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]
Saul Repeatedly Attempts to Take David’s Life
19 Then Saul told his son Jonathan and all his servants to kill David. But Saul’s son Jonathan liked David very much.[a] 2 So Jonathan told David, “My father Saul is trying[b] to kill you. So be careful tomorrow morning. Find[c] a hiding place and stay in seclusion.[d] 3 I will go out and stand beside my father in the field where you are. I will speak to my father about you. When I find out what the problem is,[e] I will let you know.”
4 So Jonathan spoke on David’s behalf[f] to his father Saul. He said to him, “The king should not sin against his servant David, for he has not sinned against you. On the contrary, his actions have been very beneficial[g] for you. 5 He risked his life[h] when he struck down the Philistine, and the Lord gave all Israel a great victory. When you saw it, you were happy. So why would you sin against innocent blood by putting David to death for no reason?”
6 Saul accepted Jonathan’s advice[i] and took an oath, “As surely as the Lord lives, he will not be put to death.” 7 Then Jonathan called David and told him all these things. Jonathan brought David to Saul, and he served him as he had done formerly.[j]
8 Now once again there was war. So David went out to fight the Philistines. He defeated them thoroughly,[k] and they ran away from him. 9 Then an evil spirit from the Lord came upon[l] Saul. He was sitting in his house with his spear in his hand, while David was playing the lyre.[m] 10 Saul tried to nail David to the wall with the spear, but he escaped from Saul’s presence, and the spear drove into the wall.[n] David escaped quickly[o] that night.
11 Saul sent messengers to David’s house to guard it and to kill him in the morning. Then David’s wife Michal told him, “If you do not save yourself[p] tonight, tomorrow you will be dead!” 12 So Michal lowered David through the window, and he ran away and escaped.
13 Then Michal took a household idol[q] and put it on the bed. She put a quilt[r] made of goats’ hair over its head[s] and then covered the idol with a garment. 14 When Saul sent messengers to arrest David, she said, “He’s sick.”
15 Then Saul sent the messengers back to see David, saying, “Bring him up to me on his bed so I can kill him.” 16 When the messengers came, they found only the idol on the bed and the quilt made of goats’ hair at its head.
17 Saul said to Michal, “Why have you deceived me this way by sending my enemy away? Now he has escaped!” Michal replied to Saul, “He said to me, ‘Help me get away or else I will kill you!’”[t]
18 Now David had run away and escaped. He went to Samuel in Ramah and told him everything that Saul had done to him. Then he and Samuel went and stayed at Naioth.
James is Killed and Peter Imprisoned
12 About that time King Herod[a] laid hands on[b] some from the church to harm them.[c] 2 He had James, the brother of John, executed with a sword.[d] 3 When he saw that this pleased the Jews,[e] he proceeded to arrest Peter too. (This took place during the feast of Unleavened Bread.)[f] 4 When he had seized him, he put him in prison, handing him over to four squads[g] of soldiers to guard him. Herod[h] planned[i] to bring him out for public trial[j] after the Passover. 5 So Peter was kept in prison, but those in the church were earnestly[k] praying to God for him.[l] 6 On that very night before Herod was going to bring him out for trial,[m] Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, while[n] guards in front of the door were keeping watch[o] over the prison. 7 Suddenly[p] an angel of the Lord[q] appeared, and a light shone in the prison cell. He struck[r] Peter on the side and woke him up, saying, “Get up quickly!” And the chains fell off Peter’s[s] wrists.[t] 8 The angel said to him, “Fasten your belt[u] and put on your sandals.” Peter[v] did so. Then the angel[w] said to him, “Put on your cloak[x] and follow me.” 9 Peter[y] went out[z] and followed him;[aa] he did not realize that what was happening through the angel was real,[ab] but thought he was seeing a vision. 10 After they had passed the first and second guards,[ac] they came to the iron[ad] gate leading into the city. It[ae] opened for them by itself,[af] and they went outside and walked down one narrow street,[ag] when at once the angel left him. 11 When[ah] Peter came to himself, he said, “Now I know for certain that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued[ai] me from the hand[aj] of Herod[ak] and from everything the Jewish people[al] were expecting to happen.”
12 When Peter[am] realized this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John Mark,[an] where many people had gathered together and were praying. 13 When he knocked at the door of the outer gate, a slave girl named Rhoda answered.[ao] 14 When she recognized Peter’s voice, she was so overjoyed she did not open the gate, but ran back in and told[ap] them[aq] that Peter was standing at the gate. 15 But they said to her, “You’ve lost your mind!”[ar] But she kept insisting that it was Peter,[as] and they kept saying,[at] “It is his angel!”[au] 16 Now Peter continued knocking, and when they opened the door[av] and saw him, they were greatly astonished.[aw] 17 He motioned to them[ax] with his hand to be quiet and then related[ay] how the Lord had brought[az] him out of the prison. He said, “Tell James and the brothers these things,” and then he left and went to another place.[ba]
Healing and Forgiving a Paralytic
2 Now[a] after some days, when he returned to Capernaum,[b] the news spread[c] that he was at home. 2 So many gathered that there was no longer any room, not even by[d] the door, and he preached the word to them. 3 Some people[e] came bringing to him a paralytic, carried by four of them.[f] 4 When they were not able to bring him in because of the crowd, they removed the roof[g] above Jesus.[h] Then,[i] after tearing it out, they lowered the stretcher the paralytic was lying on. 5 When Jesus saw their[j] faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”[k] 6 Now some of the experts in the law[l] were sitting there, turning these things over in their minds:[m] 7 “Why does this man speak this way? He is blaspheming![n] Who can forgive sins but God alone?” 8 Now[o] immediately, when Jesus realized in his spirit that they were contemplating such thoughts,[p] he said to them, “Why are you thinking such things in your hearts?[q] 9 Which is easier,[r] to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Stand up, take your stretcher, and walk’? 10 But so that you may know[s] that the Son of Man[t] has authority on earth to forgive sins,”—he said to the paralytic[u]— 11 “I tell you, stand up, take your stretcher, and go home.”[v] 12 And immediately the man[w] stood up, took his stretcher, and went out in front of them all. They were all amazed and glorified God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this!”
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