Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 26[a]
By David.
26 Vindicate me, O Lord,
for I have integrity,[b]
and I trust in the Lord without wavering.
2 Examine me, O Lord, and test me.
Evaluate my inner thoughts and motives.[c]
3 For I am ever aware of your faithfulness,[d]
and your loyalty continually motivates me.[e]
4 I do not associate[f] with deceitful men,
or consort[g] with those who are dishonest.[h]
5 I hate the mob[i] of evil men,
and do not associate[j] with the wicked.
6 I maintain a pure lifestyle,[k]
so I can appear before your altar,[l] O Lord,
7 to give you thanks,[m]
and to tell about all your amazing deeds.[n]
8 O Lord, I love the temple where you live,[o]
the place where your splendor is revealed.[p]
9 Do not sweep me away[q] with sinners,
or execute me along with violent people,[r]
10 who are always ready to do wrong[s]
or offer a bribe.[t]
11 But I have integrity.[u]
Rescue me[v] and have mercy on me!
12 I am safe,[w]
and among the worshipers I will praise the Lord.
Psalm 28[a]
By David.
28 To you, O Lord, I cry out!
My Protector,[b] do not ignore me.[c]
If you do not respond to me,[d]
I will join[e] those who are descending into the grave.[f]
2 Hear my plea for mercy when I cry out to you for help,
when I lift my hands[g] toward your holy temple.[h]
3 Do not drag me away with evil men,
with those who behave wickedly,[i]
who talk so friendly to their neighbors,[j]
while they plan to harm them.[k]
4 Pay them back for their evil deeds.
Pay them back for what they do.
Punish them.[l]
5 For they do not understand the Lord’s actions,
or the way he carries out justice.[m]
The Lord[n] will permanently demolish them.[o]
6 The Lord deserves praise,[p]
for he has heard my plea for mercy.[q]
7 The Lord strengthens and protects me;[r]
I trust in him with all my heart.[s]
I am rescued[t] and my heart is full of joy;[u]
I will sing to him in gratitude.[v]
8 The Lord strengthens his people;[w]
he protects and delivers his chosen king.[x]
9 Deliver your people.
Empower[y] the nation that belongs to you.[z]
Care for them like a shepherd and carry them in your arms[aa] at all times![ab]
Psalm 36[a]
For the music director, an oracle, written by the Lord’s servant David.[b]
36 An evil man is rebellious to the core.[c]
He does not fear God,[d]
2 for he is too proud
to recognize and give up his sin.[e]
3 The words he speaks are sinful and deceitful;
he does not care about doing what is wise and right.[f]
4 While he lies in bed he plans ways to sin.
He is committed to a sinful lifestyle;[g]
he does not reject what is evil.[h]
5 O Lord, your loyal love reaches to the sky,[i]
your faithfulness to the clouds.[j]
6 Your justice is like the highest mountains,[k]
your fairness like the deepest sea;
you, Lord, preserve[l] mankind and the animal kingdom.[m]
7 How precious[n] is your loyal love, O God!
The human race finds shelter under your wings.[o]
8 They are filled with food from your house,
and you allow them to drink from the river of your delicacies.
9 For with you is the fountain of life;
in your light we see light.[p]
10 Extend[q] your loyal love to your faithful followers,[r]
and vindicate[s] the morally upright.[t]
11 Do not let arrogant men overtake me,
or let evil men make me homeless.[u]
12 I can see the evildoers! They have fallen.[v]
They have been knocked down and are unable to get up.[w]
Psalm 39[a]
For the music director, Jeduthun; a psalm of David.
39 I decided,[b] “I will watch what I say
and make sure I do not sin with my tongue.[c]
I will put a muzzle over my mouth
while in the presence of an evil person.”[d]
2 I was stone silent;[e]
I held back the urge to speak.[f]
My frustration grew;[g]
3 my anxiety intensified.[h]
As I thought about it, I became impatient.[i]
Finally I spoke these words:[j]
4 “O Lord, help me understand my mortality
and the brevity of life.[k]
Let me realize how quickly my life will pass.[l]
5 Look, you make my days short-lived,[m]
and my life span is nothing from your perspective.[n]
Surely all people, even those who seem secure, are nothing but vapor.[o] (Selah)
6 Surely people go through life as mere ghosts.[p]
Surely they accumulate worthless wealth
without knowing who will eventually haul it away.”[q]
7 But now, O Lord, upon what am I relying?
You are my only hope![r]
8 Deliver me from all my sins of rebellion.
Do not make me the object of fools’ insults.
9 I am silent and cannot open my mouth
because of what you have done.[s]
10 Please stop wounding me.[t]
You have almost beaten me to death.[u]
11 You severely discipline people for their sins;[v]
like a moth you slowly devour their strength.[w]
Surely all people are a mere vapor. (Selah)
12 Hear my prayer, O Lord.
Listen to my cry for help.
Do not ignore my sobbing.[x]
For I am a resident foreigner with you,
a temporary settler,[y] just as all my ancestors were.
13 Turn your angry gaze away from me, so I can be happy
before I pass away.[z]
God’s Covenant with Humankind through Noah
9 Then God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. 2 Every living creature of the earth and every bird of the sky will be terrified of you.[a] Everything that creeps on the ground and all the fish of the sea are under your authority.[b] 3 You may eat any moving thing that lives.[c] As I gave you[d] the green plants, I now give[e] you everything.
4 “But[f] you must not eat meat[g] with its life (that is,[h] its blood) in it.[i] 5 For your lifeblood[j] I will surely exact punishment,[k] from[l] every living creature I will exact punishment. From each person[m] I will exact punishment for the life of the individual[n] since the man was his relative.[o]
6 “Whoever sheds human blood,[p]
by other humans[q]
must his blood be shed;
for in God’s image[r]
God[s] has made humankind.
7 “But as for you,[t] be fruitful and multiply; increase abundantly on the earth and multiply on it.”
8 God said to Noah and his sons,[u] 9 “Look. I now confirm[v] my covenant with you and your descendants after you[w] 10 and with every living creature that is with you, including the birds, the domestic animals, and every living creature of the earth with you, all those that came out of the ark with you—every living creature of the earth.[x] 11 I confirm[y] my covenant with you: Never again will all living things[z] be wiped out[aa] by the waters of a flood;[ab] never again will a flood destroy the earth.”
12 And God said, “This is the guarantee[ac] of the covenant I am making[ad] with you[ae] and every living creature with you, a covenant[af] for all subsequent[ag] generations: 13 I will place[ah] my rainbow[ai] in the clouds, and it will become[aj] a guarantee of the covenant between me and the earth. 14 Whenever[ak] I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, 15 then I will remember my covenant with you[al] and with all living creatures of all kinds.[am] Never again will the waters become a flood and destroy[an] all living things.[ao] 16 When the rainbow is in the clouds, I will notice it and remember[ap] the perpetual covenant between God and all living creatures of all kinds that are on the earth.”
17 So God said to Noah, “This is the guarantee of the covenant that I am confirming between me and all living things[aq] that are on the earth.”
7 During his earthly life[a] Christ[b] offered[c] both requests and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to the one who was able to save him from death and he was heard because of his devotion. 8 Although he was a son, he learned obedience through the things he suffered.[d] 9 And by being perfected in this way, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him, 10 and he was designated[e] by God as high priest in the order of Melchizedek.[f]
The Need to Move on to Maturity
11 On this topic we have much to say[g] and it is difficult to explain, since you have become sluggish[h] in hearing. 12 For though you should in fact be teachers by this time,[i] you need someone to teach you the beginning elements of God’s utterances.[j] You have gone back to needing[k] milk, not[l] solid food. 13 For everyone who lives on milk is inexperienced in the message of righteousness, because he is an infant. 14 But solid food is for the mature, whose perceptions are trained by practice to discern both good and evil.
16 For this is the way[a] God loved the world: He gave his one and only[b] Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish[c] but have eternal life.[d] 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world,[e] but that the world should be saved through him. 18 The one who believes in him is not condemned.[f] The one who does not believe has been condemned[g] already, because he has not believed in the name of the one and only[h] Son of God. 19 Now this is the basis for judging:[i] that the light has come into the world and people[j] loved the darkness rather than the light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For everyone who does evil deeds hates the light and does not come to the light, so that their deeds will not be exposed. 21 But the one who practices the truth comes to the light, so that it may be plainly evident that his deeds have been done in God.[k]
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