Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 25
Teach Me Your Ways
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By David.
A Prayer for Protection
1 To you, O Lord, I will lift up my soul.
2 In you I have trusted, O my God.
Do not let me be put to shame.
Do not let my enemies triumph over me.
3 All who hope in you will never be put to shame,
but those who are treacherous for no reason will be put to shame.
A Prayer for Forgiveness
4 Make known to me your ways, O Lord.
Teach me your paths.
5 Make me walk in your truth and teach me,
because you are the God who saves me.
In you I hope all day long.
6 Remember, O Lord, your compassion and your mercy,
for they are from eternity.[a]
7 Do not remember the sins of my youth and my rebellious ways.
According to your mercy remember me,
because of your goodness, O Lord.
8 Good and upright is the Lord.
Therefore, he instructs sinners in the right way.
9 He directs the humble to what is just,
and he teaches the humble his way.
10 All the ways of the Lord are mercy and truth
for those who keep his covenant and his testimonies.
11 For the sake of your name, O Lord,
you forgive my guilt, although it is great.
A Prayer for a Godly Life
12 Who, then, is the man who fears the Lord?
The Lord will instruct him in the way he chooses.
13 That man will enjoy a good life,
and his descendants will possess the land.
14 The guidance[b] of the Lord is with those who fear him.
His covenant will give them knowledge.
A Second Prayer for Protection
15 My eyes are always on the Lord,
because he frees my feet from the net.
16 Turn toward me and be gracious to me,
because I am lonely and afflicted.
17 The distress of my heart increases.[c]
Bring me out of my anguish.
18 See my affliction and my trouble,
and take away all my sins.
19 See my enemies—
how they have increased,
and how violently they hate me!
20 Guard my life and rescue me.
Do not let me be put to shame,
for I have taken refuge in you.
21 May integrity and uprightness protect me,
because I wait for you.
22 Redeem Israel, O God, from all its distress!
Psalm 9
Praise for God’s Righteous Judgment
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For the choir director. According to “The Death of the Son.”[a] A psalm by David.
Praise for God’s Righteous Judgment
1 I will thank you, Lord, with all my heart.
I will tell about all your wonderful deeds.
2 I will be glad and rejoice in you.
I will make music to your name, O Most High.
Judgment Against David’s Enemies
3 When my enemies turn back,
they stumble and perish from your presence,
4 for you have upheld my rights and my cause.
You sat on the throne, judging righteously.
5 You have rebuked the nations,
and you made the wicked perish.
You have blotted out their name forever and ever.
6 As for the enemy, their destruction is complete and final.
You have uprooted cities.
Memory of them has perished with them.
Judgment Against the Whole World
7 The Lord is seated forever.
He has established his throne for judgment.
8 The Lord himself will judge the world in righteousness.
He will judge the peoples with fairness.
9 The Lord will be a refuge for those who have been crushed,
a refuge for times of trouble.
10 Those who know your name will trust in you,
for you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you.
Closing Praise and Final Appeal
11 Make music for the Lord, who is seated in Zion.
Proclaim his deeds among the peoples.
12 Yes, he who avenges bloodshed remembers them.
He does not forget the cry of the afflicted.
13 Have mercy on me, O Lord.
See my afflictions that are caused by those who hate me,
and raise me up from the gates of death,
14 so that I may declare all your praise.
In the gates of the Daughter of Zion[b] I will rejoice in your salvation.
The Fate of the Wicked
15 The nations have sunk into the pit they have made.
Their feet are caught in the net that they have hidden.
16 The Lord makes himself known by the judgment he has carried out.
By the work of his hands the wicked are snared. Interlude for meditation[c]
17 The wicked return to the grave,
all the nations who forget God.
18 But he will never forget the needy.
The hope of the afflicted will never perish.
19 Rise up, O Lord. Do not let man triumph.
Let the nations be judged in your presence.
20 Strike them with fear, O Lord.
Let the nations know they are only human. Interlude
Psalm 15
Who May Dwell in Your Sanctuary?
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A psalm by David.
The Question: Who May Dwell in Your Sanctuary?
1 Lord, who may be a guest in your tent?
Who may dwell on your holy mountain?
The Answer: The One Who Does What Is Righteous
2 One who walks with integrity,
who does what is righteous,
and who speaks the truth in his heart.
3 He has no slander on his tongue.
He does not harm his friend,
and he does not defame his neighbor.
4 He despises everyone whom God rejects,
but he honors those who fear the Lord.
When he promises something,
he does not break his word
even though it costs him a lot.
5 He does not lend his money to get interest,[a]
and he does not accept a bribe against the innocent.
One who does these things will never be toppled.
27 Do not boast about tomorrow,
because you do not know what a day may produce.
2 Let someone else praise you, not your own mouth—
a stranger, not your own lips.
3 A stone is heavy and sand is a burden,
but aggravation from a stubborn fool is heavier than both.
4 Cruel wrath and a flood of anger are devastating,
but who can stand up against jealousy?
5 Open correction is better than concealed love.
6 Wounds from someone who loves you can be trusted,
but the kisses of someone who hates you are too much.[a]
10 Do not abandon your friend or your father’s friend,
and do not go to your brother’s house when disaster strikes you.
A neighbor who is near is better than a brother who is far away.
11 Be wise, my son, and bring joy to my heart,
so that I may answer anyone who taunts me.
12 A sensible person sees trouble and hides,
but naïve people keep going and pay the penalty.
Live in Harmony
2 So if there is any encouragement in Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, 2 then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being united in spirit, and having one mind. 3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or empty conceit, but in humility consider one another better than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look carefully not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.
Jesus Humbled Himself
5 Indeed,[a] let this attitude be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus. 6 Though he was by nature God,[b] he did not consider equality with God as a prize to be displayed,[c] 7 but he emptied himself by taking the nature[d] of a servant. When he was born in human likeness, and his appearance was like that of any other man,[e] 8 he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death—even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God also highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Lights in the World
12 So then, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed, not only when I was with you, but also now much more in my absence, continue to work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. 13 In fact, it is God who is working in you, both to will and to work, for the sake of his good pleasure.
Peter Denies Jesus
15 Simon Peter and another disciple kept following Jesus. That disciple was known to the high priest, so he went into the high priest’s courtyard with Jesus. 16 But Peter stood outside by the door. So the other disciple, the one known to the high priest, went out and talked to the girl watching the door and brought Peter in.
17 “You are not one of this man’s disciples too, are you?” the girl at the door asked Peter.
“I am not!” he said.
18 The servants and guards were standing around a fire of coals that they had made because it was cold. While they warmed themselves, Peter was standing with them, warming himself too.
Peter Denies Again
25 Simon Peter continued to stand there warming himself. So they said to him, “You are not one of his disciples too, are you?”
He denied it, saying, “I am not!”
26 One of the servants of the high priest, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, said, “Didn’t I see you with him in the garden?”
27 Peter denied it again, and just then a rooster crowed.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.