Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 26
Vindicate Me, O Lord
Heading
By David.
Affirmation of Innocence and Plea for Judgment
1 Judge me favorably, O Lord,
because I have walked in my integrity.
In the Lord I have trusted. I have not wavered.
2 Test me, O Lord, and examine me.
Refine my thoughts and my emotions,
3 for your mercy is in front of my eyes,
and I keep walking in your truth.
Separation From Evil
4 I do not sit with deceivers.
I do not associate with hypocrites.
5 I hate the company of evildoers.
I do not sit with the wicked.
Affirmation of Innocence and Love for God
6 I wash my hands from sin,
so I can march around your altar, O Lord,
7 to shout thanks to you
and to proclaim all your wonderful deeds.
8 Lord, I love the house where you reside,
the place where your glory dwells.
Separation From Evil
9 Do not snatch my soul away along with sinners,
nor my life with bloodthirsty men,
10 who grasp wicked schemes in their hands,
whose right hands are full of bribes.
Affirmation of Innocence and Prayer for Redemption
11 But as for me, I will walk in my integrity.
Redeem me and be merciful to me.
12 My feet stand on level ground.
In the assemblies I will bless the Lord.
Psalm 28
My Rock
Heading
By David.
Protect Me From the Wicked
1 O Lord, I keep calling to you.
My Rock, do not be deaf to me.
If you remain silent to me,
I will become like those who go down to the pit.
2 Hear the sound of my plea for mercy when I cry out to you,
when I lift up my hands toward your most holy sanctuary.
3 Do not drag me away with the wicked, with those evildoers.
They speak peace to their neighbors but hide evil in their hearts.
Punish the Wicked
4 Give to them what they have done to others.
According to their evil actions,
according to the deeds of their hands,
punish them.
Repay to them what they deserve.
5 Because they do not recognize the works of the Lord
or the deeds of his hands,
he will tear them down and not build them up.
Then I Will Praise You
6 Blessed be the Lord,
because he has heard the sound of my plea for mercy.
7 The Lord is my strength and my shield.
In him my heart trusts, and I am helped.
My heart also celebrates.
With my song I will give thanks to him.
8 The Lord is their strength.
He is a stronghold of salvation for his anointed king.
9 Save your people, and bless the people that belong to you.
Shepherd them, and carry them forever.
Psalm 36
Concerning the Rebelliousness of the Wicked
Heading
For the choir director. By the servant of the Lord. By David.
1 A declaration about the rebellion of the wicked is deep in my heart.[a]
The Arrogance of the Wicked
There is no dread of God before his eyes,
2 because he flatters himself in his own eyes
too much to notice his guilt and to hate it.
3 The words from his mouth are deception and deceit.
He has given up being wise and doing good.
4 He plots deception even on his bed.
He sets out on a path that is not good.
He does not reject wrong.
The Goodness of God
5 Lord, your mercy reaches to the heavens.
Your faithfulness to the skies.
6 Your righteousness is as high as the mountains of God.
Your justice is as deep as the ocean.
You save both man and animal, O Lord.
7 How precious is your mercy, O God!
So all people[b] find refuge in the shadow of your wings.
8 They are satisfied by the rich food of your house.
You let them drink from your river of delights.
9 For with you is the fountain of life.
In your light we see light.
Closing Prayer
10 Stretch out your mercy over those who know you,
your righteousness to the upright in heart.
11 Do not let the foot of the proud trample me.
Do not let the hand of the wicked drive me away.
12 There the evildoers have fallen.
They have been thrown down.
They are not able to rise!
Psalm 39
Show Me My Life’s End
Heading
For the choir director. For Jeduthun.[a] A psalm by David.
The Psalmist’s Anguish
1 I said, “I will guard my ways
so that I do not sin with my tongue.
I will keep a muzzle on my mouth
as long as the wicked are confronting me.”
2 I said nothing. I kept silent.
I did not even say anything good,
but my pain became worse.
3 Inside me my heart grew hot.
As I fretted, the fire burned.
So I spoke with my tongue.
The Shortness of Human Life
4 Lord, help me understand my end.
What is the limit of my days?
Let me know how fleeting I am.
5 See, you have cut short my days.[b]
My brief time before you is like nothing.
Indeed, every person, even at his best,
is just a puff of air.[c] Interlude
6 A man flickers like a mirage.
He really has no more effect than a breeze.[d]
He piles things up, never knowing who will get them.
The Enduring Goodness of God
7 But now what do I wait for, Lord?
My hope is in you.
8 Save me from all my rebellious acts.
Do not let fools scorn me.
9 I said nothing.
I did not open my mouth,
because you are the one who caused this.
10 Stop punching me.
By the attack of your hand I am finished.
11 By your rebuke against guilt you discipline a man.
Like a moth you consume what he desires.
Indeed, every person is nothing but a puff of air. Interlude
Closing Prayer
12 Hear my prayer, O Lord.
Listen to my cry.
Do not ignore my tears,
for with you I am an alien,
just a visitor, as were all my ancestors.
13 Look away from me, so I can smile again
before I depart and am no more.
The Oracle of Agur
30 The words of Agur son of Jakeh. An oracle.[a]
This man declares:
I am weary, God. I am weary, God, and worn out,[b]
2 because I am too unreasoning to be a man.
I do not even possess human understanding.
3 I have not learned wisdom.
I do not have knowledge of the Holy One.
4 Who has gone up to heaven and come down?
Who has gathered the wind in the palms of his hands?
Who has wrapped the water in a garment?
Who has set up all the ends of the earth?
What is his name and the name of his son?
Tell me if you know!
24 Four things are small on the earth,
yet they are wiser than the wisest people:
25 Ants are a species without strength,
but they store their food in summer.
26 Rock badgers are a species without power,
but they make their home in a cliff.
27 Locusts have no king,
but they all march ahead in ranks.
28 Lizards can be caught in your hands,
but they live in kings’ palaces.
29 Three things strut impressively.
Four walk with dignity:
30 a lion, which is the mightiest among the animals,
does not turn away from anything,
31 a strutting rooster,[a]
a male goat,
and a king reviewing his troops.[b]
32 If you have acted like a fool by exalting yourself,
or if you have been scheming,
put your hand over your mouth,
33 because just as pressing milk produces cheese,[c]
and pressing a nose brings forth blood,
so pressing one’s anger produces a fight.
True Righteousness
3 Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord. It is no trouble for me to write the same things again to you, and it is a safeguard for you. 2 Beware of the dogs. Beware of the evildoers. Beware of the mutilation.[a] [b] 3 For we are the circumcision, we who worship by the Spirit of God,[c] who are confident in Christ Jesus, and who place no confidence in the flesh, 4 even though I have grounds for confidence also in the flesh. If anyone else thinks that he has grounds for confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; 6 in regard to zeal, persecuting the church; in regard to the righteousness that is in the law, blameless.
7 But, whatever things were a profit for me, these things I have come to consider a loss because of Christ. 8 But even more than that, I consider everything to be a loss because of what is worth far more: knowing Christ Jesus, my Lord. For his sake, I have lost all things and consider them rubbish, so that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own, which comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness that comes from God by faith. 10 I do this so that I may know him and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings, being conformed to his death, 11 in the hope that in some way I may arrive at the resurrection from the dead.
Jesus Before Pilate
28 Early in the morning, the Jews led Jesus from Caiaphas to the Praetorium. They did not enter the Praetorium themselves, so that they would not become ceremonially unclean. (They wanted to be able to eat the Passover meal.) 29 So Pilate went out to them and said, “What charge do you bring against this man?”
30 They answered him, “If this man were not a criminal, we would not have handed him over to you.”
31 Pilate told them, “Take him yourselves and judge him according to your law.”
The Jews said, “It’s not legal for us to put anyone to death.” 32 This happened so that the statement Jesus had spoken indicating what kind of death he was going to die would be fulfilled.
33 Pilate went back into the Praetorium and summoned Jesus. He asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?”
34 Jesus answered, “Are you saying this on your own, or did others tell you about me?”
35 Pilate answered, “Am I a Jew? Your own people and chief priests handed you over to me. What have you done?”
36 Jesus replied, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would fight so that I would not be handed over to the Jews. But now my kingdom is not from here.”
37 “You are a king then?” Pilate asked.
Jesus answered, “I am, as you say, a king. For this reason I was born, and for this reason I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.”
38 “What is truth?” Pilate said to him.
After he said this, he went out again to the Jews and told them, “I find no basis for a charge against him.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.