way, (E)faith also, 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 acknowledge, (M)you foolish person, that (N)faith without works is useless? 21 (O)Was our father Abraham not justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac 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 credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called a (S)friend of God. 24 You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. 25 In the same way, was (T)Rahab the prostitute not justified by works also (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)And while Peter was below in (B)the courtyard, one of the slave women of the high priest *came, 67 and seeing Peter (C)warming himself, she looked at him and *said, “You were with Jesus the (D)Nazarene as well.” 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 slave woman saw him, and began once more to say to the bystanders, “This man is one of them!” 70 But again (F)he denied it. And after a little while the bystanders were again saying to Peter, “You really are one of them, (G)for you are a Galilean as well.” 71 But he began to [c]curse himself and to swear, “I do not know this Man of whom you speak!” 72 And 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.” And [d]he hurried on and began to weep.
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