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]
The Words of Agur[a]
30 The words of Agur, the son of Jakeh; an oracle:[b]
This[c] man says[d] to Ithiel, to Ithiel and to Ukal:[e]
2 Surely[f] I am more brutish[g] than any other human being,[h]
and I do not have human understanding;[i]
3 I have not learned wisdom,
nor can[j] I have knowledge[k] of the Holy One.[l]
4 Who has ascended into heaven, and then descended?[m]
Who has gathered up the winds in his fists?[n]
Who has bound up the waters in his cloak?[o]
Who has established all the ends of the earth?[p]
What is his name, and what is his son’s name?[q] Surely[r] you can[s] know!
24 There are four things on earth that are small,[a]
but they are exceedingly wise:[b]
25 ants are creatures with little strength,
but they prepare[c] their food in the summer;
26 rock badgers[d] are creatures with little power,
but they make their homes in the crags;
27 locusts have no king,
but they all go forward by ranks;[e]
28 a lizard[f] you can catch with the hand,
but it gets into the palaces of the king.[g]
29 There are three things that are magnificent[h] in their step,
four things that move about magnificently:[i]
30 a lion, mightiest[j] of the beasts,
who does not retreat from anything;
31 a strutting rooster,[k] a male goat,
and a king with his army around him.[l]
32 If you have done foolishly by exalting yourself[m]
or if you have planned evil,
put[n] your hand over your mouth!
33 For as the churning[o] of milk produces butter
and as punching the nose produces blood,
so stirring up anger[p] produces strife.[q]
True and False Righteousness
3 Finally, my brothers and sisters,[a] rejoice in the Lord! To write this again is no trouble to me, and it is a safeguard for you.
2 Beware of the dogs,[b] beware of the evil workers, beware of those who mutilate the flesh![c] 3 For we are the circumcision,[d] the ones who worship by the Spirit of God,[e] exult in Christ Jesus, and do not rely on human credentials[f] 4 —though mine too are significant.[g] If someone thinks he has good reasons to put confidence in human credentials,[h] I have more: 5 I was circumcised on the eighth day, from the people of Israel and the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews. I lived according to the law as a Pharisee.[i] 6 In my zeal for God I persecuted the church. According to the righteousness stipulated in the law I was blameless. 7 But these assets I have come to regard as liabilities because of Christ. 8 More than that, I now regard all things as liabilities compared to the far greater value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things—indeed, I regard them as dung![j]—that I may gain Christ, 9 and be found in him, not because I have my own righteousness derived from the law, but because I have the righteousness that comes by way of Christ’s faithfulness[k]—a righteousness from God that is in fact[l] based on Christ’s[m] faithfulness.[n] 10 My aim is to know him,[o] to experience the power of his resurrection, to share in his sufferings,[p] and to be like him in his death, 11 and so, somehow,[q] to attain to the resurrection from the dead.
Jesus Brought Before Pilate
28 Then they brought Jesus from Caiaphas to the Roman governor’s residence.[a] (Now it was very early morning.)[b] They[c] did not go into the governor’s residence[d] so they would not be ceremonially defiled, but could eat the Passover meal. 29 So Pilate came outside to them and said, “What accusation[e] do you bring against this man?”[f] 30 They replied,[g] “If this man[h] were not a criminal,[i] we would not have handed him over to you.”[j]
31 Pilate told them,[k] “Take him yourselves and pass judgment on him[l] according to your own law!”[m] The Jewish leaders[n] replied,[o] “We cannot legally put anyone to death.”[p] 32 (This happened[q] to fulfill the word Jesus had spoken when he indicated[r] what kind of death he was going to die.[s])
Pilate Questions Jesus
33 So Pilate went back into the governor’s residence,[t] summoned Jesus, and asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?”[u] 34 Jesus replied,[v] “Are you saying this on your own initiative,[w] or have others told you about me?” 35 Pilate answered, “I am not a Jew, am I?[x] Your own people[y] and your chief priests handed you over[z] to me. What have you done?”
36 Jesus replied, “My kingdom[aa] is not from this world. If my kingdom were from this world, my servants would be fighting to keep me from being[ab] handed over[ac] to the Jewish authorities.[ad] But as it is,[ae] my kingdom is not from here.” 37 Then Pilate said,[af] “So you are a king!” Jesus replied, “You say that I am 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[ag] my voice.” 38 Pilate asked,[ah] “What is truth?”[ai]
When he had said this he went back outside to the Jewish leaders[aj] and announced,[ak] “I find no basis for an accusation[al] against him.
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