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
The Foolishness of Idolatry
9 Those who fashion an idol are all futile, and their treasured things are of no benefit; even their own witnesses fail to see or know, so that they will be (A)put to shame. 10 Who has fashioned a god or cast an idol to (B)no benefit? 11 Behold, all his companions will be (C)put to shame, for the craftsmen themselves are mere men. Let them all assemble themselves, let them stand up, let them tremble, let them be put to shame together.
12 The (D)craftsman of iron shapes a cutting tool and does his work over the coals, [a]fashioning it with hammers and working it with his strong arm. He also gets hungry and [b]his strength fails; he drinks no water and becomes weary. 13 (E)The craftsman of wood extends a measuring line; he outlines it with a marker. He works it with carving knives and outlines it with a compass, and makes it like the form of a man, like the beauty of (F)mankind, so that it may sit in a (G)house. 14 He will cut cedars for himself, and he takes a holm-oak or another oak and lets it grow strong for himself among the trees of the forest. He plants a laurel tree, and the rain makes it grow. 15 Then it becomes something for a person to burn, so he takes one of them and gets warm; he also makes a fire and bakes bread. He also (H)makes a god and worships it; he makes it a carved image and (I)bows down before it. 16 Half of it he burns in the fire; over this half he eats meat, he roasts a roast, and is satisfied. He also warms himself and says, “Aha! I am warm, I have seen the fire.” 17 Yet the rest of it he (J)makes into a god, his carved image. He bows down before it and worships; he also (K)prays to it and says, “Save me, for you are my god.”
18 They do not (L)know, nor do they understand, for He has (M)smeared over their eyes so that they cannot see, and their hearts so that they cannot comprehend. 19 No one [c]remembers, nor is there (N)knowledge or understanding to say, “I have burned half of it in the fire and also have baked bread over its coals. I roast meat and eat it. Then [d]I make the rest of it into an (O)abomination, [e]I bow down before a block of wood!” 20 He [f](P)feeds on ashes; a (Q)deceived heart has misled him. And he cannot save [g]himself, nor say, “(R)Is there not a lie in my right hand?”
The Christian’s Walk
17 (A)So I say this, and affirm in the Lord, (B)that you are to no longer walk just as the [a]Gentiles also walk, in the (C)futility of their minds, 18 being (D)darkened in their understanding, [b](E)excluded from the life of God because of the (F)ignorance that is in them, because of the (G)hardness of their heart; 19 and they, having (H)become callous, (I)have given themselves up to (J)indecent behavior [c]for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness. 20 But you did not (K)learn Christ in this way, 21 if indeed you (L)have heard Him and have (M)been taught in Him, just as truth is in Jesus, 22 that, in reference to your former way of life, you are to (N)rid yourselves of the (O)old [d]self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the (P)lusts of deceit, 23 and that you are to be (Q)renewed in the spirit of your minds, 24 and to (R)put on the (S)new [e]self, which [f](T)in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.
25 Therefore, (U)ridding yourselves of falsehood, (V)speak truth each one of you with his neighbor, because we are (W)parts of one another. 26 (X)Be angry, and yet do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, 27 and do not (Y)give the devil [g]an opportunity. 28 The one who steals must no longer steal; but rather (Z)he must labor, (AA)producing with his own hands what is good, (AB)so that he will have something to share with the one who has need. 29 Let no [h](AC)unwholesome word come out of your mouth, but if there is any good word for (AD)edification [i]according to the need of the moment, say that, so that it will give grace to those who hear. 30 (AE)Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, [j]by whom you were (AF)sealed for the day of redemption. 31 (AG)All bitterness, wrath, anger, [k]clamor, and slander must be (AH)removed from you, along with all (AI)malice. 32 (AJ)Be kind to one another, compassionate, forgiving each other, (AK)just as God in Christ also has forgiven [l]you.
19 and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him.
20 And He *came [a](A)home, and the (B)crowd *gathered again, (C)to such an extent that they could not even eat [b]a meal. 21 And when (D)His own [c]people heard about this, they came out to take custody of Him; for they were saying, “(E)He has lost His senses.” 22 The scribes who came down (F)from Jerusalem were saying, “He [d]is possessed by [e](G)Beelzebul,” and “(H)He casts out the demons by the ruler of the demons.” 23 (I)And so He called them to Himself and began speaking to them in (J)parables: “How can (K)Satan cast out Satan? 24 And if a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25 If a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. 26 And if (L)Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but [f]he is finished! 27 (M)But no one can enter the strong man’s house and plunder his property unless he first ties up the strong man, and then he will plunder his house.
28 “(N)Truly I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the sons and daughters of men, and whatever blasphemies they commit; 29 but (O)whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin”— 30 because they were saying, “He has an unclean spirit.”
31 (P)Then His mother and His brothers *came, and while standing outside they sent word to Him, calling for Him. 32 And a crowd was sitting around Him, and they *said to Him, “Behold, Your mother and Your brothers are outside looking for You.” 33 Answering them, He *said, “Who are My mother and My brothers?” 34 And looking around at those who were sitting around Him, He *said, “(Q)Here are My mother and My brothers! 35 For whoever (R)does the will of God, this is My brother, and sister, and mother.”
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