Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 26
Prayer for Vindication
Of David.
1 Vindicate me, Lord,
because I have lived with integrity
and have trusted in the Lord without wavering.(A)
2 Test me, Lord, and try me;
examine my heart and mind.(B)
3 For your faithful love guides me,[a]
and I live by your truth.(C)
4 I do not sit with the worthless
or associate with hypocrites.
5 I hate a crowd of evildoers,
and I do not sit with the wicked.(D)
6 I wash my hands in innocence(E)
and go around your altar, Lord,(F)
7 raising my voice in thanksgiving(G)
and telling about your wondrous works.(H)
Psalm 28
My Strength
Of David.
1 Lord, I call to you;
my rock, do not be deaf to me.(A)
If you remain silent to me,
I will be like those going down to the Pit.(B)
2 Listen to the sound of my pleading
when I cry to you for help,
when I lift up my hands
toward your holy sanctuary.(C)
3 Do not drag me away with the wicked,
with the evildoers,
who speak in friendly ways with their neighbors
while malice is in their hearts.(D)
4 Repay them according to what they have done—
according to the evil of their deeds.
Repay them according to the work of their hands;
give them back what they deserve.(E)
5 Because they do not consider
what the Lord has done
or the work of his hands,
he will tear them down and not rebuild them.(F)
Psalm 36
Human Wickedness and God’s Love
For the choir director. Of David, the Lord’s servant.
1 An oracle within my heart
concerning the transgression of the wicked person:
Dread of God has no effect on him.[a](A)
2 For with his flattering opinion of himself,
he does not discover and hate his iniquity.(B)
3 The words from his mouth are malicious and deceptive;(C)
he has stopped acting wisely and doing good.(D)
4 Even on his bed he makes malicious plans.(E)
He sets himself on a path that is not good,
and he does not reject evil.(F)
5 Lord, your faithful love reaches to heaven,
your faithfulness to the clouds.(G)
6 Your righteousness is like the highest mountains,
your judgments like the deepest sea.(H)
Lord, you preserve people and animals.(I)
7 How priceless your faithful love is, God!
People take refuge in the shadow of your wings.(J)
8 They are filled from the abundance of your house.
You let them drink from your refreshing stream.(K)
9 For the wellspring of life is with you.(L)
By means of your light we see light.(M)
Psalm 39
The Fleeting Nature of Life
For the choir director, for Jeduthun. A psalm of David.
1 I said, “I will guard my ways
so that I may not sin with my tongue;
I will guard my mouth with a muzzle
as long as the wicked are in my presence.”(A)
2 I was speechless and quiet;
I kept silent, even from speaking good,
and my pain intensified.(B)
3 My heart grew hot within me;
as I mused, a fire burned.(C)
I spoke with my tongue:
4 “Lord, make me aware of my end
and the number of my days
so that I will know how short-lived I am.(D)
5 In fact, you have made my days just inches long,
and my life span is as nothing to you.
Yes, every human being stands as only a vapor.(E)Selah
6 Yes, a person goes about like a mere shadow.
Indeed, they rush around in vain,
gathering possessions
without knowing who will get them.(F)
7 “Now, Lord, what do I wait for?
My hope is in you.(G)
8 Rescue me from all my transgressions;
do not make me the taunt of fools.(H)
9 I am speechless; I do not open my mouth
because of what you have done.(I)
10 Remove your torment from me.
Because of the force of your hand I am finished.(J)
11 You discipline a person with punishment for iniquity,
consuming like a moth what is precious to him;(K)
yes, every human being is only a vapor.(L)Selah
Job’s Reply to Zophar
12 Then Job answered:
3 Yet I prefer to speak to the Almighty
and argue my case before God.(A)
4 You use lies like plaster;
you are all worthless healers.(B)
5 If only you would shut up
and let that be your wisdom!
6 Hear now my argument,
and listen to my defense.[a]
7 Would you testify unjustly on God’s behalf
or speak deceitfully for him?
8 Would you show partiality(C) to him
or argue the case in his defense?
9 Would it go well if he examined you?
Could you deceive him as you would deceive a man?(D)
10 Surely he would rebuke you
if you secretly showed partiality.
11 Would God’s majesty not terrify you?(E)
Would his dread not fall on you?
12 Your memorable sayings are proverbs of ash;(F)
your defenses are made of clay.
13 Be quiet,[b] and I will speak.
Let whatever comes happen to me.
14 I will put[c] myself at risk[d]
and take my life in my own hands.
15 Even if he kills me, I will hope in him.[e]
I will still defend(G) my ways before him.
16 Yes, this will result in my deliverance,
for no godless person(H) can appear before him.
17 Pay close attention to my words;
let my declaration ring in your ears.
21 remove your hand from me,
and do not let your terror frighten me.(A)
22 Then call, and I will answer,(B)
or I will speak, and you can respond to me.
23 How many iniquities(C) and sins have I committed?[a]
Reveal to me my transgression and sin.
24 Why do you hide your face
and consider me your enemy?(D)
25 Will you frighten a wind-driven leaf?
Will you chase after dry straw?
26 For you record bitter accusations against me
and make me inherit the iniquities of my youth.
27 You put my feet in the stocks
and stand watch over all my paths,
setting a limit for the soles[b] of my feet.
James Martyred and Peter Jailed
12 About that time King Herod violently attacked some who belonged to the church, 2 and he executed James,(A) John’s brother, with the sword. 3 When he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter too, during the Festival of Unleavened Bread.(B) 4 After the arrest, he put him in prison and assigned four squads of four soldiers each to guard him, intending to bring him out to the people after the Passover. 5 So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was praying fervently to God for him.
Peter Rescued
6 When Herod was about to bring him out for trial, that very night Peter, bound with two chains, was sleeping between two soldiers, while the sentries in front of the door guarded the prison. 7 Suddenly an angel of the Lord(C) appeared, and a light shone in the cell. Striking Peter on the side, he woke him up and said, “Quick, get up!” And the chains fell off his wrists.(D) 8 “Get dressed,” the angel told him, “and put on your sandals.” And he did. “Wrap your cloak around you,” he told him, “and follow me.” 9 So he went out and followed, and he did not know that what the angel did was really happening, but he thought he was seeing a vision.(E) 10 After they passed the first and second guards, they came to the iron gate that leads into the city, which opened to them by itself. They went outside and passed one street, and suddenly the angel left him.(F)
11 When Peter came to himself, he said, “Now I know for certain that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from Herod’s grasp and from all that the Jewish people expected.”(G) 12 As soon as he realized this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John who was called Mark,(H) where many had assembled and were praying. 13 He knocked at the door of the outer gate, and a servant named Rhoda came to answer. 14 She recognized Peter’s voice, and because of her joy, she did not open the gate but ran in and announced that Peter was standing at the outer gate.
15 “You’re out of your mind!” they told her. But she kept insisting that it was true, and they said, “It’s his angel.”(I) 16 Peter, however, kept on knocking, and when they opened the door and saw him, they were amazed.
17 Motioning to them with his hand(J) to be silent, he described to them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. “Tell these things to James(K) and the brothers,” he said, and he left and went to another place.
33 “We are descendants[a] of Abraham,”(A) they answered him, “and we have never been enslaved to anyone. How can you say, ‘You will become free’?”
34 Jesus responded, “Truly I tell you, everyone who commits sin is a slave of sin.(B) 35 A slave does not remain in the household forever,(C) but a son does remain forever.(D) 36 So if the Son sets you free, you really will be free. 37 I know you are descendants of Abraham,(E) but you are trying to kill me because my word has no place among you. 38 I speak what I have seen(F) in the presence of the Father; [b](G) so then, you do what you have heard from your father.”
39 “Our father is Abraham,” they replied.
“If you were Abraham’s children,” Jesus told them, “you would do what Abraham did.(H) 40 But now you are trying to kill me, a man who has told you the truth(I) that I heard from God. Abraham did not do this. 41 You’re doing what your father does.”(J)
“We weren’t born(K) of sexual immorality,”(L) they said. “We have one Father—God.”(M)
42 Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me,(N) because I came from God(O) and I am here. For I didn’t come on my own, but he sent me. 43 Why don’t you understand what I say? Because you cannot listen to[c] my word.(P) 44 You are of your father the devil,(Q) and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer(R) from the beginning(S) and does not stand in the truth,(T) because there is no truth in him. When he tells a lie, he speaks from his own nature,[d] because he is a liar and the father of lies. 45 Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe me. 46 Who among you can convict me of sin?(U) If I am telling the truth, why don’t you believe me? 47 The one who is from God listens to God’s words. This is why you don’t listen, because you are not from God.”
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