Book of Common Prayer
Protestation of Integrity and Prayer for Protection.
A Psalm of David.
26 Vindicate me, O Lord, for I have walked in my integrity;
I have [relied on and] trusted [confidently] in the Lord without wavering and I shall not slip.
2
Examine me, O Lord, and try me;
Test my heart and my mind.
3
For Your lovingkindness is before my eyes,
And I have walked [faithfully] in Your truth.
4
I do not sit with deceitful or unethical or worthless men,
Nor seek companionship with pretenders (self-righteous hypocrites).
5
I hate the company of evildoers,
And will not sit with the wicked.
6
I will wash my hands in innocence,
And I will go about Your altar, O Lord,
7
That I may proclaim with the voice of thanksgiving
And declare all Your wonders.
8
O Lord, I love the habitation of Your house
And the place where Your glory dwells.
9
Do not sweep my soul away with sinners,
Nor [sweep away] my life with men of bloodshed,
10
In whose hands is a wicked scheme,
And whose right hand is full of bribes.
11
But as for me, I shall walk in my integrity;
Redeem me and be merciful and gracious to me.
12
My foot stands on a level place;
In the congregations I will bless the Lord.
A Prayer for Help, and Praise for Its Answer.
A Psalm of David.
28 To you I call, O Lord,
My rock, do not be deaf to me,
For if You are silent to me,
I will become like those who go down to the pit (grave).
2
Hear the voice of my supplication (specific requests, humble entreaties) as I cry to You for help,
As I lift up my hands and heart toward Your innermost sanctuary (Holy of Holies).
3
Do not drag me away with the wicked
And with those who do evil,
Who speak peace with their neighbors,
While malice and mischief are in their hearts.
4
Repay them according to their work and according to the evil of their practices;
Repay them according to the deeds of their hands;
Repay them what they deserve.(A)
5
Because they have no regard for the works of the Lord
Nor the deeds of His hands,
He will tear them down and not rebuild them.
6
Blessed be the Lord,
Because He has heard the voice of my supplication.
7
The Lord is my strength and my [impenetrable] shield;
My heart trusts [with unwavering confidence] in Him, and I am helped;
Therefore my heart greatly rejoices,
And with my song I shall thank Him and praise Him.
8
The Lord is their [unyielding] strength,
And He is the fortress of salvation to His anointed.
9
Save Your people and bless Your inheritance;
Be their shepherd also, and carry them forever.
Wickedness of Men and Lovingkindness of God.
To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David the servant of the Lord.
36 Transgression speaks [like an oracle] to the wicked (godless) [deep] within his heart;
There is no fear (dread) of God before his eyes.(A)
2
For he flatters and deceives himself in his own eyes
Thinking that his sinfulness will not be discovered and hated [by God].
3
The words of his mouth are wicked and deceitful;
He has ceased to be wise and to do good.
4
He plans wrongdoing on his bed;
He sets himself on a path that is not good;
He does not reject or despise evil.
5
Your lovingkindness and graciousness, O Lord, extend to the skies,
Your faithfulness [reaches] to the clouds.
6
Your righteousness is like the mountains of God,
Your judgments are like the great deep.
O Lord, You preserve man and beast.
7
How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God!
The children of men take refuge in the shadow of Your wings.
8
They drink their fill of the abundance of Your house;
And You allow them to drink from the river of Your delights.
9
For with You is the fountain of life [the fountain of life-giving water];
In Your light we see light.(B)
10
O continue Your lovingkindness to those who know You,
And Your righteousness (salvation) to the upright in heart.
11
Do not let the foot of the proud [person] overtake me,
And do not let the hand of the wicked drive me away.
12
There those who [are perverse and] do evil have fallen;
They have been thrust down and cannot rise.
The Vanity of Life.
To the Chief Musician; for Jeduthun. A Psalm of David.
39 I said, “I will guard my ways
That I may not sin with my tongue;
I will muzzle my mouth
While the wicked are in my presence.”
2
I was mute and silent [before my enemies],
I refrained even from good,
And my [a]distress grew worse.
3
My heart was hot within me.
While I was musing the fire burned;
Then I spoke with my tongue:
4
“Lord, let me know my [life’s] end
And [to appreciate] the extent of my days;
Let me know how frail I am [how transient is my stay here].
5
“Behold, You have made my days as [short as] hand widths,
And my lifetime is as nothing in Your sight.
Surely every man at his best is a mere breath [a wisp of smoke, a vapor that vanishes]!(A) Selah.
6
“Surely every man walks around like a shadow [in a charade];
Surely they make an uproar for nothing;
Each one builds up riches, not knowing who will receive them.(B)
7
“And now, Lord, for what do I expectantly wait?
My hope [my confident expectation] is in You.
8
“Save me from all my transgressions;
Do not make me the scorn and reproach of the [self-righteous, arrogant] fool.
9
“I am mute, I do not open my mouth,
Because it is You who has done it.
10
“Remove Your plague from me;
I am wasting away because of the conflict and opposition of Your hand.
11
“With rebukes You discipline man for sin;
You consume like a moth what is precious to him;
Surely every man is a mere breath [a wisp of smoke, a vapor that vanishes]. Selah.
12
“Hear my prayer, O Lord, and listen to my cry;
Do not be silent at my tears;
For I am Your temporary guest,
A sojourner like all my fathers.
13
“O look away from me, that I may smile and again know joy
Before I depart and am no more.”
The Sorrows of Zion
1 [a]How solitary and lonely sits the city [Jerusalem]
That was [once] full of people!
How like a widow she has become.
She who was great among the nations!
The princess among the provinces,
Has become a forced laborer!
2
She weeps bitterly in the night
And her tears are [constantly] on her cheeks;
Among all her lovers (political allies)
She has no one to comfort her.
All her friends have dealt treacherously with her;
They have become her enemies.(A)
3
Judah has gone into exile under affliction
And under harsh servitude;
She dwells among the [pagan] nations,
But she has found no rest;
All her pursuers have overtaken her
In the midst of [her] distress.
4
The roads to Zion are in mourning
Because no one comes to the appointed feasts.
All her gates are desolate;
Her priests are groaning,
Her virgins are grieved and suffering,
And she suffers bitterly.
5
Her adversaries have become her masters,
Her enemies prosper;
For the Lord has caused her grief
Because of the multitude of her transgressions;
Her young children have gone
Into captivity before the enemy.(B)
6
All her beauty and majesty
Have departed from the Daughter of Zion (Jerusalem).
Her princes have become like deer
That have found no pasture;
They have fled without strength
Before the pursuer.
7
In the days of her affliction and homelessness
Jerusalem remembers all her precious things
That she had from the days of old,
When her people fell into the hand of the adversary,
And no one helped her,
The enemy saw her,
They mocked at her downfall.
8
Jerusalem sinned greatly;
Therefore she has become an unclean thing [and has been removed].
All who honored her [now] despise her
Because they have seen her nakedness;
Even she herself groans and turns [her face] away.
9
Her (ceremonial) uncleanness was on her skirts;
She did not [seriously] consider her future.
Therefore she has come down [from throne to slavery] in an astonishing manner;
She has no comforter.
“O Lord” [cries Jerusalem], “look at my affliction,
For the enemy has magnified himself [in triumph]!”
10
The adversary has spread out his hand
Over all her precious and desirable things;
For she has seen the [Gentile] nations enter her sanctuary (the Jerusalem temple)—
[b]The ones whom You commanded
That they should not enter into Your congregation [not even in the outer courts].(C)
11
All her people groan, seeking bread;
They have exchanged their desirable and precious things for food
To restore their lives.
“See, O Lord, and consider
How despised and repulsive I have become!”
12
“Is it nothing to you, all you who pass this way?
Look and see if there is any pain like my pain
Which was severely dealt out to me,
Which the Lord has inflicted [on me] on the day of His fierce anger.
41 There is a glory and beauty of the sun, another glory of the moon, and yet another [distinctive] glory of the stars; and one star differs from another in glory and brilliance.
42 So it is with the resurrection of the dead. The [human] body that is sown is perishable and mortal, it is raised imperishable and immortal.(A) 43 It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in strength; 44 it is sown a natural body [mortal, suited to earth], it is raised a spiritual body [immortal, suited to heaven]. As surely as there is a physical body, there is also a spiritual body. 45 So it is written [in Scripture], “The first man, Adam, became a living soul (an individual);” the last Adam (Christ) became a life-giving spirit [restoring the dead to life].(B) 46 However, the spiritual [the immortal life] is not first, but the physical [the mortal life]; then the spiritual. 47 The first man [Adam] is from the earth, earthy [made of dust]; the second Man [Christ, the Lord] is from heaven.(C) 48 As is the earthly man [the man of dust], so are those who are of earth; and as is the heavenly [Man], so are those who are of heaven. 49 Just as we have borne the image of the earthly [the man of dust], [a]we will also bear the image of the heavenly [the Man of heaven].
The Mystery of Resurrection
50 Now I say this, believers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit nor be part of the kingdom of God; nor does the perishable (mortal) inherit the imperishable (immortal).
Come to Me
25 At that time Jesus said, “I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth [I openly and joyfully acknowledge Your great wisdom], that You have hidden these things [these spiritual truths] from the wise and intelligent and revealed them to infants [to new believers, to those seeking God’s will and purpose]. 26 Yes, Father, for this way was well-pleasing in Your sight. 27 All things have been handed over to Me by My Father; and no one fully knows and accurately understands the Son except the Father; and no one fully knows and accurately understands the Father except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son [deliberately] wills to reveal Him.
28 “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavily burdened [by religious rituals that provide no peace], and I will give you rest [refreshing your souls with salvation]. 29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me [following Me as My disciple], for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest (renewal, blessed quiet) for your souls.(A) 30 For My yoke is easy [to bear] and My burden is light.”
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