Book of Common Prayer
A psalm of David.
26 Lord, when you hand down your sentence, let it be in my favor.
I have lived without blame.
I have trusted in the Lord.
I have never doubted him.
2 Lord, test me. Try me out.
Look deep down into my heart and mind.
3 I have always remembered your love that never fails.
I have always depended on the fact that you are faithful.
4 I don’t spend time with people who tell lies.
I don’t keep company with pretenders.
5 I hate to be with a group of sinful people.
I refuse to spend time with those who are evil.
6 I wash my hands to show that I’m not guilty.
Lord, I come near your altar.
7 I shout my praise to you.
I tell about all the wonderful things you have done.
8 Lord, I love the house where you live.
I love the place where your glory is.
9 Don’t destroy me together with sinners.
Don’t take away my life along with murderers.
10 Their hands are always planning to do evil.
Their right hands are full of money that has bought their help.
11 But I live without blame.
Save me from harm and treat me with kindness.
12 My feet stand on level ground.
In the whole community I will praise the Lord.
A psalm of David.
28 Lord, my Rock, I call out to you.
Pay attention to me.
If you remain silent, I will die.
I will be like those who go down into the grave.
2 Hear my cry for your favor
when I call out to you for help.
Hear me when I lift up my hands in prayer
toward your Most Holy Room.
3 Don’t drag me away with sinners.
Don’t drag me away with those who do evil.
They speak in a friendly way to their neighbors.
But their hearts are full of hate.
4 Pay them back for their evil actions.
Pay them back for what their hands have done.
Give them exactly what they should get.
5 They don’t care about the Lord’s mighty acts.
They don’t care about what his hands have done.
So he will tear them down.
He will never build them up again.
6 Give praise to the Lord.
He has heard my cry for his favor.
7 The Lord gives me strength. He is like a shield that keeps me safe.
My heart trusts in him, and he helps me.
My heart jumps for joy.
With my song I praise him.
8 The Lord gives strength to his people.
He guards and saves his anointed king.
9 Save your people. Bless those who belong to you.
Be their shepherd. Take care of them forever.
For the director of music. A psalm of David, the servant of the Lord.
36 I have a message from God in my heart.
It is about the evil ways of anyone who sins.
They don’t have any respect for God.
2 They praise themselves so much
that they can’t see their sin or hate it.
3 Their mouths speak words that are evil and false.
They do not act wisely or do what is good.
4 Even as they lie in bed they make evil plans.
They commit themselves to a sinful way of life.
They never say no to what is wrong.
5 Lord, your love is as high as the heavens.
Your faithful love reaches up to the skies.
6 Your holiness is as great as the height of the highest mountains.
You are as honest as the oceans are deep.
Lord, you keep people and animals safe.
7 How priceless your faithful love is!
People find safety in the shadow of your wings.
8 They eat well because there is more than enough in your house.
You let them drink from your river that flows with good things.
9 You have the fountain of life.
We are filled with light because you give us light.
10 Keep on loving those who know you.
Keep on doing right to those whose hearts are honest.
11 Don’t let the feet of those who are proud step on me.
Don’t let the hands of those who are evil drive me away.
12 See how those who do evil have fallen!
They are thrown down and can’t get up.
For the director of music. For Jeduthun. A psalm of David.
39 I said, “I will be careful about how I live.
I will not sin by what I say.
I will keep my mouth closed
when I am near sinful people.”
2 So I was completely silent.
I didn’t even say anything good.
But the pain inside me grew worse.
3 My heart was deeply troubled.
As I thought about what was happening to me,
I became even more troubled.
Then I spoke out.
4 I said, “Lord, show me when my life will end.
Show me how many days I have left.
Tell me how short my life will be.
5 You have given me only a few days to live.
My whole life doesn’t seem like anything to you.
No one lasts any longer than a breath.
This is true even for those who feel secure.
6 People are only shadows as they go here and there.
They rush around, but it doesn’t mean anything.
They pile up wealth, but they don’t know who will finally get it.
7 “Lord, what can I look forward to now?
You are the only hope I have.
8 Save me from all the wrong things I’ve done.
Don’t let foolish people make fun of me.
9 I keep silent. I don’t open my mouth.
You are the one who has caused all this to happen.
10 Please stop beating me.
I’m about to die from the blows of your hand.
11 You correct and punish people for their sin.
Then, just as a moth eats cloth, you destroy their wealth.
No one lasts any longer than a breath.
12 “Lord, hear my prayer.
Listen to my cry for help.
Pay attention to my weeping.
I’m like an outsider in your home.
I’m just a stranger, like all my family who lived before me.
13 Leave me alone.
Let me enjoy life again before I die.”
16 Don’t test the Lord your God as you did at Massah. 17 Be sure to obey the Lord’s commands. Obey the terms and rules he has given you. 18 Do what is right and good in the Lord’s eyes. Then things will go well with you. You will go in and take over the land. It’s the good land the Lord promised to your people of long ago. 19 You will drive out all your enemies to make room for you. That’s what the Lord said would happen.
20 Later on, your child might ask you, “What is the meaning of the terms, rules and laws the Lord our God has commanded you to obey?” 21 If they do ask you, tell them, “We were Pharaoh’s slaves in Egypt. But the Lord used his mighty hand to bring us out of Egypt. 22 With our own eyes we saw the Lord send amazing signs. They were great and terrible. He sent them on Egypt and Pharaoh and everyone in his house. 23 But the Lord brought us out of Egypt. He planned to bring us into the land of Canaan and give it to us. It’s the land he promised to our people of long ago. 24 The Lord our God commanded us to obey all his rules. He commanded us to honor him. If we do, we will always succeed and be kept alive. That’s what is happening today. 25 We must make sure we obey the whole law in the sight of the Lord our God. That’s what he has commanded us to do. If we obey his law, we’ll be doing what he requires of us.”
A Warning to Pay Attention
2 So we must pay the most careful attention to what we have heard. Then we will not drift away from it. 2 Even the message God spoke through angels had to be obeyed. Every time people broke the Law, they were punished. Every time they didn’t obey, they were punished. 3 Then how will we escape if we don’t pay attention to God’s great salvation? The Lord first announced this salvation. Those who heard him gave us the message about it. 4 God showed that this message is true by signs and wonders. He showed that it’s true by different kinds of miracles. God also showed that this message is true by the gifts of the Holy Spirit. God gave them out as it pleased him.
Jesus Was Made Fully Human
5 God has not put angels in charge of the world that is going to come. We are talking about that world. 6 There is a place where someone has spoken about this. He said,
“What are human beings that you think about them?
What is a son of man that you take care of him?
7 You made them a little lower than the angels.
You placed on them a crown of glory and honor.
8 You have put everything under their control.” (Psalm 8:4–6)
So God has put everything under his Son. Everything is under his control. We do not now see everything under his control. 9 But we do see Jesus already given a crown of glory and honor. He was made lower than the angels for a little while. He suffered death. By the grace of God, he tasted death for everyone. That is why he was given his crown.
10 God has made everything. He is now bringing his many sons and daughters to share in his glory. It is only right that Jesus is the one to lead them into their salvation. That’s because God made him perfect by his sufferings.
John the Baptist Says That He Is Not the Messiah
19 The Jewish leaders in Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask John who he was. John spoke the truth to them. 20 He did not try to hide the truth. He spoke to them openly. He said, “I am not the Messiah.”
21 They asked him, “Then who are you? Are you Elijah?”
He said, “I am not.”
“Are you the Prophet we’ve been expecting?” they asked.
“No,” he answered.
22 They asked one last time, “Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?”
23 John replied, using the words of Isaiah the prophet. John said, “I’m the messenger who is calling out in the desert, ‘Make the way for the Lord straight.’ ” (Isaiah 40:3)
24 The Pharisees who had been sent 25 asked him, “If you are not the Messiah, why are you baptizing people? Why are you doing that if you aren’t Elijah or the Prophet we’ve been expecting?”
26 “I baptize people with water,” John replied. “But someone is standing among you whom you do not know. 27 He is the one who comes after me. I am not good enough to untie his sandals.”
28 This all happened at Bethany on the other side of the Jordan River. That was where John was baptizing.
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