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]
Israel at Sinai
19 [a] In the third month after the Israelites went out[b] from the land of Egypt, on the very day,[c] they came to the desert of Sinai. 2 After they journeyed[d] from Rephidim, they came to the desert of Sinai, and they camped in the desert; Israel camped there in front of the mountain.[e]
3 Moses[f] went up to God, and the Lord called to him from the mountain, “Thus you will tell the house of Jacob, and declare to the people[g] of Israel: 4 ‘You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt and how I lifted you on eagles’ wings[h] and brought you to myself.[i] 5 And now, if you will diligently listen to me[j] and keep[k] my covenant, then you will be my[l] special possession[m] out of all the nations, for all the earth is mine, 6 and you will be to me[n] a kingdom of priests[o] and a holy nation.’[p] These are the words that you will speak to the Israelites.”
7 So Moses came and summoned the elders of Israel. He set before them all these words that the Lord had commanded him, 8 and all the people answered together, “All that the Lord has commanded we will do!”[q] So Moses brought the words of the people back to the Lord.
9 The Lord said to Moses, “I am going to come[r] to you in a dense cloud,[s] so that the people may hear when I speak with you and so that they will always believe in you.”[t] And Moses told the words of the people to the Lord.
10 The Lord said to Moses, “Go to the people and sanctify them[u] today and tomorrow, and make them wash[v] their clothes 11 and be ready for the third day, for on the third day the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people. 12 You must set boundaries[w] for the people all around, saying, ‘Take heed[x] to yourselves not to go up on the mountain nor touch its edge. Whoever touches the mountain will surely be put to death! 13 No hand will touch him[y]—but he will surely be stoned or shot through, whether a beast or a human being;[z] he must not live.’ When the ram’s horn sounds a long blast they may[aa] go up on the mountain.”
14 Then Moses went down from the mountain to the people and sanctified the people, and they washed their clothes. 15 He said to the people, “Be ready for the third day. Do not approach your wives for marital relations.”[ab]
16 On[ac] the third day in the morning there was thunder and lightning and a dense[ad] cloud on the mountain, and the sound of a very loud[ae] horn;[af] all the people who were in the camp trembled.
Salutation
1 From Paul,[a] an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, 2 to the saints, the faithful[b] brothers and sisters[c] in Christ, at Colossae. Grace and peace to you[d] from God our Father![e]
Paul’s Thanksgiving and Prayer for the Church
3 We always[f] give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, 4 since[g] we heard about your faith in Christ Jesus and the love that you have for all the saints. 5 Your faith and love have arisen[h] from the hope laid up[i] for you in heaven, which you have heard about in the message of truth, the gospel[j] 6 that has come to you. Just as in the entire world this gospel[k] is bearing fruit and growing, so it has also been bearing fruit and growing[l] among you from the first day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth. 7 You learned the gospel[m] from Epaphras, our dear fellow slave[n]—a[o] faithful minister of Christ on our[p] behalf— 8 who also told us of your love in the Spirit.
Paul’s Prayer for the Growth of the Church
9 For this reason we also, from the day we heard about you,[q] have not ceased praying for you and asking God[r] to fill[s] you with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 10 so that you may live[t] worthily of the Lord and please him in all respects[u]—bearing fruit in every good deed, growing in the knowledge of God, 11 being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might for the display of[v] all patience and steadfastness, joyfully 12 giving thanks to the Father who has qualified you to share[w] in the saints’[x] inheritance in the light. 13 He delivered us from the power of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of the Son he loves,[y] 14 in whom we have redemption,[z] the forgiveness of sins.
7 But when he saw many Pharisees[a] and Sadducees[b] coming to his baptism, he said to them, “You offspring of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 8 Therefore produce fruit[c] that proves your[d] repentance, 9 and don’t think you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’[e] For I tell you that God can raise up children for Abraham from these stones! 10 Even now the ax is laid at[f] the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.
11 “I baptize you with water, for repentance, but the one coming after me is more powerful than I am—I am not worthy[g] to carry his sandals! He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.[h] 12 His winnowing fork[i] is in his hand, and he will clean out his threshing floor and will gather his wheat into the storehouse,[j] but the chaff he will burn up with inextinguishable fire!”[k]
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