Book of Common Prayer
The Prayer of an Innocent Believer
Of David.
26 Lord, defend me because I have lived an innocent life.
I have trusted the Lord and never doubted.
2 Lord, try me and test me;
look closely into my heart and mind.
3 I see your love,
and I live by your truth.
4 I do not spend time with liars,
nor do I make friends with those who hide their sin.
5 I hate the company of evil people,
and I won’t sit with the wicked.
6 I wash my hands to show I am innocent,
and I come to your altar, Lord.
7 I raise my voice in praise
and tell of all the miracles you have done.
8 Lord, I love the Temple where you live,
where your glory is.
9 Do not kill me with those sinners
or take my life with those murderers.
10 Evil is in their hands,
and they do wrong for money.
11 But I have lived an innocent life,
so save me and have mercy on me.
12 I stand in a safe place.
Lord, I praise you in the great meeting.
A Prayer in Troubled Times
Of David.
28 Lord, my Rock, I call out to you for help.
Do not be deaf to me.
If you are silent,
I will be like those in the grave.
2 Hear the sound of my prayer,
when I cry out to you for help.
I raise my hands
toward your Most Holy Place.
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;
give them their reward.
5 They don’t understand what the Lord has done
or what he has made.
So he will knock them down
and not lift them up.
6 Praise the Lord,
because he heard my prayer for help.
7 The Lord is my strength and shield.
I trust him, and he helps me.
I am very happy,
and I praise him with my song.
8 The Lord is powerful;
he gives victory to his chosen one.
9 Save your people
and bless those who are your own.
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.
They have no fear of God.
2 They think too much of themselves
so they don’t see their sin and hate it.
3 Their words are wicked lies;
they are no longer wise or good.
4 At night they make evil plans;
what they do leads to nothing good.
They don’t refuse things that are evil.
5 Lord, your love reaches to the heavens,
your loyalty to the skies.
6 Your goodness is as high as the mountains.
Your justice is as deep as the great ocean.
Lord, you protect both people and animals.
7 God, your love is so precious!
You protect people in the shadow of your wings.
8 They eat the rich food in your house,
and you let them drink from your river of pleasure.
9 You are the giver of life.
Your light lets us enjoy life.
10 Continue to love those who know you
and to do good to those who are good.
11 Don’t let proud people attack me
and the wicked force me away.
12 Those who do evil have been defeated.
They are overwhelmed;
they cannot do evil any longer.
Life Is Short
For the director of music. For Jeduthun. A psalm of David.
39 I said, “I will be careful how I act
and will not sin by what I say.
I will be careful what I say
around wicked people.”
2 So I kept very quiet.
I didn’t even say anything good,
but I became even more upset.
3 I became very angry inside,
and as I thought about it, my anger burned.
So I spoke:
4 “Lord, tell me when the end will come
and how long I will live.
Let me know how long I have.
5 You have given me only a short life;
my lifetime is like nothing to you.
Everyone’s life is only a breath. Selah
6 People are like shadows moving about.
All their work is for nothing;
they collect things but don’t know who will get them.
7 “So, Lord, what hope do I have?
You are my hope.
8 Save me from all my sins.
Don’t let wicked fools make fun of me.
9 I am quiet; I do not open my mouth,
because you are the one who has done this.
10 Quit punishing me;
your beating is about to kill me.
11 You correct and punish people for their sins;
like a moth, you destroy what they love.
Everyone’s life is only a breath. Selah
12 “Lord, hear my prayer,
and listen to my cry.
Do not ignore my tears.
I am like a visitor with you.
Like my ancestors, I’m only here a short time.
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 that came at that time. People came from as far away as Lebo Hamath and the brook of Egypt. 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 day Solomon sent the people home. They blessed the king as they went, happy because of all the good things the Lord had done for his servant David and his people Israel.
The Lord Appears to Solomon Again
9 Solomon finished building the Temple of the Lord and his royal palace and everything he wanted to build. 2 Then the Lord appeared to him again 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. You built this Temple, and I have made it a holy place. I will be worshiped there forever and will watch over it and protect it always.
4 “But you must serve me as your father David did; he was fair and sincere. You must obey all I have commanded and keep my laws and rules. 5 If you do, I will make your kingdom strong. This is the promise I made to your father David—that someone from his family would always rule Israel.
6 “But you and your children must follow me and obey the laws and commands I have given you. You must not serve or worship other gods. 7 If you do, I will force Israel to leave the land I have given them, and I will leave this Temple that I have made holy. All the nations will make fun of Israel and speak evil about them. 8 If the Temple is destroyed, everyone who passes by will be shocked. They will make fun of you and ask, ‘Why did the Lord do this terrible thing to this land and this Temple?’ 9 People will answer, ‘This happened because they left the Lord their God. This was the God who brought their ancestors out of Egypt, but they decided to follow other gods. They worshiped and served those gods, so the Lord brought all this disaster on them.’”
Faith and Good Works
14 My brothers and sisters, if people say they have faith, but do nothing, their faith is worth nothing. Can faith like that save them? 15 A brother or sister in Christ might need clothes or food. 16 If you say to that person, “God be with you! I hope you stay warm and get plenty to eat,” but you do not give what that person needs, your words are worth nothing. 17 In the same way, faith by itself—that does nothing—is dead.
18 Someone might say, “You have faith, but I have deeds.” Show me your faith without doing anything, and I will show you my faith by what I do. 19 You believe there is one God. Good! But the demons believe that, too, and they tremble with fear.
20 You foolish person! Must you be shown that faith that does nothing is worth nothing? 21 Abraham, our ancestor, was made right with God by what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar. 22 So you see that Abraham’s faith and the things he did worked together. His faith was made perfect by what he did. 23 This shows the full meaning of the Scripture that says: “Abraham believed God, and God accepted Abraham’s faith, and that faith made him right with God.”[a] And Abraham was called God’s friend.[b] 24 So you see that people are made right with God by what they do, not by faith only.
25 Another example is Rahab, a prostitute, who was made right with God by something she did. She welcomed the spies into her home and helped them escape by a different road.
26 Just as a person’s body that does not have a spirit is dead, so faith that does nothing is dead!
Peter Says He Doesn’t Know Jesus
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 said that he was never with Jesus. 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.
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.”
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.” Then Peter lost control of himself and began to cry.
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.