Book of Common Prayer

26 ^(A)Vindicate me, O Lord,
    for I have ^(B)walked in my integrity,
    and I have ^(C)trusted in the Lord without wavering.
^2 (D)Prove me, O Lord, and try me;
    test my heart and ^(E)my mind.^[a]
3 For your ^(F)steadfast love is before my eyes,
    and I ^(G)walk in your ^(H)faithfulness.
⁴ I do not ^(I)sit with men of ^(J)falsehood,
    nor do I consort with hypocrites.
⁵ I ^(K)hate the assembly of evildoers,
    and I will not sit with the wicked.
⁶ I ^(L)wash my hands in innocence
    and go round your altar, O Lord,
⁷ proclaiming thanksgiving aloud,
    and telling all your ^(M)wondrous deeds.
⁸ O Lord, I ^(N)love the habitation of your house
    and the place where your glory dwells.
^9 (O)Do not sweep my soul away with sinners,
    nor my life with bloodthirsty men,
¹⁰ in whose hands are evil devices,
    and whose right hands are full of ^(P)bribes.
¹¹ But as for me, I shall walk in my integrity;
    redeem me, and be gracious to me.
¹² My foot stands on ^(Q)level ground;
    in ^(R)the great assembly I will bless the Lord.

28 To you, O Lord, I call;
    ^(A)my rock, be not deaf to me,
lest, if you ^(B)be silent to me,
    I become like those who ^(C)go down to the pit.
^2 (D)Hear the voice of my pleas for mercy,
    when I cry to you for help,
when I ^(E)lift up my hands
    ^(F)towards your most holy sanctuary.^[a]
3 Do not ^(G)drag me off with the wicked,
    with the workers of evil,
^(H)who speak peace with their neighbours
    while evil is in their hearts.
^4 (I)Give to them according to their work
    and according to the evil of their deeds;
give to them according to the work of their hands;
    ^(J)render them their due reward.
⁵ Because they ^(K)do not regard the works of the Lord
    or the work of his hands,
he will tear them down and build them up no more.
⁶ Blessed be the Lord!
    For he has ^(L)heard the voice of my pleas for mercy.
⁷ The Lord is my strength and ^(M)my shield;
    in him my heart ^(N)trusts, and I am helped;
my heart exults,
    and with my ^(O)song I give thanks to him.
⁸ The Lord is the strength of his people;^[b]
    he is ^(P)the saving refuge of his anointed.
⁹ Oh, save your people and bless ^(Q)your heritage!
    ^(R)Be their shepherd and ^(S)carry them for ever.

36 Transgression speaks to the wicked
    deep in his heart;^[a]
(B)there is no fear of God
    before his eyes.
^2 (C)For he flatters himself in his own eyes
    that his iniquity cannot be found out and hated.
³ The words of his mouth are ^(D)trouble and deceit;
    ^(E)he has ceased to act wisely and do good.
⁴ He ^(F)plots ^(G)trouble while on his bed;
    he sets himself in ^(H)a way that is not good;
    ^(I)he does not reject evil.
⁵ Your steadfast love, O Lord, extends to the heavens,
    your faithfulness to the clouds.
^6 (J)Your righteousness is like the mountains of God;
    ^(K)your judgements are like the great deep;
    man and beast you ^(L)save, O Lord.
^7 (M)How precious is your steadfast love, O God!
    The children of mankind take refuge ^(N)in the shadow of your wings.
⁸ They feast on ^(O)the abundance of your house,
    and you give them drink from ^(P)the river of ^(Q)your delights.
⁹ For with you is ^(R)the fountain of life;
    ^(S)in your light do we see light.
¹⁰ Oh, continue your steadfast love to those who ^(T)know you,
    and your righteousness to ^(U)the upright of heart!
¹¹ Let not the foot of arrogance come upon me,
    nor the hand of the wicked drive me away.
¹² There ^(V)the evildoers lie fallen;
    they are thrust down, ^(W)unable to rise.

39 I said, “I will ^(B)guard my ways,
    that I ^(C)may not sin with my tongue;
I will ^(D)guard my mouth with a muzzle,
    so long as the wicked are in my presence.”
² I was ^(E)mute and silent;
    I held my peace to no avail,
and my distress grew worse.
³     My ^(F)heart became hot within me.
As I mused, the fire burned;
    then I spoke with my tongue:
⁴ “O Lord, ^(G)make me know my end
    and what is the measure of my days;
    let me know how fleeting I am!
⁵ Behold, you have made my days a few handbreadths,
    and ^(H)my lifetime is as nothing before you.
Surely ^(I)all mankind stands as a mere breath! Selah
⁶     Surely a man ^(J)goes about as a shadow!
Surely for nothing^[a] they are in turmoil;
    man ^(K)heaps up wealth and does not know who will gather!
⁷ “And now, O Lord, for what do I wait?
    ^(L)My hope is in you.
⁸ Deliver me from all my transgressions.
    ^(M)Do not make me the scorn of the fool!
^9 (N)I am mute; I do not open my mouth,
    ^(O)for it is you who have done it.
^10 (P)Remove your stroke from me;
    I am spent by the hostility of your hand.
¹¹ When you discipline a man
    with ^(Q)rebukes for sin,
you ^(R)consume like a ^(S)moth what is dear to him;
    ^(T)surely all mankind is a mere breath! Selah
^12 (U)“Hear my prayer, O Lord,
    and give ear to my cry;
    hold not your peace at my tears!
For I am ^(V)a sojourner with you,
    ^(W)a guest, like all my fathers.
^13 (X)Look away from me, that I may smile again,
    ^(Y)before I depart and ^(Z)am no more!”

1 ^(A)How lonely sits the city
    that was full of people!
How like ^(B)a widow has she become,
    she who was great among the nations!
She who was ^(C)a princess among the provinces
    has become ^(D)a slave.
^2 (E)She weeps bitterly in the night,
    with tears on her cheeks;
^(F)among all her lovers
    she has ^(G)none to comfort her;
^(H)all her friends have dealt treacherously with her;
    they have become her enemies.
^3 (I)Judah has gone into exile because of affliction
    and hard servitude;
^(J)she dwells now among the nations,
    ^(K)but finds no resting-place;
her pursuers have all overtaken her
    in the midst of her distress.^[a]
4 The roads to Zion mourn,
    for none come to ^(L)the festival;
^(M)all her gates are desolate;
    her priests ^(N)groan;
her virgins have been afflicted,^[b]
    and she herself suffers bitterly.
^5 (O)Her foes have become the head;
    her ^(P)enemies prosper,
because ^(Q)the Lord has afflicted her
    ^(R)for the multitude of her transgressions;
^(S)her children have gone away,
    captives before the foe.
⁶ From the daughter of Zion
    all her majesty has departed.
Her princes have become like deer
    ^(T)that find no pasture;
they fled without strength
    before the pursuer.
⁷ Jerusalem remembers
    in the days of her affliction and wandering
^(U)all the precious things
    that were hers from ^(V)days of old.
When her people fell into the hand of the foe,
    and there was none to help her,
her foes gloated over her;
    they ^(W)mocked at her downfall.
^8 (X)Jerusalem sinned grievously;
    therefore she became filthy;
all who honoured her despise her,
    ^(Y)for they have seen her nakedness;
she herself ^(Z)groans
    and turns her face away.
⁹ Her uncleanness was ^(AA)in her skirts;
    ^(AB)she took no thought of her future;^[c]
therefore her fall is terrible;
    ^(AC)she has no comforter.
“O Lord, behold my affliction,
    for the enemy has ^(AD)triumphed!”
¹⁰ The enemy has stretched out his hands
    over all her ^(AE)precious things;
for she has seen ^(AF)the nations
    enter her sanctuary,
those whom you ^(AG)forbade
    to enter your congregation.
¹¹ All her people ^(AH)groan
    as ^(AI)they search for bread;
they trade their ^(AJ)treasures for ^(AK)food
    to revive their strength.
“Look, O Lord, and see,
    for I am despised.”
¹² “Is it nothing to you, all ^(AL)you who pass by?
    ^(AM)Look and see
if there is any sorrow like my sorrow,
    which was brought upon me,
which ^(AN)the Lord inflicted
    on ^(AO)the day of his fierce anger.